The Trypanosomes of Mammals. A Zoological Monograph

Health and environmental effects of heavy metals

The use of herbal medicinal products and supplements has increased during last decades. At present, some herbs are used to enhance muscle strength and body mass. Emergent evidence suggests that the health benefits from plants are attributed to their bioactive compounds such as Polyphenols, Terpenoids, and Alkaloids which have several physiological effects on the human body. At times, manufacturers launch numerous products with banned ingredient inside with inappropriate amounts or fake supplement inducing harmful side effect. Unfortunately up to date, there is no guarantee that herbal supplements are safe for anyone to use and it has not helped to clear the confusion surrounding the herbal use in sport field especially. Hence, the purpose of this review is to provide guidance on the efficacy and side effect of most used plants in sport. We have identified plants according to the following categories: Ginseng, alkaloids, and other purported herbal ergogenics such as Tribulus Terrestris, Cordyceps Sinensis. We found that most herbal supplement effects are likely due to activation of the central nervous system via stimulation of catecholamines. Ginseng was used as an endurance performance enhancer, while alkaloids supplementation resulted in improvements in sprint and cycling intense exercises. Despite it is prohibited, small amount of ephedrine was usually used in combination with caffeine to enhance muscle strength in trained individuals. Some other alkaloids such as green tea extracts have been used to improve body mass and composition in athletes. Other herb (i.e. Rhodiola, Astragalus) help relieve muscle and joint pain, but results about their effects on exercise performance are missing.

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Herbal medicine for sports: a review

Microalgal biomass is a potential feed ingredient that can replace fishmeal and ensure sustainability standards in aquaculture. To understand the efficacy of the defatted biomass from the marine microalga, Desmodesmus sp. a 70-day feeding study was performed with Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts. Three groups of fish (av. wt. 167 g) were offered either a control feed (without the microalga) or the microalga-containing (10/20%) feeds. At the end of the feeding period, the growth indices (condition factor, specific growth rate) and survival of the microalga-fed fish were not significantly different from the respective values of the control fish, but the feed conversion ratios were inferior. The proximate composition of the whole body of salmon from the three groups did not vary significantly. Compared to the control fish, the alga-fed fish had lower lipid content (10% alga-fed fish) in their fillet. The protein and lipid digestibility in the three feeds did not differ significantly, but the digestibility of energy in the 10% alga-feed was significantly lower than that of the control feed. Furthermore, comparison of the distal intestinal proteome of Atlantic salmon revealed that the expressions of Alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein-like (Ahsg), Myosin-11 isoform X1 (My11) and Dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, mitochondrial-like (Dld) were altered by the microalgal feeding. Examination of the physiological status of the fish based on the serum antioxidant capacities did not reveal any alga-feed-related differences. Moreover, the expression of the selected immune and inflammatory marker genes and the micromorphological observations did not indicate any aberration in the intestinal health of the microalga-fed fish. It is possible to include 20% of defatted Desmodesmus sp. in the feeds of Atlantic salmon.

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Defatted Biomass of the Microalga, Desmodesmus sp., Can Replace Fishmeal in the Feeds for Atlantic salmon

In this study, the pattern of metals concentration in water, sediment, plants, and three edible fish species (Channa striata, Labeo rohita, and Catla catla) of different trophic levels, captured from Jajmau (Kanpur), an important fishery area of river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, India was examined. The heavy metals, Ni, Pb, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr, and Co, were estimated in the liver, kidney, muscles, and gill tissues of abovesaid species of fish. The highest metal concentration was reported in the bottom feeder fish as compared with the column and surface feeders. The result obtained after analysis of water sample reflects the order of occurrence of heavy metals as Fe > Cr > Pb > Ni > Cd > Zn > Cu > Co. Sediments analysis indicates high concentration of Fe and Cr, making the entire environment from top to bottom, stressful. Target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) of the three species suggest a potential risk to the health of consumers, the humans. Thus, it is inevitable that the river Ganga should be closely monitored to safeguard human health.

