Evaluation of potential inhibitory effects on acetylcholinesterase, pancreatic lipase, and cancer cell lines using raw leaves extracts of three fabaceae species.

The present study examined the biological potential and phytochemicals of Sophora mollis, Mucuna pruriens, and Indigofera atropurpurea methanolic leaf extracts. In vitro anti-acetylcholinesterase and anti-lipase assays were performed using different concentrations of plant extracts, and the IC50 values were determined. The cytotoxic potential of the selected plant extracts was assessed against HeLa, PC3, and 3T3 cell lines using an MTT assay. S. mollis leaf extract displayed the highest inhibition percentage (114.60% ± 19.95 at 1000 µg/mL) for the anti-acetylcholinesterase activity with a prominent IC50 value of 75.9 µg/mL. The anti-lipase potential was highest with the M. pruriens leaf extract (355.5 µg/mL IC50), followed by the S. mollis extract (862.7 µg/mL IC50). Among the cell lines tested, the cytotoxic potential of the I. atropurpurea extract (91.1 ppm IC50) against the PC3 cell line was promising. High-performance liquid chromatography revealed gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, vanillic acid, rutin trihydrate, and quercetin dihydrate in varying concentrations in all plant species. The concentration of chlorogenic acid (69.09 ppm) was highest in M. pruriens, and the caffeic acid concentration (45.20 ppm) was higher in S. mollis. This paper reports the presence of bioactive therapeutic compounds in selected species of the Fabaceae family that could be micro-propagated, isolated, and utilized in pharmaceutical industries.

Mentha: Nutritional and Health Attributes to Treat Various Ailments Including Cardiovascular Diseases.

A poor diet, resulting in malnutrition, is a critical challenge that leads to a variety of metabolic disorders, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Mentha species are famous as therapeutic herbs and have long served as herbal medicine. Recently, the demand for its products, such as herbal drugs, medicines, and natural herbal formulations, has increased significantly. However, the available literature lacks a thorough overview of Mentha phytochemicals' effects for reducing malnutritional risks against cardiovascular diseases. In this context, we aimed to review the recent advances of Mentha phytochemicals and future challenges for reducing malnutritional risks in cardiovascular patients. Current studies indicated that Mentha species phytochemicals possess unique antimicrobial, antidiabetic, cytotoxic, and antioxidant potential, which can be used as herbal medicine directly or indirectly (such as food ingredients) and are effective in controlling and curing cardiovascular diseases. The presence of aromatic and flavor compounds of Mentha species greatly enhance the nutritional values of the food. Further interdisciplinary investigations are pivotal to explore main volatile compounds, synergistic actions of phytochemicals, organoleptic effects, and stability of Mentha sp. phytochemicals.

Biodiesel Production Using Wild Apricot (Prunus aitchisonii) Seed Oil via Heterogeneous Catalysts.

We confined the formation and characterization of heterogenous nano-catalysts and then used them to produce biodiesel from the novel non-edible seed oil of Prunus aitchisonii. P. aitchisonii seeds' oil content was extracted at about 52.4 ± 3% with 0.77% FFA. Three different heterogenous nano-catalysts-calcined (CPC), KPC, and KOH-activated P. aitchisonii cake Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)-were synthesized using calcination and precipitation methods. The mentioned catalysts were characterized through XRD, SEM, and EDX to inspect their crystallin dimension, shape, and arrangement. Titanium dioxide has morphological dimensions so that the average particle size ranges from 49-60 nm. The result shows that the crystal structure of TiO2 is tetragonal (Anatase). The surface morphology of CPC illustrated that the roughness of the surface was increased after calcination, many macropores and hollow cavities appeared, and the external structure became very porous. These changes in morphology may increase the catalytic efficiency of CPC than non-calcined Prunus aitchisonii oil cake. The fuel belonging to PAOB stood according to the series suggested by ASTM criteria. All the characterization reports that P. aitchisonii is a novel and efficient potential source of biodiesel as a green energy source.

