Different parts of Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile, Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton, Adhatoda vasica Nees, Fagoniaar abica L. and Casuarina equisetifolia L. are traditionally used in folk medicine for the treatment of a variety of common ailments like nausea, cold, cough, asthma, fevers, diarrhea, sore throat, swelling, etc. The present study was aimed to evaluate the anti-Helicobacter pylori and urease inhibition activities of extracts produced from the above selected medicinal plants native to Soon Valley (home to an old civilization) in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Methanol, acetone and water extracts of the plants were evaluated for anti-bacterial activity against thirty four clinical isolates and two reference strains of H. pylori. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the extracts were determined using the agar dilution method and compared with some standard antibiotics like amoxicillin (AMX), clarithromycin (CLA), tetracycline (TET) and metronidazole (MNZ), used in the triple therapy for H. pylori eradication. H. pylori urease inhibition activity of the extracts was assessed by the phenol red method, wherein, Lineweaver-Burk plots were used to determine Michaelis-Menten constants for elucidating the mechanism of inhibition. Methanol and acetone extracts from Acacia nilotica and Calotropis procera exhibited stronger anti-H. pylori activity than MNZ, almost comparable activity with TET, but were found to be less potent than AMX and CLT. The rest of the extracts exhibited lower activity than the standard antibiotics used in this study. In the H. pylori urease inhibitory assay, methanol and acetone extracts of Acacia nilotica and Calotropis procera showed significant inhibition. Lineweaver-Burk plots indicated a competitive mechanism for extract of Acacia nilotica, whereas extract of Calotropis procera exhibited a mixed type of inhibition.

Biodiesel is considered a sustainable alternative to petro-diesel owing to several favorable characteristics. However, higher production costs, primarily due to the use of costly edible oils as raw materials, are a chief impediment to its pecuniary feasibility. Exploring non-edible oils as raw material for biodiesel is an attractive strategy that would address the economic constraints associated with biodiesel production. This research aims to optimize the reaction conditions for the production of biodiesel through an alkali-catalyzed transesterification of Tamarindus indica seed oil. The Taguchi method was applied to optimize performance parameters such as alcohol-to-oil molar ratio, catalyst amount, and reaction time. The fatty acid content of both oil and biodiesel was determined using gas chromatography. The optimized conditions of alcohol-to-oil molar ratio (6:1), catalyst (1.5% w/w), and reaction time 1 h afforded biodiesel with 93.5% yield. The most considerable contribution came from the molar ratio of alcohol to oil (75.9%) followed by the amount of catalyst (20.7%). In another case, alcohol to oil molar ratio (9:1), catalyst (1.5% w/w) and reaction time 1.5 h afforded biodiesel 82.5% yield. The fuel properties of Tamarindus indica methyl esters produced under ideal conditions were within ASTM D6751 biodiesel specified limits. Findings of the study indicate that Tamarindus indica may be chosen as a prospective and viable option for large-scale production of biodiesel, making it a substitute for petro-diesel.

Salinity has a negative impact on the agricultural production of crops. It adversely affects the physiochemical properties of the soil and ecological balance of the area. Plant growth-promoting bacteria play a key role in the biological control of phyto-pathogens and abiotic stress including salinity. Four varieties of wheat crop (V1: Akbar 2019, V2: Dilkash 2021, V3: Faisalabad 2008, and V4: Subhani 2020) were compared for their salinity stress tolerance and response towards Bacillus subtilis NA2. A completely randomized design (4 wheat varieties × 3 salt stress levels × 3 replicate × 2 control and bacterial treatments = 72 pots) was adopted using distilled water as a control. Stress negatively affected the plant growth. However, plants primed with Bacillus subtilis NA2 showed improved growth (plant lengths 29.45% and increased biomass 33.23%). Overall, bacterial strain enhanced the levels of carotenoids (45.53%), anthocyanin (32.51%), ascorbic acid (41.53%), total soluble proteins (59.21%), chlorophyll contents (49.65%), and peroxidase activity (31.76%). Levels of malondialdehyde (27.42%) and hydrogen peroxide (20.37%), catalase (16.48%), and ascorbate peroxidase (19.24%) decreased. With commensurable benefits, it can be inferred from the above study that the Bacillus subtilis NA2 strain is beneficial for the better yield of wheat under salinity stress by improving the plant defense mechanism and may be adopted in future by farmers.