Standardization of zygotic embryo culture from Nerium oleander L. and comparative analysis of biosynthesized cardiac glycosides within in vitro and acclimatized plants

The primary result of our experiment revealed that the germination percentage of N. oleander mature seeds is only 30%. From this observation, the concept of protocol standardization for zygotic embryo culture of this plant was originated. Zygotic embryo culture was proved an efficient in vitro multiplication system of N. oleander. The maximum germination percentage (96%) of zygotic embryos was observed on ¼ MS medium with 15 gm/L sucrose, whereas the best growth medium was optimized as ½ B5 with same sucrose concentration. The second part of this study was aimed to find out the cardiac glycoside accumulation pattern in both in vitro and acclimatized plants. For this purpose, one-month-old in vitro plantlets and acclimatized plants were subjected to LC-MS analysis and 09 cardiac glycosides were detected and quantified in both the systems. Most of the cardiac glycosides including odoroside A (32.71 mg/gm DW), odoroside H (4.69 mg/gm DW) and oleandrin (0.52 mg/gm DW) were found to be accumulated at maximum level within in vitro plantlets. CG 840b (1.89 mg/gm DW) is the only cardiac glycoside, which was maximally accumulated in acclimatized plants. From this study, it can be concluded that, zygotic embryo culture is a better choice for in vitro multiplication of N. oleander when compared to matured seeds and in vitro grown plantlets of this species favor cardiac glycosides biosynthesis in comparison to acclimatized plants. Therefore, all future research on the enrichment of cardiac glycosides from this plant may be conducted on zygotic embryos derived in vitro grown plantlets or cultures.

Comparative LM, SEM and EDAX study of chalk glands on leaf and stem of two species of Plumbago Linn.

Stem and leaves of two species of PlumbagoLinn.viz. P. zeylanica Linn.andP. auriculata Lam. were investigated for the structure and chemical composition of chalk glands. Light Microscopy (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed the presence of chalk glands on both lower as well as upper surface of leaf and stem of both species. Chalk glands are abundant on lower surface and sparse on upper surface of leaf. Chalk glands are approximately hemispherical glands with oval or almost circular outline. It is composed of 8 cells arranged in two circles – central circle of 4 secretory cells and outer circle of 4 adjoining cells. Each secretory cell has depression which corresponds to pore. Each gland is surrounded by 4 subsidiary cells. No significant difference in the structure of chalk glands in both species was noticed. Chalk glands occupy three different positions with regard to epidermal cells –at the same level of the epidermis, slightly sunken in the epidermis and slightly raised above the epidermis. Common elements found in EDAX analysis of all chalk glands are carbon, oxygen, magnesium, sulphur, potassium and calcium. Differences in the presence of elements silicon, chlorine, aluminium, sodium, phosphorus were observed. The presence of significant amount of calcium in chalk glands and their dried deposits and absence of sodium and chlorine from dried deposits and even in some chalk glands appealed to use the term ‘Chalk gland’ instead of ‘Salt gland’ in Plumbago.

Response of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems in Excoecaria agallocha to salt stress

The effect of NaCl stress on antioxidant enzymes activities was investigated in the leaves of Excoecaria agallocha. Plants were subjected to different levels of NaCl. 100 to 1000 mM. Above 500 mM these mangrove seedlings did not survive. The leaves of 60 day old plants were used for the analysis of enzyme activities. Parameters of enzymatic and non enzymatic antioxidants such as catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbic acid (ASA) and alpha tocopherol were determined. The highest CAT, POD, APX, PPO and SOD activities in the leaf and root enhanced gradually up to 300 mM of NaCl, the highest ASA and tocopherol activities in the leaf and root were observed at 500 mM of NaCl. These data suggest that the capacity to limit oxidative damage is important for the salt tolerance of E. agallocha.

Effect of Phytohormones on rooting behaviour in air layers of Phoebe cooperiana, an economically important tree species of Arunachal Pradesh, India

This study reports the response of air layers of Phoebe cooperiana (Common name: Tapil) to different concentrations of rooting hormones in mid hills of Arunachal Pradesh. Ten trees between the ages of 7 and 10 were selected at Boleng village of Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India for the experiment. Eight treatments comprising of IBA and NAA at concentrations of 1000ppm, 2000ppm and 3000ppm each, Rootex hormone for semi-hardwood and control were applied to a total of 240 layers during April 2020. After 60 days, rooting percentage, mean number of roots and length of the longest root were recorded. Significant variation (p<0.05) among treatments was observed for all root parameters. Among treatments, the highest rooting percentage and mean a number of roots were obtained in layers treated with NAA 3000ppm (80% and 21.33 respectively). The length of the longest root was the highest in layers treated with NBA 2000ppm (4.23cm). The highest survival percentage of layers two months after transplanting was observed in those treated with NAA 3000ppm (54.16%) and the least in control (23.07%). The technique offers an easy and cheap method of propagation for farmers as well as for government and private agencies to enhance seedling production of the species.

Dyeing of cotton fabric by Caesalpinia sappan aqueous extract at different temperatures and mordants

The colour is one of the most important features in textile industry and customers requirements. Synthetic colours are available at affordable prices due to their bulk production. On the other hand, they pose undesirable taste (in case of foods) and harmful effects to ecosystem. The natural colours when used in textiles do not threat the environments and do not cause any skin allergy, toxicity and other hazards to living things as compared to the synthetic counterparts. In the present study, dyeing experiments were conducted with the aqueous extract of bark chips of Caesalpinia sappan at 60, 80 and100° C and using different mordant treatments. The fastness to washing for most of cotton fabrics showed fair grey scale rating. Among the mordants Alum, CuSo4 and Myrobalan used, the natural mordant myrobalan showed poor fastness properties compared to other two mordants. The staining tests showed that most of fabrics exhibited only slight/completely no pilling in majority of the treatments.

