Bikash Baral

University of Helsinki | HY

Streptomyces produce complex bioactive secondary metabolites with remarkable chemical diversity. Benzoisochromanequinone polyketides actinorhodin and naphthocyclinone are formed through dimerization of half-molecules via single or double carbon-carbon bonds, respectively. Here we sequenced the genome of S. arenae DSM40737 to identify the naphthocyc...

The Ganoderma genus is known for its diverse use as a functional food and therapeutic agent. This fungus has over 428 species, with Ganoderma lucidum being the most studied. The Ganoderma species produce several secondary metabolites and bioactive compounds like polysaccharides, phenols, and triterpenes, which are largely responsible for their ther...

Climate change is causing shifts in the habitat, distribution, ecology, and phenology of Himalayan plants. These changes are predicted to continue, jeopardizing the survival of medicinal plant species and local livelihoods that rely on them. We analyzed the present and future diversity and distribution of medicinal plant species influenced by diffe...

The emerging resistivity of antibiotic resistance superbugs desire the need to resolve the global problem of antibiotic resistance. Among several other methods currently being adopted, one possible solution may be the development of supplemental therapies for antibiotics. The use of the normal and advanced bactericidal properties of bacteriophages...

Background The development of digital technologies and the evolution of open innovation approaches have enabled the creation of diverse virtual organizations and enterprises coordinating their activities primarily online. The open innovation platform titled “International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce” (INPST) was established in 2018, to bring...

Background: The development of digital technologies and the evolution of open innovation approaches have enabled the creation of diverse virtual organizations and enterprises coordinating their activities primarily online. The open innovation platform titled "International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce" (INPST) was established in 2018, to brin...

Actinomycetes are important producers of pharmaceuticals and industrial enzymes. However, wild type strains require laborious development prior to industrial usage. Here we present a generally applicable reporter-guided metabolic engineering tool based on random mutagenesis, selective pressure, and single-cell sorting. We developed fluorescence-act...

Plants have a pivotal role in ethnopharmacology, and their preparations are in use globally. However, getting down to the structure requires an effective workflow and mostly requires a time-consuming isolation process. Although bioassay-guided approaches are widely popular, they face a massive problem of rediscovery in recent times, especially in p...

Background The risk of losing traditional knowledge of medicinal plants and their use and conservation is very high. Documenting knowledge on distribution and use of medicinal plants by different ethnic groups and at spatial scale on a single platform is important from a conservation planning and management perspective. The sustainable use, continu...

Since time immemorial, people have been utilizing plants as a source of therapeutic agents for human and animal health. Plants have been used as a source of traditional medicine in Nepal. The present study documented the material medica of ethnic people living in different wards of the Suryabinyak Municipality, Nepal. Data was collected by individu...

Actinomycetes are important producers of pharmaceuticals and industrial enzymes. However, wild type strains require laborious development prior to industrial usage. Here we present a generally applicable reporter-guided metabolic engineering tool based on random mutagenesis, selective pressure, and single-cell sorting. We developed fluorescence-act...

Context Streptomyces species are prolific sources of bioactive secondary metabolites known especially for their antimicrobial and anticancer activities. Objective This study sought to isolate and characterize antioxidant molecules biosynthesized by Streptomyces sp. KTM18. The antioxidant potential of an isolated compound and its toxicity were acce...

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global threat caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The viral infection dysregulates the functions of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) through an interaction between SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), leading to an upregulated level...

Lobelia pyramidalis Wall.: Dortmannia pyramidalis (Wall.) Kuntze; Lobelia nicotianifolia Roth ex Schult.; Lobelia pyramidalis var. wallichiana (C. Presl) Steud.; Lobelia seguinii var. arakana E. Wimm.; Lobelia wallichiana (C. Presl) Hook. f. & Thomson; Rapuntium pyramidale (Wall.) C. Presl; Rapuntium wallichianum C. Presl.

