Stramonium Research Articles

Cryopreserved ovine spermatogonial stem cells maintain stemness and colony forming ability in vitro

Objective: To assess the effect of cryopreservation on stemness and proliferation potential of sheep spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) in vitro. Methods: Sheep testicular cells were isolated and putative SSCs were enriched by the laminin-based differential plating method. Putative SSCs were co-cultured with the Sertoli cell feeder prepared by the Datura Stramonium Agglutinin (DSA-lectin)-based method. The cultured putative SSCs were cryopreserved in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium-10% fetal bovine serum mixture (DMEM-10% FBS) media containing 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) alone or 10% DMSO plus 200 mM trehalose. Cryopreserved putative SSCs were evaluated for their proliferation potential using in vitro culture and stemness by immunocytochemistry. Finally, the transfection ability of cryopreserved putative SSCs was analyzed. Results: We isolated 91% viable testicular cells from sheep testes. The majority of the laminin enriched cells expressed the SSC related marker, ITGA6. Co-culture of sheep putative SSCs with Sertoli cell feeder resulted in the generation of stable colonies, and the expression of SSC marker was maintained after several passages. A significantly higher number of viable putative SSCs was recovered from SSCs cryopreserved in media containing 10% DMSO and 200 mM trehalose compared to 10% DMSO alone (P<0.01). Cryopreserved putative SSCs formed colonies and showed SSC marker expression similar to the non-cryopreserved putative SSCs. The appearance of green fluorescent colonies over the Sertoli cell feeder indicated that cryopreserved sheep SSCs were successfully transfected. Conclusions: Cryopreserved putative SSCs can retain their stemness, colony forming ability, and transfection efficiency in vitro. Our research may help in the effective preservation of germplasm and the generation of transgenic ovine species.

In Situ Green Synthesis of Co3O4@ZnO Core-Shell Nanoparticles Using Datura stramonium Leaf Extract: Antibacterial and Antioxidant Studies

Investigating and synthesizing potent antibacterial NPs using biological methods is highly preferred, and it involves nontoxic, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly chemicals and methods. Antibiotic drug resistance and oxidative stress have become a serious public health issue worldwide. Hence, the key objective of this study was to biologically synthesize and characterize the potent antibacterial Co3O4@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles for the antibacterial application. The radical scavenging ability of green synthesized Co3O4@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles was also determined. In this study, Co3O4@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles (CZCS NPs) have been synthesized using three different core to shell materials ratios of Co3O4 to ZnO (0.5 : 0.25 CZCS (1), 0.5 : 0.5 CZCS (2), and 0.5 : 0.75 M CZCS (3)) by employing Datura stramonium leaf extract. The polycrystalline nature of Co3O4@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles was investigated using the XRD and SAED characterization techniques. The investigated nanostructure of Co3O4@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles appeared with Co3O4 as the core and ZnO as an outer shell. Additionally, a variety of physicochemical properties of the nanoparticles were determined using various characterization techniques. The average crystallite sizes of CZCS (1), CZCS (2), and CZCS (3) were found to be 24 ± 1.4 , 22 ± 1.5 , and 25 ± 1.5 nm, respectively. The band gap energy values for CZCS (1), CZCS (2), and CZCS (3) determined from the UV-DRS data were found to be 2.75, 2.76, and 2.73 eV, respectively. The high inhibition activities against S. aureus, S. pyogenes, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa bacterial strains were obtained for the small size CZCS (2) nanoparticles at the concentration of 100 mg/mL with 22 ± 0.34, 19 ± 0 . 32 , 18 ± 0.45 , and 17 ± 0 .32 mm values, respectively. The high inhibition performance of CZCS (2) nanoparticles against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria which is even above the control drug ampicillin is because of its small size and synergistic effect. The percentage scavenging activity of Co3O4@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles was also studied and CZCS (2) nanoparticles showed a good scavenging capacity (86.87%) at 500 μg/mL with IC50 of 209.26 μg/mL.

