Acute anti-inflammatory activity of ethanolic extract of leaves of Leucas indica by carrageenan induced paw oedema in wistar albino rats

Background: Inflammation is basically a defense phenomenon but can lead to serious pathological conditions. It is treated by various agents with good to moderate success because of both considerable toxicity and side effects. There are various mediators to cause an inflammatory reaction that can contribute to the associated symptoms and tissue injury. Even though non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the most commonly prescribed drugs in the world, their use as anti-inflammatory agents continues to be principally limited by their undesired side effects. Hence, the traditional medical practitioners and scientists are turning towards Indian System of Medicine (ISM).Methods: Dried powdered leaves of Leucas indica were subjected to solvent extraction by using 90 % ethanol. Based on acute oral toxicity study according to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines No. 423, three doses of the test drug 75, 150 & 300mg/kg were selected and subjected to preclinical anti-inflammatory screening by carrageenin induced paw oedema in Wistar Albino rats.Results : Oral administration of Ethanolic Extract Of Leaves Of Leucas Indica (EELLI) at doses of 150 mg/kg and 300mg/kg showed significant anti-inflammatory activity 52.58% (p<0.01) and 36.87% (p<0.05) respectively compared to control. Conclusion: Even though oral administration of EELLI has shown significant anti-inflammatory activity, further studies are required to evaluate its comprehensive analysis including quantitative / semi quantitative analysis, characterize its chemical structure and assess its pharmacotherapeutic activities with exact mechanism of action as an anti-inflammatory agent

A single case study on Varicocele

A varicocele is a dilatation and tortuosity of Pampiniform venous plexus within the spermatic cord. The condition is important etiological factor in male infertility. References are not available in Ayurvedic classics about particular disease which resembles the clinical picture of varicocele. Varicocele can be correlated to Sirajagranthi of Vrushanakosa. This helps to draw some conclusions regarding the treatment plan-up for varicocele. Jalaukavacharana is very much effective in Sirajagranthi. Hence Jalaukavacharana is tried in varicocele which can be correlated to Sirajagranthi of Vrishanakosha. It is safe and affordable. In present study total 4 sittings of Jalaukacharana was done. Marked reduction in the symptoms like pain and swelling was observed after second sitting. Jalaukacharana is very much effective in management of varicocele

Core-modified octaphyrins: syntheses and anion-binding properties

In this paper, a brief review of the syntheses, characterization and anion-binding properties of core-modified octaphyrins is presented. It has been shown that the core-modified octaphyrins exhibit aromaticity both in solution and in solid state, confirming the validity of the (4n + 2) Huckel rule for larger π-electron systems. Solid-state binding characteristics of TFA anions of two core-modified octaphyrins are also described

Quantumness of noisy quantum walks: a comparison between measurement-induced disturbance and quantum discord

Noisy quantum walks are studied from the perspective of comparing their quantumness as defined by two popular measures, measurement-induced disturbance (MID) and quantum discord (QD). While the former has an operational definition, unlike the latter, it also tends to overestimate non-classicality because of a lack of optimization over local measurements. Applied to quantum walks, we find that MID, while acting as a loose upper bound on QD, still tends to reflect correctly the trends in the behavior of the latter. However, there are regimes where its behavior is not indicative of non-classicality: in particular, we find an instance where MID increases with the application of noise, where we expect a reduction of quantumness.Comment: 5 pages with 4 figures, Published Versio

Non-specialist health worker interventions for the care of mental, neurological and substance-abuse disorders in low- and middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: Many people with mental, neurological and substance-use disorders (MNS) do not receive health care. Non-specialist health workers (NSHWs) and other professionals with health roles (OPHRs) are a key strategy for closing the treatment gap. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of NSHWs and OPHRs delivering MNS interventions in primary and community health care in low- and middle-income countries. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (including the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Specialised Register) (searched 21 June 2012); MEDLINE, OvidSP; MEDLINE In Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, OvidSP; EMBASE, OvidSP (searched 15 June 2012); CINAHL, EBSCOhost; PsycINFO, OvidSP (searched 18 and 19 June 2012); World Health Organization (WHO) Global Health Library (searched 29 June 2012); LILACS; the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO); OpenGrey; the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (searched 8 and 9 August 2012); Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index (ISI Web of Knowledge) (searched 2 October 2012) and reference lists, without language or date restrictions. We contacted authors for additional studies. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised and non-randomised controlled trials, controlled before-and-after studies and interrupted-time-series studies of NSHWs/OPHR-delivered interventions in primary/community health care in low- and middle-income countries, and intended to improve outcomes in people with MNS disorders and in their carers. We defined an NSHW as any professional health worker (e.g. doctors, nurses and social workers) or lay health worker without specialised training in MNS disorders. OPHRs included people outside the health sector (only teachers in this review). DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Review authors double screened, double data-extracted and assessed risk of bias using standard formats. We grouped studies with similar interventions together. Where feasible, we combined data to obtain an overall estimate of effect. MAIN RESULTS: The 38 included studies were from seven low- and 15 middle-income countries. Twenty-two studies used lay health workers, and most addressed depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The review shows that the use of NSHWs, compared with usual healthcare services: 1. may increase the number of adults who recover from depression or anxiety, or both, two to six months after treatment (prevalence of depression: risk ratio (RR) 0.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14 to 0.64; low-quality evidence); 2. may slightly reduce symptoms for mothers with perinatal depression (severity of depressive symptoms: standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.42, 95% CI -0.58 to -0.26; low-quality evidence); 3. may slightly reduce the symptoms of adults with PTSD (severity of PTSD symptoms: SMD -0.36, 95% CI -0.67 to -0.05; low-quality evidence); 4. probably slightly improves the symptoms of people with dementia (severity of behavioural symptoms: SMD -0.26, 95% CI -0.60 to 0.08; moderate-quality evidence); 5. probably improves/slightly improves the mental well-being, burden and distress of carers of people with dementia (carer burden: SMD -0.50, 95% CI -0.84 to -0.15; moderate-quality evidence); 6. may decrease the amount of alcohol consumed by people with alcohol-use disorders (drinks/drinking day in last 7 to 30 days: mean difference -1.68, 95% CI -2.79 to -0.57); low-quality evidence).It is uncertain whether lay health workers or teachers reduce PTSD symptoms among children. There were insufficient data to draw conclusions about the cost-effectiveness of using NSHWs or teachers, or about their impact on people with other MNS conditions. In addition, very few studies measured adverse effects of NSHW-led care - such effects could impact on the appropriateness and quality of care. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Overall, NSHWs and teachers have some promising benefits in improving people's outcomes for general and perinatal depression, PTSD and alcohol-use disorders, and patient- and carer-outcomes for dementia. However, this evidence is mostly low or very low quality, and for some issues no evidence is available. Therefore, we cannot make conclusions about which specific NSHW-led interventions are more effective