Foliar micromorphology of selected medicinal Lamiaceae taxa and their taxonomic implication using scanning electron microscopy.

In this research, 25 medicinally used Lamiaceae species belonging to 20 genera have been studied and identified for the nine disorders. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for qualitative and quantitative morphological character identification. The micromorphological characters observed here were important for distinguishing the studied taxa. The highest medicinal values were reported for Vitex negundo and Scutellaria baicalensis for all considered categories except urinary and otorhinolaryngology disorders. The foliar epidermal anatomical characteristics revealed that the micromorphological features of the Lamiaceae species provide taxonomically significant and accurate identification information to delimitate the family species. Moreover, we focused on both qualitative (epidermal cell shape, stomata type, stomatal pore shape, subsidiary cell shape, glandular trichomes, and non-glandular trichome shape) as well as quantitative features (epidermal cell size, stomata size, stomatal pore size, subsidiary cell size, and trichomes size). The trichomes diversity was different in most species' on adaxial and abaxial surfaces. In most species, anomocytic stomata were observed, but other types such as diacytic, paracytic, and tetracytic type stomata were also examined. The diverse pattern of anatomical characters suggests that the studied taxa provide insight evidence for the taxonomic observation of the Traditional Chinese Medicinal plants from the Lamiaceae. This work sets an avenue for future research and taxonomic exploration of medicinal flora through microscopic investigations. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This research offers a thorough microscopic identification of the family Lamiaceae. Taxonomic information on the trichome characters and types for the accurate authentication. Qualitative and quantitative characterization of 25 medicinally used Lamiaceae taxa.

Pollen morphology of the genus Sophora (Fabaceae) and its taxonomic implications.

The genus Sophora (Fabaceae) is one of the taxonomically challenging genera with high economic and medical values. In this study, the pollen morphology of 43 samples of 27 species, 4 subspecies, and 4 varieties of the genus Sophora and 3 closely related genera was examined using scanning electron microscopy to evaluate the pollen diversity of the genus and its taxonomic significance. Pollen grains of the studied species were tricolporate (rarely six-aperture), and pollen shape varied from suboblate, spheroidal, subprolate to prolate. Echinate external ornamentation was reported for the first time in some species of the genus. Aperture membrane ornamentation and outline in a polar/equatorial view were described for the first time in the genus. Principal component analysis was used to understand the relationship and discrimination between the species and the genera, with six components accounting for 79.92% of the total variance. Taxonomic keys based on pollen morphology were also constructed to easily identify the taxa of the genus through palynological characteristics. Results showed that pollen morphology alone is not sufficient to elucidate or reconstruct taxonomic relationships within the genus Sophora, but palynological assessments can provide some useful information for identifying taxonomically problematic taxa.

Palynological characteristics of selected Lamioideae taxa and its taxonomic significance.

Lamioideae comprised the second-largest subfamily in Lamiaceae. Although considerable progress has recently been made in the taxonomic study of Lamioideae, the subfamily remains one of the most poorly investigated subfamily in Lamiaceae. Therefore, the present study was designed with the aim to document the pollen micromorphology of some selected Lamioideae taxa and its taxonomic significance from Pakistan. Pollen micromorphological features were observed using scanning electron microscopy. The pollen grains are monad, tricolpate, radially/bilateral symmetrical. The pollen grains were small to medium-sized having oblate, oblate/subspheroidal, and subspheroidal shape. Exine sculpturing was observed as reticulate, microreticulate, and bireticulate. The colpus surface ornamentation was found as verrucate, gemmate, scabrate, and psilate. There was a considerable variation between the species in the micromorphology, that is, the coarseness of the reticulum, thickness of the muri comprising the reticulum and the number of secondary lumina per primary lumen. Hence, this study documented the pollen morphology of some selected taxa of the subfamily Lamioideae from Pakistan and strengthens the taxonomic identification of subfamily based on pollen characters, which helps in the correct identification, discrimination of the species of Lamioideae at generic and species level.

