Total phenol content and antioxidant activity of methanol extract of dried seeds of Lagerstroemia speciosa were determined. The authenticated samples of seeds were powdered and extracted using methanol. The total phenolic content of extract was estimated by Folin-Ciocalteau method. Radical scavenging and reducing activity of seed extract was determined by DPPH free radical scavenging assay and Ferric reducing assay. The extract was found to possess an appreciable quantity of phenolic substances (325±0.01 µg gallic acid equivalents/mg extract). A dose dependent scavenging activity in DPPH assay with IC 50 value of 9.63±0.20 µg/mL was observed. The extract showed concentration dependent reducing activity as revealed by an increase in the absorbance of reaction mixture. The observed activity of seed extract could be related to the presence of phenolic substances.

Article Information Actinomycetes are among the industrially and therapeutically relevant microorganisms and are known to produce useful products such as antibiotics, enzymes, vitamins etc. Among actinomycetes, genus Streptomyces is known to produce a great array of products. In the present study, we have recovered a Streptomyces species RAMPP-065 from Western ghats soil of Kudremukh, Karnataka, India and determined its antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. The isolate was recovered on Starch casein agar and identified as Streptomyces species on the basis of cultural, microscopic, staining and biochemical characteristics. Fermentation was carried out in Starch casein broth for 7 days and filtered. The culture filtrate was extracted with ethyl acetate and the solvent was evaporated to get the extract. Antimicrobial activity of extract was tested against 8 bacteria and 2 fungi by agar well diffusion method. Gram positive bacteria were more sensitive to extract than Gram negative bacteria. Among fungi, susceptibility to extract was higher in Candida albicans than Cryptococcus neoformans. The extract showed a dose dependent scavenging of DPPH free radical as revealed by bleaching of DPPH radical color with increase in concentration of extract. In ferric reducing assay, the absorbance was found to increase with increase in extract concentration. Total phenolic content of extract, as estimated by Folin-Ciocalteau method, was 59mg Gallic acid equivalents/gram. The scavenging and reducing activity of extract were lesser when compared to reference compounds. The soils of Western ghats are rich sources for microorganisms with potent biological activities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on bioactivity of Streptomyces species from Kudremukh soil. Further studies are to be carried out to characterize the Streptomyces isolate and the active principles present in the extract.

Article InformationThe present study is an attempt to isolate the fungi from the unexplored soils of Western Ghats and screen them for the production of some very important hydrolytic enzymes such as amylase, cellulose, CMCase, protease, lipase and pigment production. In this work, more than 200 fungal isolates were isolated from the forest soil were screened for the production of extracellular enzymes, identification of the screened isolates and secondary screening for amylase production was done. A total of 167 isolates were characterized, in them some up to species level. Aspergillus, Penicillium, Trichoderma and Cladosporium were predominated. A total of 14 isolates were selected for the secondary screening for amylase production. Aspergillus isolate 199 and Aspergillus isolate 43 produced more protein (169±07 and 160±04µg) respectively. Amylase assay also revealed greater activities (4.98±0.06 and 4.93± 0.07µ moles/ ml) in Aspergillus isolate 199 and Aspergillus isolate 43 respectively.

Article InformationDental caries is the common infectious diseases of the oral cavity and is caused mainly by oral streptococci. The present study was carried out to investigate the anticariogenic activity of methanol extract of Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) (Lythraceae) leaves. The inhibitory efficacy of methanol extract was tested against 12 oral isolates of Streptococcus mutans by Agar well diffusion method. The broth cultures of bacteria were swabbed uniformly on sterile Brain heart infusion agar plates and wells of 6mm were punched in the inoculated plates. Standard antibiotic and different concentrations of extract were transferred into labeled wells. Zone of inhibition was measured after incubation. The extract caused a concentration dependent inhibition of cariogenic isolates. Inhibition caused by standard antibiotic was higher than the methanol extract. Preliminary phytochemical analysis showed the presence of saponins, glycosides, tannins and terpenoids. The result of the present study reveals that methanol extract showed significant inhibitory activity against cariogenic isolates. The inhibitory efficacy of extract against cariogenic isolates could be due to the presence of these metabolites. In suitable form, the leaves could be used to treat dental caries.

A fungus was isolated from the soil of Western Ghat forest and during the study it was screened for amylase production. The isolate MO 43 was identified up to genus level as Aspergillus based on cultural and microscopic characteristics. Further, the isolate was characterized up to species level by PCR amplification and sequencing of partial ITS sequences of rDNA. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolate was Aspergillus sydowii. The sequence was submitted to NCBI public database and accession number was obtained.