Zinc portioning and allocation patterns among various tissues confers variations in Zn use efficiency and bioavailability in lentil genotypes.

Zinc (Zn) is essential for plants and animals as it plays significant roles in several physiological and biological processes. Its deficiency in soil results in low Zn content food and is one of the major reasons for Zn malnutrition in humans. Biofortification of crops with zinc (Zn) is a viable approach to combat malnutrition, especially in developing countries. A hydroponic study was executed to study response and Zn partitioning in various lentil genotypes. Eight preselected lentil genotypes (Line-11504, Mansehra-89, Masoor-2006, Masoor-85, Line-10502, Markaz-09, Masoor-2004, and Shiraz-96) were grown in solution culture with two Zn levels (control and adequate Zn). Plants were sown in polythene lined iron trays with a two inch layer of prewashed riverbed sand. After 10 days of germination, seedlings were transplanted to a 25L capacity container with nutrient solution for 15 days, and afterward, these plants were divided into two groups, receiving either 2.0 mM Zn or no Zn levels. Three plants of each genotype were harvested at the vegetative growth stage (60 DAT) and the remaining three at physiological maturity (117 DAT). Plants were partitioned into roots, shoots, and grains at harvest. Significant variations in root and shoot dry matter production, grain output, partitioning of Zn in plant parts (root, shoot, and grain), grain phytate reduction, and Zn bioavailability were observed among genotypes. Lentil root accumulated more Zn (54 mg kg-1) with respect to shoot Zn (51 mg kg-1) under Zn supply. The Zn efficient genotypes (Line-11504 and Mansehra-89) produced more root and shoot dry weights at both harvests. There was a positive correlation between the relative growth rate of root and grain phytate concentration (r = 0.55) and [phytate]:[Zn] ratio (r = 0.67). Zn-efficient genotype Mansehra-89 had a maximum root shoot ratio (0.57) and higher grain Zn (60 mg kg-1) with a respectively reduced grain phytate (17 µg g-1) and thus, had more Zn bioavailability (3.01 mg d-1). The genotypic ability for Zn uptake and accumulation within different plant tissues may be incorporated into future crop breeding to improve the nutrition of undernourished consumers.

Aqueous Ethanolic Extract of Adiantum incisum Forssk. Protects against Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus via Attenuation of α-Amylase and Oxidative Stress.

Purpose : This study was designed to investigate the antidiabetic effects of the aqueous ethanolic extract of Adiantum incisum Forssk. whole plant (AE-AI) in order to validate the folkloric claim. Methods : Streptozotocin (STZ) was used to induce type 2 diabetes mellitus (TII DM) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. STZ-induced diabetic rats were later treated orally with either AE-AI (125, 250, and 500 mg/kg) or glibenclamide for 35 days. Blood glucose levels were measured weekly and on day 35, animals were sacrificed, and blood samples and tissues were harvested for subsequent antioxidant and histopathological analyses. AE-AI was also analyzed in vitro for phytochemical, antioxidant, and α-amylase inhibitory assays. Results : The phytochemical screening of AE-AI confirmed the presence of essential bioactive compounds like cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, saponins, and fixed oils. AE-AI demonstrated abundant amounts of total phenolic and flavonoid contents and displayed prominent antioxidant activity as assessed via DPPH, phosphomolybdate, and nitric oxide scavenging assays. AE-AI treatment also showed α-amylase inhibitory activity comparable to acarbose. In addition, AE-AI treatment exhibited a wide margin of safety in rats and dose-dependently reduced STZ-induced blood glucose levels. Moreover, AE-AI increased the levels of GSH, SOD, catalase, and reduced MDA, and therefore prevented pathological effects of STZ on the kidney, liver, and pancreas. The blood glucose regulatory effect and antioxidant activity of AE-AI also aided in normalizing TII DM-mediated dyslipidemias. GC-MS analysis also demonstrated several potential antidiabetic phytoconstituents in AE-AI. Conclusion : These findings reveal that AE-AI possesses certain pharmacologically active compounds that can effectively treat STZ-induced TII DM owing to its antioxidant and α-amylase inhibitory potentials.

Innovative Strategies to Overcome Antimicrobial Resistance and Tolerance.

Antimicrobial resistance and tolerance are natural phenomena that arose due to evolutionary adaptation of microorganisms against various xenobiotic agents. These adaptation mechanisms make the current treatment options challenging as it is increasingly difficult to treat a broad range of infections, associated biofilm formation, intracellular and host adapted microbes, as well as persister cells and microbes in protected niches. Therefore, novel strategies are needed to identify the most promising drug targets to overcome the existing hurdles in the treatment of infectious diseases. Furthermore, discovery of novel drug candidates is also much needed, as few novel antimicrobial drugs have been introduced in the last two decades. In this review, we focus on the strategies that may help in the development of innovative small molecules which can interfere with microbial resistance mechanisms. We also highlight the recent advances in optimization of growth media which mimic host conditions and genome scale molecular analyses of microbial response against antimicrobial agents. Furthermore, we discuss the identification of antibiofilm molecules and their mechanisms of action in the light of the distinct physiology and metabolism of biofilm cells. This review thus provides the most recent advances in host mimicking growth media for effective drug discovery and development of antimicrobial and antibiofilm agents.

