EVALUATION OF MUCUNA PRURIENS SEED EXTRACT FOR ITS ACUTE ORAL TOXICITY IN ALBINO RATS

Objectives: The present study was carried out to evaluate the hydroalcoholic extract of Mucuna pruriens (HAMP) seeds for its acute oral toxicity in albino rats. Methods: Acute oral toxicity of MP seed extract was assessed in albino rats with three different doses of the extract with 175, 550, and 2000 mg/ kg body weight. Body weight, mortality, and clinical signs were recorded on 0 (before administration), 7th, and 14th days. Rats were sacrificed after day 14 and observed for any histological changes in the brain, heart, liver, and kidney tissues. Rats were normal up to 1 h and exhibited dullness and piloerection after 1 h which continued up to 2–4 h of observation period on day 0 of administration. All animals appeared normal from day 1 to throughout the experimental procedure. Results: No significant changes in the histological structure of the liver, kidney, and heart were noticed except mild congestion and hydropic changes only in liver tissue seen for 2000 mg/kg body weight of HAMP seeds. The seed extract of MP is non-toxic to rats and did not show any mortality nor the behavioral changes. In addition, it showed an increase in the body weight with the administration up to 2000 mg/kg body weight. Conclusion: MP seed extract signified as neurosuppressant, and the drug can be used in the treatment of neurological disorders characterized by hyperactivity of the neurons. The present data could provide adequate confirmation of the safety of MP for further experimental studies on a standardized formulation of the seeds extract

Self care activities among patients with diabetes attending a tertiary care hospital in Mangalore Karnataka, India

Background: Increasing prevalence of diabetes in India is resulting in an epidemiological transition. The care of the people with diabetes is traditionally seen as doctor centered, but the concept of self‑care of people with diabetes is a new domain and is proven beneficial. Aim: The aim was to determine the practice of self‑care activities among people with diabetes attending a tertiary care hospital in Mangalore. Subjects and Methods: A facility‑based cross‑sectional study was conducted in Government Wenlock Hospital, Mangalore during September–October 2012. A total of 290 patients with >1‑year duration of diabetes mellitus (DM) were asked to respond to summary diabetes self‑care activities questionnaire after obtaining the consent from them. The statistical analysis was performed in terms of descriptive statistics and association between the variables was tested using Mann–Whitney U‑test. Results: A healthy eating plan on a daily basis was followed by 45.9% (133/290) of the participants, daily exercises for 30 min were followed by 43.4% (126/290), and regular blood sugar monitoring was done by 76.6% (222/290). Regarding the adherence to oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin, daily adherence to medication was seen among 60.5% (155/256) and 66.9% (138/206) were found to be adherent to insulin injections on a daily basis. Conclusions: Self‑care practices were found to be unsatisfactory in almost all aspects except for blood sugar monitoring and treatment adherence. As these practices are essential for prevention of complications and better quality‑of ‑life, more efforts should be put to educate the people with diabetes.Keywords: Cross‑sectional studies, Diabetes mellitus, India, Self‑car

CLINICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PROFILE OF STEROID-INDUCED DIABETES

ABSTRACTObjective: To study the clinical and biochemical profile of patients who develop steroid-induced diabetes (SID) and its predisposing factors.Methods: Non-diabetic patients aged ≥18 years started on steroids were considered eligible for the study. In every case after detailed examination,fasting plasma glucose (FPG), post-prandial plasma glucose (PPG), glycated hemoglobin, fasting insulin were measured prior to starting steroids andwas repeated in 1 week (day 3/4) after starting steroid according to standard guidelines. FPG and PPG were repeated periodically during follow-upof the patients. The utility of Indian diabetic risk score (IDRS) score in predicting the risk for SID was also assessed.stResult: Steroid-induced diabetes was found to be more in females than in males. IDRS is not useful in predicting the risk factors of SID. 97% of patientshad an elevation of post-prandial sugars with or without fasting hyperglycemia, but only 3% of patients had isolated elevation of fasting blood sugar.84% of patients developed SID during the 1 week of therapy. 33% of the cases SID persisted even after 1 month of stopping steroids and on a minimaldosage of steroids.stConclusion: Unlike type 2 diabetes, there were no significant risk factors such as age, family history of diabetes to develop SID and IDRS may not be asensitive tool for predicting risk factors of SID. Monitoring of post-prandial sugars as compared to fasting sugars is essential for the screening of SID.Cumulative dose of steroid may not be important to precipitate steroid diabetes.Keywords: Glucocorticoids, Diabetes, Post-prandial glucose, Indian Diabetic Risk Score