RESEARCH AND REVIEWS: JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGICAL STUDIES Cytotoxicity analysis by MTT assay of isolated Gossypol from Bt and Non-Bt Cotton Seeds on HeLa Cell Lines

ABSTRACT The present paper deals with study of In-vitro cytotoxicity effect of isolated gossypol from Bt and Non-Bt cotton seeds on HeLa cell lines. Gossypol is a polyphenolic binaphthyl diadehyde natural yellow colored pigment. It is not only resistance substance for cotton plant&apos;s selfdefense system against insect pests and possibly some diseases but also an important phytochemical compound of immense interest due to its several biological properties including anti-cancer,anti-HIV,antioxidation, antimicrobial and as male contraceptive. During this study gossypol exhibited broad spectrum of anti-cancer activity against the HeLa cell lines. The cytotoxicity effect of gossypol was detemined by MTT (3-(4-,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-dipheniltetrazolium bromide) assay. Gossypol from Bt and Non-Bt cotton seeds has shown dose dependent cytotoxicity effect against HeLa cell lines. In-vitro screening of the gossypol showed potential cytotoxic activity against HeLa cell lines. Mortality rate of 11.5884% and 22.6058% with 3µg/1µl concentration of isolated gossypol from Bt and Non-Bt cotton seed extracts was observed on HeLa cell lines respectively. Hence the inhibitory concentration at 50% (IC50) was fixed at 3µg/1µl of gossypol for HeLa cells. The standard anti-cancer drug Doxorubicin (1mg/ml) was also used in this study to confirm anti-cancer activity of gossypol isolated from Bt and Non-Bt cotton seed with 1.7828% cell viability. The present study confirms the mild toxic effect of gossypol on HeLa cell lines and can preferably be used as anti-cancerous drug in combination with other natural similar compounds to replace the synthetic chemical drugs for fewer side effects

WRIGHTIA TINCTORIA: AN OVERVIEW

Since from ancient times plants have always been used as a source of medicine since from olden days and play a very important component of the health care system in India. Wrightia tinctoria is also known as the jaundice curative tree which is useful for various diseases especially in south India. In this review, we have tried to discuss its general description and distribution, microscopy, chemical constituents, traditional uses, and their pharmacological action on the body, the morphological and anatomical aspects. Wrightia tinctoria has been assigned to have good analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, antiulcer, antidysentric, antidiabetic, anticancer, antipyretic activities and also effective in the treatment of psoriasis. We hope that this review will help all the people dealing with Wrightia tinctoria to know its proper usage and their therapeutic uses, as this herb seems to be highly valuable. It will also create interest in development of new formulations with more therapeutic and economic value in future. Keywords: Jaundice curative tree, Wrightia tinctori

Oral health status and treatment needs of female beedi factory workers in Mangalore city, India

Purpose: To determine oral health status and treatment needs of female beedi factory workers in Mangalore city, Karnataka. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 426 female beedi factory workers age 15-70 years in Mangalore city to find out their oral health status and treatment needs. Data collection was done on a structured proforma: regarding demographic data, oral hygiene habits, personal habits, past dental history and data on oral health status and treatment needs was recorded using WHO oral health assessment form (1997). Results: Out of 418 dentate patients only 2 (0.47%) had healthy periodontium, 68 (16.26%) and 348 (83.25%) had gingival disease and periodontal disease respectively. Healthy periodontium and bleeding was seen only in younger age groups (15-24 years and 25-34 years), whereas as age increased score of code 4 (Deep pockets) also increased. The prevalence of dental caries was found to be 82.6%. The total mean DMFT was 5.97±5.78. The mean DT was 4.06±4.03, mean MT was 1.88±3.71 and mean FT was 0.03±0.20. Of the total study population 46 subjects exhibited oral lesions. Conclusions: There are more proportions of unfulfilled treatment needs in this working class as they are not provided with dental treatment, appropriate public health actions at various levels need to be taken like health education and health promotion to curtail the disease in this population