We designed a new cyanide sensing probe by one-step synthesis and evaluated it using UV-vis and fluorescent techniques. The active moiety of (Z)-3-(4-(methylthio) phenyl)-2-(4-nitrophenyl) acrylonitrile (NCS) demonstrated fluorescence. The probe NCS showed turn-off fluorescence in the presence of cyanide (CN-), which has a higher selectivity and sensitivity than other anions. The cyanide group (CN-) nucleophilically attacks the double bond between the cyano vinyl groups of the probe, disrupting the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process, which accounts for the response mechanism of NCS towards CN-. The mechanism behind the observed photo- physical changes was further studied using 1 HNMR titration, FT-IR, Jobs plots, DFT calculation, and mass spectroscopy. The experiments on absorption and emission showed that it was very selective. Job's plots to find the stoichiometry between NCS and CN- are 1:1, and the detection limit was 1.14 mu M. Moreover, the test strip experiment provides a wide application prospect for the receptor for detecting poisonous cyanide and biological systems in live cell images and latent fingerprint applications.

Diosgenin (DG), a well-known steroidal sapogenin, is abundantly found in the plants of the Dioscoreaceae family and exhibits diverse pharmacological properties. In our previous study, we demonstrated that DG supplementation protected Caenorhabditis elegans from high glucose-induced lipid deposition, oxidative damage, and lifespan reduction. Nevertheless, the precise biological mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of DG have not yet been described. In this context, the present study aims to elucidate how DG reduces molecular and cellular declines induced by high glucose, using the powerful genetics of the C. elegans model. Treatment with DG significantly (p < 0.01) prevented fat accumulation and extended lifespan under high-glucose conditions without affecting physiological functions. DG-induced lifespan extension was found to rely on longevity genes daf-2, daf-16, skn-1, glp-1, eat-2, let-363, and pha-4. Specifically, DG regulates lipophagy, the autophagy-mediated degradation of lipid droplets, in C. elegans, thereby inhibiting fat accumulation. Furthermore, DG treatment did not alter the triglyceride levels in the fat-6 and fat-7 single mutants and fat-6;fat-7 double mutants, indicating the significant role of stearoyl-CoA desaturase genes in mediating the reduction of fat deposition by DG. Our results provide new insight into the fat-reducing mechanisms of DG, which might develop into a multitarget drug for preventing obesity and associated health complications; however, preclinical studies are required to investigate the effect of DG on higher models.

In this study, pure flower-like NiO nanoparticles (NiO NPs), and CoOx-doped x-doped NiO nanocomposites (NCs) with varying concentrations (2.5 wt%, 5 wt%, 7.5 wt%, and 10 wt%) were synthesized using a simple hydrothermal technique. Characterization through XRD, XPS, FESEM, TEM-EDS, and BET analyses confirmed their unique structural features and composition. CoOx(2.5 x (2.5 wt%)/NiO NCs exhibited flower-like flakes wedged to the surface of the NiO microspheres, with a measured total pore volume of 0.734 cm3/g 3 /g and an N2 2-BET surface area of 285.18 m2/g. 2 /g. Under UV light, these CoOx(2.5 x (2.5 wt%)/NiO NCs demonstrated significant photocatalytic efficiency, archiving 98.7 % and 99 % degradation of BPA and O-II dyes within 120 min. This performance is attributed to the formation of a p-n junction at the interface of CoOx-doped x-doped NiO NCs and their flower-like morphology, facilitating effective charge separation and photodegradation. Additionally, toxicity assessment using the C. elegans genetic model focused on stress-responsive genes GST-4, DAF-16, and intracellular ROS. The result showed that the BPA photocatalytic byproduct initially generated intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which gradually diminished over time (60-120 min). In contrast, no evident toxicity was observed for O-II dye byproducts even during short-time degradation. This study not only highlights the efficiency of CoOx-doped x-doped NiO NCs in degrading BPA and O-II pollutants but also provides insights into toxicity dynamics, demonstrating their potential for eco-friendly water purification and enhanced water treatment efficiency.

