Establishing monoxenic culture of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices through root organ culture

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are soil fungi distributed worldwide, forming symbiosis with most of the vascular plants for their growth and survival, which is used for sustainable agriculture and ecosystem management. This study investigated the establishment of monoxenic cultures of Glomus intraradices in association with transformed carrot hairy root. The G.intraradices spores were isolated from sugarcane rhizosphere by wet sieving and decanting technique and propagated in open pot culture. Transformation in to carrot hairy root was done using Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Surface sterilization of G.intraradices spores co-cultured with transformed carrot hairy root in Modified Strulla and Romand (MSR) medium was found the host root growth as well as for germination AM spores. After three months of incubation in dark condition, significant production of extensive hyphal growth on MSR medium and an average of 8500-9000 spores per petri dish was observed. The in vitro inoculum exhibited higher potential of root colonization due to numerous intraradices mycelium with extensive spore load. The produced monoxenic inoculum can be used in place of traditional system where it has a advantage of producing contaminant free propagulas. Thus the monoxenic culture system, a powerful tool, of AM sporulation, can be used for the mass production of monoxenic inoculum of AM fungi besides studying its biology

Ferulic Acid: Therapeutic Potential Through Its Antioxidant Property

There has been considerable public and scientific interest in the use of phytochemicals derived from dietary components to combat human diseases. They are naturally occurring substances found in plants. Ferulic acid (FA) is a phytochemical commonly found in fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet corn and rice bran. It arises from metabolism of phenylalanine and tyrosine by Shikimate pathway in plants. It exhibits a wide range of therapeutic effects against various diseases like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative. A wide spectrum of beneficial activity for human health has been advocated for this phenolic compound, at least in part, because of its strong antioxidant activity. FA, a phenolic compound is a strong membrane antioxidant and known to positively affect human health. FA is an effective scavenger of free radicals and it has been approved in certain countries as food additive to prevent lipid peroxidation. It effectively scavenges superoxide anion radical and inhibits the lipid peroxidation. It possesses antioxidant property by virtue of its phenolic hydroxyl group in its structure. The hydroxy and phenoxy groups of FA donate electrons to quench the free radicals. The phenolic radical in turn forms a quinone methide intermediate, which is excreted via the bile. The past few decades have been devoted to intense research on antioxidant property of FA. So, the present review deals with the mechanism of antioxidant property of FA and its possible role in therapeutic usage against various diseases

Identification and authentication of Agnimantha plant species used in Ayurveda on the basis of anatomical and molecular phylogenetic analysis

Agnimantha plant species have been used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine for many years and is widely used as an ingredient in many ayurvedic formulations. However, the source for Agnimantha remained controversial as it is difficult to authenticate from various reports. Hence, the present study aims to identify and authenticate its original and substitute sources. As per the literature sources Clerodendrum phlomidis L.f., C. inerme (L.) Gaertn. and Premna serratifolia L. are considered Agnimantha species. The anatomy of the above mentioned species confirmed the presence of patches of up to 20 cells in the sclerenchyma of the root cortex, while in the absence of sclerenchyma of the stem cortex, abundant chambered crystals were also present in the bark of the stem and root in C. phlomidis as compared to C. inerme and P. serratifolia. Phylogenetic analysis using chloroplast (matK, trnH-psbA) and nuclear markers (ITS, rbcl) also indicates the close relation between C. inerme and P. serratifolia and hence places them both in the same clade, though C. phlomidis is closely related to the other species but placed in the adjacent clade. Hence, the study concludes that anatomical as well as molecular phylogenetic analysis reflect close relation between C. inerme and P. serratifolia. while a distant relation with C. phlomidis

The Recent Advancements in Field of Medicinal Plant Research With special reference to Acne Therapy

Acne is an exclusive disease associated with skin occurs when sebaceous glands attain special conditions at face, chest and back in the pre pubertal child. This disease occurs in both male and female, there is no preference among them but the course is more severe in males. Though, there are several treatment methods to treat acne, no particular medication claims a satisfactory and complete remedy. A wide range of synthetic therapeutic agents have also been reported to treat acne but have severe adverse effect. Medicinal plants by virtue of their safe nature and easy availability may lend themselves as potential anti-acne therapy. The present review deals with the proven medicinal plants to treat acne

Nanocomposite Coatings on Biomedical Grade Stainless Steel for Improved Corrosion Resistance and Biocompatibility

The 316 L stainless steel is one of the most commonly available commercial implant materials with a few limitations in its ease of biocompatibility and long-standing performance. Hence, porous TiO₂/ZrO₂ nanocomposite coated over 316 L stainless steels was studied for their enhanced performance in terms of its biocompatibility and corrosion resistance, following a sol–gel process via dip-coating technique. The surface composition and porosity texture was studied to be uniform on the substrate. Biocompatibility studies on the TiO₂/ZrO₂ nanocomposite coatings were investigated by placing the coated substrate in a simulated body fluid (SBF). The immersion procedure resulted in the complete coverage of the TiO₂/ZrO₂ nanocomposite (coated on the surface of 316 L stainless steel) with the growth of a one-dimensional (1D) rod-like carbonate-containing apatite. The TiO₂/ZrO₂ nanocomposite coated specimens showed a higher corrosion resistance in the SBF solution with an enhanced biocompatibility, surpassing the performance of the pure oxide coatings. The cell viability of TiO₂/ZrO₂ nanocomposite coated implant surface was examined under human dermal fibroblasts culture, and it was observed that the composite coating enhances the proliferation through effective cellular attachment compared to pristine 316 L SS surface