Modulation of ethylene and ROS-scavenging enzymes by multifarious plant growth-promoting endophytes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants to combat Xanthomonas -induced stress.

The purpose of the current study was to explore root endophytes- Priestia megaterium T3 and Bacillus cereus T4 from Moringa olefiera for the suppression of leaf spot disease in tomato plants challenged with Xanthomonas vesicatoria. Both strains had plant growth-stimulating characteristics including auxin production, solubilization of inorganic phosphate and zinc complexes, and production of ammonia, siderophore, as well as hydrolytic enzymes. An agar well diffusion and fluorescence viability assay have validated the antibacterial effect of the cell-free culture supernatant of strains T3 and T4. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) profiling has identified the secondary metabolites in the cell-free supernatant of strains T3 and T4. The bio-priming of tomato seeds with a consortium of T3 and T4 strains has significantly declined ethylene (by 0.61-fold) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 0.64-fold) concentration thus, maintaining a lower content of ROS-induced malondialdehyde (MDA, 0.91-fold) as compared to control counterparts. Consequently, the leaf spot disease severity was reduced by ∼70% in consortium-treated tomato plants in contrast to their pathogen-challenged control. The consortia (T3+T4) treatment has facilitated induced systemic resistance by enhancing enzymatic activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), peroxidase (PO), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate oxidase (AO) to detoxify the excessive Xanthomonas-induced ROS accumulation in tomato plants. Conclusively, bacterial endophytes modulate X. vesicatoria-induced ROS response and ethylene levels in tomato plants. The current findings indicate that plant growth-promoting endophytic bacterial strains hold the potential to sustainably enhance plant growth and suppress bacterial leaf spot disease in tomato plants.

Antiproliferative and Oxidative Damage Protection Activities of Endophytic Fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Chaetomium globosum from Moringa oleifera Lam.

The current study was conducted to evaluate the antiproliferative and oxidative damage protection potential of endophytic fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Chaetomium globosum isolated from Moringa oleifera. The chloroformic extract (CE) of both the fungi showed dose dependent antiproliferative activity against human prostate adenocarcinoma (PC-3) cell line with (IC50) value of 0.055 mg/ml and 0.008 mg/ml, respectively. Further, CE of both the fungi was studied for their ability to induce apoptosis in PC-3 cell line. Various deformities in the cancerous cells treated with CE of both the fungi have been observed by confocal microscopy which indicates the cell death by apoptosis. Further apoptosis inducing ability of CE of both the fungi was observed using various flow cytometric studies. The chloroformic extract of both the fungi showed slight increase in the level of reactive oxygen species to induce apoptosis. It also showed arrest of cancerous cells at G0/G1 phase of cell cycle to induce apoptosis. The externalization of phosphatidylserine (PS) to induce apoptosis was also observed when analysed using Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining assay where the CE of A. fumigatus and C. globosum showed the total apoptosis of 94.2% and 90.3%, respectively, at the highest tested concentration of GI70. The CE of both the fungi further showed the protective behaviour for plasmid DNA pBR322, when tested for their effect against the oxidative stress caused by the Fenton's reagent. Thus, the studies demonstrated a good antiproliferative and oxidative damage protection potential of the endophytic fungi.

Bioactive potential of endophytic fungus Chaetomium globosum and GC-MS analysis of its responsible components.

The recent exploration of various medicinal plants for bioactive potential has led to the growing interest to explore their endophytes for such bioactive potential which may turn out to be better option than the plants. In the present study, Chaetomium globosum, an endophytic fungus isolated from Moringa oleifera Lam has been explored for its various biological activities. The chloroformic extract of C. globosum showed good antimutagenicity against the reactive carcinogenic mutagen, 2-aminofluorene (2-AF) in Ames test. The antiproliferative activity against various cell lines such as HCT-15, HeLa and U87-MG was found to be dose dependent and the viability reduced to 9.26%, 15.7% and 16.3%, respectively. Further, the chloroformic fungal extract was investigated for free radical scavenging activity using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethyl-benzthiazolin-6-sulfonic acid) assay which showed the IC50 value of 45.16 µg/ml and 50.55 µg/ml, respectively. The fungal extract also showed good ferric reducing power. Total phenolic and flavonoid content was found to be in linear relationship with the antioxidant potential of the fungal extract. High performance liquid chromatography showed the presence of phenolics which may help to combat the free radicals. The presence of various bioactive compounds was analysed by GC-MS which endorsed Chaetomium globosum to be a promising candidate for drug development.

Antibiofilm, antiproliferative, antioxidant and antimutagenic activities of an endophytic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus from Moringa oleifera.

