In vitro evaluation of Elaeagnus conferta Roxb.- As a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent

573-580The key objective of the study was to identify bioactive compounds present in Elaeagnus conferta Roxb. and to determine their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory efficacy. Qualitative and quantitative preliminary screening of phyto-constituents was carried out using different solvent extracts, namely petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, acetone, ethanol, hydro-ethanol, and water, followed by in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory assay. Among the six extracts, hydro-ethanolic extract revealed the presence of most of the secondary metabolites, which was used for further analysis. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH, Hydrogen peroxide scavenging assay and Nitric oxide scavenging assay. The results showed significant antioxidant potential in a strongly dose-dependent manner. Based on the antioxidant results, the in vitro anti-inflammatory assays were carried out. The anti-inflammatory assay inhibition of protein denaturation using egg albumin, bovine serum albumin and HRBC membrane stabilisation was done, which revealed that this plant species may serve as an excellent source of natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. This study suggests that E. conferta Roxb. has potent efficacy to act as an anti-inflammatory agent and can possibly be used as a plant source in the pharmaceutical industry

New Publications

25-2

Impact of water mills on rural livelihood: A study of Arunachal Himalaya

88-99The Himalayan people have a rich ancient tradition and heritage of utilizing water mills (Chhoskor) for grinding purposes. The Shertukpen inhabits in the western and south-western parts of the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, Eastern Himalaya. It is an indigenous tribal group. They are carvers and experts in carving wood and stone. The purpose of this paper is to examine the rich culture of grinding practices through water mills (Chhoskor) by the Shertukpen hence, the practices of traditional watermills have an immense influence on the socio-economic and livelihood aspects of the society. It also examines how this traditional grinding practice is impacting the livelihood of rural areas. The major grinding products are food grains, fruits, vegetables, and other related products. The methods used in this study were interview, focused group discussion, and observation. A field visit was made in July 2022. The study shows that the tools of grinding are now become endangered and vulnerable. These require attention and study for preservation, whereas, the grinding practices have a huge socio-economic impact on rural areas

Stabilization of G-quadruplexes in Intronic Hematopoietic-specific Enhancer of WT1 gene with G-quadruplex targeting ligands: in silico and in vitro techniques

67-74Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) gene was identified as a tumor-suppressor gene in childhood renal neoplasm, Wilms' tumor, and has an important impact on cell growth and differentiation. So, mutations in WT1 and its over-expression related to not only Wilms’ tumor but also other tumors and leukemias. WT1’s intronic hematopoietic-specific enhancer is GC-rich and could form G-quadruplex structures. Herein, we study the effect of three G-quadruplex stabilizing ligands on the formation and stability of G-quadruplex structures in WT1 intronic hematopoietic-specific enhancer. We designed a truncated sequence of WT1 intronic enhancer (named WT1-I33) with the highest likelihood score of G-quadruplex formation and study the effect of different concentrations of TMPyP4, daunorubicin, and mitoxantrone on G-quadruplex formation in WT1-I33 oligonucleotide using in silico and cell-free assays. The results revealed that WT1-I33 has the potential to form G-quadruplex structures and these structures in WT1 hematopoietic-specific enhancer could be stabilized by the ligands. According to the role of enhancers in transcription, stabilizing of G-quadruplex structures could make the enhancer inaccessible for the transcription factors and transcription of the WT1 gene might be downregulated. These data could help emerge novel gene-specific therapeutic strategies and selective targeting of G-quadruplex structures

Climate Change Impact on Agriculture

24-2

Design, structural and theoretical characterizations of novel Schiff base compounds: Enzymes inhibitory potential using in vitro and in silico methods

105-124The aim of this paper is to further explore the enzymatic properties of two synthetic Schiff base compounds. The corresponding copper complex (CuII(L)2), with its Schiff base ligand (HL) have been synthesized and their spectroscopic (IR, UV-visible., NMR (1H, 13C, Dept-135) and MS), thermogravimetric (TG/DTG), electrochemical (CV) and theoretical (Density Functional Theory) using the hybrid B3LYP/6–31 G(d,p) method) properties have been studied and well discussed. The electrochemical behaviour of CuII(L)2 displays the Cu(III)/Cu(II) and Cu(lI)/Cu(I) redox processes. The molecular structure of HL is confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. HL crystalized in the triclinic system with the space group of P-1. The morphological structures are also analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. To improve their biological activities, inhibition of the target proteins, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), Tyrosinase (TYR), and Urease enzymes are tested in vitro and in silico using molecular docking. Furthermore, their ADMET parameters are analyzed. The drug-likeness results indicate that HL followed to Lipinski’s, Ghose’s, Veber’s, Egan’s and Muegge’s rules contrary to its copper complex which followed only to Veber’s rule. Due to the importance of cytochrome P450s proteins for detoxification, five major CYP isoforms (CYP1A2, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4) are also considered during in silico prediction

Optimisation of ready-to-cook chayote slices using pilot scale vacuum drying process

