Otomycosis and its Predisposing Factors in Out-Patient Department of Otorhinolaryngology in a Tertiary Care Center

Introduction: Otomycosis is a fungal infection of external auditory canal frequently encountered by otorhinolaryngologists. It causes discomfort to patients with varied symptoms of pruritus, otorrhea, aural fullness and earache. People with a habit of using unnecessary ear drops, cleaning ear with unsterilized objects and those who use mustard oil are all prone to otomycosis. This study aims to find out the association between otomycosis and its predisposing factors. Methods: This study was undertaken in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of a tertiary hospital from March 2018 to February 2019 and a total of 300 clinically diagnosed cases of otomycosis were enrolled for the study. Results: The mean age ±SD of the patients was 37.7 ± 18.8 years. Females (n=172, 57.3%) were more prone to otomycosis than males (n=128, 42.7%). The most common presenting symptom was pruritus only (n=95, 31.7%) with unilateral involvement being more common. The most common predisposing factor was mustard oil instillation (n=124, 41.3%). Aspergillus niger  was the most common fungus causing otomycosis in this study (n=104, 34.7%). Positive fungal cultures were observed in 285 specimens (95%). The fungal growth (n=285) was high in patients with the history of instilling mustard oil (42.8%) into the ear, 34.0% in topical steroid containing ear drops and 23.2% in self-cleaning group. Conclusion: Otomycosis is common in people using unnecessary steroid containing ear drops, cleaning ear with unsterilized objects and instillation of mustard oil

Essential Palatal Myoclonus

Introduction: Palatal myoclonus is a rare condition presenting with clicking sound in ear or muscle tremor in pharynx. There are two varieties: essential and symptomatic. Various treatment options exists ranging from watchful observation to botulinum toxin injection. We have not found any reported case of palatal myoclonus from our country. Here we present a case of essential palatal myoclonus managed with clonazepam. Case report: A young female presented in Ear Nose and Throat clinic with complain of auditory click and spontaneous rhythmic movement of throat muscles for eight months. On examination, there was involuntary, rhythmic contraction of bilateral soft-palate, uvula, and base of tongue. Neurological, eye, and peripheral examination were normal. A diagnosis of essential palatal myoclonus was made. It was managed successfully with clonazepam; patient was still on low dose clonazepam at the time of making this report. Conclusion: Essential palatal myoclonus can be clinically diagnosed and managed even in settings where MRI is not available or affordable

Phytochemical Profiling and Antioxidant Potential of Ailanthus Excelsa Roxb. Extracts

Abstract The stem bark of Ailanthes excelsa Roxb., known as Aralu, is commonly used as a substitute in trade and raw drug market for several other important medicinal plants like Oroxylum indicum and Holarrhena antidysenterica. In the present study, its physicochemical parameters, preliminary phytochemical screening, HPTLC fingerprinting and assessment of its antioxidant potential were carried out. The different extracts were analyzed for their total phenolic and flavonoid contents and subjected to phytochemical analysis using HPTLC and the chemical markers lupeol and stigmasterol were quantified. Lupeol and stigmasterol were found to be present only in the methanolic extract (5.3 µg/mg and 8.1 µg/mg extract respectively). Results indicated that the 50% aqueous methanolic extract contained the highest content of phenolics and flavonoids. The methanolic extract exhibited the best antioxidant potential in both the in vitro test models used viz. DPPH radical scavenging activity as well as the Total Antioxidant Capacity. The analysis results may thus be used for the routine analysis of the raw drug samples and formulations for the presence of A. excelsa. The HPTLC fingerprint profiles are especially useful as they provide a fingerprint of the various phytoconstituents present in the crude drug and can be essentially used for quality control and assessment. They may also be used for confirming the presence of authentic plant material and monitoring the consistency of different batches of finished products where A. excelsa has been used as an ingredient

Pleiotropic morphological and abiotic stress resistance phenotypes of the hyper-abscisic acid producing Abo<SUP>&#8722;</SUP> mutant in the periwinkle Catharanthus roseus

