Biofortification—A Frontier Novel Approach to Enrich Micronutrients in Field Crops to Encounter the Nutritional Security

Globally, many developing countries are facing silent epidemics of nutritional deficiencies in human beings and animals. The lack of diversity in diet, i.e., cereal-based crops deficient in mineral nutrients is an additional threat to nutritional quality. The present review accounts for the significance of biofortification as a process to enhance the productivity of crops and also an agricultural solution to address the issues of nutritional security. In this endeavor, different innovative and specific biofortification approaches have been discussed for nutrient enrichment of field crops including cereals, pulses, oilseeds and fodder crops. The agronomic approach increases the micronutrient density in crops with soil and foliar application of fertilizers including amendments. The biofortification through conventional breeding approach includes the selection of efficient genotypes, practicing crossing of plants with desirable nutritional traits without sacrificing agricultural and economic productivity. However, the transgenic/biotechnological approach involves the synthesis of transgenes for micronutrient re-translocation between tissues to enhance their bioavailability. Soil microorganisms enhance nutrient content in the rhizosphere through diverse mechanisms such as synthesis, mobilization, transformations and siderophore production which accumulate more minerals in plants. Different sources of micronutrients viz. mineral solutions, chelates and nanoparticles play a pivotal role in the process of biofortification as it regulates the absorption rates and mechanisms in plants. Apart from the quality parameters, biofortification also improved the crop yield to alleviate hidden hunger thus proving to be a sustainable and cost-effective approach. Thus, this review article conveys a message for researchers about the adequate potential of biofortification to increase crop productivity and nourish the crop with additional nutrient content to provide food security and nutritional quality to humans and livestock.     

Palladium-catalyzed selective C–C bond cleavage and stereoselective alkenylation between cyclopropanol and 1,3-diyne: one-step synthesis of diverse conjugated enynes

The stereoselective synthesis of 1,3-enynes from 1,3-diynes is demonstrated by palladium-catalyzed selective C–C bond cleavage of cyclopropanol. Exclusive formation of mono-alkenylated adducts was achieved by eliminating the possibility of di-functionalization with high stereoselectivity. Indeed, this protocol worked very well with electronically and sterically diverse substrates. Several studies, including deuterium labeling experiments and intermolecular competitive experiments, were carried out to understand the mechanistic details. The atomic-level mechanism followed in the catalytic process was also validated using DFT calculations, and the rate-controlling states in the catalytic cycle were identified. Furthermore, preliminary mechanistic investigations with radical scavengers revealed the non-involvement of the radical pathway in this transformation.

Palladium-catalyzed tandem activation and functionalization of readily accessible cyclopropanols have been demonstrated to access valuable conjugated enynes from 1,3-diynes with high stereo-selectivity.     

Multiple comparisons with a control in direction-mixed families of hypothesis under heteroscedasticity

For general inferential families with a mixture of one- and two-sided inferences two procedures are proposed to compare several treatments with a control under heteroscedasticity. Critical constants required for the proposed procedures are tabulated, and a numerical example is given.     

A multiplicative Gauss-Newton minimization algorithm:Theory and application to exponential functions

Multiplicative calculus(MUC) measures the rate of change of function in terms of ratios, which makes the exponential functions significantly linear in the framework of MUC.Therefore, a generally non-linear optimization problem containing exponential functions becomes a linear problem in MUC. Taking this as motivation, this paper lays mathematical foundation of well-known classical Gauss-Newton minimization(CGNM) algorithm in the framework of MUC. This paper formulates the mathematical derivation of proposed method named as multiplicative Gauss-Newton minimization(MGNM) method along with its convergence properties.The proposed method is generalized for n number of variables, and all its theoretical concepts are authenticated by simulation results. Two case studies have been conducted incorporating multiplicatively-linear and non-linear exponential functions. From simulation results, it has been observed that proposed MGNM method converges for 12972 points, out of 19600 points considered while optimizing multiplicatively-linear exponential function, whereas CGNM and multiplicative Newton minimization methods converge for only 2111 and 9922 points, respectively. Furthermore, for a given set of initial value, the proposed MGNM converges only after 2 iterations as compared to 5 iterations taken by other methods. A similar pattern is observed for multiplicatively-non-linear exponential function. Therefore, it can be said that proposed method converges faster and for large range of initial values as compared to conventional methods.     

Isolation and Identification of Bioactive Compounds from Bidens spp. Using HPLC-DAD and GC-MS Analysis and Their Biological Activity as Anticancer Molecules

The genus Bidens a member of family Compositae, is widely documented as an ethno-medicinally important genus of plants. In the present study, anticancer potential of three ethno-medicinally important species i.e., B. bipinnata, B. biternata and B. pilosa were tested. For in-vitro evaluation, an MTT (Thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide) assay was performed against cervical cancer cells (HeLa), hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG), and adenocarcinoma human alveolar basal epithelial cells (A549). For in vivo evaluation, Artemia salina, Danio rerio, and Caenorhabditis elegans were used. Among all the tested extracts, the ethanol extract of B. biternata appeared to have highest anticancer activity, and the compounds responsible for this activity were identified to be Tris (2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl), 4-hydroxy-2,4′-dimethoxychalcone, and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol. This is the first report of the isolation of Tris (2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphate from the genus Bidens and the first report of 4-hydroxy-2,4′-dimethoxychalcone and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol from B. biternata. Among the isolated compounds, 4-hydroxy-2,4′-dimethoxychalcone showed the highest anticancer activity with an LD50 value of 236.7 µg/mL. Therefore, this compound carries promising potential for being established as a pharmaceutical for chemoprevention and chemotherapy.     

Plumbagin Alleviates Intracerebroventricular-Quinolinic Acid Induced Depression-like Behavior and Memory Deficits in Wistar Rats

Plumbagin, a hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, confers neuroprotection via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study aimed to assess the effect of plumbagin on behavioral and memory deficits induced by intrahippocampal administration of Quinolinic acid (QA) in male Wistar rats and reveal the associated mechanisms. QA (300 nM/4 μL in Normal saline) was administered i.c.v. in the hippocampus. QA administration caused depression-like behavior (forced swim test and tail suspension tests), anxiety-like behavior (open field test and elevated plus maze), and elevated anhedonia behavior (sucrose preference test). Furthermore, oxidative–nitrosative stress (increased nitrite content and lipid peroxidation with reduction of GSH), inflammation (increased IL-1β), cholinergic dysfunction, and mitochondrial complex (I, II, and IV) dysfunction were observed in the hippocampus region of QA-treated rats as compared to normal controls. Plumbagin (10 and 20 mg/kg; p.o.) treatment for 21 days significantly ameliorated behavioral and memory deficits in QA-administered rats. Moreover, plumbagin treatment restored the GSH level and reduced the MDA and nitrite level in the hippocampus. Furthermore, QA-induced cholinergic dysfunction and mitochondrial impairment were found to be ameliorated by plumbagin treatment. In conclusion, our results suggested that plumbagin offers a neuroprotective potential that could serve as a promising pharmacological approach to mitigate neurobehavioral changes associated with neurodegeneration.     

Calix[4]arene-based ditopic receptors for simultaneous recognition of fluoride and cobalt(II) ions

A series of calix[4]arene based ditopic receptors possessing bipyridyl and hydrazone units have been synthesized and evaluated for ionic recognition. It has been observed that the synthesized derivatives function as allosteric receptors for simultaneous recognition of Co²⁺and F^? ions through non-covalent interactions. Significant bathochromic shifts in the UV–visible spectrum with a profound colour change promise their use to engineer novel applications.