Evaluation of diagnostic potential of real-time PCR (Q-PCR) for pulmonary tuberculosis

Abstract Q-PCR is a rapid confirmative tool which requires support of traditional techniques to confirm the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). In present study the Q-PCR results were compared with the traditional techniques of diagnosis smear, culture, histological and cytological methods. Total 68 infected samples were evaluated. Out of which 49 were of body fluids and 19 were of tissue samples. Out of 49 body fluid samples, Q-PCR gave 2 false negative results (4.08% error). The smear and culture had 51.02% and 59.37% positive results with confirmed Q-PCR. The results indicated that the sensitivity of Q-PCR is significant and higher than the other traditional methods. But however the confirmed diagnosis required the essential opinion of traditional tests, any of the single evaluation method had only 29% chances to diagnose TB

Anti-Tumor Activity Of Four Ayurvedic Herbs In Dalton Lymphoma Ascites Bearing Mice And Their Short-Term In Vitro Cytotoxicity On DLA- Cell-Line

The anti-tumor activity and chemopreventive potential of four Ayurvedic herbs viz. Curcuma longa L., Ocimum sanctum L., Tinospora cordifolia (Wild) Miers ex Hook.f & Thomas and Zizyphus mauritiana Lam. were evaluated using Dalton Lymphoma ascites (DLA) tumor model in Swiss Albino mice. The outcome was assessed using survival time, peritoneal ascitic fluid (Tumor volume) and hematological indices as parameters. Animals were divided into five groups (n = 6) viz. one DLA control and four Herb + DLA treated groups. All the four herb + DLA groups were pre-treated with respective herbs for 7 days and hematological indices were measured for entire five groups. On day-8 animals were inoculated with 1x106 DLA cells i.p., and Herb + DLA groups were continued with oral herbal treatment for 21-days. Hematological parameters and tumor volume were assessed to find the effects of herbs. Short term in vitro cytotoxicity was determined by Trypan Blue exclusion method and LDH leakage assay using different concentrations of herbal extracts and 5-FU as a positive control and IC50 for each herbal extract and 5-FU were determined. Oral administration of crude herb increased the survival time and decreased the peritoneal ascitic fluid content significantly. Hb, RBCs and total WBC which were altered by DLA inoculation were restored significantly by all the herbs except O. sanctum. All the four herbs showed in vitro cytotoxic activity against DLA cell-line. Moreover inter group comparison of all the four herbs for anti-tumor activity showed efficacy in the following order- T. cordifolia > Z. mauritiana ≥ C. longa > O. sanctum respectively. Keywords: Curcuma longa; Ocimum sanctum; Tinospora cordifolia; Zizyphus mauritiana; DLA cell line; Cytotoxicity; Anti-tumor activityAfrican Journal of Trad, Comp and Alternative Medicine Vol. 5 (4) 2008: pp. 409-41

ANTI-TUMOR ACTIVITY OF FOUR AYURVEDIC HERBS IN DALTON LYMPHOMA ASCITES BEARING MICE AND THEIR SHORT-TERM IN VITRO CYTOTOXICITY ON DLA- CELL-LINE.

The anti-tumor activity and chemopreventive potential of four Ayurvedic herbs viz. Curcuma longa L., Ocimum sanctum L., Tinospora cordifolia (Wild) Miers ex Hook.f & Thomas and Zizyphus mauritiana Lam. were evaluated using Dalton Lymphoma ascites (DLA) tumor model in Swiss Albino mice. The outcome was assessed using survival time, peritoneal ascitic fluid (Tumor volume) and hematological indices as parameters. Animals were divided into five groups (n = 6) viz. one DLA control and four Herb + DLA treated groups. All the four herb + DLA groups were pre-treated with respective herbs for 7 days and hematological indices were measured for entire five groups. On day-8 animals were inoculated with 1x106 DLA cells i.p., and Herb + DLA groups were continued with oral herbal treatment for 21-days. Hematological parameters and tumor volume were assessed to find the effects of herbs. Short term in vitro cytotoxicity was determined by Trypan Blue exclusion method and LDH leakage assay using different concentrations of herbal extracts and 5-FU as a positive control and IC50 for each herbal extract and 5-FU were determined. Oral administration of crude herb increased the survival time and decreased the peritoneal ascitic fluid content significantly. Hb, RBCs and total WBC which were altered by DLA inoculation were restored significantly by all the herbs except O. sanctum. All the four herbs showed in vitro cytotoxic activity against DLA cell-line. Moreover inter group comparison of all the four herbs for anti-tumor activity showed efficacy in the following order- T. cordifolia > Z. mauritiana ≥ C. longa > O. sanctum respectively

The Australian Reproductive Genetic Carrier Screening Project (Mackenzie's Mission): Design and Implementation

