The outbreak of political conflicts within countries has been a source of immense human suffering. The serious repercussions and challenges posed by these conflicts direct one to identify the factors ...that can be political or economic in nature for the outbreak of these domestic conflicts. The present study, without undermining the role of political factors, nevertheless considers economic factors in terms of inequality as significant for the outbreak of conflicts and particularly in understanding the Civil War and Niger Delta Crisis in the context of countries like Nigeria.
Medicinal plants possess range of phytochemicals accountable for their diverse biological activities. Presently, such compounds have been isolated from medicinal plants, characterized and evaluated ...for their pharmacological potential. In the present study, the efforts have been made to isolate the compound(s) from Grewia tiliaefolia Vahl., plant known for its ameliorative effect on brain related diseases such as anxiety, depression, cognitive disorders and Parkinson's disease. Plant extract was subjected to isolation of compound(s) using column chromatography and isolated compound was characterized by NMR FTIR and LCMS. The isolated compound was novel with the IUPAC name of the compound is propyl 3-hydroxy-10,13-dimethyl-6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-3H-cyclopentaaphenanthrene-17-carboxylate, designated as A-1 and has not been reported before. A-1 was further evaluated for its antioxidant potential using in vitro antioxidant assays (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate, DPPH assay and reducing power assay, RPA). Also, Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory potential of A-1 and extract was analysed. Results showed that A-1 exhibited significantly higher antioxidant activity in both DPPH and RPA assay as compared to plant extract. In case of AChE inhibitory activity again, A-1 has shown significantly higher activity as compared to plant extract. In silico study was conducted to predict its action on proteins playing crucial role in neurological and neurodegenerative disorders such as gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) receptor and glutamate α amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (Glu AMPA) receptor in epilepsy and AChE enzyme in Alzheimer's diseases. The compound has shown interaction in following order: AChE > GABA receptor > Glu AMPA receptor. Further, molecular dynamic simulations and ADME studies of A-1 and AChE enzyme revealed that A-1 yielded good results in all parameters and hence can relieve Alzheimer's like symptoms.
Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder which disrupts communication, social and interactive skills followed by appearance of repetitive behavior. The underlying etiology remains ...incomprehensible but genetic and environmental factors play a key role. Accumulated evidence shows that alteration in level of gut microbes and their metabolites are not only linked to gastrointestinal problems but also to autism. So far the mix of microbes that is present in the gut affects human health in numerous ways through extensive bacterial-mammalian cometabolism and has a marked influence over health via gut-brain- microbial interactions. Healthy microbiota may even ease the symptoms of autism, as microbial balance influences brain development through the neuroendocrine, neuroimmune, and autonomic nervous systems. In this article, we focused on reviewing the correlation between gut microbiota and their metabolites on symptoms of autism by utilizing prebiotics, probiotics and herbal remedies to target gut microflora hence autism.
Blackgram (
Vigna mungo
L. Hepper) is an important tropical and sub-tropical short-duration legume that is rich in dietary protein and micronutrients. Producing high-yielding blackgram varieties is ...hampered by insufficient genetic variability, absence of suitable ideotypes, low harvest index and susceptibility to biotic-abiotic stresses. Seed yield, a complex trait resulting from the expression and interaction of multiple genes, necessitates the evaluation of diverse germplasm for the identification of novel yield contributing traits. Henceforth, a panel of 100 blackgram genotypes was evaluated at two locations (Ludhiana and Gurdaspur) across two seasons (
Spring
2019 and
Spring
2020) for 14 different yield related traits. A wide range of variability, high broad-sense heritability and a high correlation of grain yield were observed for 12 out of 14 traits studied among all environments. Investigation of population structure in the panel using a set of 4,623 filtered SNPs led to identification of four sub-populations based on ad-hoc delta K and Cross entropy value. Using Farm CPU model and Mixed Linear Model algorithms, a total of 49 significant SNP associations representing 42 QTLs were identified. Allelic effects were found to be statistically significant at 37 out of 42 QTLs and 50 known candidate genes were identified in 24 of QTLs.
