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Ferulic acid (FA) is a widely distributed hydroxycinnamic acid found in various cereals and fruits exhibiting potent antioxidant and anticancer activities. However, due to low solubility and permeability, its availability to biological systems is limited. Non-toxic chitosan-tripolyphosphate pentasodium (CS-TPP) nanoparticles (NPs) are used to load sparingly soluble molecules and drugs, increasing their bioavailability. In the present work, we have encapsulated FA into the CS-TPP NPs to increase its potential as a therapeutic agent. Different concentrations of FA were tested to obtain optimum sized FA-loaded CS-TPP nanoparticles (FA/CS-TPP NPs) by ionic gelation method. Nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analyses and evaluated for their anticancer activity against ME-180 human cervical cancer cell lines. The FTIR spectra confirmed the encapsulation of FA and thermal analysis depicted its degradation profile. A concentration-dependent relationship between FA encapsulation efficiency and FA/ CS-TPP NPs diameter was observed. Smooth and spherical FA-loaded cytocompatible nanoparticles with an average diameter of 125 nm were obtained at 40 lM FA conc. The cytotoxicity of 40 lM FA/CS-TPP NPs against ME-180 cervical cancer cell lines was found to be higher as compared to 40 lM native FA. Apoptotic morphological changes as cytoplasmic remnants and damaged wrinkled cells in ME-180 cells were visualized using scanning electron microscopic and fluorescent microscopic techniques. Data concluded that chitosan enveloped FA nanoparticles could be exploited as an excellent therapeutic drug against cancer cells proliferation.

Ferulic acid (FA) is a polyphenolic phytonutrient which possesses strong antiproliferative effect; however, it has limited therapeutic applications due to its physiochemical instability and low bioavailability at the tumor site. In present study, these shortcomings associated with FA were overcome by fabricating FA-encapsulated poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide)/polyethylene oxide (PLGA/PEO) blend nanofibers using electrospinning technique. FESEM and fluorescence microscopic analysis imitates the smooth morphology and even distribution of FA within the polymeric nanofibers at optimum 2 wt% concentration of FA. The average diameters were recorded to be 150 ± 47.4 and 200 ± 79 nm for PLGA/PEO and FA-encapsulated PLGA/PEO nanofibers, respectively. The encapsulation, compatibility, and physical state of FA within the nanofibers were further confirmed by FTIR, TGA and XRD analysis. In vitro drug delivery studies demonstrated initial burst liberation of FA within 24 h followed by a sustained release for the subsequent time. MTT assay revealed the effectiveness of FA-encapsulated nanofibers against human breast carcinoma cells (MCF-7) cells as compared to control. FESEM and fluorescence microscopic analysis further confirmed the apoptotic effect of FA-encapsulated PLGA/PEO nanofibers against MCF-7. These fabricated nanofibers hold enormous potential to be used as a therapeutic agent for various biomedical applications.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13205-014-0229-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The indigenous microbial community utilizing aliphatic, aromatic, and polar components from the oily sludge as sole source of carbon and energy was selected from the soil samples of Ankleshwar, India for biosurfactant production. Evaluation of biosurfactant production was done using screening assays such as surface tension reduction, hemolytic activity, emulsification activity, drop-collapse assay, and cell surface hydrophobicity studies. Maximum biosurfactant (6.9 g/l) production was achieved after 5 days of growth from Bacillus subtilis DSVP23 which was identified by 16S RNA technique (NCBI GenBank accession no. EU679368). Composition of biosurfactant showed it to be lipopeptide in nature with 15.2% protein content and 18.0% lipid content. Functional group analysis was also done by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy which showed it to be a protein-bound lipid thereby imparting them special properties. Analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometric and nuclear magnetic resonance revealed that the major constituents of lipopeptide are leucine and isoleucine. Gas chromatographic analysis data indicated that oily sludge components of chain length C₁₂-C₃₀ and aromatic hydrocarbons were degraded effectively by B. subtilis DSVP23 after 5 days of incubation. These results collectively points toward the importance of B. subtilis DSVP23 as a potential candidate for bioremediation studies.

Parthenium hysterophorus is a globally recognized invasive alien weed that prominently colonizes grazing areas and cultivated lands causing adverse effect on crop production. Major allelochemicals released from parthenium include sesqueterpene lactones and phenolic acids. Among these the presence of caffeic, vanillic and ferulic acids is of industrial significance as they possess potent free radical scavenging and anticancer activities. This study reports for the first time, high total phenolic acid content (20.82 ± 0.82 mg GAE/g dry sample) in parthenium. The GC-MS analysis indicated the presence of ferulic, p-coumaric, vanillic and gallic acid as major phenolic components. Free radical scavenging activity of the phenolic acids extract gave an EC50 value 130.4 µg/ml when measured using DPPH assay. Anticancer activity of parthenium phenolic extract against A-498 (IC50 0.5237 µg/ml) and MDA-MB231 (IC50 and 0.2685 µg/ml) cancerous cell lines indicated its potential to be used as anticancer agent.

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Haryana is the second-largest producer of wheat within the country, with approximately 12 percent of total wheat production. The production of wheat in Haryana was 11.9 metric tonnes and productivity 4786 kg ha-1from an area of 2.53 million hectares (Anon, 2020). The nutrient supplying capacity of the soil and fertilizers application schedule plays a vital role within the production potential of wheat. Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) plays a vital role in increasing the organic carbon, biological, physical and chemical properties of soil. The results revealed from the research conducting during rabi season 2019-20 reported that the higher plant height (95.7 cm) at maturity with WH 283, followed by WH 1105 (92.7 cm) and Raj 3765(85.5 cm), while lower values were recorded with NABI Black(77.5 cm). The utmost yield parameters viz., spike length (12.7 cm), spikes per m2 (368.1), and test weight (44.0 g) were recorded with wheat WH 1105. The maximum yield (44.9 q ha-1), straw yield (59.9 q ha-1), and harvest index (41.4%) were recorded with the application of 100% recommended dose of N fertilizer as 150 kg ha-1.