Bird-of-paradise, thorn apple and maize pollens are promising alternative diets for the long-term rearing of predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae)

Pollen grains can provide important nutrients for reproduction of different predators such as phytoseiid mites. Since mass rearing of phytoseiid predatory mites may be facilitated by feeding on alternative diets, the current study evaluated the utility of plant pollen as diet for mass rearing of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot, which is a commercially available biocontrol agent of phytophagous mites and insects. Demographic parameters of A. swirskii fed on pollens of bird-of-paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii), thorn apple (Datura stramonium), and maize (Zea mays) were determined over 10 continuous generations. In addition, the pollens of common hibiscus (Hibiscus syriacus), and velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) were assessed, but the predatory mite was unable to reach adulthood when fed on these pollens, and most of them died in nymphal stages. This study also evaluated the preying ability of A. swirskii on the natural prey Tetranychus urticae Koch before and after 10 generations. All experiments were conducted in the laboratory under controlled conditions of 25±1°C, 60±5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) h. According to the life table parameters, the pollen grains of bird-of-paradise, followed by maize and thorn apple, were shown to be promising diets for the long-term rearing of A. swirskii. Furthermore, the study found that A. swirskii reared on bird-of-paradise pollen had a high predation capability, with a mean of 677 prey per generation after 10 generations. Overall, it is concluded that while bird-of-paradise pollen was the most suitable alternative diet for the predatory mite, both maize and thorn apple pollen grains were also found to be promising diets for A. swirskii. These diets can be used for mass rearing of this predatory mite.

Efficacy and toxicity of different plant extracts over the period of time in Bracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Bracon hebetor (Say) is an important parasitoid and played a suitable model role for bio control programs. Pest management through biocontrol approaches such as plant extracts is an ecologically responsive and enthusiastic means of reducing insect pests. The main objective of the present research was to discover the efficiency and susceptibility periods of plant extracts for the assessment of parasitoids. The toxicity of five plants (Cymbopogon nardus, Azadirachta indica, Syzygium aromaticum, Datura stramonium and Parthenium hysterophorus) extracts were evaluated against B. hebetor to detect the possible way forward to controlling insect pests along with the adverse effects on beneficial insects. The data was recorded regarding mortality of B. hebetor, after calculated time periods with different intervals of up to 2 days. Datasets were followed by a statistical probe which exhibited significant results. The extracts of C. nardus, A. indica, S. aromaticum and D. stramonium exhibited non-toxic effects, whereas P. hysterophorus indicated low toxicity annotations against investigated parasitoid. These investigations suggested that four plants examined are not hazardous to the parasitoids whereas P. hysterophorus somehow has detrimental effects at low toxicity levels. Further development of insecticide resistance mechanisms in the parasitoid favors the enhancement of parasitoid efficacy with plant extracts. The possible selective use of these plant extracts and their effects on the safety period of parasitoids for integration with other approaches in sustainable pest management programs is discussed.

Silver Nanoparticles Reduce the Toxic Effects of Cadmium on Datura stramonium Callus Culture

Cadmium (Cd) is one the most toxic metals harmful for both animals and plants. In this study, we test whether silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can protect plants from cadmium toxicity. AgNPs treatments (0 and 100 μg/L) were applied to Datura stramonium calli grown in different cadmium metal environments (0, 150, 300, 450, and 600 μM). Cd application led to a decrease in fresh weight (FW), dry weight (DW), relative water content (RWC), total chlorophyll content (Chl.T), tolerance index (Ti), and bioaccumulation factor (BCF). The Cd treatment increased the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), catalase (CAT), and guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) contents and Cd accumulation (Cd con). These results show the positive role of AgNPs in protecting the callus cultures from oxidative stress. The AgNPs pretreatment improved the growth of tissue cultures compared to nontreatment, increasing FW, DW, RWC, and Chl.T; the highest CAT and GPX activities were detected in the AgNPs pretreatment condition; and AgNPs pretreatment improved Ti and BCF, despite increased Cd. Also, this treatment caused a decrease in H2O2. Based on these results, we propose AgNPs as an effective agent to reduce the toxic effects of Cd metal on D. stramonium.

