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Adithan Aravinthan,1,* Muthusamy Govarthanan,2,3,* Kandasamy Selvam,4 Loganathan Praburaman,2,3 Thangasamy Selvankumar,3 Rangachari Balamurugan,1 Seralathan Kamala-Kannan,2 Jong-Hoon Kim1 1College of Veterinary Medicine, Biosafety Research Institute, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, South Korea; 2Division of Biotechnology, Advanced Institute of Environment and Bioscience, College of Environmental and Bioresource Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Iksan, South Korea; 3PG and Research Department of Biotechnology, Mahendra Arts and Science College, Kalippatti, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India; 4Centre for Biotechnology, Muthayammal College of Arts and Science, Rasipuram, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: A rapid, green phytosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using the aqueous extract of Helianthus tuberosus (sunroot tuber) was reported in this study. The morphology of the AgNPs was determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the presence of AgNPs. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis revealed that biomolecules in the tuber extract were involved in the reduction and capping of AgNPs. The energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of the AgNPs, using an energy range of 2–4 keV, confirmed the presence of elemental silver without any contamination. Further, the synthesized AgNPs were evaluated against phytopathogens such as Ralstonia solanacearum and Xanthomonas axonopodis. The AgNPs (1–4 mM) extensively reduced the growth rate of the phytopathogens. In addition, the cytotoxic effect of the synthesized AgNPs was analyzed using rat splenocytes. The cell viability was decreased according to the increasing concentration of AgNPs and 67% of cell death was observed at 100 µg/mL. Keywords: cytotoxicity, Helianthus tuberosus, nanobiotechnology, phytosynthesis, splenocytes

Muthusamy Govarthanan,1,2 Thangasamy Selvankumar,2 Koildhasan Manoharan,3 Rajiniganth Rathika,2 Kuppusamy Shanthi,4 Kui-Jae Lee,1 Min Cho,1 Seralathan Kamala-Kannan,1 Byung-Taek Oh11Division of Biotechnology, Advanced Institute of Environment and Bioscience, College of Environmental and Bioresource Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Iksan, South Korea; 2PG and Research Department of Biotechnology, Mahendra Arts and Science College, Kalippatti, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India; 3Department of Botany, Raja Duraisingam Government Arts College, Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu, India; 4Department of Environmental Science, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, IndiaAbstract: Synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with biological properties is of vast significance in the development of scientifically valuable products. In the present study, we describe simple, unprecedented, nontoxic, eco-friendly, green synthesis of AgNPs using an Indian traditional farming formulating agent, panchakavya. Silver nitrate (1 mM) solution was mixed with panchakavya filtrate for the synthesis of AgNPs. The nanometallic dispersion was characterized by surface plasmon absorbance measuring 430 nm. Transmission electron microscopy showed the morphology and size of the AgNPs. Scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the presence of AgNPs. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed that proteins in the panchakavya were involved in the reduction and capping of AgNPs. In addition, we studied the antibacterial activity of synthesized AgNPs. The synthesized AgNPs (1–4 mM) extensively reduced the growth rate of antibiotic resistant bacteria such as Aeromonas sp., Acinetobacter sp., and Citrobacter sp., according to the increasing concentration of AgNPs.Keywords: green synthesis, panchakavya, antibacterial, environment, nanoparticles

Natural chemical compounds from medicinal plants used for the healing of diseases and disorders with fewer side effects, easy accessibility and economically cheap. The current study was aimed at finding novel drug like molecules as anti-diabetic compounds using in silico approach. Intermolecular interactions between target proteins and different antidiabetic compounds were observed. Five phytocompounds were selected from Plumbago zeylanica, Neolitsea cassia and Wrightia tinctoria and taken for molecular docking against human pancreatic alpha-amylase and human dipeptidyl peptidase IV using Autodock 4.2. Among the five phyto compounds, 6 urs-12-en-24-oic acid Plumbago zeylanica is the best compound for both the human pancreatic alpha-amylase and human dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibition, as it possessed higher value in molecular dockings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, Helianthus annuus grown in arsenic- (As) and lead- (Pb) contaminated soil were treated with plant-growth promoting fungi Trichoderma sp. MG isolated from decayed wood and assessed for their phytoremediation efficiency. The isolate MG exhibited a high tolerance to As (650 mg/L) and Pb (500 mg/L), and could remove > 70% of metals in aqueous solution with an initial concentration of 100 mg/L each. In addition, the isolate MG was screened for plant-growth-promoting factors such as siderophores, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase, indole acetic acid (IAA) synthesis, and phosphate solubilisation. Phytoremediation studies indicated that treatment of H. annuus with the isolate MG had the maximum metal-accumulation in shoots (As; 67%, Pb; 59%). Furthermore, a significant increase in the soil extracellular enzyme-activities was observed in myco-phytoremediated