• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.279-289
• /
• 2012

This study conducted a comparative analysis of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the Fosu and Benya lagoons in Ghana, based on the anthropogenic effect on the two lagoons. Salinity, oxygen, temperature, conductivity, turbidity and pH were measured, invertebrate richness and species densities were determined. The AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI) and multivariate statistics were used to determine the different responses of fauna to pollution. The fauna were categorized into five ecological groups based on the degree of tolerance of the different species to pollution: disturbance-sensitive species; disturbance-indifferent species, disturbance-tolerant species, second-order opportunistic species; and first-order opportunistic species. The Fosu Lagoon supported more pollution tolerant species, whereas the Benya Lagoon had more species that were sensitive to organic enrichment under relatively unpolluted conditions. Chironomus sp., which is adapted to virtually anoxic conditions, was the most abundant in the Fosu Lagoon whereas Nemertea sp. was the most abundant in the Benya Lagoon. The numerical and relative abundance (%) of all 7 taxa in the Fosu Lagoon was 1,359 and 92.35%, respectively. The numerical and relative abundance (%) of all 34 taxa in the Benya Lagoon was 2,459 and 87.52%, respectively. Expectedly, the level of dissolved oxygen in the less saline Fosu Lagoon was higher than that in the more saline Benya Lagoon. The reduced photoperiod and photosynthetic activities of aquatic plants might account for this trend. There is a need to implement comprehensive monitoring and management initiatives for sustaining the ecological health of coastal lagoons in Ghana in order to support the many people that depend upon these ecosystems for their livelihood.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.290-293
• /
• 2007

Cassumunar ginger (Zingiber montanum Roxb.) was grown in the experimental field at the Department of Horticulture, Kasetsart University, Thailand. The antioxidant activity and volatile oil content of rhizomes of varying age were measured. Antioxidant activity as determined using the DPPH (diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) method differed significantly between samples of different ages. Antioxidant activity and rhizome age were positively correlated, with 22-month old rhizomes showing the highest radical scavenging activity (79.19%). Volatile oil was obtained by steam distillation of fresh rhizomes. The extraction yield of volatile oil was highest in l6-month old rhizomes (13.02 mL/kg). GC-FID data indicated the presence of three major compounds, sabinene, terpinen-4-ol and (E)-1-(3',4'-dimethylphenyl) butadiene (DMPBD), however none of the major components were correlated with the age of rhizome.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.38-46
• /
• 2011

In this study, we investigated maximum yield of radical scavenging activity (RSA) using each of various extraction solvents and procedure from noni friut (Morinda citrifolia). Noni fruits were either sun-dried (FS) or hot-air dried (FO) at $60^{\circ}C$ after steam blanching. For optimum aqueous extraction, noni fruits should be sun dried and autoclave extraction time should not be over 30 min to produce extraction with high RSA with low cost. In case of 50% ethanol extraction, reflux extracts of FS and FO resulted in $IC_{50}$ of 1.92 mg/mL and 3.06 mg/mL at 8 hr. When $IC_{50}$ values were lower than 5 mg/mL, coefficient of correlation was 0.71 indicating that 71% of the phenolic antioxidants in noni fruits were accounted for the activity by scavenging free DPPH. However, coefficient of correlation significantly decreased to 0.63 over $IC_{50}$ values of 5 mg/mL. Autoclave extraction contained chlorogenic acid of $14.69 \;{\mu}g/mL$ and scopoletin of $3.86 \;{\mu}g/mL$. Reflux extraction showed all three compounds, chlorogenic acid ($26.19 \;{\mu}g/mL$), quercetin ($19.59 \;{\mu}g/mL$), and scopoletin ($17.4 \;{\mu}g/mL$). Therefore, the result of this study indicated that the potential antioxidant activities and functional values were obtained significantly with reflux extraction from noni fruit.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.262-266
• /
• 2005

Soybean has been favored by many Thai people and it has been prepared by numerous different methods. Collected samples are as follows: Thua-nao paste from Chiangrai province, dried Thua-nao for Jatujak Market, Bangkok, 3 types of commercial soybean paste, soybean sauce and 2 types of fermented soybean curd cakes with other ingredients. Moisture contents of fresh and dried Thua-nao were 68.5 and $7.6\%$, respectively; therefore the shelf-life of dried Thua-nao can be extended to 1 year with proper packaging. The remainder of the soy foods had moisture contents of 55.4 to $64.4\%$. Fat contents of fresh and dried Thua-nao were 7.4 and $19.7\%$, respectively, whereas other samples contained less than $3\%$. Dried Thua-nao had the highest CHO (carbohydrates) content $(37.4\%);$ in contrast, soybean sauce contained only $4.5\%$. Calcium content was highest in dried Thua-nao followed by fresh Thua-nao; the other fermented soy foods had less than 44.7 mg/l00 g. Salt was added to samples other than Thua-nao resulting in high Na contents. Free and total daidzein contents of dried Thua-nao were 355 and 676 ug/g; similarly free and total genistein contents were 293 and $616.5\;\mug/g$, respectively.