Jatinder Kaur Katnoria

Analytical methods for estimation of organophosphorus pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables: a review.

Use of pesticides has turned out to be an obligatory input to agriculture and public health. Versatile use of pesticides had resulted in contamination of all basic necessities of life, i.e. air, water and food. Among various pesticides, organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs), derivative of phosphoric acid, are the most extensively used insecticides or acaricides in many crops. Due to low persistency and high killing efficiency of OPPs, many agriculturalists regularly use this group of pesticides for various vegetables and fruits crops. The continuous use of pesticides has caused the deleterious effects to ecosystem. In response to this, a number of methods have been developed by several regulatory agencies and private laboratories and are applied routinely for the quantification and monitoring of multi pesticide residues in vegetables and crops. The present review pertains to various extraction and quantification procedures used world wide to analyze OPPs residues in various vegetables and fruits.

Analytical techniques for estimation of heavy metals in soil ecosystem: A tabulated review

Soil, an important environmental medium, is exposed to a number of pollutants including toxic heavy metals by various natural and anthropogenic activities. Consequently heavy metal contaminated soil has the potential to pose severe health risks and hazards to humans as well as other living creatures of the ecosystem through various routes of exposure such as direct ingestion, contaminated drinking ground water, food crops, contact with contaminated soil and through food chain. Therefore, it is mandatory to explore various techniques that could efficiently determine the occurrence of heavy metals in soil. A number of methods have been developed by several regulatory agencies and private laboratories and are applied routinely for the quantification and monitoring of soil matrices. The present review is an initiative to summarize the work on pollution levels of soil ecosystem and thus pertains to various extraction and quantification procedures used worldwide to analyze heavy metals in soil.

Chemical changes of spinach waste during composting and vermicomposting

In Punjab (India), Spinach is the most widely used leafy vegetable in tempting cuisines like ‘Palak paneer’ and ‘Sarson ka Saag’, but more than 50% of its remnants are directly dumped as garbage, which otherwise can be utilized as source of organic manure. Considering this, the present study was planned to prepare compost and vermicompost of spinach collected from the supermarket of Amritsar and to estimate various chemical changes; nitrates, phosphates, sodium, potassium, calcium and pH during its composting and vermicomposting. It was observed that fresh vegetable sample of spinach showed higher contents of sodium, magnesium, phosphate and potassium when compared to its composted and vermicomposted samples. However, the contents of nitrates and calcium were higher in compost than other two samples. All the samples were found to be alkaline in nature with composted sample showing the maximum pH of 7.97.

Polyphenols in Food: Cancer Prevention and Apoptosis Induction

Polyphenols are a group of water-soluble organic compounds, mainly of natural origin. The compounds having about 5-7 aromatic rings and more than 12 phenolic hydroxyl groups are classified as polyphenols. These are the antioxidants which protect the body from oxidative damage. In plants, they are the secondary metabolites produced as a defense mechanism against stress factors. Antioxidant property of polyphenols is suggested to provide protection against many diseases associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS), including cancer. Various studies carried out across the world have suggested that polyphenols can inhibit the tumor generation, induce apoptosis in cancer cells and interfere in progression of tumors. This group of wonder compounds is present in surplus in natural plants and food products. Intake of polyphenols through diet can scavenge ROS and thus can help in cancer prevention. The plant derived products can also be used along with conventional chemotherapy to enhance the chemopreventive effects. The present review focuses on various in vitro and in vivo studies carried out to assess the anti-carcinogenic potential of polyphenols present in our food. Also, the pathways involved in cancer chemopreventive effects of various subclasses (flavonoids, lignans, stilbenes and phenolic acids) of polyphenols are discussed.

ROS-Induced Transcription Factors During Oxidative Stress in Plants: A Tabulated Review

Different abiotic stresses lead to overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants which are highly reactive, toxic and cause damage to proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and DNA which ultimately results in oxidative stress. The ROS comprises of free radicals including superoxide radicals and hydroxyl radicals and molecular forms like hydrogen peroxide and singlet oxygen. Oxidative stress has been devastating effects on the overall growth of plant and it results in loss of vigour and germination. In recent years, it has become a well-known fact that reactive oxygen intermediates are produced in plants as signalling molecules to control metabolic processes such as programmed cell death, abiotic stress responses, pathogen defence and systemic signalling. In response to stress, plants respond through crosstalk between different signal transduction pathways (abscisic acid dependent and abscisic independent), involving transcription factors (TFs). Transcription factors are also called as regulons, having a pivotal role in regulation of gene expression in plants. In the present attempt, we present tabulated review of TFs, proteins, genes and enzymes which have a central role in combating oxidative stress through gene expression regulation.

