Comparative immunomodulation potential of Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers ex Hook. F., Tinospora sinensis (Lour.) Merrill and Tinospora cordifolia growing on Azadirachta indica A. Juss.

Guduchi has been widely used in the traditional medicine as an immunomodulator. Description of guduchi in Ayurvedic literature resemble with T. sinensis rather than with commonly available T. cordifolia and hence this may be used as substitutes for T. sinensis. T. cordifolia growing on Azadirachta indica commonly called Neem-guduchi has more immunomodulatory potential. Thus, immunomodulatory activity of three Tinospora spp. was assessed by checking humoral and cell mediated immune responses to the antigenic challenges with sheep RBCs and by neutrophil adhesion tests on albino Wistar rats using Guduchi-Satwa, a well known dosage form. Results revealed that Neem-guduchi possesses higher immunomodulatory potential at the dose of 300 mg/kg, po and validated the traditional claim. Hence, Neem-Guduchi can be employed in immunomodulatory formulation prepared using guduchi.

Screening of efficient arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for Azadirachta indica under nursery condition: a step towards afforestation of semi-arid region of western India

To optimize nursery practices for efficient plant production procedures and to keep up to the ever growing demand of seedlings, identification of the most suitable species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), specific for a given tree species, is clearly a necessary task. Sixty days old seedlings of Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) raised in root trainers were inoculated with six species of AMF and a mixed inoculum (consortia) and kept in green house. Performances of the treatments on this tree species were evaluated in terms of growth parameters like plant height shoot collar diameter, biomass and phosphorous uptake capabilities. Significant and varied increase in the growth parameters and phosphorous uptake was observed for most of the AMF species against control. Consortia culture was found to be the best suited AMF treatment for A.indica, while Glomus intraradices and Glomus mosseae were the best performing single species cultures. It is the first time in the state of Gujarat that a wide variety of AMF species, isolated from the typical semi-arid region of western India, were tested for the best growth performance with one of the most important tree species for the concerned region.

Nutrición y crecimiento en fase de vivero de Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, Momordica charantia L. y Azadirachta indica A. Juss, en el Municipio Centro, Tabasco-México / Nutrition and growth in nursery phase of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, Momordica charantia L. Y Azadirachta indica A. Juss, in Centro, Tabasco-México

With the main objective of evaluate the principals agronomic parameters of soil and organic substrate, as well as nutritional indicators and biomass of medicinal plants used to control for diabetes mellitus: Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, Momordica charantia L. and Azadirachta indica A. Juss, this research was conducted during 2010 and 2011 at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR). The growth of potted plants was evaluated in nursery phase, analysis of soil, plants and organic substrate were performed according to NOM 021-RECNAT-2000, which allowed to identify significant differences between crop plants and substrates used. The use of organic matter in the soil improved the nutrition indicators in more than 50 percent as well as the biomass increased.

Con el objetivo de evaluar los principales parámetros agronómicos de suelo y sustrato orgánico, así como indicadores nutricionales y biomasa de las plantas medicinales utilizadas para el control de la diabetes mellitus: Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, Momordica charantia L. y Azadirachta indica A. Juss, se realizó esta investigación durante 2010 y 2011 en El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR). El crecimiento de las plantas fue en macetas evaluándose en fase vivero, los análisis de suelo, sustrato orgánico y plantas se realizaron de acuerdo a NOM 021-RECNAT-2000; lo que permitió identificar diferencias significativas entre cultivos de plantas y sustratos utilizados. El uso de materia orgánica en el sustrato mejoró los indicadores nutricionales de los cultivos en más de un 50 por ciento al igual que la biomasa se incrementó.

In vitro production of azadirachtin from cell suspension cultures of Azadirachta indica.

The present study aimed to elucidate the effect of nutritional alteration on biomass content and azadirachtin production in cell suspensions of the elite neem variety crida-8.Variations in total nitrogen availability in the medium in terms of different ratios of nitrate: ammonium showed that the ratio 4:1 revealed a profound effect, leading to a 1.5-fold increase in the total extracellular azadirachtin production (5.59 mg/l) over the standard MS medium.Reduction in sucrose (15 mg/l) in the medium exhibited a reduction in biomass and absence of azadirachtin, whereas total phosphate reduction raised intracellular azadirachtin production (6.98 mg/l). An altered medium with a nitrate: ammonium ratio of 4:1 coupled with complete elimination of phosphate enhanced biomass by 36% (59.36 g/l).