Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder of glucose metabolism. The management of blood glucose level is the hallmark in the treatment of this disease. This may be achieved through the use of oral hypoglycemic drugs such as biguanides, insulin secretagogues, and α-glucosidase inhibitors. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of Morinda lucida leaf extracts o...

Previously, we showed that isolated stem cells from midguts of Heliothis virescens can be induced to multiply in response to a multiplication protein (MP) isolated from pupal fat body, or to differentiate to larval types of mature midgut cells in response to either of 4 differentiation factors (MDFs) isolated from larval midgut cell-conditioned medium or pupal hemolymph. In this work, we show t...

Helicoverpa are important polyphagous agricultural insect pests and they have a worldwide distribution. In this study, we report the bacterial community structure in the midgut of fifth instar larvae of Helicoverpa armigera, a species prevalent in the India, China, South Asia, South East Asia, Southern & Eastern Africa and Australia. Using culturable techniques, we isolated and identified membe...

Background: Chrysobalanus orbicularis is commonly used as food, the seeds as a spice for the popular pepper soup, and the leaves are traditionally utilized for managing type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. Due to the limited scientific evidence on C. orbicularis, this study investigated its antioxidant and inhibitory properties against major enzymes linked to T2D...

A newly isolated fungus Aspergillus niger SOI017 was shown to be a good producer of β-glucosidase from all isolated fungal strains. Fermentation condition (pH, cellobiose concentration, yeast extract concentration, and ammonium sulfate concentration) was optimized for producing the enzyme in shake flask cultures. Response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects of 4 fermentation...

In the Ozark Mountains of the U.S.A., the red oak borer Enaphalodes rufulus contributes to the destruction of red oaks. To understand nutrient digestion in E. rufulus larvae, digestive proteinases are compared in both larvae fed heartwood phloem and those transferred to artificial diet. The pH of gut extracts is approximately 6.3 in the midgut and foregut and decreases to 5.5 in the hindgut reg...

There has been an enormous interest in the development of alternative medicines for type 2 diabetes, specifically screening for phytochemicals with the ability to delay or prevent glucose absorption. The goal of the present study was to provide in vitro evidence for potential inhibition of α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes, followed by a confirmatory in vivo study on rats to generate a strong...

Microbial-based pest control is an attractive alternative to chemical insecticides. The present study sought to evaluate the toxicity of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana-28 ethyl acetate extracts on different larval stages and pupae of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. B. bassiana-28 ethyl acetate mycelial extracts produced mosquitocidal activity against larvae and pupae which wa...

The purpose of this research was to investigate the inhibitory effect of jicama extract on α-glucosidase activity, α-amylase activity, and postprandial hyperglycemia in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Jicama extract showed prominent inhibitory effects against α-glucosidase and α-amylase. The IC50 values of jicama extract against α-glucosidase and α-amylase were 0.083±0.004 and 0.091...