666-671Chayote (Sechium edule) fruits have very high moisture content and very soft skins, thus susceptible to spoilage and mechanical damage. Furthermore, due to a lack of suitable storage, transport and processing facilities, huge losses are incurred in terms of quality and quantity. Therefore, the study was conducted to optimise the process parameters of vacuum drying of chayote slices to produce a good quality dehydrated product. The experiments used slice thicknesses of 1, 3, and 5 mm at different temperatures (54 to 66°C). From the analysis using full factorial design and Duncan’s multiple range tests, it was observed that the optimum responses (final moisture content, rehydration ratio, energy consumption, production rate, and total cost) were obtained during vacuum drying of 1 mm chayote slices at 58°C. The results were at par with the treatment consisting of vacuum drying of 3 mm chayote slices at 58°C. From experience, slicing the chayote to 1 mm thickness was too difficult; hence, treatment at 58°C and 3 mm slice thickness may be considered as optimum process condition, which produced dried product with a moisture content of 3.5% at a production rate of 1.662 g d.p./h and had a rehydration ratio of 5.833

An Empirical Study on Open Access Scholarly Publications: Unveiling Indian Impact

171-179This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolving landscape of open-access (OA) scholarly publications originating from India during the period spanning 2013 to 2022. The study is grounded in meticulous data collected from the Scopus bibliographic database. The findings illuminate a prolific scholarly output, with India contributing 477,576 publications in the open-access domain, of which 76% are under the research paper category. A discernible thematic distribution emerges from the analysis, with Medicine emerging as the foremost area of contribution, closely trailed by Engineering. These two domains collectively account for a substantial 30% share of the overall scholarly discourse. The All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi, holds a dominant position among the other institutional affiliations. The Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research emerges as a top source, with an impressive tally of 7627 OA publications. Comparative global insights reveal the United States as a frontrunner in the open-access landscape, while India claims a commendable 7th position in the rank. Distinguished individual contributions also make their presence known, particularly D. Dutta from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) emerged as the leading prolific contributor. The Green and Gold OA models distinctly resonate among Indian contributors, echoing the evolving paradigms in disseminating scholarly output

Preparation and evaluation of spray dried powder of Trigonella foenum-graecum seeds as suspending agents to develop rivaroxaban nanosuspension

105-117The present study aimed to formulate rivaroxaban nanosuspension by nanoprecipitation with the ultrasonication method and was stabilized by different concentrations of Fenugreek Seed Mucilage, Microcrystalline Cellulose and Carboxymethyl Cellulose. The formulated nanosuspensions were evaluated for saturation solubility studies, particle size, drug content, zeta potential, and in vitro drug release. In the FT-IR spectra of the drug in the physical mixture, it was noted that the peaks had remained unaltered. DSC thermograms of Rivaroxaban and the physical mixture indicated the absence of interaction and the presence of the drug in an unchanged form. The evaluation tests were conducted and optimization was done using Minitab software. Optimized formulation F3 demonstrated an impressive saturation solubility of 0.89 mg/mL. The particle size distribution studies revealed that the optimized formulation F3 showed 79 nm. Formulation F3 exhibited drug content reaching 75%. The zeta potential was measured at -33 mV for formulation F3. Pure drug RN exhibited a cumulative drug release of 20%, and formulation F3 showed 71% cumulative drug release at the end of the 60th min. Rivaroxaban nanosuspension showed a prolonged duration of drug action, enhanced the rate and extent of drug absorption, and ultimately increased the therapy's effectiveness

Expressions of serum miR-146a and COX-2 in children with drug-resistant epilepsy and their correlation with prognosis

140-144Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic diseases of nervous system, and long-termanti-epileptic drug therapy leads to drug-resistant epilepsy in few cases. MicroRNA-146a is reported to influence development of drug-resistant epilepsy by regulating inflammatory response. Similarly, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is also known to play an important role in the early inflammatory response and neural excitation of brain tissue under ischemic and hypoxic conditions and alleviate epilepsy. Here, we investigated the expression of serum miR-146a and COX-2 in children with drug-resistant epilepsy and their correlation with prognosis. A total of 173 children with epilepsy were selected and divided into non-drug resistant group (110 patients) and drug-resistant group (63 patients) according to the diagnostic standard of International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). All children with drug-resistant epilepsy received hemispheric insular transection, the prognosis was evaluated according to Engel classification, and the children were divided into non-recurrence group (51 patients) and recurrence group (12 patients) according to the 1-year follow-up results. qRT-PCR and ELISA was used to detect the expression level of miR-146a in serum and COX-2, respectively, and compared between the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to evaluate the predictive value of serum miR-146a and COX-2 expression levels in drugresistant epilepsy, and logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of relapse in children with drugresistant epilepsy. There were no significant differences in gender, age, family history of epilepsy, course of disease and seizure frequency between non-drug resistant group and drug-resistant group (P >0.05); compared with those in the non-drug resistant group, the expression levels of miR-146a and COX-2 in the drug resistant group were higher (P <0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of serum miR-146a and COX-2 alone or combination in predicting drug-resistant epilepsy was 0.752, 0.757 and 0.836, respectively. The cut-off value of miR-146a in predicting drugresistant epilepsy was 1.09, and the sensitivity and specificity were 74.60 and 65.50%, respectively. The cut-off value of COX-2 was 2.05 ng/L, the sensitivity and specificity were 65.10 and 80.90%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the two methods were 68.30 and 86.40%, respectively, and the specificity was higher than that of single prediction. Compared with those in the non-recurrence group, the levels of serum miR-146a and COX-2 in the recurrence group were higher (P <0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that high level of miR-146a and high level of COX-2 were risk factors for recurrence of drug-resistant epilepsy (P <0.05). Over all, our results suggest that the expression of serum miR-146a and COX-2 are related to the occurrence and prognosis of drug-resistant epilepsy, which may be used for early prediction and risk assessment of prognostic recurrence