Plant latex: A natural source of pharmaceuticals and pesticides

Abstract

In recent times use of plant natural products has increased tremendously, and there is a very high demand of herbal products for therapeutic, clinical, agricultural purposes. Plant latex is a rich source of pharmaceuticals, pesticides and immune allergens. It also contains important biomolecules such as glycosides, tannins, phytosterols, Flavonoids, acetogenins and saponins, which show diverse biolgical activities against bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoans, nematodes, insects, and cancer and tumours. It is also used as disinfectant, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiproliferative agent that provides protection in wounds. It contains wide variety of industrially important metabolic substances which can be harvested, modified, quenched, and polymerized easily for making goods and materials by up-gradation of technology. No doubt it is a future raw material for many bioengineering and biotechnological industries.

Ethnomedicinal, pharmaceutical and pesticidal uses ofCalotropis procera(Aiton) (Family: Asclepiadaceae)

“…It shows very high oviposition deterrence in female adults of S. litura exposed with sub-lethal dose (20, 40 and 60% of 24 hr LD50 of latex). [166] Latex treatment inhibited oviposition, caused reduction in % eggs laid per female insect. Its leaf extract inhibit oviposition and obstruct gonadotrophic cycles in Aedes aegypti female insects and refractory behavior.…”

Allium vegetables for possible future of cancer treatment

“…These compounds are responsible for the garlic's color, odor, and biological properties (Agarwal, 1996;Nicastro et al, 2015). Several effects of these compounds including modulation of immune function, antioxidant and antiinflammatory activities, anticancer, cardiovascular system protection, antimicrobial, and blood glucose lowering were reported (Gholijani, Gharagozloo, Kalantar, Ramezani, & Amirghofran, 2015; Suleria, Butt, Anjum, Sultan, & Khalid, 2013;Upadhyay, 2016a . S-allyl, S-methyl, and S-ethyl derivatives of cysteine along with alliin (C 6 H 11 NO 3 S) are of the most vital OSCs that their apoptotic, radical scavenging (antioxidant) activity, and antiinflammatory effects were proven (Zeng et al, 2017;Bisen & Emerald, 2016).…”

Host identity and phylogeny shape the foliar endophytic fungal assemblages of Ficus

“…Eleven leaf traits were measured, including specific leaf area (SLA, cm 2 /g dry mass), leaf water content (%), total C content (g/kg), N content (g/kg), pH, toughness (g), leaf tannin content per mass (%), latex volume per area (μl/cm 2 ), latex water content (%), latex tannin content (g/L), and latex alkaloid content (g/L) (Table S2). Leaf traits were selected based on the following considerations: leaf N content has relevant functional traits in leaf economics (Wright et al, 2004); plant investment in latex can assist with sealing wounds, deterring herbivory (Bauer et al, 2014), and possibly storing nutrients and water (Hunter, 1994); secondary metabolites inhibiting growth of fungi have been isolated from the latex (Upadhyay, 2011); leaf pH shows significant interspecific variation (Cornelissen, Sibma, Van Logtestijn, Broekman, & Thompson, 2011); and the proliferation of single fungal species and communities was influenced by pH (Mehra & Jaitly, 1995;Rousk, Brookes, & Bååth, 2009). Other leaf traits are frequently measured in ecological research but their potential role in influencing FEF assemblages has not been studied.…”