Biochemical composition, nutritional analysis and antioxidant activity of Buchanania lanzan Spreng fruits

Buchanania lanzan Spreng belongs to the family Anacardiaceae. The primary focus of this study was to examine phytochemical, proximate, antioxidant property and GCMS evaluation of unripe and ripen fruit of B. lanzan Spreng. The phytochemical studies showed that alkaloids, phenols, flavones, saponins, coumarins, glycosides and tannins are present in both ripen and unripe fruits. The proximate evaluation confirmed that crude fat (14.5%) and protein (6.37±0.69 g/100g) is high in ripen fruit. In unripe fruit (11.3%) crude fat and protein (4.11%) is less percent. The carotenoid (5.58 ± 0.5 mg/100g) and catalase (0.226±0.074 mg/100g) activity is higher in unripe fruit. The total polyphenol (6.4±0.8 mg/100g) and peroxidase (0.362±0.017 mg/100g) content show greater activity in ripen fruit. In DPPH and FRAP highest activity showed in methanol extract of ripen and unripe fruit than the other solvent. GC-MS evaluation showed many bioactive compounds present in unripe and ripen fruit. It is concluded that nutritional and bioactive ability is high in ripen and unripe fruits of B. lanzan. The fruits of B.lanzan are a good source of nutrition and medicinally important.

Biosynthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles using ginger spent and their antibacterial activity

Ginger spent is the byproduct of spice industries that remove the essential oils of ginger (Zingiber officinale) for food industry and medicinal purposes. Ginger is a well known spice used often for seasoning in Indian cuisine. The de-oiled ginger has no specific use mostly goes to waste. Hence, we utilized this industrial waste product in the efficient synthesis of silver nanoparticles with the aid of UV irradiation from a solution of 1mM silver nitrate and spent extract in the ratio 9:1. Immediate colour change from pale yellow to dark brown was noted indicating the rapid synthesis of silver nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were centrifuged, dried and well characterized. UV Vis Spectroscopy, XRD analysis, Zeta potential and SEM analysis was carried out. It was commendable that the size of the nanoparticles fell well within the upper limit of 100nm. Agar well diffusion method was used to screen the antimicrobial activity of the well characterized silver nanoparticles. They were tested against seven pathogenic strains of three gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) three gram positive bacteria(Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus faecalis) and a fungus (Candida albicans). It was seen that the zone of inhibition(ZOI) in well plate method increased on increasing the concentration of silver nanoparticles. Further studies could lead to the application of these silver nanoparticles in medicine.

Development of wound dressing film using methanolic extracts of freshwater microalgae and determining its wound healing ability

Wound healing is a complex process in which bacterial infection is a major cause for delayed wound healing. Occurrence of drug resistance among bacterial pathogens led to discovery of new antimicrobial agents from new sources. The present study aimed to identify microalgal metabolites with antibacterial activity and to develop a wound dressing film with their potential healing activity. Microalgal samples were collected from three different freshwater habitats, isolated, made them pure cultures and physico-chemical properties of water samples from the respective sampling sites were analzed. Among the three microalgal isolates, Chlorella sp. NRMC-F-0350 showed antibacterial activity against clinical isolates of E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, functional groups present in Chlorella sp. NRMC-F-0350 were identified using FTIR and GC-MS analysis. Several antibacterial compounds viz. benzoxazole, 1,2 Benzene dicarboxylic acid, sistosterol, 9-Octadecanoic acid, eicosane and hexadecane were identified. Wound dressing films were developed and showed evident antibacterial as well as significant wound healing activity (84.5%). Therefore, the developed films can be used as a potential wound dressing material.

A comprehensive evaluation of pectinase, pectinmethylesterase and pectolyase activity

Pectin polysaccharide has galacturonic acid with linear chains of α-(1–4)-linked D- galacturonic acid. Rhamnogalacturonan I pectins (RG-I) shows the existence of the repeating disaccharide 4-α-D-galacturonic acid-(1,2)-α-L- rhamnose, which acts as a backbone. Chiefly, D-galactose, L-arabinose, and D-xylose are the sugars types and its proportions of neutral sugars are varied according to the origin of pectin. Pectinase, pectinmethylesterase, and pectolyase enzymes have important applications in food, textile and agricultural industries. These enzymes play an important role in the breakdown of the central part of the plant cell wall. Pectin forms the center part of the plant cell wall. Pectins are termed as structural polysaccharide that has integrity for the steadiness of the plant cell wall. Citrate buffer of molarity 0.1 utilized to verify optimal pH along with temperature, for standardising enzyme activity of pectinase, pectolyase, and pectinmethylesterase by the dinitrosalicylic acid reagent method. Confirmatory check of enzyme’s activity was performed on plant leaves dried particles. Impact of catechin presence in enzyme reaction was too studied. Results delve into degradation of the plant polysaccharide by applying these enzymes. An increase in the monosaccharide galacturonic acid quantity was also significant. The highest release of the polyphenols was found due to pectolyase followed by pectinmethylesterase and pectinase. Pectinmethylesterase effect showed the maximum release of the flavonoids followed by pectinase and pectolyase which was remarkable.

Genetic status of Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. (Indian pennywort): A review

In recent years, demand for medicinal plants increased due to the rise in attraction towards herbal products which are safer compared to modern drugs. Centella asiatica (L.) Urb is known as an important medicinal plant in herbal medicinal systems. It also used as an active ingredient for many products in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. So far, review on this plant concerns mainly on medicinal, cosmetology and photochemical works reported. This review presents the genetic studies conducted in this herb along with a mention on conservation. Since documenting and studying genetic variation and its composition has an important connection for the understanding of evolution and improving the conservation of this species.