Posted by admin on Oct 1, 2014 in |
The present study was aimed to determine whether the methanol and aqueous extracts from the medicinal plant, Withania somnifera (root), could inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s rats. The rats were randomly divided into different groups of 5 each: normal control rats treated with saline; Scopolamine (2mg/Kg b.w. i.p.) – induced Alzheimer’s rats treated with saline; Scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s rats post-treated with methanol extract of three different concentrations (100, 200 and 300mg/Kg b.w. oral); Scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s rat post-treated with aqueous extract of three different concentrations (100, 200 and 300mg/Kg b.w. oral); and scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s rat post-treated with donepezil, a reference control (5mg/Kg b.w. oral) for 10 successive days. Increased AChE activity and decreased Acetylcholine content were recorded in different brain regions in scopolamine-induced Alzheimer’s rats. Post-treatment with W. somnifera extracts caused recovery of the levels of AChE and acetylcholine (ACh) in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that W. somnifera causes perceptible changes in the cholinergic system as one of the facets of its anti-alzheimeric...
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Posted by admin on Oct 1, 2014 in |
Lactobacillus rhamnosus plays an important role as probiotic often associated with beneficial health effects. Although copper and zinc are trace metals, they are toxic at high concentrations. In this paper, bioinformatic tools and molecular modeling approach was adopted to explore the structure of L. rhamnosus under copper sulfate and zinc chloride stress. The differentially expressed proteins under stress were Aspartate kinase, Mannose-6-phosphate isomerase, Glutamate dehydrogenase, 30 S ribosomal subunit S19, 50 S ribosomal subunit L4, Pyruvate oxidase, Thymidylate synthase, and ATP dependent Clp protease ATP binding subunit ClpL. The homology models for these proteins were developed by using Modeller 9.5v. The models were validated by using protein structure checking tools PROCHECK. These structures will provide a good foundation for functional analysis of L. rhamnosus proteins against toxic metal pollutant. Another three differentially expressed proteins were also elevated namely Acetyltransferase, Alkaline shock protein, Cell division initiation protein Div IVA. But these protein structures were not predicted because Query coverage, identity, and E-values were not...
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Posted by admin on Oct 1, 2014 in |
Ambroxol hydrochloride is a potent mucolytic agent capable of inducing bronchial secretions used in the treatment of respiratory disorders. The Sustained release matrix tablets containing 75 mg Ambroxol hydrochloride were developed using different drug: polymer ratios. Sustained release matrix tablets were prepared by wet granulation method. Granules were prepared and evaluated for loose bulk density, tapped bulk density, compressibility index and angle of repose, shows satisfactory results. The prepared tablets were further evaluated for uniformity of weight, hardness, friability, thickness, content uniformity, In-vitro dissolution, drug-excipients interactions, swelling index study also carried out. The FT-IR studies revealed that there was no chemical interaction between drug and excipients. In-vitro release studies were carried out using USP XXII type II (paddle method) dissolution apparatus at 50 rpm. The release data was fitted to various mathematical models such as, Higuchi, Korsmeyer-Peppas, First-order, and Zero order to evaluate the kinetics and mechanism of the drug release. Among all the formulations, F4 shows 99.15% better-controlled release at the end of 12 h. The drug release...
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Posted by admin on Oct 1, 2014 in |
Selenium (Se) plays a vital role in maintaining the body’s homeostasis. Selenoproteins have been found to play an integral role in the body’s defense against oxidative stress. Type-2 diabetes mellitus is considered as an inflammatory state with high oxidative load and is one of the major chronic diseases prevalent in Pakistan. Serum levels of selenium in type 2 diabetic patients and healthy individuals were determined. The sample size consisted of 120 subjects. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry was used for the serum selenium determination. Statistical analysis was done at the confidence interval (CI) of 95%. No significant difference was determined in the mean serum selenium levels of type 2 diabetic patients and healthy persons. Moreover, the studied population was observed to be selenium-replete population. Hence, laboratory evidence for prescribing selenium supplement is of vital importance and requires extreme care irrespective of the involvement of oxidative stress...
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Posted by admin on Oct 1, 2014 in |
Treatment of implant-related MRSA osteomyelitis is a real challenge both for the physician and the patient. We evaluated the comparative efficacy of tigecycline, a novel broad-spectrum glycycline antibiotic and the glycopeptide antibiotic teicoplanin in the treatment of implant-related MRSA osteomyelitis in an experimental rat model. Implant related MRSA osteomyelitis was studied in the tibial metaphysis of 60 rats. When compared to the control groups, the number of microorganisms was found to be significantly lower in the study groups, but there was no statistically significant difference between tigecycline and teicoplanin. respectively. Tigecycline with its good tissue penetration and lower side effects were found to be as effective as teicoplanin in implant-related MRSA osteomyelitis, even if the implant is retained. It could be considered as an alternative to glycopeptides because of the efficacy and because of the lower adverse effects in long term usage. Further studies are warranted to suggest a standard medical treatment for implant-related...
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