Trichoderma based BAU-biofungicide, chemical Carbendazim and a synthetic plant growth promoting (PGP) hormone have been used to study their effect on Cercospora leaf spot of Indian spinach. Number of leaf, number of infected leaf, disease incidence, disease severity, area under disease progress curve (AUDPC), plant height and plant weight were measured and significant variations was found against different treatment combinations. Among the treatment combinations, seed treating with Carbendazim followed by foliar spray with Carbendazim, seed coating with BAU bio-fungicide followed by foliar spray with Carbendazim, only foliar spray with Carbendazim and only spray of PGP hormone significantly reduced disease incidence and severity with increasing of plant height and weight. Interestingly, foliar application of PGP hormone reduces disease incidence and severity by 58.38% and 63.8% in both the variety of Indian spinach, respectively over control, whereas; in both the variety disease incidence and severity is reduced by seed treatment with Carbendazim followed by foliar spray with Carbendazim 69.72% & 77.63%; seed treatment with BAU bio-fungicide followed by foliar spray with Carbendazim 63.73% & 69.49%; foliar spray with Carbendazim 55.68% & 58.19%, respectively. Foliar application of PGP hormone along with the reducing of disease incidence and severity, also increases the leaf number by 68.62%, plant height by 54.64% and plant weight by 65.69% over control. AUDPC showed that, local variety of Indian spinach is more susceptible to Cercospora leaf spot than BARI spinach 1.

Alkaloids are the most diversified nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites, having antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, and are extensively used in pharmaceuticals to treat different types of cancer. Nicotiana serves as a reservoir of anti-cancer alkaloids and is also used as a model plant for the de novo synthesis of various anti-cancer molecules through genetic engineering. Up to 4% of the total dry weight of Nicotiana was found to be composed of alkaloids, where nicotine, nornicotine, anatabine, and anabasine are reported as the dominant alkaloids. Additionally, among the alkaloids present in Nicotiana, β-carboline (Harmane and Norharmane) and Kynurenines are found to show anti-tumor effects, especially in the cases of colon and breast cancers. Creating new or shunting of existing biosynthesis pathways in different species of Nicotiana resulted in de novo or increased synthesis of different anti-tumor molecules or their derivatives or precursors including Taxadiane (~22.5 µg/g), Artemisinin (~120 μg/g), Parthenolide (~2.05 ng/g), Costunolide (~60 ng/g), Etoposide (~1 mg/g), Crocin (~400 µg/g), Catharanthine (~60 ng/g), Tabersonine (~10 ng/g), Strictosidine (~0.23 mg/g), etc. Enriching the precursor pool, especially Dimethylallyl Diphosphate (DMAPP), down-regulating other bi-product pathways, compartmentalization or metabolic shunting, or organelle-specific reconstitution of the precursor pool, might trigger the enhanced accumulation of the targeted anti-cancer alkaloid in Nicotiana.

Alkaloids are the most diversified nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites having antioxi-dant, and antimicrobial properties and are extensively used in pharmaceuticals to treat different types of cancer. Nicotiana serves as a reservoir of anticancer alkaloids and is also used as a model plant for the de novo synthesis of various anti-cancer molecules through genetic engineering. Up to 4% of the total dry weight of Nicotiana was found to be composed of alkaloids where nicotine, nornicotine, anatabine, and anabasine are reported as the dominant alkaloids. And, among the alkaloids present in Nicotiana, β-carboline (Harmane and Norharmane), Kynurenines are found to show anti-tumor effects, especially in the case of colon and breast cancer. Creating new or shunting of existing biosynthesis pathways in different species of Nicotiana resulted in de novo or increased synthesis of different anti-tumor molecules or their derivatives or precursors includ-ing Taxadiane (~22.5 µg/g), Artemisinin (~120 μg/g), Parthenolide (~2.05 ng/g), Costunolide (~60 ng/g), Etoposide (~1 mg/g), Crocin (~400 µg/g), Catharanthine (~60 ng/g), Tabersonine (~10 ng/g), Strictosidine (~0.23 mg/g), etc. Enrich precursor pool especially Dimethylallyl Diphos-phate (DMAPP) and down-regulating of other bi-product pathways, compartmentalization or metabolic shunting, or organelle-specific reconstitution of the precursor pool might trigger the enhanced accumulation of the targeted anticancer alkaloid in Nicotiana.