In vitro functional properties of crude extracts and isolated compounds from banana pseudostem and rhizome.

BACKGROUND: Pseudostem and rhizome are the significant bio-waste generated (43.48%) from the banana plant post fruit harvest, which are usually left in the plantation or incinerated and wasted. Amounts used in production for consumption are negligible. However, the material has an important part to play in indigenous systems of medicine. Based on the huge volume of bio-waste generated and its traditional medicinal use, it is worth exploiting it as a source of natural bioactive compounds. In the current study, sequential extracts from banana pseudostem (BPS) and rhizome (BR), and isolated compounds including chlorogenic acid, 4-epicyclomusalenone and cycloeucalenol acetate, were tested for their antimicrobial activity, antiplatelet aggregation and cytotoxicity. RESULTS: Isolated compounds and crude extracts exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against a wide range of bacterial and fungal strains, platelet aggregation induced by collagen and cytotoxicity towards human liver cancer (HepG2) cells. CONCLUSION: Banana plant bio-waste, pseudostem and rhizome may serve as a potential source of multifunctional bioactive compounds and functional ingredient in food and other allied industries.

Biodegradation of acephate and methamidophos by a soil bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain Is-6.

The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize a new acephate-degrading bacteria from agricultural soil and to investigate its biodegradation ability and pathway of degradation. A bacterial strain Is-6, isolated from agriculture soil could completely degrade and utilize acephate as the sole carbon, phosphorus and energy sources for growth in M9 medium. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence and phenotypic analysis suggested that the strain Is-6 was belonging to the genus Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Strain Is-6 could completely degrade acephate (50 mg L(-1)) and its metabolites within 96 h were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electron spray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analyses. When exposed to the higher concentration, the strain Is-6 showed 92% degradation of acephate (1000 mg L(-1)) within 7 days of incubation. It could also utilize dimethoate, parathion, methyl parathion, chlorpyrifos and malathion. The inoculation of strain Is-6 (10(7) cells g(-1)) to acephate (50 mg Kg(-1))-treated soil resulted in higher degradation rate than in noninoculated soils. These results highlight the potential of this bacterium to be used in the cleanup of contaminated pesticide waste in the environment.