Benzo [a] Pyrene (BaP) is a highly recalcitrant, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) with high genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. It is formed and released into the environment due to incomplete combustion of fossil fuel and various anthropogenic activities including cigarette smoke and automobile exhausts. The aim of present study is to isolate bacteria which can degrade BaP as a sole source of carbon and energy. We have isolated a novel strain BMT4i (MTCC 9447) of Bacillus subtilis from automobile contaminated soil using BaP (50 g /ml) as the sole source of carbon and energy in basal salt mineral (BSM) medium. The growth kinetics of BMT4i was studied using CFU method which revealed that BMT4i is able to survive in BaP-BSM medium up to 40 days attaining its peak growth (10 29 fold increase in cell number) on 7 days of incubation. The BaP degradation kinetics of BMT4i was studied using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis of BaP biodegradation products. BMT4i started degrading BaP after 24 hours and continued up to 28 days achieving maximum degradation of approximately 84.66 %. The above findings inferred that BMT4i is a very efficient degrader of BaP. To our best of knowledge, this is the first report showing utilization of BaP as a sole source of carbon and energy by bacteria. In addition, BMT4i can degrade a wide range of PAHs including naphthalene, anthracene, and dibenzothiophene therefore, it could serve as a better candidate for bioremediation of PAHs contaminated sites.

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Viburnum mullaha (Buch.-Ham. Ex D. Don), is an underexplored wild edible fruit of Indian Himalayan region, analyzed for total polyphenol contents, antioxidant, anti-elastase, anti-collagenase, and anti-tyrosinase activities using in vitro assays. High values of total phenolic contents of 1257 ± 40 mg gallic acid equivalents/ 100 g fruit weight and total flavonoid contents of 3501 ± 203 mg catechin equivalents/100 g fruit weight were observed. V. mullaha fruit extracts showed outstanding antioxidant activities (ABTS + , 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, superoxide anion, linoleate peroxyl radicals scavenging, and ferric reducing activities) and remarkable anti-elastase, anti-collagenase, and anti-tyrosinase activities. High resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy analysis revealed presence of 15 phenolic compounds, namely, chlorogenic acid, acetyl salicylic acid, dihydrorobinetin, dihydromyricetin, 2-isoprenylemodin, rutin, cosmosiin hexaacetate, pectolinarin, dihydroquercetin, eriodictyol, iriginol hexaacetate, theaflavin, epicatechin-pentaacetate, lomatin, and peucenin in fruit extracts. This study recommends utilization of V. mullaha fruit as functional food with prospective pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical properties. ARTICLE HISTORY

Benzo [a] pyrene (BaP), a pentacyclic polyaromatic hydrocarbon, is 1 of the 12 target compounds defined in the new US Environmental Protection Agency strategy for controlling persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic pollutants. We previously isolated a novel strain Bacillus subtilis BMT4i capable of utilizing BaP as sole source of carbon and energy. The present study investigated (1) whether the BaP degradation pathway is inducible, and (2) whether it is plasmid-encoded. Furthermore, physical (temperature, pH, and UV-induced photolysis of BaP) and chemical (BaP concentration, surfactant, and ionic strength) parameters for BaP degradation were determined. Our findings revealed a ten-fold enhanced degradation rate in induced vs noninduced culture in the presence of chloramphenicol, suggesting that the BaP degradation pathway is inducible. Physical methods demonstrated the lack of plasmid in BMT4i-a result further complimented by plasmid curing, which had no effect on BaP degradability thus a chromosomal localization can be inferred. Maximum BaP degradation in BMT4i was observed under the following physical and chemical conditions: 30°C, pH 8.0, UV-induced photolysis of BaPbasal salt mineral medium (BSM), 150 μg/ml BaP, 0.01% Tween-20, and 400-1,800 μM MgSO 4 . These conditions could be beneficial in the development and standardization of effective bioremediation protocols using B. subtilis BMT4i.