Browsing by Author "Pooja Verma"

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5-Amino uracil activated silver nano resonators for highly selective visual detection of dopamine and as an agonist towards BAP: Promoting shoot growth in Bacopa monnieri L.
(Elsevier B.V., 2024) Saumya Singh; Raksha Singh; Anurag Kumar Singh; Minu Yadav; S.K. Mishra; Jyoti Dixit; Pooja Verma; K.N. Tiwari; K.K. Upadhyay
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with an average size of about 17.5 nm have been synthesized using 5-amino uracil as a reducing and capping agent. The concentration of these AgNPs was worked out to be 48 nM. These AgNPs served as a highly selective optical sensor against an important neurotransmitter like dopamine (DA) at its nano molar level (94 nM) with the linearity range of 1–5 µM. The quantification of DA in one of its injection sample was also achieved with a recovery of 91 %. Studies like FTIR, UV–Vis, XPS, SEM, TEM, EDX, DLS and Zeta potential measurements have supported our findings. Significant amplification in the Raman signal of DA was also observed upon its addition into as prepared AgNPs solution. Moreover, these AgNPs seemed to augment the activity of cytokinin (BAP) in synergistic fashion and enhanced in vitro high frequency shoots regeneration in B. monnieri L. and also led to increment in its antioxidant metabolite contents like phenol and flavonoid. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.
Advancements and new technologies in drug delivery system
(Springer Singapore, 2019) Ajay Kumar Sahi; Pooja Verma; Pallawi; Kameshwarnath Singh; Sanjeev Kumar Mahto
Drug delivery is defined as administration of drug component inside the body, and the system adopted for the same is known as drug delivery system. Advancements in the drug delivery system are gaining more attention and popularity due to the use of nanoformulations that enables efficient, effective and specific targeting of the drug. Several drug carriers such as liposomes, aptamers, quantum dots, peptide, polymers, metals and magnetic nanoparticlebased delivery are categorised as advanced generation drug delivery systems. The structural complexity of nano-based drug delivery system, e.g. nanocapsules, dendrimers, nanosponges, nanocrystals, nanogels and nanocapsules, provides high surface area for precise targeting in the field of cancer management and several other life-threatening diseases. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019.
Application of Nano-Biochar to Improve Soil Quality and Sustainability
(Apple Academic Press, 2025) Shreni Agrawal; Pradeep Harish Kumar; Richa Das; Amit Kumar Singh; Praveen Kumar Shukla; Pooja Verma; Vishnu D. Rajput; Indrani Bhattacharya; Sunil Kumar Mishra; Kavindra Nath Tiwari
The Green Revolution has been beneficial in promoting the growth of human civilization, but it has also degraded the soil, destroyed biodiversity, and accelerated climate change. Advanced nanomaterials, including nano-biochar, have provided prolonged solutions for a wide range of current challenges. Nano-biochar is a specialized form of biochar with a structural size on the nanometer scale featuring better morphological and physiochemical properties. Nano-BC application improves soil qualities, making it better suited for plant growth and development. By enhancing soil porosity, resistivity, and water-holding capacities—all crucial for sustaining soil activity—Nano-BC offers an ideal soil habitat for bacteria. Biomass is pyrolyzed to produce the bulk parent biochar, which is then mechanically processed using various milling methods to generate nano-biochar. Different types of nano-biochar, such as biochar nanocomposites, magnetic nano-biochar, functional nanoparticles coated nano-biochar, and colloidal biochar, have greater environmental applications than normal biochar, such as improving plant growth, removing pesticides from soil, adding fertilizer, microbial growth, and managing disease. A large surface area, high degree of crystallinity, high nutritional quality, and good chemical group concentrations are a few of the distinctive characteristics of nano-biochar. The features of biochar basically depend on biomaterials that were utilized and the pyrolysis circumstances, with its distinctiveness resting on its large specific surface area and a constant source of carbon, which predispose to superior crop responses and soil health. These chapters discuss the production, types, and various applications of nano-biochar, as well as their significant contributions to agriculture, particularly in soil development. © 2025 by Apple Academic Press, Inc.
