The cases of COVID-19 are still increasing day-by-day worldwide, even after a year of its first occurrence in Wuhan city of China. The spreading of SARS-CoV-2 infection is very fast and different from other SARS-CoV infections possibly due to structural differences in S proteins. The patients with severe diseases may die due to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by systemic inflammatory reactions due to the excessive release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by the immune effector cells. In India too, it is spreading very rapidly, although the case fatality rate is below 1.50% (https://www.statista.com), which is markedly less than in other countries, despite the dense population and minimal health infrastructure in rural areas. This may be due to the routine use of many immunomodulator medicinal plants and traditional AYUSH formulations by the Indian people. This communication reviews the AYUSH recommended formulations and their ingredients, routinely used medicinal plants and formulations by Indian population as well as other promising Indian medicinal plants, which can be tested against COVID-19. Special emphasis is placed on Indian medicinal plants reported for antiviral, immunomodulatory and anti-allergic/anti-inflammatory activities and they are categorized for prioritization in research on the basis of earlier reports. The traditional AYUSH medicines currently under clinical trials against COVID-19 are also discussed as well as furtherance of pre-clinical and clinical testing of the potential traditional medicines against COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2. The results of the clinical studies on AYUSH drugs will guide the policymakers from the AYUSH systems of medicines to maneuver their policies for public health, provide information to the global scientific community and could form a platform for collaborative studies at national and global levels. It is thereby suggested that promising AYUSH formulations and Indian medicinal plants must be investigated on a priority basis to solve the current crisis.

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BackgroundMaize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most widely cultivated crop plants. Unavoidable economic and environmental problems associated with the excessive use of phosphatic fertilizers demands its better management. The solution lies in improving the phosphorus (P) use efficiency to sustain productivity even at low P levels. Untargeted metabolomic profiling of contrasting genotypes provides a snap shot of whole metabolome which differs under specific conditions. This information provides an understanding of the mechanisms underlying tolerance to P stress and the approach for increasing P-use-efficiency.Methodology/Principal FindingsA comparative metabolite-profiling approach based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was applied to investigate the effect of P starvation and its restoration in low-P sensitive (HM-4) and low-P tolerant (PEHM-2) maize genotypes. A comparison of the metabolite profiles of contrasting genotypes in response to P-deficiency revealed distinct differences among low-P sensitive and tolerant genotypes. Another set of these genotypes were grown under P-restoration condition and sampled at different time intervals (3, 5 and 10 days) to investigate if the changes in metabolite profile under P-deficiency was restored. Significant variations in the metabolite pools of these genotypes were observed under P-deficiency which were genotype specific. Out of 180 distinct analytes, 91 were identified. Phosphorus-starvation resulted in accumulation of di- and trisaccharides and metabolites of ammonium metabolism, specifically in leaves, but decreased the levels of phosphate-containing metabolites and organic acids. A sharp increase in the concentrations of glutamine, asparagine, serine and glycine was observed in both shoots and roots under low-P condition.ConclusionThe new insights generated on the maize metabolome in resposne to P-starvation and restoration would be useful towards improvement of the P-use efficiency in maize.

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