Concept of Oushadha Samyoga in Ayurveda

Ayurvedic medicines have an exceptional way of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. The pharmacological actions of Ayurvedic drugs were explained through Rasa, Guna, Virya, Vipaka, Prabhava etc. Ayurveda is well known for both single and polyherbal formulation, among them poly herbal formulations have prime role because of its multiple pharmacological actions. Various basic concepts of Ayurveda such as Samyoga, Samskara, Rasapanchaka, Anupana etc were playing behind the formation of polyherbal formulation. The concept of Samyoga, is the essential norm behind the formation of Polyherbal preparations. Thus, literary review mainly intended to know the role of Samyoga in the preparation of various Ayurvedic poly herbal preparations and to highlight their importance of Oushadha Samyoga (multidrug/ polyherbal formulation) in the present era

Antioxidant and antiproliferative properties of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaf aqueous extract

Moringa oleifera Lam. is a highly valued medicinal plant in India, especially Kerala. In the present study, antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of leaves of M. oleifera was determined both in-vitro and in-vivo. Male Wistar rats of 3 age groups- 6, 12, and 18 months old were used for in-vivo analysis. In vitro anti-proliferative effect of the extract was carried out in Dalton’s Lymphoma Ascites (DLA) Cells. LCMS-QTOF analysis of the extract was also done to determine the bioactive components present in the extract. Antioxidant activity of M. oleifera leaf showed an IC 50 value of 10.47 ?g/ml and whereas for standard drug, ascorbic acid, it was 19.52 ?g/ml. In-vivo analysis of lipid peroxidation showed a significant reduction of lipid peroxidation in the brains of 12 and 18-months old treated groups. Up to 75% mortality of DLA cancerous cells was observed in-vitro in different concentrations of M. oleifera leaf water extract in a dose-dependent manner, demonstrating its anti-proliferative property. LCMS-QTOF analysis revealed the presence of emodin-8-glucoside in the extract. Molecular docking analysis (Auto Dock Vina) of emodin-8-glucoside with six cancer related proteins showed highest binding affinity with AKT-1 with a binding score of -10.4 kcal/mol, also showed good affinity with NF-kB (p65), Stat-3, Bcl-2, Bcl-xl and c-FLIP. This study helps to choose healthy diet practices to overcome free radical onslaught and cancerous cell proliferation especially in the later stages of life. This can also pave way for the emergence of diet based therapeutic cure for cancer

A cross sectional study of polycystic ovarian syndrome among pharmacy students

Polycystic ovarian syndrome [PCOS] is a common disorder, often complicated by chronic an ovulatory infertility and hyperandrogenism with the clinical manifestation of oligomenorrhoea, hirsutism and acne. The aim of this research is to evaluate polycystic ovarian syndrome which includes sign and symptoms, lifestyle and diet conditions along with their common treatment and self-medication practice for dysmenorrhea among pharmacy students, which are more prone to PCOS. A cross-sectional Questionnaire survey was conducted by online survey forms among pharmacy students in Ezhuthachan College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trivandrum. This study investigates the pattern of physical activity, daily dietary intake, the frequency of PCOS symptoms and other previously diagnosed diseases in normal women with and those having PCOS. In this study, most of the students were in the age of 22 [n=17]. About 23.5% of students had acne and it can be worsen during menstrual period. And also about 19.6% of students had hair loss, which are the main symptoms of PCOS. About 15.2% of students were engaged in regular exercise. The benefits of weight reduction in PCOS are well documented, and the use of meal replacements and structured dietary patterns with higher protein content and/or lower glycemic carbohydrates shows promise. Alternative dietary compositions increase the range of dietary options, and could also potentially lead to greater weight loss, maintenance of weight loss or greater improvements in reproductive and metabolic features of PCOS. However continued follow-up is required to sustain weight loss, and probably outweighs the effects of dietary composition

COMBINATORIAL EFFECT OF D-AMINOACIDS AND TETRACYCLINE AGAINST PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA BIOFILM

