Clerodendrum thomsoniae is a member of the Lamiaceae family and is found throughout Asia, Australia, Africa, and America. C. thomsoniae (CT), mostly utilized in the floriculture sector, is sometimes referred to as bleeding heart vine or bag flower due to its exquisite decorative qualities. Apart from its high value in the floriculture industry, the plant has been utilized in traditional Indian and Japanese medicine to treat a variety of ailments. There is a dearth of information on the biological properties of the plant and its putative ingredients. Therefore, this study evaluated the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer potentials of the extract, as well as identified its phytocompounds. The antioxidant screening was based on nitric oxide (NO), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hydroxyl, and superoxide radical scavenging assays. In vitro anti-inflammatory activity of the extract was based on the egg albumin denaturation (EAD) assay, while the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability assay was used to determine its anti-cancer potential. The chemical composition of the extract was determined using the hyphenated gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. Lastly, the identified phytocompounds were molecular docked against the inflammatory [NF-κβ (4DN5)] and cancer [mdm2 (3W69)] proteins. At 200 μg/mL, CT extract-treated Vero normal cells exhibited more viability (78.32±1.19%) than the one treated with the human renal adenocarcinoma (ACHN) cell line (33.45±0.66%), which suggests CT extract to be selectively cytotoxic to the cancer cells. The extract also demonstrated considerable inhibition of EAD (IC50=164.59±17.85 μg/mL). Thus, the observed anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties of CT extract may be attributed to its notable NO and H2O2 radicals scavenging activities, with IC50 values of 205.7±11.44 and 69.74±6.50 μg/mL respectively. GC-MS analysis of the extract revealed sixteen major compounds. In silico studies indicated α-tocopherol and stigmasterol as the most promising compounds, having exhibited the highest binding energy scores of -9.9 and -8.7 kcal/mol against NF-κβ (4DN5) and mdm2 (3W69) proteins respectively. In conclusion, C. thomsoniae leaf extract showed considerable antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties, which may be attributed to its α-tocopherol and stigmasterol contents.
The development of advanced rice breeding lines and their evaluation for yield-attributes and salinity stress tolerance offers a significant opportunity to identify high-yielding salt-tolerant genotypes exhibiting desired traits. The present study aimed to examine the morpho-genetic variability of thirty-six advanced breeding lines of rice, with a focus on features that contribute to yield and salinity stress tolerance. Three replications of a randomized complete block design were used in the first experiment. Significant variability was observed among the lines for the studied quantitative traits. Based on yield attributing traits, the advanced breeding lines viz., Line 10, Line 21, Line 22, Line 23, Line 24 and Line 25 showed better performances in terms of earliness and yield. In yield-related variables such as the number of effective tillers per plant, plant height, and grain yield per plant exhibited high heritability coupled with high genetic advance as percentage of mean. The results of PCA biplot showed that the PC1 and PC2 accounted for the greatest variability of advanced Line 10, Line 11, Line 18, Line 21, Line 22, Line 23, Line 24, Line 25, Nerica 10, Begunipata, and Binadhan-14 with significant influence of the studied traits. Cluster analysis reflected that the high-yielding genotypes were placed in cluster II and VI. Highest genetic distance was observed among the genotypes of cluster III and cluster VI. In the second experiment, four advanced breeding lines along with salt tolerant and susceptible checks were assessed for salinity tolerance at the reproductive stage. The plants were cultivated in a large plastic-tub filled with field soil. During the late booting stage, saline (EC=10 dS/m) irrigation water was applied to the plants and continued for three weeks. While Lines 10 and 12 demonstrated a reduced decline, salt stress caused a significant loss in yield and yield-attributing characteristics in all genotypes. Line 10 and Line 12 which showed a reasonable degree of salt tolerance as well as early maturity were placed in the respective quadrant of the biplot. Stress tolerance indices also reflecting the better salt tolerance phenomena of the advanced Line 10 and Line 12. Considering all of the traits, Line 10 and Line12 could be selected as desired advanced rice lines for the development of early, high-yielding and salt tolerant rice varieties.
In this study, micropropagation protocol for the Mongolian rare shrub Lycium truncatum L. has been developed through axenical seed germination. There are successful micropropagation procedures for some Lycium species; nonetheless, L. truncatum requires both in-vitro and ex-vitro optimization.The 4-week-old sterile seedlings with spontaneous root formation, cultivated in full-strength hormone-free MS media were utilized as initial explants for in vitro culture. The highest shoot proliferation (4.6 shoots/explant) was achieved on Driver and Kuniyuki Walnut medium (DKW) supplemented with 2 mg/L kinetin (KIN) and 0.1 mg/L 1-naphtaleneacetic acid (NAA) combination. The proliferating shoots on the half-strength MS media supplemented with 0.1mg/L NAA displayed robust root formation. The rooted plantlets were acclimated in sterile soil in a pot and cultivated at room temperature for 2-3 months with a high survival rate of more than 90% before transferring to the greenhouse.
Production of sufficient numbers of plants of a unique genotype is possible using in vitro culture system. In this study, the effects of various concentrations and combinations of plant growth regulators for in vitro regeneration of gladiolus were used with corm fractions as explants. Thus, an efficient in vitro propagation method was developed for Gladiolus dalenii using corm slices as explants. The highest rate of 90% explants for callus induction was observed on MS medium supplemented with 7.5 mg/L NAA after culture initiation of 90 days. Calli responded to form well developed shoots on transferring to medium containing MS + 0.5 mg/L BA + 0.5 mg/L Kin, in which 70% of the cultured calli responded to produce shoots. The average number of shoot per culture calli was 20 ± 2.40 and the average shoot lengths of 4.50 ± 0.45 cm were achieved in this medium after culture of 60 days. Recurrent callus induction and continuous plant regeneration were also observed in the same medium during the passage of shoot induction period. Shoots rooted well when they were excised individually and implanted on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 2.5 mg/L IBA, which resulted 90% shoot induced roots after culture of 30 days. The average number of root per shoot was 10 ± 1.20 and the average root length of 5.5 ± 0.70 cm was observed in this medium. Eighty percent (80) of the in vitro raised plantlets were survived in the natural environment.
Rooting of in vitro produced buds and shoots is often the limiting step during micropropagation. Therefore, a better understanding of the various stages before and during root formation is needed. Reviewing the work done so far on Pines the present investigation was carried out to study the factors that affect in vitro rooting. Different parameters that influence rooting viz. donor age, phytohormones, and substrate were investigated. Shoots taken from field, it was found that the juvenility of the explant and position on the mother plant greatly affects the in vitro responses. In vitro raised shoots and hypocotyl cuttings of Pinus roxburghii showed best response over the other explants on ½ x DCR medium. Among the various auxins used in present investigation, NAA at lower concentrations found best for root initiation. Agar at 0.6% concentrations resulted in more healthy roots. Further elongation was achieved on ½ x DCR medium supplemented with lower concentrations of NAA. Present investigation was an attempt to establish an operative micropropagation protocol by improving the rooting of ‘hard to root’ Pinus roxburghii. In vitro rooting studies on Pinus roxburghii will be vital for enhanced multiplication and genetic improvement of this economically important forest tree species.
