Evaluation of multi-heavy metal tolerance traits of soil-borne fungi for simultaneous removal of hazardous metals.

The demand for environment-friendly cleanup techniques has arisen due to an increase in environmental pollutants. Fungi is the most prevalent and effective class of heavy metal-resistant microorganisms with the ability to leach metals. The objective of the present study was to isolate the fungi from the agricultural soil of Kashmir valley, investigate their multi-metal tolerance to heavy metals and evaluate the metal uptake capacities of the resistant fungi. The fungi were isolated and identified on the basis of morphological and molecular approach (ITS1 and ITS4). The tolerance limits of the isolated fungal strains to various doses of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and cobalt (Co) was evaluated. Five fungal strains, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium verticillioides, Aspergillus fischeri, Epicoccum mackenziei were isolated from the soil samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the study of metal resistance of Aspergillus fischeri and Epicoccum mackenziei. Among the identified fungal species, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporum were found to be most tolerant with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 600 ppm against Cu and Cr respectively. Results indicated removal of considerable amount of heavy metals by some of the fungi. The highest metal uptake of 8.31 mg/g was found in Fusarium verticillioides for Zn. Surprisingly, these fungal strains demonstrated resistance to metal concentrations above the levels that are universally acceptable for polluted soils, and hence prove to be appealing contenders for use as bioremediation agents for cleaning up heavy metal-polluted environments.

Sustainability of the grazing and feeding resources for sheep during the non-migratory period in Jammu and Kashmir.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the sustainability of the grazing and feeding resources of the sheep in Kashmir, India. The study was conducted in the Ganderbal District of Kashmir to evaluate sustainability, along with the scenario of grazing pattern and feeding system of the sheep during the non-migratory period. The district was divided into three production zones based on altitude, i.e., zone I (high altitude), zone II (medium altitude), and zone III (low altitude). A total of 360 sheep farmers were interviewed from the three zones that consist of 9 blocks, with 40 sheep farmers interviewed from each block. Majority of the sheep farmers (75.00%) follow a semi-migratory type of production system, use forest, and low-mountain areas for grazing purposes (48.88%) and were having medium to high availability of grazing lands. The main feeding source available to majority of the sheep farmers (60.00%) was found to be crop residues and fodder grasses, with local markets (60.00%) and fellow farmers (71.11%) being the main source of procuring concentrates and fodders. Hybrid entropy and TOPSIS method were used for the evaluation of sustainability of grazing and feeding system in the area. The most influencing factors for sustainability of grazing pattern and feeding source were found to be production system followed and the major feed sources available respectively. Most of the variables included in the grazing system were ideally best in zone I and of feeding system were found to be ideally best in zone III. There is a need for improvement in the parameters of the grazing pattern in zone III, i.e., in low-altitude areas or planes where grazing lands are shrinking at an alarming rate. The parameters under the feeding system need due consideration in zone I, i.e., in the high altitudes where the socio-economic situation of the people is comparatively poor than the other two zones.

Muscle activation patterns around knee following neuromuscular training in patients with knee osteoarthritis: secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of neuromuscular training (NMT) to a quadriceps strength training (QT) program on co-contraction index (CCI) of knee muscles in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: Sixty-six knee OA patients with varus malalignment were recruited from the physiotherapy outpatient department of the university. After baseline measurements, they were randomly assigned into two groups: NMT (n = 33) and QT (n = 33). Patients in NMT group received neuromuscular exercises whereas QT group received conventional strengthening exercises for a period of 12 weeks, three times per week. Electromyographic (EMG) activity of quadriceps, hamstring and gastrocnemius muscle was evaluated during treadmill walking before and after 12 weeks of intervention period and CCI of medial quadriceps-medial hamstring (med QH), lateral quadriceps-lateral hamstring (lat QH), medial quadriceps-medial gastrocnemius (med QG) and, lateral quadriceps and lateral gastrocnemius (lat QG) was calculated. RESULTS: There was a significantly greater reduction in CCI of med QH (p = 0.02) and lat QH (p = 0.01) in the NMT group than the QT group. Whereas both NMT and QT led to statistically similar reductions in CCI of med QG (p = 0.08) and lat QG (p = 0.66). CONCLUSION: Findings of this study suggest that NMT led to a greater reduction in CCI of knee muscles than QT which indicates that enhanced sensori-motor control attained by NMT could reduce knee loading in knee OA patients with varus malalignment.

Zingerone prevents lead-induced toxicity in liver and kidney tissues by regulating the oxidative damage in Wistar rats.

