Chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) ranks among the most important vegetable crop belonging to the family Solanaceae that is consumed both as vegetable and spice throughout the world. C. annuum, as crop, in order to meet the target yield, demands improved variety that could overcome environmental challenges viz., biotic and abiotic stress. Cultivar improvement essentially requires an efficient in vitro regeneration protocol. In the present study, we investigated the influence of silver nitrate (AgNO3) and coconut water, individually as well in combination, on in vitro shoot elongation and plant regeneration from cotyledon explants of C. annuum cv G-4. Shoot buds were induced on shoot bud induction medium supplemented with either 44.38 µM 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) or 9.0 µM thidiazuron (TDZ) along with 5.77 µM gibberellic acid (GA3) and 14.7 µM phenyl acetic acid (PAA). Elongation of shoot buds was obtained on elongation medium containing 8.87 µM BA or 0.45 µM TDZ, 5.77 µM GA3 and 14.7 µM PAA followed by rooting in 9.8 µM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). All the media were supplemented with 30 µM AgNO3 and/or coconut water (10% v/v). The presence of coconut water in the elongation media enhanced the regeneration of well developed shoots from differentiating explants on TDZ media while AgNO3 resulted in enhanced production of rooted shoots with greater influence on emerging shoots from BAP media upon transfer to rooting media. There was synergistic response with further enhancement of elongated shoots/elongated rooted shoots on the combined use of coconut water and AgNO3. The elongation media produced significantly higher total shoots when AgNO3 was used synergistically with coconut water (59.0%) as against AgNO3 alone (38.0%). While in rooting media, there was significantly higher production of elongated rooted shoots when coconut water was used synergistically with AgNO3 (47.2%) as against the coconut water alone (14.4%).

Apple is the most dominating fruit crop of Himachal Pradesh, constituting about 40 per cent of total area under fruit crops and about 90 per cent of the total fruit production. Plant tissue culture has encouraged production of quality planting material which is disease free and true to type. Due to current trends in favour of high density apple plantations and to fulfill the requirement of planting material from the farmers, commercially viable in vitro propagation method of semidwarf clonal apple rootstock Malling 7 (M7) was developed by axillary branching, initially developed from shoot tip explants. A few thousand plants were transferred to field conditions. In order to check any tissue culture induced variation in these long term micropropagated plants, the genetic fidelity was assessed using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Out of the 20 primers screened, 12 generated a total of 44 scorable and distinct bands with an average of 3.7 bands per primer. All the banding patterns for each primer were highly uniform and monomorphic across in vitro multiple shoot clusters and field transplanted micropropagated plants as well as comparable to the field grown mother clone from which the cultures had been established. Our results have shown that the micropropagation protocol developed by this study is appropriate and applicable for clonal propagation of apple rootstock M7 on large scale over a long period without any risk of genetic instability.

The secondary metabolite, 4-Ipomeanol from Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a potential chemotherapeutic agent for cancer. This study presents an efficient protocol for bioproduction of 4-ipomeanol, in large quantities without disturbing the natural biodiversity of I. batatas. Friable Calli from the root tubers of I. batatas were used to establish cell suspension cultures in liquid media under agitated conditions and the growth and production kinetics of the same were monitored. The presence of 4-ipomeanol was confirmed by NMR and IR spectroscopy and quantification was done using HPLC. A maximum of 7.39 mg g-1 of 4-ipomeanol was obtained under biotic elicitation of the cell suspension cultures. The elicitors were studied for optimization of the day of addition and maximum bioproduction of 4-ipomeanol was observed when elicitors were added to 4 day old suspension cultures. Further, the 4-ipomeanol thus produced demonstrated cytotoxicity against renal carcinoma cell lines.

