Posted by admin on Feb 28, 2019 in |
Portulaca oleracea and Portulaca quadrifida have been used traditionally have been used for their pharmacological properties and consumed as a part of the diet. Anti-oxidative property of phytochemicals might play a role in their observed benefits, and phenolic compounds are known to be the major contributors towards the anti-oxidant property of phytochemicals. The objective of this study was to quantify the total phenolic content of extracts obtained by microwave extraction of these plant species using a validated technique. The plant species were collected and authenticated. Microwave-assisted extraction of separate plant parts using different solvents was carried out. The total phenolic content was measured using a modified Folin-Ciocalteau method, and the method was validated for linearity, range, limit of detection, limit of quantification, recovery, and precision. Amongst the tested extracts, the ethanolic extract of P. oleraceae seed contained the highest amount of total phenolic compounds. The stated method for quantifying total phenolic compounds was found to be precise and reliable, and the further study of the anti-oxidant property of these...
Read More
Posted by admin on Feb 28, 2019 in |
Sida acuta is one of the medically active plants used for the treatment of multifaceted diseases. However, an elaborated investigation on the phytochemical composition of the ethanolic extract of the leaves of this plant is yet to be deciphered. So, in this quantification of phytochemicals, in-vitro free radical scavenging activity, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant levels in the fresh leaves, HPTLC fingerprinting and GC-MS analysis in the ethanolic extract of Sida acuta leaves were done. In-vitro antioxidant activities were assayed using DPPH, ABTS, nitric oxide, hydroxyl radical and ferric ions, while ascorbic acid is used as the standard. The results indicated the presence of flavonoids, tannins, phenols, and alkaloids in a reasonably good amount which has substantiated the results of HPTLC. All the tested antioxidants were present prominently in the leaves, specifically catalase and glutathione peroxidase, which may be responsible for the prominent radical scavenging tendency of the extract against the tested free radicals. The GC-MS analysis observed the presence of 35 different compounds each belonging to different classes such...
Read More
Posted by admin on Feb 28, 2019 in |
This study reports the potential of Alternanthera sessilis leaves as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic agent and also the characterization of a novel phytochemical from A. sessilis using bio-activity guided extraction. Antimicrobial property was studied against five bacterial pathogens, Escherichia coli (MTCC: 1687), Bacillus cereus (MTCC: 0430), Klebsiella pneumonia (MTCC: 7028), Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC: 3160), Proteus mirabilis (MTCC: 3310) and against two fungal pathogens, Aspergillus niger [MTCC 281] and Aspergillus flavus [MTCC 10938]. Petroleum ether extract of A. sessilis leaves demonstrated significant antimicrobial property and hence was further purified to identify its active phytochemicals. Silica-gel Column Chromatography followed by antimicrobial screening, lead to the identification of the active fraction, that was characterized by spectroscopic analyses. FT-IR, GC-MS and NMR (C13, and DEPT-45; 90; 135) analysis of the active fraction, characterized the phytochemical to be 3,3’-(propane-2, 2-diyl)-bis-(3,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-1H-isochromene) abbreviated as PDHC. To the best of knowledge, this is the first report of PDHC due to novelty in its chemical structure. In-silico molecular docking was performed for this identified compound to identify...
Read More
Posted by admin on Feb 28, 2019 in |
The main objective of this study is to evaluate the ability of production of xylanase by a fungal strain Penicillium sp. isolated from decaying wood. Xylanases are hydrolytic enzymes produced by many microorganisms which catalyze the hydrolysis of xylan polymer to xylose monomer. The xylanase production was carried out under submerged fermentation xylose as the main substrate, and the enzyme yield was regularly monitored. Maximum xylanase production was observed on the 4th day of incubation with 123.1 U/ml. The protein secretion was high on the 6th day with 787 μg/ml; total sugar was on the 7th day of incubation (982 μg/ml). Among natural substrates used in this study, corn cobs amended medium had yielded more xylanase production by Penicillium sp. after 6 days of incubation (167.2 U/ml) followed by sawdust and rice bran (128.1 and 120.8). The crude enzyme was used in bleaching of paper pulp and in biobleaching sample kappa number was reduced from 23.1 to 20.8 and brightness was increased to 40.1 from 39.2. It was also...
Read More
Posted by admin on Feb 28, 2019 in |
Objective: Steroids are widely prescribed and used by practitioners due to powerful anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive actions. So, care should be exercised in the rational selection of steroids. The main aim of our study is to assess prescribing patterns, demographic and clinical variables such as drug interactions associated with corticosteroid administration and steroidal use in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods: This is a prospective observational study conducted for 6 months in all departments of a tertiary care hospital of various age groups in all the departments were included. The study was carried out by taking 310 participants into consideration, and their prescribing patterns were observed and analyzed. Statistical procedure of One way ANOVA was done in SPSS version 16 software. Two way ANOVA was done which showed that variability is observed in the gender groups with treatment about steroids treatment. Results: Steroids were prescribed for various age groups of patients; 84 patients are above 60 years of age. Among 310, 183 patients were male and 127 patients were female....
Read More
