Micropropagation and conservation of selected endangered anticancer medicinal plants from the Western Ghats of India

Globally, cancer is a constant battle which severely affects the human population. The major limitations of the anticancer drugs are the deleterious side effects on the quality of life. Plants play a vital role in curing many diseases with minimal or no side effects. Phytocompounds derived from various medicinal plants serve as the best source of drugs to treat cancer. The global demand for phytomedicines is mostly reached by the medicinal herbs from the tropical nations of the world even though many plant species are threatened with extinction. India is one of the mega diverse countries of the world due to its ecological habitats, latitudinal variation, and diverse climatic range. Western Ghats of India is one of the most important depositories of endemic herbs. It is found along the stretch of south western part of India and constitutes rain forest with more than 4000 diverse medicinal plant species. In recent times, many of these therapeutically valued herbs have become endangered and are being included under the red-listed plant category in this region. Due to a sharp rise in the demand for plant-based products, this rich collection is diminishing at an alarming rate that eventually triggered dangerous to biodiversity. Thus, conservation of the endangered medicinal plants has become a matter of importance. The conservation by using only in situ approaches may not be sufficient enough to safeguard such a huge bio-resource of endangered medicinal plants. Hence, the use of biotechnological methods would be vital to complement the ex vitro protection programs and help to reestablish endangered plant species. In this backdrop, the key tools of biotechnology that could assist plant conservation were developed in terms of in vitro regeneration, seed banking, DNA storage, pollen storage, germplasm storage, gene bank (field gene banking), tissue bank, and cryopreservation. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to critically review major endangered medicinal plants that possess anticancer compounds and their conservation aspects by integrating various biotechnological tool

Antibacterial activity of solvent fractions of crude water decoction of apical twigs<b style=""> </b>and latex of <i style="">Calotropis procera</i> (Ait.) R. Br

30-34Water decoction of Calotropis procera (Ait.) R.Br. is reported as a purulent wound healer in Indian System of Medicine —Ayurveda. Antibacterial activity of solvent fractions derived from the crude water decoction of C. procera against pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacterial strains has been evaluated. Dried apical twigs and latex of the plant were used for getting extracts. Four solvent fractions of both the samples were tested for their antibacterial activity on eight opportunistic bacterial strains, viz. Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter aerogenes and Escherichia coli. Other pathogenic strains selected were Salmonella paratyphi A and S. typhi, and non-pathogenic strains were Bacillus subtilis and Micrococcus luteus. The disk diffusion method was used to determine the inhibitory effect of all the fractions of both the plant samples on twelve tested bacterial strains. Comparison of the inhibitory activity with already established eight antibiotics was carried out. The fractions of apical twigs of plant produced wider inhibition zones than the fractions of latex. The fractions of both the plant samples produced greatest inhibitory zone on Staphylococcus aureus one of the major wound infectious bacterial strain

Evaluation of Free Radical Scavenging Activity of an Ayurvedic Formulation, Panchvalkala

We report the free radical scavenging activity of an Ayurvedic preparation Panchvalkala and its individual components (stem bark of Ficus benghalensis, F. glomerata, F. religiosa, F. virens and Thespesia populnea). Being stem barks, these samples contain phenolics (ranging from 3.5% to 10.8% w/w) and tannins (1.6% to 7.0% w/w). This prompted us to study the free radical scavenging activity of Panchvalkala and its components which was evaluated in three in vitro models viz. 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, superoxide radical scavenging activity and reducing power assay. Panchvalkala and its individual components showed significant antiradical activity by bleaching 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (EC50 ranging from 7.27 to 12.08 µg) which was comparable to pyrogallol (EC50 4.85 µg). Thin layer chromatography of the methanol extracts when sprayed with 0.2% 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl in methanol revealed several bands with antiradical activity as seen by bleaching of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl. All the samples showed good superoxide scavenging potential (EC50 ranging from 41.55 to 73.56 µg) comparable to ascorbic acid (EC50 45.39 µg) in a dose-dependent manner. The reduction ability, Fe3+ to Fe2+ transformation was found to increase with increasing concentrations of all the sample extracts

Notes on Some Interesting Cyperaceae of Gujarat

Volume: 72Start Page: 886End Page: 88

The Australian Reproductive Genetic Carrier Screening Project (Mackenzie's Mission): Design and Implementation

Reproductive genetic carrier screening (RGCS) provides people with information about their chance of having children with autosomal recessive or X-linked genetic conditions, enabling informed reproductive decision-making. RGCS is recommended to be offered to all couples during preconception or in early pregnancy. However, cost and a lack of awareness may prevent access. To address this, the Australian Government funded Mackenzie’s Mission—the Australian Reproductive Genetic Carrier Screening Project. Mackenzie’s Mission aims to assess the acceptability and feasibility of an easily accessible RGCS program, provided free of charge to the participant. In study Phase 1, implementation needs were mapped, and key study elements were developed. In Phase 2, RGCS is being offered by healthcare providers educated by the study team. Reproductive couples who provide consent are screened for over 1200 genes associated with &gt;750 serious, childhood-onset genetic conditions. Those with an increased chance result are provided comprehensive genetic counseling support. Reproductive couples, recruiting healthcare providers, and study team members are also invited to complete surveys and/or interviews. In Phase 3, a mixed-methods analysis will be undertaken to assess the program outcomes, psychosocial implications and implementation considerations alongside an ongoing bioethical analysis and a health economic evaluation. Findings will inform the implementation of an ethically robust RGCS program.</jats:p

The Australian Reproductive Genetic Carrier Screening Project (Mackenzie&rsquo;s Mission): Design and Implementation

Reproductive genetic carrier screening (RGCS) provides people with information about their chance of having children with autosomal recessive or X-linked genetic conditions, enabling informed reproductive decision-making. RGCS is recommended to be offered to all couples during preconception or in early pregnancy. However, cost and a lack of awareness may prevent access. To address this, the Australian Government funded Mackenzie&rsquo;s Mission&mdash;the Australian Reproductive Genetic Carrier Screening Project. Mackenzie&rsquo;s Mission aims to assess the acceptability and feasibility of an easily accessible RGCS program, provided free of charge to the participant. In study Phase 1, implementation needs were mapped, and key study elements were developed. In Phase 2, RGCS is being offered by healthcare providers educated by the study team. Reproductive couples who provide consent are screened for over 1200 genes associated with &gt;750 serious, childhood-onset genetic conditions. Those with an increased chance result are provided comprehensive genetic counseling support. Reproductive couples, recruiting healthcare providers, and study team members are also invited to complete surveys and/or interviews. In Phase 3, a mixed-methods analysis will be undertaken to assess the program outcomes, psychosocial implications and implementation considerations alongside an ongoing bioethical analysis and a health economic evaluation. Findings will inform the implementation of an ethically robust RGCS program