Indigenous uses of ethnomedicinal plants among forest-dependent communities of Northern Bengal, India.

Background: Traditional knowledge on ethnomedicinal plant is slowly eroding. The exploration, identification and documentation on utilization of ethnobotanic resources are essential for restoration and preservation of ethnomedicinal knowledge about the plants and conservation of these species for greater interest of human society.

Methods: The study was conducted at fringe areas of Chilapatta Reserve Forest in the foothills of the eastern sub-Himalayan mountain belts of West Bengal, India, from December 2014 to May 2016.

Production of Extracellular Laccase from Bacillus subtilis MTCC 2414 Using Agroresidues as a Potential Substrate.

Laccases are the model enzymes for multicopper oxidases and participate in several applications such as bioremediation, biopulping, textile, and food industries. Laccase producing bacterium, Bacillus subtilis MTCC 2414, was subjected to optimization by conventional techniques and was partially purified using ammonium salt precipitation method. The agroresidue substrates used for higher yield of laccase were rice bran and wheat bran.