Genetic modification is a special set of gene technology that alters the genetic machinery of such living organisms as animals, plants or microorganisms. Combining genes from different organisms is known as recombinant DNA technology and the resulting organism is said to be 'Genetically modified (GM)', 'Genetically engineered' or 'Transgenic'. The principal transgenic crops grown commercially in field are herbicide and insecticide resistant soybeans, corn, cotton and canola. Other crops grown commercially and/or field-tested are sweet potato resistant to a virus that could destroy most of the African harvest, rice with increased iron and vitamins that may alleviate chronic malnutrition in Asian countries and a variety of plants that are able to survive weather extremes. There are bananas that produce human vaccines against infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, fish that mature more quickly, fruit and nut trees that yield years earlier and plants that produce new plastics with unique properties. Technologies for genetically modifying foods offer dramatic promise for meeting some areas of greatest challenge for the 21st century. Like all new technologies, they also pose some risks, both known and unknown. Controversies and public concern surrounding GM foods and crops commonly focus on human and environmental safety, labelling and consumer choice, intellectual property rights, ethics, food security, poverty reduction and environmental conservation. With this new technology on gene manipulation what are the risks of "tampering with Mother Nature"?, what effects will this have on the environment?, what are the health concerns that consumers should be aware of? and is recombinant technology really beneficial? This review will also address some major concerns about the safety, environmental and ecological risks and health hazards involved with GM foods and recombinant technology.

Garlic is a popular spice added to several edible preparations and is a remedy for a variety of ailments. Epidemeological as well as laboratory studies have shown that garlic consumption reduces certain cancer incidences in the stomach, colon, mammary, cervical, etc. This article focuses on the general chemistry, metabolism, anticarcinogenic properties, mechanism of action behind the anticarcinogenic effects, functional foods based on garlic; and future areas of research. Garlic has been shown to metabolized into N-aceryl-S-allyl cysteine, allyl mercaptan, diallyl disulfide, diallyl sulfide, diallyl sulfoxide, diallyl sulfone, and allyl methyl sulfide. Garlic has been thought to bring about its anticarcinogenic effect through a number of mechanisms, such as the scavenging of radicals, increasing gluathione levels, increasing the activities of enzymes such as glutathione S-transferase, catalase, inhibition of cytochrome p4502E1, DNA repair mechanisms, prevention of chromosomal damage etc. Future research should standardize the dosage of garlic and type, ie., whether it should be taken fresh, cooked, or aged. The formulation of odorless functional foods with the retention of anticarcinogenic activity should be further studied.

Many neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, cerebrovascular impairment, depression, seizures, Parkinson's disease, etc. are predominantly appearing in the current era due to the stress full lifestyle. Treatment of these disorders with prolonged administration of synthetic drugs will lead to severe side effects. In the recent years, scientists have focused the attention of research towards phytochemicals to cure neurological disorders. Nootropic herb refers to the medicinal role of various plants/parts for their neuroprotective properties by the active phytochemicals including alkaloids, steroids, terpenoids, saponins, phenolics, flavonoids, etc. Phytocompounds from medicinal plants play a major part in maintaining the brain's chemical balance by acting upon the function of receptors for the major inhibitory neurotransmitters. Medicinal plants viz. Valeriana officinalis, Nardostachys jatamansi, Withania somnifera, Bacopa monniera, Ginkgo biloba and Panax ginseng have been used widely in a variety of traditional systems of therapy because of their adaptogenic, psychotropic and neuroprotective properties. This review highlights the importance of phytochemicals on neuroprotective function and other related disorders, in particular their mechanism of action and therapeutic potential.

