Biotransformation of cholesterol to diosgenin by freely suspended and immobilised cells of Dioscorea bulbifera L.

The cell suspension cultures, established from the friable callus which was risen from the nodal segments of Dioscorea bulbifera L. in Murashige-Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with indole-3-butryic acid (20 mg L(-1)), was examined for cell growth in MS medium fed with cholesterol (50 mg L(-1) and 100 mg L(-1)) after 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 days of culture. The growth index of the cell suspension culture on the 8th day was 1.

Antifertility effect of ethanolic extract of Amalakyadi churna in male albino mice.

Aim: To evaluate the antifertility activity of the ethanolic extract of Amalakyadi churna by oral administration in male albino mice.

Methods: The ethanol extract of Amalakyadi churna at the dose of 250 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg body weight was administered orally for 30 days to adult male mice. On day 31, the mice were sacrificed and the testis and accessory reproductive organs were removed and weighed.