High NUE (nitrogen use efficiency) has great practical significance for sustainable crop production. Wheat is one of the main cultivated crops worldwide for human food and nutrition. However, wheat ...grain productivity is dependent upon cultivars with high NUE in addition to the application of nitrogen fertilizers. In order to understand the molecular mechanisms exhibiting a high NUE response, a comparative transcriptomics study was carried out through RNA-seq analysis to investigate the gene expression that regulates NUE, in root and shoot tissue of N-efficient (PBW677) and N-inefficient (703) cultivars under optimum and nitrogen (N) stress. Differentially expressed gene analysis revealed a total of 2,406 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) present in both the contrasting cultivars under N stress. The efficient genotype PBW677 had considerably more abundant DEGs with 1,653 (903 roots +750 shoots) compared to inefficient cultivar PBW703 with 753 (96 roots +657 shoots). Gene ontology enrichment and pathway analysis of these DEGs suggested that the two cultivars differed in terms of adaptive mechanism. Gene enrichment analysis revealed that among the upregulated and downregulated genes the overrepresented and underrepresented gene categories belonged to biological processes like DNA binding, response to abiotic stimulus, photosynthesis, carbon fixation, carbohydrate metabolic process, nitrogen compound metabolic process, nitrate transport, and translation in cultivar PBW677, while the enriched biological processes were nucleosome assembly, chromatin remodeling, DNA packaging, lipid transport, sulfur compound metabolic process, protein modifications, and protein folding and refolding in N inefficient cultivar PBW703. We found several transcription factors (MYB, WRKY, RING finger protein, zinc finger protein, transporters, NRT1, amino acid transporters, sugar), protein kinases, and genes involved in N absorption, transportation, and assimilation to be highly expressed in high NUE cultivar PBW677. In our study, we report 13 potential candidate genes which showed alternate gene expression in the two contrasting cultivars under study. These genes could serve as potential targets for future breeding programs.
In the present work,nonlinear interaction of elliptical laser beam with collisional plasma is studied by using paraxial ray approximation.Nonlinear differential equations for the beam width ...parameters of semi-major axis and semi-minor axis of elliptical laser beam have been set up and solved numerically to study the variation of beam width parameters with normalized distance of propagation.Effects of variation in absorption coefficient and plasma density on the beam width parameters are also analyzed.It is observed from the analysis that extent of self-focusing of beam increases with increase/decrease in plasma density/absorption coefficient.
Display omitted
•Diabetes and diabetic nephropathy are major health challenges and increases globally day by day.•Zingerone is a potent constituent of ginger, which is pungent, non-toxic, safe and ...economical.•Zingerone possesses protective effect due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.•Zingerone suppresses the overexpression of NF-ĸB, TNF-α and COX-2 proteins in renal tissue.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is characterized by impaired insulin secretion or utilization, accompanied by hyperglycemia and glycosuria, as well as by a plethora of DM-induced complications, including nephropathy. The purpose of this investigation was 2-fold: to evaluate the antidiabetic potential of zingerone, and its protective effects against DM-induced nephropathy. It has been reported that oxidative stress is associated with DM and cellular nuclear factor (NF)-κB, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 proteins are overexpressed in DM-triggered nephropathy. The levels of these molecular biomarkers and renal functions were measured in zingerone treated diabetic animals. DM was produced in adult male Wistar rats with streptozotocin/nicotinamide. Zingerone (15, 30 and 60 mg/kg) was administered orally once daily to diabetic rats for 6 consecutive weeks. Significant increase in serum glucose, total cholesterol, low density lipoproteins (LDL), urea, uric acid, creatinine, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was observed in diabetic rats. All these biochemical parameters were significantly reduced in zingerone treated animals in a dose-dependent manner. There was a marked increase in renal levels of thio-barbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), superoxide anion generation (SAG) and decrease in reduced glutathione (GSH) in diabetic rats. Whereas zingerone treatment showed statistically significant attenuation of all the oxidative stress parameters, in comparison with untreated counterparts. The overexpressed levels of NF-κB, TNF-α and COX-2 proteins in nephropathic rats were attenuated by zingerone. Histological examination of isolated kidneys confirmed the renoprotective effects of zingerone. Our results suggest that the antidiabetic and renoprotective effects of zingerone seem to be due to the combination of different actions: namely antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, inhibition of DM-induced oxidative stress by scavenging free radicals, and down-regulation of NF-κB, TNF-α and COX-2 proteins in the kidney tissue.