Bio-based synthesis of silver nanoparticles using leaf extract of Uraria picta (Jacq.) Desv. ex DC.: Characterization and evaluation of its activity against Leishmania donovani
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2024) Jyoti Dixit; Pradeep Kumar; Rajan Singh; Pooja Verma; Kavindra Nath Tiwari; Rakesh Kumar Singh; Sunil Kumar Mishra; Jasmeet Singh
Uraria picta is used as a folk medicine to cure various ailments. Regardless of ethnobotanical application, a therapeutic study of the plant parts has yet to be reported. Aqueous leaf extract was enriched with secondary metabolites like phenols, alkaloids, and terpenoids. Total phenol (60.97 mgG−1 GAE), total flavonoid (52.36 mgG−1 RE), and antioxidant activity (IC50 2666.95 µgmL−1) of the extract were measured. Bio-based silver nanoparticles (LEUP-AgNPs) were fabricated using a secondary metabolite-enriched leaf extract of U. picta (LEUP), and characterization of LEUP-AgNPs was done. The LEUP-AgNPs were crystalline, circular (13.04 ± 5.97 nm), monodisperse (pdi 0.205), and stable (-17.8 mV). The LEUP-AgNPs surface was composed of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and silver. A comparative study was performed to evaluate the potential of LEUP and LEUP-AgNPs against promastigotes and intra-RAW264.7 macrophage amastigotes of Leishmania donovani. A high dose of LEUP and LEUP-AgNPs significantly inhibited the growth of promastigotes up to 53% and 68%, with an IC50 value of 47.90 µgmL−1 and 6.79 µgmL−1, respectively. LEUP and LEUP-AgNPs higher doses also inhibited intracellular amastigotes up to 53% and 80% with an IC50 value of 6.72 µgmL−1 and 1.16 µgmL−1, respectively. The microscopic examination revealed that LEUP-AgNPs lead to size reduction and aggregations of promastigotes. The LEUP-AgNPs efficiently declined the number of amastigotes per RAW 264.7 macrophages compared to LEUP. LEUP-AgNPs had no cytotoxic effects on RAW 264.7 macrophages based on the CC50 value. Findings showed LEUP-AgNPs were more efficient than LEUP in controlling L. donovani, which induces visceral leishmaniasis. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.
Direct shoot regeneration from cotyledonary node of Uraria picta (Jacq.) Desv. ex DC., an important plant of dashmula drugs, and assessment of genetic fidelity, metabolic profiling, and anti-diabetic activity
(Elsevier B.V., 2024) Jyoti Dixit; Pooja Verma; Pallavi Mishra; Kavindra Nath Tiwari; Shailesh Kumar Tiwari; Sunil Kumar Mishra; Jasmeet Singh
Uraria picta root is used in the polyherbal product ‘Dashmula’. Its exploitation for formulation preparation has depleted its availability, leading to medicine adulteration. Direct shoot regeneration from the cotyledonary node holds promise as a source of raw material. This study aimed to develop a regeneration protocol for U. picta and validate its genetic and metabolic fidelity. The seeds of U. picta showed low germination rates, prolonged dormancy, and poor viability. Root exploitation in the wild poses a threat to its availability in nature. Seedling's derived cotyledonary nodes cultured on B5 medium supplemented with BAP (0.5–3 mg L−1), Kinetin (0.5–3 mg L−1), Thidiazuron (0.01–1 mg L−1), and meta-Topolin (0.1–4 mg L1). To address hyperhydricity in regenerated shoots, cotyledonary nodes were cultured on high-agar concentration media. Microshoots were exposed to IBA solution (50–800 mg L−1) pulse treatment for rooting. Tissue-cultured plants genetic fidelity was assessed using ISSR and SCoT markers, while metabolic fidelity was studied with HRMS. The chlorophyll content, antioxidant, and antidiabetic activity of micropropagated plants were evaluated. The highest shoot regeneration frequency, with a maximum of 6.57±0.278 shoots per explant, was achieved using 2 mg L−1 meta-Topolin. The shoots were elongated, had expanded leaves, and were hyperhydrated. BAP (2 mg L−1) induced a maximum of 9.83±0.333 shoot buds per explant. BAP caused explant browning, profuse callus formation, dwarfing, and hyperhydric shoots. Hyperhydricity was alleviated with a higher agar concentration (1 %). IBA (400 mg L−1) induced a maximum of 2.18±0.090 roots per shoot and a root length of 9.23±0.033 cm. Tissue-cultured and mother plants exhibited clonal fidelity, similar metabolite and chlorophyll content, strong antioxidant activity, and equal efficacy for inhibiting α-amylase and α-glucosidase. This method can propagate elite clones of U. picta and offer its improvement via genetic transformation. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.