Objective: The present study attempted to evaluate the anti-biofilm activity of D-amino acids (D-AAs) on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and determine if the combination of D-AAs with tetracycline enhances the anti-biofilm activity in vitro and ex vivo.Methods: Different D-AAs were tested for antibiofilm activity against wild type P. aeruginosa PAO1 and two multidrug resistant P. aeruginosa clinical strains in the presence of sub inhibitory concentrations of tetracycline using crystal violet microtitre plate assay. Results were further validated using in vitro wound dressing and ex vivo porcine skin models followed by cytotoxicity and hemocompatibility studies.Results: D-tryptophan (5 mmol) showed 61 % reduction in biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa. Interestingly combinatorial effect of 5 mmol D-tryptophan and 0.5 minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (7.5µg/ml) tetracycline showed 90% reduction in biofilm formation. 5 mmol D-methionine shows 28 % reduction and combination with tetracycline shows 41% reduction in biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa. D-leucine and D-tyrosine alone or in combination with tetracycline did not show significant anti-biofilm activity. D tryptophan-tetracycline combination could reduce 80 % and 77 % reduction in biofilm formation in two multi drug resistant P. aeruginosa clinical strains. D-tryptophan-tetracycline-combination could also reduce 76% and 66% reduction in biofilm formation in wound dressing model and porcine skin explant respectively. The cytotoxicity and hemocompatibility studies did not show significant toxicity when this combination was used.Conclusion: The results established the potential therapeutic application of D-tryptophan alone or in combination with tetracycline for treating biofilm associated clinical problems caused by P. aeruginosa

The genetic discrimination observatory : confronting novel issues in genetic discrimination

Genetic discrimination (GD) is the differential or unfair profiling of an individual on the basis of genetic data. This article summarizes the actions of the Genetic Discrimination Observatory (GDO) in addressing GD and recent developments in GD since late 2020. It shows how GD can take many forms in today’s rapidly evolving society.http://www.journals.elsevier.com/trends-in-geneticshj2022Immunolog

Assessment of the anaerobic biodegradability of bitumen fume condensate wastewater by mesophilic AnMBR

Certain industrial wastewaters have posed a challenge to water treatment systems because of their composition. The bitumen from the reclaimed asphalt process is heated by the BAM Infra Asfalt and produces fumes, which are usually sent to the air filters and then out through the chimney. To recover the heat lost through the fume, it is condensed. The bitumen fume condensate contains aromatic hydrocarbons of petroleum origin and this poses a threat to health and the environment. The removal of these compounds by anaerobic biodegradation was assessed with a mesophilic anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). The bitumen condensate contained over 800 compounds, out of which some were p-cresol, o-cresol and 2-napthalenemethanol. The inhibition to the methanogenic activity and toxicity to the biomass of this wastewater on three different inocula were studied under batch-test conditions. A phenol-degrading sludge was less inhibited (IC50= 870 mg CODbitumen/L) and more resistant to the toxicity than granular sludge from a petrochemical wastewater treatment plant (IC50= 187 mg CODbitumen/L) and a municipal sludge (sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant, IC50= 127 mg CODbitumen/L). In continuous operation, the bitumen condensate was degraded efficiently with 89%±12% (S.D)COD removal from the influent of the AnMBR. Maximum organic conversion rate of the bitumen condensate was 26.0 mg COD/g VSS.d. This research demonstrated the efficiency of AnMBR technology to degrade bitumen condensate. Further research must be done to improve the organic conversion rate and optimise the technology for large scale implementation.BioxtremeCivil Engineering | Environmental Engineerin

Development of Fabrication Platform for Microfluidic Devices and Experimental Study of Magnetic Mixing and Separation

