Antifungal and nematicidal activity of selected legumes of Pakistan

The antifungal activity of legume seed extracts was tested against 6 fungi, viz., Trichophyton longifusus, Candida albicans, Aspergilus flavus, Microsporum canis, Fusarium solani and Candida glaberata. The extracts showed moderate activity against different fungal strains. Nematicidal activity has also been carried out to evaluate their potential toxicity against juveniles of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne spp. In vitro results showed that ethanolic extract of these legumes caused appreciable mortality of second stage juveniles of Meloidogyne javanica and Meloidogyne incognita. The concentrations used @ 1% and 0.5% were found more effective and produced significant results as compared to 0.25%, and 0.1%. The mortality rate increased with increasing exposure time for most of the extracts

Ethnoveterinary Study of Medicinal Plants in a Tribal Society of Sulaiman Range

The aims of the present study were (i) to document ethnoveterinary plants and their formulation techniques in an unexplored region of Pakistan and (ii) to select candidate medicinal plants with high consensus factor and fidelity value for further in vitro investigation. A total of 60 informants were interviewed using semistructured questionnaire. A total of 41 plants belonging to 30 families were used to treat livestock ailments in study area. Mostly leaves (47%) were used in recipes formulation mostly in the form of decoction. Gastrointestinal infections were found more common and majority of the plants were used against cow (31) and buffaloes (24) ailments. Recovery time of majority of the recipes was three to four days. Informant consensus factor (Fic) results have shown a high degree of consensus for gastrointestinal, respiratory, and reproductive (0.95 each) ailments. Fidelity level (FL) results showed that Asparagus gracilis ranked first with FL value 93% followed by Rumex hastatus ranked second (91%) and Tinospora cordifolia ranked third (90%). Aged farmers and nomads had more traditional knowledge as compared to younger ones. Plants with high Fic and FL values could be further investigated in vitro for the search of some novel bioactive compounds and young generation should be educated regarding ethnoveterinary practices

Use of Ethnomedicinal Plants by the People Living around Indus River

The objective of present study was to document and preserve ethnomedicinal knowledge use to treat different human ailments by traditional healers of Dera Ismail Khan region, Pakistan. Field work was conducted between February 2012 and January 2013 using semistructured questionnaires. Data was collected from 120 traditional healers through questionnaire survey. Traditional healers in the study area use 70 plant species mostly herbs (57%) for ethnomedicinal and other purposes. The highest FIC values (0.80) were obtained each for gastrointestinal and kidney problems followed by respiratory infections (0.72) and skin infections (0.73). There was a significant correlation (r2=0.950;  p<0.01) between the age and traditional knowledge of respondent. Direct matrix ranking indicated Morus alba and Dalbergia sissoo as highly multipurpose and threatened species in the study area. The results showed high dependency of local inhabitants on medicinal plants in meeting their primary health care needs. Moreover, the traditional knowledge has been restricted to elder people. Protection measures should be taken in order to conserve precious multipurpose species that are facing overexploitation. Medicinal plants treating major ailments in the region may be subjected to phytochemical and pharmacological investigations for the identification of bioactive compounds

CCL2 Responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Are Associated with Disease Severity in Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND Leucocyte activating chemokines such as CCL2, CCL3, and CXCL8 together with proinflammatory IFNgamma, TNFalpha and downmodulatory IL10 play a central role in the restriction of M. tuberculosis infections, but is unclear whether these markers are indicative of tuberculosis disease severity. METHODOLOGY We investigated live M. tuberculosis- and M. bovis BCG-induced peripheral blood mononuclear cell responses in patients with tuberculosis (TB) and healthy endemic controls (ECs, n = 36). TB patients comprised pulmonary (PTB, n = 34) and extrapulmonary groups, subdivided into those with less severe localized extrapulmonary TB (L-ETB, n = 16) or severe disseminated ETB (D-ETB, n = 16). Secretion of CCL2, IFNgamma, IL10 and CCL3, and mRNA expression of CCL2, TNFalpha, CCL3 and CXCL8 were determined. RESULTS M. tuberculosis- and BCG-induced CCL2 secretion was significantly increased in both PTB and D-ETB (p&lt;0.05, p&lt;0.01) as compared with L-ETB patients. CCL2 secretion in response to M. tuberculosis was significantly greater than to BCG in the PTB and D-ETB groups. M. tuberculosis-induced CCL2 mRNA transcription was greater in PTB than L-ETB (p = 0.023), while CCL2 was reduced in L-ETB as compared with D-ETB (p = 0.005) patients. M. tuberculosis-induced IFNgamma was greater in L-ETB than PTB (p = 0.04), while BCG-induced IFNgamma was greater in L-ETB as compared with D-ETB patients (p = 0.036). TNFalpha mRNA expression was raised in PTB as compared with L-ETB group in response to M. tuberculosis (p = 0.02) and BCG (p = 0.03). Mycobacterium-induced CCL3 and CXCL8 was comparable between TB groups. CONCLUSIONS The increased CCL2 and TNFalpha in PTB patients may support effective leucocyte recruitment and M. tuberculosis localization. CCL2 alone is associated with severity of TB, possibly due to increased systemic inflammation found in severe disseminated TB or due to increased monocyte infiltration to lung parenchyma in pulmonary disease

