Mucuna pruriens is a leguminous plant known for its neuroprotective and antimicrobial properties. However, its large-scale utilization is limited due to poor seed germination, sensitivity to environmental stress, and inefficient propagation methods. Therefore, developing an efficient in vitro clonal propagation system, along with conservation strategies and bioactivity validation, is essential for its sustainable use. This study presents an enhanced protocol for clonal propagation of Mucuna pruriens using nodal segments integrated with synseed (encapsulation) technology for short-term conservation. While encapsulation approaches have been reported in several medicinal plants and micropropagation studies exist for M. pruriens, the present work uniquely combines synseed production with low-temperature storage, regeneration efficiency, physiological and biochemical assessment during acclimatization, genetic fidelity validation, and antibiofilm activity against MDR-ESKAPE pathogens. A 3% sodium alginate gelling matrix combined with calcium chloride (CaCl2; 100 mM) produced optimal beads, facilitating the induction of encapsulated nodal segments convert into plantlets. The highest shooting (91.60 ± 0.81%) was recorded on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium with meta-Topolin (mT; 6.5 µM) and Putrescine (Put; 10.0 µM). Micro-shoots from synseeds rooted highest in ½ MS nutrient with combination of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA; 0.2 µM). Low-temperature storage (4 °C) was evaluated for up to 70 days to assess the regeneration potential of encapsulated and non-encapsulated nodal segments. During acclimatization, photosynthetic pigments, oxidative stress markers, and antioxidant enzyme activities were monitored over 54 days. Encapsulated plantlets were successfully hardened and transferred to field conditions. Genetic fidelity analysis using 10 ISSR primers revealed a monomorphic banding pattern, confirming true-to-type regeneration.Tissue-cultured plant parts (stem, leaves, and seeds) of M. pruriens showed significant antibiofilm activity against multi-drug resistant ESKAPE bacteria (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and E. aerogenes). However, the observed differences in bioactivity between tissue culture-raised and wild plant materials are based on biological assays. Therefore, these variations may be associated with differential accumulation of secondary metabolites under in vitro conditions, which requires further validation through advanced analytical techniques. This research supports the high-rate multiplication and conservation of new biologically active phyto-compounds.

In the wake of emerging viral threats and ongoing global health challenges, there is a growing interest in identifying natural compounds with antiviral properties. Indian traditional medicine, known as Ayurveda has a long-standing tradition of utilizing medicinal plants for various ailments including viral infections. This review article provides an overview of viral diseases in humans their causes, symptoms, and preventive measures. Additionally, it examines ten significant medicinal plants commonly used in traditional Indian medicine, highlighting their medicinal properties. The study investigates the antiviral activity and bioactive compounds of these medicinal plants, focusing on their effectiveness against a range of viral infections. Notable findings include the antiviral properties of compounds such as curcumin in turmeric, piperine in black pepper, allicin in garlic, and andrographolides in kalmegh. Moreover, the research highlights the prospects of these medicinal plants as sources of antiviral agents and suggests avenues for future research and collaboration between traditional medicine and modern science to develop novel antiviral therapies.

Overuse of synthetic antibiotics and the emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) in ESKAPE bacteria are major clinical concerns on a global scale. ESKAPE bacteria are responsible for most hospital-acquired infections because of their capacity to create robust biofilms. One of the most important targets for medications is biofilm-regulated bacterial pathogenicity. In the Indian medical system, Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (WS) is an important medicinal plant used to treat illnesses. However, no research has been conducted to assess its antibiofilm potential against MDR pathogens and anti-aging potential. The reported study assessed the potential of WS root aqueous extract against ESKAPE biofilms and linked traits including EPS and alginate production, CSH, swarming and swimming motilities, and production of matrix components (eDNA, eProtein, and eCarbohydrates) of such pathogens in vitro. Concurrently, the root extract was tested for its ability to inhibit enzymes such as tyrosinase, collagenase and elastase contributed to skin aging. The root extract's MIC value against all six ESKAPE pathogens was 2.0mg/mL. Bacterial biofilms were quantified at a sub-MIC value of 1.0mg/mL using a microtiter plate assay and matrix components were evaluated using Dispersin B (DspB) extractant. The sub-MIC concentration significantly reduced biofilm formation and associated characteristics; the utmost inhibition was 59.9% in all six tested pathogens. A likewise pattern of inhibition in matrix components was recorded, and highest reduction was 53.4% in the ESKAPE pathogens. Additionally, the root extract was tested for its anti-aging potential. The sub-MIC concentrations suppressed the three major aging enzymes up to 31.47%. The present study reveals that WS root extract imparts a novel anti-biofilm effect against ESKAPE, as well as offering skin anti-aging potential, for the first time. Thus, WS root could be utilized as a potential herbal remedy against nosocomial infection and aging of skin.