Microfluidics is a new and emerging field that has applications in a myriad of microfluidic industrial applications such as biochemical engineering, analytical processing, biomedical engineering and separation of cells. Microfluidics operations are carried out in microfluidic chips, and the traditional method of fabrication is carried out in a cleanroom. However, this fabrication method is very costly and also requires professional trained personnel. In this thesis, a low-cost fabrication platform was developed based on soft-lithography technique developed to fabricate the microfluidic devices with resolution at microscale. This fabrication method is advantageous and novel because it is able to achieve the microscale fabrication capability with simple steps and lower-level laboratory configuration. In the developed fabrication platform, an array of ultraviolet light was illuminated onto a photoresist film that has a negative photomask with a microfluidic design on it. The photoresist film is then developed, and a silicon polymer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is chosen to be the material for the device. In this work, the performance and resolution of the fabrication system was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), polymer resolution test and light intensity analysis. Based on the success of the development of microfluidics fabrication platform, various experiment of mixing and separation was conducted and studied because the utilization of the microfluidic device for mixing and separation is very valuable in biomedical and chemical engineering. Although there are a lot of applications reported, the precise separation and mixing at microscale still meet some difficulties. Mixing in micromixers is extremely time-consuming and requires very long microchannels due to laminar flow and low Reynolds number. Particle separation is also hard to be achieved because the size of micron bioparticles is very small and thus the force is not strong enough to manipulate their motion. The integration of magnetic field is an active method to strengthen both mixing and separation that has been widely applied in the biomedical industry overcome these difficulties because of its compatibility with organic particles. However, most magnetic mixing and separation use bulky permanent magnets that leave a large footprint or electromagnets that generate harmful Joule heat to organic and bio-particles. In this work, microscale magnet made of a mixture of neodymium powder and polydimethylsiloxane was developed and integrated into microfluidic system to achieve both rapid mixing of ferrofluids and separation of microparticles. Systematic experiments were conducted to discuss the effect of various parameters on the performance of magnetic mixing and separation of microparticles. It was found that channel geometry, flow filed, and magnetic properties will affect the transport phenomena of ferrofluid and microparticles, and thus mixing and separation efficiency. These findings are of great significance for the high throughput sorting of cancer cells and its mixing between drug for therapy treatment

Utilization of residual fatty acids in matter organic non-glycerol from a soy biodiesel plant in filaments used for 3D printing

Matter organic non-glycerol (MONG) is a considerable waste output (20%−25% of crude glycerol) typically landfilled by soy biodiesel plants. In this work, soy MONG was characterized for potential use as a copolymer to produce filaments for 3D printing with an intent to add value and redirect it from landfills. As a copolymer, MONG was evaluated to reduce the synthetic polymer content of the natural fiber composites (NFC). Even though the general thermal behavior of the MONG was compared to that of a thermoplastic polymer in composite applications, it is dependent on the composition of the MONG, which is a variable depending on plant discharge waste. In order to improve the thermal stability of MONG, we evaluated two pretreatments (acid and acid + peroxide). The acid + peroxide pretreatment resulted in a stabilized paste with decreased soap content, increased crystallinity, low molecular weight small chain fatty acids, and a stable blend as a copolymer with a thermoplastic polymer. This treatment increased formic acid (17.53%) in MONG, along with hydrogen peroxide, led to epoxidation exhibited by the increased concentration of oxirane (5.6%) evaluating treated MONG as a copolymer in polymer processing and 3D printing

Influence of Chemical Pretreatment on the Mechanical, Chemical, and Interfacial Properties of 3D-Printed, Rice-Husk-Fiber-Reinforced Composites

This article explores using biomass, namely rice husks, as a reinforcement material in thermoplastic copolyester (TPC) composites. Rice husks were subjected to three chemical pretreatments: single-stage sulfuric acid hydrolysis, first-stage sulfuric acid hydrolysis followed by a second-stage methanesulfonic acid (MSA) treatment, and first-stage sulfuric acid hydrolysis followed by a second-stage sodium hydroxide alkali treatment. We studied the effects of these treatments on the rheological, thermal, interfacial, and mechanical properties of composites. The fibers were mixed with polymers at high shear rates and temperatures, and 3D-printed filaments were produced using a desktop 3D printer. The printed parts were analyzed using tensile tests, torque and viscosity measurements, and thermogravimetric analysis to obtain their mechanical, rheological, and thermal properties. SEM imaging was performed to understand the fiber–polymer interface and how it affects the other properties. The results showed that first-stage sulfuric acid hydrolysis followed by a second-stage pretreatment of the fibers with MSA showed better fiber–polymer adhesion and a 20.4% increase in stress at 5% strain, a 30% increase in stress at 50% strain, and a 22.6% increase in the elastic modulus as compared to untreated rice husk composites. These findings indicate that readily available and inexpensive rice husks have significant potential for use in natural fiber-reinforced composites when pretreated using dilute sulfuric acid followed by methane sulfonic acid hydrolysis