Heavy metals contaminated soil is a serious environmental concern that has a negative impact on agriculture and ecosystem. Economical and efficient ways are needed to address this problem worldwide. In this regard, exploration and application of proficient microbial strains that can help the crop plants to thrive in agricultural soils that are greatly contaminated with heavy metals. The present study mainly focused on the effect of IAA producing endophytic fungi Penicillium ruqueforti Thom., on wheat plants cultivated in soil rich in heavy metals (Ni, Cd, Cu, Zn, and Pb). P. ruqueforti has induced great resistance in wheat inoculated plants grown in heavy metal contaminated soil. Application of the isolated strain of P. ruqueforti restricted the transfer of heavy metals from soil to the plants by secreting indole acetic acid (IAA). Furthermore, P. ruqueforti inoculated wheat seedlings watered with waste water had higher plant growth, nutrient uptake and low concentrations of heavy metals in shoot and roots. On the contrary, non-inoculated wheat plants under heavy metal stress had stunted growth with symptoms of chlorosis. From the results, it is concluded that P. ruqueforti inoculation can establish a symbiotic relationship with host plants, which is useful for phytostabilization of heavy metals or in other words helping the host crops to flourish through soil that are highly contaminated with heavy metals.

ObjectiveSince antiquity bitter melon has been in use for treating diabetes but clinical trials show conflicting results about its usefulness. The present study aims to asses and compare the hypoglycemic and antiatherogenic effects as well as the safety of two different doses of bitter melon with glibenclamide.MethodsA total of 95 participants were randomized into 3 groups; group I and group II received bitter melon (2 g/day and 4 g/day respectively) and group III received glibenclamide (5 mg/day) for 10 weeks. Glycemic control and antiatherogenic effects were determined by assessing glycohemoglobin (HbA1-c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2 hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), plasma sialic acid (PSA), systolic blood pressure (SBP), blood lipids and atherogenic index at different time periods.ResultsCompared to baseline, mean reduction in HbA1-c at the endpoint was significant among patients of group I, group II and group III (p ≤ 0.05, p ≤ 0.02 and p < 0.005 respectively) and same was the case for FPG (p ≤ 0.05, p < 0.04, p < 0.003 respectively), but the improvement in 2 hour OGTT was significant only in group III (p < 0.03). The decrease in PSA was observed only among group I and group II with the later showing significant reduction from baseline (p < 0.01). In group III, the level slightly increased. Parameters including blood lipids, atherogenic index, body weight and SBP improved among patients of group I and group II but deteriorated among group III patients.ConclusionsOur study concludes that bitter melon has a weaker hypoglycemic effect but ameliorates the diabetes associated cardiovascular (CV) risk factors more effectively than glibenclamide.Trial registrationThe trial was registered with Naseer Teaching Hospital Clinical Trials Registry number GU2014492233.

The nomadic pastoral indigenous communities of the Ladakhi people share roots with Tibetan culture in terms of food, clothing, religion, festivals, and habits, and rely widely on plant resources for survival and livelihood. This survey was conducted during 2019–2021 to document the indigenous knowledge about plant resources of the Balti, Beda, and Brokpa communities of the Ladakh region, trans-Himalayas. Open- and close-ended semi-structured interviews (N = 184) and group discussions (N = 17) were used to collect the data. Quantitative data was further analyzed using various statistical tools. A total of 105 plant species belonging to 82 genera and 39 families were used as medicine, fuel wood, fragrance, oil, food, flavor, fodder, decoration, and dye. Among these, medicinal use was most prevalent, with 70% of use reports, followed by fodder and fuel wood. Leaves (27%) were the most preferred plant part used, followed by roots and flowers. The principal component analysis revealed five clusters of ethnobotanical usage, i.e., food, medicine, fuel wood, fodder, and fragrance, oil, dye, and flavor. The maximum number of plant species used was reported by the Brokpa, while the Beda reported the minimum number of plant species uses. Delphinium brunonianum, Waldheimia tomentosa, and Juniperus indica played a significant role in the cultural and religious ritual aspects, whereas Allium przewalskianum, Waldheimia tomentosa, Juniperus indica, and Hippophae rhamnoides were commonly used as a livelihood source among Ladakhi communities. The local people collected most plants (65%) for self-consumption, while the rest (35%) were sold in markets as a source of income. The sustainable utilization and management of plant resources by local people is a strategy to boost livelihoods and food security and alleviate poverty.

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The present study was conducted to elaborate vegetation composition structure to analyze role of edaphic and topographic factors on plant species distribution and community formation during 2013-14. A mixture of quadrat and transect methods were used. The size of quadrat for trees shrubs and herbs were 10 × 5, 5 × 2, 1 × 1 meter square respectively. Different phytosociological attribute were measured at each station. Primary results reported 123 plant species belong to 46 families. Asteraceae and Lamiaceae were dominant families with 8 species each. PCORD version 5 were used for Cluster and Two Way Cluster Analyses that initiated 4 plant communities within elevation range of 529-700 m from sea level. Indicator species analyses (ISA) were used to identify indicator species of each community. CANOCO Software (version 4.5) was used to measure the influence of edaphic and topographic variables on species composition, diversity and community formation. Whereas Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was used to measure the effect of environmental variables which showed elevation and aspect were the stronger environmental variable among topographic and CaCO contents, electric conductivity, soil pH were the stronger edaphic factors in determination of vegetation and communities of the Bheer Hills. Grazing pressure was one of the main anthropogenic factors in this regard.