Protective effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of Ruta graveolens Linn. leaves on indomethacin and pylorus ligation-induced gastric ulcer in rats

AbstractBackgroundThe search for an ideal and new antiulcer drug has been extended to herbals for novel molecules that decrease the incidence of relapse and afford better protection.ObjectiveThe present study was designed to investigate the protective effect of hydro-alcoholic extract of Ruta graveolens (RGE) Linn. leaves on indomethacin (IND) and pylorus ligation-induced gastric ulcer in Wistar rats.Materials and methodsThe rats of all the six groups were deprived of food for 24 h. Then, the first group received 1 ml/kg/day p.o. of 1% carboxymethylcellulose calcium (CMC), second group 1 ml/kg/day p.o. of 1% CMC and third group 20 mg/kg/day p.o. of IND. Fourth and fifth groups received RGE 200 and 400 mg/kg/day p.o., respectively; while the sixth group 10 mg/kg/day p.o. omeprazole. After 30 min, last three groups received 20 mg/kg/day p.o. of IND also. All these treatments after food deprivation were repeated each day for 5 consecutive days. Pylorus ligation was performed on 6th day in last five groups. After 4 h, stomach by sacrifice of the rats was examined for ulcer index (UI) and gastric mucus. Gastric juice was assessed for acidity, pH and pepsin; while gastric tissues were assessed for thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) and glutathione (GSH).ResultsFifth group showed significant decrease in UI (10.33 ± 0.67), TBARS (0.33 ± 0.03 mmol/mg), free acidity (48.78 ± 5.12 meq/l/100 g), total acidity (99.33 ± 9.31 meq/l/100 g), and pepsin activity (8.47 ± 0.41 μg/ml) levels while it showed significant increase in mucus (412.4 ± 21.6 μg/g), GSH (57.9 ± 4.8 mmol/mg) and pH (3.32 ± 0.27) compared to third group. Percent protection in RGE 400 mg was found to be 63.32 compared to indomethacin.ConclusionRGE possesses antiulcerogenic activity as it exhibits protective effect on gastric ulcer in rats

Enhancing quality of education: a case study on an International Islamic School

Private secondary schools that want to gain competitive edge need to search for effective and creative ways to attract, retain and foster stronger relationships with students. The decision of selecting a school by the parents for their kids is based on a multitude of factors that differ from one society to another depending on its culture, economic status, religion and others. The objective of the present research is to identify and prioritize the factors that can enhance the quality of education in an international Islamic school located in Kuala Lumpur from the perspective of parents. The researchers employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches for data collection. The qualitative data were collected through interviewing 10 parents whose kids are currently enrolled in the school, while the quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire survey based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). A thematic analysis and AHP were used for analysing the qualitative and quantitative data, respectively. Findings from the thematic analysis resulted in 19 factors; however, only 8 factors with higher frequency were selected to represent the factors expected to enhance the quality of education. The AHP analysis resulted in prioritizing these 8 factors according to parents' judgements. The results show that the Islamic environment represents the most desired factor, followed by quality of teachers and school discipline

Flammability and soil burial performance of sugar palm (Arenga pinnata (wurmb) merr) fiber reinforced epoxy composites

This study investigates the effects of soil burial and flammability on sugar palm fibre (SPF) (Arenga pinnata (wurmb) merr)-reinforced epoxy composites. In order to determine the flammability and biodegradability properties, experiments are conducted in accordance with ASTM standards. The hand lay-up method was used to fabricate composite samples with two different weight ratios between epoxy and SPF, which were 70:30 and 50:50. Biodegradability and flammability properties were investigated using horizontal burning tests, limiting oxygen index (LOI), cone calorimetry, and soil burial. It was found that the Epoxy/SPF-50 was the composite that exhibited the fastest degradability at 0.81%/week. The result of the horizontal burning test showed that the addition of SPF reduced the burning rate but slightly increased it at 50 wt% because the ratio between epoxy and SPF exceeds the optimum fibre loading. The Epoxy/SPF-50 exhibited a better LOI value at 23.3 than pure epoxy (control), which was 19.8. From the cone calorimetry test, it was observed that the time to ignition (TTI) and total heat release (THR) values were decreased when the amount of SPF increased. Char production increases the flame-retardant protection of SPF-reinforced epoxy composites. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no published study has been conducted on the flammability and biodegradability characteristics of SPF-reinforced epoxy composites

