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Antioxidant from plant sources is safe to use, as compared to synthetic products. It also can be used as a supplement to alleviate most of the diseases because of its free radical-scavenging activity.

Dietary intake of phytochemicals having antioxidant activity is associated with a lower risk of mortality from many diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the free radical scavenging, cytotoxic and hemolytic activities of leaves of Acacia nilotica by using various methods. The results of the present study revealed that ethanol extract was the most effective and IC50 value was found to be 53.6 μg mL−1 for Vero cell lines and 28.9 μg mL−1 for Hela cell lines in cytotoxicity assays. The zone of color retention was 14.2 mm in β-carotene bleaching assay, which was as significant as positive control, butylated hydroxy toluene. None of the tested extracts possessed any hemolytic activity against rat and human erythrocytes revealing their cytotoxic mechanism and non-toxicity. Thus, only the ethanol extract could be considered as a potential source of anticancer and antioxidant compounds. Further phytochemical studies will be performed for specification of the biologically active principles.

Oldenlandia umbellata L., commonly known as ''Indian madder'', is an ancient Indian herb valued as a source of red color dye and various medicinal products. In this study, successful protocols have been developed for induction of somatic embryogenesis and organogenesis in O. umbellata. Emerging young leaves, shoot apices, and stems were used as explants, grown on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with various auxins, including indole acetic acid, indole butyric acid, napthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, each at levels ranging between 0.1 and 0.5 mg/l, cytokinins, including benzyladenine (BA) and kinetin, each at concentration ranging between 0.5 and 5 mg/l, with and without coconut milk (CM) at levels of 0.5-5%. For callus induction, NAA at 2.5 mg/l was optimal; while, for rapid embryogenic callus induction, 0.2 mg/l NAA, 0.5 mg/l BA, and 0.1% CM induced the highest frequency (95.86%). Shoots developed upon transfer of embryogenic calli to MS medium containing 1.5 mg/l BA, 0.3 mg/l NAA and 1% CM. For root induction, 0.3 mg/l NAA and 1.0% CM promoted highest and earliest rooting.