In vitro genotoxicity of piperacillin impurity-A

The manufacturing and storage of the piperacillin produce different impurities of various concentrations, which may influence the efficacy and safety of the drug. Since no report of genotoxicity data is available on the impurities of piperacillin, further studies were designed and conducted to provide information for establishing the safety profile and qualification of the piperacillin impurity-A. Salmonella typhimurium strains were exposed to Piperacillin impurity-A for Ames tests. Neither increase in number of revertants indicative of mutagenic activity nor inhibition of bacterial growth, indicative of cytotoxicity were observed up to 5 mg/plate both in the presence and absence of metabolic activation. Similarly, chromosomal aberration assay did not reveal any significant alterations up to 5 mg/culture as compared to the negative control both in the presence and absence of metabolic activation (S9 mix). The results of these studies indicate that Piperacillin impurity-A is non-mutagenic in Ames test and non-clastogenic in chromosomal aberration study

GENETIC VARIATIONS IN POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME DISEASE

objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the common endocrine disorders among women of reproductive age with a prevalence ofapproximately 5-10% worldwide. PCOS is a complex genetic disorder caused by several genes and environmental factors. The aim of this study is toprovide an overview on variations in PCOS-associated genes based on underlying geneticsMethods: Detailed literature screening was performed in PubMed. Manual curation process was adopted to extract the information on PCOS,associated genes, mechanism of association, details of the association, significance of association mentioned in the papers were carefully capturedaccording to the authors' interpretation of the results.Results: The detailed literature study revealed several genes and the genetic variations in PCOS and its critical effects, such as ovarian failure, obesity,spontaneous abortion, recurrent pregnancy loss, insulin resistance, and hyperandrogenim. The causal genetic variants were assembled at variouslevels, including mutation, single nucleotide polymorphism, etc., in PCOS and the associated phenotypic effects.Conclusion: The genetic variations play an important role in the pathogenesis of PCOS across different ethnicities, as it is associated with various otherendocrine disorders including diabetes, insulin resistance, cardiovascular diseases, hyperandrogenism, reproductive disorders, etc. The underlyingmechanism and the network help in identifying the candidate genes or biomarkers in the disease conditions.Keywords: Polycystic ovary syndrome, Gene, Mutation, Polymorphism, Single nucleotide polymorphism

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF ETHNOMEDICINALLY USED MEDICINAL PLANTS BY THE TRADITIONAL HEALERS OF THIRUVALLUR DISTRICT, TAMILNADU, INDIA

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to collect information about medicinal plants and their uses, by the knowledge obtained from the traditional healers in Thiruvallur district, Tamilnadu, India. It also determines antimicrobial activity of ten different plants selected based on spearman rank correlation. The traditional healers of Thiruvallur district use different species of medicinal plants belonging to different families for the treatment of various diseases. Commonly maximum number of species has been used for fever followed by skin infection, wound healing and antiseptic. Herbs were found to be the most used plants followed by climbers and shrubs. The spearman rank correlation was used to analayse the knowledge about medicinal plants. Antibacterial activity of ten medicinal plants (Justicia gendarussa, Tephrosia purpurea, Phyllanthus maderaspatensis, Elephantopus scaber, Trichodesma indicum, Rhinacanthus nasatus, Sida cordifolia, Lepidagathis cristata, Evolvulus nummularius and Aerva lanata)  was determined by measuring the diameter of zone of inhibition that is the mean of triplicates+standard deviation of three replicates. The traditional healers in Thiruvallur district possess rich ethno-botanical knowledge. This study on medicinal plants will attract ethano botanist, phytochemist and pharmacologist in identifying novel antibacterial compounds. Keywords: Antibacterial; Medicinal plants; Traditional Medicin

Anti-inflammatory activity of Syzygium cumini seed

The Syzygium cumini (Myrtaceae) is a popular traditional medicinal plant in India. This study was intended to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of S. cumini seed in carrageenan induced paw oedema in wistar rats at the dose level of 200 and 400 mg/kgadministrated orally. Both the extracts exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity, which supports the traditional medicinal utilization of the plant. This study established anti-inflammatory activity of the seed of S. cumini

Effect of Heavy Metal Zinc on the Neurosecretory Cells of a Freshwater Field Crab, Spiralothelphusa hydrodroma

Abstract: The fresh water field crab, Spiralothelphusa hydrodroma is an important human food source in parts of South India and the crab is constantly exposed to pesticides, which are used extensively to 50 control agricultural pests. Evaluation of the toxic effect of zinc on the experimental crab for the LC value was carried out. Effect of zinc on the biochemical changes in the neurosecretory cells such as brain, thoracic ganglia and eyestalk was observed. Quantitative study of biochemical changes of lactate hydrogenase (LDH), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the neurosecretory cells was undertaken