A Clinical Insight into Gestational Diabetes

Pregnancy is a diabetogenic state manifested by insulin resistance and hyperglycaemia. The age group at risk of getting gestational diabetes is between 20 and 39 years in 96.8% of cases. Gestational diabetes is the development of symptoms and signs of diabetes mellitus during pregnancy and the glucose level reverting to normal during puerperium. Depending on the type of population and the diagnostic criteria used, gestational diabetes is said to complicate 1–16% of all pregnancies. Many researchers in American, European and Asian surveys have reported 3–6% of prevalence. Compared with white European women, the prevalence rate for GD is increased approximately elevenfold in women from the Indian subcontinent, eightfold in South East Asia, sixfold and threefold in Arab and black Afro-Caribbean women, respectively. Such figures draw a potent clinical interest towards gestational diabetes (GD), and this chapter attempts to highlight some major aspects of GD in respect to both the mother and the foetus or the newborn specially emphasizing on its management as per the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO)

Effect of glycerol plasticizer loading on the physical, mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties of arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) starch biopolymers

This research was set out to explore the development of arrowroot starch (AS) films using glycerol (G) as plasticizer at the ratio of 15, 30, and 45% (w/w, starch basis) using solution casting technique. The developed films were analyzed in terms of physical, structural, mechanical, thermal, environmental, and barrier properties. The incorporation of glycerol to AS film-making solution reduced the brittleness and fragility of films. An increment in glycerol concentration caused an increment in film thickness, moisture content, and solubility in water, whereas density and water absorption were reduced. The tensile strength and modulus of G-plasticized AS films were reduced significantly from 9.34 to 1.95 MPa and 620.79 to 36.08 MPa, respectively, while elongation at break was enhanced from 2.41 to 57.33%. FTIR analysis revealed that intermolecular hydrogen bonding occurred between glycerol and AS in plasticized films compared to control films. The G-plasticized films showed higher thermal stability than control films. The cross-sectional micrographs revealed that the films containing 45% glycerol concentration had higher homogeneity than 15% and 30%. Water vapour permeability of plasticized films increased by an increase in glycerol concentrations. The findings of this research provide insights into the development of bio-degradable food packaging

EFFECT OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF GLYCYRIZZA GLABRA AGAINST STEREPTOZOTOCIN AND HIGH FAT DIET INDUCED DIABETES AND HYPERLIPIDEMIA

Objective: To study the effect of ethanolic extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra against streptozotocin and high-fat-diet-induced diabetes and hyperlipidemia.Methods: The present study was conducted on a 14 d model in which Glycyrrhiza glabra extract was given to Streptozotocin (STZ; 50 mg/kg; i. p.) induced diabetic rats fed with high fat diet (HFD), and its protective effect has been studied. The antihyperlipidemic and antihyperglycemic effects have been evaluated on the basis of physical, biochemical as well as histomorphological parameters.Results: The Glycyrrhiza glabra extract pre-treated group showed a significant decrease in biochemical parameters like Total cholesterol (TC), Triglyceride (TG), High-density lipoprotein (HDL), Lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), Alanine transaminase (ALT) compared with D-HFD group (p<0.01). The pre-treated groups also showed significant protection in physical parameters as compared to D-HFD group (p<0.01) which was also confirmed by histopathological studies. All these results were compared and found to be similar with two standard drugs metformin (500 mg/kg) and atorvastatin (10 mg/Kg).Conclusion: This study concluded that alcoholic extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra (500 mg/kg) has significant antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic potential against streptozotocin and high-fat diet induced diabetic hyperlipidemic rats comparable to the clinically used drugs.Keywords: Atherosclerosis, Diabetic hyperlipidemia, Diabetes mellitus, Hyperlipidemia, Lipid profile, Streptozotoci

Bromelain capped gold nanoparticles as the novel drug delivery carriers to aggrandize effect of the antibiotic levofloxacin

To develop bromelain capped gold nanoparticles (BRN capped Au-NPs) as the effective drug delivery carriers of the antibiotic levofloxacin (LvN) and evaluate antibacterial potential of its bioconjugated form compared to pure LvN. BRN capped Au-NPs were synthesized by in vitro method and bioconjugated to LvN using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylamino-propyl)-carbodiimide as activator to form Au-BRN-LvN-NPs. These were characterized for mean particle size by dynamic light scattering analysis, zeta potential by Zetasizer nanosystem analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on carbon coated TEM copper grids by TEM respectively. Drug loading efficiency of LvN was calculated using UV-visible spectroscopy by standard curve of pure LvN. Antibacterial efficacy of Au-BRN-LvN-NPs and pure LvN was determined by evaluating minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Staphylococcus aureus and Eschereschia coli.Two peaks were observed in Au-BRN-LvNNPs spectrum one at 307 nm and other at 526 nm while one peak in BRN capped Au-NPs at 522 nm during UV spectroscopy suggesting red shift. The drug loading efficiency of LvN was found to be 84.8 ± 2.41 %. The diameter of Au-BRN-LvN-NPs and BRN capped Au-NPs were found to be (58.65 ± 2 nm, 38.11 ± 2 nm), zeta potential (-9.01 mV, -13.8 mV) and surface morphology (~13.2 nm, 11.4 nm) respectively. The MICs against S. aureus and E. coli were found to be (0.128 μg/mL, 1.10 μg/mL) for Au-BRN-LvN-NPs and (0.547 μg/mL, 1.96μg/mL) for pure LvN. The results suggested that BRN capped Au-NPs can be used as effective drug delivery carriers of the antibiotic LvN. The Au-BRN-LvN-NPs exhibited enhanced antibacterial activity compared to pure LvN alone