Published: 28 October 2022Reproductive genetic carrier screening (RGCS) provides people with information about their chance of having children with autosomal recessive or X-linked genetic conditions, enabling informed reproductive decision-making. RGCS is recommended to be offered to all couples during preconception or in early pregnancy. However, cost and a lack of awareness may prevent access. To address this, the Australian Government funded Mackenzie’s Mission—the Australian Reproductive Genetic Carrier Screening Project. Mackenzie’s Mission aims to assess the acceptability and feasibility of an easily accessible RGCS program, provided free of charge to the participant. In study Phase 1, implementation needs were mapped, and key study elements were developed. In Phase 2, RGCS is being offered by healthcare providers educated by the study team. Reproductive couples who provide consent are screened for over 1200 genes associated with >750 serious, childhood-onset genetic conditions. Those with an increased chance result are provided comprehensive genetic counseling support. Reproductive couples, recruiting healthcare providers, and study team members are also invited to complete surveys and/or interviews. In Phase 3, a mixed-methods analysis will be undertaken to assess the program outcomes, psychosocial implications and implementation considerations alongside an ongoing bioethical analysis and a health economic evaluation. Findings will inform the implementation of an ethically robust RGCS program.Alison D. Archibald ... Tristan Hardy ... et al. and The Mackenzie’s Mission Study Tea

Micropropagation and conservation of selected endangered anticancer medicinal plants from the Western Ghats of India

Globally, cancer is a constant battle which severely affects the human population. The major limitations of the anticancer drugs are the deleterious side effects on the quality of life. Plants play a vital role in curing many diseases with minimal or no side effects. Phytocompounds derived from various medicinal plants serve as the best source of drugs to treat cancer. The global demand for phytomedicines is mostly reached by the medicinal herbs from the tropical nations of the world even though many plant species are threatened with extinction. India is one of the mega diverse countries of the world due to its ecological habitats, latitudinal variation, and diverse climatic range. Western Ghats of India is one of the most important depositories of endemic herbs. It is found along the stretch of south western part of India and constitutes rain forest with more than 4000 diverse medicinal plant species. In recent times, many of these therapeutically valued herbs have become endangered and are being included under the red-listed plant category in this region. Due to a sharp rise in the demand for plant-based products, this rich collection is diminishing at an alarming rate that eventually triggered dangerous to biodiversity. Thus, conservation of the endangered medicinal plants has become a matter of importance. The conservation by using only in situ approaches may not be sufficient enough to safeguard such a huge bio-resource of endangered medicinal plants. Hence, the use of biotechnological methods would be vital to complement the ex vitro protection programs and help to reestablish endangered plant species. In this backdrop, the key tools of biotechnology that could assist plant conservation were developed in terms of in vitro regeneration, seed banking, DNA storage, pollen storage, germplasm storage, gene bank (field gene banking), tissue bank, and cryopreservation. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to critically review major endangered medicinal plants that possess anticancer compounds and their conservation aspects by integrating various biotechnological tool

Antibacterial activity of solvent fractions of crude water decoction of apical twigs<b style=""> </b>and latex of <i style="">Calotropis procera</i> (Ait.) R. Br

30-34Water decoction of Calotropis procera (Ait.) R.Br. is reported as a purulent wound healer in Indian System of Medicine —Ayurveda. Antibacterial activity of solvent fractions derived from the crude water decoction of C. procera against pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacterial strains has been evaluated. Dried apical twigs and latex of the plant were used for getting extracts. Four solvent fractions of both the samples were tested for their antibacterial activity on eight opportunistic bacterial strains, viz. Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter aerogenes and Escherichia coli. Other pathogenic strains selected were Salmonella paratyphi A and S. typhi, and non-pathogenic strains were Bacillus subtilis and Micrococcus luteus. The disk diffusion method was used to determine the inhibitory effect of all the fractions of both the plant samples on twelve tested bacterial strains. Comparison of the inhibitory activity with already established eight antibiotics was carried out. The fractions of apical twigs of plant produced wider inhibition zones than the fractions of latex. The fractions of both the plant samples produced greatest inhibitory zone on Staphylococcus aureus one of the major wound infectious bacterial strain

Folk herbal knowledge on the management of respiratory disorders prevailing in ethnic society of Valsad district, Gujarat

438-447Valsad district of Gujarat state (India) possesses a rich plant biodiversity. It also has traditional knowledge rich ethnic society. A survey was carried out for exploring the treasure of tribal knowledge wealth. The four years survey in the area extracted nearly two thousand recipes for different common ailments. The information gathered was then classified under different major disease categories, of which present paper deals with 115 herbal recipes used for treating various respiratory disorders

Documenting Grandmas’ prescriptions for skin ailments in Valsad district, Gujarat

372-374The four years survey of 207 persons of Valsad district yielded about 2,177 remedies for different ailments from tribes and the rural populace of the district. The information was classified in to 23 disease groups based on their utility. The paper emphasizes information gathered for one of such groups, skin ailments. There were about 54 recipes. The detailed analysis of the data includes recipes, dosages and diet restrictions. Since the information collected was the inherent, age old knowledge, it was named as grandmas’ prescription. A prior informed consent was obtained from the knowledge providers