Anti-inflammatory activity of Ruta graveolens Linn on carrageenan induced paw edema in wistar male rats

Aqueous, ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Ruta graveolens were investigated for anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan induced paw edema in wistar male rats, and compared to a positive controldrug, Voveran. These extracts were given (ip) in a concentration of 20 and 50 mg/kg b.w. before carrageenan injection. Methanolic extracts of R. graveolens with a concentration of 20 mg/kg b.w. and ethanolic extract with a concentration of 50 mg/kg b.w. showed maximum (90.9%) inhibition on carrageenan induced rat paw edema. The effect was significantly (P< 0.05) higher than that of the standard drug Voveran (72.72%). Methanol extract with a concentration of 50 mg/kg b.w. produced 81.81% inhibition, which was also high as compared to the standard drug. Ethanolic extract with a dose of 20 mg/kg b.w and the two doses of aqueous extract produce less percentage of inhibition as compared to the standard drug voveran

Mode of Ayurvedic intervention in Diabetic Retinopathy (Sannipathika Kacha) associated with Chronic Renal Failure - A Case Study

Diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy are microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus affecting eye and kidney respectively. The patient has reported gradual loss of vision (counting finger at a distance of 70cm) in both eyes for one month associated with history of Chronic Renal Failure. In Ayurvedic classics defective urination and diminution of vision are mentioned in the context of Prameha (Diabetes mellitus). Ophthalmoscopic examination revealed haemorrhages and fluid collection at the level of retina especially at macula due to microvascular damage. The derangement of Pittadosha (humor)by improper dietary habits and irregular lifestyle result in the vitiation of Raktha, which is more evident in eyes. The condition showing clinical similarity with Sannipathika Kacha, a disease affecting Dhrishtipatala of the eye. The logical interpretation on the basis of both subjective and objective clinical findings concluded the diagnosis as Pittadhika Sannipathika Kacha. The treatment principle adopted was Rakthasthambhana, Pittakaphasophahara, Abhisyandhahara and Srothovisodhana with good metabolic control. The treatment was planned without giving any internal herbal medicines except medicated porridge. After treatment his vision has improved as 6/24 (Rt. Eye) and 6/12 (Lt. eye). The study discusses about the Ayurvedic management of diabetic retinopathy associated with chronic renal failure

Curing Acute Prostatitis by means of Ayurveda - A Case Report

Bacterial prostatitis (BP) is a bacterial infection of the prostate gland occurring in a bimodal distribution in younger and older men. It can be acute (ABP) or chronic (CBP) in nature and if not treated appropriately, can result in significant morbidity. Ayurveda is a traditional system of medicine, in which herbal medicines are mainly used for restoring the health. This case report deals with the way of curing acute prostatitis using Ayurveda treatment modalities

Physico-chemical Characterization of Biochar from Selected Ligno-cellulosic Biomass for The Sustainable Utilization

Biochar is a thermal decomposition product known to mitigate climate change and a supplement to enhance soil fertility. The fine-grained, highly porous structure of biochar makes it a popular choice in environmental research. This study aims to assess the Physico-chemical properties and morphological changes in the biochar prepared from feedstocks: sawdust, sugarcane bagasse, and soapnut pith of Sapindus trifoliatus, native to the foothills of Western Ghats, Kerala, at a temperature of 300 oC and 600oC with 30 minutes residence time. The pyrolytic temperature and feedstock type may affect the yield, ash content, volatile matter (VM), fixed carbon (FC), and nutrient composition of biochar. The selection of these two factors is critical before proceeding with charring. The efficiency of biochar was determined through proximate, ultimate, and morphological characterizations. The pH of high-temperature biochar (sawdust biochar, sugarcane bagasse biochar, and soapnut pith biochar prepared at 600oC) was more alkaline (≥7) compared with low-temperature ones. The char yield was highest at 300oC, whereas the fixed carbon was limited. The VM/FC ratio of SDB600 at 1.09±2.3 represents the highest aromaticity and long-term stability. Therefore, SDB600 can be recommended for soil supplementation purposes. The macrospores were uniformly distributed throughout the biochar surface. Sugarcane bagasse pyrolyzed at 600oC (SBB600) possessed the minimum pore diameter (0.87-9.17µm), with the highest surface area; so that it could be an optimum habitat for soil microbiota as well as a suitable adsorbent for environmental remediation applications. The study suggests that biochar made from these ligno-cellulosic feedstocks is a sustainable tool and a value-added product for environmental management

Personality disorder among youth with first episode psychotic mania: An important target for specific treatment?

Personality disorder is a common co-occurrence ('comorbidity') among patients with bipolar disorder and appears to affect outcome negatively. However, there is little knowledge about the impact of this comorbidity in the early phases of bipolar disorder. We examined the prevalence and effect of personality disorder co-occurrence on outcome in a cohort of youth with first episode mania with psychotic features. Seventy-one first episode mania patients, aged 15-29, were assessed at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months as part of a randomized controlled trial of olanzapine and chlorpromazine as add-on to lithium in first episode mania with psychotic features. The current study involved secondary analysis of trial data. A co-occurring clinical personality disorder diagnosis was present in 16.9% of patients. Antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders were the most common diagnoses. Patients with co-occurring personality disorder had higher rates of readmission to hospital, lower rates of symptomatic recovery and poorer functional levels at 6 months, but these differences disappeared after 12 and 18 months. In the early phase of bipolar disorder, patients with personality disorder comorbidity display delayed symptomatic and functional recovery and increased likelihood to need hospital readmissions. These observations suggest that routine assessment for personality disorder and specific interventions are important in order to improve short-term treatment efficacy in this subgroup

Coconut Inflorescence Sap Enhances Exercise Performance and Plasma Antioxidant Status in Young Active Men

