Hepatoprotective effects of artemisia scoparia against carbon tetrachloride: An environmental contaminant

The hepatoprotective activity of crude extract of artemisia scoparia (aerial parts) was investigated against experimentally produced hepatic damage using carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) as a model hepatotoxin. CCl4 at the dose of 1.5 ml/kg, produced liver damage in rats as manifested by the rise in serum levels of AST and ALT to 395 +/- 110 and 258 +/- 61 IU/l (mean +/- SEM; n = 10) respectively, compared to control values of 106 +/- 15 and 26 +/- 04. Pretreatment of rats with plant extract (150 mg/kg) significantly lowered (P \u3c 0.01), the respective serum GOT and GPT levels to 93 +/- 05 and 27 +/- 03 IU/l, indicating hepatoprotective action. Pentobarbital sodium (75 mg/kg)-induced sleeping time in mice was found to be 140.8 +/- 1.5 min (n = 10) which was similar (P \u3e 0.05) to that obtained in the group of animals pretreated with the plant extract (139.9 +/- 1.8 min). CCl4 treatment extended the pentobarbital sleeping time to 212.2 +/- 19.1 min and pretreatment of animals with plant extract reversed the CCl4-induced prolongation in pentobarbital sleeping time to 143.9 +/- 5.5 min (P \u3c 0.001) which further confirms the protective action of the plant extract against CCl4-induced liver damage. These data indicate that the plant artemisia scoparia is hepatoprotective and validate the folkloric use of this plant in liver damage

Synthesis, structural and antibacterial study of new silver complex with 3-acetyl-2H chromene-2-one

A new silver complex [Ag(C11H8O3)2]NO3 was synthesized by the reaction of silver nitrateand coumarin based ligand (3-acetyl-2H-chromene-2-one) through solution method. The product was characterized using different analytical techniques like melting point, Infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. An antibacterial study of the complex was also studied for its possible use in medical treatment. KEY WORDS: Silver complex, Acetyl coumarin, Vibrational analysis, Antibacterial study Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2016, 30(3), 403-411DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v30i3.

Antithrombotic activity of clove oil

Clove oil inhibited human platelet aggregation induced by arachidonic acid (AA), platelet-activating factor (PAF) or collagen. Clove oil was a more effective inhibitor for aggregation induced by AA and PAF (IC50:4 and 6 microM respectively) than collagen (IC50: 132 microM). The in vivo experiments in rabbits showed that clove oil (50-100 mg/kg) afforded 100% protection against PAF (11 mg/kg, i.v.) and 70% protection against AA (2.0 mg/kg, i.v.)-induced thrombosis and shock due to pulmonary platelet thrombosis. It also inhibited thromboxane-A2 and 12-HETE production by human platelets incubated with [C14] AA. These results are indicative that clove oil is inhibitory of platelet aggregation and thromboxane synthesis and may act as anti-thrombotic agent

Ginger facilitates cholinergic activity possibly due to blockade of muscarinic autoreceptors in rat stomach fundus

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a universally known food plant reputed for its medicinal use in gastrointestinal disorders as a prokinetic and laxative. We recently showed that 70% aqueous-methanolic extract of ginger (Zo.Cr) exhibits prokinetic activity in rats via activation of post-synaptic muscarinic M3 receptor in rat stomach fundus. In view of the physiological significance of pre-synaptic muscarinic M1 and M2 autoreceptors, this study was undertaken to further look into the possible mode of action of the prokinetic effect of ginger through inhibition of pre-synaptic muscarinic receptors. Isolated tissue bath experiments were performed with Sprague-Dawley rat stomach fundus strip preparations immersed in Kreb\u27s solution at 37 degrees C. Carbachol (CCh) maximum responses (1 microM) were obtained in rat stomach fundus. Zo.Cr, given in multiple increasing bolus concentrations (0.01-0.1 mg/ml) 10 min prior to administration of CCh, potentiated the CCh peak responses showing that it is possibly inhibiting the pre-synaptic muscarinic receptors. Like wise, increasing bolus concentrations of pirenzepine (0.03-0.3 microM) and himbacine (0.01-0.03 microM), standard muscarinic M1 and M2 antagonists respectively, also potentiated the CCh responses. These results show that ginger, in addition to having a direct cholinergic agonistic effect on the post-synaptic M3 receptors, also has a possible inhibitory effect on pre-synaptic muscarinic autoreceptors, similar to standard muscarinic antagonists, thus reiterating the gastric stimulant effect of this age-old plant

Antispasmodic and Antidiarrheal Activities of Valeriana hardwickii Wall. Rhizome Are Putatively Mediated through Calcium Channel Blockade

Valeriana hardwickii is indigenous to Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon, where it is traditionally being used as an antispasmodic and antidiarrheal, besides its culinary use as spice. The aim of this paper was to provide pharmacological validation to these medicinal uses. The crude aqueous-methanolic extract of Valeriana hardwickii rhizome (Vh.Cr) was studied on isolated rabbit jejunum and castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice for spasmolytic and antidiarrheal properties, respectively. Vh.Cr caused concentration-dependent (0.01–1 mg/mL) relaxation of spontaneous contractions in isolated rabbit jejunum and inhibited K+-induced contractions (0.01–0.3 mg/mL), similar to verapamil, suggestive of calcium channel blockade (CCB). The CCB effect was confirmed when pretreatment of the jejunum preparations with Vh.Cr produced a concentration-dependent (0.03–0.1 mg/mL) rightward shift in the Ca++ concentration-response curves, as caused by verapamil. Vh.Cr exhibited dose-dependent (100–300 mg/kg) protection against castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice. Loperamide, a standard antidiarrheal drug, similarly prevented the diarrhea. These data indicate the presence of CCB effect in the extract of Valeriana hardwickii rhizome, possibly mediating its antispasmodic and antidiarrheal activities and provide a scientific base for its traditional use in hyperactive gut disorders

3D Face Reconstruction from Light Field Images: A Model-free Approach

Reconstructing 3D facial geometry from a single RGB image has recently instigated wide research interest. However, it is still an ill-posed problem and most methods rely on prior models hence undermining the accuracy of the recovered 3D faces. In this paper, we exploit the Epipolar Plane Images (EPI) obtained from light field cameras and learn CNN models that recover horizontal and vertical 3D facial curves from the respective horizontal and vertical EPIs. Our 3D face reconstruction network (FaceLFnet) comprises a densely connected architecture to learn accurate 3D facial curves from low resolution EPIs. To train the proposed FaceLFnets from scratch, we synthesize photo-realistic light field images from 3D facial scans. The curve by curve 3D face estimation approach allows the networks to learn from only 14K images of 80 identities, which still comprises over 11 Million EPIs/curves. The estimated facial curves are merged into a single pointcloud to which a surface is fitted to get the final 3D face. Our method is model-free, requires only a few training samples to learn FaceLFnet and can reconstruct 3D faces with high accuracy from single light field images under varying poses, expressions and lighting conditions. Comparison on the BU-3DFE and BU-4DFE datasets show that our method reduces reconstruction errors by over 20% compared to recent state of the art

Studies on bronchodilator and cardiac stimulant activities of Urginea indica

This study was designed to evaluate bronchodilator and cardio-tonic effects of Urginea indica to provide rational for these medicinal uses. U. indica bulb extract was studied on rabbit tracheal and guinea-pig atrial preparations mounted in tissue baths under simulated physiological conditions. U. indica inhibited carbachol (1 µM) and K+ (80 mM)-induced contractions in rabbit trachea, similar to dicyclomine, suggesting the presence of anticholinergic and calcium channel blocking (CCB) mechanisms in U. indica. Anticholinergic and CCB effects of U. indica were respectively confirmed when it shifted the carbachol and Ca2+ concentration-response curves rightwards, similar to dicyclomine. U. indica (0.01-1 mg/mL) increased force of guinea-pig atrial contractions without significantly affecting the rate. These data, indicating that U. indica possesses the bronchodilator activity possibly mediated through a combination of anticholinergic and Ca2+ antagonist mechanisms together with selective positive inotropic effect, provide rational for medicinal applications of U. indica in airways and cardiac disorders

Trace metals distribution and uptake in soil and rice grown on a 3-year vermicompost amended soil

This study was designed to investigate the influence of vermicompost (VC) on trace metals distribution and uptake in soil and rice plant in research field as split plot arrangement based on randomized complete block design with three replications in 2008. Main-plot was VC and chemical fertilizer (CF) that were added to soil in 6 levels (20 and 40 ton/ha VC, 20 and 40 ton/ha VC + 1/2 CF, CF and control). Application years considered as sub-plot comprised 1, 2 and 3 years. The results indicated thatfertilizers and application periods treatments influenced micronutrients in soil and rice. Available copper (Cu) had no significant difference under different treatments. The highest available iron (Fe) was found in the 40 ton treatment group. During the 3 years, application of 20 ton and enriched 40 ton gave the most available zinc (Zn) and manganese (Mn). In VC and enriched VC, treatments happened to give the highest Zn uptake by rice. Under the 3 years, application of 40 ton/ha VC, the highest Fe (91.19 ppm) and Cu (13.66 ppm) concentration was seen in flag leaf, while Fe (31.35 ppm) and Mn (27.56 ppm) was seen in grain. With the application of enriched 20 ton VC, the maximum uptake of Mn by flag leaf and Cu by grain was obtained

AGRICULTURAL WATER MANAGEMENT THROUGH MAGNETIZATION OF IRRIGATION AND DRINKING WATER: A REVIEW

    Received 03 December 2017; Accepted 18 February 2018 *Corresponding Author M. Gholizadeh Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran Email: [email protected] ©This article is open access and licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, or format for any purpose, even commercially provided the work is properly cited. Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. Agricultural water management in arid and semi-arid countries such as Iran is of utmost importance. Alterations of water as a major component of each bio system through magnetization have been reviewed in this study. Magnetization process has been used as green technology in industry and agriculture with controversial results. Properties of water such as pH, hydrogen bonds, temperature, structure and its ions can be affected by an external magnetic field. Subsequent modifications have substantial impacts on water quality that is determined for optimum plant and animal production. There are some reports among numerous studies in agronomy, gardening and animal husbandry which claim fruitful influence of this treatment both qualitatively and quantitatively. Nevertheless, there are some controversial reports on the effects of magnetization. In conclusion, the response of organisms depends on magnetization time and intensity, water quality and plant or animal species. These variables should be taken into account for further studies regarding this mysteries process