Thesis Discussion
The College of Science for Women at the University of Baghdad discussed a master’s thesis titled (The Effect of Saponins, Terpenes, and Nanoparticles from the Plant Bacopa monnieri Grown in Iraq on Some Life Aspects of the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster Diptera:Drosophilidae). Presented by the student Ruwaida Abd Allah Abd Al-hussien Ali in Biology/Zoology under the supervision of Prof.Dr Soolaf Abd Kathiar: The College of Science for Women at the University of Baghdad discussed a master’s thesis titled (The Effect of Saponins, Terpenes, and Nanoparticles from the Plant Bacopa monnieri Grown in Iraq on Some Life Aspects of the Fruit Fly Drosophila melanogaster Diptera:Drosophilidae). Presented by the student Ruwaida Abd Allah Abd Al-hussien Ali in Biology/Zoology under the supervision of Prof.Dr Soolaf Abd Kathiar
The thesis focused on identifying the active compounds present in the Bacopa monnieri plant, including saponins and terpenes, and studying their effects on the stages of the fruit fly (eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults). Subsequently, these compounds were encapsulated within natural polymer chitosan nanoparticles, and their effects on the same stages were studied
The thesis included a study on the effect of these compounds on the rates of egg killing, larval killing, and pupal killing. The results showed statistically significant differences between (saponin,terpen,saponin-chitosan,terpen-chitosan)in different concentration indicating the ability of these compounds to inhibit egg hatching, prevent larvae from pupating, and produce deformed individuals unable to fly, in addition to affecting the egg-laying rate and repelling adults. The killing rates for the nanocapsules were very high compared to the alcoholic extract
The study recommended the necessity of conducting future research to discover other compounds in the Bacopa monnieri plant and to study their effects on other medical and economic insects. The study also urged the application of the effectiveness results of saponin and terpenoid extracts, as well as saponin-chitosan and terpenoid-chitosan nanocapsules, on a larger scale in agricultural farms and fields, including fruit crops (bananas and citrus) and vegetables (tomato crops), which are preferred by many insect pests, especially the fruit fly D. melanogaster.
Final grade: Excellent