Streptomyces are efficient chemists with a capacity to generate diverse and potent chemical scaffolds. The secondary metabolism of these soil-dwelling prokaryotes is stimulated upon interaction with other microbes in their complex ecosystem. We observed such an interaction when a Streptomyces isolate was cultivated in a media supplemented with dead...

Abstract: Bacterial infections result in hundreds of million cases of severe illness annually worldwide. Rapidly increasing drug resistance of pathogens further aggravates this threat to human health and warrants the search for effective broad-spectrum antibacterial agents. Silver metal has a long history of application in human medicine and healt...

Secondary metabolites synthesized by fungi have become a precious source of inspiration for the design of novel drugs. Indeed, fungi are prolific producers of fascinating, diverse, structurally complex, and low-molecular-mass natural products with high therapeutic leads, such as novel antimicrobial compounds, anticancer compounds, immunosuppressive...

Scientists working in natural products chemistry have been enticed by the current advancements being made in the discovery of novel “magic bullets” from microbes homed to all conceivable environments. Even though researchers continue to face challenges funneling the novel bioactive compounds in the global therapeutic industries, it seems most likel...

Hunting small molecules as anti-inflammatory agents/drugs is an expanding and successful approach to treat several inflammatory diseases such as cancer, asthma, arthritis, and psoriasis. Besides other methods, inflammatory diseases can be treated by lipoxygenase inhibitors, which have a profound influence on the development and progression of infla...

Searching the organic compound as anti‐inflammatory agent is a fruitful effort to treat inflammatory disorders such as asthma, arthritis, psoriasis, and especially cancer. These disorders can be cured by lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitors, which have the ability to stop the development and progression of inflammation. The present research described the...

Ethnomedicine refers to the use of medicinal plants by a society, ethnic group or tribe for 13 health benefits and for the prevention, treatment, and cure of different ailments. The healthy 14 relationship between plants and humans has been continuing since the start of human civilization. 15 The present study aims to document the medicinal informa...

Microbial natural products have been a cornerstone of the pharmaceutical industry, but the supply of novel bioactive secondary metabolites has diminished due to extensive exploration of the most easily accessible sources, namely terrestrial Streptomyces species. The Persian Gulf is a unique habitat for marine sponges, which contain diverse communit...

Amid a rising threat of antimicrobial resistance in a global scenario, our huge investments and high-throughput technologies injected for rejuvenating the key therapeutic scaffolds to suppress these rising superbugs has been diminishing severely. This has grasped world-wide attention, with increased consideration being given to the discovery of new...

Superbugs’ resistivity against available natural products has become an alarming global threat, causing a rapid deterioration in public health and claiming tens of thousands of lives yearly. Although the rapid discovery of small molecules from the plant and microbial origin with enhanced bioactivity has provided us with some hope, however, a rapid...

Microbial natural products are a tremendous source of new bioactive chemical entities for drug discovery. Next generation sequencing has revealed an unprecedented genomic potential for production of secondary metabolites by diverse micro-organisms found in the environment and in the microbiota. Genome mining has further led to the discovery of nume...

Background The erratic alterations in climate being experienced in agriculture, such as extended periods of drought or heavy rainfalls, are bringing increasing concerns about nitrogen (N) management. Even in high-input farming systems, unpredictable weather patterns can cause N deficiencies and result in nutrient losses that contribute to major pol...

Acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle) is an important fruit crop, which has high commercial value and is cultivated in 60 out of the 77 districts representing all geographical landscapes of Nepal. A lack of improved high-yielding varieties, infestation with various diseases, and pests, as well as poor management practices might have co...

Acid lime [Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle] is a fruit crop, enriched with high commercial value and is cultivated in 60 out of 75 districts representing all geographical landscapes of Nepal. Lack of high yielding cultivars is probably one of the main reason for its extremely reduced productivity which warrants a deep understanding of geneti...