Simultaneous quantification of hyoscyamine and scopolamine using HPLC-DAD in four Solanaceae: Hyoscyamus niger, Datura stramonium, Atropa belladonna and Mandragora officinarum

Alkaloids are a group of secondary metabolites that generate great interest since ancient times. Numerous Solanaceae plants are rich sources of tropane alkaloids as hyoscyamine and scopolamine which are obtained mainly from Hyoscyamus niger, Datura stramonium, Atropa belladonna, Mandragora officinarum. In the present study it was developed an HPLC-DAD using an XBridge Phenyl column for the quantification of scopolamine and hyoscyamine, molecules used in pharmaceutical industry to treat stomach or intestinal disorders. A. belladonna presented hyoscyamine and scopolamine, the first one ranged from 1466 to 5117 mg/Kg DW while the second one ranged from 140 to 1743 mg/Kg DW. In D. stramonium, hyoscyamine was not found while scopolamine ranged from 430 to 8980 mg/Kg DW. On the contrary H. niger and M. officinarum did not contain any trace of these alkaloids. This is the first work in which different parts of four Solanaceae were analysed for their hyoscyamine and scopolamine content.

Chemical Detoxification of Therapeutic Hybrid Complexes Prepared by the Compatible Combination of Ayurvedic Herb and Allopathic Drug

Background & Objective: The treatment of diseases and good health maintenance are the common fundamental aims of ayurvedic and allopathic medical systems. Limited information is available in the public domain for the concept of symbiohealth, i.e., the symbiotic interaction of ayurveda and allopathy, that needs to be explored for an efficient and robust health system. Therefore, an attempt has been made to reduce the toxicity of therapeutic drugs via the integration approach of ayurveda and allopathy. Methods: Three different categories of allopathy and ayurvedic medicines, such as antacids (omeprazole, ranitidine, and sooktybhasma), antibacterial (amoxicillin trihydrate, ciprofloxacin hydrochloride, Curcuma longa, and Datura stramonium) and antiviral (acyclovir, efavirenz, Echinacea, Calendula, Allium sativum, and Citrullus colocynthis) were targeted. Results: Best therapeutic hybrid combination was obtained on the basis of their UV absorption maxima and peak shift. Acyclovir with A. sativum (1-6%), sooktybhasma 20% with rantidine, Ciprofloxacin HCl (2%) with 10% aqueous datura and Ciprofloxacin HCl (0.02-0.2%) with 0.02-0.06% acetonitrile turmeric showed best integration result. This drug integration can be applied to improve the potential results or detoxification of hybrid drugs that target the drug moiety results in reduced side effects or the dose of important drugs, which might be due to the chelation pattern of their functional group, absorption, bonding, and pi-pi interaction. Conclusion: This study will provide the leadership for the betterment of a therapeutic hybrid drug complex that might be useful as an allopathic drug and less harmful than its ayurvedic component. The proposed integration fusion of different medication therapies, such as Ayurvedic and allopathic, has the potential for a scientific merger.