The role of natural products and their multitargeted approach to treat solid cancer

Natural products play a critical role in the discovery and development of numerous drugs for the treatment of various types of cancer. These phytochemicals have demonstrated anti-carcinogenic properties by interfering with the initiation, development, and progression of cancer through altering various mechanisms such as cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Treating multifactorial diseases, such as cancer with agents targeting a single target, might lead to limited success and, in many cases, unsatisfactory outcomes. Various epidemiological studies have shown that the steady consumption of fruits and vegetables is intensely associated with a reduced risk of cancer. Since ancient period, plants, herbs, and other natural products have been used as healing agents. Likewise, most of the medicinal ingredients accessible today are originated from the natural resources. Regardless of achievements, developing bioactive compounds and drugs from natural products has remained challenging, in part because of the problem associated with large-scale sequestration and mechanistic understanding. With significant progress in the landscape of cancer therapy and the rising use of cutting-edge technologies, we may have come to a crossroads to review approaches to identify the potential natural products and investigate their therapeutic efficacy. In the present review, we summarize the recent developments in natural products-based cancer research and its application in generating novel systemic strategies with a focus on underlying molecular mechanisms in solid cancer

Where do T cell subsets stand in SARS-CoV-2 infection: An update

An outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in China in December 2019 and spread so rapidly all around the globe. It\u27s continued and spreading more dangerously in India and Brazil with higher mortality rate. Understanding of the pathophysiology of COVID-19 depends on unraveling of interactional mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 and human immune response. The immune response is a complex process, which can be better understood by understanding the immunological response and pathological mechanisms of COVID-19, which will provide new treatments, increase treatment efficacy, and decrease mortality associated with the disease. In this review we present a amalgamate viewpoint based on the current available knowledge on COVID-19 which includes entry of the virus and multiplication of virus, its pathological effects on the cellular level, immunological reaction, systemic and organ presentation. T cells play a crucial role in controlling and clearing viral infections. Several studies have now shown that the severity of the COVID-19 disease is inversely correlated with the magnitude of the T cell response. Understanding SARS-CoV-2 T cell responses is of high interest because T cells are attractive vaccine targets and could help reduce COVID-19 severity. Even though there is a significant amount of literature regarding SARS-CoV-2, there are still very few studies focused on understanding the T cell response to this novel virus. Nevertheless, a majority of these studies focused on peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ T cells that were specific for viruses. The focus of this review is on different subtypes of T cell responses in COVID-19 patients, Th17, follicular helper T (TFH), regulatory T (Treg) cells, and less classical, invariant T cell populations, such as δγ T cells and mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells etc that could influence disease outcome

Interleukin-10 Producing Regulatory B Cells Transformed CD4+CD25− Into Tregs and Enhanced Regulatory T Cells Function in Human Leprosy

Regulatory B cells (Bregs) are known to exhibit their regulatory functions through interleukin-10 (IL-10) cytokine which suppress inflammation. There are only a few studies explaining the phenotype and functioning of these cells in contribution to host immunity in leprosy. Here, we evaluated the role of IL-10 producing Bregs in the pathogenesis of leprosy and assessed their immunoregulatory effects on Tregs and effector T cells. We found an increased frequency of Bregs and increased expression of their immune modulatory molecules (IL-10, FoxP3, and PDL-1) in leprosy patients. The potential immunoregulatory mechanism of Bregs was also investigated using MACS sorted Teff (CD4+CD25−) and Treg (CD4+CD25+) cells were cocultured with Bregs to elucidate the effects of Bregs on effector T and regulatory T cells. Cell coculture results showed that purified Bregs cells from leprosy patients convert CD4+CD25− cells into CD4+CD25+ cells. Cell coculture experiments also demonstrated that leprosy derived IL-10 producing Bregs enhance FoxP3 and PD-1 expression in Tregs and enhanced Tregs activity. Blocking of IL-10 receptor confirmed that IL-10 producing Breg has immunomodulatory effect on Tregs and effector T cells as effector T cells are not converted into Tregs and enhanced expression of FoxP3 and PD-1 was not observed on Tregs. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that IL-10 producing Breg cells play an important mechanism in controlling the immunopathogenesis of leprosy and have an immunomodulatory effect on Tregs and effector T cells. Our findings may pave way for novel targets of IL-10 producing Bregs for immunotherapy in leprosy patients