Role of mushrooms in gestational diabetes mellitus

Many studies have shown that plant-based diets and Mediterranean diets can lower the risk of development of gestational diabetes mellitus. Plants have been the main source of medicines since ancient times. Despite tremendous advances in medicinal chemistry, synthetic drugs have not provided cures to many diseases due to their adverse side effects or diminution in response after prolonged use. Medicinal mushrooms have been used traditionally as an anti-diabetic food for centuries especially in countries such as China, Japan, India and Korea. These are source of natural bioactive compounds. The bioactive constituents are polysaccharides, proteins, dietary fibres, lectins, lactones, alkaloids, terpenoids, sterols and phenolic compounds which have various health benefits. This review will focus on recent examples of diverse types of mushrooms that have been validated by scientific evaluation as having promising activity for the prevention and/or treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus. Dietary components and plant-derived molecules can be used in the future to complement current treatment strategies for gestational diabetes mellitus

Exploring the anti-diabetic potential of Australian Aboriginal and Indian Ayurvedic plant extracts using cell-based assays

Background: Plant-derived compounds have been used clinically to treat type 2 diabetes for many years as they also exert additional beneficial effects on various other disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible mechanism of anti-diabetic activity of twelve (seven Australian Aboriginal and five Indian Ayurvedic) plant extracts. Methods: The ethanolic plant extracts were investigated for glucose uptake and adipogenesis in murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Cytotoxicity studies were also carried out against two cancerous cell lines, HeLa and A549, to investigate the potential anti-cancer activities of the extracts. Results: Of the seven Australian Aboriginal plant extracts tested, only Acacia kempeana and Santalum spicatum stimulated glucose uptake in adipocytes. Among the five Indian Ayurvedic plant extracts, only Curculigo orchioides enhanced glucose uptake. With respect to adipogenesis, the Australian plants Acacia tetragonophylla, Beyeria leshnaultii and Euphorbia drumondii and the Indian plants Pterocarpus marsupium, Andrographis paniculata and Curculigo orchioides reduced lipid accumulation in differentiated adipocytes. Extracts of Acacia kempeana and Acacia tetragonophylla showed potent and specific activity against HeLa cells. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the plant extracts exert their anti-diabetic properties by different mechanisms, including the stimulation of glucose uptake in adipocytes, inhibition of adipogenesis or both. Apart from their anti-diabetic activities, some of the extracts have potential for the development of chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of cervical cancer

Exploring the anti-diabetic potential of Australian Aboriginal and Indian Ayurvedic plant extracts using cell-based assays

Background: Plant-derived compounds have been used clinically to treat type 2 diabetes for many years as they also exert additional beneficial effects on various other disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible mechanism of anti-diabetic activity of twelve (seven Australian Aboriginal and five Indian Ayurvedic) plant extracts. Methods: The ethanolic plant extracts were investigated for glucose uptake and adipogenesis in murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Cytotoxicity studies were also carried out against two cancerous cell lines, HeLa and A549, to investigate the potential anti-cancer activities of the extracts. Results: Of the seven Australian Aboriginal plant extracts tested, only Acacia kempeana and Santalum spicatum stimulated glucose uptake in adipocytes. Among the five Indian Ayurvedic plant extracts, only Curculigo orchioides enhanced glucose uptake. With respect to adipogenesis, the Australian plants Acacia tetragonophylla, Beyeria leshnaultii and Euphorbia drumondii and the Indian plants Pterocarpus marsupium, Andrographis paniculata and Curculigo orchioides reduced lipid accumulation in differentiated adipocytes. Extracts of Acacia kempeana and Acacia tetragonophylla showed potent and specific activity against HeLa cells. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the plant extracts exert their anti-diabetic properties by different mechanisms, including the stimulation of glucose uptake in adipocytes, inhibition of adipogenesis or both. Apart from their anti-diabetic activities, some of the extracts have potential for the development of chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of cervical cancer

