Posted by admin on Aug 31, 2016 in |
Salacia reticulata, used in traditional and local medicines in Western Ghats of Southern India for the treatment of hyperglycaemia, is widely used for its sugar lowering activity. Accordingly, the present study was designed to investigate the possible actions of ethanolic extract of roots of Salacia reticulate (EESR) and an ethanolic extract of local formulation (EELF) made by mixing roots of Salacia reticulata along with five other drugs, each one in equal ratios, namely heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium, stem of Tinospora cordifolia, fruits of Phyllanthus emblica, roots of Vetiveria zizanioides, and heartwood of Acacia catechu, on sugar lowering effect of diabetic rats. In the first set of experiments, hypoglycaemic effects of oral administration at various doses (50 and 100mg/kg) of the both extracts (EESR & EELF) were examined in normoglycaemics, glucose-induced hyperglycaemic rats. Optimum effect was observed in all groups of animals with a dose of 100mg/kg of the extracts (EESR & EELF). In other part of the study, both extracts (EESR & EELF) of 100mg/kg was given to alloxan...
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Posted by admin on Aug 31, 2016 in |
Emergence of antibiotic resistance has become a serious problem worldwide. The extensive and uncontrolled use of antibiotics increases the number of multi drug resistant (MDR) bacterial strains. The major mechanisms that bacteria evolve to develop resistance against β-lactam class of antibiotics are the production of β-lactamases and expression of low affinity penicillin binding proteins (PBPs). These PBPs are involved in the final stages of peptidoglycan synthesis. Hence, PBPs are the primary targets for developing antibacterial agents as its inhibition leads to irregularities in cell wall structure and eventually cell death. Bioactive phytochemicals from medicinal plants have been proven to reveal important pharmacological and therapeutic properties for developing novel antibacterial agents. The current study epitomizes the binding of phytochemicals to the transpeptidation (TP) domain of PBP3 of E. coli, a major causative agent of bacterial infection. The phytochemicals exhibiting antibacterial activities were selected as ligands for docking studies employing Schrӧdinger Suite (Maestro, LLC, New York, NY, 2015). Amongst all the phytochemicals studied, chlorogenic acid (CGA) was found to have highest...
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Posted by admin on Aug 31, 2016 in |
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute inflammatory, autoimmune disorder of peripheral nervous system. Association of TLR2 and IL-8 polymorphism with higher expression level has already been studied in many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. However, the possible role of TLR2 and IL-8 polymorphism in GBS remains unknown. Therefore, the current study investigated the TLR-2 (Arg677Trp & Arg753Gln) and IL-8 (-251A/T) polymorphisms in 105 GBS patients and 100 healthy controls using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Further, the expression of TLR-2 and IL-8 gene was determined by western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay respectively. TLR2 (Arg677Trp & Arg753Gln) heterozygous genotypes were strongly associated with increased risk of GBS. TLR2 and IL-8 genes showed significantly higher expression in GBS when compared with healthy controls. In conclusion, TLR2 polymorphisms showed significant association with GBS, and their enhanced expressions and increased level of IL-8 have possible role in GBS development. TLR2 polymorphisms could be a genetic marker to GBS...
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Posted by admin on Aug 31, 2016 in |
There are various studies on growth of Streptococcus mutans which was done by different scientists on different media but it has been found that there is still some deficiency in existing medium. In our study we have tried to prepare a modified, less laborious and more selective medium for Streptococcus mutans which is specific for their growth. We studied 10 plaque samples from caries active school children and 2 reference strains of Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175 (serotype c) and OMZ 61 (serotype a) to evaluate the selectivity and sensitivity of our modified medium i.e TSBB (Thioglycolate Sucrose Blood Bacitracin) agar. To check efficiency of our modified TSBB medium, both reference strains and plaque samples were plated on TSBB and other four old existing media i.e TYCSB, TSY20B, MM10, and GSTB for their comparison and evaluation. In our study it was found that highest recovery of Streptococcus mutans was observed on TSBB medium followed by TYCSB medium. TSBB medium inhibits the all Streptococcus species other than Streptococcus mutans present in...
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Posted by admin on Aug 31, 2016 in |
To investigate the anti-arthritis effects of hydro-alcoholic stem bark extract (HSBE) of Plumeria rubra in Complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) induced arthritis model in wistar albino rats. Paw edema was produced by sub-plantar injection of 0.1 ml of complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) and paw volume was measured with plethysmometer. HSBE of the plant P. rubra (250 mg/kg & 500 mg/kg body weight) was administered orally for 14 days. Arthritic assessment was carried out based on parameters including paw edema, body weight, and spleen index. At the end of study period, animals were sacrificed and various biochemical, oxidative stress parameters, radiological and histological parameters were evaluated. Administration of HSBE significantly attenuated the behavioral, biochemical, hematological, radiological alteration induced by the CFA in dose dependent manner. From our study, we can conclude that the hydro-alcoholic extract of the plant has the potent activity to check the arthritis edema as well as inflammation & body weight. The potency of ant-oxidant activity was managed significantly. The radiological and histopathological investigations revealed that the extract...
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