Salinity is among the major environmental factors affecting performance of both crop plants and soil bacterial inoculants beneficial to plant growth. Based on previous screening studies, a novel halotolerant biofilm-forming PGPR strain, namely Pantoea agglomerans-FAP10, was studied for its potential to protect wheat (Triticum aestivum; var. 343) against salinity stress. The ability of this strain to produce biofilms on glass surfaces, 96 well microtiter plates and seedling roots was characterized qualitatively and quantitatively using light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The FAP10 strain was tested for performance by inoculating on wheat in a pot-soil system under varied salinity stresses (75, 125, 250 and 500mM NaCl). The FAP10 strain exhibited discrete and multifarious plant growth-promoting traits as well as efficient rhizosphere and root colonization which could sustain wheat growth under salinity stress. The FAP10-induced modifications conferred enhanced plant salinity tolerance by regulating photosynthetic attributes (gs, Ci, E, iWUE, PN, PSII, and Rubisco enzyme activity), antioxidant system (SOD, CAT, GR, APX, GSH, MDA, and proline), and sulfur metabolism (sulfur and cysteine content, ATP-S, and SAT activity), and also sustained soil physicochemical characteristics and hydrolytic enzymes including urease, protease, DHA, ALP, ACP and β glucosidase. The findings of the current study can support future efforts to improve plant salinity tolerance by engineering rhizobacterial biofilms and exploiting the potential of native strains for agricultural applications in stressed environments.

Rhizosphere is a repository of different micro-communities that can be used to isolate and exploration of microbes for use in agriculture, environments, and industries. Due to the fact that only a small portion of the microbial diversity is accessible through culture techniques, there is a lack of information regarding the dynamics and framework of micro-communities in various ecosystems. Microbiological research has provided a limited window for examining microbial flora due to the drawbacks of conventional enrichment methods and pure culture techniques. An evolutionary relationship-based natural taxonomic order was not found in the bacterial population as represented by the morphological and nutritional criteria. The genetic diversity of the rhizospheric micro-communities has not received much attention. Microbial taxonomists currently uses a variety of techniques to characterize and identify isolates up to the species level in order to study the genetic diversity and community framework of the rhizosphere microflora. A new field of biology known as "molecular microbial ecology" uses a molecular technique to study micro-communities and can offer detailed community structure as well as helpful phylogenetic data. The genomic age has led to the improvement of advanced molecular techniques for studying the diversity of culturable microbes, such as reverse sample genome probing, DNA–DNA hybridization, DNA base ratio (mole % G + C), and DNA microarray. Additionally, by using various molecular tools, some of which will be covered in this chapter, it is possible to characterize the nonculturable diversity of the rhizosphere ecosystem.