Silicon and Nitrate Differentially Modulate the Symbiotic Performances of Healthy and Virus-Infected Bradyrhizobium-nodulated Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), Yardlong Bean (V. unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis) and Mung Bean (V. radiata) Abstract: The effects of 2 mM silicon (Si) and 10 mM KNO3 (N)—prime signals for plant resistance to pathogens—were an...

The ABC protein superfamily—also called traffic ATPases—are energy-dependent ubiquitous proteins, representing one of the crucial and the largest family in the fungal genomes. The ATP-binding cassette endows a characteristic 200–250 amino acids and is omnipresent in all organisms ranging from prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Unlike in bacteria with nutri...

Nucleoside antibiotics are a large class of pharmaceutically relevant chemical entities, which exhibit a broad spectrum of biological activities. Most nucleosides belong to the canonical N-nucleoside family, where the heterocyclic unit is connected to the carbohydrate through a carbon-nitrogen bond. However, atypical C-nucleosides have been isolate...

Members of the entomophagous fungi are considered very crucial in the fungal domain relative to their natural phenomenon and economic perspectives; however, inadequate knowledge of their mechanisms of interaction keeps them lagging behind in parallel studies of fungi associated with agro-ecology, forest pathology and medical biology. Ophiocordyceps...

Purine-derived ureides (allantoin and allantoate) are the dominant nitrogenous (N) products transported from the root nodules to the aerial plant organs by rhizobia-nodulated (Rh⁺) ureidic legumes. However, ureides are not exclusively synthesized in Rh⁺ legumes as some evidence suggest a more universal ureide metabolism in C3 and C4 plants to recyc...

Members of Heterobasidion annosum species complex are widely regarded as the most destructive fungal pathogens of conifer trees in the boreal and temperate zones of Northern hemisphere. To invade and colonise their host trees, Heterobasidion fungi must overcome components of host chemical defence, including terpenoid oleoresin and phenolic compound...

An extensive research on deciphering lichen diversity in the high Nepalese Himalaya was undertaken in two subsequent years in Manaslu Conservation Area (MCA) and Sagarmatha National Park (SNP). Altogether, 621 specimens were collected from these two regions, viz., 173 from MCA and 448 from SNP, which resulted in the occurrence of a total of 13 spec...

The biological and chemical properties of the medicinally important high altitudinal plant Rhododendron anthopogon D. Don were assayed. Extracts at a concentration of 100 mg-ml-1 from leaves and flowers were collectively obtained by employing hot extraction method with different solvents. The antibacterial and antifungal properties were assayed aga...

The Chinese caterpillar fungus, Ophiocordyceps sinensis (syn. Cordyceps sinensis) is an endemic species to alpine sub-meadow habitats of Nepal Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau. Owing to its crucial and elusive medicinal attributes and known rarity and availability in the high Himalayas, extraction and exploitation of this fungus has caused extreme...

Nitrogenous compounds in leguminous plants translocate in the form of ureides, allantoin and allantoic acid, the oxidation products of de novo purine synthesis, from the nodules to the aerial parts. The nodules are the main sites of ureides synthesis through the coordination of the plant-bacteria association. However, aspects related to the occurre...

Fungal endophytes have been studied from Rhododendron anthopogon D. Don Manaslu Conservation Area in Nepal. The endophytes were isolated from different parts of Rhododendron viz., root, stem and leaf using potato dextrose agar, malt extract agar and water agar. Altogether eighteen fungal endophytes belonging to nine genera were isolated. The endoph...

Antioxidant capacities and phenolic contents of medicinal plants namely Usnea longifolia, Cetraria nepalensis, Par-melia minarum, Everniastrum nepalense, Rhododendron anthopogon and Fritillaria delavayi were analyzed via Folin-Ciocaltau assay, Ferric reducing activity power assay and 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay. All the tested plants depict...

Leguminous plants continuously recycle nitrogenous compounds from the nodules to the aerial parts of the plants through the xylem stream in the form of ureides, allantoin and allantoic acid. These ureides and ureide products, which are intermediates of purine degradation, are the dominant products that define long-distance transport of nitrogenous...