Systematics study through scanning electron microscopy; a tool for the authentication of herbal drug Mentha suaveolens Ehrh.

In all over the world, herbal drugs are usually adulterated with similar species or varieties due to incorrect identification. Most of herbal products devoid purity and quality, therefore an attempt was carried out to identify plant species and authenticate its herbal drug products from Mentha suaveolens. Microscopy tools provide an excellent platform to identify plants at species level. In this study, microscopic and pharmacokinetic parameters of M. suaveolens were observed. Plant species were collected from high diverse areas of Northern Pakistan. Macro and micro-morphology including palynology and anatomical features were analyzed to study M. suaveolens. Species characteristics were studied, while implementing microscopic techniques for the delimitation and identification of the species. Traditionally Mentha species are used to cure several diseases that is, digestive disorders, respiratory disorders. Micromorphology (stem, leaves, flowers structure, length etc.), palynology (shape, size of pollen etc.), and anatomical characters (types of stomata, epidermal cell shape, and trichomes) were studied. Micromorphology and anatomical characters were of great interest and significance to discuss the taxonomy of the species. Taxonomic characters were studied to characterize and authenticate the species. The aim of the present study is to observe in detail the taxonomic identification of the species in term of morphology, palynology, and foliar epidermal anatomy for the correct identification along with their medicinal uses in the area.

Taxonomic study of subfamily Nepetoideae (Lamiaceae) by polynomorphological approach.

The present study is insight into pollen morphology for characterizing species and their utility in the taxonomic separation of certain taxa of subfamily Nepetoideae (Lamiaceae) from Pakistan. The pollen micromorphology of 11 species of the Nepetoideae was analyzed and documented using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for both qualitative and quantitative characteristics. Most species have hexazonocolpate pollen grains but trizonocolpate and tetrazonocolpate pollen with circular and oval amb were also rarely observed in Mentha spicata. The basic pollen shape in most of the studied species was subspheroidal but prolate grains were also observed in M. spicata, S. coccinea, and S. plebeia. The exine sculpturing of Nepetoideae pollen was taxonomically very informative particularly at subfamily level. Observations of exine sculpturing with SEM revealed various types of pollen grains: reticulate, bireticulate, microreticulate, perforate, aerolate, and gammate. The bireticulate type further subdivided into three subtypes based on the number of secondary lumina in each primary lumen and is characterized by varying characteristics of the secondary reticulum and primary muri. A significant variation was observed in colpus surface ornamentation. The maximum polar diameter was found in O. americanum (58 ± 5.8 µm) and the maximum equatorial diameter observed in O. basilicum (50.25 ± 1.37 µm). Pollen features of the studied species were discussed and compared based on the current taxonomical concepts. The results showed that pollen traits of the subfamily Nepetoideae was found significant to classify the taxa. Furthermore, pollen features provide additional evidence to distinguish macromorphologically similar taxa from each other.

Palyno-morphological investigations of halophytic taxa of Amaranthaceae through SEM from Salt range of Northern Punjab, Pakistan.

The pollen morphology of 11 salt tolerant plant species of family Amaranthaceae from the salt range of Northern Punjab, Pakistan has been studied. The palyno-morphological characters were examined using light and scanning electron microscope. The examined all salt tolerant species have a slight difference in size but have similarity in shape, pore ornamentation, and polarity. The observed morphological characters of pollen grains were pollen symmetry, size, shape, pore ornamentation, pore size, number of pores, exine thickness, polar and equatorial diameter and, P/E ratio. Apolar type of pollens has been observed in all species. Shape of pollens was spheroidal. Exine sculpturing of pollen grains was scabrate (six spp), microechinate (four spp), and microechinate-scabrate (one spp). Different pori numbers were observed in different species. The pantoporate aperturate and sunken pore ornamentation have been reported in all species. A pollen taxonomic key was developed using examined morphological characters for the accurate identification of halophytic taxa. The high fertility and low sterility of pollens confirmed that the selected halophytes are well-established in the salt region. The findings highlight the taxonomic significance of pollen morphology in correct identification and differentiation of salt tolerant plant species.

