Phytotherapy in India: transition of tradition to technology

The disease preventive and health promoting approach based on herbal medicine takes into consideration, the promotion of health and treating ailments is holistic way and finds increasing acceptability in many regions of the world, India and China being in the forefront. The practice of herbal medicine basically depends on folklore and by experiences of people over a long period of time. However, very little research especially in the area of basic science has been conducted in a systematic manner. Medicinal plants with a long history of safe and effective use are likely to have a pharmaceutical effect. The use of plants in traditional medicine can be explained by physiologically active phytochemical compounds of a species and also by its ascribed meaning in a culture.  Plants produce a great diversity of substances that could be of therapeutic significance in many areas of medicine. However, the chemical nature of plant compounds present naturally as such and in extract, is puzzling. It is important to know constituents of plant extracts and their relative importance in their therapeutic value. The alkaloids and other compounds are characterized and tested for their medicinal value from these plants which include not only the unexplored tribal plants but also the spices, condiments and vegetables which are already in use. In last decade, there is a renewed interest in the development of herbal drugs underlined by the understanding of mechanism of action rather than based on faith and folk, as it happened in past. Several aspects on integrated approaches of drug development from herbs have explored many potential lead phytochemicals. Nonetheless, even the limited number of mechanistic experiments reveals that numerous mechanisms are likely involved in the various actions of even a single herbal medicine. It will be the elucidation of such mechanisms that will provide the scientific basis for establishing the efficacy and safety of not only Chinese and Indian herbal medicines but all forms of medicinal botanicals

Vitamin C in the Prevention and Treatment of Frostbite

Two series of experiments were conducted on rats to evaluate the effect of Vit C for prevention and treatment of frostbite. For studies on prevention, 45 rats were divided into 3 groups, as control, Vit C-short term and Vit C-long term. Frostbite was produced experimentally in both the hind limbs by exposing the animals at -15 degree centigrade for 1 h and the assessment of cold injury was done after 15 days. In another study on prevention, frostbite was produced on 20 rats twice, in each limb separately with and without Vit C therapy. The result showed that administration of Vit C for a short period prior to cold exposure period maintained higher rectal temperature and significantly reduced the incidence of frostbite. For studies on treatment, frostbite was produced experimentally in 4 groups of rats. Group I was treated as control, group II was administered 5 mg of Vit C/100 g bw (orally) daily for 15 days. rapid rewarming at 37 degree centigrade on the exposed limbs of group III animals was carried out immediately after cold exposure. Combination of rapid rewarming followed by C therapy was given to group IV. The degree of injury of various groups were compared statistically. Prolonged Vit C therapy as well as waterbath rewarming at body temperature immediately after cold exposure showed significant reduction in tissue damage. High dose of Vit C therapy preceded by rapid rewarming showed additional benefit in reducing the tissue loss

Use of Hyperbaric Oxygen in Experimental Frost-Bite

Frost bite produced in rates by exposing them to -15 degree calcius and the extent of injury in the hind limbs and the tail was assessed at the end of 15 days. Hyperoxic treatment at normal atmospheric pressure and 1.5 atmosphere was given to experimental groups for 30 minutes daily for seven days in a hyperoxic chamber immediately after cold exposure. The controls were not given any treatment. Single oxygen treatment at normal atmosphere pressure was of no value, however, repeated hyperoxic treatment showed limited improvement but repeated treatment for seven days with hyperbaric oxygen at 1.5 atmosphere showed distinct recovery of frozen parts

Free Radical Scavenging, Cytotoxic and Hemolytic Activities from Leaves of Acacia nilotica (L.) Wild. ex. Delile subsp. indica (Benth.) Brenan

Dietary intake of phytochemicals having antioxidant activity is associated with a lower risk of mortality from many diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the free radical scavenging, cytotoxic and hemolytic activities of leaves of Acacia nilotica by using various methods. The results of the present study revealed that ethanol extract was the most effective and IC50 value was found to be 53.6 μg mL−1 for Vero cell lines and 28.9 μg mL−1 for Hela cell lines in cytotoxicity assays. The zone of color retention was 14.2 mm in β-carotene bleaching assay, which was as significant as positive control, butylated hydroxy toluene. None of the tested extracts possessed any hemolytic activity against rat and human erythrocytes revealing their cytotoxic mechanism and non-toxicity. Thus, only the ethanol extract could be considered as a potential source of anticancer and antioxidant compounds. Further phytochemical studies will be performed for specification of the biologically active principles

