Seed Treatment Effects on Emergence of Luffa aegyptiaca
Luffa aegyptiaca (Luffa sponge gourd) is increasingly seen as both a source of vegetative nutrition and as a source of the “luffa” used as to exfoliate during bathing. As such, the commercial growing of Luffa aegyptiaca is increasingly being investigated using more intensive farming methods. Two factors traditionally used to promote / speed germination and emergence of vegetable seeds is investigated. It is concluded that temperature pre-treatment of the seeds (-12°C,24 hours) yields a p=0.004 significance in promoting emergence, whilst pre soaking (water, 18°C, 24hrs) yields p=0.821
Optimization of agrotechniques in the cultivation of Luffa acutangula
Germination requirements, flowering pattern, planting density and growing regimes were examined for Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. Maximum germination (50%) was obtained at 35°C, and at 8, 12, and 45°C germination was completely inhibited. Partial removal of the seed coat increased the percentage of germination while vernalization and exposure to salinity 5=50 mM NaCl reduced it. Planting season influenced flowering pattern, with significantly more female flowers being produced in spring-summer (long days and high temperatures) than in autumn-winter (short days and low temperatures). A high yield of 44.5-47.3 Mg ha 1 was obtained for plants trained on trellises at planting densities of 10,000 and 20,000 plants ha-1. Fruits kept at low temperatures showed the least deterioration during storage, a shelf life of about two weeks being demonstrated at 4°C.
Design and synthesis of water-soluble prodrugs of rifabutin for intraveneous administration.
Acinetobacter baumannii is a gram-negative bacterium causing severe hospital-acquired infections such as bloodstream infections or pneumonia. Moreover, multidrug resistant A. baumannii becomes prevalent in many hospitals. Consequently, the World Health Organization made this bacterium a critical priority for the research and development of new antibiotics. Rifabutin, a semisynthetic product from the rifamycin class, was recently found to be very active in nutrient-limited eukaryotic cell culture medium against various A. baumannii strains, including extremely drug-resistant strains, with minimal inhibitory concentrations as low as 0.008 μg/mL. Moreover, this in vitro potency translates into in vivo efficacy. Thus, rifabutin appears to be an attractive novel antibiotic against A. baumannii. In this work, our objective was to design and synthetize rifabutin prodrugs with increased aqueous solubility to allow intraveneous use. Synthetic methodologies were developed to selectively functionalize the hydroxyl group in position 21 and to afford 17 prodrugs. We measured the water solubility of the prodrugs, the stability in human and mouse plasma and their antimicrobial activity against A. baumannii after incubation in human serum. Finally, a pharmacokinetic release study of rifabutin was performed in CD1 mice with three selected prodrugs as a proof of concept.