Using multiple microscopic techniques for the comparative systematic of Spergula fallax and Spergula arvensis (Caryophyllaceae).

In this study, comparative morphology, foliar anatomy and palynology of Spergula fallax and Spergula arvensis (Caryophyllaceae) were studied using multiple microscopic techniques. Genus Spergula includes worldwide five species, while in Flora of Pakistan the genus has two species. In this research, the comparative morphological, anatomical, and palynological characters of the two Pakistani Spergula species were studied. We examined some distinguishing morphological features, in both species, such as plant size, habitat, leaf morphological characters, inflorescences, flowers outer whorls, sepals and petals, and flowers number. These characters species were studied analyzing their comparative systematic significant. The foliar anatomical features also provided distinctive characters as the epidermal cell shape, the wall of the epidermal cell, lobes per cell. The differences in quantitative characters were also examined. The palynological characters showed difference in echini arrangement, echini density, and numbers of pore. Quantitative characters were variations in size of polar, equatorial, exine thickness, pore length, and width and P/E ratio. The multiple microscopic techniques provided sufficient evidence about the systematics of the genus Spergula. Based on morphological, anatomical, and palynological characters, analytical keys were developed for the identification and distinction of the species S. fallax and S. arvensis.

Palyno-anatomical studies of monocot taxa and its taxonomic implications using light and scanning electron microscopy.

Palyno-anatomical study of monocots taxa using Light and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was first time conducted with a view to evaluating their taxonomic significance. Studied plants were collected from different eco-climatic zones of Pakistan ranges from tropical, sub-tropical, and moist habitats. The aim of this study is to use palyno-anatomical features for the correct identification, systematic comparison, and investigation to elucidate the taxonomic significance of these features, which are useful to taxonomists for identifying monocot taxa. A signification variation was observed in quantitative and qualitative characters by using the standard protocol of light microscopy (LM) and SEM. Epidermal cell length varied from maximum in Allium griffthianum (480 ± 35.9) µm at the adaxial surface to minimum in Canna indica (33.6 ± 8.53) µm on abaxial surface. Maximum exine thickness was observed in Canna indica (4.46) µm and minimum in Allium grifthianum (0.8) µm. Variation was observed in shape and exine ornamentation of the pollen, shape of the epidermal cell, number, size, and type of stomata, guard cell shape, and anticlinal wall pattern. Based on these palyno-anatomical features a taxonomic key was developed, which help in the discrimination of studied taxa. In conclusion, LM and SEM pollen and epidermal morphology is explanatory, significant, and can be of special interest for the plant taxonomist in the correct identification of monocots taxa.

Systematic approach to the correct identification of Asplenium dalhousiae (Aspleniaceae) with their medicinal uses.

In present study, multiple microscope techniques were used for the systematics identification of the species Asplenium dalhousiae. The plant was collected from different phytogeographical and its natural habitat of Pakistan, where it shows higher diversity. Morphology, foliar epidermal anatomy, and spore morphological characters of the species were studied in detailed using multiple microscopic techniques through light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). LM and SEM were used for the systematics identification of the species. Traditionally, the species is used in the ailment of many diseases, so the spore morphology, anatomical features, and morphological characters are relevant to describe the species taxonomy. The importance of multiple methods of taxonomic study (e.g., documentation and morphological characteristics) for characterizing herbs are important step in systematic certification to maintain the efficacy of herbal medicines. The aim of the present study is to examine the morphological, anatomical, and spore morphology of the species A. dalhousiae in more detailed for the correct taxonomic identification and their medicinal validation from Pakistan.