The market for herbal drugs has risen enormously in the current era, and it has led to the formulation of numerous medicinal herbs. However, many of the drug components may be affected by microbial metabolites, which have led to possible concerns regarding the stability and shelf-life of such formulations. Herbal products are frequently affected by degradation, particularly during storage, which can lead to loss of active constituents, synthesis of inactive metabolites, and production of toxic metabolites. These aspects need to be addressed in order to regulate the stability and efficacy of herbal drug formulations. In particular, pathogenic microorganisms, especially those able to form biofilms, can derive from different environments at various stages of herbal drug preparation. Thus, the stability and shelf-life could be improved by preventing microbial contamination of medicinal herb products during preparation, packaging, storage, and delivery. This review deals with problems induced by microbial pathogens and their biofilms and proposes novel decontamination approaches to reduce microbial contaminations to increase the stability and shelf-life of medicinal plants and their formulations.

Pterocarpus marsupium, an endangered medicinal tree, desists long distance transportation of its recalcitrant propagules, eclipsing the mass vegetative propagation and hindering the pharmaceutical application. Therefore, the present study attempted to develop synthetic seeds by encapsulating the nodal segments using sodium alginate and calcium chloride solutions. A concentration of 100 mM calcium chloride and 3 % sodium alginate proved optimum for preparing uniform synthetic seeds. The highest 76.7 % conversion response of synthetic seed into 8.16 shoots with mean shoot length (4.35 cm) was obtained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing meta-topolin (5.0 mu M) and alpha-naphthalene acetic acid (1.0 mu M) after 12 weeks of culture. However, the shoots failed to induce a rooting response on the aforementioned optimized medium. Therefore, a two-step in vitro rooting procedure was developed. Synthetic seeds of this plant retained their germination potential after storage at 4 degrees C for eight weeks. Analysis of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity indicated that the in vitro culture of synthetic seed on the above medium experienced the lowest physiological stress. The regenerated plantlets were successfully acclimatized to the natural environment, where they showed more than a 90 % survival rate after three months. The heartwood aqueous extract of the tree displayed novel antibiofilm activities against multi-drug resistant ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobcter spp.) pathogens. This study facilitates the multiplication, conservation, and production of novel bioactive compounds.

Drought stress substantially impedes crop productivity throughout the world. Microbial based approaches have been considered a potential possibility and are under study. Based on our prior screening examination, two distinct and novel biofilm-forming PGPR strains namely Bacillus subtilis-FAB1 and Pseudomonas azotoformans-FAP3 are encompassed in this research. Bacterial biofilm development on glass surface, microtiter plate and seedling roots were assessed and characterized quantitatively and qualitatively by light and scanning electron microscopy. Above two isolates were further evaluated for their consistent performance by inoculating on wheat plants in a pot-soil system under water stresses. Bacterial moderate tolerance to ten-day drought was recorded on the application of individual strains with wheat plants; however, the FAB1 + FAP3 consortium expressively improved wheat survival during drought. The strains FAB1 and FAP3 displayed distinct and multifunctional plant growth stimulating attributes as well as effective roots and rhizosphere colonization in combination which could provide sustained wheat growth during drought. FAB1 and FAP3-induced alterations cooperatively conferred improved plant drought tolerance by controlling physiological traits (gs, Ci, E, iWUE and PN), stress indicators (SOD, CAT, GR, proline and MDA content) and also maintained physico-chemical attributes and hydrolytic enzymes including DHA, urease, ALP, protease, ACP and β glucosidase in the soil. Our findings could support future efforts to enhance plant drought tolerance by engineering the rhizobacterial biofilms and associated attributes which requires in-depth exploration and exploiting potential native strains for local agricultural application.

Microorganisms have dynamic and complex interactions with their hosts. Diverse microbial communities residing near, on, and within the plants, called phytobiome, are an essential part of plant health and productivity. Exploiting citrus-associated microbiomes represents a scientific approach toward sustained and environment-friendly module of citrus production, though periodically exposed to several threats, with Huanglongbing (HLB) predominantly being most influential. Exploring the composition and function of the citrus microbiome, and possible microbial redesigning under HLB disease pressure has sparked renewed interest in recent times. A concise account of various achievements in understanding the citrus-associated microbiome, in various niche environments viz., rhizosphere, phyllosphere, endosphere, and core microbiota alongside their functional attributes has been thoroughly reviewed and presented. Efforts were also made to analyze the actual role of the citrus microbiome in soil fertility and resilience, interaction with and suppression of invading pathogens along with native microbial communities and their consequences thereupon. Despite the desired potential of the citrus microbiota to counter different pathogenic diseases, utilizing the citrus microbiome for beneficial applications at the field level is yet to be translated as a commercial product. We anticipate that advancement in multiomics technologies, high-throughput sequencing and culturing, genome editing tools, artificial intelligence, and microbial consortia will provide some exciting avenues for citrus microbiome research and microbial manipulation to improve the health and productivity of citrus plants.