A survey of plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) abundance and diversity was conducted in foothills of Western Ghats at Coimbatore and Nilgiris districts in Tamil Nadu, India. Our study pointed to evaluate the PPN association with weeds, shrubs, and herbs including some agricultural crop cover both agro and forest ecosystems. Soil sam-ples were collected around the rhizosphere of the plants and nematodes were isolated, counted under a micro-scope and identified by morphological characters. We collected 415 soil samples around the rhizosphere of 84 major plant families. Among 84 plant families, we found 13 PPN genera those generally responsible for cash crop yield loss. The genus Helicotylenchus spp., and Meloidogyne spp., were found frequent (226,136 samples) and rarely Hemicycliophora spp.,. The PPN diversity was measured by Shannon diversity index which showed that the diversity of PPN found higher in plant species those from the families Rosaceae (2.20) and Rubiaceae (2.13). We also recorded the PPN richness was dominated in four plant families. This result reveals that the PPN diversity and richness are positively correlated with host plant species diversity and altitude. Further, our study concludes that a wild plant in the forest ecosystem behaves like a reservoir of PPN.(c) 2020 Ecological Society of China. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita; RKN) are important constraints on agricultural crops worldwide. Horse gram is a vulnerable pulse crop from the agriculture revolution exceptionally in southern India. This study intended to assess the resistance of four Horse gram accessions IC-1536, IC-1572, IC-1451 and IC-1115 selected from 100 accessions based on the morphological and biochemical scrutiny. Individual seedlings were transferred in the clay pots packed with sterile soil and inoculated with three doses (25, 50 and 100) of second stage juveniles of M. incognita. All nematode inoculums densities influenced the shoot length of plants, flowering and yield. The level of amino acid, proline, protein, total phenol and flavonoids contents were increased while carbohydrate and starch contents were decreased in all the varieties compared to the 15th day after inoculation. It is pointed out that M. incognita has not only impaired the plant growth but also biochemical parameters such as chlorophyll pigments, primary and secondary metabolites.

The current research focuses on the production and characterization of glycolipid biosurfactant (GB) from Pseudomonas plecoglossicida and its anthelmintic activity against Caenorhabditis elegans. The GB was purified and characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. Anthelmintic activity of GB was studied at six different pharmacological doses from 10 to 320 µg/mL on C. elegans. Exposure of different developmental stages (L1, L2, L3, L4 and adult) of C. elegans to the GB reduced the survivability of worms in a dose and time-dependent manner. Adult and L4 worms were least susceptible, while L1, L2 and L3 were more susceptible to GB when compared to the untreated control. An increased exposure period drastically reduced the survival rate of worms and reduction in LC50 value. The GB significantly inhibited the development of C. elegans with an IC50 value of 53.14 µg/mL and even reduced the adult body length and egg hatching. Fecundity rate of the worms treated with GB at 20, 40 and 80 µg/mL decreased from 261.90 ± 3.21 to 239.70 ± 5.58, 164.20 ± 5.94 and 44.80 ± 6.22 eggs per worm, respectively. Besides the toxicological effects, prolonged exposure to GB significantly decreased (p ≤ 0.0001) the lifespan of wild type worms under standard laboratory conditions. Additionally, GB was found to be lethal towards ivermectin and albendazole resistant C. elegans strains. Overall, the data indicated that the GB extracted from P. plecoglossicida could be utilized for the control of non-susceptible and resistant gastrointestinal nematodes towards broad spectrum anthelmintic drugs, ivermectin and albendazole.

The East Indian sandalwood oil has been widely used as an Ayurvedic medicine and has multiple pharmacological properties. However, antioxidant and antistress potency of East Indian sandalwood oil against oxidative stress-induced damages remain unexplored. Thus, the present study was aimed to investigate the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant and stress-protective properties of essential oil extracted from the heartwood of plantation-grown Santalum album L. (SEO). The SEO was extracted by traditional stream distillation method and the chemical components were determined via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. Nineteen chemical compounds were identified by GC–MS, accounting for 96.81% of total oil. The main components were α-santalol (41.77%), β-santalol (18.02%), (Z)-α-trans-bergamotol (8.50%), (Z)-lanceol (6.57%), and epi-β-santalol (5.78%). The in vitro results suggests that SEO possess an excellent antioxidant activity as it was able to inhibits the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, reverse the morphological damages and effectively improves viability of neural cells under oxidative stress conditions. Moreover, SEO markedly increased the antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase. Western blotting results further confirmed that SEO protects neural cells against oxidative damages possibly by activating the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 (Nrf2/HO-1) antioxidant mechanism. The SEO also exhibited a strong in vivo antioxidant and stress modulatory activity on Caenorhabditis elegans. The SEO not only acts protective against oxidative stress but also prolongs the lifespan of mev-1 mutant C. elegans having shortened lifespan due to the over production of ROS. This data confirmed that SEO exert potent antioxidant and stress modulatory activities possibly by direct scavenging of free radicals and activation of antioxidant defense system, in vitro and in vivo. Together, these findings indicated that SEO has the potency to be utilized as a source of antioxidant for treating several degenerative and disease conditions caused by oxidative stress.

