Antioxidant activity of fungi isolated from soil of different areas of Punjab,India

The study was carried outto investigate the antioxidant activity of fungi isolated from soil of different areas of Punjab, India and compare their efficiency with a known antioxidant, ascorbic acid. The antioxidant potential of fungal extracts was quantified by DPPH and reducing power assay. Total phenolic contents were estimated using Folins-Ciocalteau (FC) reagent. Out of 113 fungal isolates selected, 51 were having antioxidant potential and these were further assayed quantitatively. All of these showed good activity against DPPH radical while 32 of these isolates demonstrated reducing potential also. In addition, some were equally good as ascorbic acid. The present study demonstrated potential of soil fungi to have antioxidant activity similar to plants and mushrooms. High phenolic content of fungi further highlight their significance as new sources of natural antioxidants. These fungi may provide easier set up for production and purification of natural antioxidants as compared to higher plants

Antioxidant Activity of Aspergillus fumigatus

The antioxidant activity of Aspergillus fumigatus was assayed by different procedures and correlated with its extracellular total phenolic contents. Different physio-chemical parameters were optimized to enhance the activity. The culture grown under stationary conditions for 10 days at 25°C at pH 7 gave the best antioxidant activity. Statistical approaches demonstrated sucrose and NaNO3 to be the most suitable carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Response surface analysis showed 5% sucrose, 0.05% NaNO3, and incubation temperature of 35°C to be the optimal conditions for best expression of antioxidant activity. Under these conditions, the antioxidant potential assayed through different procedures was 89.8%, 70.1%, and 70.2% scavenging effect for DPPH radical, ferrous ion and nitric oxide ion, respectively. The reducing power showed an absorbance of 1.0 and FRAP assay revealed the activity of 60.5%. Extracellular total phenolic content and antioxidant activity as assayed by different procedures positively correlated

Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA); targeting oral cavity pathogens

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Boswellic acids mixture of triterpenic acids obtained from the oleo gum resin of <it>Boswellia serrata </it>and known for its effectiveness in the treatment of chronic inflammatory disease including peritumor edema. Boswellic acids have been extensively studied for a number of activities including anti inflammatory, antitumor, immunomodulatory, and inflammatory bowel diseases. The present study describes the antimicrobial activities of boswellic acid molecules against oral cavity pathogens. Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA), which exhibited the most potent antibacterial activity, was further evaluated in time kill studies, mutation prevention frequency, postantibiotic effect (PAE) and biofilm susceptibility assay against oral cavity pathogens.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>AKBA exhibited an inhibitory effect on all the oral cavity pathogens tested (MIC of 2-4 μg/ml). It exhibited concentration dependent killing of S<it>treptococcus mutans </it>ATCC 25175 up to 8 × MIC and also prevented the emergence of mutants of <it>S.mutans </it>ATCC 25175 at 8× MIC. AKBA demonstrated postantibiotic effect (PAE) of 5.7 ± 0.1 h at 2 × MIC. Furthermore, AKBA inhibited the formation of biofilms generated by <it>S.mutans </it>and <it>Actinomyces viscosus </it>and also reduced the preformed biofilms by these bacteria.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>AKBA can be useful compound for the development of antibacterial agent against oral pathogens and it has great potential for use in mouthwash for preventing and treating oral infections.</p

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Not AvailableBackground: Agricultural waste bioconversion aimed at producing fungal biomass is a highly attractive alternative because, besides resulting in products of commercial interest, it reduces the amount of waste thereby minimizing pollution. Materials and Methods: The present study was planned to investigate the antioxidant potential of fungi isolated from soil of different areas of Punjab, India. Screening of the fungal isolates for antioxidant activity was carried out by dot blot assay. Out of 120 fungal isolates, 51 of fungal isolates demonstrated antioxidant potential and 8 fungal strains with highest activity were further assayed quantitatively on different agro-residues (Wheat Straw (WS), Rice Straw (RS), Corn Cob (CC), Pea Pod (PP) and sugarcane baggases (SC)) by various assay procedures (DPPH assay, reducing power, ferrous ion and Nitric Oxide (NO) ion scavenging activity, ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay). Total phenolic content was also estimated using Folins-Ciocalteau (FC) reagent. Results: All the eight fungal strains (Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus terreus 1, Aspergillus terreus 2, Aspergillus wentii 1, Aspergillus wentii 2, Penicillium citrinum, Penicillium granulatum and Penicillium expansum) demonstrated good antioxidant activity assayed through various assay procedures and total phenolic content. All the agro-residues supported good antioxidant activity. Sugarcane baggases (SC) was the best substrate followed by Pea Pod (PP) for antioxidant activity. Conclusion: To the best of knowledge apparently this is the first systematic report on antioxidant activity of selected fungi. Agro-industrial residues can be reused for the production of different bioactive phenolic compound.Not Availabl

In vitro antimicrobial potential of extracts and phytoconstituents from Gymnema sylvestre R.Br. leaves and their biosafety evaluation

Abstract The in vitro antimicrobial screening of Gymnema sylvestre leaves against 13 test pathogens established its broad spectrum activity with average inhibition zone ranging from 14 to 23 mm. The antimicrobial activity of the classically- optimized aqueous extract was enhanced up to 1.45 folds, when subjected to statistical optimization using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and was thermostable. Ethyl acetate was found to be the best organic extractant with Klebsiella pneumoniae 1 (31.5 mm) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (25.5 mm) being the most sensitive among Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria, respectively. Among the major group of phytoconstituents detected, tannins were the most abundant followed by flavonoids and phytosterols, while triterpenes were absent. Flavonoids and cardiac glycosides exhibited a broad range of antimicrobial potential, with inhibition zone ranging from 13 to 35 mm, where Candida albicans was the most sensitive organism. Ethyl acetate extract showed better potency with lowest Minimum inhibitory concentration (0.1–1 mg ml−1) than the aqueous extract (1–3 mg ml−1) and all partially purified phytoconstituents (0.1–10 mg ml−1). The ethyl acetate extract and flavonoids were highly potent, as they exhibited a total activity potency ranging from 41.4 to 1045 ml g−1. Time kill studies revealed their microbicidal action, where ethyl acetate extract had a kill time from 0 to 12 h. However, among phytoconstituents, flavonoids were the most effective (0–8 h). The MIC and time kill study was also compared to that of standard antibiotics. These findings indicate that Gymnema sylvestre can be a potential source for development of leading metabolites against pathogens of clinical importance like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus etc. They were neither mutagenic nor cytotoxic, as revealed by Ames and MTT assay

A study of the prevalence and risk factors of asthma in urban schools of Ludhiana, Punjab

Background: Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease being increasingly diagnosed in recent years. A review estimating the prevalence of bronchial asthma in the Indian children concluded the burden to be high than previously understood. There is paucity of data from Punjab, and no study from Ludhiana has estimated the true prevalence of asthma in urban area. Objective: To determine the prevalence and risk factors for childhood asthma using questionnaires and pulmonary function tests. Material and Methods: This was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study over a period of 1.5 year in the age group of 5-15 years studying in three schools of urban Ludhiana. The data were analyzed b STATA Software (version 16, college station Tx, USA). P < 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: The retrieval of questionnaire I was possible in 80% of the 2500 distributed. The prevalence of asthma was calculated as 7.5% (95% confidence interval, 5.2-10.5). The mean age of the children with asthma was 8.67 ΁ 2.62 years. The most common symptoms reported by the cases were wheezing and seasonal allergy. No predilection for sex, socioeconomic status, and pet at home was noted. The family history of asthma and allergy, family history of smoking were emerged as significant risk factors. Conclusions: The prevalence of asthma in the urban schools of Ludhiana was found to be 7.5% which was much higher than previously reported. Age groups 5-8 years were commonly affected. Family history of asthma or allergy, and smoking history were found to be significant risk factors for development of asthma