ABSTRACT
Aim: The aim of the current study was to investigate plants growth, physiological, biochemical and nutrients changes in shallot grown in soil loaded with CuO nanoparticle (CuONPs).Methodology: The shallot seedlings were treated with increasing doses (25, 50, 100, 200 mg kg-1) of CuONPs; the rate of seedling growth, plant biomass, photosynthetic pigment content level, antioxidant enzyme activities and nutrient elements were estimated and compared with the control. Results: CuONPs treated plants exhibited increased shoot and root growth (123.31% and 184.47%) and biomass compared to the control. Also, the level of photosynthetic pigments namely, chlorophyll a (277.24%), chlorophyll b (301.42%) and carotenoids (104.81%) increased in the CuONPs exposed plants. The activity of antioxidative enzymes viz. superoxide dismutase (SOD, 382.77-330.29%), peroxidase (POX, 197.51-166.86%) and catalase (CAT, 234-317.35%) were found to be significantly high in 100 mg NPs treated plants compared to others. Hence, the nutrient elements in 100mg NPs treated plants were estimated and found to be higher than control. Interpretation: Results indicate that the engineered phycomolecule loaded CuONPs may possibly be used as nanofertilizer to increase crop productivity and it can be used for enhancing growth of agricultural crops in the future
ABSTRACT
The glutathione S transferase (GST) family of enzymes play a vital role in the phase II biotransformation of environmental carcinogens, pollutants, drugs and other xenobiotics. GSTs are polymorphic and the polymorphisms in GST genes have been associated with cancer susceptibility and prognosis. Moreover, distinct ethnic differences have been observed in the type and frequency of GST gene polymorphisms. Hence, the present study was aimed to determine the frequencies of GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 polymorphisms in 255 healthy random volunteers from South India. The GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes were determined by PCR and GSTP1 by PCR-RFLP using peripheral blood DNA.The GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotype frequencies were found to be 22.4% and 17.6% respectively. The GSTP1 allelic frequency was 0.78 for the Ile allele and 0.22 for the Val allele and the genotype frequency was 58.4% for Ile/Ile, 38.4% for Ile/Val, and 3.1% for Val/Val. Comparison of the frequencies of GST polymorphisms observed in the present study with other Indian and world populations revealed a distinctive nature of the South Indian population with respect to polymorphims at the GST gene loci. A better understanding of carcinogen metabolizing gene distribution should contribute to risk assessment of humans exposed to environmental carcinogens.