Browsing by Author "AZIZ AHMAD"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    PRODUCTION OF TROPANE ALKALOIDS BY TRANSFORMED HAIRY ROOT CULTURES OF Datura metel
    (Journal of Sustainability Science and Management, 2007) AZIZ AHMAD; MARZIAH MAHMOOD
    There remains a need to increase alkaloid production rates to favour their commercial exploitation as the growth and production of secondary metabolites is strongly influenced by the environmental factors. Datura metel transformed hairy root obtained through infection with Agrobacteriu, rhizogenes LBA 9402, were employed for production of tropane alkaloids in vitro. The production of hyoscyamine and scopolamine by the hairy root cultures were investigated on three types of media at different ionic strength and sucrose concentrations. Roots cultured in B5 medium were observed to exhibit better growth and tropane alkaloid production compared to MS and White’s medium. The full strength of B5 medium supplemented 4% (w/v) of sucrose was yields the highest roots mass (550 mg dry wt.per flask), as well as the hyoscyamine and scopolamine which was 1.52 and 0.32mg/g dry wt.of tissue, respectively. This indicated that, mineral nutrient and sucrose play an important role in tropane alkaloids biosynthesis by hairy root cultures.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    TAXONOMICAL IDENTITY AND POLYSACCHARIDE PRODUCED BY Bacillus SPECIES ISOLATED FROM OLD AGED MEDICINAL DECOCTIONS
    (Journal of Sustainability Science and Management, 2011) TEVAN RAMANATHAN; AZIZ AHMAD; AHMAD SHAMSUDDIN AHMAD; MURUGAN KALIMUTHO
    In Malay folk medicine, bacterial broth are used in treating diseases such as sore throat and fever. However, the characterisation and identifcation of the bacterial are not know. In the present study, the bacterial broth used as a decoction in Malay folk medicine was investigated. The polysaccharide-producing bacteria were isolated and characterised based on a series of morphological and biochemical assays. A total of 14 isolates tentatively identifed as Bacillus spp. were further characterised using a PIBWin bacterial identifcation program. The identifcation revealed that the cocktail of bacteria belongs to species of Bacillus subtilis ssp. subtilis, Bacillus pumilis, Bacillus coagulans and Bacillus lincheniformis. Five out of 14 isolates, B. coagulans, B. subtilis ssp. subtilis, B. lincheniformis, and two Bacillus spp. were found to produce exo-polysaccharide under static culture conditions. B. coagulans produced the highest amount of polysaccharide followed by B. lincheniformis and B. subtilis ssp. Subtilis. Types of monosaccharide were tentatively identifed using paper chromatography. B. coagulans possesses almost all types of monosaccharides, whereas in the other strains, lactose, raffnose, galactose, glucose, mannose, xylose and/or rhamnose were identifed. The existence of monosaccharide between these isolates showed that the exopolysaccharide produced by Bacillus spp. could possibly be utilised for medicinal purposes. In addition, the identifed bacterial polysaccharide may also have a role in anti-bacterial responses to the traditional treatment approach.