BackgroundSnakebites are considered a neglected tropical disease that affects thousands of people worldwide. Although antivenom is the only treatment available, it is associated with several side effects. As an alternative, plants have been extensively studied in order to obtain an alternative treatment. In folk medicine, Azima tetracantha Lam. is usually used to treat snakebites. The present study aims to provide a scientific explanation for the use of this plant against snakebite. The extracts of shade dried leaves of A. tetracantha were tested for in vitro inhibitory activity on toxic venom enzymes like phosphomonoesterase, phosphodiesterase, acetylcholinesterase, hyaluronidase etc. from Bungarus caeruleus and Vipera russelli venoms.ResultsThe ethylacetate extract rendered a significant inhibitory effect on the phosphomonoesterase, phosphodiesterase, phospholipase A2 and acetylcholinesterase enzymes.ConclusionsThe present study suggests that ethylacetate extract of A. tetracantha leaves possesses compounds that inhibit the activity of toxic enzymes from Bungarus caeruleus and Vipera russelli venom. Further pharmacological and in vivo studies would provide evidence that this substance may lead to a potential treatment against these venoms.

No abstract

No abstract

Vegetable amaranth is one of the popular leafy vegetable that occupies a prominent place in India owing to its high nutritive value and fast growing ability. The presence of considerable genetic variability in the amaranth along with very high phenotypic plasticity demands the development of stable genotypes to secure sustainable production. The present research was carried out to quantify the effect of genotype x environment interaction on the performance of 30 identified promising genotypes of vegetable amaranth. The experiment was laid out in the Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications at three locations viz., Arabhavi, Dharwad and Bagalkot during kharif 2018-19. Stability analysis was done as per the linear regression model described by Eberhart and Russell [1] that measures the genotypic response to changing environments. Variance due to environment + (genotype x environment) was significant for four of the studied traits viz., fresh green yield per hectare, fresh green yield per plant, plant height and leaf length which specified the existence of noteworthy interaction between the genotypes and the environmental conditions. The accessions, VA-16, CO-1, IC-553719 and IC-469645 have been identified as the high yielding stable genotypes for fresh green yield. Stable accessions for plant height include IC-536714, IC-541407, Arka amaranth, IC-469579 and IC-553719 and for leaf length were CO-1, IC-550143, IC-551472, IC-536714 and IC-469722. Further, some stable accessions for yield and its attributes were indicated that can be, commercialised or used in future breeding programs.

The neurotoxin purified from the venom of Bungarus caeruleus causes a neuromuscular blockade on acetylcholine-induced muscle twitch response in isolated frog rectus abdominis muscle preparation. Neuromuscular blockade produced by d-tubocurarine on acetylcholine-induced muscle twitch response in an isolated frog rectus abdominis muscle preparation was reversed to normal muscle twitch response in presence of neostigmine. Whereas the purified neurotoxin produced an irreversible neuromuscular blockade in presence of the same strength of neostigmine. As it is already known, botulinum toxin, which also brings about neuromuscular blockade, is effectively used as a drug in the treatment of painful movement disorders. Since the purified toxin also causes paralysis of the muscle, we propose its possible efficacy in the treatment of neuromuscular disorders

An estimated 35% of the world’s population depends on wheat as their primary crop. One fifth of the world’s wheat is utilized as animal feed, while more than two thirds are used for human consumption. Each year, 17–18% of the world’s wheat is consumed by China and India. In wheat, spot blotch caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana is one of the major diseases which affects the wheat crop growth and yield in warmer and humid regions of the world. The present work was conducted to evaluate the effect of green synthesized silver nanoparticles on the biochemical constituents of wheat crops infected with spot blotch disease. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using Mangifera indica leaf extract and their characterization was performed using UV-visible spectroscopy, SEM, XRD, and PSA. Characterization techniques confirm the presence of crystalline, spherical silver nanoparticles with an average size of 52 nm. The effect of green synthesized nanoparticles on antioxidative enzymes, e.g., Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Catalase (CAT), Glutathione Reductase (GR), Peroxidase (POX), and phytochemical precursor enzyme Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase (PAL), and on primary and secondary metabolites, e.g., reducing sugar and total phenol, in Bipolaris sorokiniana infected wheat crop were studied. Inoculation of fungal spores was conducted after 40 days of sowing. Subsequently, diseased plants were treated with silver nanoparticles at different concentrations. Elevation in all biochemical constituents was recorded under silver nanoparticle application. The treatment with a concentration of nanoparticles at 50 pp min diseased plants showed the highest resistance towards the pathogen. The efficacy of the green synthesized AgNPs as antibacterial agents was evaluated against multi drug resistant (MDR) bacteria comprising Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (n = 6) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 7) and Gram-positive bacteria Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (n = 2). The results show promising antibacterial activity with significant inhibition zones observed with the disc diffusion method, thus indicating green synthesized M. indica AgNPs as an active antibacterial agent against MDR pathogens.

drought tolerance traits for the rainy and post-rainy seasons at Dharwad and post-rainy seasons at Tirupati, and employed for single marker analysis, composite interval mapping and multiple QTL mapping. Of the 305 significant marker-trait associations for the 11 traits, only 21 were of major effect for pod yield per plant (PYPP), specific dry weight at 70 days after sowing (SDW_70) and specific leaf area at 70 DAS (SLA_70). Three major main effect QTLs were identified for PYPP with the highest phenotypic variance explained (PVE) of 10.5%. Nine QTLs with the highest PVE of 18.4% were identified for SDW_70, of which four QTLs were also governing SLA_70 with Abstract Genomic regions governing water deficit stress tolerance were identified in peanut using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from an elite variety TMV 2 and its narrow leaf mutant TMV 2-NLM, which was evaluated over six-seasons at Dharwad (non-stress) and Tirupati (water-stress) in India. Stress condition could differentiate the RILs much better than the non-stress condition for the physiological traits. A linkage map with 700 markers was used to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Three sets of best linear unbiased predictions (BLUPs) were estimated for the

Bungarus caeruleus (Indian common krait) is a venomous snake that is responsible for most of the snakebites in India. In the present study, we report the isolation and purification of neurotoxin and the biochemical changes and pathological effects induced by injection of purified neurotoxin into rats. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of crude krait venom and the purified toxin. Both the crude venom and a sublethal dose of 60 microg/kg B. caeruleus purified toxin significantly increased the serum levels of alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, and urea (p < 0.05). The crude venom but not the purified toxin increased the levels of lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotranseferase, creatine kinase, and glucose. The kidneys showed congestion of the vessels, hemorrhage, and necrosis in venom-injected but not in toxin treated animals. The results of this study indicate that although crude krait venom has severe lethal, hemorrhagic, nephrotoxic, and proteolytic activities, the purified neurotoxin shows only moderate toxic activity, manifested as prominent local and systemic effects.