Drought is one of the most emerging threat that causes a severe reduction in cotton plant growth and development. Being cotton is a major cash crop has great threat to prevailing drought events in Pakistan. A field experiment was conducted in Kharif season 2018 at Research Area of MNS-University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan to assess the role of foliar applied kaolin and jasmonic acid on vegetative growth, gas exchange and reproductive traits of cotton under normal irrigated and artificial water deficit conditions. The experiment was laid -out in a factorial randomized complete block design with split – split plot arrangement. Main plots were allocated for irrigation levels, sub-plots for two -cotton genotypes viz. NIAB − 878 and SLH − 19 while sub – sub plots for treatments of kaolin and Jasmonic acid. Water deficit stress was created by skipping irrigation at flowering for 21 days. Foliar sprays of Kaolin (5%, w/v) and Jasmonic acid (100 μM) were applied alone or in combination at 60 days after planntinon both to normal irrigated and water-stresse skip irrigation while irrigation water alone was sprayed in control plots. Both cotton genotypes responded variably to normal irrigated and skip conditions. Skipping irrigation for up to 21 days at flowering caused a significant decrease in leaf relative water content, SPAD values, net photosynthetic rate and seed cotton yield in both the genotypes. Seed cotton yield showed an overall decline of 24.7% in skip over Normal irrigated crop. The genotype NIAB − 878 produced maximum seed cotton yield of 3.304 Mg ha⁻¹ in normal that dropped to 2.579 Mg ha⁻¹ in skip, thus showing an average decline of 21.9 %. Similarly, SLH − 19 produced 2.537 Mg ha⁻¹ seed cotton under normal that dropped to 1.822 Mg ha⁻¹ in skip, showing an average decline of 28.2%. The Application of Kaolin and JA Jasmonic acid, either applied individually or in combination, improved vegetative and reproductive development of both cotton varieties in normal and skip regimes. However, combined kaolin and Jasmonic Acid application proved to be more beneficial in terms of seed cotton production and other parameters studied.

The present work deals with the biological and phytochemical studies on Capparis decidua (Forssk) Edgew from Cholistan desert of Pakistan. Aerial and floral parts of C. decidua were collected and dried under shade. Powdered materials of each part of C. decidua were extracted with methanol separately, followed by phytochemical studies. Hexane fraction of aerial parts of the C. decidua obtained after solvent-solvent extraction was purified through repeated column chromatography by increasing order of polarity. Four compounds were purified and identified as simiarenol (1), lupeol (2), taraxerol (3) and β-sitosterol (4). Simiarenol and lupeol were isolated for the first time from genus Capparis. The structures of these compounds were established by comparing the spectroscopic data (¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR, UV & Mass spectrometry) reported in literature. The structure of 1 was further confirmed by XRD analysis. Anti-bacterial activities of crude methanolic extracts were determined against 13 bacterial strains (MIC 250-1000 μg/mL). α-Glucosidase and urease inhibitory activities of pure compounds were also determined. Compounds 1, 2 and 4 showed α-glucosidase inhibition with IC₅₀ at 96.12 ± 0.12, 65.28 ± 0.13 and 128.14 ± 0.17 μM, respectively.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant and is commonly known as an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC). BPA is widely used in production of numerous products including polycarbonate plastics, cans, drinking water bottles and dental sealants. Therefore, the current study was designed to investigate deleterious effects of BPA on blood, serum biochemistry, antioxidant enzymes and histopathological changes in different visceral organs of exposed rabbits. For this reason a total of 16 male rabbits were randomly divided and kept in four different groups (A-D). Rabbits in control group A received no treatment and were kept on normal feed while the rabbits in groups B, C and D were administered BPA @ 10, 50 and 100 mg/kg/day respectively by oral gavage for 28 days. The results showed significant decrease in hemoglobin level, total proteins, lymphocytes, packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cells (RBC) and monocytes in treated rabbits compared to control group. The total white blood cell count and neutrophil (%) significantly increased in treated rabbits. The serum biochemistry analysis showed that the concentrations of glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) were significantly (p<0.05) higher in the treated rabbits. Results revealed that the levels of various antioxidant enzymes such as peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were significantly decreased (p<0.05) in rabbits exposed to BPA. The quantity of oxidative stress biomarker such as malondialdehyde (MDA) significantly increased in all treated animals compared to control group. Microscopic observation of different visceral tissues like liver, kidneys, lungs and heart exhibited necrotic and degenerative lesions in treated rabbits. In conclusion, the results of our experimental study suggested that BPA induces hemato-biochemical, histopathological and oxidative stress in male rabbits.