soils. The activities of phosphatase (35 U/g dry soil), dehydrogenase (41 mg TPF/g soil), cellulase (37.2 mg glucose/g/2 h), urease (55.4 mg N/g soil/2 h), amylase (49.3 mg glucose/g/2 h) and invertase (45.3 mg glucose/g/2 h) significantly increased by 12%, 14%, 12%, 22%, 19% and 14% in As contaminated soil, respectively. Similarly, the activities of phosphatase (31.4 U/g dry soil), dehydrogenase (39.3 mg TPF/g soil), cellulase (37.1 mg glucose/g/2 h), urease (49.8 mg N/g soil/2 h), amylase (46.3 mg glucose/g/2 h), and invertase (42.1 mg glucose/g/2 h) significantly increased by 11%, 15%, 11%, 18%, 20% and 14% in Pb contaminated soil, respectively. Obtained results indicate that the isolate MG could be a potential strain for myco-phytoremediation of As and Pb contaminated soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shigellosis is a serious foodborne diarrheal disease caused by the Shigella species. It is a critical global health issue. In developing countries, shigellosis causes most of the mortality in children below 5 years of age. Globally, around 165 million cases of diarrhea caused by Shigella are reported, which accounts for almost 1 million deaths, in which the majority are recorded in Third World nations. In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using Mangifera indica kernel (MK-AgNPs) seed extracts. The biosynthesized M. indica silver nanoparticles (MK-AgNPs) were characterized using an array of spectroscopic and microscopic tools, such as UV–Vis, scanning electron microscopy, particle size analyzer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffractometer. The nanoparticles were spherical in shape and the average size was found to be 42.7 nm. The MK-AgNPs exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity against antibiotic-resistant clinical Shigella sp. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of the MK-AgNPs was found to be 20 μg/mL against the multi-drug-resistant strain Shigella flexneri. The results clearly demonstrate that MK-AgNPs prepared using M. indica kernel seed extract exhibited significant bactericidal action against pathogenic Shigella species. The biosynthesized nanoparticles from mango kernel could possibly prove therapeutically useful and effective in combating the threat of shigellosis after careful investigation of its toxicity and in vivo efficacy.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a prominent family of persistent organic molecules produced by both anthropogenic and natural processes, are widespread in terrestrial and aquatic environments owing to their hydrophobicity, electrochemical stability and low aqueous solubility. Phenanthrene and naphthalene belong to the group of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons whose occurrence are reported to be relatively higher. The bioremediation mode of removing the toxicities of these two compounds has been reported to be promising than other methods. Most of the microbial classes of bacterial, fungal and algal origin are reported to degrade the target pollutants into non-toxic compounds effectively. The review aims to give an overview on toxicological studies, identification and enrichment techniques of phenanthrene and naphthalene degrading microbes and the bioremediation technologies (microbial assisted reactors, microbial fuel cells and microbial assisted constructed wetlands) reported by various researchers. All the three modes of bioremediation techniques were proved to be promising on different perspectives. In the treatment of phenanthrene, a maximum recovery of 96% and 98% was achieved in an aerobic membrane reactor with Bacillus species and single chamber air cathode microbial fuel cell with Acidovorax and Aquamicrobium respectively were reported. With the constructed wetland configuration, 95.5% of removal was attained with manganese oxide based microbial constructed wetland. The maximum degradation efficiency reported for naphthalene are 99% in a reverse membrane bioreactor, 98.5% in a marine sediment microbial fuel cell and 92.8% with a low-cost sandy soil constructed wetland., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present study was investigated to synthesis the iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) using the leaf extract of Phyllanthus reticulatus . The phytosynthesized FeNPs exhibited UV-visible absorption peaks at 229 nm and its crystalline nature was confirmed through XRD. FT-IR analysis revealed the presence of various functional groups which are responsible for the bioreduction of FeNPs. The SEM results showed that FeNPs were aggregated, irregular sphere shaped with rough surfaces and EDX spectrum recorded densely occupied iron nanoparticles region. The particle size range of the synthesized iron nanoparticles was 185.6 nm. The FeNPs showed potential methylene blue decolourisation activity which was visually observed by gradual colour change in the dye solution from deep blue to colorless. The control exhibited no change in coloration during exposure to sunlight and the iron nanoparticles completely disintegrated the methylene blue within 10 s in 10 mg/L methylene blue (98%), whereas the color change was decreased when the concentration of the dye increased. In addition, the phyto-synthesized FeNPs exhibited extensive antibacterial and antifungal activity against the selected pathogens. Phytotoxicity assay confirms the potential of biosynthesized iron nanoparticles as a fertilizer for the growth of green gram seeds. Thus the present study leads to development of cost-effective green synthesis, reduction of toxic chemicals and its extensive applications in the biological sciences., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2021.)

