Sonika Kalia

Diploknema butyracea, native to the Sub-Himalayan area, is also known as Indian butter tree, Kalpavriksha, or Chiuri. It is an economically and environmentally important tree. It is native to countries such as Bhutan, Nepal, some parts of China, and India from 300 m to 1500 m above sea level. There are about eight species and eleven taxa in the genus Diploknema, three of which are found in the Himalayan regions of Assam, Darjeeling, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh. The tree is versatile with nutritional, therapeutic, and commercial potential. The bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds of the plant contain several phytoconstituents with significant pharmacological potential. Among these are alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, terpenoids, and other secondary metabolites with medicinal properties. The plant also contains important nutrients, including carbohydrates and minerals such as calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. The present review provides a comprehensive overview of the more common methods of separation of bioactive chemicals, facilitating a better understanding of the potential application. Important and interesting is the fact that Diploknema butyracea is also an important source of lipids, particularly from seeds, which makes it important from the industrial and nutritional points of view. This plant has been used by the native people to treat a variety of illnesses, such as burns, rheumatism, skin conditions, asthma, and other respiratory conditions. Overall, this review emphasizes Diploknema butyracea's phytochemical composition, extraction techniques, and medicinal uses, highlighting its potential as a viable natural resource for the creation of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.

The growth and productivity of developed plant varieties are seriously threatened by climate change, prompting concerns among plant scientists regarding the capacity to feed the world's expanding population in a sustainable manner. Biotechnology can be a key component in the development of sustainable agriculture among farmers; helping them economically, and it can reduce the hazardous chemical inputs in the fields; resulting in healthy environment for living. Soil fertility and crops health can be increased by the use of biofertilizers, biopesticides, and addition of advantageous microorganisms to the soil. The challenge to control the losses in crop production caused by various pests, insects, and plant pathogens can be fulfilled precisely by integrating the biotechnology approaches in agricultural practices. The biofortification of useful traits in staple crops to overcome malnutrition from developing nations can be done by using biotechnology tools. Effective regulatory policies are necessary to ensure the safe adoption of this new technology in agriculture. Agricultural biotechnology advancements enable a deeper understanding of the primary reasons behind crop losses and failures under stress conditions, and this knowledge is important for creating high yielding and climate resilient varieties.

Recalcitrant xenobiotic chemicals, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, different types of industrial effluents, and heavy metals such as chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), and mercury (Hg), pose substantial environmental as well as hazardous impacts on public health. Require effective removal from contaminated environments. Conventional remediation techniques often fall short in the elimination of these pollutants, necessitating innovative and possibly effective sustainable solutions. Bioremediation involves the use of biological agents, such as microorganisms, to degrade, detoxify, or remove xenobiotics from ecosystems. While bacteria have shown considerable potential, fungi have demonstrated even greater efficacy in breaking down persistent pollutants. AMF play a crucial role in heavy metal bioremediation by employing multiple mechanisms, including metal sequestration within vacuoles, cell wall adsorption, enzymatic detoxification, and chelation by metallothioneins and phytochelatins. Also enhance the metal immobilization through protein-metal complexes, like glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP), which enhanced soil stabilization and metal bioavailability. Additionally, AMF improves physiological resilience by enhancing gas exchange, protecting plant photosystem (PSII), and stimulating the antioxidant behavior activity to oxidative stress. This study explores the multifaceted role of AMF in heavy metal detoxification and phytoremediation to provide insights into their mechanisms for metal tolerance, sequestration, and detoxification. These findings contribute to the advancement of AMF-assisted phytoremediation strategies, emphasizing the potential for restoring contaminated ecosystems through sustainable, biologically driven interventions.

Background: In the Northwestern Himalayas, white grubs are a serious and persistent pest of several crops. Because they are more effective than chemical pesticides, microbial control techniques are crucial to integrated pest management. The entomopathogenic fungi used in the present investigation were obtained from white grub species prevalent in the northwestern Himalayan region of India. Methods: The investigations during 2011- 2013 were carried out in CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalya, Palampur. Based on morphology and molecular traits, fungi were identified and characterized. Beauveria brongniartii (Sacc.) was determined to be the principal entomopathogenic fungus using inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers. Moreover, the sequences derived from these strains were confirmed by phylogenetic analysis to be within the same clade as the reference sequences of B. brongniartii. Result: Five native strains were isolated with 3 identified as entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria brongniartii. These findings improve the understanding of the mycobiota of crops in the northwestern Himalayan region, which acts as a basis for the creation of technological products in the field of biological control.

