The existence of cytokinins both as a free form and as a constituent of t‐RNA was investigated in young fruits of Moringa pterigosperma Gaertn. Purified methanol extract was separated into butanol insoluble and butanol soluble fractions. The cytokinin(s) in the butanol insoluble fraction was tentatively identified as zeatin nucleotide. The butanol soluble fraction contained cytokinins and was chromatographed on Sephadex LH‐20 with 35% ethanol. The two active fractions from LH‐20 column coincided with zeatin and zeatin riboside. Cytokinin per g tissue was high in early stages of fruit growth and then remained more or less constant. Alkaline phosphatase hydrolysis of t‐RNA hydrolysate of fruit tissue showed considerable cytokinin activity.

Nanosized Mn 1-x Zn x Fe 2 O 4 (x = 0, 0⋅1, 0⋅3, 0⋅5, 0⋅6, 0⋅7, 0⋅9) mixed ferrite samples of particle size < 12 nm were prepared using the co-precipitation technique by doping the Zn 2+ ion impurities. Autoclave was employed to maintain constant temperature of 80 o C and a constant pressure. The X-ray analysis and the IR spectrum analysis were carried out to confirm the spinel phase formation as well as to ascertain the cation distribution in the ferrite samples. This clearly points to the fact that the Zn 2+ ion's presence is not restricted to A-site alone for some of the Mn-Zn ferrite series. The real part of a.c. susceptibility measurements clearly indicated the superparamagnetic behaviour of the ferrite samples. There is a systematic decrease in the particle size, Curie temperature and magnetization with the increase in the Zn 2+ ion doping, measured using magneto thermal gravimetric analysis (MTGA) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), respectively. The lattice constant is found to be constantly decreasing till x = 0⋅6 and beyond this an unusual slight increase in the lattice constant is found.

The potential of callus cultures and field-grown organs of pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles of the noble metals gold and silver has been investigated. Biosynthesis of AuNPs (gold nanoparticles) and AgNPs (silver nanoparticles) was obtained with flowers of C. maxima but not with pulp and seeds. With callus cultures established in MS-based medium the biogenesis of both AuNPs and AgNPs could be obtained. At 65 °C the biogenesis of AuNPs and AgNPs by callus extracts was enhanced. The AuNPs and AgNPs have been characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, TEM, DLS and XRD. Well-dispersed nanoparticles, which exhibited a remarkable diversity in size and shape, could be visualized by TEM. Gold nanoparticles were found to be of various shapes, viz., rods, triangles, star-shaped particles, spheres, hexagons, bipyramids, discoid particles, nanotrapezoids, prisms, cuboids. Silver nanoparticles were also of diverse shapes, viz., discoid, spherical, elliptical, triangle-like, belt-like, rod-shaped forms and cuboids. EDX analysis indicated that the AuNPs and AgNPs had a high degree of purity. The surface charges of the generated AuNPs and AgNPs were highly negative as indicated by zeta potential measurements. The AuNPs and AgNPs exhibited remarkable stability in solution for more than four months. FTIR studies indicated that biomolecules in the callus extracts were associated with the biosynthesis and stabilisation of the nanoparticles. The synthesized AgNPs could catalyse degradation of methylene blue and exhibited anti-bacterial activity against E. coli DH5α. There is no earlier report of the biosynthesis of nanoparticles by this plant species. Callus cultures of Cucurbita maxima are effective alternative resources of biomass for synthesis of nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles have an enormous range of biomedical and environmental applications and can be used for development of various nanodevices for diagnostics and drug delivery. Biogenic production of nanoparticles, that is of silver and gold, by seed plants, especially flowering plants, has evoked considerable interest in the last decade. Different organs of plants as well as callus cultures have been used for the production of these metal nanoparticles. It is possible to regulate the geometry of the nanoparticles by modifying the experimental parameters. In many cases the phytosynthesized gold and silver nanoparticles have been demonstrated to be potentially useful for treatment of various diseases. The production of gold and silver nanoparticles by diverse species of seed plants and their biological activity are discussed in this article.

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