A cascade-reaction enabled synergistic starvation/ROS-mediated/chemo-therapy was developed, and it exhibits a remarkable therapeutic efficacy without any external intervention.

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BackgroundLow phosphorus availability limits crop production in alkaline calcareous soils in semi-arid regions including Pakistan. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria may improve crop growth on alkaline calcareous soils due to their ability to enhance P availability.MethodsTwenty rhizobacterial isolates (Q1–Q20) were isolated from rhizosphere of cotton and characterized for their growth promoting attributes in vitro. The selected phosphate solubilizing isolates were further screened for their ability to improve cotton growth under axenic conditions (jar trial). The phosphorus solubilization capacities of selected strains were quantified and these strains were identified through 16S rDNA sequencing.ResultsIsolates Q2, Q3, Q6, Q7, Q8, Q13 and Q14 were able to solubilize phosphate from insoluble sources. Most of these isolates also possessed other traits including catalase activity and ammonia production. The growth promotion assay showed that Q3 was significantly better than most of the other isolates followed by Q6. Maximum root colonization (4.34 × 106 cfu g−1) was observed in case of isolate Q6 followed by Q3. The phosphorus solubilization capacities of these strains were quantified, showing a maximum phosphorus solubilization by Q3 (optical density 2.605 ± 0.06) followed by the Q6 strain. The strain Q3 was identified as Bacillus subtilis (accession # KX788864) and Q6 as Paenibacillus sp. (accession # KX788865) through 16S rDNA sequencing.DiscussionThe bacterial isolates varied in their abilities for different growth promoting traits. The selected PGPR Bacillus subtilis strain Q3 and Paenibacillus sp. strain Q6 have multifarious growth promoting traits including ability to grow at higher EC and pH levels, and phosphorus solubilizing ability. These strains can efficiently colonize cotton roots under salt affected soils and help plants in phosphorus nutrition. It is concluded that both strains are potential candidates for promoting cotton growth under alkaline conditions, however further investigation is required to determine their potential for field application.

Ephedra is herbal medicine used in the treatment of many diseases, especially asthma and urticaria. The aim of this study was to formulate topical formulations as a microemulsion, a gel and an ointment containing the Ephedra extracts of (E. Intermedia), collected from Balochistan, Pakistan and to evaluate their isolation, characterization and in vitro and ex vivo permeability release using markers. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for the quantification of markers, and in vitro and ex vivo studies were done by Franz diffusion cells. The kinetics release and permeability was checked by cuprophan dialysis membrane and natural rabbit skin to justify their stability for topical use. Of the three formulations, release behavior of microemulsion and gel was almost the same, and the ointment showed slow release. The cellulose membrane showed faster release than the rabbit skin; this arrangement can be shown as microemulsion > gel > ointment. However, Korsmeyer-Peppas release kinetics for the three formulations were observed for the membranes. This study demonstrates that it is necessary to assess the impact of release and permeability patterns of different formulations. In vitro and ex vivo experiments can be utilized to develop formulations of traditional medicines.