Comparative Efficacy of Cypermethrin and Plant Extract in the Control of Cucumber Pests in Ado Ekiti, Southwestern Nigeria

Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus) is widely cultivated and consumed in the tropics as a source of fruit vegetable for man due to its numerous health benefits. Attainable yield in the farmers farm is considerably low due to the problem of insect pest attack. Based on the above, experiment was conducted to investigate the efficacy of cypermethrin and three plant extracts (Datura stramonium, Ricinus communis and Sida acuta) in the control of insect pest associated with cucumber. Cucumber variety Cu 999 was planted on a 2 x 2 m at a spacing of 40cm x 40cm. three concentrations of the extracts was used in the control of the pest and cypermethrin insecticide was used as a standard check. The control plot in each case was sprayed with distilled water. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and means separated using least significant different at (p ≤ 0.05). Result from the study shows statistically significant variations. Eight insect pests belonging to different families were frequently observed on the cucumber. Incidence of normal fruits were generally higher than abnormal fruits at all the tested concentrations. At 65 % concentration with extracts of D. stranmonium, incidence of normal fruit (80.3 %) was not significantly different from that of cypermethrin insecticide (82.6 %). Yield of cucumber sprayer with 65% concentration of D. stramonium (250 kg/ha) was not significantly different from that of cypermethrin insecticide (254 kg/ha). The study concluded that extracts of the three plants can replace the synthetic insecticide in the management of the insect plant of cucumber with corresponding yield.

Rationalizing Herbicide Use in Maize within the Framework of Climatic Change and Extreme Hydrometeorological Phenomena

The aim of this study was to investigate specific management methods for controlling weeds under different climate conditions by reducing the risk of herbicide resistance in maize. Herbicide trials were placed at two locations during 2017 and 2018 and organized in a randomized block design with four replicates of all herbicide combinations (terbuthylazine—pre-emergence and mesotrione post-emergence treatment, terbuthylazine + mesotrione in post-emergence treatment, and terbuthylazine—pre-emergence and dicamba in post-emergence treatment). In the trials, 13 specific weeds were observed. High effectiveness was achieved when using commercial preparations with two active ingredients (terbuthylazine and mesotrione) in both years of research. As the year 2018 featured a higher amount of precipitation, uneven weed sprouting occurred, which resulted in a large number of Setaria glauca (18.50 No m−2), Solanum nigrum (16.50 No m−2), Datura stramonium (13.75 No m−2), and Chenopodium hybridum (10.50 No m−2) plants. Herbicide phytotoxicity was not expressed in maize. Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Solanum nigrum, and Datura stramonium had the highest competitive index (CI 10). The highest maize yield was observed under the application of terbuthylazine + mesotrione in post-emergence (14.223 t/ha). This combination led to the highest weed control costs (35.60 EUR/ha) in 2018, while in 2017, the yield was 12.829 t/ha, with a control cost of 33.99 EUR/ha.

Anti-Diabetic Effects of the 80% Methanolic Extract of Datura Stramonium Linn (Solanaceae) Leaves in Streptozotocin- Induced Diabetic Mice.

Managing diabetes mellitus with currently available drugs is costly, and the chances of side effects are high, leading to further studies for new and better medications from plant sources with the affordable and lower side effects. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-diabetic effects of Datura stramonium Linn (Solanaceae) Leaves Extract in Streptozotocin- Induced Diabetic Mice. Male Swiss albino mice were induced into diabetes using 150mg/kg of STZ. Mice were allocated randomly into six groups, five mice per group. Group I was a normal control, Group II was Diabetic negative control, group III was Diabetic positive control, Group IV-VI were Diabetic Mice that treated with extract (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) for 14 days. The FBG measurements were done on 0, 7th, and 14th days of treatment. After 14th day of treatment the mice were anesthetized with diethyl ether. Then, blood was drawn by cardiac puncture to assess TC, TG, LDL-C, and HDL-C. The antioxidant activity of the extract was determined using a DPPH assay. The data were entered into Epi-Data version 4.6, exported to SPSS version 26.0, and analyzed using a one-way ANOVA followed by a Tukey post hoc test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The extract of D. stramonium reduced the FBG level by 19.71%, 30.27%, 40.95%, and 45.67%, respectively, for D. stramonium 100, 200, 400, and GLC 5 mg/kg on the 14th day of treatment. Diabetic mice treated with D. stramonium for 14 days showed a significant decrease in serum TC, LDL, and serum TG and a significant increase in body weight, and HDL level as compared to diabetic negative control. Antioxidant activities of the leaves extract were comparable to ascorbic acid with an IC50 of 172.79 μg/mL. These findings revealed that the D. stramonium leaves extract possesses significant Anti-diabetic activities.

