High efficiency shoot regeneration was achieved through leaflet and cotyledon derived calli in Cassia angustifolia -an important medicinal plant. Dark brown compact callus was induced at the cut ends of the explants on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium augmented with 1 μM N 6 -benzyladenine (BA) + 1 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Such callus pieces on transfer to cytokinins (BA or kinetin) supplemented medium differentiated shoots within 10 -15 d. Of the two cytokinins, 5 μM BA was optimum for eliciting morphogenic response in 83.33 and 70.83 % cultures with an average of 4.16 ± 0.47 and 3.70 ± 0.56 shoots in cotyledon and leaflet derived calli, respectively. The addition of 0.5 μM α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) to MS + 5 μM BA further elevated the maximum average number of shoots to 12.08 ± 1.04 and 5.37 ± 0.52 for cotyledon and leaflet calli, respectively. The excised shoots were transferred to a rooting medium containing either IAA (indole-3-acetic acid), IBA (indole-3-butyric acid) or NAA. Nearly 95 % shoots developed an average of 5.4 ± 0.41 roots on half strength MS medium supplemented with 10 μM IBA.

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In vitro protocol has been established for clonal propagation of Cassia angustifolia Vahl which is an important source of anticancerous bioactive compounds, sennoside A and B. Nodal explants excised from field raised elite plant (showing optimum level of sennoside A and B) of C. angustifolia when reared on Murashige and Skoog's medium augmented with different cytokinins, viz. N(6)-benzyladenine (BA), N(6)-(2-isopentenyl) adenine (2iP) and 6-furfuryl aminopurine (Kn) differentiated multiple shoots in their axils. Of the three cytokinins, BA at 5 μM proved optimum for differentiating multiple shoots in 95 % cultures with an average of 9.14 shoots per explant within 8 weeks of culture. Nearly, 95 % of the excised in vitro shoots rooted on half strength MS medium supplemented with 10 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The phenotypically similar micropropagated plants were evaluated for their genetic fidelity employing random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Eleven individuals, randomly chosen amongst a population of 120 regenerants were compared with the donor plant. A total of 36 scorable bands, ranging in size from 100 to 1,000 bp were generated amongst them by the RAPD primers. All banding profiles from micropropagated plants were monomorphic and similar to those of mother plant proving their true to the type nature. Besides, high performance liquid chromatography evaluation of the sennoside A and B content amongst leaves of the mature regenerants and the elite mother plant too revealed consistency in their content.

Objectives: To study the simultaneous removal of metal ions to understand the dynamics of the adsorption process for the assessment of the actual potential of an adsorbent in real-life applications. Methods: A one-step hydrothermal method was employed for the synthesis of nanomaterial. The hydrothermal treatment was performed at 110 o C for 3 hours and calcined at 300 o C for 2 hr to complete the nickel oxide nanoparticle synthesis. A systematic study of metal ion adsorption onto the nickel oxide nanoparticle was conducted to evaluate the maximum adsorption capacity and to understand the adsorption behaviour of the metal ions in presence of the others. The estimation of metal ion adsorption was done by measuring the residual concentrations using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Findings: The microscopic and spectroscopic characterizations confirmed the formation of nickel oxide nanostructures. The experimental results suggested that the adsorption process follows the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-secondorder model for metal ion adsorption in single and mixed solutions. A synergistic effect was observed for Pb (II) adsorption and an antagonistic effect for Cd (II) adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity of ~650 mg/g of Pb (II) and ~475 mg/g of Cd (II) were noticed for simultaneous adsorption by the NiO nanoparticle. Novelty/improvement: The presence of more than one heavy metal ion in the wastewater is obvious, and one kind of metal ion may interface with the adsorption behaviour of the others. Further, limited studies on simultaneous adsorption of metal ions using metal-oxide nanoparticles are available in the literature. Hence, this work will provide an idea about the applicability of the NiO nanoparticle for real-life applications.