Effect of Integrated nutrient management (INM) on growth attributes, biomass yield, secondary nutrient uptake and quality parameters of bhendi (Abelmoschus esculentus L.)

Organic manure from different sources could be an effective substitute of chemical fertilizers. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted to study the impact of various sources of organic manures viz., sole application of composted pressmud, vermicompost, sewage sludge and farmyard manure and its combination with various levels of inorganic fertilizers on growth attributes, biomass yield, yield attributes, secondary nutrient uptake and its available status and quality parameters of bhendi (A. esculentus (L.) Moench). The results indicated that application of pressmud @ 5 t ha-1 with 50 per cent recommended dose of fertilizer had recorded the highest calcium and magnesium uptake of 30.9 and 15.4 kg ha-1 respectively and biomass yield of 2233.2 kg ha-1, In comparison to control, the increases in biomass yield and calcium and magnesium uptake were 20 and 51 and 136% higher under the same set of treatment combinations . The results revealed that treatment received with pressmud application @ 5 t ha-1 along with 50 per cent recommended dose of fertilizers registered highest available calcium and magnesium content of 0.14 and 0.28% respectively. In addition to that, there was an improvement in growth parameters such as plant height and number of branches plant-1 at all the growth stages of crop and also quality attributes viz., crude fibre (10.2%) and mucilage content (1.56%) were recorded significantly highest by same treatment compared to control (15.0 and 1.2% respectively). Among the organics, pressmud based inorganic fertilizers application was suitable for higher biomass yield, improvement in quality parameters and also maintaining the fertility status of the secondary nutrients in soil

A prospective study on comparison of cervical length measured transvaginally and bishop score in predicting successful labour induction

Background: Induction of labour is one of the common interventions in obstetric practice. Cervical assessment has been used as a prediction of the successful vaginal delivery. This study is designed to investigate transvaginal ultrasonographic cervical measurement as a predictor of duration of labour and successful induction resulting in vaginal delivery and compare the performance of ultrasonographic cervical measurement with that of the Bishop score in predicting the outcome of labour induction.Methods: It is a prospective observational study. In this study, for the 100 primigravida women with gestational age of 37-42 weeks of gestation admitted for induction of labour, the cervical length was measured by transvaginal ultrasound and then Bishop Score was assessed by digital examination. Predictive values for successful labour induction were detected and compared.Results: Using Spearman’s rho correlation both TVS cervical length and Bishop score have significant correlation in predicting the success of induction of labour. Cervical length is the better predictor of the likelihood of delivering vaginally within 24hrs.  In the receiver operating characteristic curves, the best cut-off points for the prediction of successful induction was 26mm for cervical length and 4 for the Bishop Score. However, TVS cervical length appears to be a better predictor than the Bishop Score, with a sensitivity of 58.1% and a specificity of 100% compared to 70.3% and 45.5% respectively.Conclusions: Transvaginal sonographic measurement of cervical length is a better predictor of the likelihood of successful induction of labour within 24hrs of induction and increased vaginal deliveries within 48 hours of induction when compared to Bishop Score

DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF FORSKOLIN BUCCAL MUCOADHESIVE MICROSPHERES

Objective: The objective of the present study was to develop buccal mucoadhesive microspheres of Forskolin (FSK) for hypertension. Methods: The microspheres were prepared by orifice ionic gelation method using different ratios of Sodium alginate and Kondagogu gum. Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy study shows that drug and other excipients are compatible with each other. A 22 full factorial design was applied to optimize the formulation considering concentration of Sodium alginate and Kondagogu gum as independent variables; % swelling index and In vitro % muco adhesion as dependent variables. Results: The prepared formulations were characterized for % yield, drug entrapment efficiency, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and in vitro drug release. Microspheres prepared with the ratio of sodium alginate: kondagogu gum (1:1.5) showed swelling index 37±3 % and in vitro mucoadhesion 73±3%. SEM images confirmed that microspheres are a hollow spherical structure to a smooth surface morphology. The drug entrapment efficacy of all the formulations was in the range of 58.42±1.2–79.52±1.5 %. Conclusion: The values of coefficient correlation (r) were calculated and were found to be zero order release from prepared formulation (K2)

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract of Bauhinia purpurea bark

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant efficacy of ethanolic extract of Bauhinia purpurea bark (EBP) in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Carrageenan induced paw edema and air pouch inflammation, arachidonic acid induced ear edema and complete freund’s adjuvant (CFA) induced hematological alterations were studied in control and experimental rats. Administration of EBP (200mg, 400mg, 600 mg/kg body weight) showed a significant and dose dependent inhibition of paw edema and ear edema and also reversed the hematological alterations near to normalcy. DPPH assay and measurement of MDA levels showed potent antioxidant activity of EBP. With increase in concentration of EBP, improvement in walking scores of motility test confirmed the anti-inflammatory activity of EBP. Acute toxicity studies demonstrated non toxic nature of EBP even at higher doses. Together, our results demonstrate that EBP has potent anti-inflammatory as well as potent antioxidant properties validating the folk medicinal use of this species