Antimicrobial Activity of a Rarely Known Species, Morinda citrifolia L.

Morinda Citrifolia is one of the most important traditional Polynesian medicinal plants. This small evergreen tree is native from South Eastern Asia to Australia and now it has a Pantropical distribution. It has antifungal, antibacterial, antiinflammatory and antiviral activities. Morinda citrifolia L. was studied for its antimicrobial activity. The leaves of this plant were dried, powdered and different extracts were prepared using different solvents like benzene, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol and water. Four organisms, namely E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger, were used for investigation. The activity of each solvent extract was checked on each organism by disc diffusion method and then the zone size of each was measured. The results of our antimicrobial assay revealed that plant extracts showed inhibitory activity against the tested organisms

Stock assessment of soldier catfish Osteogeneiosus militaris along the northwest coast of India

Value of length growth parameters L∞, K and t(sub)0 from age-length relation obtained from length-frequency analysis for the soldier catfish stock were estimated to be 47.6 cm, 0.51 per year and 0.03 year respectively. The age at recruitment (t [sub]r) was 0.58 year and the age at first capture (t[sub]c) 0.83 year. The total mortality (Z) was 0.88 including the present natural mortality (M) of 0.84 and fishing mortality (F) of 0.04. The total stock of this fish along the Northwest coast of India was assessed to be 32,413 tons and the MSY 5,426 tons which is much higher than the current catch of 863.8 tons. The potential yield (P[sub]y) of 38.7 g per recruit could be obtained at the optimum of exploitation (t[sub]y) of 2.84 years

Anaemia in Nonhaematological Malignancies - A Descriptive Study.

Incidence Of Malignancies Is On The Rise. Advances In Treatment Protocols Have Resulted In Increased Longevity Of The Patients. Therefore Greater Focus Is Now On Comorbid Conditions, Treatment Of Which Would Improve The Survival And Quality Of Life. Over The Past Decade, There Has Been A Growing Appreciation Of Anaemia As The Source Of A Wide Range Of Symptoms And Poorer Outcomes In Cancer Patients. Data Published On 15 September, 2004 In The European Journal Of Cancer1 (Online Edition) Reveals Two Out Of Three Cancer Patients Suffer From Anaemia And Only 40% Of These Patients Receive Appropriate Treatment (Anaemia Defined As Haemoglobin Less Than 12 G/Dl). Low Haemoglobin Levels Correlate With Poor Quality Of Life And Physical Performance. Performance Status Deteriorates With Decreasing Haemoglobin. This Correlation Remains Regardless Of Disease Status Or Cancer Treatment. J Jaime Caro Et Al2, In Their Systematic And Quantitative Review Of Anaemia As An Independent Prognostic Factor For Survival In Patients With Cancer, Found That Anaemia Was Associated With Shorter Survival Times For Patients With Lung Carcinoma, Cervicouterine Carcinoma, Head And Neck Cancer, Prostatic Carcinoma, Lymphoma And Multiple Myeloma. The Overall Estimated Increase In Risk Of Death Was 65% (54 – 77%). Tumour Hypoxia May Directly Contribute To The Resistance Of The Cancer Patient To Radiation Therapy Or Chemotherapy Via Deprivation Of The Oxygen Essential For The Cytotoxic Actions Of These Agents. Indirectly, Tumour Hypoxia May Contribute To Radioresistance And Chemoresistance By Inducing Proteomic And Genomic Changes That Lead Ultimately To Malignant Progression, With Reduced Local Control And Metastatic Spread, And Ultimately, Increased Resistance And Decreased Survival Time. A Direct Association Between Hypoxia And Anaemia Appears Likely, And Anaemia Is A Modifiable Condition In Many Cancer Patients. This Being The Case, Reducing Tumour Hypoxia By Correcting Anaemia With Recombinant Human Erythropoietin (Rhuepo) And Other Agents Appears To Offer One Possible Therapeutic Option For Enhancing The Effectiveness Of Standard Cancer Therapies3. Hence, It Is Worthwhile To Study The Incidence And Pattern Of Anaemia In Cancer Patients In Our Hospital And Create A Database So That Timely Intervention By The Oncologists With Strategies To Improve The Outcome Of Treatment Can Be Instituted Whenever Anaemia Is Diagnosed

MUTATIONS IN THE RPOB GENE OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS IDENTIFIED BY SEQUENCING METHOD

ABSTRACTObjective: To identify the mutation in the rpoB gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), using by sequencing method from pulmonary specimensof presumptive TB patients belonging to the districts of Tamil Nadu.Methods: A total of 8697 clinical specimens of presumptive MTB patients were collected from various districts of Tamil Nadu. Smear microscopy wasperformed by light emitting diode fluorescent microscopy and all the smear positive samples were tested using line probe assay (LPA) to detect thepercentage of drug resistance pattern and to identify the missing mutation in LPA by the sequencing method.Results: Among 4897 smear positives subjected to LPA method; 407 (8.3%) MTB was not detected and 16 (0.3%) showed invalid result; 4473 (91.4%)strains showed MTB positive; 3695 (82.6%) were sensitive for both rifampicin (RIF) and isoniazid (INH) drugs; 502 (11.2%) were resistance for INH;73 (1.6%) resistant for RIF; 203 (4.5%) were resistance for RIF and INH. Totally, 52 (1.2%) strains results cannot be confirmed by LPA and reportedas sensitive for RIF, because of the faint and the missing bands in both wild type and mutation. These strains were sequenced and 39 (75%) strainsshowed resistant to RIF.Conclusion: Hence LPA may be the molecular technology for the rapid, feasible and reliable method for the detection of multidrug resistant mutationbut few confusion bands cannot be reported as resistance, which should be confirmed by either conventional phenotypic drug susceptibility testingor by sequencing method.Keywords: Line probe assay, Sequencing, Mutation, Multidrug resistant tuberculosis

