STUDIES ON ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF SIX CULTIVARS OF PIPER BETLE LINN

Objective: To study the existence of difference or similarity on total phenolic content, flavonoid content and antioxidant properties among different cultivars of Piper betle L. Methods: The methanolic extracts of six different cultivars, i. e. Banarasi, Bangla, Calcutta, Kammar, Kumbakonam and Vellai were evaluated for total phenolic content (Folin-Ciocalteu method), total flavonoid content (Aluminium chloride method), total antioxidants (Phospho-molybdenum method) and other antioxidant properties (TBA assay, Ferric thiocyanate assay, FRAP assay and ABTS assay). Results: Total phenolic content of the cultivars ranges from 12.5 to 13.9 mg TAE/g DW. Higher flavonoid content was observed in Kumbakonam (24.14 µg QE/g DW) while Bangla possessed the lowest (8.25 µg QE/g DW). The total antioxidants of Vellai accounted to 58.82 mg TAE/g DW while the lowest was recorded in Kumbakonam (39.34 mg TAE/g DW). Maximum % inhibition was observed in the cultivar Vellai for Ferric thiocyanate (FTC), Kumbakonam for Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and Banarasi for Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP). However, no significant difference was exhibited among the cultivars for ABTS assay. Conclusion: The study amply demonstrates the existence of difference in total phenolic content, total flavonoids and antioxidant property. Thus, proper selection of cultivar of Piper betle for specific use in the pharmaceutical industry is recommended

QUALITY ASSESSMENT FOR THE PRESENCE OF HEAVY METALS IN HERBAL MATERIALS FROM THE MARKETS OF CHENNAI, INDIA

Objective: To assess the quality of herbal materials for the presence of heavy metals. Methods: Herbal materials of around 49 samples from Chennai markets were procured and analysed for the presence of metals like Copper (Cu), Calcium (Ca), Cobalt (Co), Sodium (Na), Nickel (Ni), Magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr) and Lead (Pb) using AAS, Shimadzu, AA 7000, Japan. Results: The raw materials of the commercial herbal products were found to contain Manganese, Calcium and Magnesium at greater concentrations, when compared with the other elements analyzed. Conclusion: The presence of the metals analyzed were found to be within permissible limits in accordance to the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and WHO standards. Although the study implies consumption of herbal materials are safe, periodical monitoring of the quality of the herbal materials is recommended

Magnetoresistance sensor-based rotor fault detection in induction motor using non-decimated wavelet and streaming data

In this paper, the giant magnetoresistance broken rotor (GBR) method is used to diagnose the induction motor (IM) rotor bar fault at an early stage from outward magnetic flux developed by IM.The outward magnetic field signal has anti-clockwise radiation due to broken rotor bar current.In this paper, the outward magnetic signal is acquired using a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) sensor. In the GBR method, IM rotor fault is analysed with a non-decimated wavelet transform (NDWT)-based outward magnetic signal. Experimental result shows the difference in statistical features and energy levels of sub-bands of NDWT for healthy and faulty IM. Least square-support vector machine(LS-SVM)-based classification results are verified by confusion matrix based on 150 outward magnetic signals from a healthy and damaged rotor (broken rotor). The proposed method identifies IM rotor faults with 95% sensitivity, 90% specificity and 92.5% classification accuracy. Furthermore, run-time IM condition monitoring is performed through the ThinkSpeak internet of things (IoT) platform for collecting outer magnetic signal data. ThinkSpeak streaming data of outward magnetic field help detect rotor fault at the initial stage and understand the growth of rotor fault in the motor. The proposed GBR method overcomes sensitivity, translation-invariance limitations of existing IM rotor fault diagnosis methods

ANTIOXIDANT, FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING ACTIVITY AND GC-MS STUDIES ON PEDILANTHUS TITHYMALOIDES (L.) POIT

Objective: To evaluate the methanolic extract of the leaves of Pedilanthus tithymaloides for total phenol, total flavonoid, total antioxidant and free radical scavenging ability and detect the phytoconstituents using GC-MS. Methods: The total phenols were quantified using Folin-Ciocalteu method. Aluminium chloride method and Phosphomolybdenum method were used to quantify total flavonoid and total antioxidant contentrespectively. In addition to the above, Ferric thiocyanate assay, the thiobarbituric acid assay,Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power assay and ABTS assay were performed to know the antioxidant potency of the methanolic extract of leaves of Pedilanthus tithymaloides. The phytoconstituents was detected using GC-MS. Results: The leaves of Pedilanthus tithymaloides recorded a phenolic content of 10.98±0.08 mg TAE/g DW, flavonoid content of 11.49±0.15 µg QE/g DW and total antioxidant content of 6.64±0.05 mg TAE/g DW. The study also revealed significant free radical scavenging ability of the plant leaves as assessed by FTC, TBA, FRAP and ABTS assays. The structural elucidation by GC-MS analysis revealed five different compounds, includingthree esters, an amine and an alkaloid. Conclusion: The study proves the anticipative potential ability of Pedilanthus tithymaloides, suggesting its exploitation in pharmaceutical applications

Synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of heterocyclic triazole derived Schiff base ligands comprising Mn(II) complexes: Implications of their DNA/protein binding docking and anticancer activity studies

797-805Schiff base ligands comprising heterocyclic moieties deserve distinct consideration because of their excellent chemotherapeutic and antioxidant properties as biologically active agents. In present investigation, two novel heterocyclic triazole derived Schiff base ligands have been synthesized using 3-chlorobenzaldehyde (L1), 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (L2) with 1H-1,2,4-triazol-3-amine backbone that are biologically active. Mn(II) complexes have been synthesized by combing ligands in 1:2 molar ratio (metal:ligand), their structure and bonding nature are recognised by respective physical, spectral and analytical data. The ligands (L1 & L2) and their metal complexes are characterized by elemental analyses, electronic, FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR and EPR spectroscopy techinques. Antimicrobial activity of the synthesized L1, L2 and their metal complexes are tested against Bacillus subtilis (Gram-positive, catalase-positive bacterium) as well as Fungi namely Phylium Aphanidematum, Macrophomina phasiolina, Fusarium oxysporum. Both the ligands and metal complexes exhibit excellent antimicrobial activity under low inhibitory concentration such MIC ≤ 250 μg/mL. Upon co-ordination, antimicrobial properties have been enhanced by 21%. The anticancer activity of the synthesized complex has been investigated against human tumour cell lines (Breast cancer MCF-7 cells) demonstrated that L1M complex displays potent inhibition against MCF-7. Using this molecular docking study, we can predict the complex–biomolecular interaction and it plays vital role in the drug discovery and also it is a step by step process which is used to place synthesised compounds into the binding sites of the DNA molecule. Further, Molecular DNA docking results demonstrated encouraging responses, thereby opening up new avenues for the application of the synthesized inorganic triazole derivative complexes as leads for the development of novel anti-cancer drugs

Effect of Organic Cultivation of Capsicum annuum L. on Soil Microbial Properties under Open-Field and Shade-House Conditions

Two bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) varieties, viz., California Wonder and Gangavati Local, were raised under nine completely organic nutrient sources, along with recommended package of practices, and, under completely inorganic nutrient sources. Irrespective of the variety and growing environment, there was substantial increase in total bacterial count (22.97% and 24.98%), population of fungi (20.23% and 20.23%), actinomycetes (36.89% and 36.83%) and mycorrhiza (44.63% and 29.40%) in open-field and shade-house conditions, respectively, in all the nutrient combinations where organic sources were used, compared to the inorganic treatment. All organic nutrient sources used were found to be similar in their effect on soil microbes

Mental health status and perceived burden in caregiving spouses of persons with psychotic illness (a study from India)

Mental illness poses a great deal of burden on other family members, particularly the primary caregiver. In the Indian context for a married person with mental illness, the caregiving burden is usually experienced by the spouse, who is considered to be the ‘natural’ option. This quantitative study used survey methodology to assess caregiving burden in fifty spouses of persons diagnosed with a psychotic illness. Data was collected at a neuro-psychiatric facility in Tiruchirappalli, India. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale and the Burden Assessment Schedule were the instruments administered to assess the mental health status of the spouse and their perceived burden. Findings revealed that the majority of spouses were classified as experiencing ‘severe’ and ‘extremely severe’ in terms of their depression, anxiety and stress levels and ‘high’ in terms of perceived burden. The specific ‘type’ of clinical diagnosis, however, did not differentiate the spouses on the key variables studied. The correlation of these key variables with other background variables has also been examined. The implications of the results of this study for psychosocial intervention have also been discussed in this article

Computational analysis of third-grade liquid flow with cross diffusion effects: application to entropy modeling

The key goal of this current study is to analyze the entropy generation with cross diffusion effects. The third-grade type non-Newtonian fluid model is used in this study. The current flow problem is modelled with stretching plate. Modified Fourier heat flux is replaced the classical heat flux. The appropriate transformation is availed to convert the basic boundary layers equations into ODEs and then verified by homotopy algorithm. The consequences of various physical quantities on temperature, velocity, entropy and concentration profile are illustrated graphically

Influence of a paint coating on the corrosion of hull plates made of mild steel in natural seawater

The corrosion resistance of mild steel (used to make hull plates in ship technology) in seawater before paint coating (Nippon paint, weatherbond advance) and after paint coating has been measured by electrochemical studies such as Polarisation study and AC impedance spectra. It is observed that after paint coating, the corrosion resistance of mild steel hull plates increases. Polarization study reveals that after paint coating, the linear polarization resistance increases and corrosion current decreases. AC impedance spectra reveal that in the presence of paint coating charge transfer resistance value increases, impedance value increases, phase angle increases and double layer capacitance value decreases. © 2022 Authors