Microbial biofilms have emerged as a compelling research and development topic due to their significance in agriculture, industry, health care, and management of environmental stressors. Innovative approaches using biochemical and molecular tools have advanced our understanding of biofilm development and its structural analysis. Research on microbial biofilms had primarily been focused on medical and industrial aspects. Recently, however, biofilms in agricultural systems have gained consideration due to their enormous potential for crop protection and production. Biofilms perform crucial roles in surface colonization of soil colloids and plant surfaces and facilitate proliferation in desired niches, while also improving fertility of soil. Numerous reports are available which address the general properties and functions of microbial biofilms; however, the role of agriculturally important biofilms and their interactions in the soil system have been inadequately explored. Our understanding of biofilms in relation to climate change, plant nutrition, plant protection, soil quality, and bioremediation has been enhanced in recent years. Both biotic and abiotic factors are known to influence biofilm development. Biochemical and genetics exploration of different biofilms and their interaction will hopefully provide effective strategies to improve crop productivity in a sustainable manner. This chapter addresses the fundamental features of biofilms in relation to their development, involvement in gene transfer, regulatory mechanisms, and importance to plant growth and metabolism. Special attention is given to biofilms of agriculturally important microorganisms and their role in alleviation of plant environmental stressors like drought and excess salinity.

Background: Corticosteroids are an important group of polycyclic compounds having a wide range of pharmacological and physiological properties. Thiopyran derivatives are important building blocks of many biologically active compounds. Objective: Keeping in mind the wide range of applications of corticosteroids and thiopyran, herein we intend to develop a simple and efficient strategy to synthesize steroidal thiopyran derivatives starting with different commercially available corticosteroids and study their biological properties. Materials and Methods: To achieve our aim, we employed a one-pot multi-component synthesis of steroidal thiopyran derivatives by the reaction of corticosteroids, malononitrile, and carbon disulphide in the presence of triethylamine as a catalyst. Results and Discussion: An array of novel thiopyran compounds was obtained with the highest product yield using Et3N. Scanning electron microscopy analysis manifested agglomeration pertaining to brick-shaped crystals of corticosteroid thiopyran. Synthesized compounds were also found to be active as anti-bacterial agents. Conclusion: We describe a facile one-pot multi-component synthesis of corticosteroid thiopyran derivatives, which are found to possess anti-bacterial activity. Excellent yields of the products, simple work-up, easily available starting materials, and non-chromatographic purification are some of the main advantages of this protocol.

Rumex dentatus is a traditional medicinal plant that has been used in the treatment of anti-dermatitis, anti-inflammatory, antitumour, diarrhoea, eczema, constipation, and locally known Toothed dock.This article describes the isolation of compounds from CH3OH extract of Rumex dentatus leaf.The structures of the isolated compounds were identified by spectroscopic analysis, such as 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, DEPT-135, COSY, HMBC, and HSQC.The extract and compounds were evaluated for antibacterial activity.The isolated compounds and antibacterial relationships were performed by molecular docking.The antibacterial activity was determined on Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by agar well diffusion assay.Molecular docking studies were performed with the help of software such as Auto Dock Tools-1.5.6,Auto dock vina, chem3D pro 12.0.2.1076 and Discovery Studio Visualizer.The extract was showed maximum inhibition zone with Staphylococcus aureus, which indicates good antibacterial activity.The molecular docking was exhibited best results with DNA gyrase.The antibacterial and docking results were revealed that extract and compounds might be beneficially for antibacterial activities.

