August 2008

Taxoids: Biosynthesis and in vitro production

Taxoids viz. paclitaxel and docetaxel are of commercial importance since these are shown to have anti-cancerous activity. These taxoids have been isolated from the bark of Taxus species. There is an important gymnosperm, Taxus wallichiana(common name, ‘yew’) used for the isolation of taxoids. Due to cutting of the trees for its bark, population of the plant species are threatened to be...

Author(s): Priti Maheshwari, Sarika Garg and Anil Kumar

August 2008

Biotechnology a key tool to breakthrough in medical and veterinary research

The elucidation of the structure, function and metabolism of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has led to the current global revolution in the recombinant DNA technology, with the possibility to modify these molecules in many ways for the benefit of man and animals. In this review, we considered the basic principles of genetic engineering (gene cloning), bioinformatics, and its applications in medical...

Author(s): Soetan K. O. and Abatan M. O.