Bamboo [Bambusa bambos (L.) Voss (Syn. Bambusa arundinacea Retz.)] is an important arborescent grass with immense socio economic implications. The plant exhibits unique biological and growth characteristics including a distinct monocarpic gregarious flowering behavior. Studies on in vitro flowering in bamboo are not uncommon. The present study focuses on effect of different growth regulators on in vitro flowering in B. bambos and analyzes the morphological and developmental changes accompanying the process. Multiple shoots were raised from B. bambos seeds on MS medium supplemented with 10 μM BAP. Anatomical sections showed intense mitotic activity in the apical meristem of the main shoot and formation of additional shoot buds along the margins. For multiplication, propagules of 7-9 shoots were transferred to maintenance medium containing 5 μM BAP. Longitudinal sections of propagules showed prolific cell divisions and formation of meristemoids, which continuously gave rise to new shoots upon subculture. In vitro induction of flowering in cultures was observed in multiple shoots after 8 weeks. Transfer of multiple shoots to MS basal medium containing 10 μM NAA resulted in rooting and proliferation of inflorescences. On medium supplemented with 10 μM 2,4-D callusing and development of shoot buds and somatic embryos was followed by development of inflorescences. The report outlines a protocol that can be used to raise and proliferate flowering cultures in B. bambos.

Inorganic nitrogen (N), phosphate (P) and potash (K) are the most influencing macro-nutrients for plant growth and microbial supplementation of these minerals through N2-fixation, P- and K-solubilization is gaining importance. In the present study, a macronutrient deficient (MD), N-free novel medium, supplemented with tri calcium phosphate (TCP as P- source) and Mica (as K- source) was used for isolation of microbes possessing nitrogen fixing, P- & K solubilizing abilities. Samples of rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soils, roots and leaves of sugarcane varieties (viz., Co 6304, Co 86032 and CoC 671) collected from Tamil Nadu, India were used for isolation. Totally, 8 individual nitrogen-fixing, phosphate- and potash-solubilizing bacterial strains were obtained. Nitrogen-fixing abilities of these isolates were confirmed by analyzing acetylene reduction (AR) activity and the presence of nif genes. P- and K- solubilizing activities were confirmed by cultivating these isolates in solid/liquid medium supplemented with insoluble forms of P and K. These isolates which produced growth hormone IAA, were in two groups as Roseateles terrae and Burkholderia gladioli, respectively based on the morphological, physiological, biochemical and 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Association between diazotrophic, P- and K-solubilizing R. terrae and B. gladioli with sugarcane has not been reported earlier. These isolates were tested for their growth-promoting abilities in sugarcane cultivated in pots, and the results showed that these isolates were able to increase the leaf chlorophyll, N content and total biomass. This study may encourage farmers to use single microbe for microbial supplementation of N, P and K instead of consortium of microbes wherein the compatibility between different microbes is often compromised.

Aquaculture, as a promising food industry, is expected to meet the demand for quality food from the increasing human population. As the diet is critical for feeding farm fish, such a faster growth in the industry is destined to create stress in the fishmeal market to supply diets to the tune. In this context, here, we studied the protein content of 20 plant ingredients, including aquatic weeds, cereals, pulses and oil-cakes using micro-Kjeldahl method and evaluated in vitro digestibility of these ingredients for rohu Labeo rohita and common carp Cyprinus carpio using pH-Stat method. The protein contents of water fern, duckweed, almond oil-cake and soybean product were 20.81, 39.75, 47.78 and 57.48%, respectively. Species-specific digestibility was found for the same plant ingredient. The degree of hydrolysis for water fern, duck weed, almond oil-cake and soybean product were 14.17, 4.80, 17.30 and 3.57%, respectively for rohu and 4.58, 6.03, 12.17 and 3.35%, respectively for common carp. This study showed that incorporation of water fern and almond oil-cake in the diet of rohu, and duck weed and almond oil-cake in the diet of common carp are beneficial considering their protein content and digestibility. These are cost-effective, protein-rich feed ingredients for aquafeed.

Hydantoin derivatives, including phenytoin (5,5-diphenylhydantoin), have recently gained attention as they possess a variety of important biochemical and pharmacological properties. Nevertheless, available information on anticancer activity of hydantoin derivatives is still scarce. Here, we evaluated possible antileukemic potential of four phenytoin analogs, namely: methyl 2-(2,4-dioxo-5,5-diphenylimidazolidin-3-yl)propanoate (1), methyl 2-(1-(3-bromopropyl)-2,4-dioxo-5,5-diphenylimidazolidin-3-yl)propanoate (2), 1-(3-bromopropyl)-3-methyl-5,5-diphenylimidazolidine-2,4-dione (3) and 1-(3-bromobutyl)-3-methyl-5,5-diphenylimidazolidine-2,4-dione (4). The experiments were performed on human acute histiocytic lymphoma U937 cells and human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. The present study was conducted using spectrophotometric 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and the electronic Beckman-Coulter method. We observed temporary changes in the leukemia cell viability, volume and count. The effects of the four 5,5-diphenylhydantoin derivatives on U937 and HL-60 cells depended on the agent tested and its concentration, the time intervals after the compound application, and the leukemia cell line used. HL-60 cells were more sensitive than U937 cells to the action of the phenytoin analogs (1-4). The antileukemic activities of the three bromoalkyl diphenylhydantoin derivatives (2, 3, and 4) were stronger than that of the compound 1 [methyl 2-(2,4-dioxo-5,5-diphenylimidazolidin-3-yl) propanoate], with no bromoalkyl substituent. The structural modifications of 5,5-diphenylhydantoin are responsible for such varied antileukemic potential of its four derivatives.

