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Plant growth regulators are naturally biosynthesized chemicals in plants that influence physiological processes. Their synthetic analogous trigger numerous biochemical and physiological processes involved in the growth and development of plants. Nowadays, due to changing climatic scenario, numerous biotic and abiotic stresses hamper seed germination, seedling growth, and plant development leading to a decline in biological and economic yields. However, plant growth regulators (PGRs) can potentially play a fundamental role in regulating plant responses to various abiotic stresses and hence, contribute to plant adaptation under adverse environments. The major effects of abiotic stresses are growth and yield disturbance, and both these effects are directly overseen by the PGRs. Different types of PGRs such as abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), ethylene (ET), and jasmonates (JAs) are connected to boosting the response of plants to multiple stresses. In contrast, PGRs including cytokinins (CKs), gibberellins (GAs), auxin, and relatively novel PGRs such as strigolactones (SLs), and brassinosteroids (BRs) are involved in plant growth and development under normal and stressful environmental conditions. Besides, polyamines and nitric oxide (NO), although not considered as phytohormones, have been included in the current review due to their involvement in the regulation of several plant processes and stress responses. These PGRs are crucial for regulating stress adaptation through the modulates physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes and activation of the defense system, upregulating of transcript levels, transcription factors, metabolism genes, and stress proteins at cellular levels. The current review presents an acumen of the recent progress made on different PGRs to improve plant tolerance to abiotic stress such as heat, drought, salinity, and flood. Moreover, it highlights the research gaps on underlying mechanisms of PGRs biosynthesis under stressed conditions and their potential roles in imparting tolerance against adverse effects of suboptimal growth conditions.

Pectin was extracted using 0.1 N HCl at 90 8C for 120 min at pH 1.5 and 2.0 from pomelo peel and characterized in this study. Influence of various concentrations of extracted pomelo peel pectin on physicochemical, bioactive compounds, color, and sensory attributes of carrot jam during storage was also studied. Pectin extracted at pH 2.0 had higher ash content, equivalent weight, and total anhydrouronic acid content than that extracted at pH 1.0. Extracted pomelo peel pectin was categorized as high-methoxyl pectin based on the degree of esterification. The b-carotene and total phenol content were increased in jam after 90 days of storage. Ascorbic acid content decreased with increasing storage period. Jam prepared using commercial pectin had higher DE values than jam prepared using pomelo peel pectin. Physico-chemical properties were influenced by pectin concentrations and storage time. Overall acceptability was similar for all samples on the basis of sensory evaluation. The results showed that pomelo peel might be used as a rich source of pectin and pomelo peel pectin could be used as an alternative to commercial pectins for carrot jam preparation. Practical applicationsPectin is one of the main ingredients for jam and jelly making. Citrus fruits are main sources of pectin. Usually pomelo peels are discarded as waste materials. However, it could be a good source of pectin. In this article, pectin was extracted from pomelo peel and its application was observed as carrot jam during storage. Therefore, it can be concluded that extraction of pectin from pomelo peel might be used as an alternative to commercial pectin for carrot jam preparation. | I N TR ODU C TI ONThe most widely cultivated citrus fruits are the following: orange, lemon, lime, mandarin, grape fruit, and pomelo. Citrus fruit pulp consists of 60-65% peels, 30-35% segment, pulp, and 0-10% seeds (Afshar & Naser, 2008). Citrus by-products are considered as rich sources of phytochemicals, pectin, and dietary fibers (Afshar & Naser, 2008). Pectin is the methylated ester of polygalacturonic acid, which contains 1,4-linked a-D-galacturonic acid residues (Mesbahi, Jamaliana, & Farahnaky, 2005).Pectin can be divided into two types based on the degree of esterification (DE): high-methoxyl pectin (DE > 50%) and low-methoxyl pectin (DE < 50%) (Mesbahi et al., 2005). The main sources for commercial pectin production are apple pomace and citrus peels (Mesbahi et al., 2005). The extracted pectin from pomelo peel could be used as ingredient in jam production. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to characterize pomelo peel pectin, as well as produce carrot jam, using various concentrations of pomelo peel pectin and compare with commercial pectin by performing nutritional quality and sensory evaluation during storage. | M A TE RI A L S A ND M E TH ODS | Sample collection and preparation of pomelo peel powderPomelo was purchased from the local market of Dinajpur, Bangladesh. The pomelos were washed carefully with tap water to remove dirt soil from the s...