Enzyme inhibitory and antioxidant activities of traditional medicinal plants: Potential application in the management of hyperglycemia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Traditional Indian and Australian medicinal plant extracts were investigated to determine their therapeutic potential to inhibit key enzymes in carbohydrate metabolism, which has relevance to the management of hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes. The antioxidant activities were also assessed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The evaluation of enzyme inhibitory activity of seven Australian aboriginal medicinal plants and five Indian Ayurvedic plants was carried out against α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Antioxidant activity was determined by measuring (i) the scavenging effect of plant extracts against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and 2, 2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate (ABTS) and (ii) ferric reducing power. Total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were also determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the twelve plant extracts evaluated, the highest inhibitory activity against both α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes was exerted by <it>Santalum spicatum</it> and <it>Pterocarpus marsupium</it> with IC₅₀ values of 5.43 μg/ml and 0.9 μg/ml, respectively, and 5.16 μg/ml and 1.06 μg/ml, respectively. However, the extracts of <it>Acacia ligulata</it> (IC₅₀ = 1.01 μg/ml), <it>Beyeria leshnaultii</it> (0.39 μg/ml), <it>Mucuna pruriens</it> (0.8 μg/ml) and <it>Boerhaavia diffusa</it> (1.72 μg/ml) exhibited considerable activity against α-glucosidase enzyme only. The free radical scavenging activity was found to be prominent in extracts of <it>Acacia kempeana</it>, <it>Acacia ligulata</it> followed by <it>Euphorbia drummondii</it> against both DPPH and ABTS. The reducing power was more pronounced in <it>Euphorbia drummondii</it> and <it>Pterocarpus marsupium</it> extracts. The phenolic and flavonoid contents ranged from 0.42 to 30.27 μg/mg equivalent of gallic acid and 0.51 to 32.94 μg/mg equivalent of quercetin, respectively, in all plant extracts. Pearson’s correlation coefficient between total flavonoids and total phenolics was 0.796.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results obtained in this study showed that most of the plant extracts have good potential for the management of hyperglycemia, diabetes and the related condition of oxidative stress.</p

Prevalence and control of Listeria monocytogenes in food processing environments

Abstract not avvailable

Introduction of the jigsaw technique of cooperative learning in teaching pathology to medical undergraduates

Context: Medical education. Aims: This study was an effort to sensitize students and faculty with an active learning technique known as jigsaw method and study its effectiveness and feasibility. Settings and Design: A prospective observational study was conducted for 2nd-year medical undergraduates in a 2 h long session. Subjects and Methods: Eighty out of 100 students of entry batch 2017 during the third semester in 2018 participated in this study with the supervision of five faculty members. The session was evaluated using prevalidated anonymous questionnaires filled by faculty and students. Statistical Analysis Used: Questionnaire used comprised nine questions for students and seven for faculty questionnaire to which the responses were to be marked on a 5-point Likert scale. The percentage of students/faculty with each response was calculated and analyzed. Results: More than 85% of the class agreed that jigsaw classroom guided them to take responsibility of their own learning and was helpful in developing their information-synthesizing skills. Almost the same percentage of students was interested in participating in a similar active learning technique in future as well. Conclusions: Student-centered learning approaches like jigsaw technique aim to develop learner autonomy and independence by putting responsibility for the learning path in the hands of the student. Such techniques promote learning and foster respect among students from diverse backgrounds

Management of diabetes with diet and plant-derived drugs

Diabetes is a metabolic syndrome resulting from low levels of insulin. Common symptoms are hyperglycemia, polyuria, polydipsia, blurred vision, lethargy and weight loss. The increasing worldwide incidence of diabetes mellitus in adults constitutes a major global public health burden. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that currently more than 180 million people worldwide have diabetes. This number is likely to double by 2030 when it is predicted that India, China and the United States will have the largest number of people with diabetes. Plants have been the main source of medicines since ancient times. Despite tremendous advances in medicinal chemistry, synthetic drugs have not provided cures to many diseases due to their adverse side effects or diminution in response after prolonged use. Plants are the richest source of natural compounds and continue to provide new chemical entities for the development of drugs against various diseases like cancer, diabetes, inflammation, hypertension and neurodegeneration. As such, there is renewed interest in traditional medicines with the belief that plant-derived drugs are generally less toxic and safer than synthetic drugs. With respect to diabetes, numerous studies have indicated that plant-derived chemicals may be useful in the therapeutic treatment of diabetes. However, before the development of therapeutic insulin, diet was (and still is) the main method of treatment and modern treatment focuses on a combination of drugs and diet. Dietary measures included the use of traditional medicines mainly derived from plants. While drugs will continue to be an important part of diabetes therapy, the mass of evidence available in the literature regarding the medicinal properties of vegetables, fruits and other herbs, suggests that diet (including herbal medicines) should not be ignored or neglected. This review will focus on recent examples of traditional medicines and foods that have been validated by scientific evaluation as having promising activity for the prevention and/or treatment of diabetes. Intriguing questions that await further elucidation include how plants, plant-derived molecules and diet can be used in the future to complement current treatment strategies for diabetes

