Penicillum janthinellum SDX7 was isolated from aged petroleum hydrocarbon-affected soil at the site of Anand, Gujarat, India, and was tested for different pH, temperature, agitation and concentrations for optimal growth of the isolate that was capable of degrading upto 95%, 63% and 58% of 1%, 3% and 5% kerosene, respectively, after a period of 16 days, at optimal growth conditions of pH 6.0, 30 °C and 180 rpm agitation. The GC/MS chromatograms revealed that then-alkane fractions are easily degraded; however, the rate might be lower for branched alkanes, n-alkylaromatics, cyclic alkanes and polynuclear aromatics. The test doses caused a concentration-dependent depletion of carbohydrates of P. janthinellum SDX7 by 3% to 80%, proteins by 4% to 81% and amino acids by 8% to 95% upto 16 days of treatment. The optimal concentration of 3% kerosene resulted in the least reduction of the metabolites of P. janthinellum such as carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids with optimal growth compared to 5% and 1% (v/v) kerosene doses on the 12th and 16th day of exposure. Phenols were found to be mounted by 43% to 66% at lower and higher concentrations during the experimental period. Fungal isolate P. janthinellum SDX7 was also tested for growth on various xenobiotic compounds.

The present study evaluated the protective action of calcium dobesilate (CDO) in various experimental models of cataract. CDO was studied in hydrocortisone-induced cataract in developing chick embryos and selenite-induced cataract in pups. CDO anti-cataract activity was also evaluated after oral and topical application as eye drops in galactose (30%) fed rats. This study was further extended to evaluate the intraocular penetration of a single dose of 1% CDO (50 microL) in rabbits. CDO exhibited significant protection against cataract in experimental models and considerable penetration after single topical application. Anti-cataract activity may be due to its antioxidant as well as aldose reductase inhibitor properties. Further studies are in progress to evaluate its clinical efficacy in diabetic cataract.