Drynaria quercifolia is a highly medicinal fern used traditionally all over the world to treat a variety of ailments. But due to indiscriminate collection and destruction of habitats, it is facing the verdict of being endangered. So it is high time to adopt the various conservation measures including its in vitro propagation. In order to conserve the species in situ, in vitro culture of spores of the plant was tried. The spores were found to germinate only on MS - Z4 medium (Full MS+1mg/L IAA+5mg/L Kinetin+20%CM+300mg/L CH). All other media used failed to produce prothallus. After inoculation, it took about 30 days to germinate. After development of the Prothallus and subsequent development sporophytes, the plantlets were transferred in different media but the best growth was observed in PNT-2 media (Full strength Parker and Thompson +5mg/L IAA+2mg/L Kinetin) where proliferation of vegetative fronds and rhizome were recorded.
The objective of the present study is to investigate the effects of chemotherapeutic agent Mitomycin C and the potential antioxidative properties of Vitamin C when acting in combination with Mitomycin C in the mammalian somatic and germ cell in vivo. Mitomycin C is a chemotherapeutic agent. However, application of such a drug may lead to severe cytogenetical consequences like damage to the normal, healthy proliferative cells and tissues of the body. Such effects may lead to development of secondary neoplasms, faulty genome and various other physical and physiological side-effects. In our study we have observed that administration of Mitomycin C (2 mg/kg/bw) to Sprague-dawley’s mice induced significant level (P < 0.001) of chromosomal aberrations (CA), micronucleus formation (MN) and sperm head abnormalities (SHA) when compared to untreated control. However with prior administration of Vitamin C in various doses (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg/bw) significantly reduced (P < 0.001) the frequency of CA, MN and SHA. This indicates the antioxidative potential of Vitamin C and its protective intervention against Mitomycin C induced cytogenetical damages.
India is known for its rich flora and fauna, diverse climatic zones and wealth of living ethno-medicinal traditions. It has about 3500 medicinal plant species, which possesses a great diversity of usages in various ailments and it is claimed that ethnic groups of people are the source of all the indigenous drugs. Keeping this in FieH', an ethno-botanical survey was carried out on the ut ilization of medicinal plants in major diseases by Dimasa tribe settled in Barak Valley (South Assam). Data was generated by interviewing the traditional the herbalists and several other elderlv men and women. The traditional uses of 34 medicinal plants in major diseases belonging to 29[amilies are presented here with their botanical name, family, parts used. method of preparation and ethnomedicinal uses. These 34 plant species used in major diseases are divided into R categories of ailments, which are presented in tabularform. For better understanding, graphical representation of plant parts used, number of plant species used to cure different ailments and utilization pattern of different plant parts are also presented here.
An attempt was made to explore the ethnobotanical, economical and biological importance of Cicca acida or Phyllanthus acidus. The plant is used for 28 types of remedies like cathartic, emetic, coughs, hypertension, asthma, skin diseases etc and as a food in the raw form. In India, it is found in different states including Maharastra, Assam, Manipur, Tamilnadu and South Indian states as home garden ornaments. The paper reviews the data related to scientific works carried out with the plant and listed the bioactive compounds isolated from the plant till date. Based on the review made, present paper highlights the need of future research with Cicca acida or Phyllanthus acidus so that more active principle for treating new ailments can be isolated and made available from the plant .
Non- timber forest product (NTFP) plays a significant role in the lifestyle oftheforest dwellers of the Inner line Reserve Forest (ILRF) of Cachar, Assam, India. Both tribal and non-tribal communities of ILRF depend on several NTFPs for their livelihood and safety net. Large scale depletion of forest land and resources in the reserve forest has endangered the safety net of the ecosystem. In this paper an attempt has been made to study the dependency and usage pattern of the NTFPs in ILRF.
Keeping in view the role of diazotrophs in dinitrogen nutrition of rice an experiment was carried outtoisolate the native strains of soil diazotroph from the acidic low lying rice fields of South Assam and to test the efficacy of the diazotrophs in improving growth and yield of cultivated rice. Among the isolated strains Azotobacter chroococcum, Azospirillum amazonense and Beijerinckia indica were with higher frequency and relative abundance in the soil and plant inoculation experiment with these strains revealed that an average of25-30% increase in the growth and yield parameters of inoculated rice plants over un inoculated control.
Homalonema aromatica (Roxb.)Schott. is a rhizomatous aromatic herb belonging family Araceae and is locally known as Gondhi/Gondo Kochu.The plant is very much potent as regards to its economic & ethnobotanical utility is concerned. Considering the scope of multifarious Economic & Ethnobotanical utilities of the plant, detail phytochemical and bioactivity evaluation has been undertaken. The acetone, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts show the presence of flavonoid ,alkaloid, reducing sugar, saponin, tannin.& steroids.The bioactivity evaluation of acetone and petroleum ether extracts of rhizomes showed positive response against some gram positive bacteria.
Bamboo is a natural resource in the world. The young and tender bamboo plant, called bamboo shoot, is utilized as one of the food items in many countries. Consumption of bamboo shoots in most of the countries is in dried, canned, boiled, fermented or medicinal forms. Bamboo shoots are low in fats and cholesterol contents, but very high in potassium, carbohydrates and dietary fibers. However, due to presence of hydro cyanine (HCN) develops bitterness in the bamboo shoots, which limits the interest of many people for this renewable and yet unexplored natural food item. The present article present the various qualities of bamboo shoot, biochemistry of bitterness in bamboo shoots and processing challenges in supporting and establishing bamboo shoot based R&D sectors .
