Naringin a potent antioxidant used as bioavailibility enhancer for terbinafine hydrochloride

The poor bioavailability of drugs has been identified as the single most important challenge in oral drug delivery. Prominent among the factors responsible for this are the oxidative metabolic activity of the intestinal and hepatic cytochrome P450 enzyme family. Naringin and naringenin which are the major phytochemical component of grapefruit juice, a well-known cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibitor and flavone glycoside, is antioxidant in nature and occurs naturally in the pericarp of citrus fruit, and particularly of grapefruit (Citrus paradisii) where it is the predominant flavonoid found and is responsible for the bitter taste associated with the fruit. CYP3A4 which is a class of CYP – 450 (microsomal enzyme) is responsible for the oxidative metabolic reaction of various substrates which decreases the bioavailability of drug

Scaling up indigenous rainwater harvesting: a preliminary assessment in Rajasthan, India

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has the potential to enhance the sustainability of ground and surface water to meet increasing water demands and constrained supplies, even under a changing climate. Since arid and semi-arid regions frequently experience highly variable spatiotemporal rainfall patterns, rural communities have developed indigenous RWH techniques to capture and store rainwater for multiple uses. However, selecting appropriate sites for RWH, especially across large regions, remains challenging since the data required to evaluate suitability using critical criteria are often lacking. This study aimed to identify the essential criteria and develop a methodology to select potential RWH sites in Rajasthan (India). We combined GIS modeling (multicriteria decision analysis) with applied remote sensing techniques as it has the potential to assess land suitability for RWH. As assessment criteria, spatial datasets relating to land use/cover, rainfall, slope, soil texture, NDVI, and drainage density were considered. Later, weights were assigned to each criterion based on their relative importance to the RWH system, evidence from published literature, local expert advice, and field visits. GIS analyses were used to create RWH suitability maps (high, moderate, and unsuited maps). The sensitivity analysis was also carried out for identified weights to check the inadequacy and inconsistency among preferences. It was estimated that 3.6%, 8.2%, and 27.3% of the study area were highly, moderately, and unsuitable, respectively, for Chauka implementation. Further, sensitivity analysis results show that LULC is highly sensitive and NDVI is the least sensitive parameter in the selected study region, which suggests that changing the weight of these parameters is more likely to decide the outcome. Overall, this study shows the applicability of the GIS-based MCDA approach for up-scaling the traditional RWH systems and its suitability in other regions with similar field conditions, where RWH offers the potential to increase water resource availability and reliability to support rural communities and livelihoods

Seroprevalence & changing trends of transfusion-transmitted infections amongst blood donors in a Regional Blood Transfusion Centre in north India

Background & objectives: Transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) are the major problem associated with blood transfusion. Accurate estimates of risk of TTIs are essential for monitoring the safety of blood supply. The present study was undertaken to determine the percentage of voluntary donors (VDs) and replacement donors (RDs) and also, to estimate and compare the seroprevalence and changing trends of TTIs amongst VDs and RDs in a regional blood transfusion centre in north India. Methods: This retrospective study was based on the records of all voluntary and replacement donations which were collected from January 2008 to December 2014 in a Regional Blood Transfusion Centre placed in a tertiary care hospital in Delhi, India. Results: Of the total 220,482 donations, 163,540 (74.17%) were voluntary and 56,942 (25.83%) were replacement donation. The overall seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), syphilis and malaria were 0.32, 1.61, 0.73, 1.62 and 0.06 per cent, respectively. Furthermore, the TTIs were more frequently encountered in RDs in comparison to VDs. Interpretation & conclusions: The increase in public awareness regarding voluntary blood donation, meticulous donor screening, counselling and use of highly sensitive tests can help in reducing the risk of TTIs

Naringin a Potent Antioxidant Used as Bioavailibility Enhancer for Terbinafine Hydrochloride