Efficient Catalytic Degradation of Selected Toxic Dyes by Green Biosynthesized Silver Nanoparticles Using Aqueous Leaf Extract of Cestrum nocturnum L.
(MDPI, 2022) Pradeep Kumar; Jyoti Dixit; Amit Kumar Singh; Vishnu D. Rajput; Pooja Verma; Kavindra Nath Tiwari; Sunil Kumar Mishra; Tatiana Minkina; Saglara Mandzhieva
In the present study, the catalytic degradation of selected toxic dyes (methylene blue, 4-nitrophenol, 4-nitroaniline, and congo red) using biosynthesized green silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) of Cestrum nocturnum L. was successfully performed. These AgNPs are efficiently synthesized when a reaction mixture containing 5 mL of aqueous extract (3%) and 100 mL of silver nitrate (1 mM) is exposed under sunlight for 5 min. The synthesis of AgNPs was confirmed based on the change in the color of the reaction mixture from pale yellow to dark brown, with maximum absorbance at 455 nm. Obtained NPs were characterized by different techniques, i.e., FTIR, XRD, HR-TEM, HR-SEM, SAED, XRD, EDX, AFM, and DLS. Green synthesized AgNPs were nearly mono-dispersed, smooth, spherical, and crystalline in nature. The average size of the maximum number of AgNPs was 77.28 ± 2.801 nm. The reduction of dyes using a good reducing agent (NaBH4) was tested. A fast catalytic degradation of dyes took place within a short period of time when AgNPs were added in the reaction mixture in the presence of NaBH4. As a final recommendation, Cestrum nocturnum aqueous leaf extract-mediated AgNPs could be effectively implemented for environmental rehabilitation because of their exceptional performance. This can be utilized in the treatment of industrial wastewater through the breakdown of hazardous dyes. © 2022 by the authors.
Nanoparticle, Types, and Approaches for Improving Soil Health
(Apple Academic Press, 2025) Richa Das; Pradeep Harish Kumar; Shreni Agrawal; Amit Kumar Singh; Praveen Kumar Shukla; Pooja Verma; Vishnu D. Rajput; Indrani Bhattacharya; Sunil Kumar Mishra; Kavindra Nath Tiwari
Soil is Earth’s most important natural resource for sustaining life. Soil health is a critical factor in crop development. Nevertheless, as a result of both natural and anthropogenic factors, the soil’s health to support crop development and production deteriorates with time. Factors such as excess salinity, drought, unavailability of nutrients due to volatilization or low solubility, and heavy metals impact soil health. These factors also create an imbalance of soil microflora. Irrational use of fertilizers and climatic © 2025 by Apple Academic Press, Inc.
Network pharmacology-based study on apigenin present in the methanolic fraction of leaves extract of Cestrum nocturnum L. to uncover mechanism of action on hepatocellular carcinoma
(Springer, 2022) Pradeep Kumar; Amit Kumar Singh; Pooja Verma; Kavindra Nath Tiwari; Sunil Kumar Mishra
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common type of cancer in the world. It is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. In more than 80% of people liver cancer-related death is due to its poor prognosis. The flavonoids obtained from natural sources have potent therapeutic effects on HCC. The flavonoid rich methanolic fraction obtained from ethyl acetate extract of leaf of Cestrum nocturnum (MFLCN) was analyzed by UPLC-QTOFMS/MS for the presence of different flavonoids. The physiochemical and pharmacokinetics properties of the identified flavonoids were performed by absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET). It was selected on the basis of Lipinski rule and hepatotoxicity evaluations. The potential gene dataset of HCC were taken from gene card database and targets compounds were selected from target net prediction. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis of HCC was performed via enricher and David web tools. Cytoscape was used to visualize targets and network pathways. MFLCN contains 33 flavonoids. Among these flavonoids, apigenin was selected as principal active compound on the basis of their pharmacokinetic and ADMET properties. Apigenin has 92 targets out of 627 total targets related to HCC, while there was13 pathways in the target-pathway network. Results revealed that apigenin regulates cell proliferation and survival, primarily through different signaling pathways like estrogen, VEGF, PI3K/AKT1, TNF, FoXO, and Ras signaling pathways. Thus, integrating network pharmacology prediction with m-RNA and human protein atlas validation could be an effective method for understanding the molecular mechanism of apigenin on HCC. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Phytoconstituents analysis of hydroalcoholic root extract of premna integrifolia L.: An important ingredient of herbal formulation dashamula
(Research Trend, 2020) Pooja Verma; Jyoti Dixit; Kavindra Nath Tiwari
Hydroalcoholic extract of root of Premna integrifolia was analyzed for polyphenol content and antioxidant potential because it is an important ingredient of widely used herbal medicine Dashamula. This extract is enriched with polyphenol with good antioxidant activity. Chemo profiling of this extract using GCMS confirmed the presence of several valuable terpenoids such as lanugone A, podocarp-12-en-14-ol, ferruginol, sandaracopimaradien-18-al, communic acid and (-) β caryophyllene epoxide. The anti oxidative property of the extract might be due to presence of these several terpenoids. Further it needs isolation of these valuable terpenoids for bioactivity studies. © 2020, Research Trend. All rights reserved.
