Microscopy and Microanalysis Research – The Journal of The Microscopy Society of Thailand

Effect of White Nelumbo nucifera on Rat Sperm Motility and Sperm Viability

Jiraporn Laoung-on — 2023-10-11

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn., also known as Indian lotus, is a large aquatic perennial plant with a long history of use in traditional medicine. According to reports, white N. nucifera petal extract has higher phytochemical compounds with the potential to improve sperm viability and to reduce oxidative stress compared with the red petal extract. Studies of the white N. nucifera petals on the male reproductive system are still not fully explored. This study aimed to determine how white N. nucifera petal tea affects the motility and viability of sperm in adult male rats. Four groups of eight male rats were created (n=8). The experimental groups 2-4 received various concentrations of white N. nucifera tea, while the control group (1) received distilled water. To determine sperm motility and viability, sperm suspension taken from the right caudal epididymis was examined under a light microscope. The results showed the number of motile sperm was significantly increased and the number of non-motile sperm was significantly lower in male rats given white N. nucifera tea at a dose of 0.55 mg/kg BW, when compared to the control group. However, the number of viable sperm did not differ significantly among groups. The indication of enhanced sperm motility can support the usage of white N. nucifera petal tea for improving sperm quality.

Acetylcholinesterase Activity and Brain Histology of Albino Rats Treated with Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and Kaffir Lime (Citrus hystrix DC.) Teas

Wararut Buncharoen — 2023-10-11

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix DC.) teas are popularly consumed in many countries around the world to promote health including enhancing memory. However, the effects of these two plants on acetylcholinesterase (AChE), a key enzyme involved in the development of Alzheimer’ disease, as well as the effects on brain structure, were still limited. Therefore, this research was done to investigate the possible effects of lemongrass and kaffir lime teas on AChE activity and brain histology of male rats. Eight-week-old male albino rats were randomly divided into five groups of six rats each. The first group was the normal control group, and they were orally administered dechlorinated water. The second and the third groups were received lemongrass tea (33 mg/ml) for 12 and 24 hours per day while the fourth and the fifth groups were received kaffir lime tea (33 mg/ml) for 12 and 24 hours per day. The animals in the treatment groups were given unrestricted access to the teas. After 30 days of the treatment period, all rats were euthanized by diethyl ether and their brains were collected to determine AChE activity by enzymatic spectrophotometric method and histology. The results demonstrated the significant elevation (p<0.05) of hippocampal AChE activities in all teas-treated groups when compared to the normal control group. Nevertheless, the significant increases (p<0.05) in cerebral AChE activities were found only in kaffir lime teas-treated rats when compared to the normal control rats. Histological investigation showed no alterations in the structures of hippocampus and cerebral cortex of rats treated with lemongrass and kaffir lime teas. The arrangement of neurons and neuronal morphology were normal and similar to the nervous tissues seen in the normal control group. It can be concluded that both lemongrass and kaffir lime teas were found to affect brain function by elevating AChE activities in the brain.

The Finite Element Analysis and Resin Rich Area Characterization of Spread Tow Carbon Fibre Fabrics from Synchrotron X-ray Tomographic Microscopy

Siriganya Kampanthong — 2023-10-11

The fact that most of the finite element method (FEM) on micromechanics of carbon fibre-reinforced polymers are generally constructed based on the two-dimensional image correlation obtained from optical or field emission scanning electron (FE-SEM) microscopes, interpretations of stress or strain distributions and resin-rich area characterizations are limited due to the lack of the dimensional views. To alleviate this issue, we obtained the three-dimensional structures of the spread tow carbon fibre/epoxy composites by using the synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy located at synchrotron light research institute, Thailand. For FEM analysis based on a region of interest, the materials properties of the constituents in the composites were assigned according to the X-ray spectrum contrast differences. Specifically, matrix and carbon fibre have a different material basis. Thus, the synchrotron X-ray imaging result showed different grey values, which can segregate the matrix and reinforcement region for the FEM process. The load is applied onto a side of 3D models to obtain the results in the form of maximum stress values, displacement etc. The imaging results indicated that the resin-rich areas of spread tow fabrics which are plain weaves were less than twill weaves due to the tighter weaving style and the larger crimp angle under the conditions of all spread tow fabrics which have the same fibre diameter measured by FE-SEM. It was found that stress or strain distributions are consistent with the loading experiment. Resin-rich areas were detected in volumetric values, indicating that 3D modelling from synchrotron XTM imaging results can represent the characteristics of CFRP samples. FEM results showed the effect of fabric pattern in the stress distribution and implied that mechanical properties by weight of spread tow carbon fibre reinforced polymer, STCFRP fabrics are more than commonly used CFRP fabrics. Statistical analyses of phase-contrast X-ray computed micro-tomography reveal distinctive gradients as well as localized correlations between carbon fibre and matrix phases. Based on these differences, a highly efficient algorithm for fibre tracking using statistical distributions of phase contrast has been proposed in this study.

Morphological observation of Lime (Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle) fruit with disease symptoms by microscopic techniques

Patcharee Umroong — 2023-12-31

This research aimed to morphological and ultrastructure studies of Lime peels (Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle) in citrus diseases. Therefore, the application of microscopic techniques to examine the infestation of pathogens in plants in order to gain further insights into the deterioration of cells at the cellular and subcellular level in plants showing disease symptoms are currently commonly used to characterize their morphology and ultrastructure. In this study the morphology and cellular structure were explored through cell cross section studied with compound microscopy (OM). Cellular ultrastructure was examined under transmission electron microscope (TEM). In lime showed canker symptoms cellular degeneration which has been clearly morphological demonstrated within the cell organelles of chloroplasts enlarges in area of thylakoid messy and mitochondria have vacuoles were found.