UNLABELLED Mycobacterial evolution involves various processes, such as genome reduction, gene cooption, and critical gene acquisition. Our comparative genome size analysis of 44 mycobacterial genomes revealed that the nonpathogenic (NP) genomes were bigger than those of opportunistic (OP) or totally pathogenic (TP) mycobacteria, with the TP genomes being smaller yet variable in size--their geno...

Freeze dried powdered leaves of Cymbopogum citratus (DC) Stapf, Cinnamomum camphor a (L.) Nee & Eberm Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq. famarandus indicus L., Lantana camara L., Myroxylon balsumum (L.) Harm, Citrus aurantium L. and vitex altisima L. were tested against Callosobruchus maculatus under nochoice and choice situations. Under no-choice situation, V. altisima at the rate of 5.0% w/w was highly...

In traditional Indian medicine, the crude drug Hemidesmus indicus root-commonly known as Indian sarsaparilla-is used alone or in poly-herbal preparations for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. The present study focuses on the cancer chemopreventive and therapeutic potential of H. indicus extracts on an acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line (CCRF-CEM). With this aim in mind, we subjecte...

Seedlings of Corchorus capsularis (cv. C4444) were inoculated with Meloidogyne incognita, Hoplolaimus indicus, and a fungus pathogen of jute, Macrophomina phaseoli, separately and in all possible combinations. The significant damage of jute plants caused individually by the pathogens was aggravated when the fungus was associated with either of the nematode species. M. incognita alone caused gre...

The antimicrobial activity of Hemidesmus indicus, Ficus bengalensis and Pterocarpus marsupium roxb was evaluated against pathogenic bacteria Stahylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia in an in vitro condition. Aqueous extracts from roots of H. indicus and barks of F. bengalensis and P. marspium roxb were tested for antimicrobial activity using the zone of inhibition m...

Chemopreventive potential of H. indicus on 7,12-dimethyl-benz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-initiated and 12-O-tetradecanoyl 13-phorbol acetate (TPA) promoted murine skin carcinogenesis has been assessed. Topical application of H. indicus resulted in significant protection against cutaneous tumorigenesis. Topical application of plant extract prior to that of TPA resulted in significant inhibition against...

Randomly amplified polymorphisms DNA (RAPD) has been widely used for authentication of plant species of medicinal importance. It is particularly useful in case of plants that are frequently substituted or adulterated with other species or varieties that are morphologically and/or phytochemically indistinguishable. In this study Hemidesmus indicus and its substitute plants were selected to devel...