The pleiotropic properties of aabo abo (Abo&#8722;) &#947;-ray induced mutant ofCatharanthus roseuscv. Nirmal, selected among the M2 generation seeds for ability to germinate at 45&#176;C, are described. The mutant produced seeds possessing tricotyledonous embryos, unlike the typically dicotyledonous embryos present in the wild type Abo+ seeds. In comparison to Abo+ adults, the mutant plants had short stature and lanceolate leaves. The vascular bundles in the leaves and stem were poorly developed. Leaf surfaces were highly trichomatous, epidermal, cortex and mesophyll cells were small sized and a large majority of stomata were closed. Besides high temperature, the mutant was salinity and water-stress tolerant. The abscisic acid (ABA) content in the leaves was about 500-fold higher. The genetic lesionabo responsible for the above pleiotropy was recessive and inherited in Mendelian fashion. The seedlings and adult plants of the mutant accumulated higher proline than Abo+ plants. The phenotypes ofabo abo mutants permitted the conclusions that (i) the mutant synthesizes ABA constitutively, (ii) both ABA-dependent and ABA independent pathways for proline and betaine accumulation are functional in the mutant, and (iii) cell division, elongation and differentiation processes in embryo and adult plant stages are affected in the mutant

Effectiveness of Same-Day Human Ear Wax Removal as an Office Procedure and Factors Associated with its Successful Removal

Introduction: There are various methods of ear wax extraction and there are no specific guidelines on this subject. Many times we ask patients to instil some wax softening product for a few days and revisit for wax removal. These revisits result in increased cost, discomfort and loss of time. We conducted this study to determine the effectiveness of same-day ear wax removal as an office procedure with one or more techniques. Our secondary objective was to find the association between various factors and successful wax removal. Methods: During the study period, all patients with ear wax managed by a single ENT surgeon were included. History and examination were done and findings noted. One or more methods including probe, forceps, hooks, curette, suction, wax softening with wax softening agents, syringing were applied for wax removal. Complete wax removal was noted as success. Results: There were a total of 63 cases of ear wax among 34 participants. Wax was successfully removed in 52 (82.5%) cases in the same day. Presence of ear ache, narrow canal, complete obstruction and hard dry wax were adversely associated with successful wax removal. Presence of ear fullness, ear discharge, or use of ear drops in home was not significantly associated with successful ear wax removal. Conclusion: We were able to extract wax from a large proportion of patients on the same day of visit, thereby reducing their cost of revisit, however there were 17.5% of cases who could not be treated successfully on the same day

Sposobnost hvatanja slobodnih radikala biljke Saussarea costus

Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipschitz belonging to the family Asteraceae is an important medicinal drug, roots of which are widely used as a folk medicine. The antioxidant activity of the plant has been studied using its ability to scavenge DPPH, nitric oxide, superoxide radicals along with the ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation and GSH oxidation. The 1 mg mL-1 extract had antioxidant activity with 85.2% reduction of DPPH and a 72.7% decrease in lipid peroxidation. It showed the maximum inhibition of superoxide radical of 66,0%, and 58.4% inhibition of the nitric oxide formation. The concentration of chlorogenic acid was found to be 0.027% in the extract of S. costus. Thus therapeutic activity of the plant may be due to its antioxidant activity, which may be as a result of chlorogenic acid presence.Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipschitz (Asteraceae) važna je ljekovita biljka čiji se korijen upotrebljava u narodnoj medicini. U ovom radu proučavano je antioksidativno djelovanje te biljke. Praćena je sposobnost vezanja DPPH, oksida dušika, superoksidnih radikala i inhibicije peroksidacije lipida i oksidacije GSH. 1 mg mL-1 ekstrakta reducira 85,2% DPPH i za 72,7% smanjuje peroksidaciju lipida. Maksimalna inhibicija superoksidnih radikala bila je 66%, a inhibicija stvaranja oksida dušika 58,4%. Koncentracija klorogenske kiseline u ekstraktu S. costus je 0,027%. Smatra se da je upravo prisutnost te kiseline presudno za antioksidativno djelovanje

In vitro antifilarial activity, antioxidant potential and phenolic constituents of Quisqualis indica L.

