MINERAL CONTENT OF SOME EDIBLE MEDICINALLY IMPORTANT LEAFY VEGETABLES OF KAMRUP DISTRICT OF ASSAM, INDIA

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the mineral components of Amaranthus spinosus, Oxalis corniculata, Bacopa monnieri, Paedaria foetida and Centella asiatica.Methods: Mineral compositions of the five selected edible medicinally important leafy vegetables were evaluated following standard methods including AAS.Results: All the examined vegetables were found to be the rich source of macroelements as well as trace minerals. Potassium was the most abundant macroelement ranging from 4570.0-16030.0 mg/kg, followed by sodium, calcium and magnesium. Among the trace elements iron was highest (184.1- 518.2 mg/kg), followed by zinc, manganese and copper.Conclusion: From the present study it can be concluded that the plants under investigation are potential source of both macro and micronutrients and proper consumption prove to be beneficial as they cure several deficiency as well as other deadly diseases.Â

AN In-silico MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDY ON THE INTERACTION OF DIFFERENT PARABEN ESTERS (METHYL-, ETHYL-, PROPYL- AND BUTYL-PARABEN) WITH HUMAN THYROID HORMONE RECEPTOR α1 (THRα1) AND β1 (THRβ1)

Thyroid hormones (THs) activate transcription of a large number of genes via binding with nuclear thyroid hormone receptors (THRs) that are either attached to the DNA genetic strands or located in proximity to them. However, the ever-increasing human anthropogenic activities have introduced numerous harmful chemicals in the environment, many of which share high degree of structural resemblance with the THs i.e., triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) and thus can interfere with the normal downstream receptor signalling. The present study used bioinformatics to perform a molecular docking analysis (Autodock 4.2.6) where different paraben esters (PBs) i.e., methyl- (MP), ethyl- (EP), propyl- (PP) and butyl- paraben (BP) were examined for their possible interaction with two human THR isoforms viz., THRα1 and THRβ1. Perceiving the free binding energies (ΔG) of different PB-THRs complexes, it has become evident that BP has the strongest binding interaction with both THRα1 (PDB Id- 1NAV) and THRβ1 (PDB Id- 1NAX) i.e., -6.51 and -6.14 kcal/mol respectively and also has highest number of amino acids interactions in the active sites, followed by PP, EP and MP. The co-crystal ligand exhibited binding energies of -10.43 and -10.52 kcal/mol for THRα1 and THRβ1 respectively. Therefore, the study firmly demonstrates that thyroid hormone receptor interaction of the selected PB esters rise with increase in length/complexity of the alkyl side chain. Given that all the investigated PB esters are capable binders of both the THRs, unremitting use of these chemical preservatives certainly could amend the receptor mediated signalling of THs. &nbsp