Identification of green energy ranunculaceous flora of district Chitral, Northern Pakistan using pollen features through scanning electron microscopy.

Pollen micro-morphological features have proven to be helpful for the plant taxonomists in the identification and classification of plants. The utilization of this plantmayhelpfulin the areas of lignocellulosic conversion to biofuels and diversify application toward biomass. The current study was planned with the aim to evaluate the pollen features of complex Ranunculaceous flora of District Chitral, Northern Pakistan using both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Light Microscope (LM) for their taxonomic importance. Pollens of 18 Ranunculaceous species belonging to 6 genera were collected from different localities of the research area. SEM and LM were used to examine both qualitative and quantitative micro-morphological features. Sculptring of the sexine include; Scabrate, psilate, echinate, verrucate, perforate gemmate, and reticulate and so forth. Shape of the pollens was sub-spheroidal, spheroidal, prolate, subprolate and oblate and so forth. Type of pollen was ranged from mono to tricolpate and tricolporate. Quantitative characters include length/width of the pollen, colpus, exine thickness, and P/E ratio. Based on these micro-morphological features a taxonomic key was prepared for the fast and correct identification. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT: Study of the pollen micro-morphological features of Ranunculaceous species by SEM and LM. Analysing both qualitative and quantitative characters of the pollens. Preparation of taxonomic key based on micro-morphological features for the correct and fast identification.

Pollen morphology of subfamily Caryophylloideae (Caryophyllaceae) and its taxonomic significance.

The Pollen morphology of subfamily Caryophylloideae (Caryophyllaceae) from different phytogeographical region of Pakistan has been evaluated. In this research, 16 species belong to 6 genera of subfamily Caryophylloideae have been studied using light (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for both qualitative and quantitative characters. Different palyno-morphological features were observed including; pollen ornamentation, pore ornamentation, echini arrangement, echinidensity, number of pori, size of polar and equatorial diameter, P/E ratio, exine thickness, and size of pore were studied. The palyno-morphological characters of subfamily Caryophylloideae have taxonomically significant in identification and delimitation of species. Two pollen types, i.e., subspheroidal (15 species) and prolate (one species Vaccaria hispanica) were observed. Microechinate-punctate and microechinate-perforate pollen ornamentation were examined. Two pollen types of pori, i.e., prominent (5 species) and sunken (11 species) ornamentation have been reported. Three types of echini arrangement have been reported irregular, regular and rather regular, while three type of echinidensity (i.e., medium, dense and sparse) were observed. Pori numbers were found different in different species range from 5 in Silene apetala to 19-35 in Silene vulgaris. Based on different palyno-morphological characters, taxonomic key was develop for quick and accurate identification. The quantitative data were processed using SPSS software for average, minimum, maximum, and standard error.

Morpho-palynological study of Cyperaceae from wetlands of Azad Jammu and Kashmir using SEM and LM.

In this study 12 species of Cyperaceae have been studied for quantitative and qualitative observation of pollen grains through Light and scanning electron microscopy. Pollens of 12 species of Cyperaceae from different wetlands of Azad Jammu and Kashmir were collected. Morphological characters of pollen grains were then investigated under the Light and Scanning electron microscope. Two pollen types have been observed apolar and heteropolar. Shape of pollens was prolate (4 spp), sub-spheroidal (7 spp), and oblate (1 spp). Variation observed in exine sculpturing granular (4 spp), reticulate (1 spp), areolate-punctate (3 spp), and psilate (2 spp). Polar to equatorial ratio and fertility percentage of the pollens were also studied. Based on these micromorphlogical characters of pollens taxonomic keys have been made for the accurate identification of the members of Cyperaceae. The characteristics studied in present research work are very much valuable taxonomically and phytochemically for the identification of species of family Cyperaceae. Light microscope (LM) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used for pollen observation, which play vital role in the taxonomical identification of species and provide sufficient information for taxonomist.