Rare And Unexplored Ethnozoological Practices of Tangkhul Naga Community of Manipur: A North Eastern State of India

Ethnozoology is an applied discipline that integrates both the basic and social sciences which observe the aspects of nature, socioeconomic, anthropological and historical aspects of the animal and human relationship exist in that community. Tangkhul Naga community of the Ukhrul district of Manipur have a rich heritage of using animal products in their folklore medicines for the treatment of various human ailments since time immemorial. The present study was carried out with an intention to find out various animal-based products uses in the traditional healing system among the Tangkhul Naga community of Manipur, India. A survey for the data collection was carried out for a period of one year through semi-structural questionnaires, interactions through oral conversations with local medicinal practitioners, old men and women. The study reveals that a total 21 different animal species and their products are used for the treatment of different human ailments. Of the total 21 numbers of animals, 9 belongs to the invertebrate groups and 12 to the vertebrate groups. Out of the 9 animals from the invertebrate group, 1 annelid, 7 arthropods and 1 mollusc comprise 4.76%, 33.3% and 4.67% fauna respectively while in the vertebrate group, 2 amphibians, 1 reptile, 3 Aves and 6 mammals contributed 9.5%, 4.76%, 14.28% and 28.57% fauna respectively. The finding shows that the ethnozoological practices of using animal derived medicines employed by Tangkhul community in Manipur plays an important part in the primary health care system of this community which are rare as well as undocumented till today. Proper documentation and sustainable exploration of such rare traditional information on ethno-zoological practices of the Tangkhul community of the Manipur will be helpful in the integration of the traditional knowledge system in the modern medicines and ultimately in the formation of strategies for sustainable exploration and conservation of such bio resources

Efficacy of Modified Eggs and Chick Muscles on Oxidative Stress of Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus Induced Male Wistar Rats

A modified poultry egg (Indian Patent Application No. 2264/Del-2005) and chick muscle enriched with optimum minerals, vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acid were developed and its efficacy was studied on oxidative stress of Type-2 diabetes mellitus induced male wistar rats. In this study, two groups of rats were fed on semi-synthetic diet containing 20 mg Zn/kg (control, group-I) and 80 mg Zn/kg (group-II) diet respectively for a period of 6 months. The study revealed that the gain in body weight increased in rats in Zn concentration dependent manner. The urine examined on weekly basis showed glucosuria in group-II on week 8 and thereafter. The blood lipid profile displayed a significant rise in serum glucose, total lipids, cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol whereas HDL-cholesterol showed a reduction in their levels in group-II rats than their control counter parts. They displayed higher lipid peroxidation products and activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione–s -transferase, glutathione reductase, glutathione (reduced) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were significantly lowered and revealed a higher Zn concentration and lower Cu, Mg and Mn both in liver and kidney. On day 90, the male rats in group-II after the establishment of type-2 diabetes mellitus, were divided in to two groups- group-IIA and group-IIB. Feeding on these eggs and chick muscles mixed diet in these groups of rats, all the abnormalities were restored and a considerable reduction in lipid peroxidation products and a significant increased in the activities of enzymes per se with reversal of Zn, Cu, Mg and Mn levels closer to the control group were recorded. The present data suggest that these modified egg and chick muscle are effective in ameliorating the oxidative stress in type-2 diabetes mellitus induced male rats

Therapeutical and Nutraceutical Roles of Cyanobacterial Tetrapyrrole Chromophore: Recent Advances and Future Implications

Cyanobacteria have attracted the attention of researchers because of their promising role as primary and secondary metabolites in functional food and drug design. Due to an ever-increasing awareness of health and the use of natural products to avoid the onset of many chronic and lifestyle metabolic diseases, the global demand for the use of natural drugs and food additives has increased in the last few decades. There are several reports about the highly valuable cyanobacterial products such as carotenoids, vitamins, minerals, polysaccharides, and phycobiliproteins showing antioxidant, anti-cancerous, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, and antimicrobial properties. Recently, it has been shown that allophycocyanin increases longevity and reduces the paralysis effect at least in Caenorhabditis elegans. Additionally, other pigments such as phycoerythrin and phycocyanin show antioxidative properties. Because of their high solubility in water and zero side effects, some of the cyanobacterial tetrapyrrole derivatives, i.e., pigments, facilitate an innovative and alternative way for the beverage and food industries in place of synthetic coloring agents at the commercial level. Thus, not only are the tetrapyrrole derivatives essential constituents for the synthesis of most of the basic physiological biomolecules, such as hemoglobin, chlorophyll, and cobalamin, but also have the potential to be used for the synthesis of synthetic compounds used in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. In the present review, we focused on the different aspects of tetrapyrrole rings in the drug design and food industries and addressed its remaining limitations to be used as natural nutrient supplements and therapeutic agents

