Analysis of the Phytochemical Content of Jatropha gossypifolia L.

The use of plants to cure diseases is an age-old practice. The medicinal value of plants lies in chemical substances that produce physiological actions on the human body. Medicinal plants have traditionally occupied an important position in the health area of rural, urban and tribal India. The most important plant of ‘Eurphorbiaceae’ family i.e. one of the largest families of angiosperm is ‘Jatropha gossypifolia’. Commonly it is known as ‘bellyache bush’. It’s majorly found in parts of Africa and America. Its leaves are predominantely used for antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antianemic, antidiabetic, and antihemorrhagic. In the recent research work, the leaves of J. gossypifolia L. were used in various solvents such as Petroleum ether, Chloroform, Acetone, Alcohol and Water. The results confirmed the presence of saponin, tannin, flavonoid, organic acid, glycosides, diterpene, alkaloids, steroids, xanthoprotein, and starch. The overview of the study showed the presence of various secondary metabolites with medicinal value. Key words : Phytochemical, Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha gossipifolia, Saponin, Flavonoi

Antifungal Activity of Alcoholic Leaf Extracts of Terminalia Catappa and Terminalia Arjuna on Some Pathogenic and Allergenic Fungi

Abstract Ethanol and methanol leaf extracts of Terminalia catappa and Terminalia arjuna were investigated for in-vitro antifungal activity. Four fungi tested were Aspergillus niger, Alternaria alternata, Curvularia lunata and Trychophyton tonsurans.The in-vitro antifungal activity was evaluated by food poison technique. Both the plants should antifungal activity on comparision with T. arjuna better antifungal efficacy was shown by methanol extract of T. catappa. Methanol extract showed significant antifungal activity against most susceptible mould was Curvularia lunata. The results were compared with standard antifungals. Key words: Terminalia species, medicinal plants, antifungal activity, Aspergillus niger, Alternaria alternata, Curvularia lunata, Trychophyton tonsurans, pathogenic, allergenic in-vivo

Modulating Effect of the −158 Gγ (C→T) Xmn1 Polymorphism in Indian Sickle Cell Patients

Xmn1 polymorphism is a known factor, which increases fetal haemoglobin production. Among the inherited disorders of blood, thalassaemia and Sickle Cell Diseases contributes to a major bulk of genetic diseases in India. Our aim was to verify the role of the Xmn1 polymorphism as a modulating factor in sickle cell patients and frequency of the polymorphism in Indian sickle cell patients. 60 sickle homozygous and 75 sickle beta thalassemia patients were included and 5 ml blood sample was collected from them. Screening of sickle patients was done by HPLC. An automated cell analyzer SYSMEX (K-4500 Model) was used to analyze the Complete Blood Count of patients. Xmn1 polymorphism analysis was done by PCR-RFLP and one-way ANOVA test was applied to analysis of variance between groups. Among the sickle patients 27 were heterozygous (+/−) and 19 were homozygous (+/+) while 30 were heterozygous (+/−) and 24 were homozygous (+/+) in sickle β-thalassemia patients. Extremely significant differences (p-value <0.001) of hematological parameters seen among patients with Xmn1 carrier and without the Xmn1 carrier. In our cases the clinical symptoms were barely visible and higher HbF level with Xmn1 carriers were found. Presence of Xmn1 polymorphism in sickle cell patients with higher HbF were phenotypically distinguished in the sickle cell patients. We conclude that the phenotypes of Indian sickle cell patients were greatly influenced by Xmn1polymorphism

General Common Fixed Point Theorems and Applications

The main result is a common fixed point theorem for a pair of multivalued maps on a complete metric space extending a recent result of Đorić and Lazović (2011) for a multivalued map on a metric space satisfying Ćirić-Suzuki-type-generalized contraction. Further, as a special case, we obtain a generalization of an important common fixed point theorem of Ćirić (1974). Existence of a common solution for a class of functional equations arising in dynamic programming is also discussed

Role of microbes in alleviating abiotic stress in plants

The leading threat to agricultural productivity is the recurrent variations in environmental conditions. A battery of abiotic stresses namely flooding, salinity, temperature, drought, heavy metal toxicities, nutrient deficiencies and oxidative stress causes irreversible damage resulting in loss of plant’s vigor and yield. The relationship between plants and microorganisms is a highly dynamic system. The plant microbiome consists of plant growth-promoting bacteria and fungi. In the last decade, many microbes that give hosts the ability to withstand abiotic stress have been characterized in detail. Their beneficial association with plants enables the plant to endure different stresses imposed on them thereby enhancing the plant's sustainability and productivity. For sustainable agriculture, it is very significant to comprehend microbiome-assisted mechanisms for mitigating abiotic stress. This review will shed light on the current knowledge about the roles of various microorganisms in mitigating against abiotic stresses. The understanding of these mechanisms will help to increase the yield of plants and meet the food demands of the expanding population