Among the heavy metal poisonings, lead is considered as a major toxic metal causing hematological, neurological, immunological, hepatic, and renal dysfunctions. Lead causes inhibition of ALAD leading to the ALA accumulation inside the cells. Lead also leads to disruption of the anti-oxidative enzyme system, organ function, and lipid membranes of the cell causing oxidative stress. Zingerone, a phenolic alkanone, is an active edible ingredient present in the ginger that possess varied pharmacological properties. The aim of our study was to evaluate the protective effect of zingerone in lead-induced toxicity in wistar rats. ALAD concentration was improved in kidney and liver tissues treated with zingerone. Protective effect of zingerone was observed in terms of significant improvement in kidney and liver histology, anti-oxidant enzyme activity (CAT, SOD, GPx, and GR), organ function parameters, lipid profile, and decreased level of LPO. Therefore, zingerone pretreatment can be a promising agent for alleviation of lead-induced oxidative damage in cells. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Published reports have revealed that consumption of certain bioactive nutrients for example, flavonoids, mineral elements, and vitamins can offer defense from the environmental lead contamination. Zingerone is a strong anti-oxidant, with very less side effects and has exceptional property of scavenging free radicals, hence reducing the oxidative stresses. This fundamental property of zingerone can alone help in countering the heavy metal toxicity. Different groups have published reported numerous properties of zingerone but as per our understanding till date no study about alleviation of lead toxicity by zingerone in animal model has been undertaken. Hence, we conducted this research to explore the preventive effect of zingerone in lead induced kidney and liver toxicity. The outcome of our study shows potent anti-oxidant effect and ALAD modulatory property of zingerone which makes it suitable edible candidate for use in countering lead toxicity.

Ion homeostasis for salinity tolerance in plants: a molecular approach.

Soil salinity is one of the major environmental stresses faced by the plants. Sodium chloride is the most important salt responsible for inducing salt stress by disrupting the osmotic potential. Due to various innate mechanisms, plants adapt to the sodic niche around them. Genes and transcription factors regulating ion transport and exclusion such as salt overly sensitive (SOS), Na+ /H+ exchangers (NHXs), high sodium affinity transporter (HKT) and plasma membrane protein (PMP) are activated during salinity stress and help in alleviating cells of ion toxicity. For salt tolerance in plants signal transduction and gene expression is regulated via transcription factors such as NAM (no apical meristem), ATAF (Arabidopsis transcription activation factor), CUC (cup-shaped cotyledon), Apetala 2/ethylene responsive factor (AP2/ERF), W-box binding factor (WRKY) and basic leucine zipper domain (bZIP). Cross-talk between all these transcription factors and genes aid in developing the tolerance mechanisms adopted by plants against salt stress. These genes and transcription factors regulate the movement of ions out of the cells by opening various membrane ion channels. Mutants or knockouts of all these genes are known to be less salt-tolerant compared to wild-types. Using novel molecular techniques such as analysis of genome, transcriptome, ionome and metabolome of a plant, can help in expanding the understanding of salt tolerance mechanism in plants. In this review, we discuss the genes responsible for imparting salt tolerance under salinity stress through transport dynamics of ion balance and need to integrate high-throughput molecular biology techniques to delineate the issue.

Zingerone (4-(4-hydroxy-3-methylphenyl) butan-2-one) protects against alloxan-induced diabetes via alleviation of oxidative stress and inflammation: Probable role of NF-kB activation.

Diabetes is considered as the most common metabolic disease affecting millions of people all around the world. Use of natural herbal medicines can be effective in treating diabetes. Zingerone (4-(4-hydroxy-3-methylphenyl) butan-2-one) a polyphenolic alkanone extracted from ginger has a broad spectrum of pharmacological properties and thus can be used as a promising candidate against various ailments. In the current study we aimed at demonstrating the protective effect of zingerone against diabetes mellitus and elucidating its possible mechanism. Five groups of animals (I-V) were made with ten animals each. Group I (control) was given normal saline orally. Group II (diabetic positive control) was given alloxan at the dose rate of 100 mg/kg bwt once. Group III and IV was given alloxan once at the dose rate of 100 mg/kg bwt. and received oral treatment of zingerone at a dose rate of 50 and 100 mg/kg bwt respectively daily for 21 days. Group V was given alloxan at the dose of 100 mg/kg bwt. and was treated with standard drug glibenclamide at the dose rate of 4.5 mg/kg bwt. daily for 21 days. According to our findings we confirmed that zingerone restrained the alloxan induced oxidative stress by increasing the activity of reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and reducing the peroxidative damage. We also confirmed that zingerone suppressed the level of redox sensitive transcription factor NFκB and downregulated other downstream inflammatory cytokines like interleukins (IL1-ß IL-2, IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). Moreover, the experimental findings suggested that zingerone improved the insulin levels. Taken together our results indicated that zingerone effectively ameliorated the diabetes induced complications which provide a strong theoretical basis for zingerone to be used clinically for treatment of diabetes.

A Review on Pharmacological Properties of Zingerone (4-(4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-butanone).

Humans have been using natural products for medicinal use for ages. Natural products of therapeutic importance are compounds derived from plants, animals, or any microorganism. Ginger is also one of the most commonly used condiments and a natural drug in vogue. It is a traditional medicine, having some active ingredients used for the treatment of numerous diseases. During recent research on ginger, various ingredients like zingerone, shogaol, and paradol have been obtained from it. Zingerone (4-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-butanone) is a nontoxic and inexpensive compound with varied pharmacological activities. It is the least pungent component of Zingiber officinale. Zingerone is absent in fresh ginger but cooking or heating transforms gingerol to zingerone. Zingerone closely related to vanillin from vanilla and eugenol from clove. Zingerone has potent anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antilipolytic, antidiarrhoeic, antispasmodic, and so forth properties. Besides, it displays the property of enhancing growth and immune stimulation. It behaves as appetite stimulant, anxiolytic, antithrombotic, radiation protective, and antimicrobial. Also, it inhibits the reactive nitrogen species which are important in causing Alzheimer's disease and many other disorders. This review is written to shed light on the various pharmacological properties of zingerone and its role in alleviating numerous human and animal diseases.