The 1:1 stoichiometric reactions of 3-methoxy salicylaldehyde-4(N)-substituted thiosemicarbazones (H2L1-4) with [RuCpCI(PPh3)(2)] was carried out in methanol. The obtained complexes (1-4) were characterized by analytical, IR, absorption and H-1 NMR spectroscopic studies. The structures of ligand [H-2-3MSal-etsc] (H2L3) and complex [RuCp(Msal-etsc) (PPh3)] (3), were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The interaction of the ruthenium(II) complexes (1-4) with calfthymus DNA (CT-DNA) has been explored by absorption and emission titration methods. Based on the observations, an intercalative binding mode of DNA has been proposed. The protein binding abilities of the new complexes were monitored by quenching the tryptophan and tyrosine residues of BSA, as model protein. From the studies, it was found that the new ruthenium metallacycles exhibited better affinity than their precursors. The free radical scavenging assay suggests that all complexes effectively scavenged the DPPH radicals as compared to that of standard control ascorbic acid and scavenging activities of complexes are in the order of 4 > 2 >3 > 1. In addition, ruthenium(II) complexes (2-4) also exhibited an excellent in vivo antioxidant activity as it was able to increase the survival of worms exposed to lethal oxidative and thermal stresses possibly through reducing the intracellular ROS levels. It was interesting to note that complexes 2-4 failed to increase the lifespan of rnev-1 mutant worms having shortened lifespan due to the over production of free radicals. This data confirmed that complexes 2-4 conferred stress resistance in C. elegans, but they also require an endogenous detoxification mechanism for doing so. The genetic and reporter gene expression analysis revealed that complexes 2-4 maintained the intracellular redox status and offered stress protection through transactivation of antioxidant defence machinery genes gst-4 and sod-3 which are directly regulated by SKN-1 and DAF-16 transcription factors, respectively. Altogether, our results suggested that complexes 2-4 might play a crucial role in stress modulation and they perhaps exert almost similar effects in higher models, which is an important issue to be validated in future. (C) 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Pharmaceutical-based contaminants are the major reasons for morbidity and mortality in aquatic animals and lead to several side effects and diseases in human community. Availability of proper, efficient, and cost-effective treatment technologies is still scarce. In this study, an efficient combined treatment technique (electrochemical oxidation and adsorption processes) was developed for the complete detoxification of most commonly used antibiotic, ciprofloxacin in aqueous solution. Electrochemical degradation of ciprofloxacin was performed using titanium-based tri-metal oxide mesh type anode, and the effective oxidative potential, electrolysis time, and pH for the degradation of ciprofloxacin were thoroughly evaluated. Sulfate, fluoride ions and toxic byproducts generated during electrochemical oxidation of ciprofloxacin were subsequently removed through a simple adsorption treatment using activated charcoal for 90 min. Further, the toxicity of the treated water was assessed with the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans species at different time intervals by observing the expressions of important stress-responsive genes viz., sod-3, hsp-16.2, ctl-1,2,3 and gst-4. The results exhibited that the combined process of electrochemical oxidation and adsorption treatment is simple, low-cost as well as effective to eliminate ciprofloxacin and its toxic byproducts in aqueous solution.

Essential oils (EOs) are considered to be the most suitable alternatives for plant pathogen management, as they exhibit high potency and favourable ecotoxicological profile. The present study evaluated the nematicidal activity of high and low land Artemisia nilagirica (C.B.Clarke) pamp EOs (AnEOs) under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. The AnEOs were extracted from the aerial parts of high (AnEO-H) and low altitude (AnEO-L)-grown A. nilagirica by using Clevenger-type apparatus and their compositional variation in chemical constituents were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. It was observed that the difference in altitude had a huge impact on nature, quantity, appearance, yield, and chemical composition of AnEOs. Further, AnEO-H and AnEO-L exhibited a significant difference in nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid et White) Chitwood with a lethal concentration (LC50/48h) of 5.75 and 10.23 mu g/mL, respectively. In addition, AnEOs profoundly reduced the root infection of M. incognita in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicurn L.) and significantly promoted plant growth under greenhouse conditions. Further, the greatest strength of Caenorhabditis elegans was utilized as a model to elucidate the nematicidal mechanism of AnEOs, and the results demonstrated that AnEOs exposure could have enhanced the intracellular reactive oxygen species production and germline cell apoptosis. The mechanistic study revealed that AnEOs exposure potentially induces apoptosis by activating the signaling pathway for DNA damage checkpoint and core components of apoptotic machinery in nematodes. Together, the results achieved from this study will lead to a better understanding of the mechanism of AnEOs against M. incognita and will pave the way for the development of novel nematicides with increased efficacy for nematode control.

