Sustainable prospective of some selected species from Moraceae and Araceae family of Northeast India: A Review

The north-eastern region of India is a rich hub of floristic diversity. The intricate relationship between forest resources and indigenous people is a key to sustainability and rural livelihood. The objective is to review on some plants that has possible function for sustainable source of food. The regional people have been utilizing various species of the two commonly available angiosperm plant families viz. Araceae (Alocasia macrorrhizos, Colocasia esculenta) and Moraceae (Ficus carica, F. semicordata, F. auriculata) as a source of food, herbal medicine, and fodder plants. A variety of natural compounds found among various members of these two families are alkaloids viz., Alocasin B, ?-monopalmitin in A. macrorrhizos; flavonoids viz., orientin, isovitexin, in C. esculenta; betulinic acid, lupeol in F. auriculata; quercetin, leucine, tryptophan in F. carica; terpenoids like ?-thuzene, ?-pinene in F. semicordata; besides the presence of phenols, tannins, saponins, fats, carbohydrates, amino acids and proteins, minerals like Ca, Mg, K, Mn, Cu. The rich tradition of indigenous herbal healthcare practices for curing various ailments are widespread among the rural communities. The review entails the indigenous practices with pharmacological efficacy, phytochemistry and sustainable prospects of Moraceae and Araceae which are widely used in food, nutraceutical and medicinal aspects. These lesser-known plant species may attribute to ecological restoration, bioremediation of toxic compounds, discovery of novel therapeutics, sources of carbon sink in near future as well

Burden of head and neck cancers in Kamrup urban district cancer registry of Assam, India: a retrospective study

Background: Head and Neck cancers are basically squamous cell carcinomas. It is the fifth most common cancer and the sixth most common cause of cancer mortality in the world. Incidence of cancer as a whole for all sites is fourth highest in Kamrup Urban District (KUD) in males (AAR 185.2) and second highest (AAR 156.3) in females out of all Population Based Cancer Registries (PBCR) in India. Incidence of head and neck cancers in KUD is quite high both nationally and internationally. This retrospective study was carried out to assess the incidence pattern of head and neck cancers in Kamrup Urban District of Assam, India for the period of 2009-2011.  Methods: Cancer is not notifiable in India, so method of collecting information on cancer was active in PBCR Guwahati. A total of 4416 cases were registered during the three years (1st January 2009- 31st December 2011) of which 2508 were male and 1908 female. Statistical analysis used: Age Adjusted Rate (AAR), Crude Rate (CR) and Population pyramids are provided by NCRP-ICMR.Results: The relative proportion of head and neck cancers of total cancer cases registered in KUD constitutes 26% (654/2508) and 12% (225/1908) in male and female respectively. In males cancer of hypopharynx (AAR 14.7) was most common followed by tongue (AAR 9.4) and mouth (AAR 7.7). In females cancer of mouth (AAR 7.6) is most common followed by cancer of tongue (AAR 3.2).Conclusion: The pattern and incidence of various head and neck cancers is of utmost importance for primary prevention and early detection to adequately manage these cancers comprehensively in the community.

Central retinal arterial occlusion in a patient with pyoderma gangrenosum

A 74-year-old male presented to us with a history of vision loss for 36 hours in the right eye (RE). The RE had a visual acuity of hand movements. The fundus revealed a pale retina, cattle tracking in the retinal vessels, and a cherry-red spot at the macula. The patient was a known case of pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) and had received intravenous methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide at the onset of visual symptoms. An emergency anterior chamber paracentesis was performed following unsuccessful attempts of ocular massage. The patient improved to 6/9 in the RE 4 months after paracentesis. The patient had an aggressive course of PG, for which he needed a combination of oral steroid, immunomodulator therapy and biologicals. An association between central retinal arterial occlusion and PG has not been reported before, according to the best of authors' knowledge

Traditional uses, phytochemistry and therapeutic efficacy of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) - A Review

The usage of naturally available resources by humans for gratifying different requirements is an age-old custom. This is because natural products provide indispensable facilities in the form of nutritional, economic, social, medicinal aspects and many more. Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) has been used as an herbal medicine by different groups of ethnic people. Besides having medicinal prospect, this plant is commonly used as a source of nutrition for humans and animals in tropical regions. However, conduction of more studies to see if there is chemical, microbiological, and/or clinical evidence, from a scientific perspective, of their effectiveness for those ailments. Therefore, this review was conducted to summarize the traditional uses, to understand the phytochemistry and identify the possible correlation between bioactive compounds and corresponding pharmacological properties. A systematic and detailed literature search has been undertaken for the study by using standard search engines like Google Scholar, PubMed, SciFinder, Research Gate and Science Direct. The evidential information was then assembled to present the manuscript with separate sections. From the literature search, it came into focus that Cassava contains various secondary metabolites which exhibits some notable pharmacological activities like antioxidant, antiradical, anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiarrheal, analgesic and pesticidal activity. The biological activities established by cassava provide insight into its usagthe e in traditional medicinal systems. But an intricate and thorough review appears to be deficient on M. esculenta. Therefore, this review has summarized the studies investigating about the traditional uses, phytochemistry, bioactive compounds and therapeutic efficacy of M. esculenta. The significance of this review is aimed at a better understanding of the novel applications and further considerations for more logical and scientific evaluation. We hope this study will further aid in the development of research on this area to identify a new generation of natural source-based treatments that will help meet the growing consumer demand for safe, sustainable, and natural treatments