Our results concluded that nanoemulsion may be an efficient carrier for oral delivery of silymarin against human hepatocellular carcinoma without damaging normal cells.

Introduction: Maize (Zea mays) is one of the most important cereal crops. It is ranked as 3rd after wheat and rice. Due to its wide adaptability, diversified uses, and low production costs, it has great potential as a cereal crop. In the case of yield losses, various factors are involved. The fungal diseases of maize play a significant role in the reduction of both quantity as well as the quality of maize. Review Results: At the seedling stage, maize suffers from numerous diseases and many of them are seed-borne diseases. Anthracnose stalk rot (Colletotrichum graminicola), Charcoal rot of maize (Macrophomina phaseolina), Crazy top downy mildew disease (Sclerophthora macrospora), Corn grey leaf spot disease (Cercospora zeae-maydis), Aspergillus ear and kernel rot (Aspergillus flavus), Corn smut (Ustilago maydis), Southern corn leaf blight disease (Bipolaris maydis) etc. are important among these diseases.Chemical control of seed-borne pathogens of maize is rather difficult to achieve as a reasonably good. Due to the hazardous environmental effects of chemicals, the Integrated Management of the seed-borne fungal pathogens of corn is mostly preferred. The distribution, disease cycle, symptoms of the damage, effects of environmental factors, economical importance of disease, and integrated disease management options of major seed-borne fungal pathogens of maize have been reviewed in this review article from various currently available sources.

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Aquaporins (AQPs) mediate cross membrane transport of water and other solutes in plants. AQPs also enhance plant performance under environmental stresses including water shortage. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the most important pulse legume for the people of semi-arid tropics. To understand the evolutionary relationships and role of AQPs in drought tolerance in chickpea, the current study involves an evolutionary analysis coupled with expression analysis and promoter analysis of selected AQPs. A total of 503 non-redundant AQP genes have been studied in 11 plant species including mosses (Physcomitrella patens), monocots (Oryza sativa and Zea mays) and dicots (Solanum lycopersicum, Populus trichocarpa, Gossypium hirsutum, Glycine max, Arabidopsis thaliana, Brassica rapa, Solanum tubrosum and Cicer arietinum). Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated a clear divergence of AQP subfamilies as paralogous groups and possible evolutionary direction of AQP subfamilies. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis depicted involvement of PIP2; 2 and NIP6; 3 in increasing plant drought stress tolerance and of SIP1; 1 and PIP2; 3 with a contrary role. In silico promoter analysis identified a 49 bp conserved motif among six AQPs and several abiotic stresses related cis-elements. The present study is a very first step in deciphering AQPs role in drought stress tolerance with a special perspective from evolutionary relationships and gene expression regulation.

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The ethanolic extracts of Spondias mangifera fruit (SMFE) were evaluated for aphrodisiac activity. The in-vitro phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibition was assessed based on in-silico molecular docking and simulation studies. In addition, the in-vivo sexual behavior was analyzed in the form of mount (MF, ML), intromission (IF, IL), and ejaculation (EF, EL) frequencies and latencies to validate the in-vitro results. Some biochemical parameters, including PDE-5, nitric oxide, and testosterone, were also observed. The above extract constituted β-amyrin, β-sitosterol, and oleanolic acid and showed tremendous binding with phosphodiesterase-5 and sildenafil. Both the sildenafil and ethanolic extracts (200 and 400 mg/kg/d bodyweight) significantly (p < 0.1, p < 0.05) increased MF, IF, and EF, respectively. In contrast, ML and IL significantly (p < 0.1) decreased, and EL significantly (p < 0.1) increased compared with a normal group of animals. The ethanolic extracts (200 and 400 mg/kg/d bodyweight) and sildenafil further significantly (p < 0.05, p < 0.1) diminished PDE-5 activity significantly (p < 0.05, p < 0.1) and enhanced nitric oxide and testosterone levels, as compared with normal rodents. Therefore, the S. mangifera ethanolic extract might be a valuable alternate aphrodisiac for erectile dysfunction.

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