An array of Ophiocordyceps sinensis and its associated endophytic fungi residing in the high Nepalese meadows were isolated and studied for their association and symbiotic effectiveness with the host plant. Fungi are noted to be quite common in nature and some of them have been shown to have adverse effects against insects, nematodes and plant path...

A pot trial research work of powder of Lantana camara L., Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng. and mycorrhizal soil on growth of Ipil Ipil (Leucaena diversifolia L.) fodder plant was conducted. Fifty gram of each green manure in powder form and mycorrhizal soil were used in each pot. Including control, altogether four treatments were made and each has fi...

p>Bacterial and fungal isolates were isolated and their effectiveness in composting on different substrates with the aid of earthworms Eisenia foetida (Red Wigglers) was performed at Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST). Different parameters such as isolation of microorganisms, earthworm multiplication, composting effectiveness, analysis...

Fritillaria delavayi Franch is one of the medicinal plants used in traditional medical system for ailment of various diseases. But scientific study of the plant has been less carried out for which the study was conducted for validation of prevailing medical practice. The soxhlet extraction of the bulbs of plant were conducted in various solvents (h...

The use of biocontrol agents is becoming an increasingly important alternative to chemical crop protection against weeds, insects and plant diseases in the field of agriculture. The success of biocontrol and yield increase depends on the nature of antagonistic properties and mechanisms of action of the biocontrol agent against the phytopathogens. I...

The antimicrobial, chemical and allelopathical properties of invasive alien weed Mikania micrantha Kunth ex H.B.K were analyzed. The extraction was performed in different solvents by soxhlet extraction technique. Some bacteria ( Acinetobacter sp. and Bacillus subtilis ) were found to be highly inhibited, whereas the extract was found effective agai...

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an invasive aquatic weed causing serious threats to water ecosystems throughout the world. Recently, considerable attention has been given at harvesting the plant for practical uses. An experiment on the bioactivity of water hyacinth was conducted using the soxhlet extraction (hot method) and cold percolatio...

Study on effectiveness of Rhizobium leguminosarum (bv. phaseoli ) inoculum and mycorrhiza on red kidney bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.), locally called Rajma was carried out in pot experiment at Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in 2008. The parameters evaluated to study the effectiveness of inoculum application were number of nodules, b...

Medicinal plants constitute several bioactive compounds that are antimicrobial. Due to the extensive need of the new antimicrobial compounds of plant origin the study was conducted. The present paper deals with the qualitative phytochemical analysis and antimicrobial assay of methanolic extracts of four medicinal plants namely Butea monosperma (see...

Experiments relating to bioassay, phytochemical screening and bio-control of obnoxious aquatic weed i.e., water hyacinth were conducted in Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) laboratory. Bioassay was performed from the methanolic and aqueous extracts obtained by hot and cold percolation method that. The antibacterial and antifungal effec...

Lichens and lichen products have been used in traditional medicines for centuries. The lichens of the high altitudinal meadow of MCA (Manaslu Conservation Area) have remained unexplored for which this research has been conducted with an aim of unveiling the phytochemical and antimicrobial properties of lichens present there. Four densely populated...

An experiment on the bioassay of the obnoxious water weed, water hyacinth, was conducted using the soxhlet extraction (hot method) and cold percolation method differing in polarity i.e. methanol and aqueous. The antimicrobial assay was performed using agar well diffusion method against different clinical bacteria and phytopathogenic fungi. The extr...

The bioclimatic diversity of Nepal favors many alien species to become naturalized invading and dominating intact natural communities. The ability of these plants to tolerate severe harsh conditions and become invasive lights on the potentiality of their use in the pharmacology. In the present study, a bioassay directed phytochemical analysis of th...

Nitrogen is a major limiting factor for primary production in any ecosystem and also the vital component of nucleic acids, proteins, chlorophylls and many other metabolic molecules. Legume-Rhizobium symbiotic system is known to be an efficient converter of ambient nitrogen into its nutrient form that increases soil fertility. The present work invol...