Bamboos (family Poaceae) are the most beautiful and useful plants on the Earth, mainly found in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Bamboos are fast growing and early maturing, but lack of proper management of bamboo resources is leading to rapid reduction of the existing bamboosetum. Bamboo propagation through seeds is limited due to long flowering cycle of upto 120 years, seed sterility and short seed viability. Infrequent and unpredictable flowering events coupled with peculiar monocarpic behaviour i.e. flowering once before culm death, and extensive genome polyploidization are additional challenges for this woody group. Similarly, vegetative propagation by cuttings, offsets and rhizomes are also inadequate to cope up with the demand of planting stock due to large propagule size, limited availability, seasonal dependence, low multiplication rate and rooting percentage. Therefore, attempts have been made to propagate bamboos through in vitro techniques. In vitro flowering has also been achieved successfully in some bamboo species. Classification systems proposed to date need further support, as taxonomic delineation at lower levels is still lacking sufficient resolution. Tremendous advancement in molecular markers holds the promise to address the needs of bamboo taxonomy (systematics and identification) and diversity studies. Successful application of molecular marker techniques has been achieved in several bamboo species although, more studies are required to understand the population structure and genetic diversity of bamboos in a better way. In addition, some efforts have also been made to clone important genes from bamboos and also for genetic transformation using Agrobacterium and particle bombardment methods. An overview of the recent developments made in improvement of bamboos through in vitro propagation, molecular marker technologies, cloning, and transformation and transgenics has been presented. The future potential of improvement of bamboos using modern biotechnological tools has also been discussed.

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Obesity is a serious health complication in almost every corner of the world. Excessive weight gain results in the onset of several other health issues such as type II diabetes, cancer, respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal disorders (especially osteoarthritis), and cardiovascular diseases. As allopathic medications and derived pharmaceuticals are partially successful in overcoming this health complication, there is an incessant need to develop new alternative anti-obesity strategies with long term efficacy and less side effects. Plants harbor secondary metabolites such as phenolics, flavonoids, terpenoids and other specific compounds that have been shown to have effective anti-obesity properties. Nanoencapsulation of these secondary metabolites enhances the anti-obesity efficacy of these natural compounds due to their speculated property of target specificity and enhanced efficiency. These nanoencapsulated and naive secondary metabolites show anti-obesity properties mainly by inhibiting the lipid and carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes, suppression of adipogenesis and appetite, and enhancing energy metabolism. This review focuses on the plants and their secondary metabolites, along with their nanoencapsulation, that have anti-obesity effects, with their possible acting mechanisms, for better human health.

ORIGINAL ARTICLEIn vitro screening and evaluation of some Indian medicinal plants for their potential to inhibit Jack bean and bacterial ureases causing urinary infections Sheema Bai, Pooja Bharti, Leena Seasotiya, Anupma Malik, and Sunita Dalal Department of Biotechnology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India Abstract Context: Bacterial ureases play an important role in pathogenesis of urinary infections. Selection of plants was done on the basis of their uses by the local people for the treatment of various bacterial and urinary infections. Objective: Our investigation screens and evaluates 15 Indian medicinal plants for their possible urease inhibitory activity as well as their ability to inhibit bacteria causing urinary infections. Materials and methods: Plant extracts in three different solvents (methanol, aqueous, and cow urine) were screened for their effect on Jack-bean urease using the phenol-hypochlorite method. Subsequently, seven bacterial strains were screened for their ability to release urease and further antimicrobial-linked urease inhibition activity and minimum inhibitory concentration of the tested extracts were evaluated by the agar well diffusion and microdilution method, respectively. Results: Five plants out of 15 crude extracts revealed good urease inhibitory activity (!20% at 1 mg/ml conc.) and IC 50 values for these extracts ranged from 2.77 to 0.70 mg/ml. Further testing of these extracts on urease-producing bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus NCDC 109, S. aureus MTCC 3160, Proteus vulgaris MTCC 426, Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 4030, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa MTCC 7453) showed good anti-urease potency with an MIC ranging from 500 to 7.3 mg/ml. Discussion and conclusion: The results of screening as well as susceptibility assay clearly revealed a strong urease inhibitory effect of Acacia nilotica L. (Fabaceae), Emblica officinalis Gaertn. (Phyllanthaceae), Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae), Rosa indica L. (Rosaceae), and Terminalia chebula Retz. (Combretaceae). Our findings may help to explain the beneficial effect of these plants against infections associated with the urease enzyme.