Synergistic consequences of salinity and potassium deficiency in quinoa: Linking with stomatal patterning, ionic relations and oxidative metabolism.

Quinoa emerged as an ideal food security crop due to its exceptional nutritive profile and stress enduring potential and also deemed as model plant to study the salt-tolerance mechanisms. However to fill the research gaps of this imperative crop, the present work aimed to study the effect of potassium (K) deficiency either separately or in combination with salinity. First, we investigated the stomatal and physiological based variations in quinoa growth under salinity and K, then series of analytical tools were used with model approach to interpret the stomatal aperture (SA) and photosynthesis (Pn) changes. Results revealed that quinoa efficiently deployed antioxidants to scavenge the excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), had high uptake and retention of K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ with Cl⁻ as charge balancing ion, increased stomata density (SD) and declined the SA to maintain the Pn which resulted the improved growth under salinity. Whereas, K-deficiency caused the stunted growth more severally under salinity due to disruption in ionic homeostasis, excessive ROS production elicited the oxidative damages, SD and SA reduced and ultimately declined in Pn. Our best fitted regression model explored that dependent variables like Pn and SA changed according to theirs signified explanatory variables with quantification per unit based as stomatal conductance (Gs, 51), SD (0.05), ROS (-0.79) and K+ (0.08), Cl⁻ (0.34) and Na+ (- 0.52) respectively. Overall, moderate salinity promoted the quinoa growth, while K-deficiency particularly with salinity reduced the quinoa performance by affecting stomatal and non-stomatal factors.

Phosphorus (P) use efficiency in rice is linked to tissue-specific biomass and P allocation patterns.

Phosphorus (P) is a non-renewable resource which may be depleted within next few decades; hence high P use efficiency is need of time. Plants have evolved an array of adaptive mechanisms to enhance external P acquisition and reprioritize internal utilization under P deficiency. Tissue specific biomass and P allocation patterns may affect the P use efficiency in plants. six rice cultivars were grown in solution culture for 20 days and then were divided into two groups to receive either adequate P or no P that were harvested at 30, 40 and 50 days. Plants were dissected into various tissues/organs. Two rice cultivars viz Super Basmati (P-inefficient) and PS-2 (P-efficient) were grown in soil with no or 50 mg P kg-1 soil till maturity. Rice cultivars PS-2 and Basmati-2000 had higher P uptake, utilization efficiency and internal remobilization than other tested cultivars after P omission. Young leaves and roots were the major sinks while stems and mature leaves were the sources of P during P omission. In conclusion, biomass allocation and P accumulation among various tissues and P remobilization were major factors responsible for P efficiency.

Fabrication and application of complex microcapsules: a review.

The development of new functional materials requires cutting-edge technologies for incorporating different functional materials without reducing their functionality. Microencapsulation is a method to encapsulate different functional materials at nano- and micro-scales, which can provide the necessary protection for the encapsulated materials. In this review, microencapsulation is categorized into chemical, physical, physico-chemical and microfluidic methods. The focus of this review is to describe these four categories in detail by elaborating their various microencapsulation methods and mechanisms. This review further discusses the key features and potential applications of each method. Through this review, the readers could be aware of many aspects of this field from the fabrication processes, to the main properties, and to the applications of microcapsules.

Categorization of wheat genotypes for phosphorus efficiency.

Production of phosphorus efficient crop cultivars can increase food productivity and decrease environmental pollution. Categorization of existing germplasm is a prerequisite to develop P efficient crop cultivars. For first experiment, 30 wheat genotypes were grown in hydroponics with two P levels (i.e., deficit, 20 µm KH2PO4 and adequate, 200 µm KH2PO4). Genotypes differed significantly for various P efficiency parameters. Two genotypes (Dirk and Bhakkar-02) showed < 25% decrease in growth at P deficiency. Genotype Seher-06 proved to be inefficient. Twelve selected genotypes based on the first experiment were sown in soil with two P levels (0 and 30 mg P kg-1) till maturity. As expected, genotypes differed for grain yield at both P levels. The efficient cultivars selected on the basis of both absolute and relative dry matter production at both P levels such as Dirk. Genotypes were grouped into three, four and nine classes on the basis of various parameters for P efficiency as proposed by different researchers. Most genotypes behaved in a similar fashion by different categorization methods and also at different P supply. The method to categorize the genotypes into three classes and plotting them into 9 classes proposed by Gill and his coworkers, is the best to differentiate the minor differences in genotypes. At least three different parameters at both P regimes should be used. The parameters may vary as per objectives of the study and/or growth conditions.