Abiotic stresses such as salinity, drought and excessive heat are associated with significant loss of crop productivity globally, and require effective strategies for their reduction or tolerance. Biofilm-forming rhizobacteria, which harbor multifarious plant growth promoting traits and tolerance to abiotic stress, are believed to benefit plant health and production even under environmental stresses. The primary objective of this study was to investigate indigenous biofilm-forming rhizobacteria (Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus sp., Pantoea sp., Brevibacterium sp. and Acinetobacter sp.) for their functional diversity relevant to plant growth promoting activities, biofilm development and tolerance to abiotic stress conditions. The most promising isolates among FAP1, FAP2, FAP3, FAP4, FAP5, FAP10, FAB1, FAB3 and FAA1 were selected. Rhizobacteria exhibited high tolerance to salinity (1.5 M NaCl) and drought stress (up to 55% PEG-6000) conditions in vitro. The isolates demonstrated varying levels of PGP activities (IAA production and phosphate solubilization), biofilm development, and production of alginate and exopolysaccharides in the presence of salinity, drought stress and elevated temperature. Further efficacy of the isolates was demonstrated by inoculating to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants in greenhouse conditions under both normal and drought stress for up to 30 days inoculation. The plant growth potential of the isolates was in the order of FAP3 > FAB3 > FAB1 > FAP10 > FAP5 > FAP4 > FAA1 > FAP2 > FAP1. The present study resulted in successful selection of promising PGPR as identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Field study is needed to evaluate their relative performance in both ‘normal’ and stressed environments in order to be exploited for plant stress management.

The emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens and the slow development of new potent drugs has become a public health concern across the globe. Plants as novel drug candidates are very appropriate, as they produce wide array of secondary metabolites with diverse biological activities. The traditional methods to tackle drug resistance are slowly becoming ineffective, therefore, targeting microbial quorum sensing (QS) rather than survival seems to be a good alternative strategy, as interference with QS and its regulated virulence factor is less susceptible to development of resistance. This review presents a database of the phytocompounds with QS inhibitory activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial pathogens.

The transition from planktonic to sessile mode of bacterial growth facilitates the survival in diverse environmental niches. Majority of bacterial infections involve biofilm formation. Pathogenic biofilms in hospital settings are linked to the survival and spread of pathogens among hospital patients and may result in increased hospitalization of patient. Since biofilms are difficult to eradicate through conventional antibiotic therapy, various strategies are applied to treat biofilm infection. Natural products including phytocompounds from medicinal plants have been reported as antibiofilm agent in the last decade. In this chapter a brief description on the role of biofilm in pathogenesis and their common control strategies have been illustrated followed by a recent update on the role of plant essential oils/phytocompounds as the promising antibiofilm agent. The probable mechanisms in controlling biofilm by phytocompounds are highlighted.

Salinity ranks among the most severe environmental stressors that limit crop productivity. Use of microbial inoculants with desired traits is believed to be effective strategy to combat plant abiotic stress. Therefore, the objective was to isolate salt tolerant Bacillus spp. with multifunctional plant growth promoting traits including biofilm development and to evaluate its performance under salt stress conditions. We isolated and characterized a novel salt tolerant isolate of Bacillus sp. FAB10 with multifunctional traits by screening of 56 selected Bacillus isolates from rhizospheric soils. The isolate FAB10 was identified as B. pumilus based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The FAB10 isolate produced strong biofilm, enhanced amount of exopolysaccharides, IAA, ACC-deaminase activity and solubilized phosphate in vitro. The isolate FAB10 forms biofilm and expressed its associated traits at the different NaCl concentrations in vitro. Biofilm development on Wheat root surface was also demonstrated at 250 mM salt (NaCl) concentration. Successful root colonization by the FAB10 isolate was demonstrated via scanning electron microscopy and viable counts. Wheat plant var. 343 inoculated with Bacillus pumilus isolate FAB10 grown in the presence of different concentrations (0 to 250 mM) of NaCl under pot house conditions. At elevated concentration of NaCl adverse effect on wheat growth parameters and other biochemical attributes pertaining to photosynthesis, transpiration, and content of proline in plant tissue was recorded in uninoculated plants. However, inoculated plants showed a significant (p < 0.005) improvement in most of the above parameters. Similarly a significant (p < 0.005) reduction in antioxidant enzyme activities (catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione reductase) and malonaldehyde content in wheat was observed in FAB10 inoculated plants than uninoculated plants in the presence of salt. The findings indicated that multifunctional traits of the FAB10 contribute to NaCl stress alleviation in wheat plants through multiple mode of action and it could be exploited under field condition.