Gallic acid is one of the most important polyphenolic compounds, which is considered an excellent free radical scavenger. 6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) is a neurotoxin, which has been implicated in mainly Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of the neuroprotective effects of gallic acid on 6-OHDA induced apoptosis in human dopaminergic cells, SH-SY5Y. Our results showed that 6-OHDA induced cytotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells was suppressed by pre-treatment with gallic acid. The percentage of live cells (90%) was high in the pre-treatment of gallic acid when compared with 6-OHDA alone treated cell line. Moreover, gallic acid was very effective in attenuating the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, elevated levels of intracellular ROS and apoptotic cell death induced by 6-OHDA. Gallic acid also lowered the ratio of the pro-apoptotic Bax protein and the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein in SH-SY5Y cells. 6-OHDA exposure was up-regulated caspase-3 and Keap-1 and, down-regulated Nrf2, BDNF and p-CREB, which were sufficiently reverted by gallic acid pre-treatment. These findings indicate that gallic acid is able to protect the neuronal cells against 6-OHDA induced injury and proved that gallic acid might potentially serve as an agent for prevention of several human neurodegenerative diseases caused by oxidative stress and apoptosis.

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Coriandrum sativum L. (coriander), an everyday spice in the Indian kitchen is known to add flavor to the cuisine. It is an annual herb belonging to the Apiaceae (Umbellifera) family. The hydro-alcohol extract of Coriandrum sativum L. at the dose of 1 mg/ml was subjected to a series of in vitro assays viz. 2, 2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, lipid peroxidation by thiobarbituric acid, reducing power and nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging in order to study its antioxidant efficacy in detail. The amount of flavonoids in 70% ethanol extract was found to be 44.5 μg and that of the total phenols was 133.74 μg gallic acid equivalents per mg extract. The extracts of the leaves showed metal chelating power, with IC 50 values, 368.12 μg/ ml where as that of standard EDTA was 26.7 μg/ml. The IC 50 values for 2, 2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid radical scavenging was 222 μg/ml where as that of standard ascorbic acid was 22.6 μg/ml. The NO scavenging activity of the extract of the leaves showed IC 50 value of 815.6 μg/ml; at the same time the standard BHA had 49.1 μg/ml. All the plant extracts provided DNA damage protection; however, the protection provided at the dose of 8 μg/ml was comparable to that of standard gallic acid. The Coriandrum sativum leaf extract was able to prevent in vitro lipid peroxidation with IC 50 values; 589.6 μg/ml where as that of standard BHA was 16.3 μg/ml. Our results also showed significant ferric reducing power indicating the hydrogen donating ability of the extract. This study indicated the potential of the leaf extract as a source of natural antioxidants or nutraceuticals that could be of use in food industry with potential application to reduce oxidative stress in living system.

Objective: Terminalia arjuna is commonly known as Arjuna and widely used as cardioprotective agent in Indian traditional medicine. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the protective effect of ethanolic extract of T. arjuna bark (TAA) and its fractions, including dichloromethane (TAD), ethyl acetate (TAE), butanol (TAB) and water (TAW) against free radicals, protein oxidation and DNA damage. Methods: Protective effect of arjuna bark against H 2 O 2 induced DNA damage on pBR322 plasmid and rat adrenal PC-12 cells was analyzed by DNA strand breakage assay and single cell gel electrophoresis (Comet assay) respectively. AAPH induced protein oxidation was analyzed with SDS-PAGE. In vitro antioxidant activities were carried out by spectrophotometric methods to asses free radical scavenging activities, such as DPPH, hydroxyl, ABTS, nitric oxide, metal chelation, FRAP and reducing power. Results: The ethanolic extract and its fractions of arjuna bark effectively protected H 2 O 2 induced DNA damage and AAPH induced protein oxidation in the following manner: TAE > TAB > TAA > TAD > TAW. The maximum inhibition of DPPH, hydroxyl, ABTS, nitric oxide radicals and metal chelation was observed in TAE fraction (IC 50 values: 270 AE 2 mg/ml, 175 AE 11 mg/ml, 25 AE 1.2 mg/ml, 405 AE 9 mg/ml, 310 AE 11 mg/ ml, 82 AE 4 mg/ml, respectively). Conclusion: In the present study we report that arjuna bark extracts ameliorate various impairments associated with DNA damage and free radical formation.