Studies on the evaluation of different sources of proteins, carbohydrates and mineral requirements for juvenile penaeid prawn Penaeus Indicus H. Milne Edwards

In India, directed research on penaeid prawn nutrition was taken up only recently when the aquaculture of prawns gained momentum. One of the important penaeid prawns sought for culture and has great potential is Penagus indiggs, H.Milne Edwards. The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute working on different aspects of culture of this species over the past one and half decades, has developed a hatchery technology for mass production of its seed and has suggested several improvements on its farming in the grow-out systems. One of the areas of active research in this direction has been on the nutrition of the species with a view to develop suitable feed not only for hatchery production of seed, but also in the field culture. As part of this investigation, the present study, on the evaluation of different protein and carbohydrate sources and mineral requirements for the juvenile E, indicus was taken up and the results obtained are embodied in the thesis

Modelling of Geochemical Processes in Mangrove Ecosystem

The mangrove ecosystem is one of the earth’s most endangered ecosystems. In this study, geochemical features of three mangrove ecosystems, Mangalavanam, Vypeen and Nettoor were compared. Water, sediment and core samples were collected from these stations for a period of one year. Nutrients, organic compounds orgnic carbon and hydrographical parameters of the samples were estimated. The present study revealed higher concentration of carbon in the surface sediments. The major temporary or ultimate sink for various pollutants in estuaries is the sedimentary reservoir, including intertidal areas. In the present study, higher values for dissolved nutrients, POC and carbohydrates were observed during low tide.

Studies on Lactic Acid Bacteria from Tropical Fish and Shellfish

In this study, an attempt has been made to gather enough information regarding lactic acid bacteria from fish and shellfish of tropical regions. The occurrence and distribution of lactic acid bacteria in fresh and frozen marine fish and shellfish, farmed fish and shellfish, cured and pickled fish and shellfish have been investigated. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) have for centuries been responsible for the fermentative preservation of many foods. They are used to retard spoilage and preserve foods through natural fermentations. They have found commercial applications as starter cultures in the dairy, baking, meat, fish, and vegetable and alcoholic beverage industries. They are industrially important organisms recognized for their fermentative ability as well as their nutritional benefits. These organisms produce various compounds such as organic acids, diacetyl, hydrogen peroxide and bacteriocins or bactericidal proteins during lactic fermentations.Biopreservation of foods using bacteriocin producing LAB cultures is becoming widely used. The antimicrobial effect of bacteriocins and other compounds produced during fermentation of carbohydrates are well known to inhibit the growth of certain food spoiling bacteria as well as a limited group of food poisoning and pathogenic bacteria LAB like Lactobacillus plantarum are widely used as starter cultures for the Production of fish ensilage. The present study is the first quantitative and qualitative study on the occurrence and distribution of lactic acid bacteria in fresh and frozen fish and prawn. It is concluded that Lactobacillus plantaruni was the predominant lactobacillus species in fresh and frozen fish and shellfish. The ability of selected Lactobacillus cultures to grow at low temperatures, high salt content, produce bacteriocins, rapidly ferment sugars and decrease the pH make them potential candidates for biopreservation of fish and shellfish.

Investigations on the preparation of composite polysaccharide films and micro / nanoparticles for novel applications

chemical Sciences and Technology Division, National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, CSIR

Effect of Dietary Proteins on Growth, Food Conversion and Digestive Enzyme Activity of Juvenile Macrobrachium Rosenbergii

School of Industrial Fisheries, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Marine yeasts as source of single cell protein and immunostimulant for application in penaeid prawn culture systems

The study revealed the potential of marine yeasts as a source of single cell protein and immunostimulant for prawns. Prawns fed with the selected marine yeasts were showing more growth compared to the control feed and commercial feed. Yeasts being rich with proteins, vitamins and carbohydrates serve as a growth promoter for prawns as being evidenced in this study. The better performance of marine yeasts, D. hansenii S8 and S100 and C. tropicalis S186 compared to S. cerevisiae S36 as a feed supplement is worth investigating. Besides being a rich nutritional source, yeasts act as immunostimulants by virtue of its high carbohydrate (Beta, 1-3 glucan) and RNA content. Beta, 1-3 glucan, a cell wall component of yeasts /fungi is the most commonly used immunostimulant in aquaculture. The present study shows that even the whole cell yeast could serve as a good immunostimulant when supplied through diet. Extraction of Beta-1,3 glucan results in the removal of nutrients like proteins, vitamins etc. from the cell biomass.Utilization of the yeast biomass as such in the diet would help perform a dual role as nutritional component and immunostimulant for aquaculture applications.