Gender preferences among antenatal women: a cross-sectional study from coastal South India

Background: A balanced sex ratio is essential for a stable society.Objective: The main objective of the present research was to study the perceptions of women attending the antenatal care (ANC) facility regarding their gender preferences and family composition.Method: In this cross-sectional study 132 antenatal women were interviewed in their preferred language using a predesigned semi-structured questionnaire. The collected information was analyzed using SPSS version 11.5.Results: The mean age of the study participants was 27.2 ± 4.1 years. The majority of the antenatal women (60.6%, n=80) did not have any gender preferences. Among those who had a gender preference (39.4%, n=52), male and female preference was reported by 55.7% (n=29) and 44.3% (n=23) of the participants respectively. The overall son preference index was observed to be 1.3. No consistent relationship could be established between the socio-demographic factors and the preference for gender. The mean preferred family size in our study was 1.85±0.531 and more than half of the participants had a balanced gender preference. The majority of the participants were aware that the adverse sex ratio can lead to fall in the number of brides and that it would bring about a social imbalance.Conclusion: As a developed society we need to ensure that both the genders get equal respect and are free from any sort of preferences and prejudices. To achieve this, more and more people need to be made aware of the consequences of gender imbalance and adverse sex ratio in a society.Keywords: Gender preferences; family composition; antenatal women; coastal South Indi

(2E)-1-(4-Methyl­phen­yl)-3-(2,3,5-trichloro­phen­yl)prop-2-en-1-one

In the title mol­ecule, C16H11Cl3O, the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 33.2 (1)°. The crystal packing is stabilized by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

5-Acetyl-4-(2-chloro­phen­yl)-6-methyl-3,4-dihydro­pyrimidin-2(1H)-one

In the title mol­ecule, C13H13ClN2O2, the heterocyclic ring adopts a flattened boat conformation with the plane through the four coplanar atoms making a dihedral angle of 89.16 (5)° with the benzene ring, which adopts an axial orientation. The carbonyl, acetyl and methyl groups each have an equatorial orientation. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds lead to a tape motif. The H atoms of the methyl group at position 6 are disordered over two positions of opposite orientation

The frequency of transforming growth factor-TGF-B gene polymorphisms in a normal southern Iranian population

Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the transforming growth factor-β1 gene (TGFB1) have been reported. Determination of TGFB1 SNPs allele frequencies in different ethnic groups is useful for both population genetic analyses and association studies with immunological diseases. In this study, five SNPs of TGFB1 were determined in 325 individuals from a normal southern Iranian population using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. This population was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for these SNPs. Of the 12 constructed haplotypes, GTCGC and GCTGC were the most frequent in the normal southern Iranian population. Comparison of genotype and allele frequencies of TGFB SNPs between Iranian and other populations (meta-analysis) showed significant differences, and in this case the southern Iranian population seems genetically similar to Caucasoid populations. However, neighbour-joining tree using Nei's genetic distances based on TGF-β1 allele frequencies showed that southern Iranians are genetically far from people from the USA, Germany, UK, Denmark and the Czech Republic. In conclusion, this is the first report of the distribution of TGFB1 SNPs in an Iranian population and the results of this investigation may provide useful information for both population genetic and disease studies. © 2008 The Authors

Prevalence of food sensitization and probable food allergy among adults in India: the EuroPrevall INCO study

Data are lacking regarding the prevalence of food sensitization and probable food allergy among general population in India. We report the prevalence of sensitization and probable food allergy to 24 common foods among adults from general population in Karnataka, South India. The study was conducted in two stages: a screening study and a case-control study. A total of 11 791 adults in age group 20-54 were randomly sampled from general population in South India and answered a screening questionnaire. A total of 588 subjects (236 cases and 352 controls) participated in the case-control study involving a detailed questionnaire and specific IgE estimation for 24 common foods. A high level of sensitization (26.5%) was observed for most of the foods in the general population, higher than that observed among adults in Europe, except for those foods that cross-react with birch pollen. Most of the sensitization was observed in subjects who had total IgE above the median IgE level. A high level of cross-reactivity was observed among different pollens and foods and among foods. The prevalence of probable food allergy (self-reports of adverse symptoms after the consumption of food and specific IgE to the same food) was 1.2%, which was mainly accounted for cow's milk (0.5%) and apple (0.5%). Very high levels of sensitization were observed for most foods, including those not commonly consumed in the general population. For the levels of sensitization, the prevalence of probable food allergy was low. This disassociation needs to be further explored in future studie