BIOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF ANTIDIABETIC PROPERTIES OF SWERTIAMARIN, A SECOIRIDOID GLYCOSIDE OF ENICOSTEMMA LITTORALE LEAVES, STUDIED IN HIGH-FAT DIET–FED LOW-DOSE STREPTOZOTOCIN-INDUCED TYPE 2 DIABETIC RATS

Objective: Swertiamarin, a secoiridoid glycoside present in the leaves of Enicostemma littorale, is reported to be responsible for its pharmacological and beneficial properties. The present study was aimed to biochemically evaluate the antidiabetic properties of Swertiamarin in high fat diet fed - low dose streptozotocin (STZ)-treated diabetic rats.Methods: High-fat diet-fed low-dose STZ was used to induce experimental type 2 diabetes in rats. Diabetic rats were orally treated with swertiamarin (50 mg/kg b.w./rat/day) for 30 days. The physiological criterions such as food and fluid intake were recorded. Oral glucose tolerance test was performed. The levels of fasting blood glucose, plasma insulin, glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), hemoglobin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values were estimated. The activities of key enzymes involved in carbohydrate and glycogen metabolism in the liver and kidney tissues were assayed. The glycogen content in liver tissue was estimated.Result: Oral administration of swertiamarin to diabetic rats established a significant decline in the levels of fasting blood glucose, HbA1c as well as HOMA-IR values and an increase in plasma insulin and hemoglobin levels. The altered activities of key enzymes of carbohydrate and glycogen metabolism in liver and kidney tissues of diabetic rats were restored to near normalcy by swertiamarin treatment.Conclusion: Swertiamarin treatment maintains normoglycemia in diabetic rats by modulating the activities of key carbohydrate and glycogen metabolizing enzymes in the hepatic and renal tissues

PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF RUELLIA PATULA USING GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY‑MASS SPECTROMETRY

ABSTRACTObjective: Ruellia patula (Jacq.) a medicinally important plant belongs to the family Acanthaceae. Traditionally, the leaves are used in the treatment ofmany diseases such as insect bites, itches, eye diseases, and skin problems. In the present study, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of bioactivecompounds by gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectroscopy (MS) techniques.Methods: The chemical compositions of the ethanol extract of R. patula leaves were investigated using Perkin–Elmer GC‑MS.Result: In the GC‑MS analysis of ethanol extract of R. patula L. reported the presence of 15 compounds. The major compound constituents are 3, 7, 11,15‑tetramethyl‑2‑hexadecen‑1‑ol (28.75%), and α‑sitosterol (14.35%).Conclusion: Identification of these compounds can help in the development of new drugs.Keywords: Ruellia patula, Ethanol extract, Phytochemical compounds, gas chromatography‑mass spectroscopy analysis, Biological activity ofphyto‑components

Performance Evaluation Of Thermally Activated Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum Building Equipped With Desiccant System

According to International Energy Outlook 2017, the energy consumption of the building sector is expected to increase by 32% from 2015 to 2040. This is due to the accelerating demand for mechanical air conditioning system for maintaining the indoor comfort conditions and high embodied energy of the conventional building materials. Many solutions are proposed globally to address these problems. Thermally Activated Building System (TABS) is one such energy efficient alternative to the conventional mechanical air conditioning system for providing the desirable indoor comfort conditions. In TABS, copper pipes are embedded in its building structures namely ceiling, floor and walls. Chilled water circulated in the copper pipes cools the building structures which in turn cool the indoor environment by radiative and convective heat exchange methods. However, the TABS handles only the sensible load. Therefore, a solid desiccant system is used along with TABS for maintaining the desired indoor humidity. Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (GFRG) is used as a building material which is made up of reinforced glass and gypsum. It is used in the present study due to its low embodied energy. The combination of TABS and GFRG building is named as Thermally Activated Glass Fibre Reinforced Gypsum (TAGFRG) building. Ventilation rate of the proposed TAGFRG is maintained according to the standards prescribed by ASHRAE. To appreciate the energy saving potential and feasibility of TAGFRG building, its thermal performance is compared with that of the conventional concrete building. Both TAGFRG and conventional concrete building are constructed with the same dimensions (1m (L) x 1m (B) x 1m (H)) for such comparison. The present study analyses the influence of various operating parameters on the performance of the proposed TAGFRG. The operating parameters considered are cooling water temperature, cooling surfaces and air velocity. The performance parameters used to evaluate the indoor thermal comfort of the proposed TAGFRG are indoor temperature and humidity, Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD) and Predicted Mean Vote (PMV). The decrease in supply water temperature and increase in radiant surface area, increase the thermal comfort level of the indoor. The results of the present study will be useful for predicting the optimum design of proposed TAGFRG which has the potential to reduce the energy consumption and carbon emission of the building sector

Medicinal properties of some Dendrobium orchids – A review

 Orchids are known for their aesthetic qualities, and they are often used as decorative items in homes, offices, and public places. While most people admire them for their good looks, others have found practical uses for them. Since a long time ago, people from various parts of the world have used orchids for medicinal purposes. However, the use of orchids in medicine has declined over the years because not enough research has been done to determine their effectiveness and adverse effects

New Signatures of Bio-Molecular Complexity in the Hypervelocity Impact Ejecta of Icy Moon Analogues

Impact delivery of prebiotic compounds to the early Earth from an impacting comet is considered to be one of the possible ways by which prebiotic molecules arrived on the Earth. Given the ubiquity of impact features observed on all planetary bodies, bolide impacts may be a common source of organics on other planetary bodies both in our own and other solar systems. Biomolecules such as amino acids have been detected on comets and are known to be synthesized due to impact-induced shock processing. Here we report the results of a set of hypervelocity impact experiments where we shocked icy mixtures of amino acids mimicking the icy surface of planetary bodies with high-speed projectiles using a two-stage light gas gun and analyzed the ejecta material after impact. Electron microscopic observations of the ejecta have shown the presence of macroscale structures with long polypeptide chains revealed from LCMS analysis. These results suggest a pathway in which impact on cometary ices containing building blocks of life can lead to the synthesis of material architectures that could have played a role in the emergence of life on the Earth and which may be applied to other planetary bodies as well. View Full-Tex

Light flavor asymmetry of polarized quark distributions in thermodynamical bag model

219-223polarized quark distributions x(x), x(x) and x[(x)-(x)] are evaluated in the kinematic range 0.01x<1.0 at an average value of the square of the four momentum transfer Q2=10 GeV2 using Thermodynamical Bag Model(TBM). Flavor decomposition of polarized quark distribution are evaluated as a function of x for up (u + )/(u+) and down (d+))/(d+) flavor in the kinematic range 0.033xQ2=2.5 GeV2 using TBM. The calculated values are compared with the theoretical predictions of the Chiral Quark Soliton Model (CQSM) and experimental results of J Lab E99117 and HERMES Collaboration

Mangrove extracts prevent the blood coagulate!

252-254Mangrove polysaccharide extracts prolonged the time taken for blood clotting, and this was also more pronounced with the assay of activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), than that of prothrombin time (PT). This activity increased with concentrations of extracts used (100, 500, and 1000 µg mL-1) and also with the levels of sulphate present in the samples. The anticoagulant activity was high in Avicennia marina and Aegiceras corniculatum compared to Excoecaria agallocha and Rhizophora spp