The Metal Face of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B

AbstractA new paradigm in metallobiochemistry describes the activation of inactive metalloenzymes by metal ion removal. Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) do not seem to require a metal ion for enzymatic activity. However, both metal cations and metal anions modulate their enzymatic activity. One binding site is the phosphate binding site at the catalytic cysteine residue. Oxyanions with structural similarity to phosphate, such as vanadate, inhibit the enzyme with nanomolar to micromolar affinities. In addition, zinc ions (Zn2+) inhibit with picomolar to nanomolar affinities. We mapped the cation binding site close to the anion binding site and established a specific mechanism of inhibition occurring only in the closed conformation of the enzyme when the catalytic cysteine is phosphorylated and the catalytic aspartate moves into the active site. We discuss this dual inhibition by anions and cations here for PTP1B, the most thoroughly investigated protein tyrosine phosphatase. The significance of the inhibition in phosphorylation signaling is becoming apparent only from the functions of PTP1B in the biological context of metal cations as cellular signaling ions. Zinc ion signals complement redox signals but provide a different type of control and longer lasting inhibition on a biological time scale owing to the specificity and affinity of zinc ions for coordination environments. Inhibitor design for PTP1B and other PTPs is a major area of research activity and interest owing to their prominent roles in metabolic regulation in health and disease, in particular cancer and diabetes. Our results explain the apparent dichotomy of both cations (Zn2+) and oxyanions such as vanadate inhibiting PTP1B and having insulin-enhancing (“anti-diabetic”) effects and suggest different approaches, namely targeting PTPs in the cell by affecting their physiological modulators and considering a metallodrug approach that builds on the knowledge of the insulin-enhancing effects of both zinc and vanadium compounds

Chemical Profiling and Therapeutic Evaluation of Standardized Hydroalcoholic Extracts of <i>Terminalia chebula</i> Fruits Collected from Different Locations in Manipur against Colorectal Cancer

Terminalia chebula Retz. (Fam. Combretaceae), locally called Manahei, is a well-known medicinal plant that grows wildly in Manipur, a Northeastern state of India. It is used as a mild laxative, an anti-inflammatory agent, and a remedy for piles, colds, and ulcers by ethnic communities of the state. The hydroalcoholic extract obtained from four fruit samples of T. chebula collected from different locations in Manipur were analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) for their chemical constituents and evaluated for their anticancer activity against the colon cancer cell HCT 116. GC-MS analysis results indicated significant variation in the composition and percentage of major compounds present in the extracts. 1,2,3-Benzenetriol was the most abundant chemical constituent present in all four extracts of T. chebula, ranging from 20.95 to 43.56%. 2-Cyclopenten-1-one, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and catechol were commonly present in all extracts. Two marker compounds, gallic acid and ellagic acid, were also quantified usingHPTLC in all four extracts of T. chebula. The highest content of gallic acid (22.44 ± 0.056 µg/mg of dried extract) was observed in TCH, and that of ellagic acidwas found in TYH (11.265 ± 0.089 µg/mg of dried extract). The IC50 value of TYH for the DPPH and ABTS assays (12.16 ± 0.42 and 7.80 ± 0.23 µg/mL) was found to be even lower than that of Trolox (18 ± 0.44 and 10.15 ± 0.24 µg/mL), indicating its strong antioxidant properties among the four extracts of T. chebula. The MTT assay determined the effect of T. chebula extracts on the viability of HCT 116 cells. TYH showed the highest activity with anIC50 value of 52.42 ± 0.87 µg/mL, while the lowest activity was observed in TCH (172.05 ± 2.0 µg/mL). The LDH assay confirmed the cytotoxic effect of TYH in HCT 116 cells. TYH was also found to induce caspase-dependent apoptosis in HCT 116 cells after 48 h of treatment. Our study provides insight into the diversity of T. chebula in Manipur and its potential activity against colon cancer