Evaluation of Cytotoxic Potential of Acorus calamus Rhizome

The present work evaluated the cytotoxicity of methanolic and aqueous extracts of rhizome of Acorus calamus Linn. which is a well known medicinal plant used in traditional treatment. Both extracts were found to be cytotoxic as determined by Allium cepa root tip assay and XTT assay in MDA-MB-435S and Hep3B cell lines. Results of the study indicate that the plant possesses antitumor properties and may serve as a potential source for investigation and development of anticancer drugs

Underwater Breathing Apparatus

An independent closed circuit regenerative type of breathing apparatus has been developed for isolating the respiratory tract from the ambient medium for use during breathing by personnel working in underwater or polluted atmosphere. An oxygen reducer is used in the design of this apparatus for catering to the required flows of oxygen for breathing during use of the apparatus and thus avoiding oxygen poisoning. The paper describes some of the salient aspects of the breathing apparatus to be deployed for submariners and other diving personnel of the Indian Navy and its potential usefulness as a life saving equipment

Explaining the Atypical Reaction Profiles of Heme Enzymes with a Novel Mechanistic Hypothesis and Kinetic Treatment

Many heme enzymes show remarkable versatility and atypical kinetics. The fungal extracellular enzyme chloroperoxidase (CPO) characterizes a variety of one and two electron redox reactions in the presence of hydroperoxides. A structural counterpart, found in mammalian microsomal cytochrome P450 (CYP), uses molecular oxygen plus NADPH for the oxidative metabolism (predominantly hydroxylation) of substrate in conjunction with a redox partner enzyme, cytochrome P450 reductase. In this study, we employ the two above-mentioned heme-thiolate proteins to probe the reaction kinetics and mechanism of heme enzymes. Hitherto, a substrate inhibition model based upon non-productive binding of substrate (two-site model) was used to account for the inhibition of reaction at higher substrate concentrations for the CYP reaction systems. Herein, the observation of substrate inhibition is shown for both peroxide and final substrate in CPO catalyzed peroxidations. Further, analogy is drawn in the “steady state kinetics” of CPO and CYP reaction systems. New experimental observations and analyses indicate that a scheme of competing reactions (involving primary product with enzyme or other reaction components/intermediates) is relevant in such complex reaction mixtures. The presence of non-selective reactive intermediate(s) affords alternate reaction routes at various substrate/product concentrations, thereby leading to a lowered detectable concentration of “the product of interest” in the reaction milieu. Occam's razor favors the new hypothesis. With the new hypothesis as foundation, a new biphasic treatment to analyze the kinetics is put forth. We also introduce a key concept of “substrate concentration at maximum observed rate”. The new treatment affords a more acceptable fit for observable experimental kinetic data of heme redox enzymes

Impact of laboratory test use strategies in a Turkish hospital

Objectives: Eliminating unnecessary laboratory tests is a good way to reduce costs while maintain patient safety. The aim of this study was to define and process strategies to rationalize laboratory use in Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital (ANH) and calculate potential savings in costs. Methods: A collaborative plan was defined by hospital managers; joint meetings with ANHTA and laboratory professors were set; the joint committee invited relevant staff for input, and a laboratory efficiency committee was created. Literature was reviewed systematically to identify strategies used to improve laboratory efficiency. Strategies that would be applicable in local settings were identified for implementation, processed, and the impact on clinical use and costs assessed for 12 months. Results: Laboratory use in ANH differed enormously among clinics. Major use was identified in internal medicine. The mean number of tests per patient was 15.8. Unnecessary testing for chloride, folic acid, free prostate specific antigen, hepatitis and HIV testing were observed. Test panel use was pinpointed as the main cause of overuse of the laboratory and the Hospital Information System test ordering page was reorganized. A significant decrease (between 12.6-85.0%) was observed for the tests that were taken to an alternative page on the computer screen. The one year study saving was equivalent to 371,183 US dollars. Conclusion: Hospital-based committees including laboratory professionals and clinicians can define hospital based problems and led to a standardized approach to test use that can help clinicians reduce laboratory costs through appropriate use of laboratory test