The present study focused to synthesize the copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) using novel Canthium coromandelicum leaves in a cost-effective, easy, and sustainable approach. The obtained Canthium coromandelicum-copper oxide nanoparticles (CC-CuONPs) were characterized using UV-Visible spectroscopy, FT-IR analysis, FESEM, HR-TEM imaging, and XRD study. The XRD pattern verified the development of crystalline CC-CuONPs with an average size of 33 nm. The biosynthesized CC-CuONPs were roughly spherical, according to HR-TEM and FESEM analyses. FT-IR research verified the existence of functional groups involved in CC-CuONPs production. Cu and O 2 have high-energy signals of 78.32% and 12.78%, respectively, according to data from EDX. The photocatalytic evaluation showed that synthesized CC-CuONPs have the efficiency of degrading methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) by 91.32%, 89.35% respectively. The findings showed that biosynthesized CC-CuONPs might effectively remove contaminants in an environmentally acceptable manner., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Biomass-derived carbon quantum dots have drawn special interest owing to their admirable photostability, biocompatibility, fluorescence, high solubility, sensitivity and environmentally friendly properties. In the present work, the Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) was synthesized from the Plectranthus amboinicus (Mexican Mint) leaves via the microwave-assisted reflux method. The strong absorption peaks observed from UV-vis spectra at 291 and 330 nm corresponds to the π-π* and n-π* transitions, respectively, reveal the formation of CQDs. The synthesized CQDs showed bright blue fluorescence under UV irradiation with a fluorescence quantum yield of 17% and a maximum emission of 436 nm in the blue region at an excitation wavelength of 340 nm. The HRTEM analysis elucidates that the synthesized CQDs were crystalline and spherical in shape with a particle size of 2.43 ± 0.02 nm. The FT-IR spectroscopy confirms the presence of the different functional groups such as -OH, -CH, CO and C-O. The chemical composition of CQD was revealed through XPS analysis. The synthesized CQDs were used as a fluorescent probe to detect different metal ions, where high selectivity was obtained for Fe 3+ ions through quenching phenomenon. The emission intensity of CQD showed a good linear relationship with R 2  = 0.9111 with the concentration of Fe 3+ ions in the range of 0-15 μM. The fluorescence emission of CQD was turned OFF upon the binding of Fe 3+ ions and turned - ON with the addition of ascorbic acid. With this fluorescent turn ON-OFF behaviour of CQD, the NOT and IMPLICATION logic gates were constructed and studied for different input conditions. The biocompatibility of CQD was tested via MTT assay using MCF7 breast cancer cell line, which revealed that CQD synthesized from the Mexican Mint leaves possess less cytotoxicity. Further, the prepared CQD was applied effectively as fluorescent probes in a cell imaging application., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Silver nanoparticle (AgNP) synthesis and characterization is an area of vast interest due to their broader application in the fields of science and technology and medicine. Plants are an attractive source for AgNP synthesis because of its ability to produce a wide range of secondary metabolites with strong reducing potentials. Thus, the present study describes the synthesis of AgNPs using aqueous rhizome extract of Acorus calamus (sweet flag). The AgNP formation was evaluated at different temperatures, incubation time and concentrations of AgNO 3 using Response surface methodology based Box-Behnken design (BBD). The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The surface plasmon resonance found at 420 nm confirmed the formation of AgNPs. SEM images reveal that the particles are spherical in nature. The EDS analysis of the AgNPs, using an energy range of 2-4 keV, confirmed the presence of elemental silver without any contamination. The antibacterial activity of synthesized AgNPs was evaluated against the clinical isolates Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and it was found that bacterial growth was significantly inhibited in a dose dependent manner. The results suggest that the AgNPs from rhizome extract could be used as a potential antibacterial agent for commercial application.

The study was aimed to evaluate the potential of organic formulation, panchakavya, for enhancing the biological leaching of Pb and Cu in contaminated mine soil. Response surface methodology based Box-Behnken design was used to optimize the variables such as incubation time, panchakavya concentration, and agitation rate. The maximum bioleaching (Pb=64% and Cu=49%) was observed after 54 h of incubation with 10 mL panchakavya at 120 rpm. Statistics-based contour and three-dimensional plots were generated to understand the relationship between Pb and Cu bioleaching and variables. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis showed the presence of lactic (25.88 mg g(-1)), citric (0.14 mg g(-1)), succinic (0.14 mg g(-1)), malic (0.66 mg g(-1)), and acetic (0.44 mg g(-1)) acids in panchakavya, which may have a vital role in the removal of metals from the contaminated soil. Soil fraction studies indicate a significant increase of Pb (45%) in the exchangeable fraction of panchakavya-treated soil. XRD studies confirmed the role of panchakavya induced calcite and other minerals in the precipitation of metal ions. A significant increase in the enzyme activities of phosphatase, dehydrogenase, urease, amylase, invertase, and cellulase were observed in the panchakavya-treated soil., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Centella asiatica (Umbelliferae) has been used for centuries in Indian ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of a wide number of health disorders. The aim of this study was to estimate and compare the concentration of bioactive compounds between wild and in vitro propagated C. asiatica plants. A marked decrease in the total phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid was observed between in vitro propagated and wild type plants collected from wet land habitat. The radical scavenging activity of the wild type plant extracts also varied with the habitats. This study clearly indicates that environmental factors play a crucial role in the plant metabolic activity and medicinal activity.