AN INSIGHT TO RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA AND MANAGEMENT BY AYURVEDIC THERAPIES

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a hereditary group of degenerative eye diseases caused by genetic mutations affecting retina that lead to severe vision loss and blindness. In Ayurveda, the conditions like Kapha vidagdha drushti, Hraswajadya and Dhoomadarshi which has night blindness as the cardinal feature can be simulated to different stages of RP. Certain authenticated therapies are explained in our ancient literature which are time tested such as Tarpana (Nourishing eye bath therapy), Putapaka (eye bath therapy), Anjana (Collyrium), Nasya (Processed liquid instillation through nostrils by drops or powders), Sirodhara (application of continuous stream of oil over the head), Vasti (Medicated enema) etc. through which considerable results are achieved. The drugs and procedures described in Ayurveda have probable mode of action in crossing the blood retinal barrier, a protective measure of cells surrounding the retina. The extent of benefit in alleviating the clinical features of RP happens possibly because of the phytonutrients present in the formulations applied through various procedures crossing the blood retinal barrier. To validate the management protocol explained in classics, a retrospective study was conducted on five patients selected from the OPD/IPD of Dept of Shalakya Tantra of Sri Kalabyraveshwaraswamy Ayurvedic Medical College, Hospital &amp; Research centre, Vijayanagar (SKAMCH &amp; RC). The results assessed statistically proved significant in certain parameters indicating a beneficial effect in reducing the subjective symptoms of Retinitis pigmentosa

City profile : Guwahati

This paper lays out relevant urban context in terms of demography, economic history and employment, the history of migration and conflicts in Assam and Guwahati, the processes of urban growth and development in the city, as well as urban governance. Part II identifies and discusses key arenas of conflicts and violence that are linked to land, planning and governance regimes in the city, namely, informal settlement of the city’s hills, street vending, and women’s safety and safe access to public transport. These arenas of conflict and violence are the focus areas for the research project

Spectrum of malignant mediastinal masses at a tertiary care centre in Central India

Background: Malignant mediastinal masses can develop from structures that are normally located or pass through the mediastinum during development, as well as from metastases of malignancies that arise elsewhere in the body. Since many tumors that occur in the mediastinum are undifferentiated and have overlapping histologic features, one must consider a broad differential diagnosis and perform a thorough evaluation. This is particularly important since appropriate therapy for various mediastinal tumors differs considerably and may significantly impact survival.Methods: Ours was a retrospective descriptive study of 48 patients who presented or referred to medical oncology department from January 2014 to December 2017 and in whom malignant cause of mediastenal mass was established. All details of the patients pertinent epidemiology, clinical history and pathological including immunohistochemistry details were studied.Results: Out of 48 patients,14 cases (29.2%) were in adolescent and young adult age group (15-29 years). Majority of the patients were symptomatic (91.6%) with most common being cough (87.5%) followed by chest pain (81.5%) and dyspnoea (79.1%). Four of the patients presented with superior vena-caval syndrome. Most of the tumors (64.6%) are in anterior mediastenum region. Histopathological examination revealed non-hodgkins lymphoma in 31.25%, Hodgkins lymphoma in 18.75%, leukaemia in 6.25%, germ cell tumor in 8.33%, thymic neoplasms in 4.16%, neurogenic tumors in 4.16%, lung carcinoma in 10.4% and metastatic carcinoma in 10.4%.Conclusions: Malignant mediastinal masses have a broad range of diagnosis, establishing of which is important. While imaging help in narrowing the differential diagnosis, adequate pathological categorization should be done as many patients responds to specific line of therapy

Injectable Opioid use: An insight into the problem

Background:&nbsp;The present study characterizes the socio-demographic variables of injection drug users (IDUs) attending Oral substitution therapy (OST) center.&nbsp;Aims &amp; Objectives:&nbsp;To provide a comprehensive knowledge and better insight regarding the socio-demographic profile and pattern IDUs.&nbsp;Material &amp; Methods: A total of 158 IDUs aged 18 to 60 years who attended the OST centre during one-year period at a government medical college are included in the study.&nbsp;Results:&nbsp;All the IDUs are male with median age of 33.13 years. More than half of the participants are homeless and earn their livelihood by rag picking and rickshaw driving. 35.4% of participants are married. Their mean monthly income is Rs 2823.4 ± 1811.8 and they spend a major amount of it on drug use.&nbsp;Conclusion:&nbsp;All the participants are using Pharmaceutical Opioid injections (POI), mostly as cocktail with benzodiazepines and antihistamines. Sharing of needle and paraphernalia is present in most of the participants especially among the illiterate and low income group IDUs

Clinical Profile of Dengue Infection in Patients with Hematological Diseases

Managing hematological disorders in a tropical country presents several unique diagnostic and management problems. Apart from the disease process, we need to be aware of infections that can exacerbate or mimic serious hematological problems. We present here a series of five patients with pre-existing hematological diseases who were infected by dengue virus. These cases highlight the need to keep a strong suspicion of common endemic diseases in tropical countries before considering extensive workup for the basic hematological disease. There was no mortality and all patients recovered without any significant impact on their pre-existing hematological condition inspite of their low baseline blood counts. There was no excessive bleeding, prolonged stay in the hospital or relapse of underlying hematological disease in these patients and the only major concern was the increased anxiety among both the patient and treating physician regarding the relapse/progression of pre-existing hematological disease