International Journal of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology

152-159

Authors: Prateek Joshi, Thanapoom Maneeboon, Chayanee Cheerakupt

Incidence of mycotoxins in principal foods and grains is a major threat to achieving food safety but still remains one of the most underrated and ignored sources for food borne diseases, particularly in less developed countries. Furthermore, food insecurity together with ineffective government regulations and environmental conditions that favor fungal proliferation and toxin production merge together to make the people’s life even harder in countries like Nepal. Apart from wasting huge quantities of food every year, mycotoxins are associated with various acute and chronic health disorders including carcinogenic, mutagenic, estrogenic, digestive, vascular and nervous defects. Staple diets in less developed countries like Nepal are largely based on crops like maize, susceptible to mycotoxins which may ultimately lead to chronic health problems in large population. Although there is an immediate need to address the food safety challenges caused by mycotoxin contamination in cereal grains, studies so far in Nepal has been conducted mainly in aflatoxins in limited commodities only and very less efforts have been made to manage and mitigate the problems caused by mycotoxins in Nepal. Therefore, a thorough control of mycotoxins in overall food chain is essential to safeguard the health of the population which could be achieved by implementing stricter regulations, modern and scientific post-harvest operations, effective monitoring programs and raising necessary awareness among stakeholders.

166-168

Authors: Pushpa Karna Mallick

Lycopersicon esculentum is a flowering plant of the family Solanaceae. The common name for this plant is tomato. Tomatoes are a good source of lycopene which is a main pigment found in it and responsible for red colour. The lycopene provides antioxidant properties and helps to prevent cell damage. Tomatoes also prevent the adverse effects of lead in the blood constituents. Tomatoes are used in different ways such as raw or cooked, in many dishes, sauces, salads, pickles, puree, paste, juice, sun- dried and drink. Tomato fruits content ninety four percent water, citric acid, malic acid, soluble sugars, vitamin, vitamin B1, B2, vitamin A, and many mineral salts etc. High levels of lycopene which contain in tomatoes are used in facial cleanser. Flavonoids like flavonols which is present in tomatoes are rich in antioxidant activity and can help our body ward off every day toxins. Flavonoides such as flavonols present in tomatoes are rich in antioxidant activity and can help our body ward off every day toxins Flavonoides directly associated with human dietary ingredients, play a great role in diseases prevention and shows versatile health benefits.

176-186

Authors: Nadjiam Djirabaye

In Chad, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.), is increasingly becoming a cash crop. The objective of this work is to assess the varietal diversity, analyze the traditional management of landraces and the production systems of cowpea in southern part of Chad. An inventory and an ethnobotanical survey was conducted through a participatory approach in 17 villages corresponding to two agro ecological zones. Thirty-four vernacular names and 45 landraces are inventoried. On average, 2 names are assigned per village. The number of landraces varies from 4 to 13 with an average of 9.00 per region and 2.70 per village. The highest diversity is observed in Mayo Kebbi. Sixteen morphotypes have been identified and their distribution varies according to the agro ecological zones. Productivity (31.10 %), taste (25.92 %) and grain size (18.34 %) are the farmer main preferred criteria. Farmers use leaves (47 %), pods (29.50 %) and seeds (14.75 %) to identify landraces. Cowpea cultivation is practiced on small areas and in intercropping system (78.60 %). Conservation of seeds (36.07 %), low fertility of the soils (27.85 %) and drought (17.77 %) were the main production constraints. Cowpea is stored mainly in traditional granaries (34.96 %) and on racks (22.93 %). For seeds treatment, farmers use mainly traditional means (32.37 %) and chemical products (6.67 %). Several cowpea-based dishes are identified. Cowpea has also therapeutic virtues. To improve cowpea production, appropriate actions must be considered against the constraints inventoried. The interesting landraces should also be used in a breeding program.

193-202

Authors: Beautina Karki, Hom Prasad Sitaula, Sandesh Bhandari, Pramod Gaihre, Hira Kaji Manandhar

A field experiment was carried out using sweet sensation variety of strawberry to check the efficacy of different botanical extracts and organic compounds to manage leaf spot disease. The study was done using ten treatments viz; ginger (T1), turmeric (T2), garlic (T3), ginger + turmeric + garlic (T4), cow urine (T5), cow urine+ ginger + turmeric + garlic (T6), compost tea (T7), compost tea+ ginger+ turmeric+ garlic (T8), SAAF (mancozeb 63 % + carbendazim 12%) (T9) and control (T10), which was replicated thrice. The parameter observed during experiment were plant height, leaf number, disease leaves, stem lesions, yield, percent disease incidence, disease severity percent and percent disease control. At 75 days of transplantation, the highest plant height, leaf number (24.60) and yield (1391.67 gm/plot) were observed in treatment compost tea (18.14 cm), cow urine+ ginger+ turmeric+ garlic and garlic respectively and lowest in treatment control (16.19 cm, 23.27 & 566.67 gm/plot). The disease leaves and stem lesions were observed highest in treatment control (3.40&3.23) and lowest in treatments garlic (3.0), and cow urine+ ginger+ turmeric+ garlic (1.83) respectively at 75 days after transplantation. Moreover, the highest percent disease incidence and disease severity percent were observed highest in treatments control (28.94% & 84.81%) and percent disease control in treatment garlic (42.36%) at 75 days of transplantation. Therefore, it is suggested to use garlic extracts as a measure to control leaf spot disease of strawberry.

213-219

Authors: Salina Aryal, Narayan Bashyal, Surendra Kumar Gautam, Megh Raj Pokhrel, Bhoj Raj Poudel

The study aimed to assess the levels of Lead (Pb) and Cadmium (Cd) in lipsticks and theirs associated health hazards to consumers. 13 lipsticks and 7 lipglosses were selected randomly from various shopping centers in Kathmandu, Nepal. The lipstick sample was chemically digested and analyzed using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). The concentration range of Pb and Cd in lipsticks was from 0.02±0.009 to 30.97±0.014 mg kg-1 and 0.01±0.014 to 0.92±0.009 mg kg-1 respectively. The hazard quotient for Pb was found greater than 1 in 15 samples showing detrimental carcinogenic health risk through lipstick consumption. So, these lipstick brands are prone to hamper human health. Accordingly, regular monitoring of the lipsticks before importing them is highly recommended.