PHARMACEUTICAL STANDARDIZATION OF JATIPHALADYA VATI

Standardization is the process of developing and agreeing upon technical standards. A standard is a document that establishes uniform engineering or technical specifications, criteria, methods, processes or practices. Many drugs are described in Ayurvedic classical texts for the treatment of various disorders. Jatiphaladya Vati is one such Kharaliya Rasayana mentioned in Rasendra Saara Samgraha, indicated in Arshas (Haemorrhoids). Jatiphala (Myristica fragrans Houtt.), Lavanga (Syzygium aromaticum), Pippali (Piper longum), Saindhava lavana (Rock salt), Shunthi (Zingiber officinale Roxb), Dhattura beeja (Datura metel Linn.), Hingula (Cinnabar) and Tankana (Borax) are the main ingredients. Shodhana (Purification), Churna nirmana (Preparation of powder), Bhavana (Soaking with liquid and triturating till drying) and Mardana (Trituration) are the important steps involved in preparation of Jatiphaladya Vati. Shodhana of Hingula, Tankana and Dhattura beeja was carried out by classical method to remove the impurities. Churna of all above ingredients were prepared by subjecting it to grinding in Khalwa yantra and filtering through cloth. All ingredients were mixed properly to make homogenous mixture; later on it was triturated with Nimbu swarasa to obtain 250 mg tablets (brick red in colour) in tablet compression machine. The present study has been planned to standardize the method of preparation of an important Herbo-mineral formulation i.e. Jatiphaladya Vati

Deep sequencing revealed molecular signature of horizontal gene transfer of plant like transcripts in the mosquito Anopheles culicifacies: an evolutionary puzzle [version 1; referees: 2 approved]

In prokaryotes, horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has been regarded as an important evolutionary drive to acquire and retain beneficial genes for their survival in diverse ecologies. However, in eukaryotes, the functional role of HGTs remains questionable, although current genomic tools are providing increased evidence of acquisition of novel traits within non-mating metazoan species. Here, we provide another transcriptomic evidence for the acquisition of massive plant genes in the mosquito, Anopheles culicifacies. Our multiple experimental validations including genomic PCR, RT-PCR, real-time PCR, immuno-blotting and immuno-florescence microscopy, confirmed that plant like transcripts (PLTs) are of mosquito origin and may encode functional proteins. A comprehensive molecular analysis of the PLTs and ongoing metagenomic analysis of salivary microbiome provide initial clues that mosquitoes may have survival benefits through the acquisition of nuclear as well as chloroplast encoded plant genes. Our findings of PLTs further support the similar questionable observation of HGTs in other higher organisms, which is still a controversial and debatable issue in the community of evolutionists. We believe future understanding of the underlying mechanism of the feeding associated molecular responses may shed new insights in the functional role of PLTs in the mosquito