The present study is concerned with the improvement of Bacillus licheniformis strain GCB30 for alpha amylase production in 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks. Chemical mutation using ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS 50-300 μ/ml) was undertaken for 10-60 min. Twenty eight isolates were selected on the basis of clear zones of starch hydrolysis. Only one isolate designated as B. licheniformis EMS-200 gave 102.78...

The flavolignans silybin (1) and 2,3-dehydrosilybin (2) (Figure 1) were isolated from fruits of milk thistle [Silybum marianum (L). Gaertn.] cultivated in the Samara region (Russian Federation). 2,3-dehydrosilybin (2) for the first time in Russian Federation is described for the given plant. Silybin and 2,3-dehydrosilybin and also new preparation, a fluid extract of Silybum marianum fruits, hav...

Effect of various fermentation media, carbon sources, nitrogen sources, phosphate concentration and culture requirements includes inoculum levels and age were determined on gentamicin production and biomass dry weight production for Micromonospora echinospora, a gentamicin producing strain. Of the substrates tested, starch as a sole carbon source promoted maximal gentamicin production, while ma...

Previous studies have demonstrated that the large subunit (LSU) of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco) is site-specifically cleaved by a hydroxyl radical (*OH) generated in the illuminated chloroplast lysates or by an artificial *OH-generating system. However, it is not known whether such cleavage of the LSU by reactive oxygen species (ROS) actually occurs in an intact leaf. When le...

A novel wet-chemical method for the preparation of silver flakes was studied. The well-defined particles were prepared by directly adding FeSO4 solution into AgNO3 solution containing citric acid at an agitation speed of 150 r/min at room temperature. The products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that particles are irregular ...

Melioidosis is highly prevalent in Northeast Thailand which is associated with high incidence of Burkholderia pseudomallei present in the soil of this region. B. pseudomallei when present in biofilm becomes resistant to numerous environmental factors and also to certain antibiotics. In this study, we examined the effects of several environmentally relevant factors (salinity, iron, manganese and...

The microaerophilic nature of Campylobacter fetus has complicated its recovery from human and animal sources. In this study, modifications of brucella agar and broth were tested for enhancement of growth and aerotolerance of 64 strains of C. fetus, representing each subspecies. Brucella agar supplemented with 0.025% each FeSO4 7H2O, sodium metabisulfite, and sodium pyruvate, supported growth of...

This study assesses the ability of mycelia of Rhizopus delemar (both free and immobilized on polyurethane foam) to remove heavy metals from single-ion solutions as well as from a mixture of them. All experiments were conducted using 0.5-5 mm solutions of CuSO4 x 5H2O, CoCl2-6H2O and FeSO4 7H2O. Mycelia immobilized on polyurethane foam cells showed some times increase in uptake compared with tha...

Air dried press cake of sugar cane (5 Kg) yielded on extraction with cold acetone 500 g of waxy residue which gave on saponification 150gm. Un-saponifiable matter. Gas chromatography and mass spectroscopic analysis of the present sterols revealed that the phytosterol mixture consists of βsit sterol (46.4%), stigma sterol (21.4%) and camp sterol (27.9 %).This sterol mixture was subjected to the ...