Posted by admin on Jul 31, 2014 in |
Phytochemical studies on the fruits of Phaleria macrocarpa yielded 2,6,4′-trihydroxy-4-methoxy-benzophenone (1) and 6,4′-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone-2-O–β-D-glucopyrano- side (2) together with two triterpenoids, 24-methylenecycloartan-3-one (3) and 24-methyl-9,19-cyclo- lanost-25-en-3-ol (4). Investigation on the leaves part led to the isolation of β-sitosterol (5) and stigmasterol (6). All extracts and isolated compounds were tested for their antibacterial activity using disc diffusion method followed by minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) against two Gram-positive bacterial strains, Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633) and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 29737) and two Gram-negative bacterial strains, Escherichia coli (ATCC 10536) and Pseudomonas putida (ATCC 49128). In general, the result has demonstrated that all extracts and isolated compounds were exhibited weak activity against all tested bacteria with the inhibition zone having diameter between 6.1 – 7.3 mm.This is the first report on the isolation of triterpenoids (3 and 4) from this plant and the antibacterial activity for compounds...
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Posted by admin on Jul 16, 2014 in |
Blepharis is a genus belonging to family Acanthaceae. It is an Afro-asiatic genus comprising 129 species which occur in arid and semi-arid habitats. They are used for the treatment of a number of ailments. Anti-inflammatory activity was performed based on the folk lore information. The present study is aimed at the evaluation ofanti-inflammatory property of the petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and ethanolic extracts of Blepharis maderaspatensis (L.) Heyne ex Roth. and Blepharis molluginifoliaPers. whole plantby using Human red blood cell (HRBC) membrane stabilization method. Ibuprofen is used as reference drug for comparison. HRBC method was selected for the in vitro evaluation of anti-inflammatory property because the erythrocyte membrane is analogous to the lysosomal membrane and its stabilization implies that the extract may as well stabilize lysosomal membranes. The results revealed that both Blepharis maderaspatensis (L.) Heyne ex Roth. and Blepharis molluginifoliaPers. have anti-inflammatory activity. Among the test samples tested for membrane stabilization, Blepharis maderaspatensis ethyl acetate extract showed better membrane stability with 323.3±15.7 IC50 (µg/ml), followed by with same...
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Posted by admin on Jul 16, 2014 in |
Introduction: Biomarkers of oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction play an important role in the pathogenesis of type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM). The present study was planned to compare the effect of highly standardised aqueous extract of Phyllanthus emblica, Withania somnifera and theircombination on endothelial dysfunction and biomarkers of oxidative stress in patients with type II DM. Methods: After taking IEC approval and written informed consent, eligible patients were randomized to receive either one of the three treatments, one capsule of Phyllanthus emblica 500 mg twice daily, one capsule of Withania somnifera 500 mg twice daily or one capsule of combination of Phyllanthus emblica 250mg+Withania somnifera 250mg twice daily for a duration of 12 weeks. Efficacy end points were change in endothelial function, change in biomarkers of oxidative stress and systemic inflammation measured at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment. Results: Thirty patients completed the study. Twelve weeks treatment with Phyllanthus emblica, Withania somnifera and their combination produced significant reduction in Reflection index (RI) compared to baseline, (-2.17±0.72% Vs...
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Posted by admin on Jul 3, 2014 in |
The development of a highly effective AIDS vaccine will depend on the success of designing immunogens that will elicit immune response against broadly neutralizing antibodies to naturally circulating strains of HIV- can be done by reverse vaccinology. Reverse vaccinology is a good approach for provoking the broadly neutralizing antibody response by identifying the specific epitopes i.e. surface proteins. The 3D structure of a protein is a prerequisite for structure based drug design as well as for identifying the conformational epitopes that are essential for the designing vaccines. The objective of this study is to identify peptides that can be used as potential vaccines against HIV using bioinformatics approach. B-cell epitopes which are present in the structural, regulatory and accessory proteins encoded by Clade-B HIV-1 genome were predicted using epitope prediction servers (RANKPEP) available in the public domains. Homology modeling approach was used to determine the 3D structures of these predicted epitopes. In addition to these studies, modes of binding of these epitopes to broadly neutralizing antibodies 2G12, B12, 4E10...
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Posted by admin on Jul 2, 2014 in |
Proteins, which are soluble under normal physiological conditions, sometimes form insoluble aggregates with serious medical implications. Bovine serum albumin (BSA), a structural analogue of human serum albumin. Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) has been used as a carrier, and stabilizing agent, for insoluble fatty acids. The chemistry of chalcone has been recognized as a significant field of study. An interesting feature of chalcones is that they serve as starting materials for the synthesis of various heterocyclic compounds such as pyrimidines, pyrazolines, flavones, flavonols, flavanones, aurones and benzoylcoumarones as well as certain compounds like deoxybenzoins and hydantions which are of some therapeutic importance. A series of chalcones was synthesized by the Claisen-Schmidt condensation and the structures of 1-(4-aminophenyl)-3-phenylprop-2-en-1-ones were established with the help of IR and NMR study, then their effect was observed on bovine serum albumin. We have found that the synthesized chalcones interacted with bovine serum albumin and produce a great effect on their...
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