Sirpaul Jaikishun

Bioactive compounds are found throughout the cherry fruit and these compounds give the fruits their antimicrobial properties. The objective of this study was to determine the mineral profile of M. emarginata for four maturity stages. The mineral potassium (K), phosphorus (P), and magnesium (Mg) content was evaluated by spectrophotometry. The highest amount of K was found in the half-green (HG) stage and the lowest in the full-ripe (FR). The highest concertation of P and Mg was found in the full-green (FG) stage and the lowest in the full-ripe. For P, there was an increase from the FG to the HG maturity stage, then the concentration declined until maturity, as it related to the concentration of Mg and K, there was a decline in the concentration as the fruit progressed maturity. Additionally, the antibacterial activity of the fruit extract was conducted on E. coli and S. aureus using the Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method at different concentrations of plant extracts. The ethanolic extracts (EE) (zone of inhibition 13.4 ± 1.9 to 21.8 ± 0.6) showed more antimicrobial activity than the aqueous extract (AE) with zones of inhibition diameters (mm) which ranged from 0 ± 0 to 18.2 ± 0.8. Both AE and EE were effective against S. aureus bacteria strain except the AE (crude) which had no zone of inhibition. All tested microorganisms were susceptible to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. This study suggests that other types of solvents were used to investigate the antibacterial activities of the M. emarginata extract on a wider array of bacteria as the fruit demonstrated antimicrobial properties.

Palms are important for their ethnobotanical uses in rural indigenous areas of developing countries; however, they are rarely studied in other regions apart from the Brazilian Amazon. They are subjected to threats worldwide that are both natural and anthropogenic. This study collected data on tree parameters and ethnobotanical data via a semi-structured questionnaire, using simple random sampling methods. The results revealed information that is useful for assessing palms by the IUCN and identifying the palms found in the specific study area. Tree species identification was based on their visible traits, their edible parts, which were their fruits, the uses of the palms, and their local names, which were verified with credible published literature There was a total of seven species found across the three sample plots, these include Expand these names -Attalea maripa, Maurita flexuosa, Jessenia bataua, Metrosideros excelsa, Prestoea tenuiramosa, Couroupita guianensis having the highest abundance of 18%. The simple conservation methods established are to use sustainable harvesting methods and avoid cutting down trees in housing areas and farmlands. The main driver of conservation action was the recognition of the ecological roles of palms in reducing the effects of flooding and limiting soil erosion. The main factors of ethnobotanical knowledge loss in this area include modernization, jobs, language loss, and internal migration. This research paper addressed aspects of the common palm species, such as its distribution (location) and the indigenous applications in the study area, the Hururu Village of Region 10.

Palms are important for their ethnobotanical uses in rural indigenous areas of developing countries; however, they are rarely studied in other regions apart from the Brazilian Amazon. The results from this research provided growth conditions and nutrient composition of the palm species M. flexuosa, A. Maripa and J. bataua. Their ecological factors consisted of abiotic factors such as soil type, pH, EC, OC, OM, humidity, sunlight via canopy, and temperature. This study found that ash is higher between 0.02-4.95%, nitrogen is higher between 4.50-5.38%, carbohydrates are lower between 0-1%, fat is between 1-19%, fibre is higher between 0.15-29%, and moisture is between 57-67%. Ash, nitrogen, carbohydrates, fat, fibre, and moisture were higher in the J. bataua species than in previous studies, and there was no comparative literature for the nutrient content of the other palm species.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is poised to be a global life changer with its ability to adapt to a wide range of abiotic stresses and as a highly nutritious and sustainable food source. A trial on screening of salt tolerance was conducted at the germination and seedling stages of 69 quinoa genotypes in different concentrations of NaCl 0 (CK), 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 mM for 21 days in the MS/2 mixture. This results in 16 genotypes with >50% germination at 400 mM NaCl. These were reassessed in germination indices and relative growth. Results indicated that Chadmo had the highest germinability of 97% and 32.76% relative height among the 16 genotypes. Considering the germination indices, Chadmo had significantly different values (3.05±0.19 day^-1) in mean germination time, coefficient of variation of the germination time (38.76±1.97%), the velocity of germination (0.23±0.01 day^-1), the uncertainty of germination (0.54±0.08 bit), synchrony of germination (0.42±0.05 and Timson’s index (48.89) with significant differences (P<0.05) among the genotypes. Moreover, Chadmo had the highest membrane stability index (MSI) (60.03±11.84) at 400 mM NaCl and the least relative change between the CK and 400 mM NaCl with 30.87±2.01%. Assessing the stress inhibitory effect of the 16 genotypes, Chadmo had the least relative difference between the CK and 400 mM NaCl with shoot length of 34.34%, root length of 25.57%, fresh weight of 22.05%, dry weight of 3.62% and moisture content of 1.99% with Tukey analyses identifying significant differences (p<0.05). To select the salt-sensitive genotype, an assessment was done on five genotypes that exhibited the least germination at 200 mM NaCl. Kankolla had the least germinability with 12 and 4% at 100 and 200 mM NaCl, respectively. Considering all these parameters, Chadmo and Kankolla were selected as salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive for further analyses.