Biomonitoring of Heavy Metals in River Ganga Water, Sediments, Plant, and Fishes of Different Trophic Levels

Despite heavy investments and a number of government schemes, deterioration in water quality of river Ganga and its tributaries is an issue of serious concern. Among all the cities, thriving on Ganga, Kanpur is considered to add maximum pollution in the river. In the present study, water samples were collected seasonally from nine selected sites within the middle stretch of river Ganga from Haridwar to Kanpur. The velocity, temperature, pH, alkalinity, hardness, dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were analyzed during winter (November–January), summer (March–June) and monsoon (July–September) season from November 2016 to September 2017 along with heavy metal analysis of water and sediment samples of the winter season. The levels of Cr, Cu, Cd and Pb were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Water quality was evaluated by water quality index (WQI) using BIS and WHO standards. The WQI values showed good water quality at Haridwar site (  100) which renders it highly unfit for human consumption and survival of some fish species because of low DO value (4.65 ± 1.08 mg L−1) and high values of pH (8.82 ± 0.10), alkalinity (187.88 ± 8.88 mg L−1), BOD (66.64 ± 2.19 mg L−1) and COD (240.00 ± 17.33 mg L−1). WQI showed highly unsuitable water quality at all sites except control site, of which S9 (Siddhanath Ghat) was highly polluted. Lead concentration was higher at Kannauj sites while high Cr was observed at Siddhanath Ghat (S9), Kanpur. The examined metals, such as Cr, Cu, and Pb, were far above the prescribed limits of various standards.

Spatial changes in water and heavy metal contamination in water and sediment of river Ganga in the river belt Haridwar to Kanpur.

Fish species may act as suitable hosts for trypanosomes. Clarias batrachus, Channa punctatus and Wallago attu were found infected with Trpanosoma batrachi , T. aligaricus, and T. attii, The vulnerable fishes were divided into six groups: Group I Clarias batrachus (IA control, IB infected), Group II Channa punctatus (IIA control, IIB infected) and Group III Wallago attu (IIIA control, IIIB infected). Studies conducted on the total erythrocyte counts (TEC) indicate a decline in this hematological parameter in all B Group fishes, maximum fall (33.19%) being recorded in C. punctatus infected with T. aligaricus. Abnormal erythrocyte cells (vacuolated and punctuated erythrocytes, macrocytes and enucleated erythrocytes showing karyorrhexis) were also encountered in infected blood. The parasites reside in the host blood and depend upon their hosts for their metabolic activities. The parasites may produce haemolytic factors and decrease the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood causing erythropenia.

Erythropenia in piscine trypanosomiasis

During 39 months of sampling, the prevalence of apicomplexan parasites (Haemoproteus and Plasmodium) was studied in Columba livia Gmelin of Rohilkhand region, UP, India, according to the sex of the host, different seasons and host localities. Out of 266 pigeons sampled, 148 pigeons were positive for Haemoproteus at a prevalence of 55.63%. Only 18 pigeons (2.67%) had a dual Haemoproteus and Plasmodium infection and 130 pigeons (48.87%) had Haemoproteus infection. No pigeons were positive for Plasmodium alone. Parasite incidence in relation to the sex of the host indicated a higher infestation in females (62.79%) as compared to males (57.65%). The overall highest infectivity of parasites was recorded during the summer season (82.85%) followed by spring season (59.37%) and least in the winter season (42.30%). It was also observed that Haemoproteus occurred at diverse infectivity in C. livia from different localities (Badaun 51.35%, Bareilly 57.14%, and Shajahanpur 58.06%) whereas Plasmodium was recorded at 11.18% only from Bareilly. The intensity of the parasite was highest (2.77/100 RBC) at Shahjahanpur.

Distribution pattern of apicomplexan parasites (Sporozoa: Haemosporida) in Columba livia, Gmelin.

Parapharyngodon hemidactylii n. sp. (Nematoda : Oxyuridae) from the rectum of the Indian wall lizard Hemidactylus flaviviridis (n=359) is described. The parasite occurred at 79.10% (Prevalence) and 5 par/host (Mean intensity). It is compared critically with the earlier reported species based on its taxo-metric assessment. The differences in smaller size of male and female worm [male : 0.755 (0.47–0.96); female : 3.47 (2.47–4.05)], position of vulva [1.44 (1.20–1.7), tail measurements [male : 0.065 (0.01–0.09); female : 0.11 x 0.063 (0.075–0.135 x 0.045–0.10)], absence of caudal papillae and oval shaped eggs of the nematode from H. flaviviridis merits new species status.

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Neelima Gupta

Papers

Biomonitoring of Heavy Metals in River Ganga Water, Sediments, Plant, and Fishes of Different Trophic Levels

Spatial changes in water and heavy metal contamination in water and sediment of river Ganga in the river belt Haridwar to Kanpur.

Erythropenia in piscine trypanosomiasis

Distribution pattern of apicomplexan parasites (Sporozoa: Haemosporida) in Columba livia, Gmelin.

Gastro-intestinal invasion in Hemidactylus flaviviridis with a new species of Parapharyngodon (Oxyuroidea : Pharyngodonidae)