EVALUATION OF XANTHINE OXIDASE INHIBITORY ACTIVITY BY FLAVONOIDS FROM PONGAMIA PINNATA LINN

ABSTRACTObjective: Flavonoids from the crude seeds extract of Pongamia pinnata L., dried fruit powder of Morinda citrifolia L., bark of Mangifera indica L., andrhizome of Zingiber officinale Rosc. were screened for xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibition at different concentration. The inhibitory potential of quercetinand allopurinol were used for the determination of 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) and Ki values.Methods: Isolation of flavonoids from the plant extracts was processed by column chromatography and tested for XO inhibitory activity in the rangeof 6-800 μg/ml.Results: The results demonstrated that optimized flavonoids extract of P. pinnata L. exhibited promising XO inhibition. P. pinnata L., M. indica L., andZ. officinale Rosc. had IC50 in the concentration of 8.74 mM, 1.09 mM, 5.4 mM and Ki 0.35 mM, 1.73 mM, 2.7 mM, respectively.Conclusion: The study showed that plant species under investigation exhibited XO inhibition by optimized flavonoid extract. P. pinnata L. indicatedpromising XO inhibition compared to other plant extracts. Flavonoids can be used as a potent inhibitor of XO an alternative to allopurinol.Keywords: Xanthine oxidase, Quercetin, Allopurinol, Pongamia pinnata, Oxidative stress

PHOSPHOLIPASE A 2 PLASMA ELASTASE ACTIVITY IN PRE AND POST PARTUM OF PRE-ECLAMPTIC WOMEN

Objective: The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the activity of phospholipase A 2 , plasma elastase enzymes and to assess relation withan inflammatory marker high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in nonpregnant before and after delivery of normotensive pregnant and preeclampticwomen.Methods: The study population consists of three groups: Nonpregnant (Group 1, n=57), normotensive pregnant (Group 2, n=57), and pre-eclampticwomen (Group 3, n=57). Groups 2 and 3 were followed after delivery within 48 hrs. Phospholipase A , plasma elastase, and hs-CRP levels were determined spectrophotometrically.Results: The plasma elastase, phospholipase A 22 activity, and hs-CRP were elevated in pre-eclampsia significantly (p<0.05), nonsignificant rise innormotensive pregnant before delivery condition compared to nonpregnant women. However, plasma elastase in normal pregnancy and pre-eclampsiawere decreased by 1.2- and 2.07-fold, respectively, after delivery. Whereas phospholipase A and hs-CRP found to be nonsignificantly decreased in thepostdelivery status of the both the groups. Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis showed that elastase enzyme has diagnostic importance to assess inflammation on the basis of area under curve (0.758).2Conclusion: Our research findings generated knowledge about raised level of plasma elastase enzyme by neutrophil degranulation represents inflammation in pre-eclampsia. Elevated elastase, phospholipase AKeywords: Elastase, High sensitive C - reactive protein, Phospholipase A2 with hs-CRP in pre-eclampsia serves as indicators of inflammation., Pre-eclampsia.2 Objective:Theobjectivesofthepresentstudywere toevaluatetheactivityofphospholipaseA,plasmaelastaseenzymesand toassessrelationwith an inflammatorymarkerhighsensitiveC-reactiveprotein(hs-CRP)innonpregnantbeforeandafterdeliveryofnormotensivepregnantandpre- eclamptic women. 2 Methods:Thestudypopulationconsistsofthreegroups:Nonpregnant(Group1,n=57),normotensivepregnant(Group2,n=57),andpre-eclamptic women(Group3,n=57).Groups2and3werefollowedafterdeliverywithin48hrs.PhospholipaseA,plasmaelastase,andhs-CRPlevelsweredetermined spectrophotometrically. 2 Results:Theplasmaelastase,phospholipaseA  activity,andhs-CRPwereelevatedinpre-eclampsiasignificantly(p<0.05),nonsignificantrisein normotensivepregnantbeforedeliveryconditioncomparedtononpregnantwomen.However,plasmaelastaseinnormalpregnancyandpre-eclampsia2 weredecreasedby1.2-and2.07-fold,respectively,afterdelivery.WhereasphospholipaseA  andhs-CRPfoundtobenonsignificantlydecreasedinthe postdelivery status of the both the groups. Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis showed that elastase enzyme has diagnostic importance to assess inflammation on the basis of area under curve (0.758). 2 Conclusion: Ourresearchfindingsgeneratedknowledgeaboutraisedlevelofplasmaelastaseenzymebyneutrophildegranulationrepresents inflammation in pre-eclampsia. Elevated elastase, phospholipase A  with hs-CRP in pre-eclampsia serves as indicators of inflammation.2 Keywords:Elastase, High sensitive C - reactive protein, Phospholipase A, Pre-eclampsia