Evaluation of genotoxic potential of an agricul- tural soil sample of Nangli village of Amritsar (India) under rice cultivation

Nowadays, the problem of soil pollution is increasing at alarming rates not only in developed countries but in developing countries as well. A number of genotoxic compounds have been discharged on to the lands which directly or indirectly find their way into various biological systems including the human beings. Upon reaching the human systems, these pollutants can not only cause direct toxicity but can also potentially damage the gene pool. Keeping this in mind, the present study was planned to evaluate the genotoxic potential of an agricultural soil sample collected from Nangli village of Amritsar under rice cultivation employing Allium cepa root chromosomal aberration assay (AlRCAA). Two types of treatments viz,. in situ and root dip treatment were followed. Both the treatments resulted in different types of aberrations like laggards, vagrants, c-mitosis, delayed anaphase, stickiness (physiological aberrations) and chromosomal breaks, chromatin bridges (clastogenic aberrations). Root dip treatment induced 12.63 % of total aberrant cells at highest concentration (100%) whereas in situ treatment induced 12.03 % total aberrant cells.

Allium cepa Root Chromosomal Aberration Assay: An Application in Assessing Anti-genotoxic Potential of Ashwagandha

Plant kingdom is rich in phytochemicals with high potential for medicinal and therapeutic uses. These can be particularly recruited to combat the environmental genotoxins that have increased tremendously in last few decades due to industrialization of human lifestyle. Screening of plants for this purpose involves a battery of bioassays; the mammalian or bacterial assays are used worldwide. Considering the ethical and economic reasons, the use of plant bioassays for the initial screening is advocated. Of all plant bioassays available, Allium cepa root chromosomal aberration assay is an efficient, most-easy and inexpensive tool that can be used for (i) assessment of genotoxicity of environmental mutagens and (ii) evaluation of anti-genotoxic potential of plant extracts. The present chapter discusses the history, application and technical aspects of this assay in assessing the geno-protective potential of various plants with special reference to Ashwagandha, the wonder herb.

Family Fabaceae: A Boon for Cancer Therapy

Cancer is a deadliest disease which has been a challenging prorogue for human health and civilization. Legumes or plants of family Fabaceae have been part of our diet since times immemorial. Plants of this family are rich in phytoconstituents which make them effective therapeutic agents for various diseases. The synergistic effects of different phytoconstituents are far more than the effect of individual compounds. Studies have revealed that those parts of the world which consume legumes as a staple diet have less mortality due to cancer as compared to other parts of the world. Also, it has been reported that phytochemical components of plants of this family inhibit carcinogenesis at various stages. The use of phytoconstituents derived from these plants along with traditional chemotherapy can have synergistic effects which help in fighting cancer. This review focuses on various compounds present in plants of family Fabaceae and their anticarcinogenic potential.

Analysis on bioaccumulation of metals in aquatic environment of Beas River Basin: A case study from Kanjli wetland

Abstract Wetlands, the biological filters of the Earth, play an important role in biochemical transformation of various pollutants. Wetland plants, in this direction, help in accumulating various contaminants from aquatic bodies. Considering this, the present study was planned to estimate different metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Co, Fe, Pb, Zn, and Mn) in water, sediment, soil, and plant (4 aquatic and 12 terrestrial) samples of Kanjli wetland, Kapurthala, Punjab (India), and a Ramsar site. It was observed that the contents of Cd and Pb in water samples were higher than limits prescribed by Bureau of Indian standards. Bioaccumulation and translocation factors for various metals were also calculated. Although all the plant species were found to be hyperaccumulator for one or the other metal studied, maximum six metals (Cd, Co, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn) were bioaccumulated in Panicum antidotale among aquatic plant species while (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn) in Lantana camara and Ageratum conyzoids among terrestrial plants species. It is evident that all these plants have potential to phytoremediate various inorganic pollutants and can act as bioindicators. The physicochemical characteristics revealed high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and nitrate (NO3) contents and low dissolved oxygen (DO) in water samples while the high content of phosphates in soil and sediment samples.

Spatial and Temporal Heavy Metal Distribution and Surface Water Characterization of Kanjli Wetland (a Ramsar site), India Using Different Indices

Suitability of surface water of Kanjli wetland, Punjab (India) during the period of 2013–2015 was assessed for drinking, irrigation and aquatic life using a water quality index (WQI), heavy metal pollution index (HPI) and aquatic toxicity index (ATI). WQI was calculated using 14 physico-chemical parameters while HPI determination used nine heavy metals like As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn. WQI revealed that Kanjli wetland contained medium quality water (irrigation and aquatic life). Cr, Cd and Co exceeded desirable limits of World Health Organization (WHO, Guidelines for drinking-water quality, World Health Organization, Geneva, 2011) and Indian drinking water standard (2012) during all the three seasons (monsoon, post monsoon and winter). HPI values from all sites exceeded critical pollution index value of 100 during monsoon season. Few sites were unsuitable for normal fish life as per ATI. The study recommends planned spatial, temporal and periodic monitoring of wetland using WQI and HPI to sustain good water quality (drinking, irrigation and aquatic life).