NBU Journal of Plant Sciences
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The NBU Journal of Plant Sciences serves as the official organ of the Department of Botany for the publication of research papers by its members and researchers. The journal is sent free to its members and different academic institutions on demand.
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Item Open Access Assessment of Therapeutic Potential and Phytochemical Profiling in Different Solvent Extracts of Centella asiatica(University of North Bengal, 2023) Saran Kumar GuptaCentella asiatica (L.) Urban, commonly known as Indian pennywort, a small perennial herb from the Apiaceae family has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different extraction solvents on the therapeutic and phytochemical profiles of various parts of Centella asiatica. Among the various plant parts assessed, the leaves exhibited the best antioxidant and in vitro antidiabetic activity and the highest amount of phytoconstituents compared to petiole and root. Methanol was identified as the most effective solvent, yielding optimal IC50 values for DPPH (30.65 μg/ml) and ABTS (45.23 μg/ml). Additionally, the methanolic extract of leaves exhibited highest content of phenolics (65.49 mg GAE/g DW) and flavonoids (12.56 mg QE/g DW). The methanolic leaf extract also demonstrated a promising inhibition potential against α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes and possessed elevated levels of alkaloids, glycosides, tannins and terpenoids. This study demonstrated significant variations in the therapeutic potential of Centella asiatica, attributed to differences in the nature of the extraction solvents.Item Open Access Underutilized Fruits of Northeast India and its Potential Benefits on Human Health - Review(University of North Bengal, 2023) Banerjee, Swarnendra; Sen, ArnabThe Indian Himalayas, a global biodiversity hotspot, is home to 2532 species from temperate regions of Europe, China, Burma, the Sahara, and Africa. India's plant biodiversity includes 21 agroecosystems, including farmed fruit and wild, under-utilized fruit crops. These underutilized fruit crops have potential but are rarely planted, infrequently available on the market, or not farmed commercially. They are disease-resistant and adapted to heat and cold extremes, blessing tropical nations like India. Underutilized fruit crops have medicinal properties and are often used by Native Americans to heal ailments and for the financial well-being of tribal people in rural regions. The use of wild fruits as nutritional supplements or less expensive alternatives to commercial fruits is growing worldwide. Identifying and utilizing underutilized species is crucial for a diverse and nutritious diet, especially for rural poor and socially vulnerable populations in emerging countries. India's North-Eastern Hill region is an agrobiodiversity hub characterized by diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. It is rich in wild agricultural plant relatives, particularly underutilized fruit crops, and mixed temperate, tropical, and subtropical fruits from various genera. Fruits, vegetables, and other plants naturally produce important polyphenol metabolites that influence their sensory and nutritive qualities, potentially curing various conditions.Item Open Access Polyethylene Gycol (PEG) Induced Water Stress in Four Different Genotypes of Pea Seedlings and Evaluation of The Induced Defense Mechanism(University of North Bengal, 2022) Bantawa, Pranay; Rai, RituPresent work was undertaken on artificially induced water stress on pea seedlings under in vitro conditions in order to select the drought tolerant line. Artificial water stress was induced with PEG-6000 on 15-day old seedlings of four varieties for 4, 8 and 12 days. The activities of antioxidative enzymes like peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase were assayed in the stressed and control plants. POX activity was increased in the initial stages of stress, but its activity was decreased significantly on the 12th day in all the varieties. APOX also showed a similar trend but the maximum activity was noted in Var 3 on the 8th day. CAT activity decreased in var 1 and var 2 when compared with the control, which, however, increased significantly in var 3 and var 4. A slight increase in the GR activity was observed in var 1 and var 2 at the initial stages of the drought stress but its activity decreased significantly on the 12th day in both these varieties when compared with control plants. However, its activity also increased steadily in var 3 and var 4. Maximum SOD activities were noted on the 4th day of drought stress in all four varieties but its activities decreased steadily on the subsequent 8th and 12th days when compared with control. When antioxidative activities were compared among the four varieties, var 3 and var 4 showed maximum increase in antioxidant activity during the period of drought stress. Among the four varieties, var 3 and var 4 showed greater accumulation of H2O2 during the stress days and were maximum at 12th day. Lipid peroxidation also increased in the same varieties. Maximum proline content was noted in both the root and leaf of var 3, followed by var 4. It was further noted that the chlorophyll content decreased significantly in all four varieties in subsequent longer drought stresses. The accumulation of proline content was steadily higher with an increase in the stress length in all the four varieties. During the drought stress, all the varieties showed an increase in ascorbate content but, it was maximum in var 