Purpose Nutrition has been increasingly recognized as a key component to optimal sports performance. Though several botanical agents have been reported to possess ergogenic potential, there exists a great interest for tasty and safe natural substances as performance boosters. In the present contribution, the ergogenic potential of a novel powder form of coconut inflorescence sap (CSP) was investigated for the first time. Method Out of the fourteen participants recruited, twelve recreationally active men completed the single-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study for 8 weeks. Running based anaerobic sprint test (RAST) and 2.4 km running test were performed as anaerobic and aerobic tests, respectively. In arm 1, the participants were received with either placebo (200 mL water containing 400 mg aspartame/day) or CSP (3 g in 200 mL water/day) for 21 days. After the washout period, arm 2 was performed with a reversed treatment regime. VO2 max was estimated using a predictive formula. Results The primary outcome showed a significant enhancement in peak power and mean power (peak power from 3.67 W/kg b. wt. to 5.38 W/kg b. wt.; mean power from 3.47 W/kg b. wt. to 5.06 W/kg b. wt.). A significant (p \u3c 0.001) increase in VO2 max among CSP condition compared to the placebo was observed (from 59.38 ± 2.15 mL/kg/min to 62.56 ± 0.52 mL/kg/min). Further, serum analysis revealed enhanced antioxidant status and reduced lactate dehydrogenase (p \u3c 0.01) levels without any significant changes (p \u3e 0.05) in safety parameters. Conclusion It was concluded that CSP possesses significant ergogenic effect and may find wide application as a natural ingredient for sports nutrition and energy drinks. Trial Registration The study was registered in Clinical Trial Registry of India (Reg No.: CTRI/2018/03/012551 dated 13/03/2018)

Hatching of Olive ridley turtle twin hatchlings

A clutch of 126 olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtle eggs was laid at Palapetty Beach, Thrissur District, Kerala on 15th January 2016 and relocated by members of the Kanyakumari Turtle NEWS Club to the hatchery at Palapetty. On 02nd March 2016, after 46 days of incubation, 58 hatchlings emerged from the nest unaided in the early morning. The nest was excavated three hours after emergence of the first hatchling, at which time 14 more hatchlings emerged from the exposed eggs including two pairs of twins (Table 1; for example see Figure 1) which emerged from the eggshells on their own. The hatchlings were transported to a holding tank 15min post-hatching. The twin hatchlings were unable to remain afloat and their movement on land was also impaired as they remained connected by the respective yolk sacs. The first pair of twin hatchlings died half an hour after hatching, while the second pair of twins survived for six hours. Four other hatchlings which emerged from the exposed eggs died before being introduced to the holding tank. The surviving hatchlings were released to sea approximately nine to thirteen hours after hatching

Contribution towards the development of a DNA barcode reference library for West African mammals

DNA barcoding is a widely used molecular approach for species cataloging for unambiguous identification and conservation. In the present study, DNA barcoding of some West African mammals were performed with six new mitochondrial CO1 sequences for Civettictis civetta, Tadarida nigeriae, Orycteropus afer, Heliosciurus gambianus, Equus africanus asinus and Funisciurus anerythrus which are absent in public databases such as BLAST/NCBI and BOLD. Sequence identifications were made by comparing unknown sequences against the DNA barcodes of known species through distance-based tree construction and alignment probing. The sequences have been deposited to GenBank/NCBI.Keywords: mtDNA, West African mammals, conservation, biodiversity

Effectiveness of Ayurvedic intervention in Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (Kaphaja Adhimantha) - A Case Study

Glaucoma is a diverse group of disorders affecting the eye with a common characteristic potentially progressive optic neuropathy that is determined by both structural changes and functional deficit in which IOP is a key modifiable factor. In Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG), IOP independent mechanisms of glaucomatous nerve damage and visual field loss with unobstructed angle of anterior chamber is observed. The patient has reported gradual diminution of peripheral aspect of visual field (Rt. eye - 6/12 and Lt. eye - 6/12 on Snellen’s distant vision chart) in both eyes for 2 years. There was marked peripheral field defect on both confrontation test and perimetry visual field analysis test. The disease shows clinical similarity with Kaphaja Adhimantha, a disease affecting the whole eye mentioned in Susruta Samhita and Ashtanga Hrudaya. It is a chronic disease comes under life style related disorder. Dukhena Roopam Pasyathi (distorted image or constricted visual field), Sirodukha (headache), Srava (watering), Kandu (itching), Pamsupoornatha (foreign body sensation), Aviladarsana (diminished vision) and Gourava (heaviness of eye and head) are the clinical findings explained in the context of Kaphaja Adhimantha. These clinical findings mentioned in classical literature show resemblance with POAG. The meticulous deployment of kaphaja AbhisyandhaAdhimantha treatment protocol can be used to prevent the progression of ganglionic damage and preservation of eye sight. The logical interpretation on the basis of both subjective and objective clinical findings concluded the diagnosis as Kaphaja Adhimantha and treatment principle adopted was Apatharpana, Kaphahara, Abhisyandhahara and Srothovisodhana. After treatment his vision has improved as 6/6 in both eyes and remarkable change in visual field analysis. The study discusses about the effectiveness of Ayurvedic management in POAG

Recent landings of portunid crab Monomia gladiator at Cochin Fisheries Harbour

A good landing of Monomia gladiator (Fabricius, 1798) was recorded at Cochin Fisheries Harbour on 5th April 2023. Approximately 30 kg of the species was landed along with Charybdis natator. In the regular field visits to different landing centres in Kerala, M. gladiator generally observed only in very few numbers or in stray catches. This marine crab has good landings along the east coast; major contribution is from Tamil Nadu, where, good seasonal fishery exists in different coastal area