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Purpose Phosphorus (P) deficiency in agricultural land is one of the main factors which reduce the crop production and yield. To increase the crop growth, the availability of P using the rock phosphate (RP) can be enhanced using organic waste with the addition of phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (PSMs). Moreover, the combination along with time and dose application of RP and compost can also affect the P-availability through mineralization and/immobilization. Methods To investigate the effect of different combinations of RP and compost (0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25 and 100:0) and time of application (30, 15, 7, 3 and 0 days before sowing), each was conducted in two consecutive pot experiments while, the rate of application (100-1000 kg ha −1) was investigated under field conditions, in comparison to control (recommended P fertilizer). Results Rock phosphate enriched compost (RP-EC) with a combination ratio of 50:50; RP and compost applied before 7 days of sowing in pot experiments resulted in the maximum nodulation, growth and productivity of chickpea. Under field conditions, the maximum increase of 35.3% in no. nodules plant −1 , 26.7% in dry wt. of nodules plant −1 and 20.8% in grain yield (t ha −1) compared to control was obtained by RP-EC @ 1000 kg ha −1. The same treatment indicated an increase of 12.9 and 4.3% in P contents in straw and grains, respectively, compared to control. However, most results were non-significant when RP-EC applied at the rate of 1000 kg ha −1. Conclusion Application of RP-EC, with the ratio of 50:50 (RP:Compost) and application rate of 800 kg ha −1 before 7 days of sowing, exhibited maximum growth and development, and can be highly recommended for optimum production of chickpea.

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Cognitive decline in dementia is associated with deficiency of the cholinergic system. In this study, five mono-carbonyl curcumin analogs were synthesized, and on the basis of their promising in vitro anticholinesterase activities, they were further investigated for in vivo neuroprotective and memory enhancing effects in scopolamine-induced amnesia using elevated plus maze (EPM) and novel object recognition (NOR) behavioral mice models. The effects of the synthesized compounds on the cholinergic system involvement in the brain hippocampus and their binding mode in the active site of cholinesterases were also determined. Compound h2 (p < 0.001) and h3 (p < 0.001) significantly inhibited the cholinesterases and reversed the effects of scopolamine by significantly reducing TLT (p < 0.001) in EPM, while (p < 0.001) increased the time exploring the novel object. The % discrimination index (DI) was significantly increased (p < 0.001) in the novel object recognition test. The mechanism of cholinesterase inhibition was further validated through molecular docking study using MOE software. The results obtained from the in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo studies showed that the synthesized curcumin analogs exhibited significantly higher memory-enhancing potential, and h3 could be an effective neuroprotective agent. However, more study is suggested to explore its exact mechanism of action.

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