Therefore, CT is indicative of platelet function for the whole blood sample

s needed for germination and growth of seedling. The high amount of b-amylase present as compared to a-amylase and its presence at the periphery of amyloplasts defines the key role of b-amylase in hydrolysis PubMed ID:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19645759 of starch. Similar observations were made during germination of rice seeds and barley seeds, where b-amylase was shown to be associated with starch granule. In sweet potato, cell walls and starch granules were labelled by the polyclonal antibodies raised against an inhibitor of starch phosphorylase, which was later identified as b-amylase. After 62 h of germination amyloplasts were still surrounded by the enzyme. A decline in the content of starch and b-amylase was observed at this stage. The correlation between starch and bamylase further confirms its role in starch hydrolysis. The fluorescence could be seen in protophloem in the cotyledons after 31 h and 62 h of germination. Phloem is the primary transport for organic compounds in plants and cotyledons. The transported organic compounds serve as major substrate for plant growth. During the process of vascular differentiation, some of the provascular cells divide longitudinally to give rise to procambial cells, out of which some are destined to BAY-41-2272 chemical information become phloem precursor cells. Protophloem cells specified during embryogenesis differentiate with in the first three days of germination. In Arabidopsis it has been shown that during embryogenesis phloem differentiation in the cotyledons occur earlier than in the axis. Association of b-amylase with the protophloem after 31 h of germination can be related to its important role in transportation. There is an earlier report on presence of phloem specific b-amylase in A. thaliana and Streptanthus tortuous stems. It was suggested that the enzyme may have a role in prevention of starch build up during translocation of sugars in phloem sieve elements. Probably, similar role can be attributed to Fenugreek b-amylase. Conclusion The Fenugreek b-amylase was found to be major starch degrading enzyme of fenugreek based on localization studies. This study also lead to the new finding of association of b-amylase with the protophloem, which can further be explored for providing an insight into the phloem physiology. Breast cancer is a common malignancy and is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women. An accumulating body of evidence suggests a role for iron in the etiology of breast cancer. Indeed, rapidly growing and dividing cancer cells have a higher requirement for Fe and breast cancer cells possess multiple mechanisms to increase cellular Fe levels. For example, breast cancer cells: express high levels of transferrin receptor 1 on their surface; demonstrate decreased expression of the Fe efflux protein, ferroportin1; and synthesize transferrin, which is stimulated by estrogen receptor signaling and may increase Fe uptake via an autocrine mechanism. Interestingly, several studies have shown that Fe levels are increased in breast cancer tumors compared to normal breast tissue and a positive correlation has been reported between Fe content and the aggressiveness of the tumor. Furthermore, high Fe levels have been identified as a risk factor for breast cancer development. For many years, Fe chelators such as desferrioxamine have been successfully used in clinical practice for the management of Fe overload disease, including b-thalassemia major. In such conditions, chelators promote Fe excretion and act to protect against the toxicity of Fe