648-654Quisqualis indica L., commonly known as ‘Rangoon-ki-bel’ or ‘Madhumalti’, has been used by the traditional healers as it is active against some of the commonly occurring diseases like boils, fevers diarrhea and helminthiasis. However, no systematic and scientifically validated studies on antifilarial activity of Q. indica are available. In the present study, we report in vitro antifilarial activity of ethanolic and hydroethanolic extracts of the leaves (QILE and QILEW) and flowers (QIFE and QIFEW) of this plant on microfilariae (mf) and female adult worms of human lymphatic filariid Brugia malayi using motility and or 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)-reduction assays. The hydroalcoholic extract of flowers (QIFEW) was found effective as it killed adult female worms (LC100: 62.5 µg/mL) and mf (LC100: 125 µg/mL); IC50 values for the respective parasite stages were 34.50 and 31.88 µg/mL. SI values recorded with respect to motility of female parasite and mf was more than 20. The active principle(s) responsible for antifilarial activity may thus be present in QIFEW. The antioxidant activity results also indicated QIFEW to possess better antioxidant potential than the other extracts studied. HPLC analysis showed that the 02 keyphenolics present in hydroalcoholic extract of the flowers (QIFEW) were gallic acid and ellagic acid. In the different extracts, the concentration of gallic acid was found to vary from 26.9 mg/g to 2.50 mg/g while ellagic acid ranged between 11.5 mg/g to 6.77 mg/g. It was also observed that the leaves were rich in flavonoids whereas the flowers were rich in phenolics. The findings indicate that active molecule (s) of hydroalcoholic extractfrom Q. indica flowers may help in providing new leads for developing antifilarial agents. We believe that this is the first systematically studied report on the in vitro antifilarial activity of the hydroalcoholic extract of Q. indica flowers

Sposobnost hvatanja slobodnih radikala biljke Saussarea costus

Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipschitz belonging to the family Asteraceae is an important medicinal drug, roots of which are widely used as a folk medicine. The antioxidant activity of the plant has been studied using its ability to scavenge DPPH, nitric oxide, superoxide radicals along with the ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation and GSH oxidation. The 1 mg mL-1 extract had antioxidant activity with 85.2% reduction of DPPH and a 72.7% decrease in lipid peroxidation. It showed the maximum inhibition of superoxide radical of 66,0%, and 58.4% inhibition of the nitric oxide formation. The concentration of chlorogenic acid was found to be 0.027% in the extract of S. costus. Thus therapeutic activity of the plant may be due to its antioxidant activity, which may be as a result of chlorogenic acid presence.Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipschitz (Asteraceae) važna je ljekovita biljka čiji se korijen upotrebljava u narodnoj medicini. U ovom radu proučavano je antioksidativno djelovanje te biljke. Praćena je sposobnost vezanja DPPH, oksida dušika, superoksidnih radikala i inhibicije peroksidacije lipida i oksidacije GSH. 1 mg mL-1 ekstrakta reducira 85,2% DPPH i za 72,7% smanjuje peroksidaciju lipida. Maksimalna inhibicija superoksidnih radikala bila je 66%, a inhibicija stvaranja oksida dušika 58,4%. Koncentracija klorogenske kiseline u ekstraktu S. costus je 0,027%. Smatra se da je upravo prisutnost te kiseline presudno za antioksidativno djelovanje

In vitro antifilarial activity, antioxidant potential and phenolic constituents of Quisqualis indica L.

Quisqualis indica L., commonly known as ‘Rangoon-ki-bel’ or ‘Madhumalti’, has been used by the traditional healers as it is active against some of the commonly occurring diseases like boils, fevers diarrhea and helminthiasis. However, no systematic and scientifically validated studies on antifilarial activity of Q. indica are available. In the present study, we report in vitro antifilarial activity of ethanolic and hydroethanolic extracts of the leaves (QILE and QILEW) and flowers (QIFE and QIFEW) of this plant on microfilariae (mf) and female adult worms of human lymphatic filariid Brugia malayi using motility and or 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)-reduction assays. The hydroalcoholic extract of flowers (QIFEW) was found effective as it killed adult female worms (LC100: 62.5 μg/mL) and mf (LC100: 125 μg/mL); IC50 values for the respective parasite stages were 34.50 and 31.88 μg/mL. SI values recorded with respect to motility of female parasite and mf was more than 20. The active principle(s) responsible for antifilarial activity may thus be present in QIFEW. The antioxidant activity results also indicated QIFEW to possess better antioxidant potential than the other extracts studied. HPLC analysis showed that the 02 keyphenolics present in hydroalcoholic extract of the flowers (QIFEW) were gallic acid and ellagic acid. In the different extracts, the concentration of gallic acid was found to vary from 26.9 mg/g to 2.50 mg/g while ellagic acid ranged between 11.5 mg/g to 6.77 mg/g. It was also observedthat the leaves were rich in flavonoids whereas the flowers were rich in phenolics. The findings indicate that active molecule (s) of hydroalcoholic extractfrom Q. indica flowers may help in providing new leads for developing antifilarial agents. We believe that this is the first systematically studied report on the in vitro antifilarial activity of the hydroalcoholicextract of Q. indica flowers