Background and Objective: Recent studies have shown that anticholinergic alkaloids compounds have strong analgesic effects. Due to presence of anticholinergic alkaloids in Hyoscyamus niger and its mentioned effects in Iranian traditional medicine, its analgesic effects were assessed. At first, acute and chronic pain thresholds in male NMRI rats with formalin test was evaluated, then oral and in...

The genus Sphecotypus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1895, is currently represented by three species: S. birmanicus (Thorell, 1897) from Myanmar and Borneo, S. taprobanicus Simon, 1897 from Sri Lanka, and S. niger (Perty, 1833) from Central and South America. Of the three currently known species, only S. birmanicus has both sexes described, whereas the other two species are known from female specimens o...

The Niger Delta is dying. Petrobusiness activities have caused severe environmental damage and climate change in its communities thus leading to massive destruction of farmlands, wild and marine lives. This has not been without dire social consequences on local communities of the Niger Delta which are doubly impoverished with attendant increase in abuse occasioned by struggle for survival. This...

Antimicrobial activity of 25, 50, 75 and 100% alcohol extract of Piper nigrum (Black Pepper), Psidium guajava (Guava), Amomum cardamom (Cardamom) and Cynogen dactylon (Bermuda grass) has been evaluated against Pseudomonas lundensis, Bacillus cereus, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Psidium guajava extract showed excellent antimicrobial activity against all the test organisms. In 25% co...

The antimicrobial activity of ethanol and chloroform extracts of Pentanema divaricatum Cass. was studied using the conventional disk diffusion method. The extracts' highest antimicrobial activity was observed against Aspergillus niger. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the crude extract by preparative thin layer chromatography (PTLC) showed one antimicrobial fraction which was especially effecti...

A poorly known African species Xanthopygoides niger (Cameron, 1951), hitherto a member of a monotypic genus of the subtribe Xanthopygina, is transferred to the subgenus Raucalius Tottenham, 1949 of the genus Philonthus Stephens, 1829, subtribe Philonthina, and redescribed. Th e new genus-group synonymy, Raucalius Tottenham, 1951 = Xanthopygoides Verdcourt, 1952, is established. A new combinatio...

Eleven fungal strains (4 Penicillium commune, 2 Aspergillus niger, 2 Aspergillus rugulosa, Aspergillus terricola, Aspergillus ornatus and Aspergillus fumigatus) were isolated, characterized morphologically and by their capacity to degrade tannins. Aspergillus niger Aa-20 was used as control strain. Several concentrations of hydrolysable tannin (tannic acid) were used as sole carbon source. All ...

The asexual filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger is an important industrial cell factory for citric acid production. In this study, we genetically characterized a UV-generated A. niger mutant that was originally isolated as a nonacidifying mutant, which is a desirable trait for industrial enzyme production. Physiological analysis showed that this mutant did not secrete large amounts of citric a...

Developing countries have a high prevalence of diabetes and their populations are suffering from associated adverse factors. Such a frequency requires more effective diagnosis, mostly achieved by glucose diagnostic kits. Although high priced kits are available in market but local production of such kits can be highly cost effective and may confer the decline in incidence of the disease. Glucose...