Anti-malarial activity of Holarrhena antidysenterica and Viola canescens, plants traditionally used against malaria in the Garhwal region of north-west Himalaya

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The increasing number of multidrug-resistant <it>Plasmodium </it>strains warrants exploration of new anti-malarials. Medicinal plant research has become more important, particularly after the development of Chinese anti-malarial drug artemisnin from <it>Artemisia annua</it>. The present study shows evaluation of anti-malarial effects of two plants commonly used against malaria in the Garhwal region of north-west Himalaya, in order to discover the herbal-based medicine.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>In vitro </it>anti-plasmodial sensitivity of plant extracts was assessed using schizont maturation and parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) assay. Cytotoxic activities of the examined extracts were determined on L-6 cells of rat skeletal muscle myoblast. The 4-day test for anti-malarial activity against a chloroquine sensitive <it>Plasmodium berghei </it>NK65 strain in Swiss albino mice was used for monitoring <it>in vivo </it>activity of plant extracts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Chloroform extract of <it>H. antidysenterica </it>(HA-2) and petroleum ether extract of <it>V. canescens </it>(VC-1) plants significantly reduced parasitaemia in <it>P. berghei </it>infected mice. The extract HA-2 showed <it>in vitro </it>anti-plasmodial activity with its IC₅₀value 5.5 μg/ml using pLDH assay and ED₅₀value 18.29 mg/kg in <it>P. berghei </it>infected Swiss albino mice. Similarly petroleum ether extract of <it>V. canescens </it>(VC-1) showed <it>in vitro </it>anti-plasmodial activity with its IC₅₀value 2.76 μg/ml using pLDH assay and ED₅₀15.8 mg/kg in <it>P. berghei </it>infected mice. The extracts coded as HA-2 at 30 mg/kg and VC-1 at 20 mg/kg exhibited parasite inhibition in mice: 73.2% and 63.0% respectively. Of these two plant extracts, petroleum ether extract of <it>V. canescens </it>was found slightly cytotoxic.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present investigation reflects the use of these traditional medicinal plants against malaria and these plants may work as potential source in the development of variety of herbal formulations for the treatment of malaria.</p

Elaia, Pergamon's maritime satellite:The rise and fall of an ancient harbour city shaped by shoreline migration

Throughout human history, communication and trade have been key to society. Because maritime trade facilitated the rapid transportation of passengers and freight at relatively low cost, harbours became hubs for traffic, trade and exchange. This general statement holds true for the Pergamenian kingdom, which ruled wide parts of today's western Turkey during Hellenistic times. Its harbour, located at the city of Elaia on the eastern Aegean shore, was used extensively for commercial and military purposes. This study reconstructs the coastal evolution in and around the ancient harbour of Elaia and compares the observed environmental modifications with archaeological and historical findings. We use micropalaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical proxies to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental dynamics and evolution of the ancient harbour. The geoarchaeological results confirm the archaeological and historical evidence for Elaia's primacy during Hellenistic and early Roman times, and the city's gradual decline during the late Roman period. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that Elaia holds a unique position as a harbour city during ancient times in the eastern Aegean region, because it was not greatly influenced by the high sediment supply associated with river deltas. Consequently, no dredging of the harbour basins is documented, creating exceptional geo-bioarchives for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions

Future challenges in colloid and interfacial science

This article deals with topics where I expect special future challenges, exemplifying these by experiments out of my own department. One area where I expect large progress also in view of many technical developments in the past concerns the understanding of the structure of fluid interfaces at the atomic level. It is shown by non-linear optical spectroscopies that the free water surface is ice-like and can be “liquefied” by ion adsorption. X-ray fluorescence from the interface demonstrates that ion binding is very specific which cannot be explained by existing theories. A second major area are nonequilibrium features, and one of the old and new ones here is nucleation and growth. This presentation concentrates on effects produced by ultrasound, a well-defined trigger of gas bubble formation. It exhibits high potential for chemistry at extreme conditions but with a reactor at normal conditions. It has special importance for treatment of surfaces that can be also manipulated via controlled surface energies. A third area will concern complex and smart systems with multiple functions in materials and biosciences. As next generation, I anticipate those with feedback control, and examples on this are self-repairing coatings

Late Byzantine Mineral Soda High Alumina Glasses from Asia Minor: A New Primary Glass Production Group

The chemical characterisation of archaeological glass allows the discrimination between different glass groups and the identification of raw materials and technological traditions of their production. Several lines of evidence point towards the large-scale production of first millennium CE glass in a limited number of glass making factories from a mixture of Egyptian mineral soda and a locally available silica source. Fundamental changes in the manufacturing processes occurred from the eight/ninth century CE onwards, when Egyptian mineral soda was gradually replaced by soda-rich plant ash in Egypt as well as the Islamic Middle East. In order to elucidate the supply and consumption of glass during this transitional period, 31 glass samples from the assemblage found at Pergamon (Turkey) that date to the fourth to fourteenth centuries CE were analysed by electron microprobe analysis (EPMA) and by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The statistical evaluation of the data revealed that the Byzantine glasses from Pergamon represent at least three different glass production technologies, one of which had not previously been recognised in the glass making traditions of the Mediterranean. While the chemical characteristics of the late antique and early medieval fragments confirm the current model of glass production and distribution at the time, the elemental make-up of the majority of the eighth- to fourteenth-century glasses from Pergamon indicate the existence of a late Byzantine glass type that is characterised by high alumina levels. Judging from the trace element patterns and elevated boron and lithium concentrations, these glasses were produced with a mineral soda different to the Egyptian natron from the Wadi Natrun, suggesting a possible regional Byzantine primary glass production in Asia Minor

Diabetes mellitus und Impfungen

For patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), pneumococcal, influenza, zoster, and hepatitis B vaccines are especially relevant and are recommended by several scientific bodies. For these infections either the risk of infection or of complicated infections is significantly higher in patients with than in patients without diabetes mellitus. Especially the combination of pneumococcal and influenza vaccines should be administered and carefully monitored by the general practitioner and the diabetes specialist as these infections can have synergistic effects. For DM patients both the increased risk of pneumonia and the increased risk of cardiovascular complications can be influenced dramatically by the administration of both vaccines. DM patients with comorbidities especially with renal insufficiency have an even higher risk for infectious complications and have a reduced response to some of the vaccines. Therefore, adapted immunization schedules, ., for hepatitis B and travel vaccinations should be used in these patients. All recommended vaccines are effective, have a high level of safety, and no negative effects on the underlying disease. Additionally booster vaccinations (e.aEuro., tetanus and pertussis) depending on the vaccination history and patients' age as well as travel vaccinations or other vaccinations should be administered if indicated