Foodborne pathogens are one of the major cause of food-related diseases and food poisoning. Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing (QS) mechanism of cell-cell communication have also been found to be associated with several outbreaks of foodborne diseases and are great threat to food safety. Therefore, In the present study, we investigated the activity of three tetrahedrally coordinated copper(I) complexes against quorum sensing and biofilms of foodborne bacteria. All the three complexes demonstrated similar antimicrobial properties against the selected pathogens. Concentration below the MIC i.e. at sub-MICs all the three complexes interfered significantly with the quorum sensing regulated functions in C. violaceum (violacein), P. aeruginosa (elastase, pyocyanin and alginate production) and S. marcescens (prodigiosin). The complexes demonstrated potent broad-spectrum biofilm inhibition in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, Chromobacterium violaceum, Serratia marcescens, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Listeria monocytogenes. Biofilm inhibition was visualized using SEM and CLSM images. Action of the copper(I) complexes on two key QS regulated functions contributing to biofilm formation i.e. EPS production and swarming motility was also studied and statistically significant reduction was recorded. These results could form the basis for development of safe anti-QS and anti-biofilm agents that can be utilized in the food industry as well as healthcare sector to prevent food-associated diseases.

Compatible interaction between commonly used plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in biofilm mode in vitro and in the rhizosphere is expected to provide better understanding for the development of effective consortium. With the above hypothesis, the present study evaluated two characterized PGPR (Pseudomonas fluorescens FAP2 and Bacillus licheniformis B642) for their biofilm-related functions using standard protocols. The interaction between the FAP2 and B642 in planktonic mode was studied by plate spot/overlay method and competitive growth assessment. Biofilm development on a microtitre plate and a glass surface was studied by standard methods. Biofilm formation was characterized by SEM. Rhizosphere and rhizoplane colonization of wheat seedlings by both isolates individually and by co-inoculation was studied by determining CFU/g of soil/root samples. Biofilm development on the root surface was further analyzed by SEM. Both isolates demonstrated multiple plant growth promoting (PGP) traits (production of IAA, siderophore, and ammonia; phosphate solubilization) and biofilm-related functions such as production of EPS, alginate, cell surface hydrophobicity and swarming motility. Both strains formed strong biofilms on a glass cover slip in vitro. Interaction between the two strains under the planktonic mode revealed no antagonism in terms of growth inhibition and competitive growth kinetics. Similarly, FAP2 and B642 strains formed a mixed biofilm on a glass cover slip as well as on seedling roots. Wheat rhizosphere and rhizoplane were colonized by both isolates as evidenced from their viable counts in single and co-inoculation. The effect of single and co inoculation revealed the significant enhancement of vegetative growth and photosynthetic parameters such as chlorophyll content, transpiration rate (E), internal CO2 concentration (Ci), stomatal conductance (g(s)), and net photosynthetic rate (P-N) and leaf water potential (LWP) as compared to uninoculated control. Indigenous Pseudomonas fluorescens FAP2 strain and Bacillus licheniformis B642 are compatible PGPR in both planktonic and biofilm modes of growth and threfore could be developed effective consortium of PGPR. Further indepth investigation is required to understand molecular mechanism of the interaction in biofilm mode of growth under natural condition.