The crystal structures of hydroxynitrile lyase from Manihot esculenta (MeHNL) complexed with the native substrate acetone and substrate analogue chloroacetone have been determined and refined at 2.2 A resolution. The substrates are positioned in the active site by hydrogen-bond interactions of the carbonyl O atom with Thr11 OG, Ser80 OG and, to a lesser extent, Cys81 SG. These studies support a...

Background: In Nigeria, the leaves of Manihot esculenta (Crantz) are eaten as vegetables. The leaves are rich in phytochemicals, valuable and natural sources of antioxidants, and are highly useful for human health and disease prevention. This study was aimed to evaluate the in vitro inhibitory effects of two extracts derived from the plant leaves on α-glucosidase and α-amylase. The total flavon...

Plant remedies, despite their innocuity reputation, are implicated in adverse events. The present review focuses on 30 popular herbs which are associated with severe and sometimes fatal hepatotoxicity: Actaea racemosa, Aloe barbadensis, Atractylis gummifera, Callilepsis laureola, Camellia sinensis, Centella asiatica, Chelidonium majus, Ephedra sinica, Garcinia cambogia, Hypericum perforatum, La...

Cassava starch is used extensively to produce isotropic, odorless, tasteless, colorless, non-toxic and biologically degradable films. The similarity in composition, mineral content, microscopic, thermal, physicochemical and rheological properties between cassava and cocoyam starches being reported in literature, it is expected that, cocoyam could be used to increase the supply in equivalent sta...

The effect of solid content (2.5-10%, w/v) and temperature (30-70°C) on the viscosity of tapioca meal from three cassava varieties was investigated in this study. Viscosity measurements were conducted using a digital rotational Brookfield viscometer. The viscosity of tapioca meal increased with increasing solid content and decreasing viscometer speeds. An empirical power-law equation fitted the...

Gametes have the unique potential to enter the sporophytic pathway, called androgenesis. The plants produced are usually haploid and recombinant due to the preceding meiosis and they can double their chromosome number to form doubled haploids, which are completely homozygous. Availability of the doubled haploids facilitates mapping the genes of agronomically important traits, shortening the tim...

OBJECTIVES To describe the potential risk factors, clinical features, biochemical and radiological features, and management of chronic calcific pancreatitis. DESIGN Cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTING Tertiary care general hospital. PATIENTS Fifty patients with pancreatic calcification referred to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, and 50 age-matched controls from healthy relativ...