Development of a novel lectin-based gold nanoparticle point-of-care immunoassay for rapid diagnosis of patients with severe Dengue infection

ABSTRACT Rapid diagnosis of patients with severe Dengue infection can be useful for the efficient clinical management of cases caused by the Dengue virus. Lateral Flow Immunoassay (LFIA) have been broadly used for rapid Dengue diagnosis, because of their quick readouts with the human eye, simplicity of use, and affordability. Despite the availability of several commercial Dengue point-of-care assays, none has shown to be successful in discriminating between severe and nonsevere forms of Dengue infection. In the current study, for the first time, a novel lectin-based point-of-care assay for the early detection of patients with severe Dengue infection with gold-adorned sheets as detection labels is being reported. In this assay, Dengue severity was diagnosed by detecting the glycosylation profile of vitronectin, a known Dengue severity marker. Two lectins were employed namely DSA (Datura stramonium) and MAA (Maackia amurensis) that can recognize specific glycans like galactose Gal-(1–4) GlcNAc and sialic acid in an (α2–3) linkage, which displayed high sensitivity and high specificity, i.e. 90% and 85% for DSA and 90.91% and 95% for MAA. The new assay has a detection limit of 5 µg µl−1 and enables the quick (30 min) and sensitive detection of severe Dengue cases. The reported point-of-care immunoassay exhibits considerable promise for early identification of patients with Dengue severity.

The Plant Virus Tomato Spotted Wilt Orthotospovirus Benefits Its Vector Frankliniella occidentalis by Decreasing Plant Toxic Alkaloids in Host Plant Datura stramonium.

The transmission of insect-borne viruses involves sophisticated interactions between viruses, host plants, and vectors. Chemical compounds play an important role in these interactions. Several studies reported that the plant virus tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) increases host plant quality for its vector and benefits the vector thrips Frankliniella occidentalis. However, few studies have investigated the chemical ecology of thrips vectors, TSWV, and host plants. Here, we demonstrated that in TSWV-infected host plant Datura stramonium, (1) F. occidentalis were more attracted to feeding on TSWV-infected D. stramonium; (2) atropine and scopolamine, the main tropane alkaloids in D. stramonium, which are toxic to animals, were down-regulated by TSWV infection of the plant; and (3) F. occidentalis had better biological performance (prolonged adult longevity and increased fecundity, resulting in accelerated population growth) on TSWV-infected D. stramonium than on TSWV non-infected plants. These findings provide in-depth information about the physiological mechanisms responsible for the virus's benefits to its vector by virus infection of plant regulating alkaloid accumulation in the plant.

In silico Analysis of 7-Dehydrocholesterol Reductase Gene (Sl7-DR2) in Tomato: Linking Cholesterol Metabolism to Vitamin D Pathway

Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable crop worldwide and contain many health-promoting compounds. Most foods contain very little amount of vitamin D, and plants are very poor sources in the production of vitamin D. The 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase gene (Sl7-DR2) is responsible for the accumulation of 7-dehydrocholesterol, which is a precursor for vitamin D3 synthesis. This gene is present in different plant species and plays a role in cholesterol metabolism as well as it links with the vitamin D pathway by inhibiting its actual function in the synthesis of cholesterol. In this study, sequencing analysis of the gene using multiple sequence alignment provided information about its similarity and their conserved sequence regions in different plant species. Using MEGA11 software, the phylogenetic analysis of this gene was done and it showed that, this gene present in chromosome 6 and chromosome 1 of Solanum lycopersicum has a close resemblance with Solanum tuberosum and Datura stramonium respectively. The physiochemical characteristics of Sl7-DR2 were analyzed by using the Expasy protparam tool. Functional annotation and secondary structure analysis of Sl7-DR2 were done using the Pfam, STRING, and SOPMA databases. The results obtained from this analysis showed that the protein was stable and has a low GRAVY Index indicating its higher affinity to water and the secondary structure analysis predicts the robust nature of this protein and the STRING analysis gave information related to proteins that are involved in the sterol pathway and their functions. These tools characterized the protein function of the Sl7-DR2 gene and studied the role of 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase in converting 7-dehydrocholesterol to vitamin D3 and its role in cholesterol metabolism. The pathway analysis using the Reactome database helps in characterizing the network between the cholesterol and vitamin D pathway. The 3D structure of the Sl7-DR2 protein was predicted using an ab initio approach, Robetta, and the predicted structure was validated using the SAVESv6.0 (PROCHECK) server. The predicted model has 90.8% of total residues present in the most favoured regions and showed high readability and quality. These analyses demonstrated the significance of this gene in the vitamin D pathway and its potential for human health in preventing various diseases.

Restorative effects of ethanolic leaf extract of Datura stramonium against methotrexate-induced hematological impairments

Restorative effects of ethanolic leaf extract of <i>Datura stramonium</i> against methotrexate-induced hematological impairments

Sub-chronic (Ninety Days) Toxicity Study of Hydroethanolic Leaf Extract of Datura stramonium L. in Rodents

Sub-chronic (Ninety Days) Toxicity Study of Hydroethanolic Leaf Extract of Datura stramonium L. in Rodents

EFICACY OF ENDJULULU-KAPASSARINHO (DATURA STRAMONIUM) IN CONTROLLING SPODOPTERA FRUGIPERDA IN MAIZE (ZEA MAYS L.) IN VITRO

In order to control Spodoptera frugiperda in the maize crop in the laboratory, vegetative parts of the Edjululu-Kapassarinho plant were harvested, crushed and the concentrations formed: T0=0ml, T1=20ml, T2=40ml, T3=60ml, T4=80ml and T5=100ml. The caterpillars were collected and fasted for two hours before being placed in the treatment concentrations of each vegetative part for observation at times of 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours respectively. The results showed that the fruit was the most active ingredient (Atropine, Hyoscyamine Scopolamine), followed by the stem, root and leaves, representing 60%, 27%, 24% and 13% respectively, with the leaves proving to be repellent to the caterpillars. Caterpillar mortality increased after 24 hours at all concentrations, showing 96% mortality with the stem-based extract, 98% with the leaf-based extract, 90% with the fruit-based extract and 79% with the root-based extract. In the statistical analysis observed at 5%, there was significant variation between treatments. In view of the results, the aqueous plant extract of the Endjululu-Kapassarinho plant (Datura Stramonium) proved to be effective in controlling the cartridge caterpillar in the maize crop in vitro.

Enhancing Solar-Induced Fluorescence Interpretation: Quantifying Fractional Sunlit Vegetation Cover Using Linear Spectral Unmixing

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is closely related to plant photosynthetic activity and has been used in different studies as a proxy for vegetation health status. However, in order to use SIF as a relevant indicator of plant physiological stress, it is necessary to accurately quantify the amount of light absorbed by the photosynthetic plant pigments, called the absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR). The ratio between fluorescence emission and light absorption (i.e., SIF and APAR) is known as the fluorescence quantum efficiency (FQE). In this work, simultaneous measurements of SIF and reflected radiance were performed both at the leaf and canopy levels for Salvia farinacea and Datura stramonium plants. With the aim of disentangling the proportion of sunlit and shaded absorbed PAR, an ad hoc experimental setup was designed to provide a wide range of fraction vegetation cover (FVC) canopy settings. A linear spectral unmixing method was proposed to estimate the contribution of soil, sunlit, and shaded vegetation from the total reflectance spectrum measured at the canopy level. Later, the retrieved sunlit FVC (FVCsunlit) was used to estimate the (dominant) green APAR flux, and this was combined with the integral of the spectrally resolved fluorescence to calculate the FQE. The results of this study demonstrated that under no-stress conditions and independently of the FVC, similar FQE values were observed when SIF was properly normalised by the green APAR flux. The results obtained showed that the reflectance spectra retrieved using a linear unmixing method had a maximum RMSE of less than 0.03 along the spectrum. The FVCsunlit evaluation showed an RMSE of 14% with an R2 of 0.84. Moreover, the FQE values obtained at the top of the canopy (TOC) were found statistically comparable to the reference values at the leaf level. These results support further efforts to improve the interpretation of fluorescence based on field spectroscopy and the further upscaling to imaging spectroscopy at airborne and satellite levels.