Time dependent intervention plays a crucial role in preventing neurodegeneration after ischemic insult. The intensity of excitotoxicity is greater in the secondary reperfusion phase (2-4 h) compared to the primary occlusion phase (2 h), which could be attributed to secondary elevation of excitatory amino acids (EAA) in cerebral ischemia. In the present study, we tried to assess the neuroprotective effects of telmisartan and nimodipine (TM-NM) combination on the secondary reperfusion phase. The drug treatments were made immediately after reperfusion and their effects were compared with pre-treatment. The neuroprotective effect was studied using middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) transient ischemic model in rats. On the 7th day after reperfusion, the rats were subjected to behavioral studies. The brain was dissected out on the 9th day to measure neurobiochemical alterations and for histopathological observations. The results have shown that TM-NM (5 mg/kg) attenuated the EAA release in different brain regions with partial restoration of energy levels in secondary reperfusion phase. Similarly, it normalized the behavioral alteration and the effect was comparable to pre-ischemic treatment (2.5 mg/kg). Pre-ischemic treatment of TM-NM (2.5 mg/kg) protected the neurons from ischemic reperfusion injury by energy dependent EAA regulation. It can be concluded from the study that, even though the pre- and post-treatment of TM-NM show similar results, the post-ischemic treatment of TM-NM combination is beneficial due to better EAA control. Since hypertension is the primary risk factor for stroke, clinical incidents of stroke in hypertensive patients receiving angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) can be further investigated to understand the present study in the clinical situation.

Pain and inflammation are intimately associated with rheumatoid arthritis, a growing bone-joint related problem of the modern society. Though several therapeutic managements are available for arthritis, their side effects not only limit their use, but also advocate the quest for natural therapies. In this study, we explored the antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic activities of Bungarus fasciatus venom (BFV) in experimental animal models. Rheumatoid arthritis was induced by Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA) in male Wistar albino rats. Lyophilized BFV was diluted in 0.9% NaCl. Antiarthritic activity showed that BFV significantly reduced the paw and ankle diameters; urinary hydroxyproline, glucosamine levels and serum ACP/ALP/TNF-α/IL-1β/IL-17/Cathepsin-K/MMP-1 levels. These parameters were significantly increased in FCA induced arthritic animals. Joint histopathology study indicated the partial restoration of joint structure. Treatment with BFV significantly reduced the mean latency time of tail flick response, acetic acid induced writhing response and formalin induced licking response in male albino mice. BFV treatment also significantly reduced carrageenan induced paw edema and xylene induced ear edema in male albino mice. The results indicated that BFV possess antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic properties and further studies are warranted to find the active constituents present in BFV.

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, continues to be a serious public health problem around the world, and it urges the need for development of new antitubercular drugs. An antibiotic producing strain, Streptomyces luridus (MTCC 4402) was earlier isolated from soil by our group. In this work, the phylogenic status was established by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The strain was found to be active against clinically resistant strains. The culture was grown in shake flasks in a medium containing cornsteep liquor, glucose, CaCO(3), soyabean meal and starch. Antibiotic production reached maximum at the end of 72 h. and fermentation profile was obtained. The active compound was extracted into ethyl acetate and was subjected to activity guided purification by column chromatography using silica gel, TLC and HPLC methods. The pure compound eluted at 16.7 min. by gradient elution was subjected to (1)H, (13)C NMR and mass spectral analyses. The acquired data was compared with that of natural products’ data base and found to be a known antibiotic, spiramycin. The purified compound was studied for mutagenic, cytotoxicity, antitubercular activities. It was non mutagenic at the concentration of 1000 μg/mL, non cytotoxic and active as antitubercular agent at a concentration of 64 mg/mL and was comparable to rifampicin.