Association of Thrombocytosis and its Prognostic Significance in Cervical Cancer

Introduction: Thrombocytosis is associated with progression of many diseases. There is increasing evidence that tumour cells, platelets, endothelial cells interact with each other leading to spread of tumour cells into the microvasculature which results in poor prognosis due to metastasis. Thrombocytosis is an indirect marker of occult advanced disease. Aim: To determine thrombocytosis in diagnosed carcinoma cervix patients and its association with stage of cancer cervix and prognosis. Materials and Methods: This was the retrospective study conducted at Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, Karnataka, India, from April 2021 to May 2022, on medical records of 52 patients who were diagnosed with cancer cervix. The data abstracted from each subject’s medical record include the following: age, parity, clinical staging as per International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), size of the lesion, complete blood count and length of the survival. Patients underwent surgery followed by appropriate chemo-radiotherapy or brachytherapy. They were followed-up after treatment every three months for the first two years and every six months for the next three years and annually thereafter. The five-year survival rate of these patients who were on complete follow-up was analysed. The normal platelet count was considered as 4.5×109/L. Results: The mean age of the study population was 50.28 years. Among the 52 patients, 47 (90.03%) were with advanced stages of cancer cervix (stages IIB-IVB) and 5 (9.6%) belonged to early stages of cancer cervix (stages 1B-IIA). Forty patients (76.92%) had a platelet count less than 4.5×109/L, out of which 2 patients were in early stage of cervical cancer and 16 patients were with tumor size less than 4 cm. A total of 12 patients had the platelet count more than 4.5 lac. All these 12 patients belonged to advanced stages of cancer cervix (stage IIB-IVB), p-value of 0.001. Among the 12, 11 patients had a tumour size of more than 4 cm, p-value 0.040. The mean five-year survival rate among patients with advanced stages of cancer cervix associated with thrombocytosis was 18%. Conclusion: The platelet count was found to have strong association with the tumour size, stage of the cervical cancer and five year survival rate thus making thrombocytosis to be a strong prognostic factor in cancer cervix

Cytological diagnosis of tuberculous cervicitis: A case report with review of literature

Tuberculosis of cervix is a rare disease. Tuberculosis usually affects women of childbearing age, indicating hormone dependence of infection. The patient presents with menstrual irregularities, infertility or vaginal discharge. Cervical lesions presents as papillary/vegetative growth or ulceration mimicking cervical cancer. Cervical Papanicolaou (Pap) smear plays an important role in diagnosing the disease by non-invasive technique in which the presence of epithelioid cells and Langhan's type of giant cells is diagnostic. However, other causes of granulomatous cervicitis should be considered and ruled out. Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain for acid fast bacilli, fluorescent technique, biopsy and culture help in confirming the disease. We present the case of a 45-year-old female, who presented with vaginal discharge, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, first degree uterine descent with grade II cystocele and rectocele and cervical ulcer. Pap smear revealed epithelioid cells and Langhan's type of giant cells, confirmed by ZN stain of cervical smear, fluorescent technique and culture

Apelin 13 and Blood Pressure, Is there any Association in Pre-eclampsia? - A Case-control Study