Highly stable commercial-level mass-loaded supercapacitor using Datura stramonium seeds derived activated microporous biocarbon

Highly stable commercial-level mass-loaded supercapacitor using Datura stramonium seeds derived activated microporous biocarbon

Efficacy of Azadirachta indica and Datura stramonium Extract with Ethanol against Different Life Stages of Tribolium castinium

Tribolium castinium is a devastating stored grain pests of many cereals. Both the larval and adult stages of insect are considered as voracious feeder of cereals. The adult of T. castinium secrete certain type of excretion that give foul smell from grains and make it unfit for consumption. The recent study was conducted in Department of Entomology College of Agriculture Bahauddin Zakariya University, Bahadur sub campus Layyah. Neem (Azadirachta indica)L. and Datura (Datura stramonium)L. ethanol extracts were tested for their repellant and toxicological effects against the larval and adult stages of T. castinium at varying concentrations of 10, 15, and 30ml. The results showed that D. stramonium plant extract recorded highest repellency (86.66%) and the lowest repellency (4.50%) against T. castinium. Minimum mortality was reported at 65% in plant extract of A. indica after an interval of 24 hours at 10ml concentration, and maximum mortality was recorded (90.69%) in plant extract of D. stramonium at 30ml concentration after an interval of 72 hours. The results showed that neem and Datura plant extracts were more effective at repelling and toxicologically acting against T. castinium. The larval stage of T. castinium was also particularly vulnerable to D. stramonium and A. indica ethanol extract.

Selective targeting of lectins and their macropinocytosis in urothelial tumours: translation from in vitro to ex vivo

Urinary bladder cancer can be treated by intravesical application of therapeutic agents, but the specific targeting of cancer urothelial cells and the endocytotic pathways of the agents are not known. During carcinogenesis, the superficial urothelial cells exhibit changes in sugar residues on the apical plasma membranes. This can be exploited for selective targeting from the luminal side of the bladder. Here we show that the plant lectins Jacalin (from Artocarpus integrifolia), ACA (from Amaranthus caudatus) and DSA (from Datura stramonium) selectively bind to the apical plasma membrane of low- (RT4) and high-grade (T24) cancer urothelial cells in vitro and urothelial tumours ex vivo. The amount of lectin binding was significantly different between RT4 and T24 cells. Endocytosis of lectins was observed only in cancer urothelial cells and not in normal urothelial cells. Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed macropinosomes, endosome-like vesicles and multivesicular bodies filled with lectins in RT4 and T24 cells and also in cells of urothelial tumours ex vivo. Endocytosis of Jacalin and ACA in cancer cells was decreased in vitro after addition of inhibitor of macropinocytosis 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl) amiloride (EIPA) and increased after stimulation of macropinocytosis with epidermal growth factor (EGF). Clathrin, caveolin and flotillin did not colocalise with lectins. These results confirm that the predominant mechanism of lectin endocytosis in cancer urothelial cells is macropinocytosis. Therefore, we propose that lectins in combination with conjugated therapeutic agents are promising tools for improved intravesical therapy by targeting cancer cells.