Background
Daucus carota
subsp.
sativus
(Black carrots) are underutilized in context to their nutritional properties. In this study, Kanji, a naturally fermented probiotic beverage, was prepared ...using
Daucus carota
subsp.
sativus
(var.
Punjab Black Beauty
). Analysis of the physicochemical and microbiological profile of the naturally fermented Kanji was investigated to boost its utilization for commercial purpose.
Results
The physicochemical parameters observed in the fermented Kanji beverage were pH 3.47, total soluble solids 3°B, lactic acid 0.99%, total sugars 36.32 mg/mL, total reducing sugars 27.16 mg/mL, flavonoids 38.14 mg/mL, phenols 40.8 mg/mL, antioxidant activity 79.96% and ascorbic acid 110 mg/100 mL. The microbiological analysis revealed an exponential increase in lactic acid bacterial count from 3.96 to 8.33 log CFU/mL. Out of 11 bacterial strains isolated from Kanji, the bacterial strain with high growth potential was genotypically characterized as
Pediococcus acidilactici
with accession number MK028218.
Conclusion
The lactic acid bacterial Kanji beverage was characterized as a potential plant-based probiotic with high antioxidant activity. This functional autochthonous starter from the Kanji can be used for selective fermentation of black carrots for Kanji ascertaining its microbiological safety, unique flavor and aroma, and consumption as a commercial non-dairy-based probiotic beverage.
Xenoestrogens are chemicals found in plant products, such as genistein (GEN), and in industrial chemicals, e.g., bisphenol A (BPA), present in plastics and other products that are prevalent in the ...environment. Early exposure to such endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) may affect brain development by directly disrupting neural programming and/or through the microbiome-gut-brain axis. To test this hypothesis, California mice (Peromyscus californicus) offspring were exposed through the maternal diet to GEN (250 mg/kg feed weight) or BPA (5 mg/kg feed weight, low dose- LD or 50 mg/kg, upper dose-UD), and dams were placed on these diets two weeks prior to breeding, throughout gestation, and lactation. Various behaviors, gut microbiota, and fecal metabolome were assessed at 90 days of age. The LD but not UD of BPA exposure resulted in individuals spending more time engaging in repetitive behaviors. GEN exposed individuals were more likely to exhibit such behaviors and showed socio-communicative disturbances. BPA and GEN exposed females had increased number of metabolites involved in carbohydrate metabolism and synthesis. Males exposed to BPA or GEN showed alterations in lysine degradation and phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism. Current findings indicate cause for concern that developmental exposure to BPA or GEN might affect the microbiome-gut-brain axis.
Grewia asiatica Linn. is a well-known plant for its nutritional and therapeutic attributes. It has been mentioned in ancient Indian literature as Rasayana due to its stimulant and tonic effects. ...Thus, present investigation was carried out to evaluate the antiepileptic and anxiolytic action of G. asiatica Linn. leaves using animal models. Methanol extract at dose levels of 100 and 200 mg/kg was capable of providing protection against both pentylenetetrazole and maximal electroshock induced seizures in mice. Extract also showed significant anxiolytic activity in elevated plus maze, light/dark box and mirror chamber mice models at same dose levels. Results of this study indicated that the methanol extract of leaves of G. asiatica plant possess significant antiepileptic and anxiolytic effect.
PDF
