Antioxidant activity and nutritional assessment of under-utilized medicinal plants.

The present study investigates the nutritive and anti-nutritive composition of six species (Allium porrum, Amaranthus spinosis, Apium graveolens, Caralluma edulis, Chenopodium album, Urtica dioica). The studied species contained considerable amount of crude protein (4.53-11.

Water availability and calcium propionate affect fungal population and aflatoxins production in broiler finisher feed during storage.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of calcium propionate, water activity (aw) and incubation time on the total fungal count and aflatoxins B₁ (AFB₁), B₂ (AFB₂), G₁ (AFG₁) and G₂ (AFG₂) production in the broiler finisher feed. The feed was added with calcium propionate (5 g kg(-1)), adjusted to 0.85, 0.

Effects of ozone on crops in north-west Pakistan.

Although ozone is well-documented to reduce crop yields in the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plain, there is little knowledge of its effects in other parts of south Asia. We surveyed crops close to the city of Peshawar, in north-west Pakistan, for visible injury, linking this to passive measurements of ozone concentrations. Foliar injury was found on potato, onion and cotton when mean monthly ozone concentrations exceeded 45 ppb.

The effect of substrate, season, and agroecological zone on mycoflora and aflatoxin contamination of poultry feed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

To study the effects of and interactions among feed types, seasons, and agroecological zones on the total fungal viable count and aflatoxins B1 (AFB1), B2 (AFB2), G1 (AFG1), and G2 (AFG2) production in poultry feed, an experiment was conducted using three-factorial design. A total of 216 samples of poultry feed ingredients, viz. maize, wheat, rice, cotton seed meal (CSM), and finished products, that is, starter and finisher broilers' rations, were collected from Peshawar, Swat, and D.

Hydrogen fluoride damage to vegetation from peri-urban brick kilns in Asia: a growing but unrecognised problem?

The rapid urbanisation of many cities in south and south-east Asia has increased the demand for bricks, which are typically supplied from brick kilns in peri-urban areas. We report visible foliar damage to mango, apricot and plum trees in the vicinity of traditional Bull's Trench brick kilns in Peshawar, Pakistan. Visible injury symptoms, hydrogen fluoride concentrations in air, and foliar fluoride concentrations were all greater in the vicinity of brick kilns than at more distant sites, indicating that fluoride emissions from brick kilns were the main cause of damage.

Effect of calcium propionate and water activity on growth and aflatoxins production by Aspergillus flavus.

The efficacy of calcium propionate at 2 different doses (0.5% and 1%) against growth and aflatoxins production by Aspergillus flavus (A-2092) was investigated in vitro on Czapek yeast extract agar at different levels of water activity (a(w)) in the range of 0.94 to 0.

Mould incidence and mycotoxin contamination in maize kernels from Swat Valley, North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.

Mould incidence and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination as well as proximate composition and minerals content of maize kernels from Swat Valley, North West Frontier Province of Pakistan was studied during the year, 2007. Results indicated that the mean moisture content of the kernels was within the recommended safe storage levels of 15%. Across the whole valley, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium and Rhizopus were the most predominant fungal genera identified and amongst the mycotoxigenic species, Aspergillus flavus had the highest incidence.

Comparative studies on storage stability of ferrous iron in whole wheat flour and flat bread (naan).

Whole wheat flour was fortified with premix containing ferrous sulfate, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid and folic acid (20.0:20.0:1.

Biological effects of indigenous medicinal plants Curcuma longa and Alpinia galanga.

The ethanolic extracts of Curcuma longa and Alpinia galanga exhibited excellent (100%) phytotoxic activity against Lemma minor. These extracts were also found to possess good antifungal activities against Trichophyton longifusus (65% and 60%, respectively), while in the brine shrimp lethality bioassay were found to be toxic with LD50 of 33 and 109 mincrog/ml, respectively. These extracts were found quite inert in antibacterial bioassay, while the extract from C.