Nazish Jahan

Seed Enhancement of Silybum marianum and Optimization of Silymarin Extraction

The present study elucidates the impact of different priming strategies on seed emergence and growth of milk thistle [Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.] and also evaluation of the efficacy of various extraction methods for optimal extraction of silymarin from milk thistle seeds. Seeds were primed with distilled water, Humic acid (2%), potassium chloride (2%) and moringa leaf extract (3%) for 24 h. Untreated seeds were used as control. Primed and non-primed seeds were sown in plastic pots. Seed priming treatments significantly improved the performance of milk thistle seeds as indicated by higher values of final emergence and lower values of mean emergence time and time taken to 50% emergence as compared to non-primed seeds. Silymarin was extracted from seeds of milk thistle by applying various techniques like Reflux, Soxhlet, maceration and microwave assisted extraction by using various solvents. Extraction with Soxhlet and microwave assisted techniques were proved better as compared to the others. The results indicated that in both spectrophotometric and HPLC quantification, silymarin contents were found maximum in extracts prepared with methanol by microwave assisted extraction technique followed by Soxhlet.

Cardioprotective and Metabolomic Profiling of Selected Medicinal Plants against Oxidative Stress

In this research work, the antioxidant and metabolomic profiling of seven selected medicinally important herbs including Rauvolfia serpentina, Terminalia arjuna, Coriandrum sativum, Elettaria cardamom, Piper nigrum, Allium sativum, and Crataegus oxyacantha was performed. The in vivo cardioprotective potential of these medicinal plants was evaluated against surgically induced oxidative stress through left anterior descending coronary artery ligation (LADCA) in dogs. The antioxidant profiling of these plants was done through DPPH and DNA protection assay. The C. oxyacantha and T. arjuna showed maximum antioxidant potential, while the E. cardamom showed poor antioxidative strength even at its high concentration. Different concentrations of extracts of the said plants exhibited the protection of plasmid DNA against H2O2 damage as compared to the plasmid DNA merely treated with H2O2. The metabolomic profiling through LC-MS analysis of these antioxidants revealed the presence of active secondary metabolites responsible for their antioxidant potential. During in vivo analysis, blood samples of all treatment groups were drawn at different time intervals to analyze the cardiac and hemodynamic parameters. The results depicted that the group pretreated with HC4 significantly sustained the level of CK-MB, SGOT, and LDH as well as hemodynamic parameters near to normal. The histopathological examination also confirmed the cardioprotective potential of HC4. Thus, the HC4 being safe and inexpensive cardioprotective herbal combination could be considered as an alternate of synthetic drugs.

Efficient optimization and mineralization of UV absorbers: A comparative investigation with Fenton and UV/H2O2

Abstract UV absorbers developed for finishing of textile materials play a significant role in protection against UV radiations but their discharge in wastewater during processing and laundry action also retain serious concern to living species due to their recalcitrant nature. The current study examined the mineralization and degradation of two vinylsulfone and nitrogen (N-) containing UV absorber compounds (1a, 2a) via two effective Fenton and UV/H2O2 oxidation. The results showed that both the Fenton and UV/H2O2 processes mineralized the synthesized UV absorbers effectively; however the mineralization process with Fenton oxidation was more effective than the UV/H2O2. The mineralization of synthesized UV absorbers was affected by process parameters (dosage of Fe2+ and H2O2 pH and reaction time). Under attained optimum conditions of Fenton oxidation, dose of Fe2+ (15 mg/L), H2O2 (500 mg/L), pH (3.0) and contact time (120 minutes), 75.43 and 77.54% of Chemical Oxygen Demand removal was achieved for 1a and 2a, respectively. Whereas, the optimum conditions of UV/H2O2 process were H2O2 (700 mg/L), pH(3.0) and irradiation time (200 minutes) that brought 54.33 and 57.65% COD removal in case of 1a and 2a, respectively. The results indicated that the Fenton oxidation can be successfully employed for the mineralization of triazine based UV absorbers.