Plant extracts and their purified compounds were examined for synergistic antimicrobial activity using selected multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens. The study aims to investigate the antibacterial activity of green tea ( Camellia sinensis ) and its purified compound epigallocatechingallate (EGCG). The synergistic relation of the compound with antibiotic was detected against selected potential Gram positive and Gram negative pathogens. Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were used as test pathogens which were resistant to different groups of antibiotics. After collection of fresh green tea leaves, samples were washed and air dried. EGCG is one of the bioactive compounds and was separated from tea plant. Antibacterial activity of EGCG and crude extracts of green tea were done by microdilution method (minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration). The synergistic effect of EGCG and gentamicin was determined. MIC value of green tea extract was found at 125 μg/mL in case of MDR E. coli , MDR S. aureus and their reference strains and MBC at 500 μg/mL against S. aureus . No MBC value was found against E. coli . EGCG showed better activity on Gram positive pathogen compared to that of Gram negative. MBC value of this compound was 1250 μg/mL for E. coli where 625 μg/mL for S. aureus . Strong synergistic relation (FICI 0.325) was found against pathogens in the combination of EGCG with gentamycin. The purified EGCG compound of green tea has great synergistic effect against MDR pathogens. More investigation is needed to know the inhibitory effect of these plant extracts and their components.

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Milk is an incredibly healthy food world-wide. However, the 'lactase deficient' individuals cannot digest milk's carbohydrate lactose. A large part of the world population is depriving of highly beneficial milk proteins like casein, lactoalbumin, lactoglobulin, etc. due to lactose intolerance. Production of functional foods and bioactive peptides from milk with natural antioxidants and the addition of probiotics could be the best alternative to extend the use of milk functionalities. Among different probiotics, the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) like Lactobacillus delbrueckii sub sp. bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus and some species of Bifidobacteria and their metabolites (paraprobiotics and postbiotics) have been given more preference to add in milk-derived functional foods. These species are generally considered as heat-tolerant, highly proteolytic, and peptidolytic towards milk proteins and they liberate smaller molecules of bioactive peptides during fermentation and other processes that stimulate the enzyme lactase to help people in digestion of milk carbohydrate lactose. Moreover, the incorporation of natural antioxidants in yoghurt and other dairy products prevents the rancidity of milk fat. The level of bioactive peptides produced in milk-derived functional foods can be determined by capillary zone electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, fractionation, and other modern assessment techniques. Commercial production of functional probiotic products with bioactive peptides could significantly contribute to reduce milk spoilage, enhance health benefits as well as the growth of the agro-processing industry.

The present study was cherished to investigate in vitro thrombolytic, membrane stabilizing and antibacterial activities of Allamanda neriifolia and Aegialitis rotundifolia. Different types methanolic extracts of these two medicinal plants were tested for determining membrane stabilizing activity at a hypotonic solution and heat induce condition by comparing with reference standard acetyl salicylic acid (0.10 mg/mL), where thrombolytic activity assessment was done by employing Streptokinase as standard drug. Finally, antibacterial activity was performed against Staphylococcus aureus as a Gram-positive (+ve) and Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as Gram negative (−ve) bacteria by using disc diffusion method. In case of membrane stabilizing studies, crude methanolic extracts of A. neriifolia at 10 mg/ml concentration, more importantly, showed 45.80% & 23.52% whereas 10 mg/ml concentration of A. rotundifolia more significantly (p < 0.01) produced 38.40% and 27.04% inhibition of hemolysis for both experimental conditions. Dose-dependently increased activity was found in the thrombolytic study where 10 mg/ml concentration of both A. neriifolia and A. rotundifolia more significantly (p < 0.01) showed 41.91% and 32.76% lysis of clot respectively by in vitro clot lysis assay method. Crude methanolic extracts of A. rotundifolia did not show any suitable antibacterial property against the test bacteria. However, the gram positive (+ve) bacteria also seemed resistant against A. neriifolia extract but this crude methanolic extracts was found to generate moderate antibacterial action against gram-negative (−ve) bacteria. The obtained results confirmed the presence of thrombolytic, membrane stabilizing activity for both plant extract along with moderate antibacterial activity for A. neriifolia.

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