Though the insecticidal crystal (Cry) proteins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are effective against insect pests, evolution of resistance remains an issue of great concern. Here, we explored the ability of pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), a key pest of cotton, to evolve resistance to Cry2Ab and characterized it in terms of inheritance. Sixteen day bioassay of Bt Cry2Ab toxin against 5-day old pink bollworm larvae showed median lethal concentration (LC(50)) ranging 0.16-1.44 µg/g diet for five different populations collected from Srivilliputtur (Tamil Nadu), Jalgaon (Maharashtra), Bharuch (Gujarat), New Delhi (Delhi) and Sri Ganganagar (Rajasthan). Selection of pink bollworm for evolution of Cry2Ab resistance led to the maximal of 37.75-fold resistance vis-à-vis the most susceptible strain. Further studies on inheritance using above parental populations showed autosomal and semidominant nature of Cry2Ab resistance, with dominance h values of 0.69 and 0.79 for two reciprocal crosses. The inheritance of Cry2Ab resistance appeared to be governed by multiple alleles/genes. Cry2Ab resistance was associated with fitness costs in terms of prolonged larval and pupal period when resistant parent population was reared on the diet without toxin. Fitness cost in terms of larval period appeared to be inherited in F(1), F(2) and backcross progenies. F(2) progeny also inherited these differences in larval and pupal periods. These studies clearly advocate rigorous monitoring of Cry2Ab resistance and compliance of resistance management in the pink bollworm for ensuring Bt cotton sustainability.

Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), used to determine the gene expression profile, is an important tool in functional genomic research, including fishes. To obtain more robust and meaningful result, the best possible normalization of the data is of utmost significance. In the present study, we have evaluated the potential of five commonly used housekeeping genes i.e., elongation factor 1-α (EF1A), β-Actin (ACTB), 18S ribosomal RNA (18S), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and β-2-Microglobulin (B2M) in normal physiological conditions, developmental stages and in response to bacterial infection in Asian seabass, Lates calcarifer (Bloch), an important food fish cultured in the Asia-Pacific region. The expression levels of these five genes were estimated in 11 tissues of normal seabass juveniles, 14 embryonic and larval developmental stages and six tissues of Vibrio alginolyticus-challenged animals. Further, the expression stability of these genes was calculated based on three algorithms i.e. geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper. The results showed that although there are tissue-specific variations for each gene, ACTB and EF1A are the most stable genes across the tissues of normal animals. However, in bacteria-challenged animals, EF1A and 18S were found to be the best reference genes for data normalization. The expression of all the genes tested showed an increasing trend in developmental stages and the increase was significant at blastula stage. Among the five genes tested, EF1A and ACTB were found to be the genes with least variation and highest stability across the developmental stages. This forms the first report on validation of housekeeping genes in L. calcarifer, in the context of ontogenic development and in response to infection.

Aqueous leaf extract of Senna auriculata (L.) Roxb. syn. Cassia auriculata (SLEx) is known to possess potential antidiabetic and antioxidant properties. Based on the known correlation between exocrine pancreatic function and endocrine secretary capacity, here, we studied the prophylactic effect of the SLEx on alcohol induced pancreatitis in rats. To induce chronic pancreatitis, the rats were fed with unsaturated fat i.e. corn oil (2.5 mL/kg) along with high dose of ethanol (10.2 g/kg) for 4 wk, and was increased 0.6 g/kg after every 2 days for 1 wk and then 0.6 g/kg after every 4 days for a period of 4 wk. SLEx was orally administered to rats at dose of 400 mg/kg/day for 4 wk. At the end of 4th wk, pancreatic enzymes i.e., α-amylase, lipase, serum and pancreatic MDA levels were estimated. Pancreatic histopathological studies were also performed. The SLEx significantly reduced the serum levels of α-amylase and lipase along with significant suppression in serum and pancreatic tissue lipid peroxidation. Histomorphological studies did not show any fatty vacoules in acinar cells of SLEx-treated rats. However, vacoulation was seen in acini of pathogenic control rats. With the results, we conclude that Senna auriculata aqueous leaf extract has potential to reduce the ethanol-induced pathogenecity, and it possesses prophylactic effect on alcohol-induced pancreatitis. However, a long term trial is needed to ascertain its therapeutic potential for pancreatitis.

