Antidiarrhoeal Activity of Kedrostis Foetidissima Leaf Extract on Experimentally Induced Diarrhoea in Mice

INTRODUCTION:Diarrhoea is a condition of having three or more loose or liquid stools per day (Kasper et al., 2005). It is a common cause of death in Third World Countries and the second most known cause of children deaths worldwide (Weber, 1996; WHO, 2009). The loss of fluid and electrolytes through diarrhoea can cause dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. In 2009, diarrhoea was estimated to have caused 1.1 million deaths in people aged 5 years and over, and 1.5 million deaths in children under the age of 5 years. Oral rehydration solutions are the treatment of choice and have been estimated to have saved 50 million children in the past 25 years (Wilson, 2005). Diarrhoea due to infection, may last a few days or several weeks, as in persistent diarrhoea. Severe diarrhoea may be life threatening due to fluid loss in watery diarrhoea, particularly in infants and young children, the malnourished and people with impaired immunity. The impact of repeated or persistent diarrhoea on nutrition and the effect of malnutrition on susceptibility to infectious diarrhoea, can be linked to a vicious cycle amongst children, especially in developing countries. It is also associated with other infections such malaria and measles. Chemical irritation of the gastrointestinal tract or non-infectious bowel disease can also result in diarrhoea (Kasper et al., 2005). Diarrhoea is caused by a host of bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms most of which can be spread by contaminated water. It is more common where there is a shortage of clean water for drinking, cooking and cleaning, and basic hygiene is important in prevention. Water contaminated with human faeces, for example, from municipal sewage, septic tanks and latrines is of special concern. Animal faeces also contain micro-organisms that can cause diarrhoea. It can also spread from person to person, aggravated by poor hygiene. Food is another major cause of diarrhoea when it is prepared or stored in unhygienic conditions. Water can contaminate food during irrigation, and fish and seafood from polluted water may also contribute to the disease. Worldwide, around 1.1 billion people lack access to improved water and 2.4 billion people have no basic sanitation. These will increase susceptibility to diarrhoea. AIM OF THE STUDY: Aim of the study is to screen the anti-diarrhoeal activity of ethanolic leaf extract of kedrostis foetidissima in mice. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: Diarrhoea is common disease annually about 4 to 5 million diarrhoeal deaths occur in the developing countries through out the world (Senthil Nagaraj D et al., 2013). Now drug available in market for diarrhoea has variety of side effect. So there is need for a continuing search for effective anti-diarrhoeal drugs without side effect. In recent years, the interest in plant-based medicine has increased worldwide. kedrostis foetidissima have many therapeutic uses in the practice of traditional medicine. This herb has been used to treat a number of disorders including inflammation, malaria, fever, worms, pain, diuresis, cancer, abortion, and various gastro-intestinal disorders. There is no scientific evidence on the antidiarrheal activity of kedrostis foetidissima. Hence, the present study was designed to evaluate the claims of the native practitioners. SUMMARY: Diarrhoea accounts for more than 5-8 million deaths worldwide each year in age less than 5 years especially in developing countries. To combat this problem the world health organization has initiated a diarrhoea disease control program to study traditional medicine practices and other related aspects together with the evaluation of health education and prevention approaches. Plants have been a valuable source of natural product for maintaining human health for many years. About 80% of individuals from developed countries receive traditional medicines including compounds derived from medicinal plants. Such medicinal plants can e exploited since it has been shown that they are important sources of new chemical substances with potential therapeutic effects. Kedrostis foetidissima belonging to the family, Curcubitaceae, traditionally used for the treatment of diarrhoea in children. So far no scientific evidence available for its antidiarrhoeal potential, so effort has been taken to prove its traditional claim by screening the antidiarrhoeal activity of ethanolic leaf extract of Kedrostis foetidissima in mice. Phytochemical analysis was carried for the ethanolic leaf extract which shows the presence of tannins, terpenoids, flavanoids. Adult Wistar albino mice were used in the study for evaluating the antidiarrhoeal acitivity. Well established antidiarrhoeal models like Measurement of faecal output, Castor oil induced diarrhoea and charcoal meal induced gastrointestinal transit test were performed. For above test, the animals were divided into 4 groups of six animals each. Group I served as control received CMC solution, Group II and III were administered with 200 and 400 mg/kg of ethanolic leaf extract of Kedrostis foetidissima respectively. Group IV served as reference control, received 5mg/kg of Loperamide. The result showed that, in measurement of faecal output there was significant decrease in feacal out was observed with Kedrostis foetidissima, in castor oil induced diarrhoea test, both the doses of Kedrostis foetidissima reduced the number of diarrhoeal episodes and in charcoal meat test, there was significant decrease in % of distance travelled by the charcoal marker in dose-dependent manner. From the above it was concluded that, ethanolic leaf extract of Kedrostis foetidissima exhibited antidiarrhoeal activity in animal models. CONCLUSION: From the present research work, it is concluded that the ethanolic leaf extract of Kedrositis foetidissima selected for pharmacological screening with a special reference to anti-diarrhoeal activity. Traditionally the leaves of Kedrositis foetidissima was used to control diarrhoea. Literature review on Kedrositis foetidissima reveals the plant possess antimicrobial, antitumor and wound healing activity. Phytochemical analysis shows the presence of triterpeniods saponins, carbhohydrates, tannins, flavanoids , resins, sterols etc. Kedrositis foetidissima leaf extract exhibited anti-diarrhoeal property in dose dependent manner in three different models. Further study has to be conducted by isolating the active principal responsible for anti-diarrhoeal property which may add a new herb anti-diarrhoeal agent

