Neuroprotective Effects of Bikaverin on H2O2-Induced Oxidative Stress Mediated Neuronal Damage in SH-Sy5y Cell Line

The generation of free radicals and oxidative stress has been linked to several neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The use of free radical scavenging molecules for the reduction of intracellular reactive oxygen species is one of the strategies used in the clinical management of neurodegeneration. Fungal secondary metabolism is a rich source of novel molecules with potential bioactivity. In the current study, bikaverin was extracted from Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici and its structural characterization was carried out. Further, we explored the protective effects of bikaverin on oxidative stress and its anti-apoptotic mechanism to attenuate H2O2-induced neurotoxicity using human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Our results elucidate that pretreatment of neurons with bikaverin attenuates the mitochondrial and plasma membrane damage induced by 100 µM H2O2 to 82 and 26 % as evidenced by MTT and LDH assays. H2O2 induced depletion of antioxidant enzyme status was also replenished by bikaverin which was confirmed by Realtime Quantitative PCR analysis of SOD and CAT genes. Bikaverin pretreatment efficiently potentiated the H2O2-induced neuronal markers, such as BDNF, TH, and AADC expression, which orchestrate the neuronal damage of the cell. The H2O2-induced damage to cells, nuclear, and mitochondrial integrity was also restored by bikaverin. Bikaverin could be developed as a preventive agent against neurodegeneration and as an alternative to some of the toxic synthetic antioxidants

Molecular phylogeny, pathogenicity and toxigenicity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

The present study aimed at the molecular characterization of pathogenic and non pathogenic F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici strains isolated from tomato. The causal agent isolated from symptomatic plants and soil samples was identified based on morphological and molecular analyses. Pathogenicity testing of 69 strains on five susceptible tomato varieties showed 45% of the strains were highly virulent and 30% were moderately virulent. Molecular analysis based on the fingerprints obtained through ISSR indicated the presence of wide genetic diversity among the strains. Phylogenetic analysis based on ITS sequences showed the presence of at least four evolutionary lineages of the pathogen. The clustering of F. oxysporum with non pathogenic isolates and with the members of other formae speciales indicated polyphyletic origin of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Further analysis revealed intraspecies variability and nucleotide insertions or deletions in the ITS region among the strains in the study and the observed variations were found to be clade specific. The high genetic diversity in the pathogen population demands for development of effective resistance breeding programs in tomato. Among the pathogenic strains tested, toxigenic strains harbored the Fum1 gene clearly indicating that the strains infecting tomato crops have the potential to produce Fumonisin

Assessment of Aristolochia bracteolata leaf extracts for its biotherapeutic potential

The present study focuses on the antibacterial and antifungal activity of the medicinal plant Aristolochia bracteolata. Aqueous, methanol and chloroform extracts of this plant were evaluated against the bacterial strains Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Shigella flexneri, Proteus vulgaris and the fungal strains like Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, Penicillium notatum and Rhizopus stolonifer. Among the three extracts assessed, methanol extract was found to have the significant activity followed by the chloroform extract against certain bacteria. Water extract did not have any activity against bacteria. Antifungal activity assessment indicated that the tested fungal strains are more susceptible to aqueous extract followed by methanol extract and chloroform extract

PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EXOPOLYGALACTURONASE FROM FUSARIUM OXYSPORUM F. SP. LYCOPERSICI.

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Cytotoxic effects of oosporein isolated from endophytic fungus cochliobolus kusanoi

In the present study, oosporein, a fungal toxic secondary metabolite known to be a toxic agent causing chronic disorders in animals, was isolated from fungus Cochliobolus kusanoi of Nerium oleander L. Toxic effects of oosporein and the possible mechanisms of cytotoxicity as well as the role of oxidative stress in cytotoxicity to Madin-Darby canine kidney kidney cells and RAW 264.7 splene cells were evaluated in vitro. Also to know the possible in vivo toxic effects of oosporein on kidney and spleen, Balb/C mouse were treated with different concentrations of oosporein ranging from 20 to 200 mu M). After 24 h of exposure histopathological observations were made to know the effects of oosporein on target organs. Oosporein induced elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and high levels of malondialdehyde, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, induced glutathione hydroxylase (GSH) production was observed in a dose depended manner. Effects oosporein on chromosomal DNA damage was assessed by Comet assay, and increase in DNA damage were observed in both the studied cell lines by increasing the oosporein concentration. Further, oosporein treatment to studied cell lines indicated significant suppression of oxidative stress related gene (Superoxide dismutasel and Catalase) expression, and increased levels of mRNA expression in apoptosis or oxidative stress inducing genes HSP70, Caspase3, Caspase6, and Caspase9 as measured by quantitative real time-PCR assay. Histopathological examination of oosporein treated mouse kidney and splenocytes further revealed that, oosporein treated target mouse tissues were significantly damaged with that of untreated sam control mice and these effects were in directly proportional to the the toxin dose. Results of the present study reveals that, ROS is the principle event prompting increased oosporein toxicity in studied in vivio and in vitro animal models. The high previlance of these fungi in temperate climates further warrants the need of safe food grain storage and processing practices to control the toxic effects of oosporein to humans and live stock

Molecular phylogeny, pathogenicity and toxigenicity of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

The present study aimed at the mol. characterization of pathogenic and non pathogenic F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici strains isolated from tomato. The causal agent isolated from symptomatic plants and soil samples was identified based on morphol. and mol. analyses. Pathogenicity testing of 69 strains on five susceptible tomato varieties showed 45​% of the strains were highly virulent and 30​% were moderately virulent. Mol. anal. based on the fingerprints obtained through ISSR indicated the presence of wide genetic diversity among the strains. Phylogenetic anal. based on ITS sequences showed the presence of at least four evolutionary lineages of the pathogen. The clustering of F. oxysporum with non pathogenic isolates and with the members of other formae speciales indicated polyphyletic origin of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Further anal. revealed intraspecies variability and nucleotide insertions or deletions in the ITS region among the strains in the study and the obsd. variations were found to be clade specific. The high genetic diversity in the pathogen population demands for development of effective resistance breeding programs in tomato. Among the pathogenic strains tested, toxigenic strains harbored the Fum1 gene clearly indicating that the strains infecting tomato crops have the potential to produce Fumonisin

Molecular phylogeny, pathogenicity and toxigenicity of fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici

The present study aimed at the molecular characterization of pathogenic and non pathogenic F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici strains isolated from tomato. The causal agent isolated from symptomatic plants and soil samples was identified based on morphological and molecular analyses. Pathogenicity testing of 69 strains on five susceptible tomato varieties showed 45% of the strains were highly virulent and 30% were moderately virulent. Molecular analysis based on the fingerprints obtained through ISSR indicated the presence of wide genetic diversity among the strains. Phylogenetic analysis based on ITS sequences showed the presence of at least four evolutionary lineages of the pathogen. The clustering of F. oxysporum with non pathogenic isolates and with the members of other formae speciales indicated polyphyletic origin of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. Further analysis revealed intraspecies variability and nucleotide insertions or deletions in the ITS region among the strains in the study and the observed variations were found to be clade specific. The high genetic diversity in the pathogen population demands for development of effective resistance breeding programs in tomato. Among the pathogenic strains tested, toxigenic strains harbored the Fum1 gene clearly indicating that the strains infecting tomato crops have the potential to produce Fumonisin