Design and Development of Instrumentation Systems to determine the Dry Rubber Content in Natural Rubber Latex

Hevea latex is a natural biological liquid of very complex composition .Besides rubber hydrocarbons,it contains many proteinous and resinous substances,carbohydrates,inorganic matter,water,and others.The Dry Rubber Content (DRC) of latex varies according to season, tapping system,weather,soil conditions ,clone,age of the tree etc. The true DRC of the latex must be determined to ensure fair prices for the latex during commercial exchange.The DRC of Hevea latex is a very familiar term to all in the rubber industry.It has been the basis for incentive payments to tappers who bring in more than the daily agreed poundage of latex.It is an important parameter for rubber and latex processing industries for automation and verious decesion making processes.This thesis embodies the efforts made by me to determine the DRC of rubber latex following different analytical tools such as MIR absorption,thermal analysis.dielectric spectroscopy and NIR reflectance.The rubber industry is still Looking for a compact instrument that is accurate economical,easy to use and environment friendly.I hope the results presented in this thesis will help to realise this goal in the near future.

Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio Optimization and Periphyton Development on the Production and Sustainability of Penaeus Monodon(Fabricius)in Extensive Culture System

Controlling the inorganic nitrogen by manipulating carbon / nitrogen ratio is a method gaining importance in aquaculture systems. Nitrogen control is induced by feeding bacteria with carbohydrates and through the subsequent uptake of nitrogen from the water for the synthesis of microbial proteins. The relationship between addition of carbohydrates, reduction of ammonium and the production of microbial protein depends on the microbial conversion coefficient. The carbon / nitrogen ratio in the microbial biomass is related to the carbon contents of the added material. The addition of carbonaceous substrate was found to reduce inorganic nitrogen in shrimp culture ponds and the resultant microbial proteins are taken up by shrimps. Thus, part of the feed protein is replaced and feeding costs are reduced in culture systems.The use of various locally available substrates for periphyton based aquaculture practices increases production and profitability .However, these techniques for extensive shrimp farming have not so far been evaluated. Moreover, an evaluation of artificial substrates together with carbohydrate source based farming system in reducing inorganic nitrogen production in culture systems has not yet been carried-out. Furthermore, variations in water and soil quality, periphyton production and shrimp production of the whole system have also not been determined so-far.This thesis starts with a general introduction , a brief review of the most relevant literature, results of various experiments and concludes with a summary (Chapter — 9). The chapters are organised conforming to the objectives of the present study. The major objectives of this thesis are, to improve the sustainability of shrimp farming by carbohydrate addition and periphyton substrate based shrimp production and to improve the nutrient utilisation in aquaculture systems.

Haematological responses of Penaeus monodon to environmental alterations and pathogenic invasion

This thesis Entitled Haematological responses of penaeus monodon to environmental alterations and pathogenic invasion. Thesis concluded from the present study that stress is accompanied by alterations in haemolymph metabolic variables and immune responses that influences the susceptibility of P. monodon to infection. Acute salinity variations were proved to be a stress condition that enhances the susceptibility of P. monodon to V. harveyi and WSSV infection. Ambient Cu at 0.1 mg 1" and ambient Zn at 1.0 mg 1" proved immunostimulatory in increasing the immunocompetence of P. monodon to WSSV infection and higher concentrations of Cu and Zn proved immunosuppressive. Haemolymph total protein, total carbohydrates and total lipids showed the highest relation with immune responses. THC, PO, ACP and ALP that greatly correlated with the survival rate proposed as reliable biomarkers of health in P. monodon. The study highlights the need for proper management practices and regular health monitoring to be adopted to avoid mass mortality in shrimp culture ponds.

Biochemical and Biotechnological investigations on the water-fern Salvinia molesta Mitchell

The present work is focussed mainly on the utilization of this weed-biomass on a biochemical and biotechnological basis. Before designing scientific and systematic utilization of any given biomass, the detailed analysis of its chemical componets is essential. Hence, as the preliminary part of the experimental works, samples of Salvinia were analysed for its chemical constituents.Before designing scientific and systematic utilization of any given biomass, the detailed analysis of its chemical componets is essential .The composition of the substrate contributes much to the nutritive value of mushrooms. Hence, alterations in the nutritive value of mushrooms (in terms of total carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and minerals) in response to Salvinia as substrate were analyzed.Substrate after mushroom harvest (spent substrate) can be utilized for various purposes such as cattle feed, as a source of degradative enzymes, as a substrate for other mushrooms and as garden manure. But studies are limited with regard to the utilization of Pleurotus spent substrate as garden manure. So the value of spent substrate as an organic supplement and its multidimensional impacts on soil chemical status, soil microbial population dynamics and plant growth (Amhurium andreanum) were carried out.Major findings of this work have got much relevance in designing measures to utilize different types of plant biomass, especially aquatic weeds, with the aid of a powerful biological tool, the lignocellulolytic fungus, Pleurorus