Pectinases, produced by microorganisms, have wide range application in food industry, textile processing, paper making, coffee and tea fermentation, etc. It accounts for 10% of the global industrial enzymes produced. The most important and widely used commercial pectinase polygalacturonase is produced by alkalophilic strains of Bacillus sp. and Streptomyces sp. Here, we explored 29 bacterial strains isolated from rotten mango samples for polygalacturonase production and selected 16 strains through preliminary screening by well-plate method for enzyme activity. The maximum zone of inhibition of pectin was observed up to 28 mm in diameter but one strain ZM11 was exhibiting no activity. Quantitative dinitrisalicylic acid (DNS) assay for polygalacturonase enzyme was also performed for the selected bacterial isolates. All the strains bestowed significant enzyme activity with the highest activity of 2.4 U/µL exhibited by strain ZM3 (P ≤0.05). Characterization of the isolates was performed using different biochemical tests which also confirmed the isolates as members of the genus Bacillus. Mutation was induced to the selected strains by UV light and acridine orange for different periods of time. Qualitative and quantitative assays of the mutant bacterial isolates showed that the enzyme activity increased to 4.62 U/µL which clearly indicated that induced mutation enhanced the ability of Bacillus strains to produce more polygalacturonase enzyme up to 3-fold as compared to the wild strains (P ≤0.05). Molecular characterization by 16S rRNA sequences further confirmed that the bacterial isolates belong to Bacillus subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens.

Lead (Pb) which plays a significant role in modern industry is related to a broad range of physiological, biochemical, behavioural and genetical dysfunctions. Its exposure leads to an increased frequency of genetic aberrations in humans. Hence, this study was designed to assess the genotoxic effect of lead acetate at three dosage levels (10, 25 and 50 µg/mL) by employing: the Cytokinesis Block Micronucleus (CBMN) assay and the Comet assay in Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Cultures. The results of this study revealed an increased level of DNA damage among treated groups. A significant increase in the tail length of comets and other indices was observed at 25 and 50 µg/mL concentrations comparatively. Thus, lead acetate induced single-strand breaks (SSB) and double strand breaks (DSB) in DNA, alkali-labile sites (ALS), oxidative DNA damage as well as DNA-DNA/DNA-protein/DNA-metal cross linking as evidenced by the Comet assay. The chromosome breakage, DNA misrepair, chromosome loss and telomere end fusion were determined by the Micronucleus assay. Micronucleus frequency in treated lymphocytes was significantly higher as compared to controls. Nucleoplasmic bridges increased significantly and Nuclear buds increased at higher two doses only in exposed cultures. Thus, these assays are better indices for lead induced genotoxicity and metal-nucleus interactions.

Plants have developed several adaptive strategies to enhance the availability and uptake of phosphorus (P) from the soil under conditions of P deficiency. Exudation of organic acids like citrate is one of the important strategies. In this study, we developed transgenic pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) over-expressing Dacus carota citrate synthase (DcCs) gene to increase the synthesis and exudation of citrate. Transgenic plants were generated through agro bacterium mediated in-planta transformation technique. Integration and expression of the transgene was confirmed by genomic Southern and RT-PCR analysis. We observed that the transgenic lines had more tissue P and chlorophyll content, and also citrate synthase content higher in the roots. Further, transgenic lines had more vigorous root system both under P sufficient and deficient conditions with more lateral roots and root hairs under P deficient conditions. We conclude that the transgenic pigeonpea plants have the capacity to acquire more P under P deficient conditions.

A successful lignocellulosic ethanol production process needs to address the technological impediments such as cost-competitiveness and sustainability of the process. Effective biomass utilization requires a repertoire of enzymes including various accessory enzymes. Developing an enzyme preparation with defined hydrolytic activities can circumvent the need for supplementing cellulases with accessory enzymes for enhanced hydrolysis. With this objective, mixture design approach was used in the present study to enhance glycoside hydrolase production of a fungal isolate, Aspergillus terreus CM20, by determining the proportion of different lignocellulosic components as enzyme inducers in the culture medium. A mixture of paddy straw and wheat straw (1.42:1.58) resulted in improved cellulolytic activities. The precipitated crude enzyme showed higher CMCase (365.03 18 IU g-1), FPase (161.48 IU g-1), avicelase (15.46 IU g-1), β-glucosidase (920.92 IU g-1) and xylanase (9627.79 IU g-1) activities. The potential of the crude enzyme for saccharification of alkali pretreated paddy straw was also tested. Under optimum conditions, saccharification released 25.0 g L-1 of fermentable sugars. This indicates the superiority of the crude enzyme produced with respect to its hydrolytic enzyme components.

