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An anthraquinone textile dye, Reactive Blue 4 (RB4), poses environmental health hazards. In this study, remediation of RB4 (30-110 ppm) was carried out by hairy roots (HRs). UV-visible spectroscopy and FTIR analysis showed that the dye undergoes decolourization followed by degradation. In addition, toxicity and safety analyses of the bioremediated dye were performed on Allium cepa and zebrafish embryos, which revealed lesser toxicity of the bioremediated dye as compared to untreated dye. For Allium cepa, the highest concentration, i.e., 110 ppm of the treated dye, showed less chromosomal aberrations with a mitotic index of 8.5 ± 0.5 , closer to control. Two-fold decrease in mortality of zebrafish embryos was observed at the highest treated dye concentration indicating toxicity mitigation. A higher level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) was recorded in the zebrafish embryo when exposed to untreated dye, suggesting a possible role of oxidative stress-inducing mortality of embryos. Further, the level of LPO was significantly normalized along with the other antioxidant enzymes in embryos after dye bioremediation. At lower concentrations, mitigated samples displayed similar antioxidant activity comparable to control underlining the fact that the dye at lesser concentration can be more easily degraded than the dye at higher concentration.

Pancreatic lipase inhibitory effect of methanolic extract of florets Aster sp. was studied. In case of Aster sp. (White florets) the pancreatic lipase inhibition recorded was 82.75% with an IC50 value of 38μg/mL. Aster sp. (light pink) showed 80.04 % inhibition with an IC50 of 72 μg/mL. On 2 h dialysis, both the extracts lost their significant pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity, indicating the reversible nature of inhibition. pH slightly affected the performance of pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity. Extract (white florets) also showed 22.03% superoxide radical scavenging activity and 22.73% free radical scavenging activity indicating the multifunctional nature of the extract. Light pink florets showed 40.67% superoxide radical scavenging activity and 24.10% free radical scavenging activity. Saponin and alkaloid molecule in white florets of Aster sp. and alkaloid in light pink florets were identified as active principles for pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity.

Pancreatic lipase inhibitors prevent the breakdown of dietary fat into fatty acids, thereby reducing their absorption in the gut. This action makes them attractive for use as antiobesity drugs. Currently, a few drugs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for long-term use in the management of obesity. Over the last decades, studies have shown that many plants exhibit pancreatic lipase inhibitor activity in their extracts. The present review highlights the current status of our knowledge about lipase inhibitory activity in molecules derived from plant sources. We could possibly have a range of natural products derived from plants that could be of use in the treatment of obesity.