Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using the Leaf Extract of the Medicinal Plant, Uvaria narum and Its Antibacterial, Antiangiogenic, Anticancer and Catalytic Properties.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) made by green synthesis offer a variety of biochemical properties and are an excellent alternative to traditional medications due to their low cost. In the current study, we synthesised AgNPs from the leaf extract of the medicinal plant Uvaria narum, commonly called narumpanal. The nanoparticles were characterised by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SEM analysis showed AgNPs are highly crystalline and spherical with an average diameter of 7.13 nm. The outstanding catalytic activity of AgNPs was demonstrated by employing the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. The AgNPs showed antiangiogenic activity in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. AgNPs demonstrated anticancer activity against Dalton's lymphoma ascites cells (DLA cells) in trypan blue assay and cytotoxicity against three fish cell lines: Oreochromis niloticus liver (onlL; National Repository of Fish Cell Lines, India (NRFC) Accession number-NRFC052) cells, Cyprinus carpio koi fin (CCKF; NRFC Accession number-NRFC007) cells and Cyprinus carpio gill (CyCKG; NRFC Accession number-NRFC064). Furthermore, the AgNPs demonstrated their ability to inhibit pathogenic microorganisms, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. The results from the study displayed green synthesised AgNPs exhibit antiangiogenic activity, cytotoxicity, antimicrobial and catalytic properties, which are crucial characteristics of a molecule with excellent clinical applications.

Catfishes of the genus Sperata (Pisces:Bagridae) in India.

DNA barcode data of the South Asian bagrid catfish genus Sperata indicate the presence of at least five species in the Indian subcontinent. Those results, which are supported by morphological data, show a marked increase in species diversity from the recent taxonomic and fishery literature, although each of the five species had been previously named. Two species are restricted to rivers of peninsular India south of the Godavari: Sperata aorides from the Cauvery river basin and S. seenghala from the Krishna river basin. Most literature records of S. seenghala from the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins likely refer to S. lamarrii, a species which appears to also be present in the Indus river basin. Some genetic data reported as S. seenghala from the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins refer to S. aorella. S. aor is widespread in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Surma river basins in India and Bangladesh, extending southwards to the Godavari river.

Establishment and characterization of a caudal fin-derived cell line, AOF, from the Oscar, Astronotus ocellatus.

Astronotus ocellatus, commonly called the oscar, is one of the popular cichlids among aquarium hobby. The present study deals with the development and characterization of a new cell line from caudal fin of A. ocellatus. The cell line was cultured in Leibovitz's L-15 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum at 28 °C. The optimum temperature and FBS concentration for cell growth were tested with temperature ranges from 20 to 37 °C and FBS concentrations of 5-20% at 28 °C. The Astronotus ocellatus fin cell line has been subcultured 45 times since its development and the modal chromosome number (2n) is 48. The cell line is composed mainly of epithelial cells as confirmed by immunocytological technique using anti-cytokeratin antibodies. The cell line was cryopreserved at different passage levels and the revival efficiency showed 80% survival rate. Partial sequence amplification and sequencing of two genes, mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA and cytochrome oxidase I, confirmed the origin of cell line. The cell line did not show Mycoplasma contamination. The cells showed good transfection efficiency when transfected with 2 µg of pAcGFP1-N1 expression vector. The extracellular products of fish bacterial pathogens viz., Aeromonas hydrophila and A. caviae, were cytotoxic to AOF cells but were not susceptible to Cyprinid herpes virus 2. The development of AOF cell line will have significant applications in fish virology and will prove useful to isolate pathogens in the event of sudden viral disease outbreak and for the development of vaccines and diagnostic kits.