Dandruff, a common scalp condition affecting 50% of the world’s population, is mainly caused by the fungus M. globosa. In this study, the antifungal effect of M. citrifolia, commonly known as noni, was tested against M. globosa. M. citrifolia fruit, leaf, and stem contain phytochemicals including alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, and glycosides. Extracts of the three plant parts were obtained by maceration method using ethanol, and prepared in concentrations of 100%, 75%, 50% and 25%. The scalps of 6 individuals were swabbed to obtain a sample of M. globosa. The susceptibility of M. globosa to M. citrifolia extracts was tested in triplicate using the disc diffusion method, and a measure of the extent of susceptibility was ascertained by the size of the inhibition zones. It was found that of the 3 extracts, noni fruit showed the highest inhibitory effect with 20/48 discs having inhibition zones, noni stem showed moderate inhibition with 12/48 inhibition zones, while noni leaf exhibited no inhibition zones, indicating its lack of inhibitory effect against M. globosa. Notably, noni fruit at 100% and 75% concentrations proved to be most effective against M. globosa, and at 25% concentrations, noni stem was most effective. However, statistical analysis using both ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis tests indicated that the observed data was insignificant since the p-values were > 0.05. It can therefore be concluded that noni fruit, leaf, and stem extracts have little to no significant inhibitory effect on the growth of M. globosa, notwithstanding, a change in various experimental factors including agar type and extract preparation may prove otherwise.

Quinoa (C. quinoa) is considered a gluten-free food with abundant nutrients and high tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses, which is the potential to become a major crop in future. Genetic manipulation will provide powerful tools to investigate the function and mechanism of those important genes in the regulation of quinoa development and stress responses, and further improve the quinoa in the field. However, the efficient plant transformation system for quinoa has not been well developed yet. Here, we established two rapid and efficient transformation systems for quinoa by using hairy roots and agroinfiltration of leaves, which provide useful tools for quick analysis of gene function. Hairy roots were obtained from three types of explants: cotyledon-nod with hypocotyl, cotyledon itself, and hypocotyl pieces. Interestingly, explants of cotyledon-nod with hypocotyl showed the highest transformation efficiency at 67.9%, and cotyledon displayed medium efficiency at 42.2%, while hypocotyl explants with the lowest at 31.6%. We also obtained transgenic quinoa roots successfully in-vivo, which showed low efficiency but provides a potential method to test gene functions in live plants. By using young leaves for agroinfiltration, direct injection showed a better transgenic effect compared with vacuum penetration. In juxtaposition, the transformation systems using both hairy root and leaf infiltration establish an efficient and convenient way to manipulate and analyze gene functions in quinoa, and a potential strategy for transgenic quinoa.