Scalable noninvasive amplicon-based precision sequencing (SNAPseq) for genetic diagnosis and screening of β-thalassemia and sickle cell disease using a next-generation sequencing platform

β-hemoglobinopathies such as β-thalassemia (BT) and Sickle cell disease (SCD) are inherited monogenic blood disorders with significant global burden. Hence, early and affordable diagnosis can alleviate morbidity and reduce mortality given the lack of effective cure. Currently, Sanger sequencing is considered to be the gold standard genetic test for BT and SCD, but it has a very low throughput requiring multiple amplicons and more sequencing reactions to cover the entire HBB gene. To address this, we have demonstrated an extraction-free single amplicon-based approach for screening the entire β-globin gene with clinical samples using Scalable noninvasive amplicon-based precision sequencing (SNAPseq) assay catalyzing with next-generation sequencing (NGS). We optimized the assay using noninvasive buccal swab samples and simple finger prick blood for direct amplification with crude lysates. SNAPseq demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity, having a 100% agreement with Sanger sequencing. Furthermore, to facilitate seamless reporting, we have created a much simpler automated pipeline with comprehensive resources for pathogenic mutations in BT and SCD through data integration after systematic classification of variants according to ACMG and AMP guidelines. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the NGS-based high throughput SNAPseq approach for the detection of both BT and SCD in a single assay with high sensitivity in an automated pipeline

A rare presentation of primary (AL) amyloidosis

Primary amyloidosis is a multi-system disease, involving renal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, articular and nervous systems. Peripheral neuropathy occurs in 10-35% of patients and is the presenting feature in 10% of cases. Clinical involvement of the autonomic nervous system is well recognized, although uncommon. Most patients develop features of autonomic dysfunction including postural hypotension, impotence, gastrointestinal disturbances, impaired sweating and loss of bladder control. Nearly 25% develop a superimposed carpal tunnel syndrome caused by amyloid infiltration of the flexor retinaculum at the wrist. We report a case of a 53-year-old man, who presented with autonomic dysfunction, who on investigation was found to have systemic AL amyloidosis. The constellation of painful dysesthesia, autonomic dysfunction and a history of carpal tunnel syndrome should alert the physician of the possibility of amyloidosis

A rare syndrome of central diabetes insipidus with spastic cerebellar ataxia

The syndrome of central diabetes insipidus (cDI) and spastic cerebellar ataxia is rare with only a few reports in the literature. We report the case of a 21-year-old patient who was diagnosed to have central diabetes insipidus at the age of 7 years and presented to us at the age of 21 years with progressive spastic cerebellar ataxia that evolved over four years. His MRI showed normal hyperintense signal from the posterior pituitary. The persistence of posterior pituitary signal in patients with cDI is unusual and is observed in the familial variety of cDI, the possible etiology in our patient. A brief review of the literature on the rare syndromic association of cerebellar ataxia and cDI has been discussed