An endophytic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from Moringa oleifera has been evaluated for its various bioactivities. The chloroformic fungal extract exhibited a good antimicrobial as well as antibiofilm activity against various pathogenic microorganisms. It also demonstrated a good antimutagenicity against the reactive carcinogenic ester generating mutagen, 2-aminofluorene (2-AF) with IC50 values of 0.52 mg ml-1 and 0.36 mg ml-1 in case of co-incubation and pre-incubation, respectively. The antiprolifertive activity against different cancer cell lines; such as HCT-15, HeLa A549 and U87-MG showed the IC50 values of 0.061, 0.065 and 0.072 mg ml-1, respectively. The antioxidant activity of fungal extract has been assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethyl-benzthiazolin-6-sulfonicacid) (ABTS) methods with IC50 values of 40.07 µg and 54.28 µg, respectively. Total phenolics and flavonoid contents have been also determined. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) of fungal extract revealed the presence of various phenolic compounds (caffeic acid, rutin, ellagic acid, quercetin and kaempferol). Further an attempt has been made to purify the bioactive compounds by column chromatography and GC-MS analysis. The above studies demonstrated a good bioactive potential of endophytic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus and shows the pharmacological importance of an endophytic fungus and justify the need to carry out further studies.

Bioaccessibility, antioxidant activity and modulation effect on gut microbiota of bioactive compounds from Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves during digestion and fermentation in vitro.

This study aims to investigate the bioaccessibility, bioactivity and gut microbiota modulation effect of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves after in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and colonic fermentation. A total of 24.95 ± 0.91 mg GAE per g DM and 21.66 ± 1.41 mg RE per g DM of phenolics and flavonoids were released during digestion. The HPLC-ESI-TOF/MS analysis showed that the major phenolic compound 6,8-di-C-glucosylapigenin was released during oral digestion, catechin during gastric digestion, and quercetin-3-O-ß-d-glucoside and ferulic acid during small intestine digestion. The antioxidant activity of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves during the whole digestion process was in line with the release of phenolics and flavonoids. In addition, the fermentation of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves induced the production of acetic, propionic, and n-butyric acids leading to a decrease in pH, as well as the growth of beneficial colonic bacteria. The results suggested that Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves are a promising candidate for healthy food.

Fermented Moringa oleifera Decreases Hepatic Adiposity and Ameliorates Glucose Intolerance in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

Metabolic diseases, such as glucose intolerance and nonalcoholic fatty-liver disease (NAFLD), are primary risk factors for life-threatening conditions such as diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and hepatic cancer. Extracts from the tropical tree Moringa oleifera show antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. Fermentation can further improve the safety and nutritional value of certain foods. We investigated the efficacy of fermented M. oleifera extract (FM) against high-fat diet (HFD)-induced glucose intolerance and hepatic lipid accumulation and investigated the underlying mechanisms by analyzing expression of proteins and genes involved in glucose and lipid regulation. C57BL/6 mice were fed with normal chow diet (ND) or HFD supplemented with distilled water (DW, control), nonfermented M. oleifera extract (NFM), or FM for 10 weeks. Although body weights were similar among HFD-fed treatment groups, liver weight was decreased, and glucose tolerance test (GTT) results improved in the FM group compared with DW and NFM groups. Hepatic lipid accumulation was also lower in the FM group, and expressions of genes involved in liver lipid metabolism were upregulated. In addition, HFD-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, oxidative stress, and lipotoxicity in quadriceps muscles were decreased by FM. Finally, proinflammatory cytokine mRNA expression was decreased by FM in the liver, epididymal adipose tissue, and quadriceps of HFD-fed mice. FMs may decrease glucose intolerance and NAFLD under HFD-induced obesity by decreasing ER stress, oxidative stress, and inflammation.

Detección de fusarium semitectum en vainas de plantas de moringa (moringa oleifera lam) / Detection of fusarium semitectum from pods of moringa plants (moringa oleífera lam)

Se analizaron muestras de Moringa oleifera procedentes de la provincia Habana, Cuba con el objetivo de determinar el agente causal de los daños. Las plantas presentaban afectaciones en las vainas, tallo y follaje iniciadas por insecto seguida por síntomas típicos de hongos fitopatógenos. Las muestras fueron procesadas y se determinó que el agente causal es el hongo fitopatógeno Fusarium semitectum. Este hongo se asocia a Fusicladium sp causando daños severos en la planta. En Cuba se ha aislado fundamentalmente en lotes de semillas de moringa.

It analyzed samples of Moringa oleifera from Habana province, Cuba with the objective of to determinate the causal agent of the damages. The plants shows affectations in pods, stems and foliage initiated for insect straight on typical symptoms of phytopathongens fungi. The samples were preprocessed and it determined that causal agent is phytopathongens fungus Fusarium semitectum. This fungus is associated to Fusicladium sp caused severe damages in the plant. In Cuba it has isolated principally from fractions of moringa seeds.