Purpose: The production and use of traditional petroleum-based plastics have caused significant environmental problems, such as non-biodegradable waste and pollution. This environmental concern can be overcome using biotechnological tools and techniques to develop bio-plastic as a sustainable alternative to daily use plastic and ensuring a smooth transition from fossil-based to bio- based plastics. Various industrial biotechnology methods such as microbial fermentation, enzymatic catalysis are used as primary methods for bio-plastic production. The microbes are genetically modified, harvested and engineered for this purpose of fermentation for high quality and quantity production.This article provides an in-depth overview of bio-plastic such as corn- starch plastic as an alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics and to mitigate environmental concerns arising from them. Corn starch plastic, also known as polylactic acid (PLA), is a biodegradable polymer made from corn starch that is gaining popularity due to its properties and biodegradability. It includes its properties, production, applications, challenges, and future directions.Research method: It involves a number of biotechnological processes. Starting with extraction of corn starch from corn kernels and separation of starch from mixture. It is followed by gelatinization of starch and plasticization with plasticizers like glycerol to enhance flexibility. Further, the starch is processed using injection molding, and ultimately cooling and solidification are carried out.Findings: Findings reveal that a number of by-products are retrieved during the extraction process of corn starch plastic that can be further mixed with corn starch plastic to enhance its properties and produce plastics of different kinds and applications. For example, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) is a complex polymer that, when added to corn starch plastic, enhances its strength and flexibility. Cellulose acetate (CA) is another renewable polymer that produces a transparent bio-plastic that is also chemically resistant and durable. Many such polymers have been identified and described further.Research limitations: Process is energy consuming and water intensive inputs are required. Microorganisms can cause unwanted contamination, hindering the process.Originality/ value: Production of bio-plastics that is biodegradable.

MicroRNAs are small, non-coding RNA molecules that have regulatory control over the miscellaneous biological activities in plants and animals. Medicinal plants are a rich repository of secondary metabolites that exhibit a wide variety of therapeutic properties. The functional regulation of miRNAs to regulate secondary metabolism is still inadequately understood. Similarly, the role of multiple target regulation systems for single miRNAs is poorly known. The functional significance of the variables, applications, and approaches of different miRNAs that influence secondary metabolite control are investigated in this review. This review article focuses on secondary metabolite control by diverse miRNA families, growing miRNA techniques, and cross-kingdom regulation of plant miRNAs on human health in depth. Here, challenging and limiting aspects of miRNA research have been covered. The role of Phyto miRNAs as a dietary supplement in the prevention of diseases such as COVID-19 has been debated. We offer an update and address the implications of plant miRNA mediated secondary metabolite control, as well as the potential for this interesting regulatory mechanism to be used as an enhanced therapy for a variety of diseases.

The study aimed to evaluate the biological efficiency and nutritional composition of Hypsizygus ulmarius (Bull.), an edible and medicinal mushroom species often overlooked by Indian farmers. The mushrooms were cultivated on wheat husk as the control substrate from October to February. The substrate was enriched with mustard cake (M) at concentrations of 10 % (M500), 20 % (M1000) and 30 % (M1500) by dry weight to assess the impact on yield. The growth parameters, including the size and weight of fruiting bodies from each type of substrate were recorded. The control substrate, consisting of wheat straw alone, required the shortest period for mycelium growth at 33.125 ± 0.99 days, while wheat straw supplemented with 30 % mustard cake (M1500) took the longest time at 46.6 ± 1.5 days. However, the M1000 substrate (20 % mustard cake) had the shortest time span for pin head formation, taking 46 ± 1.41days and for maturation to fully grown fruiting bodies, requiring 50.25 ± 2.12 days. The M1000 substrate also produced the highest yield of 5533.2 kg with the greatest biological efficiency of 92.2 %, but comparatively least values were obtained in M1500, with a yield of 2088.28 kg and a biological efficiency of 51.28 %. The highest total carbohydrate content was found in M500 (10 % mustard cake), at 71.91 %, along with a fiber content of 13.19 %. The highest protein (38.06 %) and fats (2.73 %) contents were observed in M1500. The results of this study suggest that mustard cake can be used as an effective supplement to enhance the nutritional content, biological efficiency and productivity of Hypsizygus ulmarius.

Biofertilizers symbolize a promising and eco-friendly approach to increasing agricultural productivity while reducing the hazardous environmental impact of chemical fertilizers. Biofertilizers are compounds containing living microorganisms or their byproducts that, when applied to soil, enhance nutrient uptake and promote plant growth. These biological agents include nitrogen-fixing bacteria, mycorrhizal fungi, and phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms. Biofertilizers are well recognized for their composition, cost-effectiveness, and environment-friendly nature. These are safe substitutes for hazardous synthetic fertilizers. They contribute to soil health and biodiversity conservation by enriching the soil with beneficial microorganisms. This review provides an overview of biofertilizers, their significance in modern agriculture, and their potential to promote sustainable farming practices.