ABSTRACT
Herein, we report a novel, simple, specific, accurate and cost-friendly validated reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method for the quantification of second generation sulphonylurea based antidiabetic drug, glibenclamide (GLB) in rat plasma and its application to calculate pharmacokinetic parameters in wistar rats. The internal standard used was flufenamic acid. The chromatographic separation was conducted on C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm x 5 µm, Agilent-Zorbax, SB) using isocratic elution with mobile phase containing Acetonitrile: Water (1:1; v/v) pH adjusted to 4.0 with 0.03 % glacial acetic acid and detected by photo-diode array as detector. Calibration curves made in the rat plasma were linear in the range of 50-1200 ng/ml with r2 = 0.998. The LLOQ was 40 ng/ml. This method was effectively applied for pharmacokinetic studies of Glibenclamide following administration through oral route as solid dispersion formulation to Wistar rats. Several methods are available in the literature which can be employed for the quantification of Glibenclamide but such methods are tedious, provide lower sensitivity, less simultaneous resolution and are time-consuming. Therefore the present methods suits best for the quantification of Glibenclamide from Wistar rats.
ABSTRACT
Plants are very often confronted by different heavy metal (HM) stressors that adversely impair their growth and productivity. Among HMs, chromium (Cr) is one of the most prevalent toxic trace metals found in agricultural soils because of anthropogenic activities, lack of efficient treatment, and unregulated disposal. It has a huge detrimental impact on the physiological, biochemical, and molecular traits of crops, in addition to being carcinogenic to humans. In soil, Cr exists in different forms, including Cr (III) "trivalent" and Cr (VI) "hexavalent", but the most pervasive and severely hazardous form to the biota is Cr (VI). Despite extensive research on the effects of Cr stress, the exact molecular mechanisms of Cr sensing, uptake, translocation, phytotoxicity, transcript processing, translation, post-translational protein modifications, as well as plant defensive responses are still largely unknown. Even though plants lack a Cr transporter system, it is efficiently accumulated and transported by other essential ion transporters, hence posing a serious challenge to the development of Cr-tolerant cultivars. In this review, we discuss Cr toxicity in plants, signaling perception, and transduction. Further, we highlight various mitigation processes for Cr toxicity in plants, such as microbial, chemical, and nano-based priming. We also discuss the biotechnological advancements in mitigating Cr toxicity in plants using plant and microbiome engineering approaches. Additionally, we also highlight the role of molecular breeding in mitigating Cr toxicity in sustainable agriculture. Finally, some conclusions are drawn along with potential directions for future research in order to better comprehend Cr signaling pathways and its mitigation in sustainable agriculture.
ABSTRACT
In this study, we present the selection and the characterization of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains with respect to their cry/cyt gene content and toxicity evaluation toward one of the most important polyphagous lepidopteran pest, Helicoverpa armigera. Fifty-six Bt isolates were obtained from 10 different regions of northwestern Himalayas, recording a total B. thuringiensis index of 0.62. Scanning electron microscopy revealed presence of bipyramidal, spherical, flat and irregular crystal shapes; SDS-PAGE analysis of spore-crystal mixtures showed the prominence of 130, 70, and 100 kDa protein bands in majority of the isolates; PCR analysis with primers for eight cry and cyt gene families and 13 cry gene subfamilies resulted in isolates showing different combinations of insecticidal genes. Strains containing cry1 were the most abundant (57.1%) followed by cyt2 (46.42%), cry11 (37.5%), cry2 (28.57%), cry4 (21.42%), cyt1 (19.64%), cry3 (8.9%), and cry7, 8 (7.14%). A total of 30.35% of the strains did not amplify with any of the primers used in this study. Median lethal concentration 50 (LC50 ) estimates of spore-crystal mixtures of Bt-JK12, 17, 22, 48, and 72 against second instar larvae of H. armigera was observed to be 184.62, 275.39, 256.29, 259.93 µg ml-1 , respectively. B. thuringiensis presents great diversity with respect to the presence of crystal protein encoding genes and insecticidal activity. Four putative toxic isolates identified in this study have potential application in insect pest control. B. thuringiensis isolate JK12 exhibited higher toxicity against H. armigera than that of B. thuringiensis HD1, hence can be commercially exploited to control insect pest for sustainable crop production. The results of this study confirm the significance of continuous exploration of new Bt stains from different ecological regions of the world.
