Inulin as a heterogeneous blend of fructose polymers is diversely found in nature primarily as storage carbohydrates in plants. Besides, inulin is believed to induce certain techno-functional and associated properties in food systems. Inulin owing to its foam forming ability has been successfully used as fat replacer in quite a wide range of products as dairy and baked products. Furthermore, it is known to impart certain nutritional and therapeutic benefits that extend apart to improve health and reduce the risk of many lifestyle related diseases. Additionally, as a functional ingredient, Inulin has been adopted in various efficacy studies involving animal and human studies to function as a prebiotic, in promoting good digestive health, influencing lipid metabolism and has some beneficial roles in ensuring optimum levels of glucose and insulin. This review article is an attempt to present a comprehensive overview on both techno-functional and therapeutic potential of inulin.

Functional and therapeutic potential of inulin: A comprehensive review

Pesticides and herbicides gained popularity due to a strong need to curb the starvation of billions of humans. Glyphosate is the most commonly used herbicide and was considered to be non-toxic. But its use in excess in agricultural lands has polluted soils and waters. Nowadays, glyphosate residues are found in soil, water and food. As a result glyphosate causes severe acute and chronic toxicological effects. We review toxicological effects of glyphosate and metabolites on organisms of the kingdom animalia, both unicellular and multicellular organisms. Adverse effects on unicellular organisms have been established in many experiments. For instance, glyphosate has reduced the rate of photosynthesis in Euglena, has decreased the radial growth of mycorrhizal fungal species and is also reducing the profusion of certain bacteria present in rhizospheric microbial communities. Glyphosate poses serious threat to multicellular organisms as well. Its toxicological effects have been traced from lower invertebrates to higher vertebrates. Effects have been observed in annelids (earthworms), arthropods (crustaceans and insects), mollusks, echinoderms, fish, reptiles, amphibians and birds. Toxicological effects like genotoxicity, cytotoxicity, nuclear aberration, hormonal disruption, chromosomal aberrations and DNA damage have also been observed in higher vertebrates like humans.

Glyphosate toxicity for animals

Glyphosate has emerged as the most widespread herbicide to control annual and perennial weeds. Massive use of glyphosate for decades has resulted in its ubiquitous presence in the environment, and poses a threat to humans and ecosystem. Different approaches such as adsorption, photocatalytic degradation, and microbial degradation have been studied to break down glyphosate in the environment. Among these, microbial degradation is the most effective and eco-friendly method. During its degradation, various microorganisms can use glyphosate as a sole source of phosphorus, carbon, and nitrogen. Major glyphosate degradation pathways and its metabolites have been frequently investigated, but the related enzymes and genes have been rarely studied. There are many reviews about the toxicity and fate of glyphosate and its major metabolite, aminomethylphosphonic acid. However, there is lack of reviews on biodegradation and bioremediation of glyphosate. The aims of this review are to summarize the microbial degradation of glyphosate and discuss the potential of glyphosate-degrading microorganisms to bioremediate glyphosate-contaminated environments. This review will provide an instructive direction to apply glyphosate-degrading microorganisms in the environment for bioremediation.

Recent advances in glyphosate biodegradation

Phytochemical, antioxidant and mineral composition of hydroalcoholic extract of chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) leaves.

The widespread insecticide resistance raises concerns for vector control implementation and sustainability particularly for the control of the main vector of human malaria, Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto. However, the extent to which insecticide resistance mechanisms interfere with the development of the malignant malaria parasite in its vector and their impact on overall malaria transmission remains unknown. We explore the impact of insecticide resistance on the outcome of Plasmodium falciparum infection in its natural vector using three An. gambiae strains sharing a common genetic background, one susceptible to insecticides and two resistant, one homozygous for the ace-1R mutation and one for the kdr mutation. Experimental infections of the three strains were conducted in parallel with field isolates of P. falciparum from Burkina Faso (West Africa) by direct membrane feeding assays. Both insecticide resistant mutations influence the outcome of malaria infection by increasing the prevalence of infection. In contrast, the kdr resistant allele is associated with reduced parasite burden in infected individuals at the oocyst stage, when compared to the susceptible strain, while the ace-1R resistant allele showing no such association. Thus insecticide resistance, which is particularly problematic for malaria control efforts, impacts vector competence towards P. falciparum and probably parasite transmission through increased sporozoite prevalence in kdr resistant mosquitoes. These results are of great concern for the epidemiology of malaria considering the widespread pyrethroid resistance currently observed in Sub-Saharan Africa and the efforts deployed to control the disease.

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Insecticide resistance alleles affect vector competence of Anopheles gambiae s.s. for Plasmodium falciparum field isolates.

