Ekta Menghani

The present study was conducted in Ranthambhore National Park, located in the eastern region of Rajasthan, in District Sawai Madhopur. To record the ethnomedicinal knowledge of the local Mogiya tribe, a field survey was conducted. The Mogiya tribes that live in and around Ranthambhore National Park use 106 plant species from 48 families to treat a variety of illnesses. A thorough list of these plants, along with their botanical names, regional names, portions used and therapeutic uses, is provided in this publication. Several of the plants identified in this study have substantial therapeutic promise, particularly with regard to sports-related injuries. Following close examination and comparison with earlier research, we were able to pinpoint particular plants that show promise in treating common sports-related ailments like sprains, strains, inflammation and muscle soreness. These plants may offer natural options for the treatment of sports injuries because they contain active chemicals that have analgesic, anti-inflammatory and tissue regenerative qualities. The results demonstrate how additional clinical research and drug development based on Mogiya traditional knowledge could advance contemporary sports medicine.

Antibiotic resistance has emerged as one of the most critical global health challenges, exacerbated by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in healthcare. Resistant bacterial strains pose a greater threat to human health than cancer. This crisis has prompted an urgent search for novel antimicrobial agents, particularly those derived from natural sources. This review explores the potential of arid zone plants as promising sources of new antimicrobial agents. They contain different types of bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and phenolic acids with potent antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. These compounds target through a variety of mechanisms, such as disrupting bacterial cell membranes, inhibiting protein synthesis, and inhibiting DNA replication to effectively inhibit or kill the microbes, offering alternative therapeutic pathways. Furthermore, the integration of nanotechnology with phytochemicals enhances the therapeutic potential of nano-phytochemicals by improving bioavailability, controlled release, and enabling site-specific delivery. This innovative approach offers a promising strategy for combating multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens and overcoming biofilm-associated infections. However, challenges related to nanoparticle toxicity, biocompatibility, and regulatory hurdles persist. In this review, we discuss how an interdisciplinary approach to developing arid zone plant-based nanopharmaceuticals can offer an effective and sustainable solution to the escalating threat of MDR pathogens, thereby supporting global public health.

Based on the origin, we can classify different types of stress. Environmental factors, such as high light intensity, adverse temperature, drought, or soil salinity, are summarized as abiotic stresses and discriminated from biotic stresses that are exerted by pathogens and herbivores, for instance. It was an unexpected observation that overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a common response to all kinds of stress investigated so far. With respect to applied aspects in agriculture and crop breeding, this observation allows using ROS production as a measure to rank the stress perception of individual plants. ROS are important messengers in cell signaling, but exceeding a concentration threshold causes damage. This requires fine-tuning of ROS production and degradation rates. In general, there are two options to control cellular ROS levels, (I) ROS scavenging at the expense of antioxidant consumption and (II) enzyme-controlled degradation of ROS. As antioxidants are limited in quantity, the first strategy only allows temporarily buffering of a certain cellular ROS level. This way, it prevents spells of eventually damaging ROS concentrations. In this review, we focus on the second strategy. We discuss how enzyme-controlled degradation of ROS integrates into plant metabolism. Enzyme activities can be continuously operative. Cellular homeostasis can be achieved by regulation of respective gene expression and subsequent regulation of the enzyme activities. A better understanding of this interplay allows for identifying traits for stress tolerance breeding of crops. As a side effect, the result also may be used to identify cultivation methods modifying crop metabolism, thus resulting in special crop quality.

The present of research work was focused on mesophilic soil samples from four different sites of Jaipur (The Pink City) in Rajasthan. Rajasthan is a semi arid region and famous for its sandy soil, heat and temperature which reach up to 50°C in summers. Twenty nine colonies were isolated from the soil samples on nutrient agar media and three distinct isolates were selected and characterized after analyzing coloration of colony formation and zone of inhibition around and appearance of the colony. On the basis of biochemical tests, the isolates are suspected to belong to the genera, Bacillus, Actinomycetes and Staphylococcus. Antibiotic activity of the isolates was studied against some common nosocomial infection causing pathogens and promising results were observed. Out of 29 colonies, only 3 colonies viz. S-IA, S-IIA and S-IIIC showed appreciable biological activity against the above mentioned 2 test pathogens E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Further, inhibition zones were calculated in S-IA (IZ = 12 mm; AI = 1.5); S-II A (IZ = 42 mm; AI = 4.2) and S-III C (IZ = 12 mm; AI = 1.1). Key words: Antimicrobial efficacy, nosocomial infections, mesophilic soil, metabolomes, Rajasthan.

Amorphophallus is an Aroid family member, native to Asia. Amorphophallus konjac K. Koch ex N.E.Br. is also known as snake plant due to snake like outlines on its stem. In Mount Abu the plant is grown in wild and known for its toxic principles. In Traditional Chinese System of Medicine (TCM), it was mentioned that gel prepared from flour has been used in detoxification, tumor suppression, phlegm liquefaction and skin disorders. In the present research work, attempts were made to authenticate and validate the ethno-medicinal potentials of A. konjac antimicrobial activity which could be alternate for current synthetic antimicrobial agents. The plant was selected for screening of antimicrobial efficacy against eight selected bacterial strains viz. Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC- 2921), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 700603), Enterobacter cloacae (ATCC 13047 ), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Proteus mirabilis (ATCC 12453), Enterobacter cloacae (ATCC- 13047), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (ATCC 6305). The results of antimicrobial activity of crude dicholormethane (DCM), ethyl acetate, chloroform and methanol were significant. DCM extract C (10 mg/disc) possess maximum efficacy against S. pneumoniae (IZ = 20 mm; AI = 1.25). The main cause of community acquired pneumonia and septicemia in HIV infected patients is caused by S. pneumoniae microorganism. Further, bioactivity guided fractionation of pure compounds from DCM extract of A. konjac can lead to work as novel antibiotic in future. Therefore, the extract can also be used for isolation of volatiles compounds with potentials so that the extract / active fraction / pure compounds can be used as nasal spray in future therapeutics. Key words: Amorphophallus konjac, antibacterial activity, antimicrobial agents, ethnomedicinal plant.