4 followed by var 3 and the least ascorbate was noted in var 1. The present findings indicate that water stress induces oxidative stress in all the four varieties. However, antioxidative mechanisms were found to be more pronounced in var 4 which, therefore, may be considered as the most tolerant to drought stress.Item Open Access In vitro antibacterial activity as related to antioxidant property of some ethnomedicinal plants(University of North Bengal, 2015-03) Saha, Jayati; Sarkar, Prabir KumarThe present study attempted to evaluate in vitro antibacterial and antioxidant activities of extracts from some ethnomedicinal herbs and to correlate among the parameters. The antibacterial activity was assayed using agar-disc diffusion method against seven bacterial species. Their total flavonoids content (TFC) and ferric reducing power (RP) were also evaluated. Herb extracts with high TFC exhibited a good antibacterial activity against the bacteria at low concentrations. The Gram-positive bacteria were more sensitive to the tested extracts than the Gram-negative ones. While Staphylococcus aureus was maximally inhibited, Escherichia coli was most resistant. Against each bacterium, antibacterial activity was positively correlated (r = 0.60-0.87) with TFC of the tested extracts. Positive correlations were also obtained between antibacterial and antioxidant activities (r = 0.60-0.96) as well as between TFC and antioxidant activity (r = 0.91) of the extracts. Thus, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the tested extracts were closely associated with their flavonoid constituents.Item Open Access Antioxidant Potential of Canna: an overview(University of North Bengal, 2014-03) Mishra, Tanmayee; Sen, ArnabCanna, the solitary genus of the family Cannaceae and order Zingiberales, comprises of about 51 species of flowering plants. Canna species are native of South America but with the course of time they have been distributed throughout the world. It is an important plant not only from the ornamental point of view but also it is an important plant for starch production as well as its medicinal values. From the primitive time, village people commonly use Canna as herbal medicines in their daily dealings. Different plant parts like rhizome and leaves of Canna have been used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, fever, hypertension, diabetes, menstrual disorders, malaria etc. Phytochemicals with high antioxidant activities reported from the members of genus Canna. Moreover, isolation and identification of chemical compounds shows the presence of derivatives of polysaccharide, anthocyanin and phenylpropanoid compounds. The present study reflects a comprehensive review on biological activities of Canna species with special reference to some other members of Zingiberales.Item Open Access Deterioration of Antioxidant and Antidiabetic Activity of Seven Taruls Through Boiling(University of North Bengal, 2014-03) Ghosal, Mitali; Kalwar, Premlata; Mandal, PalashThe underground edible rhizomes and tubers are commonly known as "Taruls' in Darjeeling Himalaya and are mostly available during winter season. These vegetables are consumed as raw or processed through boiling for making them more palatable by local people of Darjeeling Himalaya. The methanolic extracts of raw and boiled (ten minutes) taruls were screened for their in vitro antioxidant potential by DPPH and ABTS' free-radicals, reducing power, metal chelating. nitric oxide, superoxide, hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity and anti-lipid peroxidation assays along with measuring in vitro antidiabetic activity by a-glucosidase and a-amylase inhibition. Our present study demonstrated that in majority of experimental assays, the performance of Dioscorea alata (ghar tarul) was best followed by Ipomoea batatas (red and white cultivar of sakarkanda) and D. hamiltonii (ban tarul), which showed stronger free-radical scavenging activity, high degree of different polyphenol content as well as antidiabetic capacity except for the iron-induced metal chelation where Sechium edule (squash-jara) was excellent performer. Therefore it can be stated that the extracts of different taruls might help in preventing or slowing the progress of various oxidative stress induced diseases. Our study also showed that in every antioxidant assays the scavenging activity reduced with boiling. As boiling decreases bioactive potency, it can be suggested that some alternative strategies should be developed during post-processing through which valuable phytochemicals of taruls might be preserved.Item Open Access In-vitro free radical scavenging activities of the leaves of Malva verticillara L(University of North Bengal, 2012-03) Chhetri, P.K.; Mandal, P.Antioxidants act as major defense against radical-mediated toxicity by protecting against the damages caused by free-radicals. Research on herbal products are increasingly focused on their effects on scavenging of different newly generated free-radical species and associated oxidative stress mediated complications on human health, but there are unexpectedly few studies evaluating the bioactivity of edible leafy vegetables of North Bengal, India. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the in vitro antioxidant potential of methanol extract and aqueous decoction of Malva verticillata L. [MV] leaves, consumed by local people of North Bengal. Extracts of leaves were analyzed for in vitro free radical scavenging capacity, the total phenol and flavonoid content and preliminary phytochemical analysis. The antioxidant property was estimated using reducing power, superoxide radical scavenging activity and DPPH assays. Methanol extract of leaves were found to be effective in DPPH and superoxide radical scavenging activity when compared with aqueous decoction of MV. Overall strong correlation between the mean values of total phenol content and IC50 values of DPPH and superoxide free radical scavenging capacity was observed. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) indicated that phenolic functional groups and reducing potential of methanol and aqueous extracts were mostly contributed for their antioxidant capacity. The present study revealed that methanol extract of the leaves of MV comprise effective source of natural antioxidants, which might be helpful in preventing the progress of various oxidative stress induced diseases.Item Open Access Polyethylene glycol induced water stress in maize seedlings and evaluation of antioxidant defense mechanisms(University of North Bengal, 2012-03) Lama, R.; Chakraborty, U.Maize is one such crop, the production of which is highly challenged due to water shortage and soil water losses. The present study was undertaken on artificially induced water stress of maize in vitro, where stress was applied with PEG-6000 on one week old seedlings of four varieties BN 10, Dhanya. Kaveri-Super 244, and Swarna for 3, 5 and 7 days. The activity of antioxidative enzyme like peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase was assayed in the stressed and control plants. Peroxidase activity decreased on the 7th day in Dhanya and Swarna but in BN 101 and Super 244 the activity decreased slightly on the 5th day and increased again on the 7th day. Ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase showed a similar trend where the activity decreased after a certain period of stress. Similar trend was seen for GR activity too in case of Dhanya and Swarna. But in BN 101 and Super 244 there was an increase in the activity with the increase in the period of stress. Catalase activity declined during stress in Dhanya and Swarna while the other two varieties showed an increase during stress. Other than enzymatic activities, various biochemical analyses like proline, ascorbate, chlorophyll was also carried out. With the increase in intensity of drought there was an increase in both proline and ascorbate content in all. A significant increase in the ascorbate content was observed in BN 101 and super 244, H202, accumulation and lipid peroxidation showed an increase during stress in Dhanya and Swarna but no increase was seen in the other two varieties. Chlorophyll content showed a decline during the period of drought when compared to the control plants of all varieties. Enzymatic activity and biochemical tests show that Dhanya and Swarna are susceptible to drought stress than super 244 and BN 101 which are the tolerant varieties.Item Open Access Free radical scavenging activity of ornamental and edible cultivars of Canna found in Eastern India(University Of North Bengal, 2011-03) Mishra, T; Goyal, AK; Mondal, P; Sen, ACanna, the only genus of family Cannaceae, found in eastern India have gained economic importance for their starchy rhizomes and attractive flowers. The rhizome of some edible cultivars are consumed as food and herbal medicines in rural areas. The presence of total phenols, flavonoids and DPPH scavenging activity of both cold and hot extracts and their correlations have been studied for eleven cultivars of Canna spp. Antioxidants, quercetin and gallic acid equivalence of phenolic compounds were determined spectrophotometrically. It has been found that total phenol, flavonoids and DPPH free radical scavenging activity were higher in hot extracts than in cold. Further studies gave an idea about the correlation between phenol and flavonoid contents of both cold and hot extracts, but both the above said parameters were not correlated with DPPH scavenging activity. Finally it can be concluded that higher DPPH scavenging activities in all these Canna cultivars may not be due to the presence of endogenous phenols and flavonoids but these may be due to any other phytochemicals.Item Open Access In vitro antioxidant activity of two edible Timbur fruits of Darjeeling Himalaya(University of North Bengal, 2010-03) Ghosal, Mitali; Mandal, PalashFrec radicals are implicated for many chronic, painful and near-fatal diseases including Diabetes mellitus, arthritis, cancer, apoptosis, neurodegenerative disorders etc. In treatment of these discases, antioxidant therapy has gained an utmost importance and current rescarch is now directed towards finding naturaly occurring antioxidants of plant origin. Edible Timburs namely Zanthoxylum acanthopodium DC. and Litsea cubeba (Loureiro) Persoon are traditionally usced as spices in different Nepali recipes. In the present study, the fruits of these plants were extracted with aqucous methanol (1:4) to examinc the in vitro antioxidant property, phenol content and phytochemical constituents. The scavenging activities on DPPH free radicals, superoxide anions and per-oxidized lipid molecules were determined as well as the flavonoid and phenolic constitucnts of the extracts. The extracts exhibited significant scavenging activity towards DPPH free radicals and high anti-lipid peroxidation values duc to the presence of relatively high total phenol contents. Also, these spices contain a vast array of different phytochemicals in their dry form. These results suggest that both Zanthoxylum acanthopodium and Litsea cubeba fruits are endowed with antioxidant phytochemicals and could serve as basal ingredients for nutraceutical formulations.