Comparison of Antioxidant Activities of Silver Nanoparticles and Methanol Extracts of Three Indigenous Nigeria Herbal Seeds

The antioxidant of seeds was carried out using extracts from methanol and Silver Nanoparticles from the spice. The SEM shows the shapes, dispersion and agglomeration of the sample, while the EDX confirms the SEM and the presence of some compounds. The FT-IR reveals the AgNPs capping and reducing the particular biomolecule from the functional group for identification. Compounds found in the FT-IR seeds of Capsicum annum are Ag L (Silver iodide), C K (Cyanogen chloride), P K (Phenol). Monodora myristica are Mo L (Molybdenum), Ag L (Silver iodide), C K (Cyanogen chloride), P K (Phenol), Mg K (Magnesium). Piper guineense are Ag L (Silver iodide), Ci K (Potassium chloride), C K (Cyanogen chloride), P K (Phenol). The seeds show that the AgNPS of CA and MM has a better antioxidant activity than the methanol of CA and MM, while the PG methanol has a better activity than the AgNPS PG. The control (Catechin and Galic acid) has a slight overall better DPPH activity than the AgNPS. It is important to note that there is a concentration dependency in CA, MM AgNPS, PG methanol respectively. Notably, at CA methanol, the conc. at 125 was higher than the conc. at 250. Hence, there is need to create a great part in using plant samples for making tabulated or capsulated drugs for treatment of diseases and using plant silver nanoparticles to develop a healthy food/drug preservative package material “smart packaging” that will enhance shelf-life.

Modulation of Sex Expression in Four Forms of Watermelon by Gibberellin, Ethephone and Silver Nitrate

There has been no systematic research on the effect of plant growth regulators and silver nitrate treatments on the control of sex expression in watermelon. In this study, we tested sex expression responses of four watermelon forms(monoecism, gynoecism, andromonoecism,and hermaphrodite) to gibberellin, ethephon and silver nitrate treatments. Results have shown that, in monoecious plants, gibberellins(GA_3)and ethephon treatments reduced the percentage of female flowers and delayed the occurrence of the first female flower, while silver nitrate induced the formation of bisexual flowers. In gynoecious plants, both ethephon and silver nitrate treatments transformed some female flowers into bisexual flowers, and treatment with ethephon resulted in a mass of abnormal flowers, while no obvious effect of treatment with GA_3 was observed. In andromonoecious plants, ethephon and GA_3 treatments delayed the occurrence of the first bisexual flower, and GA_3 reduced the percentage of bisexual flowers, while no distinct effect for silver nitrate treatment was observed. In hermaphroditic plants, ethephon treatment induced the appearance of numerous abnormal flowers, while no obvious effects for GA_3 and silver nitrate treatments were observed.We analyzed the transcription levels of all the expressed aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase(ACS) homologues in two gynoecious mutants and their wild types. We also tested the gene expression of CitACS4 which had been recognized as the andromonoecious gene in all treatments. All these results suggested that the best masculinizing treatment for breeding of the gynoecious line is silver nitrate, which repressed the expression of CitACS4 and induced many bisexual flowers for use in self-fertilization subsequently.