Study on developmental toxicity and behavioral safety of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Streblus asper </i>Lour. bark on Zebrafish embryos

255-259Streblus asper Lour. is a medicinal plant commonly found in Asia and traditionally used for a wide range of diseases. Therefore, evaluation of toxicological parameter is essential for future reference studies. In our present study methanol extract of S. asper bark (MESA) was evaluated for its developmental toxicity and behavioral safety on Zebrafish embryos up to 72 h post fertilization (hpf). This report provides the first examination of observable MESA effect on zebrafish embryos. Present study reveals the increase of heart rate directly proportional to the increase of MESA dosage with slight oedema of heart muscle at higher dose, and precautions must be taken for further use by pregnant women

Apoptogenic effects of β-sitosterol glucoside from <i>Castanopsis indica</i> leaves

<div><p>β-Sitosterol glucoside (BSSG) is a natural biologically active substance isolated from the <i>Castanopsis indica</i> leaves. This study explored the apoptogenic mechanistic studies of BSSG against Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC) treated mice through morphological study, comet assay, flow cytometry (FACS) and Western blotting assay method. AO/EB staining and FACS analysis showed that BSSG possessed apoptosis induction activities on EAC cells. Dose dependent induction of DNA damage was observed after BSSG treatment. Increase the expression of apoptotic protein p53 and p21 in EAC, multiple downstream factors contributing to apoptosis pathway. The increase of caspase-9 and caspase-3 activities revealed that caspase was a key mediator of the apoptotic pathway induced by BSSG, and up-regulation of Bax and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 resulted in the decrease of Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Owing to the combination of significant antitumour activity by inducing apoptosis, BSSG holds the promise of being an interesting chemo-preventive agent active in cancer therapy.</p></div

Antitumor potential of <i style="">Castanopsis indica</i> (Roxb. ex Lindl.) A. DC. leaf extract against Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma cell

359-365Methanol extract of C. indica (MECI) leaves showed direct cytotoxicity on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cell in a dose dependant manner and there was significant decrease in the tumor volume, viable cell count, tumor weight and elevated the life span of EAC tumor bearing mice. Hematological profile and biochemical estimations were significantly restored to normal levels in MECI treated as compared to EAC control mice. MECI treatment significantly modulated the tissue antioxidant assay parameters as compared to the EAC control mice. The results revealed that MECI possesses significant dose dependent antitumor potential which may be due to its cytotoxicity and antioxidant properties