Ethnomedicinal plants used against common digestive problems

Background: Ethnomedicinal knowledge is highly significant for persistence of human health care. Different studies have shown that medicinal plants are considered as curing agent for digestive disorders in Pakistan. The aim of present review is to explore this ethnomedicinal information all over the Pakistan and to investigate the ecological status of these species in the country.Methodology: Online literatures on ethnomedicinal plants used to treat digestive complaints in Pakistan were searched and gathered using online bibliographic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science and Flora of Pakistan.Results: The review documented 178 medicinal plant species, belonging to 59 families, used for different digestive ailments. The majority of species were herbs (60%), used in drug preparation. The most frequent part used in preparation of these remedies is leaves (23%), followed by roots (19%).Conclusion: In conclusion, the study provides enormous ethno-medicinal knowledge and due to the unsustainable activities of the people of Pakistan, some medicinal plants need to be conserved for the future.Key words: Ethno-medicine, medicinal plants, gastrointestinal diseases, ecological status

Perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure augments lung injury in offspring in experimental bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Copyright © 2020 the American Physiological Society. During the newborn period, intestinal commensal bacteria influence pulmonary mucosal immunology via the gut-lung axis. Epidemiological studies have linked perinatal antibiotic exposure in human newborns to an increased risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia, but whether this effect is mediated by the gut-lung axis is unknown. To explore antibiotic disruption of the newborn gut-lung axis, we studied how perinatal maternal antibiotic exposure influenced lung injury in a hyperoxia-based mouse model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. We report that disruption of intestinal commensal colonization during the perinatal period promotes a more severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia phenotype characterized by increased mortality and pulmonary fibrosis. Mechanistically, metagenomic shifts were associated with decreased IL-22 expression in bronchoalveolar lavage and were independent of hyperoxia-induced inflammasome activation. Collectively, these results demonstrate a previously unrecognized influence of the gut-lung axis during the development of neonatal lung injury, which could be leveraged to ameliorate the most severe and persistent pulmonary complication of preterm birth

Interplay in galectin expression predicts patient outcomes in a spatially restricted manner in PDAC

BACKGROUND: Galectins (Gal's) are a family of carbohydrate-binding proteins that are known to support the tumour microenvironment through their immunosuppressive activity and ability to promote metastasis. As such they are attractive therapeutic targets, but little is known about the cellular expression pattern of galectins within the tumour and its neighbouring stromal microenvironment. Here we investigated the cellular expression pattern of Gals within pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).METHODS: Galectin gene and protein expression were analysed by scRNAseq (n=4) and immunofluorescence imaging (n=19) in fibroblasts and epithelial cells of pancreatic biopsies from PDAC patients. Galectin surface expression was also assessed on tumour adjacent normal fibroblasts and cancer associated primary fibroblasts from PDAC biopsies using flow cytometry.RESULTS: scRNAseq revealed higher Gal-1 expression in fibroblasts and higher Gal-3 and -4 expression in epithelial cells. Both podoplanin (PDPN+, stromal/fibroblast) cells and EpCAM+ epithelial cells expressed Gal-1 protein, with highest expression seen in the stromal compartment. By contrast, significantly more Gal-3 and -4 protein was expressed in ductal cells expressing either EpCAM or PDPN, when compared to the stroma. Ductal Gal-4 cellular expression negatively correlated with ductal Gal-1, but not Gal-3 expression. Higher ductal cellular expression of Gal-1 correlated with smaller tumour size and better patient survival. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the intricate interplay and cell-specific expression patterns of galectins within the PDAC tissue, particularly the inverse correlation between Gal-1 and Gal-4 in ducts and its significant association with patient survival, highlights the complex molecular landscape underlying PDAC and provides valuable insights for future therapeutic interventions.</p

ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS USED AGAINST COMMON DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS

Background: Ethnomedicinal knowledge is highly significant for persistence of human health care. Different studies shown that medicinal plants are considered as curing agent for digestive disorders in Pakistan. The aim of present review is to explore this ethnomedicinal information all over the Pakistan and to investigate the ecological status of these species in the country. Methodology: Online liter

Feeding Diversity of Finfish in Different Wild Habitat

Sonmiani Bay has unique faunal diversity and distribution especially finfish as mangroves provides an imperative ecosystem which offer the shelter and protection to the associated organisms and care of their juveniles in bay limits. This study aimed to evaluate the diversity pattern according to physical and physiological responses and feeding habits (carnivorous and herbivorous) of finfish species in accordance with current habitat conditions in the Sonmiani Bay. A total of 4499, individuals of comprising 155 finfish species that represent 50 families were captured by these four (beach seines, purse seines, gill nets, and cast nets) nets during a twelve-month survey in a year. The distribution pattern of finfishes captured classified into four groups (tidal visitors, permanent residents, partial residents, and seasonal visitors) according to their patterns of distribution. Understanding of the true feeding behavior of organisms needs a more reliable and functional approach. The feeding ecology is not only functional for food and feeding behavior of fish as usually described by various tools and techniques of analytical research to take up more reliable details to explain the feeding biology in fish but also the indicator of habitat quality and status