STUDY ON ANTIOXIDANT AND CYTOTOXIC PROPERTIES OF OLEA DIOICA ROXB. CRUDE EXTRACT AND ITS PURE COMPOUND COLLECTED FROM WESTERN GHATS, KARNATAKA, INDIA.

Introduction: Olea dioica Roxb. an important medicinal tree plants used by local siddha tribes, belongs to the family Oleaceae. The parts such asleaves, bark, root, and fruits used in the traditional medicine to cure skin diseases, rheumatism, fever, and cancer.Objectives: The anti-oxidant experiment by metal chelating activity, superoxide radicals, hydroxyl radical, 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals,2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid radical scavenging assays with in vitro cytotoxicity was tested using trypan blue dye exclusiontechnique and 3-(4, 5 dimethylthiazole-2yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was conducted.Results: Anti-oxidant experiments revealed that the bark ethanolic extract of the O. dioica plant parts has excellent radical scavenging activity and itsextracted pure compound, Benzene ethanol, 4-hydroxy-alcohol, showed excellent radical scavenging activity higher than the standards used. In vitrocytotoxicity experiments revealed that bark ethanolic extract has excellent cytotoxicity activity and its pure compound benzene-ethanol, 4-hydroxyalcoholalso showed excellentactivitywhichis comparablewith the standardcurcumin.Conclusion: O. dioica bark could be exploited as a valuable source of antioxidant and cytotoxic agent for pharmaceutical industry.Keywords: Olea dioica Roxb, Metal chelating, Superoxide radicals, Hydroxyl radical, 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals, 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid radical scavenging,Trypan blue, 3-(4,5dimethylthiazole-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, Benzeneethanol, 4-hydroxy-alcohol

Physico-chemical parameters and nutritive value of Pavetta crassicaulis Bremek and Olea dioica Roxb. collected from Western Ghats region of Karnataka

200-209Pavetta crassicaulis and Olea dioica are two unexplored medicinal plants used by some of the tribal communities in India, in curing different ailments such as, fever, headache and cancer. The flower of P. crassicaulis and the fruit of O. dioica were eaten by the tribes of Mizo’s, Mizoram and locals of Kerala respectively. The present study was aimed to investigate the physico-chemical, elemental composition and nutritive value of selected medicinal plant parts such as. From this experiment, it is revealed that mainly leaf, stem and root have the highest macro and micronutrients. But, even though the flower of P. crassicaulis and fruit of O. dioica have moderate macro and micronutrients showed excellent nutritive value due to higher crude protein, fat and carbohydrate. From the results, it is concluded that the flower of P. crassicaulis and fruit of O. dioica is loaded with higher crude protein, fat and carbohydrate along with appreciable macro and micronutrients. The study also gave positive feedback on the traditional use of tribes in Mizoram and tribes in Kerala, India

PRELIMINARY MYCOCHEMICAL, GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY–MASS SPECTROSCOPY ANALYSIS, AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF CALOCERA VISCOSA (PERS.) FR.

Objectives: Calocera viscosa, commonly called as the yellow stagshorn, is a jelly fungus, belongs to the family of Dacrymycetales, unknown for its medicinal properties and biological activities. Method: The sporocarps of C. viscosa (Pers.) Fr. were collected from Agumbe, Karnataka. Mycochemical and Gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) analysis done by standard procedures and antibacterial activity was done by agar well diffusion method. Results: Physicochemical was analyzed and results revealed the highest percentage of alcohol-soluble extractives were present followed by ash content. Alcohol-soluble extractives were 20.76%, total moisture content (10.9%), and foreign matter (0.5%). Extraction was done by Soxhlet apparatus using petroleum ether, chloroform, and ethanol and subjected to qualitative mycochemicals analysis both petroleum ether and chloroform extract confirms less mycochemicals, whereas ethanolic extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, flavonoids, sterols, glycosides, terpenoids, and phenols. GC–MS analysis of ethanoic extract showed many known bioactive compounds in that, 19 compounds were unknown and 21 compounds were known for its medicinal properties, most of them were food additives and flavoring agents. Antibacterial potentials were studied against pathogenic bacteria revealed that ethanolic extract showed appreciable zone of inhibition against pathogenic bacteria, in that maximum zone of inhibition showed against Klebsiella pneumonia followed by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Conclusion: C. viscosa (Pers.) Fr. sporocarp can be explored for potential antibacterial with rich full of useful mycochemicals

