89 research outputs found
Evaluation of Ageratum houstonianum Mill leaves extracts against phytopathogenic fungi
181-187Ageratum houstonianum Mill. (Asteraceae) leaves extract (in distilled water and methanol) was evaluated against five phytopathogenic fungi: Alternaria brassicae, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, Phytophthora capsici and Sclerotium rolfsii at different concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 mg/mL). The phytochemical screening depicted the presence of terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins and alkaloids. The activity test of extracts against fungi was determined by poisoned food technique and linear mycelium growth reduction (LMGR) percentage was calculated. Methanol crude leaf extract had higher antifungal potential than the distilled water extract. Aqueous and methanolic extracts of leaves of A. houstonianum greatly reduced the mycelium growth of tested fungi, which can be used for the disease management
Evaluation of Ageratum houstonianum Mill leaves extracts against phytopathogenic fungi
Ageratum houstonianum Mill. (Asteraceae) leaves extract (in distilled water and methanol) was evaluated against five phytopathogenic fungi: Alternaria brassicae, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum, Phytophthora capsici and Sclerotium rolfsii at different concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 mg/mL). The phytochemical screening depicted the presence of terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins and alkaloids. The activity test of extracts against fungi was determined by poisoned food technique and linear mycelium growth reduction (LMGR) percentage was calculated. Methanol crude leaf extract had higher antifungal potential than the distilled water extract. Aqueous and methanolic extracts of leaves of A. houstonianum greatly reduced the mycelium growth of tested fungi, which can be used for the disease management
Correlation of spirometry and six minute walk test in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from Sundargarh, Odisha, India
Background: Six‑Minute Walk Test (6MWT) is a simple, objective, reproducible test which correlated well with different spirometric indices, and thus able to predict severity of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and can replace spirometry in resource poor set‑up. Here, author evaluated the correlation of 6 minute walk distance (6MWD) with spirometric indices in COPD patients and the potential of 6MWT as an alternative to the assessment of severity of COPD.Methods: This cross-sectional observational study included a total of 80 COPD patients, diagnosed by GOLD criteria (Post bronchodilator FEV1/ FVC ratio <0.7). Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) grading was used (age, weight, height, body mass index- BMI and breathlessness) and all the patients underwent spirometric measurement of FEV1, FVC and FEV1/ FVC ratio and tests were repeated after bronchodilation using 200-400 μg of salbutamol. 6MWT was performed following American Thoracic Society (ATS) protocol of 6MWT and distance was measured in meters.Results: Author found significant negative correlation of 6MWT with age (r=-0.384, p=0.00) and mMRC grading of dyspnea (r=-0.559, p=0.00) and significant positive correlation with height (r=0.267, p=0.019) and weight (r=0.293, p=0.008). Significant positive correlation of 6MWD was noted with post bronchodilator FEV1(r=0.608, p=0.00), FEV1% (r=0.429, p=0.00), FVC (r=0.514 p=0.00), FVC% (r=0.313 p=0.005), FEV1/FVC % (r=0.336, p=0.001). Positive correlation was also observed between 6MWT and BMI but statistically insignificant (r=0.177, p=0.116). There was significant negative correlation between 6MWT and GOLD staging (r=-0.536, p=0.00).Conclusions: This finding concludes that 6MWT can be used for the assessment of severity of disease in COPD patients in places where spirometry is not available
Hanging and it’s Medicolegal Importance
Violent deaths of common occurrence which may be classed as asphyxial deaths such as hanging, ligature strangulation, throttling, suffocation drowning etc. Hanging is the ligature compression of the neck by the weight of one’s own body due to suspension. Ligature materials such as nylon rope, electric wire, duppatta, dhoti, shirt, belt etc. are used for suspension. Hanging is a most common method of committing suicide all over the world, is highly lethal and more than 70% of those who attempted suicide would die. Hanging gives painless death to the victim and no cost involvement so the people prefer it as common and suitable method of suicide. Sometimes homicidal hanging is also seen and accidentally seen in children. According to WHO (world health organization) and research report the suicide by hanging is more common method in male rather than women
Role of Viruddha Ahara in dermatological disorder and its prevention
Viruddha Ahara or incompatible food is very important issue discussed by Ayurveda. These incompatible foods play a major role in the production of many diseases specially skin disease like eruption, leucoderma and different types of dermatological disorder. The food which is wrong in combination, which has undergone wrong processing, which is consumed in incorrect dose, which is consumed in incorrect time of day and in wrong season is known as Viruddha Ahara. Number of food incompatibilities are mentioned in Ayurved literature, such as Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas. Regularly intakes of incompatible food act as a poison which leads to aggravation of all Doshas and causing most of the diseases including skin disease. Viruddha Ahara can lead to inflammation at a molecular level. The ancient and recent surveys both prove that incompatible food habits are one of the major causes of skin disease. In today’s modern era, due to lack of knowledge about correct eating habits, we inattentively follow the wrong dietary habits which manifest dermatological disorder. Avoidance of intake of incompatible food is an important role in the prevention of dermatological disorder
The mushroom Ganoderma lucidum suppresses breast-to-lung cancer metastasis through the inhibition of pro-invasive genes.
