Nilima S. Rajurkar

MINERAL CONTENT OF MEDICINAL PLANTS USED IN THE TREATMENT OF DISEASES RESULTING FROM URINARY TRACT DISORDERS

Elemental composition of some Ayurvedic medicinal plants used for healing urinary tract disorders has been studied by nondestructive neutron activation analysis with a 252Cf source and atomic absorption spectroscopy. In total, 14 elements have been estimated in different plants; among these Cu, Cr, Co and Cd are found to be present at the trace level; Mn, Pb, Zn, Ni, Na, Fe and Hg at minor level and K, Ca and Cl at major level. The differences in the concentration of the elements are attributed to soil composition and the climate in which the plant grows. The importance of some elements in diseases related to renal disorders is also briefly discussed.

Analysis of some herbal plants from India used in the control of diabetes mellitus by NAA and AAS techniques

Elemental analysis of some herbal plants used in the control of diabetes has been done by the techniques of Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The elements Mn, Na, K, Cl, Al, Cu, Co, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cd, Fe, Ca, Zn and Hg are found to be present in different plants in various proportions.

ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF SOME HERBAL PLANTS USED IN THE TREATMENT OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES BY NAA AND AAS

Elemental analysis of some herbal plants used in the ayurveda for curing of cardiovascular diseases has been performed using the techniques of neutron activation analysis and atomic absorption spectroscopy. The concentration of elements Mn, Na, K and Cl has been estimated by NAA using a252Cf neutron source and a high purity gemanium detector coupled to a multichannel analyzer, while the elements Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cd and Hg were analysed by AAS using a Perkin Elmer 3100 instrument.

Selective preconcentration and determination of iodine species in milk samples using polymer inclusion sorbent

A method to determine low levels of iodine species namely I(-) and IO(3)(-) in aqueous samples was developed and applied to milk and milk powder samples. It is based on selective preconcentration of I(-) in polymer inclusion sorbent (PIS) and neutron activation analysis (NAA) of I(-) sorbed in PIS. The PIS was found to be highly selective for I(-) in presence of IO(3)(-) and other anions commonly present in the milk samples. In order to preconcentrate total I(-)+IO(3)(-) content in the PIS, IO(3)(-) was reduced to I(-) using a mixture of acetic acid and ascorbic acid. It was found that total iodine content in milk could be determined with epithermal neutron activation analysis (ENAA). A scheme was developed to determine I(-), IO(3)(-) and total iodine. The developed method was applied to milk reference materials (NIST SRM-1549 and IAEA-RM-153 milk powder) and a commercially available milk powder. The scheme for estimation of iodine in different forms was validated by using reference material NIST SRM-1549.

Molecular iodine preconcentration and determination in aqueous samples using poly(vinylpyrrolidone) containing membranes

Membranes for preconcentration of molecular iodine were developed by two different routes: (i) UV-grafting of 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone in the pores of microporous poly(propylene) host membrane (grafted membrane), and (ii) physical immobilization of preformed poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) in a plasticized cellulose triacetate matrix to form the polymer inclusion membrane (PVP-PIM). The UV-grafted PVP-membrane was found to be hydrophilic (water uptake capacity=166 wt.%), while the PVP-PIM was found to be highly hydrophobic ( approximately 2 wt.%). PVP-PIM was found to uptake only I(2) from aqueous sample whereas I(2) and I(3)(-) were sorbed in the grafted membrane. This selectivity of PVP-PIM towards I(2) was attributed to its hydrophobicity that allows only neutral I(2) to interact with PVP in the membrane matrix. Thus, the selective preconcentration and quantitative determination of I(2) in aqueous sample was carried out using PVP-PIM. As PVP-PIM was optically transparent, the characteristic absorbance of PVP-I(2) complex (lambda(max)=361 nm) could be used for quantitative determination of I(2) in the membrane. The instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of the I(2)-loaded PIM samples indicated that 82% could be sorbed into the PIM samples from the solution within 10 min of equilibration time. This membrane was applied to I(2) determinations in the samples of (131)I radiotracer. The concentration level of iodine species in these samples were in sub-ppb level. Therefore, these samples were ideal for testing the preconcentration efficiency of the membrane towards I(2) by monitoring the radioactivity of (131)I. The amounts of I(2) in the aqueous samples were standardized by conventional solvent extraction of I(2) with the chloroform for validating the preconcentration efficiency of PVP-PIM. The detection limit of I(2) in aqueous samples by INAA hyphenated with PVP-PIM was found to be 0.3ppb for a sample size of 25mL.

Plant Salt Stress: Adaptive Responses, Tolerance Mechanism and Bioengineering for Salt Tolerance

Salinity is an important abiotic environmental stress factor threatening agricultural productivity throughout the world. The detrimental effects of salinity stress are observed at cellular, organ and whole plant level at osmotic phase (early/short-term response) and ionic phase (late/long-term response). High salinity exerts its negative impact on major plant processes such as disrupting the osmotic and ionic equilibrium, protein synthesis, photosynthesis, energy, and lipid metabolism. To adapt and tolerate salt stress, plants have evolved physiological and biochemical mechanisms orchestrated by multiple biochemical pathways of ion homeostasis, osmolytes synthesis, ROS scavenging, and hormonal balance. At the molecular level, such adaptation involves activation of cascade(s) of gene modulations and synthesis of defense metabolites. In recent years, several candidate genes have been identified and employed to facilitate genetic engineering efforts to improve salt tolerance in crop plants. However, there is a further need of improvement for successful release of salt tolerant cultivars at the field level. In this article we present the physiological, biochemical and molecular signatures of plant responses to salinity, and outline their use in genetic engineering to improve salt stress tolerance.

Estimation of Phytochemical Content and Antioxidant Activity of Some Selected Traditional Indian Medicinal Plants

The powder samples and methanol extract of 11 medicinal plants were subjected to analysis of proximate composition and measurement of antioxidant activity. Different parameters studied include phenolic contents, moisture, ash, crude fiber, fats and waxes. The assays employed were ferric reducing antioxidant power, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and scavenging effect on the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical. Results obtained indicate that the antioxidant potential varied significantly from plant to plant. The total phenolic contents were determined spectrophotometrically using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Significant correlation is observed between ferric reducing antioxidant power and phenolic contents (R2 = 0.96). These findings show that the polyphenolic constituents in the extracts are responsible for free radical scavenging capacity.

Molecular iodine selective membrane for iodate determination in salt samples: chemical amplification and preconcentration

AbstractA molecular iodine selective membrane has been used for preconcentration of I2 generated in situ by iodometric reaction of

Tracer-diffusion of cobalt ions in sodium and potassium nitrates in agar gel

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