Ethanol production from alkali treated rice straw was investigated by simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation (SSCF) using commercial cellulase and 3 different yeast strains viz., Saccharomyces cerevisiae HAU-1, Pachysolen tannophilus and Candida sp. individually as well as in combination at varied fermentation temperature and incubation time. Dilute alkali (2%) pretreatment of straw resulted in efficient delignification as observed by low residual lignin (12.52%) with 90.6% cellulose and 28.15% hemicellulose recovery. All the 3 yeast strains were able to produce ethanol form alkali treated rice straw and overall ethanol concentration varied from 5.30 to 24.94 g/L based on different fermentation time and temperature. Comparative analysis of ethanol production from different yeast strains combinations revealed maximum ethanol concentration of 23.48 g/L after 96 h incubation at 35ºC with P. tannophilus individually and 24.94 g/L when used as co-culture with Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Human urine is a potential source of various nutrients, minerals and trace elements. Its use as a fertilizer is growing popular among farmers. Here, we examined the pattern of changes in the counts of coliform, heterotrophic bacteria as well as physico-chemical characteristics of human urine during different days of storage under closed conditions at ambient temperature. We observed that after 253 days of storage under closed condition, the coliform counts were reduced significantly and remained within the safe limit to be used as fertilizer. With increase in storage period, the concentration of phosphate showed decline coupled with rise in pH, alkalinity and electrical conductance. Our study revealed that human urine can be used as safe fertilizer after 8 months of storage under closed conditions at ambient temperature ranging 25-35ºC.

Ionizing radiation (IR) induces DNA damage through production of single and double-strand breaks and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Folic acid (FA) prevents radiation-induced DNA damage by modification of DNA synthesis and/or repair and as a radical scavenger. We hypothesized that in vitro supplementation with FA will decrease the sensitivity of cells to genetic damage induced by low dose of ionizing radiation. Annexin V, comet and micronucleus assays were performed in cultured CHO cells. After 7 days of pre-treatment with 0, 100, 200 or 300 nM FA, cultures were exposed to radiation (100 mSv). Two un-irradiated controls were executed (0 and 100 nM FA). Data were statistically analyzed with X2-test and linear regression analysis (P 0.05). We observed a significantly decreased frequency of apoptotic cells with the increasing FA concentration (P <0.05). The same trend was observed when analyzing DNA damage and chromosomal instability (P <0.05 for 300 nM). Only micronuclei frequencies showed significant differences for linear regression analysis (R2=94.04; P <0.01). Our results have demonstrated the radioprotective effect of folic acid supplementation on low dose ionizing radiation-induced genomic instability in vitro; folate status should be taken into account when studying the effect of low dose radiation in environmental or occupational exposure.

Rhizome of picrorhiza along with honey prevents hepatic damage and cure the acetaminophen (paracetamol) induced hepatotoxicity by modulating the activity of hepatic enzymes. Here, we studied the in vivo effects of Picrorhiza kurroa and honey on acetaminophen induced hepatotoxicity Balb/c mice model. Hepatic histopathological observations of acetaminophen fed (day-6) group showed more congestion, hemorrhage, necrosis, distorted hepatic architecture and nuclear inclusion. Such damages were recompensed to normal by picrorhiza or honey alone or both in combinations. We observed increased activity of SGPT and SGOT in injured liver tissues, and that too was compensated to normal with picrorhiza or honey alone or both in combinations. We observed 1.27 and 1.23-fold enhanced activity of SGPT in serum and liver lysate, respectively while SGOT showed 1.66 and 1.11 fold enhanced activity. These two enzymes are signature enzymes of liver damage. Thus, our results support that honey may be used with drug picrorhiza due to its synergistic role to enhance hepatoprotective and hepatoregenerative ability along with allopathic drugs to mitigate the hepatotoxic effects.