Solution to these questions may also arise from multidisciplinary approaches. The knowledge gained will help to understand one of the most fundamental processes of carbohydrate metabolism and its utilization pathway according to an organism’s need. With biotechnological manipulation, Invertase can be transformed into a billion dollar solution for yield improvement in plants and crops, support for cancer patients and high quality anti-oxidant product. All authors have none to declare. “
“India has often been referred to as the medicinal garden of the world and the medicinal plant Saraca asoca has been regarded as one of the foremost plants utilized from antiquity till date. S. asoca
(Roxb.) de Wilde, is a small evergreen tree, belongs to the family Caesalpiniaceae. Different parts of S. asoca plant have been attributed with high medicinal value. S. asoca bark extracts are often used ISRIB mouse in Leucorrhea. 1 Flowers have shown encouraging PCI-32765 nmr anti-ulcer activity in albino rats. 2 Saracin, a
lectin purified from Saraca indica seed integument, has been found to agglutinate human lymphocytes and erythrocytes irrespective of the blood group; it causes agglutination of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC)3 cells as well as animal erythrocytes. 3 Moreover, chemo-preventive activity of flavonoid fraction of S. asoca flower was reported in skin carcinogenesis. 4 Larvicidal activity has also been recorded by using new Saraca bark and leaves. 5 Biochemical analyses have shown that leaves of S. asoca contain carbohydrates, proteins, glycosides, flavonoids, tannins and saponins. 6 Different plant parts of S. asoca provide antibacterial, 7, 8 and 9 CNS depressant, 10 anti-pyretic, 11 anthelmintic, 12 and analgesic activities. 13 The term ‘antioxidant’ means ‘against oxidation’ and may be defined as any substance that retards or prevents deterioration, damage or destruction of living cells/tissues by oxidation. The 1,1,diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical is widely used as the model system to investigate the scavenging activities in plant extracts. DPPH radical is scavenged by antioxidants through the donation of proton resulting in reduced DPPH-H. The
proton radical scavenging action is known to be one of the various mechanisms for measuring antioxidant activity. Structurally gallic acid, ellagic acid and quercetin contain phenolic group, which serve as source of readily available hydrogen atoms that can easily reduce the free radicals in animal system (Fig. 1). Many reports have been found regarding their preventive and therapeutic effects in reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and in aging.14 High performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) is a suitable method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of active phytoconstituents.15 In the present study, we have investigated the antioxidant activity of different parts of S.