ANTIDIABETIC AND ANTIHYPERLIPIDAEMIC ACTIVITY OF NELUMBO NUCIFERA GAERTN ETHANOL SEED EXTRACT IN STREPTOZOTOCIN INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

Objective: The main objective of the study was to investigate the effect of ethanol seed extracts of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn (Nymphaeaceae) as antihyperglycemic, anti-hyperlipidemic and antioxidant activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.Methods: Diabetes was induced in wistar albino rats by administration of streptozotocin (single intraperitoneal dose of 60 mg/kg B. W). The ethanol extract of N. nucifera seed at a dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight was administrated at a single dose per day to STZ induced diabetic rats for a period of 42 d. The different pharmacological parameters were evaluated. The effect of ethanol seed extract of N. nucifera on insulin, blood glucose, urea, creatinine, HbA1C, serum protein, albumin, globulin, serum enzymes, serum lipid profiles, lipid peroxides (LPO) and other antioxidant enzymes like catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured in the diabetic rats.Results: In the acute toxicity study ethanol seed extract of Nelumbo nucifera were non-toxic at 2000 mg/kg in rats. The ethanol extract of Nelumbo nucifera seed showed significant reduction in blood glucose (p<0.05), serum enzymes (SGPT, SGOT, ALP) (p<0.05), lipid parameters (TC, TG, VLDL, LDL) (p<0.05) except HDL and significantly increased insulin (p<0.05), HDL (p<0.05), GPx, GSH, SOD and CAT (p<0.05) at the dose of 400 mg/kg when compared with the diabetic-induced control.Conclusion: The present study suggested that the NNSE has significant (p<0.05) antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant activity in STZ induced diabetic rats. These results clearly indicate that Nelumbo nucifera is effective against free radical-mediated diseases, thus replacing the synthetic ones

Current understanding on venous leg ulcer

Venous leg ulcer (VLU) or stasis ulcer is a relatively common, chronic and recurring problem. Besides being costly to the health-care system, it significantly impairs the quality of life of the patients. Nearly 1% of adults and 3.6% of older patients are reported to suffer from this chronic condition. Chronic venous insufficiency is considered to be the predominant cause of VLU. The most recent theories associate the pathogenesis of venous ulcer with microcirculatory abnormalities and generation of an inflammatory response. The pharmacological treatment for VLU is based on the pathogenesis and often includes diosmin, pentoxifylline, diuretics as well as antibiotics and the non-pharmacological treatment like compression and skin grafting. VLU has a high rate of recurrence and requires self-care to avoid relapse. Treatment of VLU should always focus for complete treatment, and improve quality of life for patients along with minimum relapse. In recent years novel therapeutic approaches for venous ulcers have offered valuable tools for the management of patients with this disorder

Characteristics of proton velocity distribution functions in the near-lunar wake from Chandrayaan-1/SWIM observations

Due to the high absorption of solar wind plasma on the lunar dayside, a large scale wake structure is formed downstream of the Moon. However, recent in-situ observations have revealed the presence of protons in the near-lunar wake (100 km to 200 km from the surface). The solar wind, either directly or after interaction with the lunar surface (including magnetic anomalies), is the source of these protons in the near-wake region. Using the entire data from the SWIM sensor of the SARA experiment onboard Chandrayaan-1, we analysed the velocity distribution of the protons observed in the near-lunar wake. The average velocity distribution functions, computed in the solar wind rest frame, were further separated based on the angle between the upstream solar wind velocity and the IMF. Several proton populations were identified from the velocity distribution and their possible entry mechanism were inferred based on the characteristics of the velocity distribution. These entry mechanisms include (i) diffusion of solar wind protons into the wake along IMF, (ii) the solar wind protons with finite gyro-radii that are aided by the wake boundary electric field, (iii) solar wind protons with gyro-radii larger than lunar radii from the tail of the solar wind velocity distribution, and (iv) scattering of solar wind protons from the dayside lunar surface or from magnetic anomalies. In order to gain more insight into the entry mechanisms associated with different populations, backtracing is carried out for each of these populations. For most of the populations, the source of the protons obtained from backtracing is found to be in agreement with that inferred from the velocity distribution. There are few populations that could not be explained by the known mechanisms and remain unknown.Comment: 8 figures, paper accepted in Icarus (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.01.03

COMPARATIVE STUDY TO CHECK THE EFFICACY OF pH STRIP & pH GLOVES FOR DETECTION OF BACTERIAL VAGINOSIS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objectives: Comparative study to check the efficacy of pH Strip & pH Gloves for Detection of Bacterial Vaginosis in a Tertiary Care Hospital.Methods: It was a duly approved, cross-sectional study in which 50 subjects were enrolled from Tertiary care hospital, New Delhi, India. Written informed consent was obtained from all women. Vaginal swabs were collected for vaginal pH measurement. Vaginal pH was evaluated immediately with the pH strips and vaginal pH glove simultaneously.Results: The study was done on to check the efficacy of pH strip & pH gloves in pregnant as well as non-pregnant women by regularly visiting the tertiary care hospital. Among 50 subjects 8(16%) were Pregnant and 42(84%) were Non-pregnant. The mean age of the patients included in the study was found to be 26.1±19.5 years. After a Gram stain and microscopic examination of samples obtained from 50 women, those with intermediate flora and Candida infection were excluded and the final analysis was done on 40 samples. Among 40, 15 were diagnosed with BV and 25 had normal vaginal flora based on Nugents' score.Conclusions: Our findings show that vaginal pH determination is relatively sensitive, but less specific in detecting women with BV. Both pH glove and pH strip are equally suitable for screening women with BV on an outpatient basis. Further studies are required to explore the possibility of self-evaluation of vaginal pH with pH glove at community level.Â