The Chenopodium quinoa is poised to be a promising species for future food security and combating climate change because of its nutritional content and its halophytic peculiarity. This study focuses on the differential responses of salt-tolerant (Chadmo) and salt-sensitive (Kankolla) under control (CK) and 400 mM sodium chloride (NaCl) in five temporal dimensions (1/2, 1, 3, 6, and 24 h post-treatment time points). Morphological and physiological features assessed include root/shoot dry weight ratio, relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), total chlorophyll (CHL), and adaxial and abaxial epidermal bladder cells (EBC). The results indicated a reduction in dry biomass for both genotypes after treatment with Chadmo and Kankolla at 46.96% and 73.07%, respectively. Similarly, a significant reduction in the RWC with Chadmo at 16.69 % and Kankolla at 13.19% was detected. Under 400 mM NaCl condition and CK, Chadmo's average net photosynthetic rate reduced from 15.73±2.97 to 13.02±2.75 µmol CO₂ m^-1s^-1, indicating 17.24% reduction while in the Kankolla, the reduction from was 13.43±4.12 to 8.34±3.16 µmol CO₂ m^-1s^-1 representing 37.92% decline. In addition, this study showed a significant difference (pChadmo and Kankolla, respectively, from the CK to 400 mM NaCl. Using these morpho-physiological responses to salinity, Chadmo proved to be the better-performing genotype when exposed to 400 mM NaCl and hence identified as the salt-tolerant genotype.

Chenopodium quinoa is a promising species for future food security and combating climate change due to its nutritional content and halophytic nature. This study focuses on the temporal differential responses of the salt-tolerant (Chadmo) and the salt-sensitive (Kankolla) under control (CK) and 400 mM NaCl arranged under the randomised block designed (RBD). Biochemical features assessed and results indicate a significant difference (p+, Na⁺, K⁺/Na⁺ ratio, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ in both genotypes between the CK and 400 mM NaCl. Na⁺ increased while K⁺ and the bivalent ions Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ decreased progressively with time points (CK and 24 h) in both genotypes but more pronounced in Kankolla. Proline increased by 24.45 and 18.63% between the CK and 24 h after exposure to 400 mM NaCl in Chadmo and Kankolla, respectively. Similarly, significant increases were observed in ABA, glycine betaine and soluble sugars from the CK to 24 h after exposure to 400 mM NaCl in both genotypes. Using these biochemical responses to salinity, Chadmo proved to be the better-performing genotype when exposed to 400 mM NaCl and hence identified as the salt-tolerant genotype.

Matto AA, Jaikishun S, Ram M. 2023. Impacts of different salinity levels on seedling growth and survival of black mangrove (Avicennia germinans). Asian J For 7: 67-73. Mangroves are important for coastal protection and provide numerous ecosystem services such as breeding, feeding, and nursery grounds for commercial fishes. This research examined the survivability of black mangrove (Avicennia germinans (L.) L.) seedlings in seven salinity concentrations. Growth parameters were collected every ten days, and a post-harvest analysis was done at the end of the data collection period. The results indicated that as the salinity level increased, the growth of the seedlings was reduced. Salinity can affect the different parameters collected in the growth of young seedlings. In the control, which was given zero salinity (0 ppt), it was noted that the growth parameters were not significantly affected. The lower treatments, such as T2 (15 ppt), 3 (30 ppt), and 4 (45 ppt), indicated that the seedlings strive better in these conditions. In treatment 7, which was the highest salinity level (90 ppt), the growth parameters of the seedlings were reduced. The findings of this research indicated that black mangrove seedlings need a low salinity level to have a good growth establishment. Given the adaptability of A. germinans, these mangrove species are anticipated to be flexible to cope with a wide range of future climatic circumstances.

The global population is on the path of an increasing trajectory with a simultaneous decline in arable land resources through salinization and desertification that have resulted mainly from climate change and other anthropogenic activities. Rising temperatures will cause changes in the entire ecosystem, resulting in significant alterations in global climate paradigms and a threat to food security. This review focuses on how the highly resilient Chenopodium quinoa Willd. can sustainably mitigate some of the detrimental impacts, such as starvation, and support or provide ecosystem services. In comparison, compared with the traditional staple food crops, quinoa has remarkable tolerance to abiotic stresses and is highly nutritious, with a unique balance and higher amounts of nutrients, and can therefore be an important crop for food security and nutritional adequacy. This crop has the potential to ameliorate global challenges with respect to increase in global population, effects of climate change, desalinization, phytoremediation, satisfying nutrient deficiency, and alleviating poverty.