Effectiveness and Efficiency of Monosodium Glutamate as a Potential Mutagen Inducing Polyploidy in Urginea Indica Kunth

Monosodium Glutamate is a food additive well-known as a flavor enhancer being used extensively in food industries. Also, it has long been used as a cheap source of fertilizer owing to the presence of high nitrogen contents in it. Furthermore, it also shows genotoxic effects on plants. Hence, in the present study the genotoxic properties of Monosodium Glutamate had been explored to assess its potential as a mutagen. The objective was specifically to find out its potential in inducing polyploidy in plants. For this, a medicinal plant, Urginea indica Kunth with immensely high therapeutic value was selected. The effectiveness and efficiency of Monosodium Glutamate on Urginea indica Kunth was assessed based on the records obtained after treatments in two generations, viz. M1 and M2 Generations. Its effectiveness and efficiency on Urginea indica Kunth pave a way for its use as a potential mutagen which can induce genetic variability among the selected wild species of the plants with great ease. Moreover, the higher degree of polyploidy obtained in the M2 generation established the objective of the experiment, that Monosodium Glutamate could be used with controlled, adequate dose and maintained experiment setup in inducing polyploidy in plants.

STUDIES ON THE NUMEROUS MEDICINAL UTILITIES OF THE PLANT URGINEA INDICA: A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW

Urginea indica, is an essential indigenous plant belonging to the family Liliaceae found in all parts of India on rocky and hilly areas. It is commonly known as Indian squill, True squill or Sea onion and popularly known as Bon Pollundu. A methodical literature survey from various scientific databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of science and Google Scholar was conducted and it has been reported that the plant, mainly its bulb contains varieties of bioactive constituents such as flavonoids, phytosterols, phenols, saponins, alkaloids, proteins, carbohydrates, steroids and tannins. The bulb and the rhizome also contains calcium, iron, commercial compounds, such as Bufadienolides, Quercetin, Allose, Mindererus spirit, Tartronic acid and Paraldehyde, which have a variety of health functional properties. Various scientific studies have proven that the plant has anticancer, antidiabetic, anthelmintic, analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-angiogenic, anti-arthritic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, spasmodic and cardiac stimulant activities. It also finds its use as an analgesic and in wound healing. Thus, the current review gives a comprehensive overview of the various medicinal activity of the plant Urginea indica.

Antifungal Activity in Urginea indica Kunth. (Asparagaceae)

Aqueous extract of Urginea indica kunth. (Udupi acccession) was screened for antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum, Sclerotium rolfsii, Magnaporthe orzae, Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium moniliformae by poisoned food technique. The results confirmed Urginea indica extracts showed very significant antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum and showed significant inhibition for Sclerotium rolfsii and Magnapothea orzaea it showed no activity against Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. All the activity was evaluated to determine the lowest concentration required to inhibit visible mycelial growth of the pathogen at minmum concentration. Fusarium oxysporum showed very significant inhibition in 10% concentration (Reconfirmed) while Sclerotium showed significant inhibition in 25% concentration followed by Magnoporthe oryzae. The number of sclerotia spores formed was also reduced drastically. These results show that a potential and safe antifungal agent can be obtained from Urginea.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal and Root Colonizing Dark Septate Endophyic Fungal Associations in Urginea indica and Urginea wightii Accessions

Urginea indica belongs to Hyacinthaceae family. It is also known as Indian squill, commonly called as wild Onions. The over exploitation and habitat degradation has resulted in the loss of habitat and it has caused genetic depletion and loss of genetic diversity. Immediate Measures have to be undertaken for conservation, to save this economically important medicinal plant. The present investigation is an attempt to highlight the occurance of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and Dark Septate Endophyte (DSE) fungal association found in the root bulbs of Urginea indica. 8 Accessions of Urginea was examined in Urginea indica kunth and Urginea wightii accessions, collected from various regions of Karnataka and South India. Fungal Symbiosis was present in all the accessions, with 100% root infection. Urginea has DSE fungal association and AM Association. This is the first report on the DSE fungal association in Urginea indica kunth. In addition to the prevalance of AM fungal symbiosis. The role of DSE is still in infancy. Though noclear relationship between AM and DSE fungal colonizations was recognized. Our studies suggests the coexistence of AM and DSE fungal colonizations are common terrestrial habitats especially the xerophytic environment. DSE-plant symbiosis should not be limited to nutritional uptake but mediates other parameters such as drought resistance, stress tolerance and herbivore resistance. Our results show 100% infection by AM and DSE fungal colonies. Infection levels were high throughout the year, the highest levels occurring in the most nutrient-stressed situations. Their occurrence and variaton in different accessions is discussed below.