The poor bioavailability of drugs has been identified as the single most important challenge in oral drug delivery. Prominent among the factors responsible for this are the oxidative metabolic activity of the intestinal and hepatic cytochrome P450 enzyme family. Naringin and naringenin which are the major phytochemical component of grapefruit juice, a well-known cytochrome P450 3A4 inhibitor and flavone glycoside, is antioxidant in nature and occurs naturally in the pericarp of citrus fruit, and particularly of grapefruit (Citrus paradisii) where it is the predominant flavonoid found and is responsible for the bitter taste associated with the fruit. CYP3A4 which is a class of CYP – 450 (microsomal enzyme) is responsible for the oxidative metabolic reaction of various substrates which decreases the bioavailability of drug

A comprehensive review on nutraceutical potential of underutilized cereals and cereal-based products

Cereals provide nutrients such as lipids, carbs, proteins, minerals, and vitamins and make up the majority of human nutrition. Some cereals also contain a significant quantity of dietary fiber (soluble and insoluble). Cereals, when consumed as a whole or in coloured varieties, are the source of bioactive components with functional properties. Dietary fiber in whole grains has a unique blend of bioactive components such as resistant starch, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants that provide different health benefits. Traditionally, whole grains were consumed, but currently, most foods are derived from refined fractions of cereal and pulse crops. Minimal processing of cereals increases both nutrient bioavailability and health benefits. The bioactive compounds present in whole cereals ultimately fight against diseases and prevent or control some diseases in the body, such as cardiovascular risk, reducing the risk of cancer, type-2 diabetes, hypertension, and high blood pressure, improving gastrointestinal health, etc. The consumer demands minimally processed foods, which are essential for maintaining health and improving metabolism. Therefore, developing products using whole cereals or millet to improve the health and safety of humans is of great interest. The present review discusses the nutraceutical potential of cereals and their products, their impact on gut microbiota, and consumer acceptability. The potential for future research in the processing of such healthy cereals in combination with other pseudocereals is identified and discussed

Single electron transfer-driven multi-dimensional signal read-out function of TCNQ as an ``off-the-shelf'' detector for cyanide

Herein we report the first applications of TCNQ as a rapid and highly sensitive off-the-shelf cyanide detector. As a proof-of-concept, we have applied a kinetically selective single-electron transfer (SET) from cyanide to deep-lying LUMO orbitals of TCNQ to generate a persistently stable radical anion (TCNQ(center dot-)), under ambient condition. In contrast to the known cyanide sensors that operate with limited signal outputs, TCNQ(center dot-) offers a unique multiple signaling platform. The signal readability is facilitated through multichannel absorption in the UV-vis-NIR region and scattering-based spectroscopic methods like Raman spectroscopy and hyper Rayleigh scattering techniques. Particularly notable is the application of the intense 840 nm NIR absorption band to detect cyanide. This can be useful for avoiding background interference in the UV-vis region predominant in biological samples. We also demonstrate the fabrication of a practical electronic device with TCNQ as a detector. The device generates multiorder enhancement in current with cyanide because of the formation of the conductive TCNQ(center dot-)

Picomolar Detection of Lead Ions (Pb²⁺) by Functionally Modified Fluorescent Carbon Quantum Dots from Watermelon Juice and Their Imaging in Cancer Cells

Water contamination due to the presence of lead is one of the leading causes of environmental and health hazards because of poor soil and groundwater waste management. Herein we report the synthesis of functionally modified luminescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) obtained from watermelon juice as potential nanomaterials for the detection of toxic Pb2+ ions in polluted water and cancer cells. By introducing surface passivating ligands such as ethanolamine (EA) and ethylenediamine (ED) in watermelon juice, watermelon-ethanolamine (WMEA)-CQDs and watermelon-ethylenediamine (WMED)-CQDs exhibited a remarkable ~10-fold and ~6-fold increase in fluorescence intensity with respect to non-doped WM-CQDs. The relative fluorescence quantum yields of WMEA-CQDs and WMED-CQDs were found to be 8% and 7%, respectively, in an aqueous medium. Among various functionally-modified CQDs, only WMED-CQDs showed high selectivity towards Pb2+ ions with a remarkably good limit of detection (LoD) of 190 pM, which is less than that of the permissible limit (72 nM) in drinking water. The functionally altered WMED-CQDs detected Pb2+ metal ions in polluted water and in a human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa), thus advocating new vistas for eco-friendly nanomaterials for their use as diagnostic tools in the environment and biomedical research areas