Profiling of Antifungal Activities and In Silico Studies of Natural Polyphenols from Some Plants

A worldwide increase in the incidence of fungal infections, emergence of new fungal strains, and antifungal resistance to commercially available antibiotics indicate the need to investigate new treatment options for fungal diseases. Therefore, the interest in exploring the antifungal activity of medicinal plants has now been increased to discover phyto-therapeutics in replacement to conventional antifungal drugs. The study was conducted to explore and identify the mechanism of action of antifungal agents of edible plants, including Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinnamomum tamala, Amomum subulatum, Trigonella foenumgraecum, Mentha piperita, Coriandrum sativum, Lactuca sativa, and Brassica oleraceae var. italica. The antifungal potential was assessed via the disc diffusion method and, subsequently, the extracts were assessed for phytochemicals and total antioxidant activity. Potent polyphenols were detected using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and antifungal mechanism of action was evaluated in silico. Cinnamomum zeylanicum exhibited antifungal activity against all the tested strains while all plant extracts showed antifungal activity against Fusarium solani. Rutin, kaempferol, and quercetin were identified as common polyphenols. In silico studies showed that rutin displayed the greatest affinity with binding pocket of fungal 14-alpha demethylase and nucleoside diphosphokinase with the binding affinity (Kd, −9.4 and −8.9, respectively), as compared to terbinafine. Results indicated that Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Cinnamomum tamala exert their antifungal effect possibly due to kaempferol and rutin, respectively, or possibly by inhibition of nucleoside diphosphokinase (NDK) and 14-alpha demethylase (CYP51), while Amomum subulatum and Trigonella foenum graecum might exhibit antifungal potential due to quercetin. Overall, the study demonstrates that plant-derived products have a high potential to control fungal infections.

REVIEW ON STATUS OF LARGE CARDAMOM (AMOMUM SUBULATUM ROXB.) PRODUCTION AND MARKETING IN NEPAL

Large cardamom is the major spices crop and an export potential high value crop. Nepal is the largest producer of large cardamom. The review study focuses on the status of the production, marketing, exports and constraints in the large cardamom cultivation in Nepal. The production of the large cardamom is found to be increasing but the productivity was in decreasing trend. The varieties are under the process of registration. The most of the marketing channel is the exporting channel and India is the primary market of export. Some of the value addition processes are missing during processing of the crop. Price volatility and lack of proper technical knowledge are the major constraints observed in the production and trade. Other problems like improper planting material, traditional curing process, susceptible to viral diseases, high custom tariffs and trade taxes in some countries are also the observed problems. Producing of the product with quality standard through technical training and workshop from public and private sector can help in uplifting the large cardamom status of the country.

Prevalence of insect pests in large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) and evaluation of bio-rationals for the management of major pests under organic agro-ecosystem of Sikkim

Large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) is one of the important cash crops of Sikkim and Darjeeling areas of West Bengal. In this study, a fixed plot survey on insect pests of large cardamom was conducted and found that stem borer (Glyphipterix spp., Lepidoptera: Glyphiperidae), shoot fly (Merochlotops dimorphus Cherian, Diptera: Chlororpidae), leaf eating caterpillar (Artona chorista Jordon, Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae) and tea mosquito bug (Helopeltis theivora Waterhouse, Hemiptera: Miridae) are the major pests of the crop. Eco-friendly organic treatments like neem-based oil, petroleum-derived horticultural oil, spinosad and different formulations of entomopathogens were tested against these major insects. Among all, application of spinosad 45 SC @ 0.3 ml L-1 was found effective followed by neem-based oil (Azadirachtin 0.15% EC) 1500 ppm @ 3 ml L-1 at three different time intervals (first application in February-March, second application in June-July and third application in October-November) against all insects. Moreover, entomopathogenic bio-control agents (Bacillus thuringiensis @ 2 ml L-1, Metarhizium anisopliae@ 5 ml L-1 and Beauveria bassiana @ 5 ml L-1) were on par with neem-based oil for the management of stem borer. Considering the economic importance of the crop and absence of valid technology for management of insect pests in large cardamom through organic options, application of either of them could be helpful in organic management of insect pests in Sikkim.

APOPTOSIS INDUCTION OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF AMOMUM SUBULATUM ROXB. IN HELA CELL LINES

Deficiency in apoptosis is one of the key factors that plays a pivotal role in cancer cell growth and proliferation. A procedure used in the treatment of cancer is the triggering of apoptosis in cancer cells. The current study aims to investigate the anticancer property of ethanolic extract of Amomum subulatum Roxb. against HeLa cell line. The MTT 3-(4, 5-di-methylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide assay is the quantitative cytotoxicity assay used, maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value was selected as the cytotoxicity parameter. The IC50 value of A. subulatum Roxb. extract is 62.5 μg/ mL and for 5-fluorouracil it is 7.8 μg/mL which indicates anticarcinogenic properties against HeLa cells. The apoptotic morphological changes in HeLa cells were observed using an inverted microscope and changes in HeLa cells were noticed after treatment with 62.5 mg/mL of ethanolic extracts, followed by acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining. The induction of apoptosis by extract of A. subulatum Roxb. was determined using the DNA fragmentation study. The results of the DNA fragmentation study, which exhibits prototypical intrinsic apoptotic characterization, also included fragmentation of nuclear DNA. We also found that the expression of Bcl2 and p53 mRNA were measured using RT-PCR. Overall, the current study results suggest that the

PRODUCTION ECONOMICS AND MARKETING OF LARGE CARDAMOM (AMOMUM SUBULATUM ROXB.) IN CHAINPUR, SANKHUWASABHA, NEPAL

A study on production economics and marketing of Large cardamom in Chainpur, Sankhuwasabha was conducted from December 2018 to June 2019. Altogether 60 farmers were selected randomly from the PMAMP Cardamom command area of Chainpur municipality of Sankhuwasabha. Besides, 12 traders were also selected. A focus group discussion, key informants interview (KII) and direct observations were carried out to generate primary data along with Household survey with the use of semi-structured pre-tested interview schedule for the study. The secondary data were collected from literature like reports and publications of different institutions. The yield of cardamom in the study area has fallen now by more than 50% than the maximum realized yield to 220 kg ha-1. Cardamom was found to be labor intensive in the study area. Coupled with low market price and low productivity, many farmers felt a loss. However, economic analysis of the area indicated the cardamom farming is profitable. The sensitivity analysis with 20% decrease in price also found the farming to be profitable and viable. The farming is labor intensive and the average annual production cost per hectare was NRs 50,124 considering hired labors only and NRs 74,358 considering both hired and family labor cost per hectare. Among many causes of decline in productivity, many farmers ranked disease as the most devastating. The monopoly of Indian marketers at Birtamod was considered as the topmost reason for price fluctuation. The study evolved the immediate need of crop management by disease control to increase production and marketing intervention for consistent price of the Large cardamom.