Novel report of Acinetobacter johnsonii as an indole-producing seed endophyte in Tamarindus indica L.

Plant-microbe associations have been regarded as an exciting topic of research due to their potential as environment friendly alternatives for stimulating crop growth and development. Seeds of Tamarindus indica L. have been chosen for the present study as seed endophytes prefer larger or nutritive cotyledon and hard seed coats for their colonization. The main objectives of our study were to isolate and identify the seed endophytes, their bioefficacy, and responsible chemical compounds. In a dose-dependent experiment, tamarind seed exudates (TSE) showed plant growth-promoting properties on Oryza sativa (53-81%), Daucus carota (10-31%), and Raphanus sativa (21-42%). Identification of the bacterial load in TSE through 16S rRNA sequencing revealed the existence of two bacterial species, Acinetobacter johnsonii and Niallia nealsonii. This is the first report of these two bacteria as seed endophytes of Tamarindus indica L. HRLC-MS analysis of TSE confirmed the presence of indole derivatives, primarily indole-3-lactic acid (ILA). The quantitative phytochemical estimation of bacterial culture filtrates revealed that indole-like substances were present in the extracts only in A. johnsonii at a concentration of 0.005 mg/ml of indole acetic acid equivalent. Experimental results suggested that the stimulatory activity of TSE was caused by the presence of A. johnsonii, a potential plant growth-promoting bacteria that produced indole-like compounds. This study suggests tamarind seed exudates with its endophytic microbiota as a potent plant growth-promoting agent that may find use as a cheap and sustainable source of metabolites useful in the agro-industries.

Synthesis, antimicrobial, anticancer evaluation and molecular docking with Bax and MDM2 of dibromosterculic acid.

Dibromosterculic acid [8-(1,2-dibromo-2-octylcyclopropyl)-octanoic acid], a new synthetic derivative was prepared by bromination of sterculic acid. This synthetic derivative showed strong fungicidal activity against two pathogenic fungal species namely Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus niger with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.007 mg/ml and good bactericidal activity against Bacillus subtilis and Xanthomonas sp. with MIC value of 0.015 mg/ml. Cytotoxic activity on both normal (MCF-10A) and cancerous (MDA-MB-468) cell lines revealed that the survivability percentage of normal cells was unaffected, whereas cancerous cells were decreased greatly by dibromosterculic acid with 50% survivability at 9 µg/ml concentration. Molecular-docking using AutoDock 4.2 with Bax exhibited strong pi-sigma interaction with PHE-93, pi-alkyl and alkyl interaction with TRP-139, ARG-89 and PHE-92 whereas MDM2 revealed strong hydrogen bond interaction with GLN-59 and pi-alkyl interaction with PHE-55. All experimental parameters suggested that this synthetic derivative would be valuable for target-specific drug development with nominal side effects.

Characterization and metabolomic profiling of two pigment producing fungi from infected fruits of Indian Gooseberry.

Two pigment producing fungi, Talaromyces atroroseus and Penicillium choerospondiatis, were isolated and identified from infected fruits of Phyllanthus emblica L. based on amplification and sequencing of internal transcribed spacer region and beta-tubulin gene. This is the first occurrence report of these two fungi from fruits of P. emblica. Culture extract containing metabolites of T. atroroseus and P. choerospondiatis contained phenolics of 26.35 mg and 30.89 mg GAE/g dry extract respectively; whereas no significant amount of flavonoids and tannins were detected. P. choerospondiatis metabolites extract showed higher DPPH and ABTS activity with IC50 values of 21.94 mg/ml and 27.03 mg/ml respectively than T. atroroseus. LC-HRMS analysis of metabolites extract of T. atroroseus revealed presence of trimethyl-isopropyl-butanamide, perlolyrine, N-hexadecanoylpyrrolidine etc. whereas P. choerospondiatis displayed presence of tangeraxanthin, ugaxanthone, daphniphylline, etc. Therefore, fungal metabolites are rich natural sources of diversified compounds that can be utilized in dyeing industries, cosmetics and novel drug development.

Antioxidant, antimicrobial and DNA damage protecting potential of hot taste spices: a comparative approach to validate their utilization as functional foods.

Hot taste spices have enormous health benefits starting from kitchen to pharmaceutical laboratories. Our present study is focused on phytochemical and pharmacological screening of six hot taste spices namely Zingiber officinale (ginger), Capsicum annuum (chilli), Piper chaba (java long pepper), Piper nigrum (black pepper), Syzygium aromaticum (clove), Trachyspermum ammi (carom). Among all six spices, clove and ginger exhibited strong antioxidant activity owing to higher phytochemical contents. Significant antifungal activity (IZD ≥ 11 mm) was revealed by all six spices except hexane fraction of carom whereas strong antibacterial activity with lowest MIC was displayed by clove, ginger and chilli. DNA was successfully protected from oxidative damage by clove, ginger followed by chilli, java long pepper and carom but black pepper could only partially protect DNA damage even at 4 mg/ml concentration. Based on the DNA damage protecting potentials and antioxidant activities clove, ginger, java long pepper and carom may be utilized for neutraceuticals development. Antimicrobial activities suggested that clove, ginger, java long pepper and chilli may be useful as food preservatives. Fractionated bioactivity of the all the six HTS would help for targeted extraction and development of nutraceuticals from these commonly used medicinal spices.

Maleic and L-tartaric acids as new anti-sprouting agents for potatoes during storage in comparison to other efficient sprout suppressants.

Inhibiting sprouting of potatoes is an interesting subject needed for potato storage and industry. Sprouting degrades the quality of tuber along with releasing α-solanine and α-chaconine, which are harmful for health. Sprout suppressants, available in the market, are either costly or toxic to both health and environment. So, there is a need for developing countries to explore new sprouting suppressant compound which is cheap, non-toxic and reasonably efficient in comparison to commercial ones. We have established that simple maleic acid and L-tartaric acid are effective sprout suppressing agents. Both can hinder sprouting up to 6 weeks and 4 weeks post treatment respectively at room temperature in dark. These do not affect the quality parameters, retain the moisture content and maintain the stout appearance of the tubers along the total storage period. Thus maleic acid and L-tartaric acid would qualify as alternative, cheap, efficient sprout suppressant for potato storage and processing.