An urban ecohydrological model to quantify the effect of vegetation on urban climate and hydrology (UT&C v1.0)

Increasing urbanization is likely to intensify the urban heat island effect, decrease outdoor thermal comfort and enhance runoff generation in cities. Urban green spaces are often proposed as a mitigation strategy to counteract these adverse effects and many recent developments of urban climate models focus on the inclusion of green and blue infrastructure to inform urban planning. However, many models still lack the ability to account for different plant types and oversimplify the interactions between the built environment, vegetation, and hydrology. In this study, we present an urban ecohydrological model, Urban Tethys-Chloris (UT&C), that combines principles of ecosystem modelling with an urban canopy scheme accounting for the biophysical and ecophysiological characteristics of roof vegetation, ground vegetation and urban trees. UT&C is a fully coupled energy and water balance model that calculates 2 m air temperature, 2 m humidity, and surface temperatures based on the infinite urban canyon approach. It further calculates all urban hydrological fluxes, including transpiration as a function of plant photosynthesis. Hence, UT&C accounts for the effects of different plant types on the urban climate and hydrology, as well as the effects of the urban environment on plant well-being and performance. UT&C performs well when compared against energy flux measurements of eddy covariance towers located in three cities in different climates (Singapore, Melbourne, Phoenix). A sensitivity analysis, performed as a proof of concept for the city of Singapore, shows a mean decrease in 2 m air temperature of 1.1 °C for fully grass covered ground, 0.2 °C for high values of leaf area index (LAI), and 0.3 °C for high values of Vc,max (an expression of photosynthetic activity). These reductions in temperature were combined with a simultaneous increase in relative humidity by 6.5 %, 2.1 %, and 1.6 %, for fully grass covered ground, high values of LAI, and high values of Vc,max, respectively. Furthermore, the increase of pervious vegetated ground is able to significantly reduce surface runoff. These results show that urban greening can lead to a decrease in urban air temperature and surface runoff, but this effect is limited in cities characterized by a hot, humid climate.ISSN:1991-962XISSN:1991-961

Prebiotic diet normalizes aberrant immune and behavioral phenotypes in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a cluster of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in communication and behavior. Increasing evidence suggests that the microbiota-gut-brain axis and the likely related immune imbalance may play a role in the development of this disorder. Gastrointestinal deficits and gut microbiota dysfunction have been linked to the development or severity of autistic behavior. Therefore, treatments that focus on specific diets may improve gastrointestinal function and aberrant behavior in individuals with ASD. In this study, we investigated whether a diet containing specific prebiotic fibers, namely, 3% galacto-oligosaccharide/fructo-oligosaccharide (GOS/FOS; 9:1), can mitigate the adverse effects of in utero exposure to valproic acid (VPA) in mice. Pregnant BALB/cByJ dams were injected with VPA (600 mg/kg, sc.) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) on gestational day 11 (G11). Male offspring were divided into four groups: (1) in utero PBS-exposed with a control diet, (2) in utero PBS-exposed with GOS/FOS diet, (3) in utero VPA-exposed with a control diet, and (4) in utero VPA-exposed with GOS/FOS diet. Dietary intervention started from birth and continued throughout the duration of the experiment. We showed that the prebiotic diet normalized VPA-induced alterations in male offspring, including restoration of key microbial taxa, intestinal permeability, peripheral immune homeostasis, reduction of neuroinflammation in the cerebellum, and impairments in social behavior and cognition in mice. Overall, our research provides valuable insights into the gut-brain axis involvement in ASD development. In addition, dietary interventions might correct the disbalance in gut microbiota and immune responses and, ultimately, might improve detrimental behavioral outcomes in ASD