Endophytes promote plant growth and yield, suppress pathogens, solubilize phosphate and contribute assimilable nitrogen to the plants. Mutualistic endophyte such as Azospirillum, Gluconobacter diazotrophicus,Burkholderia sp.of rice and other grasses, are of agrobiotechnological interest.The recent isolation and study of endophytic nitrogen fixing bacteria from grasses represent an exciting period in the field of biological nitrogen fixation. A substancial review work has been done in the present paper on the diversity as well as host microbe interaction of endophytic diazotrophs in non leguminous plants.
The populations of air and leaf surface microorganisms are gaining considerable attention as they can play significant role in the resistant mechanism of plants from air-borne plant pathogens. Studies on aerobiology can help to understand the sources, take off, passive transport, deposition and impaction of these microorganisms on the plant surface. So far no work has been reported on the air spora of tea plantation areas of Barak Valley, Assam. Therefore, in the present work mycoflora of air, phyllosphere and soil of tea field areas were recorded for one year at monthly intervals. Seasonal variation of the air mycoflora was observed by exposing Petri-plates containing Czapek’s Dox agar medium. Phyllosphere analysis was done by the method described by Dickinson (1971) and soil with the help of soil dilution plate method. For phyllosphere studies ten tea varieties were taken into consideration (i.e. TV-1, TV-7, TV-20, TV-23, TV-25, TV-27, TV-28, TV-29 and TV-30). A total of 34 fungal species were identified from the air, phyllosphere and soil of the tea plantation area. Among them Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., Fusarium sp.and Curvularia sp. dominated in all the conditions, i.e. air, phyllosphere and soil. Some air-borne species such as Aspergillus candidus, A.niger, P.citrinum, P.islandicum, Cladosporium herbarium, Alternaria sp., Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida sp etc. were found to be present on the tea leaf surface and tea soil, indicating that the air spora originated either from vegetation including tea plants as well as from the soil. The results were compared and correlated with the meteorological conditions of the area. Tea is one of the most important agricultural crops produced in India. Green tea leaves are reported to carry various mycoflora including some of the mycotoxin producers. No systematic study has been done on the same till date especially under the agro-climatic conditions of Barak valley, Assam. Therefore, further investigation is required to be carried out in order to get an insight on the probability of the production of mycotoxins on the processed tea, if any, and to reduce the possible contamination of the same with these toxin/toxin-producing micro-organisms in tea at large.
Rice being the staple food crop cultivated invariably in all the states of the region as sole crop in lowland areas and as a mixture with other crops in upland jhum, fallow dry land and rainfed terrace land. Traditional land races cultivars of rice varieties which are in practice since generations in the region by diverse ethnic groups are successfully managed against pest pathogens and nutrient deficiencies using their indigenous/ traditional knowledge in location specific areas. Blast and brown leaf spot are the most common foliar fungal diseases of rice whereas brown plant hopper, white backed plant hopper, case worm gall midge, stem borer, etc are the common insect pests. As the soil is organic by default, traditional management practices such as the use of botanicals, creating prey-predator attraction environment in rice field, recycling agricultural waste and other indigenous agronomic practices were found effective against pest/ pathogens of rice in traditional organic farming system. Identification and documentation of indigenous rice varieties and their management practices against pest pathogens, evaluation and validation with scientific rationale attached to the indigenous techniques have been reported and discussed in the paper.
In this review, some features of the cosmological standard model are recapitulated. This is followed by a brief introduction of various ideas in cosmological applications of string theory which includes ideas from the pre-D-brane epoch as well as inflationary scenarios inspired by D-brane physics.
A study on the biomass and productivity of riparian vegetation along Dikrong river system comprising three rivers, Pare, Pachin and Dikrong in Arunachal Pradesh was carried out. Both the biomass and productivity of the riparian vegetation was greater along river Pare and was least along river Pachin. It was observed that the intensity of disturbance along the riparian zone played a significant role in decreasing both the biomass and productivity of the riparian vegetation. Hence proper management initiatives should be taken to maintain the riparian vegetation as it plays a significant role in the functioning of riverine systems.
Papilionanthe teres (Roxb.) Schltr. is a medicinal orchid found in all reserve forests of Southern Assam, India. Mature pods of Papilionanthe teres were collected from natural plants and seeds were inoculated in Murashige and Skoog (MS), Knudson C (KnC), Commercial Orchid Maintenance(OMM) and Commercial Orchid Maintenance Replate (OMR) medium(HiMedia). Best germination and growth were observed in commercial orchid maintenance replate medium supplemented with 2mg\L IAA and 5mg\L KN. Growth of root, shoot were measured after three months of germination. Shoot tip and nodal explant of the plant were tried in different medium viz. MS, White, B5, KnC, Commercial Orchid Maintenance medium etc. containing different growth regulators modification for micro propagation. For phytochemical screening qualitative tests were performed from the dried powder of the plants. From the qualitative test it was observed that the plant extracts contain alkaloid, flavonoid and tannin in petroleum ether extract and alkaloid, tannin and saponin were found in ethyl acetate extract. Steroid was found present in methanol and benzene extract. Flavonoid was found only in acetone extract.
In this paper we report an easier and quicker chemical method of synthesis of Cadmium selenide quantum (CdSe) dots using paraffin as solvent and oleic acid as reaction medium. The specimen is characterized by UV/Vis spectroscopy and by ‘Hyperbolic Band Model’ it reveals an approximate average particle size of 8nm. Impedance analysis of the samples shows highest impedance in the audio frequency range which is independent of bias voltage.
