Aligarh Muslim University

About: Aligarh Muslim University is a education organization based out in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Adsorption. The organization has 8218 authors who have published 16416 publications receiving 289068 citations. The organization is also known as: AMU.

Role of Nitrogen and Gibberellin (GA3) in the Regulation of Enzyme Activities and in Osmoprotectant Accumulation in Brassica juncea L. under Salt Stress

Abstract: Salt stress alters a wide array of plant metabolic mechanisms. Different strategies of the application of nutrients and phytohormones are required to overcome the adverse effects of salt stress. The main objective of the present study was to determine if added nitrogen (N) and gibberellin (GA 3 ) in growth medium could alleviate the adverse effects of salt stress on plant metabolism. Two-week-old plants were fed with: (i) 0 mM NaCl + 0 mg N kg -1 sand + 0 M GA 3 (control), (ii) 100 mM NaCI + 0 mg N kg -1 sand + 0 M GA 3 , (iii) 0 mM NaCl + 40 mg N kg -1 sand + 0 M GA 3 , (iv) 0 mM NaCl + 0 mg N kg -1 sand + 10 -5 M GA 3 , (v) 100 mM NaCI + 40 mg N kg -1 sand + 0 M GA 3 , (vi) 100 mM NaCl + 0 mg N kg -1 sand + 10 -5 M GA 3 , (vii) 100 mM NaCl + 40 mg N kg -1 sand + 10 -5 M GA 3 . Growth and physio-biochemical attributes i.e. shoot length, leaf area, fresh weight, dry weight, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, malondialdehyde concentration, electrolyte leakage, total chlorophyll concentration, nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase activities, proline and glycinebetaine concentration, leaf - N, potassium (K) and sodium (Na) concentration and K/Na ratio were affected by NaCl treatment. But application of N or GA 3 alone as well as in combination proved beneficial in alleviating the adverse effects of salt stress on these growth and physio-biochemical parameters. However, N applied with GA 3 proved more effective than N and GA 3 applied alone. The results revealed that combined application of N and GA 3 may ameliorate most of the attributes and prove to be a physiological remedy to increase the tolerance against the ill effects of salt stress in Brassica.

Antibacterial properties of traditionally used Indian medicinal plants.

Abstract: In search of broad-spectrum antibacterial activity from traditionally used Indian medicinal plants, 66 ethanolic plant extracts were screened against nine different bacteria. Of these, 39 extracts demonstrated activity against six or more test bacteria. Twelve extracts showing broad-spectrum activity were tested against specific multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESbetaL)-producing enteric bacteria. In vitro efficacy was expressed in terms of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of plant extracts. MIC values ranged from 0.32-7.5 mg/ml against MRSA and 0.31-6.25 mg/ml against ESbetaL-producing enteric bacteria. The overall activity against all groups of bacteria was found in order of Plumbago zeylanica > Hemidesmus indicus > Acorus calamus > Camellia sinensis > Terminalia chebula > Terminalia bellerica > Holarrhena antidysenterica > Lawsonia inermis > Mangifera indica > Punica granatum > Cichorium intybus and Delonix regia. In addition, these extracts showed synergistic interaction with tetracycline, chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin against S. aureus and/or Escherichia coli. The ethanolic extracts of more than 12 plants were found nontoxic to sheep erythrocytes and nonmutagenic, determined by Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium test strains (TA 97a, TA 100, TA 102 and TA 104). Based on above properties, six plants-Plumbago zeylanica, Hemidesmus indicus, Acorus calamus, Punica granatum, Holarrhena antidysenterica and Delonix regia-were further subjected to fractionation-based study. Ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol fractions of more than six plants indicated that the active phytocompounds were distributed mainly into acetone and ethyl acetate fractions, whereas they were least prevalent in methanol fractions as evident from their antibacterial activity against MDR bacteria. Gram-positive and Gram-negative MDR bacteria are almost equally sensitive to these extracts/fractions, indicating their broad-spectrum nature. However, strain- and plant extract-dependent variations in the antibacterial activity were also evident. Time-kill assay with the most promising plant fraction Plumbago zeylanica (ethyl acetate fraction) demonstrated killing of test bacteria at the level lower than its MIC. Further, identification of active constituents in each fraction and their additive and synergistic interactions are needed to exploit them in evaluating efficacy and safety in vivo against MDR bacteria.

Synthesis, characterization, biological studies (DNA binding, cleavage, antibacterial and topoisomerase I) and molecular docking of copper(II) benzimidazole complexes

Abstract: To explore the therapeutic potential of copper-based benzimidazole complexes, tetranuclear Cu(II) complex 1 and dinuclear ternary amino acid complexes 2 and 3 {L-trp and L-val, respectively} were synthesized and thoroughly characterized. In vitro DNA binding studies of complexes 1–3 were carried out employing UV–vis titrations, fluorescence, circular dichroic and viscosity measurements which revealed that the complexes 1–3 bind to CT DNA preferably via groove binding. Complex 1 cleaved pBR322 DNA via hydrolytic pathway (validated by T4 DNA ligase assay), accessible to major groove while 2 followed oxidative mechanism, binding to minor groove of DNA double helix; binding events were further validated by molecular docking studies. Additionally, the complexes 1 and 2 exhibit high Topo-I inhibitory activity at different concentrations. The complexes 1–3 were evaluated for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and 2 was found to be most effective against Gram-positive bacteria.