East Indian Sandalwood Oil (EISO) has diverse beneficial effects and has been used for thousands of years in traditional folk-medicine for treatment of different human ailments. However, there has been no in-depth scientific investigation to decipher the neuroprotective and geroprotective mechanism of EISO and its principle components, α- and β-santalol. Hence the current study was undertaken to assess the protective effects of EISO, and α- and β-santalol against neurotoxic (6-OHDA/6-hydroxydopamine) and proteotoxic (α-synuclein) stresses in a Caenorhabditis elegans model. Initially, we found that EISO and its principle components exerted an excellent antioxidant and antiapoptotic activity as it was able to extend the lifespan, and inhibit the ROS generation, and germline cell apoptosis in 6-OHDA-intoxicated C. elegans. Further, we showed that supplementation of EISO, and α- and β-santalol reduced the 6-OHDA and α-synuclein-induced Parkinson's disease associated pathologies and improved the physiological functions. The genetic and reporter gene expression analysis revealed that an EISO, or α- and β-santalol-mediated protective effect does not appear to rely on DAF-2/DAF-16, but selectively regulates SKN-1 and its downstream targets involved in antioxidant defense and geroprotective processes. Together, our findings indicated that EISO and its principle components are worth exploring further as a candidate redox-based neuroprotectant for the prevention and management of age-related neurological disorders.

In recent years, research on novel nematicides has gained great interest to reduce world crop losses caused by plant parasitic nematodes. In this study, we explored the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Et-AgNPs) by using latex extract of Euphorbia tirucalli against root-knot nematode species, Meloidogyne incognita. The physico-chemical properties of newly synthesized Et-AgNPs were determined using UV–Vis spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The nematicidal activity of Et-AgNPs against second stage juveniles (J2) of M. incognita was tested based on in-vitro (mortality and hatching) and in-planta trials (infectivity and crop protection) at different concentrations. The findings indicated that Et-AgNPs were lethal to J2 and also inhibited egg hatching (in-vitro). In-planta trials suggest that infestation on tomato roots was significantly reduced when the Et-AgNPs were applied as a root dip treatment. Tomato plants treated with Et-AgNPs had healthier growth parameters with a concurrent reduction in overall gall formation, egg masses on roots, number of eggs per egg mass and J2 populations within the plants. From this study, it was concluded that Et-AgNPs are helpful for the management of M. incognita and will be an effective replacement for synthetic nematicides.

Mild stress activates the adaptive cellular response for the subsequent severe stress called hormesis. Hormetic stress plays a vital role to activate multiple stress-responsive genes for the benefit of an organism. In tropical regions of world, tubers of Dioscorea spp. has been extensively used in folk medicine and also consumed as food. In this study, we report that the phytochemicals of Dioscorea alata L., tubers extends the lifespan of nematode model Caenorhabditis elegans by hormetic mechanism. We showed that the low dose of tubers extract at 200 and 300 μg/mL extends the mean lifespan of wild-type worms, whereas higher doses are found to be toxic. Supplementation of tubers extract slightly increased the intracellular ROS in second-day adult worms and it might activate the adaptive stress response, which protects the worms from oxidative and thermal stress. Transgenic reporter gene expression assay showed that extract treatment enhanced the expression of stress protective genes such as hsp-16.2, hsp-6, hsp-60 and gst-4. Further studies proved that the transcription factors HSF-1 and SKN-1/Nrf2 were implicated in hormetic stress response of the worms. Moreover, pretreatment of extract reduced the high glucose-mediated lipid accumulation by enhancing the expression of glyoxalase-1. It was also found that the aggregation of Parkinson's related protein α-synuclein reduced in the transgenic strain NL5901 and extended its lifespan. Finally, our results concluded that the presences of hormetic dietary phytochemicals in tubers might drive the stress response in C. elegans via HSF-1 and SKN-1/Nrf2 signaling pathways.