Depletion of abscisic acid levels in roots of flooded Carrizo citrange (Poncirus trifoliata L. Raf. x Citrus sinensis L. Osb.) plants is a stress-specific response associated to the differential expression of PYR/PYL/RCAR receptors

[EN] Soil flooding reduces root abscisic acid (ABA) levels in citrus, conversely to what happens under drought. Despite this reduction, microarray analyses suggested the existence of a residual ABA signaling in roots of flooded Carrizo citrange seedlings. The comparison of ABA metabolism and signaling in roots of flooded and water stressed plants of Carrizo citrange revealed that the hormone depletion was linked to the upregulation of CsAOG, involved in ABA glycosyl ester (ABAGE) synthesis, and to a moderate induction of catabolism (CsCYP707A, an ABA 8'-hydroxylase) and buildup of dehydrophaseic acid (DPA). Drought strongly induced both ABA biosynthesis and catabolism (CsNCED1, 9-cis-neoxanthin epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase 1, and CsCYP707A) rendering a significant hormone accumulation. In roots of flooded plants, restoration of control ABA levels after stress release was associated to the upregulation of CsBGLU18 (an ABA beta-glycosidase) that cleaves ABAGE. Transcriptional profile of ABA receptor genes revealed a different induction in response to soil flooding (CsPYL5) or drought (CsPYL8). These two receptor genes along with CsPYL1 were cloned and expressed in a heterologous system. Recombinant CsPYL5 inhibited Delta NHAB1 activity in vitro at lower ABA concentrations than CsPYL8 or CsPYL1, suggesting its better performance under soil flooding conditions. Both stress conditions induced ABA-responsive genes CsABI5 and CsDREB2A similarly, suggesting the occurrence of ABA signaling in roots of flooded citrus seedlings. The impact of reduced ABA levels in flooded roots on CsPYL5 expression along with its higher hormone affinity reinforce the role of this ABA receptor under soil-flooding conditions and explain the expression of certain ABA-responsive genes.This work was supported by Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) and Universitat Jaume I through grants No. AGL201676574-R, UJI-B2016-23/UJI-B2016-24 to A.G-C. and V.A. and MINECO, FEDER and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) through grant BIO2014-52537-R to P.L.R. S.I.Z. and M.M. were supported by predoctoral grants from Universitat Jaume I and Generalitat Valenciana, respectively. M.G.G. was recipient of a "JAE-DOC" contract from the CSIC. 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Rice Stress-Resistant SNP Database.

BACKGROUND:Rice (Oryza sativa L.) yield is limited inherently by environmental stresses, including biotic and abiotic stresses. Thus, it is of great importance to perform in-depth explorations on the genes that are closely associated with the stress-resistant traits in rice. The existing rice SNP databases have made considerable contributions to rice genomic variation information but none of them have a particular focus on integrating stress-resistant variation and related phenotype data into one web resource. RESULTS:Rice Stress-Resistant SNP database (http://bioinformatics.fafu.edu.cn/RSRS) mainly focuses on SNPs specific to biotic and abiotic stress-resistant ability in rice, and presents them in a unified web resource platform. The Rice Stress-Resistant SNP (RSRS) database contains over 9.5 million stress-resistant SNPs and 797 stress-resistant candidate genes in rice, which were detected from more than 400 stress-resistant rice varieties. We incorporated the SNPs function, genome annotation and phenotype information into this database. Besides, the database has a user-friendly web interface for users to query, browse and visualize a specific SNP efficiently. RSRS database allows users to query the SNP information and their relevant annotations for individual variety or more varieties. The search results can be visualized graphically in a genome browser or displayed in formatted tables. Users can also align SNPs between two or more rice accessions. CONCLUSION:RSRS database shows great utility for scientists to further characterize the function of variants related to environmental stress-resistant ability in rice