The present study deals with the cytotoxic activity of cardiac glycosides of Calotropis gigantea (L.) W.T.Aiton; on breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Qualitative screening of methenaloic extract of leaves of Calotropis gigantea for secondary metabolites showed the presence of phenolics, alkaloids, coumarins, saponins, tannins and glycosides. Glycosides were selected for detailed chemical analysis, anti-cancer and anti-proliferative activity. LC-MS analysis of the glycoside extract showed the presence of calactin (532.63), calotropin (532.63), cymarin (532.63) and asclepin (574.66) as the components along with three other glycosides yet to be identified. Cytotoxic activity of the glycosidic fraction was proved on MCF-7 cells through MTT assay, with IC50 value of 2.7mg/ml. Cardiac glycosides exhibited cell proliferation inhibition by inducing cells to undergo cell cycle arrest. The study has confirmed anticancer potential of cardiac glycosides from Calotropis gigantea. Further investigation on mechanism of cytotoxicity and action of individual components of the glycosidic fraction on cancer cells would help in identifying the real potential of the fraction as an anticancer drug.

Due to extensive medicinal importance and wide distributional range of Primula denticulata Sm., locally known as Doker-neej (Kashmiri) of family Primulaceae, in Kashmir valley, the present investigation was carried out to study the variations in phenology, stomatal traits and content of phytochemicals of the species in relation to altitude. During the present investigation, trends in the stomatal traits which include: stomatal density, length and breadth of guard cells and potential conductance index (PCI) along an altitudinal gradient were analyzed by using standard methods. Samples from different populations with varying altitudes were also subjected to qualitative and quantitative estimation for the presence of various phytochemicals by using various spectrophotometric techniques. It was observed that mean values of the analyzed stomatal traits in the four populations varied significantly (p≤0.05) across the populations. Phytochemicals such as phenols, tannins, alkaloids and saponins were present in all the sampled populations but their quantity varied significantly across the populations. This assessing of phytochemical content of plants at varying altitudes can help to select elite genotype and reflect the best suited altitude for commercial cultivation of the species as these phytochemicals are considered as the basis for their medicinal activity.

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The use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and other combinations of AgNPs with various biomaterials is being exploited by the scientific community to regulate bacterial growth. In the present study, one-pot synthesis of AgNPs functionalized natural products doped polyaniline hybrid materials (SNPs) has been successfully synthesized The signature of the functional groups, morphology, and elemental composition of the new SNPs were studied by Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques. The synthesized SNPs were investigated for their antibacterial potency against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus mutans, and Enterococcus faecalis and antifungal properties against Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, Epidermophyton floccosum, and Trichophyton rubrum. Our results have demonstrated the antibacterial activities of new SNPs of gallic acid and myoinositol on S. mutans and E. faecalis with minimal inhibitory concentration and minimal bactericidal concentration values of 1.5 and 2 mg/mL, respectively. The SNP of phloroglucinol was effective against E. floccosum and T. rubrum at 5 mg/mL concentrations. This study indicates that SNPs exhibited significant antibacterial and antifungal activity against selected strains of bacteria and fungi when compared to AgNPs functionalized polyaniline hybrid materials (SPs) alone.