New ruthenium(II) complexes were synthesised and characterized by various spectro analytical techniques. The structure of the complexes 3 and 4 has been confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The complexes were subjected to study their anti-oxidant profile and were exhibited significantly greater in vitro DPPH radical scavenging activity than vitamin C. We found that complexes 1–4 confered tolerance to oxidative stress and extend the mean lifespan of mev-1 mutant worms and wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans . Further, mechanistic study and reporter gene expression analysis revealed that Ru( ƞ 6 -p -cymene) complexes maintained the intracellular redox status and offers stress resistance through activating JNK-1/DAF-16 signaling axis and possibly by other antioxidant response pathway. Notably, complex 3 and 4 ameliorates the polyQ (a Huntington’s disease associated protein) mediated proteotoxicity and related behavioural deficits in Huntington’s disease models of C. elegans . From these observations, we hope that new Ru( ƞ 6 -p -cymene) complexes could be further considered as a potential drug to retard aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

The current article deals with the preparation and characterisation of new organoruthenium(II) complexes, namely [RuCp(Dea-Sal-tsc)(PPh3)] (1), [RuCp(Dea-Sal-mtsc)(PPh3)] (2), [RuCp(Dea-Sal-etsc)(PPh3)] (3) and [RuCp(Dea-Sal-ptsc)(PPh3)] (4). The new ruthenium(II) complexes were characterized by various analytical, spectral techniques. The structure of the ligand [H2-Dea-Sal-tsc] and the complex [RuCp(Dea-Sal-tsc)(PPh3)] (1) were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The complexes (1–4) were used to study the toxicity, stress resistance, aging and neuro-protective effects by taking Caenorhabditis elegans as model. In vitro free radical scavenging activity was performed by DPPH free radical scavenging assay, the complexes (1–4) exhibited highest scavenging activity than standard Vitamin C (IC50 = 5.28 ± 0.10). The lifespan has increased over 22.4% in mev-1 mutant worms treated with complex 4. The complex 4 triggered the DAF-16 nuclear localization, increases sod-3 expression and reduced amyloid (Aβ) protein induced paralysis were observed. In the present study we confirmed that oxidative stress resistance of N2 and lifespan extension of mev-1 mutant which showed the potential ROS scavenging activity of complex 4. The results also confirmed the effective anti-aging potential of ruthenium complex 4 which may be developed as a therapeutic drug for the prevention of aging and age related neurodegenerative diseases. Further studies are required to find out the exact action of complex 4 on higher model.

Caenorhabditis elegans is a sterol auxotroph requires minute amount of exogenous sterol for their growth and development. To culture the C. elegans, cholesterol was given as sterol molecule to maintain the optimum survival of worms. Diosgenin (DG), a plant derived steroidal saponin, structurally similar to cholesterol has been used as a precursor for the synthesis of steroidal hormones. In this study, worms were cultured with cholesterol (Cho(+)) and cholesterol-free (Cho(-)) medium with DG (5, 10 and 50 mu g/mL) at 20 degrees C. It was observed that worms cultured in (Ch(o)-) exhibits late egg production, reduced lipid level and short lifespan, while addition of DG overcomes all defective facts. Combinations of both cholesterol and DG further extend the lifespan (20.8%), hinder lipid level and resistance to oxidative, thermal and high glucose stress. The intracellular ROS quantification was done by flouroscenic probe H2DCF-DA and confirmed that DG had significantly reduced ROS level (35.85%). Increased lifespan of worms were observed in the medium treated with DG which activates the nuclear translocation of DAF-16/FOXO transcription factor, followed by downstream antioxidant gene sod-3 as evidenced by GFP tagged strain. The expression of Phase II detoxification enzyme GST-4 significantly (p < 0.001) increased in transgenic worms exposed to DG with 50 mM glucose, and storage of lipid in intestinal cells was reduced in N2 wild type worms. Genetic requirement of DG induced longevity was studied with different mutant strains of mev-1, daf-16, skn-1, and eat-2. These studies have proved that DG is a sterol source to worms and modulate the DAF-16, SOD-3 and GST-4 expression levels to extend the lifespan of worms. The present study has also highlighted the use of phytosterols as an alternative to cholesterol.