A study on food and feeding habits of Nemipterus japonicus (Bloch) off Bombay coast

The gut content of Nemipterus japonicus revealed that this fish is a carnivorous bottom feeder, feeding mainly on crustaceans, fishes, salps and polychaetes, with marginal variations in females. The intensity of feeding increased with the advancement of maturity till stage 5 except in stage 3 where the intensity of feeding indicated a decrease

Morphometry and length-weight relationship of Coilia dussumieri, Valenciennes, 1848 from Mumbai waters

Coilia dussumieri Valenciennes, 1848 a component of 'dol' net fishery forms an important pelagic resource along northwest coast of India. The present communication deals with morphometry and length-weight relationship of this species along Mumbai coast. Morphometric study showed a positive correlation among the compared characters. The length-weight relationship for the species from Mumbai coast was found to be W=0.017L super(2.4223)

Isolation, identification and screening of potential xylanolytic enzyme from litter degrading fungi

Consortia of litter degrading fungal species were developed from different baiting substrates collected in and around Western ghat forest ecosystem, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Fifty-three litter degradingfungal species were isolated by nylon litterbag technique. The production of endo-b-1,4-xylanase (1,4-b-D-xylan xylanohydrolase, E.C. 3.2.1.8), b-D-xylosidase (1,4-b-xylan xylanohydrolase, E.C. 3.2.1.37) and protease was studied using oat spelt xylan as carbon source. Results showed that all fifty-three fungal species isolated from various litter samples produced fairly good xylanolytic enzyme activity. The xylanase and b-D-xylosidase activity ranges from 4.41 to 132.20 U and 48.72 to 1510.32 U, respectively. Growth was determined in terms of mycelial dry weight, which ranged between 0.209 and 1.047 mg/ml. The protease enzyme activity was from 19.7 to 60.8 U. This is the first report concerning xylanolyticenzyme production by the litter degrading fungi, isolated from litter samples

Antidiabetic activity of water extract of Solanum trilobatum (Linn.) in alloxan-induced diabetes in rats

The antidiabetic potential of the water extract of Solanum trilobatum L. (Solanaceae), a medicinal plant widely used in the traditional Ayurveda and Siddha systems of medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus was evaluated in the alloxan monohydrate induced diabetic model. Graded doses of the water extract were administered to normal and experimental diabetic rats for 10 days. Significant (p < 0.05) reduction in fasting blood glucose levels were observed in the normal as well as in the treated diabeticanimals. Serum insulin levels were not stimulated in the animals treated with the extract. In addition, changes in body weight, serum lipid profiles and liver glycogen levels assessed in the extract treated diabetic rats were compared with diabetic control and normal animals. Significant results wereobserved in the estimated parameters, thereby justifying the use of the plant in the indigenous system of medicine

In Vitro Anti-plasmodial activity of Trigonella foenum–graecum L.

Developing countries, where malaria is one of the most prevalent diseases, still rely on traditional medicine as a source for the treatment of this disease. For the present study, Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (fenugreek) were collected from Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. The test plant has been used in India by traditional healers for the treatment of fever as well as other diseases. The active principle was extracted out in different solvent systems to assess the anti-plasmodial potential, with an aim that they can further be utilized to formulate drugs. In vitro anti-plasmodial assay of the extracted fractions of fenugreek leaves was carried out using laboratory adapted chloroquine sensitive and resistant Plasmodium falciparum isolates. Schizont maturation inhibition assay was adopted to analyze the potential of the extracts. Ethanol extract (50%) seemed to possess profound anti-plasmodial activity with IC50 value of 8.75 ± 0.35 µg ml−1 and 10.25 ± 0.35 µg ml−1 against chloroquine sensitive and resistant P. falciparum isolates, respectively. Among the investigated six fractions of the plant extracts, two were found to have significant anti-plasmodial activity with IC50 values <10 µg ml−1, namely ethanol and butanol extracts. Two extracts chloroform and ethyl acetate showed moderate activity with IC50 values ranging from 10 to 20 µg ml−1, and the other two extracts, hexane and water appeared to be inactive with IC50 values >85 µg ml−1. In addition, preliminary phytochemical screening of the various extracts indicated the presence of alkaloids, saponin, tannin like phenolic compounds, flavonoids and steroids

Association Behavior of Poly(methacrylic acid)-block-Poly(methyl methacrylate) in Aqueous Medium: Potentiometric and Laser Light Scattering Studies

Atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) technique was used to synthesize poly(methacrylic acid-block-methyl methacrylate) (P(MAA₁₀₂-b-MMA₁₀)) copolymer in order to study the aggregation behavior in aqueous solution over the course of neutralization. A combination of static and dynamic light scattering (SLS, DLS) and potentiometric titration techniques were used to investigate the size and shape of the micelle at various degrees of neutralization. The hydrodynamic radius (Rh) determined from dynamic light scattering increases from ~26nm (for unneutralized) to ~42nm (for completely neutralized sample). Both potentiometric and laser light scattering studies indicate the formation of a core shell micelle. The weighted average molecular weights of the polymer and micelle are 1.18x10⁴ and 2.25 x 10⁵ g/mol respectively, which suggests that the aggregation number of the micelle is ~20.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA