Endophytic bacterial diversity in root nodules of native legumes from Indian Thar Desert

Arid and semi arid regions of the Indian Thar Desert possess several nodulating native legumes important to the local inhabitants for food, fodder, shelter and medicines. These legumes are useful in dry land Cultivation and soil improvement for rain-fed crops in arid and semi arid areas, The present study was aimed to characterize the genetic diversity of thirty one root nodule bacterial endophytes strains from Tephrosia purpurea and Tephrosia villosa growing in Jodhpur and surrounding districts of Rajasthan (India), These two plants are widely distributed in degraded and waste land in the arid and semi arid regions of many states of India

Phytochemical Evaluation and Antioxidant Activity of Glycosmis mauritiana (lam.) Tanaka Leaf Extract

ABSTRACT Medicinal plants can provide biologically active molecules and lead structures for the development of modified derivatives with enhanced activity and or reduced toxicity. Ensuring the safety, efficacy and quality of traditional medicine is a priority in as much as it must be respected, preserved and promoted as a branch of medicine. In plants, the medicinal value of the secondary metabolites is due to the presence of chemical substances that produce a definite physiological action on the human body. Research into the isolated plant constituents is of great importance for the development of bioactive substances from ethnic medicine. With the emergence of latest technologies and enhanced knowledge about the isolated plant constituents, characterization and analytical tools, lot of compounds are efficiently isolated from potential plants and have been of great contribution to the drug discovery from ethnic plants. The present investigation is aimed at investigating the phytochemical evaluation, quantification and antioxidant studies of a medicinal plant Glycosmis mauritiana. The phytochemical quantification was done for phenolics, tannins and flavanoids. The antioxidant screening was done by FRAP assay and DPPH free radical scavenging assay, using five different solvent extracts. Significant antioxidant activity of ethanolic extracts was recorded in Glycosmis mauritiana which can be used as a potent source of natural antioxidant

Herbal remedies against Huntington's disease: Preclinical evidences and future directions

Herbal medicines, or phytochemicals can treat various neurological disorders, and is actually preferred over synthetic drugs due to their lower cost, negligible side effects, easy availability and therapeutic efficiency. This article lists a total of 13 plant extracts, 27 plant derived natural compounds and 3 herbal formulations that were found to therapeutically cure Huntington's Disease, mainly by eliminating the toxic mHtt proteins(the product of the mutant gene responsible for HD). The various plant compounds, fractions, extracts and herbal formulations were summarized from popular scientific search engines and then analyzed on the basis of their source and bioactivity. To understand the behavioral, biochemical and morphological changes caused by HD, experimental models like 3-NP and transgenic animal models like rats, mice, Drosophila and Caenorhaditis elegans were used. Plants such as Bacopa monnieri, Celastrus paniculatus, Centella asiatica, Gastrodia elata, Panax ginseng, and Withania somnifera are some examples that possess anti-HD properties. Some examples of promising plant compounds possessing similar properties are fisetin, curcumin, hesperidin, trehalose, onjisaponin B, sesamol, resveratrol, kaempferol and melatonin. Herbal formulations discussed here are B307, CLMT and YGS. These are proved to be more beneficial than single herbs because they can regulate more targets. However, detailed study and further research should be conducted to determine the therapeutic efficacy of herbal extracts and compounds in HD models. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved