INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF NF-κB, COX-1, COX-2, COMT, IL-10, IL-6 AND TNF-α IN MODULATING ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE ACTIVITY OF METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF ENTADA PHASEOLOIDES

Objective: To investigate the analgesic activity of methanolic extract of Entada phaseoloides (MEEP) along with its molecular mechanistic pathway. Methods: Swiss albino female mice and Wistar rats of either sex were administered orally with MEEP extracts (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) and pentazocine, tramadol and diclofenac sodium, as standard drugs. Following administration, anti-nociceptive activity was evaluated using an acetic acid-induced writhing test, Eddy’s hot plate, and hot water immersion test. Serum was collected for molecular expression of various proteins and genes using Reverse Transcriptase PCR and Western Blotting. Results: Acetic acid writhing test, a frequently used method to assess peripheral analgesic activity, revealed that MEEP reduced peripherally induced pain in a dose-dependent manner. Likewise, Eddy’s hot plate and hot water immersion methods, often implicated for testing central analgesic activities, showed that MEEP is bestowed with the capability to counteract analgesia in a dose and time-dependent manner. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and factors like COX-2, IL-6, TNF-α, and NF-κB that cause inflammatory responses and pain were significantly reduced, suggesting its analgesic and anti-inflammatory potential. This analgesic and the anti-inflammatory role played by MEEP is also supported by the up-regulation of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and COMT and COX-1 enzyme demonstrated no significant difference between the groups. Conclusion: The study revealed the weak peripheral and potent central analgesic property MEEP by modulating pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways

ENTADA PHASEOLOIDES ATTENUATES SCOPOLAMINE INDUCED MEMORY IMPAIRMENT, NEURO-INFLAMMATION AND NEURO-DEGENERATION VIA BDNF/TRKB/NFΚB P65 PATHWAY IN RADIAL ARM MAZE

Objective: The present study investigates the protective effects of crude extract from seeds of Entada phaseoloides and isolated compounds in enhancing cognition in Scopolamine induced learning and memory impairments in the radial arm maze model.Methods: Two doses (100 and 200 mg/kg) of the crude methanolic extract of Entada phaseoloides (MEEP) were evaluated for amnesic activity by Radial Arm Maze memory model. Scopolamine (0.4 mg/kg i. p.), an amnestic drug was used for impairing memory. Tacrine (3 mg/kg, i. p.) was used as the standard drug. Animals were sacrificed to evaluate biochemical parameters viz. lipid peroxidase (LPO), nitrite oxide (NO), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), cytokine levels by ELISA, Catecholamine levels by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Caspase-3 activity by Fluorogenic assay, Gene (BDNF, TrkB, NF-κB p65, BAX) expression studies by Western Blotting and AChE, α7nAchR, Caspase-3, Nrf2 and HO-1 by Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction.Results: Treatment with MEEP significantly decreases escape latency and reference memory error (RME). MEEP treatment reversed the Scopolamine-induced hyperactivation of Acetylcholinesterase activity and overexpression of proteins NF-κB p65 BAX and also Caspase-3 activity in the hippocampus of rats. The level of BDNF, TrkB and α7nAchR were significantly up-regulated and AChE, Caspase-3, Nrf2, HO-1 were down-regulated in the MEEP treated rat. The extract increased the activity of SOD, GSH, Catalase, 5-HT, NE, Dopamine and decreased the levels of LPO and NO in rat hippocampus. Different active components of the seeds have been isolated.Conclusion: These results indicated that seeds of Entada phaseoloides might become a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction in addition to its already established medicinal properties

Evaluation of anti-amnestic activity of few medicinal plants against scopolamine induced amnesia

581-589<span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-US">Dementia is a syndrome of progressive nature, characterized by impairment of memory and loss of intellectual ability. Subsequently, allopathic system of medicine is yet to provide a fundamental cure; it is meaningful to look for novel directions, which would curtail the memory loss seen in elderly patients. We have screened few plants for enhancement of memory and learning in our laboratory as pilot study and found two plants, viz. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Acorus calamus L. and Gnetum gnemon L. to be more promising than others. Hence, the rationale for this study was to evaluate the prospective beneficial effect of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Acorus calamus and Gnetum gnemon on learning and memory in rats using Radial-arm maze and Barnes maze and Morris water maze in mice using a repeated acquisition procedure. A suspension preparation of A. calamus (200mg/kg) and G. gnemon (200mg/kg) was administered orally after completion of the specific training period. Memory loss was induced by Scopolamine (0.4mg/kg i.p.), a muscarinic cholinergic antagonist and a classic amnestic drug. Tacrine (3mg/kg i.p) was used as the standard drug. The data obtained from behavioral and biochemical studies (Acetylcholinesterase, MDA and nitrite estimation) have shown that G.gnemon, and A. calamus possessed significant memory enhancing potency. However, further studies are necessitated to identify the exact mechanism of action.</span

Ameliorating effect of <em>Gnetum gnemon</em> L. on hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis during acute and chronic stress in rats

240-246There is an imperative pre-requisite to look for newer and safer drugs derived from natural resources, which will help in fighting stress. Gnetum gnemon L. (Bago), a versatile medicinal plant with a wide range of ethnobotanical utilizations, has been broadly used therapeutically and is becoming increasingly popular as nutraceutic agent. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antistress or adaptogenic activity of Gnetum gnemon. Male Wistar rats were grouped as acute stress (AS) group, chronic stress (CS) group, vehicle control group and standard drug (Zeetress) treated group. The rats exposed to acute stress (AS) for 3 days and chronic stress (CS) for 7 days were treated with ethanolic extract of Gnetum gnemon (100 and 200 mg/kg p.o.) daily for (AS and CS), respectively. Water immersion stress was used in stress models. Ethanolic extract of Gnetum gnemon (100 and 200 mg/kg p.o.) reverted the elevated levels of ALT, AST, plasma glucose, cholesterol and creatine kinase and triglyceride level. In the extract treated groups, the size of the spleen was normalized than the stress control group. The size of the hypertrophied adrenal glands was reduced due to its putative adaptogenic property

Anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory activity of a polyherbal formulation against Freund’s complete adjuvant induced arthritis in Wistar rats

482-489Piper longum L. (Piperaceae), Clerodendrum indicum (L.) Kuntze (Lamiaceae), Acorus calamus L. (Acoraceae) are traditionally used for the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis and other inflammatory conditions in the traditional medicine of India. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-arthritic effect of a polyherbal formulation (PHF) and its underlying mechanism in adjuvant induced arthritis (AIA). Arthritis was induced by intradermal injection of complete Freund’s adjuvant (0.1 ml) into the left hind paw of the Wistar albino rats. PHF (100 & 200 mg/kg b.wt) and prednisolone (PDL) (5 mg/kg b.wt) were administered orally from 1st day to 28th day after adjuvant induction. Induction of arthritis significantly increased hind paw volume (HPV), levels of reactive oxygen species (LPO and NO), and inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) with subsequent decrease in the anti-oxidant status (GSH, SOD and CAT) in arthritic rats compared to controls. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of inflammatory enzymes (iNOS and COX-2), and transcription factor (NF-κB) was found upregulated in the joint tissues of arthritic rats in RT-PCR analysis. On the other hand, the above said imbalances were reverted back effectively to near normal following supplementation with PHF which was supported by the histopathological examination with decreased infiltration of inflammatory cells and synovial hyperplasia eventually protecting further damage of the affected joints. In conclusion, these findings showed that PHF exerted beneficial effects on rheumatoid arthritis in rats

Zanthoxylum alatum abrogates lipopolysaccharide-induced depression-like behaviours in mice by modulating neuroinflammation and monoamine neurotransmitters in the hippocampus

Context: Depression is an inflammatory, commonly occurring and lethal psychiatric disorder having high lifetime prevalence. Zanthoxylum alatum Roxb. (Rutaceae), commonly called Timur, has high medicinal value and is used ethnomedicinally for the treatment of various diseases. Objective: To evaluate the effect of hexane extract of Z. alatum seeds (ZAHE) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression-like behaviour in Swiss albino mice. Materials and methods: Mice were treated with ZAHE (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) and imipramine (10 mg/kg injected i.p.) for 14 days. On 14th day of the treatment, depression-like behaviour was induced by LPS (0.83 mg/kg injected i.p.) and after 24 h of LPS administration, it was assessed by measuring behavioural parameters and biochemical estimations. Results: Behavioural tests, including the open field test, forced swimming test, tail suspension test and sucrose preference test revealed that ZAHE (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) and imipramine (10 mg/kg injected i.p.) alleviated the depression symptoms of LPS-induced mice. Moreover, ZAHE treatments reversed the LPS-induced alterations in the concentrations of norepinephrine and serotonin (5-HT) and inhibited the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxido-nitrosative stress in the mice. Acute toxicity was calculated to be LD50 > 2500 mg/kg. Discussion and conclusions: This study showed that LPS-induced depression in mice was significantly prevented by ZAHE at both the dosages. In conclusion, ZAHE exhibited an antidepressant activity by altering monoaminergic neurotransmitters in the brain combined with its anti-inflammatory potential. Thus, it could be an effective therapeutic against inflammation-induced depression and other brain disorders

Abstracts of National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020

This book presents the abstracts of the papers presented to the Online National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020 (RDMPMC-2020) held on 26th and 27th August 2020 organized by the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Science in Association with the Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. Conference Title: National Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization 2020Conference Acronym: RDMPMC-2020Conference Date: 26–27 August 2020Conference Location: Online (Virtual Mode)Conference Organizer: Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology JamshedpurCo-organizer: Department of Production and Industrial Engineering, National Institute of Technology Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, IndiaConference Sponsor: TEQIP-