Crocus sativus, a medicinally important herbaceous plant, has been traditionally used to cure coughs, colds, insomnia, cramps, asthma, and pain. Moreover, the therapeutic applications of saffron include its immunomodulatory and anticancer properties. The current experimental analysis was performed to explore the potential nutraceutical efficacy of corm, leaf, petal, and stigma of saffron ethanolic extracts as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, and antidepressant using hot plate, carrageenan-induced paw edema, capillary tube and forced swim test, respectively in mice. The results indicated that among all the extracts, stigma ethanolic extract (SEE) represented maximum latency activity (72.85%) and edema inhibition (77.33%) followed by petal ethanolic extract (PEE) with latency activity and edema inhibition of 64.06 and 70.50%, respectively. Corm ethanolic extract (CEE) and leaf ethanolic extract (LEE) displayed mild analgesic activity of 22.40% and 29.07%, respectively. Additionally, LEE (53.29%) and CEE (47.47%) exhibited mild to moderate response against inflammation. The coagulation time of SEE (101.66 s) was almost equivalent to the standard drug, aspirin (101.66 s), suggesting a strong anticoagulant effect followed by PEE (86.5 s). LEE (66.83 s) represented moderate inhibitory effect on coagulation activity while CEE (42.83 s) showed neutral effect. Additionally, PEE and SEE also expressed itself as potential antidepressants with immobility time ≤76.66 s, while CEE (96.50 s) and LEE (106.83 s) indicated moderate to mild antidepressant efficacy. Based on the in vivo activities, saffron extract, particularly SEE and PEE, can be used as a potential nutraceutical and therapeutic agent due to its significant pharmacological activities.

A highly efficient protocol for regeneration of Carica papaya L. cv. Eksotika somatic embryos from immature zygotic embryos was developed. This study was designed to overcome the obstacles in regeneration of somatic embryos from immature zygotic embryos of “Eksotika”, especially problems associated with formation of better root quality and callus formation at the base of somatic embryos. Somatic embryos were generated by incubation of immature zygotic embryos in half-strength salt Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with full-strength vitamins supplemented with 7.5 mg L⁻¹ 2,4-D, 100 mg L⁻¹ L-glutamine, 50 mg L⁻¹ myo-inositol, 45 mg L⁻¹ adenine sulphate, 0.33% gelrite, and 6% sucrose, followed by transfer to maturation medium consisting of ½ MS medium supplemented with 5 mg L⁻¹ phloroglucinol, 100 mg L⁻¹ L-glutamine, 100 mg L⁻¹ myo-inositol, 68 mg L⁻¹ adenine sulphate, 0.38% gelrite, and 3% sucrose. After that, well-formed somatic embryos were transferred to MS medium containing 3% sucrose and 0.8% agar for shoot production. The embryos were elongated in MS medium supplemented with 1 mg L⁻¹ gibberellic acid, 0.5 mg L⁻¹ indole-3-butyric acid, 100 mg L⁻¹ myo-inositol, and 3.76 mg L⁻¹ riboflavin. Root regeneration was achieved on MS medium containing 7.9 mg L⁻¹ phloroglucinol and supported with vermiculite after 4 days of cultivation on ½ MS medium with 2 mg L⁻¹ indole-3-butyric acid. After the rooting phase, in vitro plantlets were acclimatized in peat moss soil.