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Plant-based products have long been utilized as traditional remedies throughout the world. Higher plants serve as a "reservoir" of phytochemicals known as bioactive compounds, which are used as valuable medicines to fight a variety of diseases across the world. The materials that are considered waste in plants possess bioactive components with potential medicinal properties due to the presence of important secondary metabolites known as phytochemicals. In this study, the interaction of phytochemicals that are present in both Punica granatum peel and Viti vinifera seeds was analyzed on protein NF-κB. Compounds 2,3- dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one (DDMP), α-tocopherol-β-D-mannoside, gamma-sitosterol, glycerine, guanidine, pyrogallol, palmitic acid, and ethyl palmitate were the eight phytoconstituents which are present in both the selected plant materials and further investigated for in-silico analysis. The 3D protein structure of NF-κB was retrieved from the protein data bank. The structures of bioactive compounds were obtained from Chemspider and drawn using Chemsketch software. This study clearly shows that α-tocopherol-β.-D-mannoside interacts with target protein NF-κB with an energy level of -10.88 kcal/mol (2 hydrogen bonds). The interaction of α-tocopherol-β-D-mannoside with NF-κB may play a major role in anti-oxidant and anti-cancer potential and provide chemopreventive property for both P. granatum peel and V. vinifera seeds.

The crop productivity in calcareous soils is low due to their low organic matter content, high pH levels and improper nutrient management without considering the indigenous nutrient supplying capacity and crop yield potential; therefore, this study was conducted for a quantitative assessment of the nutrient supplying capacity of a calcareous soil on the productivity of hybrid and conventional rice and maize crops using an omission plot technique. The treatments included the ample application of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Sulphur (S) and Zinc (Zn), and an unfertilized check and omissions of N, P, K, S and Zn in rice and maize for six cropping seasons. The impact of the nutrient omission towards crop productivity was highest for nitrogen followed by phosphorous, potassium, zinc and sulphur. The total grain yield (3 yr average) in the hybrid rice–maize system was highest (16.32 t ha−1) for the optimum fertilized plot and lowest (6.34 t ha−1) for the unfertilized check. The sustainable yield index indicated that hybrid and conventional rice-maize cropping systems were more sustainable in the amply fertilized plot than in the nutrient-limited and unfertilized treatment plots. The average percent contributions of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium from the soil towards total nutrient removal were 36, 80 and 137 kg ha−1, in the hybrid system and 24, 54 and 104 kg ha−1 in the conventional system, respectively. The return on investment (ROI) of the N, P, K, S and Zn for the hybrid rice was 21.2, 7.1, 6.7, 4.1, and 0.3 USD, respectively, while for the maize it was 28.8, 7.6, 4.9, 6.5, and 0.7 USD, respectively. The results suggest that there is a direct link between the soil nutrient supplying capacity and the nutrient requirements by different types of crops in calcareous soil; therefore, the omission plot technique used for the assessment of the indigenous nutrient supplying capacity could be used in the larger domain for improved nutrient management, through synchronization with a targeted crop yield for improved productivity, soil fertility, nutrient use efficiency and farm income.