Breast cancer metastasis is one of the major reasons for the high morbidity and mortality of breast cancer patients. In spite of surgical interventions, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and targeted therapy, some patients are considering alternative therapies with herbal/natural products. In the present study, we evaluated a well-characterized extract from the medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (GLE) for its affects on tumor growth and breast-to-lung cancer metastasis. MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells were implanted into the mammary fat pads of nude mice. GLE (100 mg/kg/every other day) was administered to the mice by an oral gavage for 4 weeks, and tumor size was measured using microcalipers. Lung metastases were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Gene expression in MDA-MB-231 cells was determined by DNA microarray analysis and confirmed by quantitative PCR. Identified genes were silenced by siRNA, and cell migration was determined in Boyden chambers and by wound-healing assay. Although an oral administration of GLE only slightly suppressed the growth of large tumors, the same treatment significantly inhibited the number of breast-to-lung cancer metastases. GLE also downregulated the expression of genes associated with invasive behavior (HRAS, VIL2, S100A4, MCAM, I2PP2A and FN1) i
Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells and Pancreatic Cancer: Implications in Novel Therapeutic Approaches
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a devastating human malignancy with poor prognosis and low survival rates. Several cellular mechanisms have been linked with pancreatic carcinogenesis and also implicated in inducing tumor resistance to known therapeutic regimens. Of various factors, immune evasion mechanisms play critical roles in tumor progression and impeding the efficacy of cancer therapies including PDAC. Among immunosuppressive cell types, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) have been extensively studied and demonstrated to not only support PDAC development but also hamper the anti-tumor immune responses elicited by therapeutic agents. Notably, recent efforts have been directed in devising novel approaches to target MDSCs to limit their effects. Multiple strategies including immune-based approaches have been explored either alone or in combination with therapeutic agents to target MDSCs in preclinical and clinical settings of PDAC. The current review highlights the roles and mechanisms of MDSCs as well as the implications of this immunomodulatory cell type as a potential target to improve the efficacy of therapeutic regimens for PDAC
Dietary Polyphenols in Cancer Chemoprevention: Implications in Pancreatic Cancer
Naturally occurring dietary agents present in a wide variety of plant products, are rich sources of phytochemicals possessing medicinal properties, and thus, have been used in folk medicine for ages to treat various ailments. The beneficial effects of such dietary components are frequently attributed to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, particularly in regards to their antineoplastic activities. As many tumor types exhibit greater oxidative stress levels that are implicated in favoring autonomous cell growth activation, most chemotherapeutic agents can also enhance tumoral oxidative stress levels in part via generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). While ROS-mediated imbalance of the cellular redox potential can provide novel drug targets, as a consequence, this ROS-mediated excessive damage to cellular functions, including oncogenic mutagenesis, has also been implicated in inducing chemoresistance. This remains one of the major challenges in the treatment and management of human malignancies. Antioxidant-enriched natural compounds offer one of the promising approaches in mitigating some of the underlying mechanisms involved in tumorigenesis and metastasis, and therefore, have been extensively explored in cancer chemoprevention. Among various groups of dietary phytochemicals, polyphenols have been extensively explored for their underlying chemopreventive mechanisms in other cancer models. Thus, the current review highlights the significance and mechanisms of some of the highly studied polyphenolic compounds, with greater emphasis on pancreatic cancer chemoprevention
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Exposure to diesel exhaust particulates and desert sand dust generates microvesicle particles and platelet-activating factor agonists
The authors address the editor in their article, stating that the majority of the general population, particularly, servicemen and women deployed across the globe are exposed to various airborne hazards, including diesel exhaust particulate (DEP) and desert sand dust (DSD). Studies, including the author's study, have shown that exposure to ROS-generating pro-oxidative stressors ranging from environmental carcinogens to pollutants, including cigarette smoke, produces a class of potent phospholipid mediators, Platelet-activating factor (PAF) and PAF-like agonists via oxidative cleavage of lipid membrane glycerophosphocholines (GPCs)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Cerebral Malaria Patients Reveals Distinct Pathogenetic Processes in Different Parts of the Brain
The mechanisms underlying the rapidly reversible brain swelling described in patients with cerebral malaria (CM) are unknown. Using a 1.5-Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner, we undertook an observational study in Rourkela, India, of 11 Indian patients hospitalized with CM and increased brain volume. Among the 11 cases, there were 5 adults and 6 children. All patients had reduced consciousness and various degrees of cortical swelling at baseline. The latter was predominately posterior in distribution. The findings on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were consistent with vasogenic edema in all cases. Reversibility after 48 to 72Â h was observed in >90% of cases. DWI/ADC mismatch suggested the additional presence of cytotoxic edema in the basal nuclei of 5 patients; all of these had perfusion parameters consistent with vascular engorgement and not with ischemic infarcts. Our results suggest that an impairment of the blood-brain barrier is responsible for the brain swelling in CM. In 5 cases, vasogenic edema occurred in conjunction with changes in the basal nuclei consistent with venous congestion, likely to be caused by the sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. While both mechanisms have been individually postulated to play an important role in the development of CM, this is the first demonstration of their concurrent involvement in different parts of the brain. The clinical and radiological characteristics observed in the majority of our patients are consistent with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), and we show for the first time a high frequency of PRES in the context of CM. IMPORTANCE The pathophysiology and molecular mechanisms underlying cerebral malaria (CM) are still poorly understood. Recent neuroimaging studies demonstrated that brain swelling is a common feature in CM and a major contributor to death in pediatric patients. Consequently, determining the precise mechanisms responsible for this swelling could open new adjunct therapeutic avenues in CM patients. Using an MRI scanner with a higher resolution than the ones used in previous reports, we identified two distinct origins of brain swelling in both adult and pediatric patients from India, occurring in distinct parts of the brain. Our results support the hypothesis that both endothelial dysfunction and microvascular obstruction by Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes make independent contributions to the pathogenesis of CM, providing opportunities for novel therapeutic interventions
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