AIM To screen for novel antagonistic Pseudomonas strains producing both phenazines and biosurfactants that are as effective as Pseudomonas aeruginosa PNA1 in the biocontrol of cocoyam root rot caused by Pythium myriotylum. MATERIAL AND RESULTS Forty pseudomonads were isolated from the rhizosphere of healthy white and red cocoyam plants appearing in natural, heavily infested fields in Cameroon...

To identify plants with bioactive potential for skin care, methanol extracts of 56 plant parts from 47 medical and edible plants cultivated in Okinawa were tested for their proliferative effects on NB1RGB skin fibroblast cells. Extracts from six plants, Bischofia javanica, Colocasia esculenta, Melaleuca alternifolia, Piper angustifolia, Jasminum sambac, and Curcuma longa, showed higher NB1RGB c...

Little is known about how production practices influence taro (Colocasia esculenta) corm density. This study was conducted to determine the effects soil type and harvest age have on corm density. Niue taro variety was grown on 3 soil types on Tutuila, American Samoa, and harvested 6, 7, 8, and 9 months after planting. Corm densities were measured using a double-weighing method: weighting the co...

Starch is a carbohydrate composed of chain of glucose molecule. Potato, corn, rice are the major sources for starch but they are also used as a food. Our aim was to extract starch from some nonconventional source like taro plant (Colocasia esculenta) and did some physical and chemical modification to enhance the properties of starch. Physical modification method of starch like Osmotic Pressure ...

OBJECTIVES The present study analyzes metal contamination in sediment of the East Kolkata Wetlands, a Ramsar site, which is receiving a huge amount of domestic and industrial wastewater from surrounding areas. The subsequent uptake and accumulation of metals in different macrophytes are also examined in regard to their phytoremediation potential. METHODS Metals like cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu),...