Potential of Flavonoids as Anticancer Drugs
(wiley, 2021) Pradeep Kumar; Jyoti Dixit; Rajesh Saini; Pooja Verma; Awadhesh Kumar Mishra; Kavindra NathTiwari
Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds widely distributed in vegetables, fruits, cereals, beverages, medicinal and several other plants. More than 10, 000 flavonoids have been isolated and identified to date. Flavonoids are classified into following subclasses including flavonols, flavan-3-ols, flavanones, flavones, isoflavones, anthocyanins and proanthocyanidin. They possess various biological activities in the host systems. The role of dietary flavonoids is free radicals scavenging, inactivation of carcinogen, seize cell cycle, cell apoptosis and angiogenesis inhibition. Due to their multiple modes of actions, flavonoids are being investigated as an efficient anti-cancer element. This review describes about sources of most effective plant derived flavonoids like catechin, kaempferol, myricetin, quercetin, luteolin, epigallocatechin gallate, apigenin and chrysin and its analogues. Mechanism of actions of these flavonoids was also discussed, which effectively arrest the growth of cancer cell lines and tumors. The present information based on the flavonoids may be helpful in developing effective dietary strategies for cancer patients for the treatment and management of their health. © 2021 Scrivener Publishing LLC.
Preparation of hydrogel from the hydroalcoholic root extract of Premna integrifolia L. and its mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles for wound healing efficacy
(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Pooja Verma; Jyoti Dixit; Chandrashekhar Singh; Alakh Narayan Singh; Aprajita Singh; Kavindra Nath Tiwari; Madaswamy S. Muthu; Gopal Nath; Sunil Kumar Mishra
The current investigation concentrated on the fabrication of silver nanoparticles through the root of Premna integrifolia L. The antibacterial and wound healing effects of their silver nanoparticles-hydrogel and root extract-hydrogel were evaluated. The hydroalcoholic root extract of P. integrifolia was enriched with crocetin, ferulic acid, oleanolic acid, oleic acid, syringic acid, and vanillin. The silver nanoparticles were biosynthesized through secondary metabolite-enriched hydroalcoholic root extract (5 %) when mixed with 1 mM AgNO3 and kept under sunlight for 10 minutes. They showed an optimum surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at 447 nm. The aldehyde, phenol, and primary amine groups of the extract reduce silver cations into nanoparticles. The nanoparticles band gap of 2.06 eV showed their semi-conductance behavior. The nanoparticles were spherical, uniformly distributed, and stable. The nanoparticles had a good roughness profile and 57.55 % elemental silver. The silver nanoparticles-hydrogel (10 %) showed an efficient 11±0.11 nm zone of inhibition of S. aureus in comparison to the root extract-hydrogel (10 %), i.e., 9±0.15 nm. The nanoparticles-hydrogel and the root extract-hydrogel did not show noticeable symptoms of acute dermal toxicity. The nanoparticles-hydrogel (10 %) and the root extract-hydrogel (10 %) healed 99.9 % and 97.3 % of the S. aureus- infected wound, respectively. The nanoparticle-hydrogel efficiently induced re-epithelialization in the dermis of S. aureus-infected wound compared to the extract-hydrogel. The nanoparticle-hydrogel enhanced the rate of wound closure. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd
Somatic embryogenesis in medicinal plants
(Elsevier, 2022) Jyoti Dixit; Rajesh Saini; Awadhesh Kumar Mishra; Pooja Verma; Pradeep Kumar; Kavindra Nath Tiwari
Medicinal plants are a lifeline for human health. They have been widely used in traditional systems of medicines all over the world since ancient times. They are a good source of natural products and are used in drug development programs. These plants are ruthlessly exploited by people from wild for commercial applications. This has resulted in the extinction of several valuable medicinal plants. Somatic embryogenesis is the process through which we can produce embryos converted into complete plants. These somatic embryos (whose process is usually completed in three steps: induction, maturation, and germination) can be induced directly on the explants or through callus, depending on the optimization of media, growth regulators, and other factors. These somatic embryos are helpful in micropropagation, conservation, secondary metabolite production, and genetic transformation. Somatic embryogenesis has been reported in different medicinal plants. This review will focus on the reports of somatic embryo induction in different medicinal plants and their exploitation for different purposes. The molecular mechanism behind this process is also highlighted in the report for a better understanding of the process. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Study on technical, behavioral and organizational factors affecting the performance of mother and child tracking system in rural area of Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh: A qualitative study
(Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine, 2020) Pooja Verma; Sangeeta Kansal; Madhutandra Sarkar; Nishu Kesh; Alok Kumar
Background: The Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS) portal captures and tracks all pregnant women right from conception up to 42 days after delivery and all children below five years. Objectives: This study was conducted to find out the technical, behavioral and organizational factors that affect the process and performance of MCTS. Material and Methods: This was an exploratory qualitative study conducted in Varanasi district by using multistage random sampling method. Data were collected by in-depth interviews of 48 health care providers. Results: Majority of the ANMs and ASHAs were not aware of the meaning of “Tracking System” and the use of MCTS ID. Inappropriate training of ASHAs, absence of supervision and monitoring by ANMs, overburdened DEOs and ANMs, poor internet connection, slow server speed, software problem and frequent power failures were identified as major factors for poor performance of MCTS. Conclusion: The most effective measure to improve the performance of MCTS would be to properly train grass root level workers so that more efficient data can be fed into MCTS. © 2020, Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine. All rights reserved.
Synthesis, characterization, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity evaluation of quaternary cadmium (II)-quercetin complexes with 1,10-phenanthroline or 2,2’-bipyridine ligands
(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2020) Tanu Srivastava; Sunil Kumar Mishra; Om Prakash Tiwari; Avinash Kumar; Kavindra Nath Tiwari; Pradeep Kumar; Jyoti Dixit; Jitendra Kumar; Amit Kumar Singh; Pooja Verma; Rajesh Saini; Angaraj Singh; Ashutosh Kumar Dwivedi
This study reports the synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of two novel complexes, [Cd (Q) (Bpy) (CH3COO)2, complex 1] and [Cd (Q) (Phen) (CH3COO)2, complex 2], based on quercetin ligand. The method of synthesis was by reacting natural flavonoid quercetin (Q) with a good chelator (Bpy = 2,2’-bipyridine, Phen= 1,10-phenanthroline and Q = quercetin) and metal ions. The produced metal complexes were studied in the solid state by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and in solution by UV-Vis absorption. Further analysis included high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) for confirmation. To understand the nature and coordination of quercetin and its metal complexes, density functional theory (DFT) calculation was performed. The scavenging (DPPH radical), antibacterial, MTT, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activity assay, cytotoxicity assay (fluorescence study) were done and quercetin was used for comparison. Both complex 1 and complex 2 induced loss of cell viability via impairment of metabolic activity, leakage of intracellular proteins, and increased oxidative stress. The free-radical scavenging activity of complex 2 (IC50 340.175 µg/mL) was statistically significantly more potent than that of complex 1. The MIC values of complex 2 (7.80 µg/mL Escherichia coli, 15.62 µg/mL Staphylococcus aureus) were higher as compared to complex 1 and quercetin in both test microorganisms. There was inhibition of cell proliferation in Escherichia coli treated with 2 µg/mL of complex 2, whereas Staphylococcus aureus did not show inhibition at this concentration. The cytotoxicity screening on MG 63 cell line showed that the compounds were safe up to 500 mg/L. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.