Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott (Family: Araceae) is an annual herbaceous plant with a long history of usage in traditional medicine for several countries, especially in the tropical and subtropical regions. It is majorly cultivated in Southeast Asia by several common names like Arbi, Arvi, and Eddoe. The young leaves and roots are rich in Vitamin C as well as starch. It contains calcium, phosphorus, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, oxalic acid, calcium oxalate, sapotoxin and flavones, apigenin, and luteolin. Phytochemical screening also showed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins, oxalates, phenols. Traditionally it has been used for the treatment of various ailments such as asthma, arthritis, diarrhea, internal hemorrhage, neurological disorders, and skin disorders. This review emphasized the updated phytopharmacological profile of C. esculenta such as antimicrobial, antihepatotoxic, anti-cancer, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anthelmintic activity, antidiabetic, hypolipidemic, anti-melanogenic, estrogenic and neuropharmacological effects. It will provide extensive literate about the Colocasia esculenta in future research towards the acceptability of its clinical application.

Bioformulations of mixtures of plant growth promoting bacterial (Pseudomnas flourescences Pf 1 Bacillus subtilis Bs 10) and fungal isolates (Trichoderma viridae Tv 1) were effective in reducing the incidence of peduncle blight under greenhouse conditions (85.50%). Peduncle blight, hitherto an unknown disease was found to be a major limiting factor to the cultivation of tuberose. Though Lasiodiplodia theobromae is an ubiquitous pathogen, its occurrence on tuberose is a new record in India. In addition to disease control, a significant increase in the yield (53.33%) was noticed in the bioprimed plants when compared to the control plants. Pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins, chitinase and b-1, 3-glucanase and defense-related proteins, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, phenylalanine ammonialyase and phenolic compounds were significantly activated in the consortia bioformulation treated plants, thus inducing resistance against Lasiodiplodia theobromae. Native gel electrophoresis also revealed the expression of more isoforms of pathogenesis-related proteins and other defense enzymes viz., polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase in plants treated with Pf 1 +Bs 10 strain mixture challenged with L. theobromae. Populations of bacteria also remained high and stable throughout the growing period. The present study reveals that, microbe inoculated bulblets showed sustained, timely induction and accumulation of these defense enzymes and PR-proteins which enhances the resistance in tuberose against peduncle blight disease and also improved the vegetative growth, physiological attributes, PR-proteins and phenol contents.

Postharvest dipping of fruits in hexanal formulation extends the shelf life by inhibiting enzyme phospholipase D (PLD) activity. To enhance the postharvest shelf-life and quality of different banana cultivars viz., Grand Naine (AAA), Ney Poovan (AB), Poovan (AAB) and Rasthali (AAB) were treated with different concentration of hexanal formulations (1% and 2% Enhanced fresh formulation (EFF)) and stored at atmospheric storage condition. The results indicate that the quality characteristics of 2% EFF treated fruits of Grand Naine (AAA), Poovan (AAB) and Rasthali (AAB) were low TSS, total sugars, reducing sugars and acidity indicating the perpetuation in quality of fruits during storage life besides extended shelf life of fruits. Banana fruits treated with hexanal, irrespective of cultivars experienced a significant delay in weight loss and higher firmness as compared to respective control.  The high-resolution imaging had clearly shown that the application of hexanal delayed the ripening process by the structural integrity of cells on skin and fruit pulp. The PLD enzyme activity, respiration and ethylene evolution rates (more than 10%) were markedly reduced over control due to hexanal treatment. Our results revealed that the application of hexanal formulation as postharvest dip treatment in different banana cultivars significantly enhanced shelf life over control besides continuance of quality during the storage period.

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