Rhizoctonia solani, the rice sheath blight pathogen, produces a toxin that reproduces all symptoms of the disease. The toxin has been partially purified and it was found to be a carbohydrate containing glucose, mannose, N-acetylgalactosamine, and N-acetylglucosamine. The toxin was also detected in infected leaves. Highly virulent isolates produced more toxin than less virulent isolates. Several R. solani isolates from rice and one each from cotton and tomato produced a similar toxin. All rice cultivars tested were susceptible to the pathogen and sensitive to the toxin. Host specificity of the toxin has been demonstrated using hosts and nonhosts of the pathogen.

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Premna serratifolia is used by the traditional practitioners as cardiotonic, antibiotic, anti-coagulant, stomachic, carminative, hepatoprotective, antitumor etc. The present study aims in the evaluation of hepatoprotective and in-vitro cytotoxic activity of alcoholic extract of leaves of Premna serratifolia Linn. Hepatoprotective activity is studied by carbon tetrachloride induced hepato-toxicity in rats and the in-vitro cytotoxic activity is carried out by tryphane blue exclusion method using EAC cell lines. The degree of protection in hepatoprotective activity has been measured by using biochemical parameters such as serum glutamate oxalate transaminase (SGOT) and serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin and total protein. The results suggest that the alcoholic extract at the dose level of 250mg/kg has produced significant  (p < 0.001) hepatoprotection by decreasing the activity of serum enzymes, bilirubin, and lipid peroxidation which is comparable to that of standard drug silymarin. The alcoholic extract also does exhibit the IC50 value of 75µg/ml which indicates the significant in-vitro cytotoxic activity of the extract. It is concluded that alcoholic extract of leaves of Premna serratifolia Linn is not only an effective hepatoprotective agent, but also possesses significant antitumor activity.  Keywords: Premna serratifolia Linn; Alcoholic extract hepatoprotective; In-vitro cytotoxic activity.  © 2009 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved. DOI: 10.3329/jsr.v1i1.1046Â

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