TOTAL FLAVONOID QUANTIFICATION AND TO STUDY ANTIBACTERIAL POTENCY OF EXTRACTS OF BUTEA MONOSPERMA FLOWERS, NIGELLA SATIVA SEEDS AND VITEX AGNUS CASTUS LEAVES

Objective: An attempt has been made to develop a method for quantitative estimation of flavonoids in the crude extract of Butea monosperma flowers, Nigella sativa seeds and Vitex agnus castus leaves. Antibacterial activity is attributed to various phytochemicals present in these plants.Methods: The amount of total flavonoids was analysed using aluminium chloride colorimetric assay using rutin as standard. Plants studied were subjected to hydromethanolic extraction by using soxhlet apparatus. Flavonoids in extracts were quantified by U. V at a wavelength of 415 nm Antibacterial activities of extracts were evaluated on various bacterias like E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, S. pneumonie, P. acne. The in vitro antibacterial activities of these extracts were compared against standard drugs such as gentamycin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin.Results: Flavonoid content in the crude extract of Butea monosperma flowers, Nigella sativa seeds and Vitex agnus castus leaves was found to be 2.58 %w/w, 0.92% w/w and 1.6 % w/w respectively. The antibacterial study found that activity of Vitex extract against P. acne was better than the standard drugsConclusion: In the present study an attempt has been made to standardize the plant material in terms of its flavonoid content and the study indicated that this extract individually or in combination with other herbal drugs can be useful in treating diseases caused by the organisms mentioned above

EVALUATION OF STABILITY OF HERBAL ANTI-ACNE GEL FORMULATION

Objective: The present study was aimed to evaluate the physical and chemical stability of prepared gel formulations at various intervals for a period of one year.Methods: The amount of total flavonoids was analysed using aluminium chloride colorimetric assay using rutin as standard. Gels were dissolved in distilled water and then analysis was carried out and flavonoids quantified by U. V at a wavelength of 415 nm.Results: Flavanoid content were examined at various time intervals and rate of drug degradation was calculated graphically and by using arrhenius equation. The shelf life of the prepared gel F1, F2, F3, and F4 was found to be 291.76, 460, 184 and 148.39 d.Conclusion: In the present study an attempt has been made to evaluate the shelf life of herbal gel formulations and to generate scientific database for formulation and evaluation of herbal products

CSF p-Tau levels in the prediction of Alzheimer's disease

Summary The two hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques. Neurofibrillary tangles are formed due to the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein. There is an urgent need to develop a reliable biomarker for the diagnosis of AD. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is surrounding the brain and reflects the major neuropathological features in the AD brain. Diagnosis, disease progression and drug actions rely on the AD biomarkers. Mainly CSF tau and phosphorylated tau (p-Tau) have been observed to serve the purpose for early AD. Keeping in view the early appearance of p-Tau in CSF, we analyzed p-Tau levels in 23 AD, 23 Non AD type dementia (NAD), 23 Neurological control (NC) and 23 Healthy control (HC) North Indian patients. The levels of p-Tau were found to be increased in AD patients (67.87±18.05 pg/ml, SEM 3.76) compared with NAD (47.55±7.85 pg/ml, SEM 1.64), NC (34.42±4.51 pg/ml, SEM 0.94) and HC (27.09±7.18 pg/ml, SEM 1.50). The resulting sensitivity for AD with NAD was 80.27% whereas with respect to the NAD, NC and HC was 85.40%. Therefore elevated levels of p-Tau in AD can be exploited as a predictive biomarker in North Indian AD patients