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Eleusinecoracanal (seed)(finger millet bran)is rich in dietary fibre (free of glutan) and micronutrients and has been extensively studied for its anti-diabetic, anti-tumorogenic, anti-diarrheal, anti-ulcerative, anti-oxidant and anti-microbial potential. However, the immuno-modulatory potential and mast cell membrane stabilizing ability of E. coracana L (Ragi seeds) needs to be evaluated. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the ability of ethanol extract of E. coracana L. to potentiate immunomodulation and inhibit mast cell degranulation of human macrophages and mice peritoneal mast cells respectively. Ethanol extraction of E. coracana L (Ragi seeds) was performed by cold percolation method. Assessment of In vitro immunomodulatory activity was carried out using human PMN layer, Candida albicans and morphological criteria was adopted to calculate the phagocytic index. In vitroevaluation of inhibition of mast cell degranulation was determined using isolated mice peritoneal mast cells. In vitro evaluation of phagocytosis revealed that ethanol extract of E. corocana L. (seed) induced vacuolation of human macrophages. Nevertheless, E. corocana L (seed, ethanol extract) (25 mg/mL) was found to inhibit polysorbate 80 induced mast cell degranulation.

Low density polyethylene is one of the polymers that is up till date nearly impossible to be degraded safely. Biodegradation is the safest method of breakdown that possibly leaves behind less toxic residue and shows potentials of bio-geo chemical cycling of the substrate. Considerable amount of work has been carried out in this area, but most of them are associated with blended low density polyethylene (LDPE). Previous reports also rely on host consortia for degradation. Various techniques have been implicated in designing this kind of study. BATH test, to evaluate the hydrophobicity of the isolates was performed apart from the calculation of generation time of the isolates in LDPE incorporated growth medium. Biofilm formation was also quantified by using protein estimation technique. Our findings corroborated previous findings in most of the techniques, but in Sturm test, a technique to evaluate concentration of carbon dioxide, a final product of biodegradation of LDPE, we have taken dissolved CO2 (that is, CO2 present in the soluble form in the growth medium, apart from the gaseous CO2 collected in the KOH tube) also in consideration which is not reported by any of the previous workers. The current article investigated the biodegradation ability of bacteria isolated from a municipal landfill area near Pallikaranai, Chennai, South India. The bacteria were subjected to growth in a medium containing LDPE as the sole carbon source with and without a nitrogen source. Four bacterial species were isolated. According to the 16S rRNA gene sequences they were identified as Brevibacillus parabrevis (PL-1), Acinetobacter baumannii (PL-2, PL-3) and Pseudomonas citronellolis (PL-4). Bacterial adhesion to hydrocarbon (BATH test) was done to determine the bacterial hydrophobicity. Bacterial biomass was quantified to estimate the population density of the biofilm. This work clearly identifies with our objective to find a right microbe to degrade the resistant LDPE by giving out promising results from the present study. Key words: Biodegradation, low density polyethylene (LDPE), bacterial adhesion to hydrocarbon (BATH test), sturm test, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Brevibacillus.

Fungi, isolated from sea water, were subjected to growth in a medium containing low density polyethylene (LDPE) as the sole carbon source with and without yeast extract. Increasing fresh weight of the fungi in the medium supplemented with LDPE after regular time intervals gave the evidence that the fungi were utilizing LDPE as the carbon source. Further confirmation of LDPE utilization was carried out by the Sturm test where the degradation was attributed to the amount of carbon dioxide evolved during the growth period. The two fungi that showed good growth in medium supplemented with LDPE proved to degrade LDPE with higher efficiency in earlier reported results Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis of the fungal treated LDPE films provided a solid evidence of biodegradation. Fungi were identified as Aspergillus spp. LDPE degradation is a severe environmental crisis in the world and we have proved that microorganisms can be used for bioremediation in this line. Key words: Biodegradation, low density polyethylene (LDPE), Aspergillus, marine fungi, Sturm test.

Immune system is the major target for development of treatment strategies to improve the management of infections. Many species of Indian medicinal plants have been reported to possess active principles with immunomodulating properties. Euphorbia hirta, a pantropic herb has been reported to be pharmacologically active. This study reports one another not widely reported property of the plant, immunomodulatory activity, which has been proved using simple techniques like the macrophage activity testing, carbon clearance test and mast cell de-granulation assay.