Single atom dispersed tungsten disulfide (WS2) based nanosensors for VOCs detection related to decomposed humans in disaster events

Locating and recovering the victims as a result of disaster events is extremely challenging due to vast search areas, hazardous nature of destroyed infrastructure, and large number of potential victims. An effective avenue for the victim's detection is through the sensing of human-specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted both in life and in death. Motivated by this, we employed first principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations to study the sensing properties of pristine, vacancy-induced and single atom dispersed tungsten disulfide (WS2) monolayers towards 11 specific VOCs associated with decomposing humans. We found that pristine, and vacancy-induced WS2 weakly adsorbed the selected VOCs with adsorption energies (Eads) between − 0.26 to − 0.76 eV. However, the incorporation of selected single atoms of Co, Fe, Nb, and Ni in WS2 improved the sensing properties tremendously. In particular, Nb-WS2 adsorbed the incident VOCs with Eads values of − 1.89, − 209, − 1.43, − 0.94, − 2.08, − 1.57, − 1.44, − 1.47, − 1.70, − 1.03, and − 2.14 eV for 2-Butanone, benzaldehyde, butanol, heptane, hexanal, methylamine, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, pyridine, octane, and toluene, respectively, which are ideal for efficient sensing mechanism. Appropriate adsorptions were coupled with the measurable changes in the electronic properties (band gaps) of Nb-WS2, which is essential for proficient sensing. Charge transfer analysis, electro localization functions, electrostatic potentials, and work function calculations further authenticated the sensing propensities of single atom dispersed WS2. Finally, Langmuir adsorption model was employed to explore the sensing at diverse pressure and temperature settings. We believe that these results will help for the development of highly efficient nanosensors for the detection of VOCs related to decomposed humans in mass disaster events. This will increase the detection ability and the chance of locating these victims

Rapid identification and source-tracking of Listeria monocytogenes using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Listeria monocytogenes is an important foodborne pathogen responsible for the sometimes fatal disease listeriosis. Public health concerns and stringent regulations associated with the presence of this pathogen in food and food processing environments underline the need for rapid and reliable detection and subtyping techniques. In the current study, the application of matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) as a single identification and source-tracking tool for a collection of L. monocytogenes isolates, obtained predominantly from dairy sources within Australia, was explored. The isolates were cultured on different growth media and analysed using MALDI-TOF MS at two incubation times (24 and 48 h). Whilst reliable genus-level identification was achieved from most media, identification at the species level was found to be dependent on culture conditions. Successful speciation was highest for isolates cultured on the chromogenic Agar Listeria Ottaviani Agosti agar (ALOA, 91% of isolates) and non-selective horse blood agar (HBA, 89%) for 24 h. Chemometric statistical analysis of the MALDI-TOF MS data enabled source-tracking of L. monocytogenes isolates obtained from four different dairy sources. Strain-level discrimination was also observed to be influenced by culture conditions. In addition, t-test/analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to identify potential biomarker peaks that differentiated the isolates according to their source of isolation. Source-tracking using MALDI-TOF MS was compared and correlated with the gold standard pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) technique. The discriminatory index and the congruence between both techniques were compared using the Simpsons Diversity Index and adjusted Rand and Wallace coefficients. Overall, MALDI-TOF MS based source-tracking (using data obtained by culturing the isolates on HBA) and PFGE demonstrated good congruence with a Wallace coefficient of 0.71 and comparable discriminatory indices of 0.89 and 0.86, respectively. MALDI-TOF MS thus represents a rapid and cost-effective source-tracking technique for L. monocytogenes