Ameliorating effect of chicory (Chichorium intybus L.) fruit extract against 4-tert-octylphenol induced liver injury and oxidative stress in male rats.

Opencast lignite mines, pit-head thermal power plants, and other associated industries in the Neyveli mining and industrial complex generate huge quantities of solid and liquid wastes that are contaminated with heavy metals. Some of these are toxic or carcinogenic at sufficient concentrations. Copper, Zn, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cd, Cr, Co, Pb, and Hg concentrations in surface water in the study area are from 2 to 1200 times higher than average concentrations in river water worldwide. Heavy metal contamination in the natural reservoirs (Peria, Kolakudi, Walaza, and Perumal Ponds, and the Paravannar River) is mainly due to the discharge of untreated mine water, fly-ash pond water, and effluents from associated industries. These waters have long been used for bathing, washing, animal watering, etc. Untreated mine and industrial waste water, and natural reservoir water have been used by nearby villagers for irrigation for the last four decades, which may have led to deterioration of soils, surface water, and groundwater. Heavy metal analyses of mine water, fly-ash pond and industrial effluents and the natural reservoirs reveals that Co, Cr, and Hg are above the recommended irrigation water quality standards in 17%, 75%, and 100% of the samples, respectively. Most samples were within the permissible limits for Mn, Ni, and Fe, while Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu were within the limits in all samples. At elevated concentrations, toxic metals like Cr, Co, and Hg can accumulate in soils and enter the food chain, leading to serious health hazards and threatening the long-term sustainability of the local ecosystem.

Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in Surface Water Bodies and its Suitability for Irrigation around the Neyevli Lignite Mines and Associated Industrial Complex, Tamil Nadu, India

Pyrethroids are synthetic organic compounds synthesized from chrysanthemum flowers that are used extensively as household and commercial insecticides. The keto-alocoholic esters of chrysanthemic and pyrethroic acid being lipophilic are responsible for its insecticidal properties. Pyrethroids are broadly classified into first and second generation pyrethroids. The first generation (Type 1) pyrethroids are less toxic to mammals than the second generation (Type II) pyrethroids. Mainly Type II pyrethroids cause paresthesia, which is characterized by transient burning/tingling/itching sensation of the exposed skin. Also, it has been suggested that some pyrethroids cause developmental neurotoxicity, but available evidence has been judged to be insufficient. While some pyrethroids have been shown to cause tumors in rodent models, the tumor induction does not appear to reflect a common carcinogenic endpoint for this particular subset of compounds. Deltamethrin is an alpha-cyano pyrethroid insecticide used extensively in pest control. Although initially thought to be least toxic, a number of recent reports showed its toxicity in mammalian and non-mammalian laboratory and wildlife animal species. The article sheds light on deltamethrin induced various toxicities during acute and chronic exposure in different species.

https://www.entomoljournal.com/archives/2014/vol2issue6/PartB/43-855.pdf

Systematic review on pyrethroid toxicity with special reference to deltamethrin

The composition and the organization of soil are changing rapidly by the diverged mankind activities, leading to the contamination of environment. Several methods are employed to clean up the environment from these kinds of contaminants, but most of them are costly and ineffective to yield optimum results. Phytoremediation is a natural green technology, which is eco-friendly for the removal of toxic metals from the polluted environment. Phytoremediation is a cost-effective technique through which the cleanup of contaminated soil laced with heavy metals is performed by wild weeds and small herbal plants. The phytoremediation technique provides a promising tool for hyperaccumulation of heavy metals; arsenic, lead, mercury, copper, chromium, and nickel, etc., by the wild weeds and that has been discussed here in detail in case of Cannabissativa, Solanum nigrum and Rorippa globosa. In general, weeds that have the intrinsic capacity to accumulate metals into their shoots and roots, have the ability to form phytochelates and formation of stable compound with ions. This behavior of accumulation along with chelate and stable compound formation is utilized as a tool for phytoremediation activity.

/pdf/comparative-assessment-for-hyperaccumulatory-and-43zxr4kdzi.pdf

Anand Mohan

Papers

Glyphosate toxicity for animals

Ameliorating effect of chicory (Chichorium intybus L.) fruit extract against 4-tert-octylphenol induced liver injury and oxidative stress in male rats.

Heavy Metal Pollution Assessment in Surface Water Bodies and its Suitability for Irrigation around the Neyevli Lignite Mines and Associated Industrial Complex, Tamil Nadu, India

Systematic review on pyrethroid toxicity with special reference to deltamethrin

Comparative assessment for hyperaccumulatory and phytoremediation capability of three wild weeds