Effect of drying and storage on bioactive components of jambhul and wood apple.

Jambhul and wood apple were subjected to two different drying methods to examine the effect of drying temperatures (80 °C and 60 °C) and influence of storage conditions viz., room temperature (25 °C) and refrigeration temperature (4 °C) on bioactive constituents of jambhul and wood apple powder for 90 days. Results showed that retention of phenolics, ascorbic acid and antioxidant capacity such as ABTS, DPPH and FRAP in jambhul and wood apple were high at 80 °C as compared to 60 °C in both tray and IR drying. Anthocyanin and flavonoid significantly (p < 0.05) decreased at 80 °C. Jambhul showed retention of 30.83 % TPC, 10.40 % TFC, 9.31 %, TMAC, 12.75 % ascorbic acid, 19.26 % ABTS activity, 98.71 % DPPH activity, and 27.78 % FRAP activitys in IR drying; whereas wood apple showed more retention of 25.74 % TPC, 61 % ascorbic acid, 10.31 % ABTS, 36.45 % DPPH and 0.27 % FRAP in tray drying (TD). During storage bioactive constituents in jambhul powder were preserved at refrigeration temperatures whereas in wood apple they were retained at room temperature.

Isolation and characterization of halotolerant Streptomyces radiopugnans from Antarctica soil.

An actinomycete wild strain PM0626271 (= MTCC 5447), producing novel antibacterial compounds, was isolated from soil collected from Antarctica. The taxonomic status of the isolate was established by polyphasic approach. Scanning electron microscopy observations and the presence of LL-Diaminopimelic acid in the cell wall hydrolysate confirmed the genus Streptomyces. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence showed highest sequence similarity to Streptomyces radiopugnans (99%). The phylogenetic tree constructed using near complete 16S rRNA gene sequences of the isolate and closely related strains revealed that although the isolate fell within the S. radiopugnans gene subclade, it was allocated a different branch in the phylogenetic tree, separating it from the majority of the radiopugnans strains. Similar to type strain, S. radiopugnans R97(T) , the Antarctica isolate displayed thermo tolerance as well as resistance to (60) Co gamma radiation, up to the dose of 15 kGy. However, media and salt tolerance studies revealed that, unlike the type strain, this isolate needed higher salinity for its growth. This is the first report of S. radiopugnans isolated from the Antarctica region. The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of Streptomyces radiopugnans MTCC 5447 is JQ723477.