Acute toxicity of copper sulphate (CuSO4.5H2O) to tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and catfish (Clarias gariepinus) species was investigated using toxicity index of 96 hours LC50 and the quantal response determined by the statistical probit analysis method. In response to the lethality of the copper toxicant, behavioral anomalies (locomotor response) of the exposed fish species were studied as i...

BACKGROUND Mosquitoes transmit serious human diseases, causing millions of death every year. Vector control is facing a threat due to the emergence of resistance to synthetic insecticides. Insecticides of botanical origin may serve as suitable alternative biocontrol techniques in the future. Nine different locally available medicinally important plants suspected to posse larvicidal property wer...

Thioredoxin reductase-1 (TRXR-1) is the sole selenoprotein in C. elegans, and selenite is a substrate for thioredoxin reductase, so TRXR-1 may play a role in metabolism of selenium (Se) to toxic forms. To study the role of TRXR in Se toxicity, we cultured C. elegans with deletions of trxr-1, trxr-2, and both in axenic media with increasing concentrations of inorganic Se. Wild-type C. elegans cu...

BACKGROUND Botanical and microbial insecticides have been increasingly used for the control of mosquito given their efficacy and documented nontoxic effects on non-target organisms. The discovery of new insecticides is imperative because of the development of resistance by the mosquitoes to the readily available insecticides. The aim of this study was therefore to isolate and characterize compo...

Crystalline (Cry) proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are used extensively for insect control in sprays and transgenic plants, but their efficacy is reduced by evolution of resistance in pests. Here we evaluated reduced activation of Cry1Ac protoxin as a potential mechanism of resistance in the invasive pest Helicoverpa armigera. Based on the concentration killing 50% of larvae (LC50) for...

In order to determine copper toxicity (LC50) to a local species (Cnesterodon decemmaculatus) in the South American Pilcomayo River water and evaluate a cross-fish-species extrapolation of Biotic Ligand Model, a 96 h acute copper toxicity test was performed. The dissolved copper concentrations tested were 0.05, 0.19, 0.39, 0.61, 0.73, 1.01, and 1.42 mg Cu L(-1). The 96 h Cu LC50 calculated was 0...

The acute toxicities of waterborne Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn were determined in the first-instar larvae (generally considered to be the most sensitive) of Chironomus riparius, under standardized conditions. Toxicity tests were conducted in soft water (hardness, 8 mg/L as CaCO(3) equivalents) in the absence of food and were limited to 24 h to avoid control mortality associated with food deprivation...

Growth promoters play an important role in the animal agriculture industry as they facilitate to improve productivity mainly through reduction of pathogenic bacterial load in the gut. Ban and restrictions on the usage of Antibiotic Growth Promoters (AGP) due to public health concerns has made it essential to search alternatives from the herbal sources. But at the same time it is tricky to choos...

Fasciolosis is a parasitic helminthes disease caused by Fasciola gigantica. The different larval stage (sporocyst, redia and cercaria) are found in intermediate host snail Lymnaea acuminata. In the present study it has been tried to kill the F. gigantica larvae in vitro/ in vivo condition by the use of ferulic acid there is no mortality of snails. Mortality of larvae in in vivo and in vitro con...

The Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella Hübner (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a major stored product pest that is found throughout the world. In this study, the effect of oral exposure to Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) subsp. kurstaki (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) and azadirachtin was evaluated in third instar P. interpunctella under laboratory conditions. The median lethal concentration (LC50)...