Introduction: Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder, characterised by the onset of hypertension and proteinuria. Preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal, perinatal morbidity and mortality. The exact cause of pre-eclampsia is not known clearly and needs to be explored. Aim: To evaluate the maternal serum apelin 13 levels among pre-eclampsia and healthy pregnant women and also, to find the association between apelin 13 and blood pressure. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was conducted between Department of Biochemistry and Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, RL Jalappa Hospital and Research Centre, Kolar, Karnataka, India. After approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee and written informed consent from study subjects, a total of 270 pregnant women were recruited for this study. Among them, 135 pre-eclamptic women were considered as cases and 135 normotensive healthy pregnant women served as controls. According to the pre-eclampsia severity, cases were grouped into mild (n=47) and severe preeclampsia (n=88). Blood samples were collected from all the study subjects and was analysed for apelin 13 by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method. Maternal and foetal adverse outcomes were recorded. Results were expressed as mean±Standard Deviation (SD). Categorical variables were expressed in percentages. Spearman’s correlation was applied and p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean gestational age was 36.66±3.69 weeks which was, significantly low in pre-eclamptic women compared with healthy pregnant women. BMI (26.94±3.81 kg/m2 ), systolic (157.82±15.14 mmHg), diastolic (101.68±11.02 mmHg) and Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) (120.20±11.12 mmHg), pulse rate (88.14±5.82 bpm), Aspartate Transaminase (AST) (25.25±12.49 IU/L) and Alanine Transaminase (ALT) (19.01±10.95 IU/L) were significantly increased in pre-eclamptic women when compared with control group. Mean maternal serum apelin 13 (341.44±218.63 pg/mL) concentrations were significantly lower in pre-eclampsia compared with healthy pregnant women. Maternal serum apelin 13 concentrations were negatively correlated with Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) (r = -0.196), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) (r = -0.172) and MAP (r =-0.204). Adverse maternal outcomes such as epigastric pain 75 (55.55%), oedema 62 (45.92%) and persistent headache 35 (25.92%) were higher in pre-eclamptic group. Additionally, adverse foetal outcomes were more in preeclamptic cases including significantly decreased birth weight (2.40±0.65), babies requiring Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admission were 54 (40%), preterm birth (≤37 wks) in 50 (37.03%), Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) 31 (22.96%), Small for Gestational Age (SGA) in 4 (2.96%) and Intra Uterine Death (IUD) in 11 (8.14%) babies. Conclusion: It was concluded from the present study that there was low maternal serum apelin 13 concentrations in pre-eclampsia and had negative correlation with blood pressure, suggesting its potential role in the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia

Placental protein 13

Placental protein 13 (PP13), a glycan binding protein predominantly expressed in syncytiotrophoblast, dimeric in nature, lacks N-terminal signal peptide, bypasses the endoplasmic reticulum, and secretes into maternal circulation as exosomes or microvesicles. PP13 has jelly roll fold conformation with conserved carbohydrate recognition domain which specifically binds to β-galactosides of the glycan receptors during placentation. PP13 binds to glycosylated receptors on human erythrocytes and brings about hemagglutination by the property of lectin activity; other functions are immunoregulation and vasodilation during placentation and vascularization. The gene LGALS13 located on 19q13.2 comprising four exons expresses a 32-kDa protein with 139 amino acid residues, PP13. Impaired expression due to mutation in the gene leads to a nonfunctional truncated PP13. The low serum levels predict high risk for the onset of preeclampsia or obstetric complications. Hence, PP13 turned to be an early marker for risk assessment of preeclampsia. The recombinant PP13 and monoclonal antibodies availability help for replenishing PP13 in conditions with low serum levels and for detection and prevention of preeclampsia, respectively

Air-pollution and economics: diesel bus versus electric bus

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) took an initiative to check the overall benefits of introducing electric buses as a suitable replacement for the diesel buses to tackle the burgeoning pollution in the city of Bengaluru, India. For a trial run of three months, an electric bus was procured from a Chinese company `Build Your Dreams' (BYD). Data were collected by BMTC on the operation and maintenance of the bus. This new initiative, if rightly guided, could have a direct impact on the lives of those in the city. An economic analysis of the running as well as maintenance of the electric buses within the city limits was performed. For comparison, the same analysis was performed for the data from the existing diesel bus operating on the same route. On the basis of the study, it can be concluded that the introduction of electric buses as a means of public transport in the city would be beneficial both economically as well as environmentally. The electric bus also makes much less noise, thereby helping reduce noise pollution and makes less vibration when compared to the diesel bus. This results in a more comfortable journey for the passengers

Lid abscess: An unusual presentation of melioidosis

Melioidosis caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei (B. pseudomallei), is an emerging infection in India. Clinical manifestation of melioidosis is variable ranging from localized benign infection to fulminant septicemia. Ocular presentation of melioidosis is rare. However, cases of endophthalmitis, keratitis and orbital infections have been reported. We report the isolation of B. pseudomallei in a 40 year old male, presenting with fever and lid abscess. The patient was treated with meropenem during the acute phase and switched to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole for eradication phas