Effect of some toxic metals on selected phytoplankton of Kerala water

The extraction and use of metals has been the mainstay for the sustained development and progress of a nation. Metals, though fairly stable in the natural environment are found in trace quantities in water bodies. Attention has therefore been focused to identify the metals that impair the water quality. In the last few decades the concern about the fate of these metals in the aquatic system has been gaining momentum, particularly in the industrial belts. The disasters caused by metal poisoning in recent times have prompted an indepth study of the interaction of metals with aquatic biota. Kerala, basically an agriculture oriented state has witnessed the upsurgence of various industries as a part of the nationwide economic development programme. Cochin has been identified as the industrial capital of the state.The present study is an attempt towards a better understanding of the metal-phytoplankton interactions with special reference to the physiological changes in the species. various parameters such as temperature, salinity, pH, nutrients, number of cells, photosynthetic pigments, carbohydrates, protein and lipid are studied to highlight the complexity of metal..phytoplankton interaction

Some observations on the ecology and biochemical aspects of the seaweeds of Kerala coast

In the present thesis , observations on the ecology of seaweed flora of Kerala, their distribution and zonation pattern, monthly/seasonal density of seaweeds at each station, frequency of occurrence, standing crop, monthly/seasonal/place-wise data on physico—chemical characters of ambient waters at the stations and their influence on seaweed density have been made. This data will help us in the farming of economically important seaweeds, by providing information on the ideal conditions of seaweed biomass production. Biochemical observations on protein, carbohydrate and lipid contents of different species of nutritive value. Seaweeds with high content of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids can be recommended for food and feed formulations after subjecting them to toxicological studies. The study on monthly/seasonal/placewise variation in biochemical composition of seaweeds will provide necessary information on the appropriate time and place of harvesting the algal species for exploiting its constituents .

Studies on some aspects of the reproductive physiology of the female grey mullet mugil cephalus l.

Aquaculture is the dynamic pursuit of production of organisms from water a process analogous to agriculture on land. The field of aquaculture is an emerging bioindustry, based upon the culture and husbandry of economically utilizable aquatic organisms. Of late, there has been a global upsurge for aquaculture, the main reasons for which include the requirement of protein source for the increasing world population, the decision by various world nations to increase the fish yield by developing unutilized or partially utilized water bodies and depletion of natural stock which is evident in recent years due to excessive exploitation .The present study has been taken up on the reproductive physiology of the female grey mullet, M. cephalus. The thesis is presented in seven chapters. In the present study, variations in the major biochemical parameters namely, moisture, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates cholesterol, carotenoid, ash, calcium and iron in four tissues E. muscle, liver, ovary and bloodserum of cephalus have been analysed at different maturity stages.

Acute salinity stress alters the haemolymph metabolic profile of Penaeus monodon and reduces immunocompetence to white spot syndrome virus infection

Influence of acute salinity stress on the immunological and physiological response of Penaeus monodon to white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection was analysed. P. monodon maintained at 15‰ were subjected to acute salinity changes to 0‰ and 35‰ in 7 h and then challenged orally with WSSV. Immune variables viz., total haemocyte count, phenol oxidase activity (PO), nitroblue tetrazolium salt (NBT) reduction, alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP), acid phosphatase activity (ACP) and metabolic variables viz., total protein, total carbohydrates, total free amino acids (TFAA), total lipids, glucose and cholesterol were determined soon after salinity change and on post challenge days 2 (PCD2) and 5 (PCD5). Acute salinity change induced an increase in metabolic variables in shrimps at 35‰ except TFAA. Immune variables reduced significantly (Pb0.05) in shrimps subjected to salinity stress with the exception of ALP and PO at 35‰ and the reduction was found to be more at 0‰. Better performance of metabolic and immune variables in general could be observed in shrimps maintained at 15‰ that showed significantly higher post challenge survival following infection compared to those under salinity stress. Stress was found to be higher in shrimps subjected to salinity change to lower level (0‰) than to higher level (35‰) as being evidenced by the better immune response and survival at 35‰. THC (Pb0.001), ALP (Pb0.01) and PO (Pb0.05) that together explained a greater percentage of variability in survival rate, could be proposed as the most potential health indicators in shrimp haemolymph. It can be concluded from the study that acute salinity stress induces alterations in the haemolymph metabolic and immune variables of P. monodon affecting the immunocompetence and increasing susceptibility to WSSV, particularly at low salinity stress conditions