Anti-diarrhoeal activity of ethanolic extract of heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium roxb.

Diarrhoea is a common cause of death in developing countries and second most common cause of infant’s death worldwide. Pterocarpus marsupium is a medicinal herb belonging to the family Fabaceae has been traditionally used in the treatment of diarrhoea. They were found to contain tannins, alkaloids, saponins, sterols, triterpenes and reducing sugars. This study evaluated the antidiarrhoeal activity of ethanolic extract of heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium induced by castor oil and magnesium sulphate in rat at 200 and 400 mg/kg b.w. The doses were given orally and showed significant antidiarrhoeal activity comparable with that of the standard drug loperamide. The statistical analyses of results were carried out using one-way analysis (ANOVA) followed by Student t-test.  On the basis of these findings, it can be assumed that Pterocarpus marsupium could be a potential source for novel discovery for antidiarrhoeal. These results may support the fact that this plant is used traditionally to cure diarrhoea. Keywords: Pterocarpus marsupium, Anti-Diarrhoeal, Castor Oil, Magnesium Sulphate, Loperamid

Analgesic Activity of Hydroalcoholic Leave Extract of the Putranjiva roxburghii.

Background: this study was aimed to assess the possible analgesic activity of Putranjiva Roxburghii in albino’s Wister rats. Method: Rats were divided in 5 groups of 6 animal each, I group served as control, II group as standard (Pentazocin) while group III, IV and V were treated with leaves extract of Putranjiva Roxburghii at doses of 20,100,200 and 400 mg/kg respectively. The statistical analysis of results were carried out using and one way (ANOVA) followed by students t-test. Result and Discussion: the analgesic activity was determined based on the reaction time. The effect of the hydroalcoholic leaves extract of Putranjiva Roxburghii and references also evaluated. The hydroalcoholic leaves extract of Putranjiva Roxburghii administered orally the four different doses produced significant analgesic activity and reduced Pentazocin induced reaction time (analgesic effect) in dose dependent manner. The effect of 400 mg/kg (p.o.) having better activity than 100 and 200 mg/kg was similar to that of reference drug Pentazocin (5 mg/kg, p.o.). Conclusion: the results showed that hydroalcoholic leave extract of Putranjiva Roxburghii has a 400 mg/kg act as significant for analgesic activity. Keywords: Analgesic, Pentazocin, reaction time

EVALUATION OF ANTIDIABETIC ACTIVITY OF LEUCOMERIS SPECTABILIS EXTRACT IN ALLOXAN-INDUCED DIABETIC RATS

The objective of the study is to investigate the hydro alcoholic leaves extract of Leucomeris spectabilis (Asteraceae) for hypoglycemic effects in normal and diabetic rats. Acute oral toxicity study indicated that HAE was safe up to a dose of 2000 mg/kg body weight of rats and screened for antidiabetic activity in alloxan (120 mg/ kg, i.p.) induced diabetic rats for 21 days along with phytochemical analyses of HAE were also carried out. In-vivo evaluation of the extracts decreased blood sugar levels with significant improvement in blood glucose level, serum marker enzymes (SGPT, SGOT and ALP) and the content at the end of 1, 2 and 3rd weeks after HAELC treatment. The results suggest of antidiabetic activity study revealed that HAE possesses significant (p < 0.05) hypoglycemic activity compared to diabetic rats group. The results showed that the hydroalcoholic leaves extract has significantly most of effect in 200mg/kg.  Keywords: Leucomeris spectabilis, Leaves, Acute oral toxicity, Alloxan, Ant-diabetic activity

LAXATIVE ACTIVITY OF HYDROALCOHOLIC LEAVES EXTRACT OF PUTRANJIVA ROXBURGHII.

Background: This study was aimed to assess the possible laxative effect of roxburghii hydroalcoholic leaves extract of Putranjiva in albino’s Wistar rats. Method: Rats were divided in 5 groups of 6 animals each, I group served as control, II group as standard (sodium picosulfate) while group III, IV and V were treated with leaves extract of Putranjiva roxburghii at doses of 250, 500 and 750 mg/kg respectively. The statistical analysis of results were carried out using and one-way analysis (ANOVA) followed by Student t-test. Result and Discussion: The laxative activity was determined based on the weight of the faeces matter. The effects of the hydroalcoholic leaves extract of Putranjiva roxburghii and reference also evaluated. The hydroalcoholic leaves extract of Putranjiva roxburghii administered orally at three different doses produced significant laxative activity and reduced loperamide induced constipation in dose dependent manner. The effect of the extract at 500 mg/kg (p.o.) was similar to that of reference drug sodium picosulfate (5 mg/kg, p.o). Conclusion: The results showed that hydroalcoholic leaves extract of Putranjiva roxburghii has a significant laxative activity. Keywords: Laxative, Loperamide, Constipation

Prediction of NOx emissions and pathways in premixed ammonia-hydrogen-air combustion using CFD-CRN methodology

Ammonia-hydrogen blends have gained significance as they are carbon-free energy-dense fuels. However, NOx emissions have been a significant concern. In this study, the emissions from the premixed combustion of 70/30VOL.% NH3/H2 blend is studied using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD)- chemical reactor network (CRN) approach. The velocity, temperature, and species field are first obtained using CFD, based on which, a network consisting of perfectly stirred reactors (PSR) and plug flow reactor (PFR) is constructed. Three mechanisms have been implemented in the CRN to predict the NO and N2O emissions. It is shown that the trend of NOx is correctly predicted by the CRN over a wide range of equivalence ratios (φ) of 0.65–1.2 as compared to the authors’ recently published experimental data. It is demonstrated that a single CRN (based on the CFD for a specific φ) can be run to cover the range of = 0.65 to 1.2 b y scaling the temperature input to each reactor of the CRN. To contrast the NO pathways at different φ, quantitative reaction pathway diagrams (QRPD) are constructed, and dominant production and consumption pathways of NO for lean and rich combustion are established. The shifts in reaction pathways with φ are noted and found to be governed by OH, O, and H radicals. Next, the effect of stoichiometry on these radicals is established. Finally, the experimental trend of high NO close to stoichiometric combustion and high N2O in very lean combustion along with their respective pathways are explained

Epigenetic Silencing of miRNA-338-5p and miRNA-421 Drives SPINK1-Positive Prostate Cancer.

PURPOSE: Serine peptidase inhibitor, Kazal type-1 (SPINK1) overexpression defines the second most recurrent and aggressive prostate cancer subtype. However, the underlying molecular mechanism and pathobiology of SPINK1 in prostate cancer remains largely unknown. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: miRNA prediction tools were employed to examine the SPINK1-3\u27UTR for miRNA binding. Luciferase reporter assays were performed to confirm the SPINK1-3\u27UTR binding of shortlisted miR-338-5p/miR-421. Furthermore, miR-338-5p/-421-overexpressing cancer cells (SPINK1-positive) were evaluated for oncogenic properties using cell-based functional assays and a mouse xenograft model. Global gene expression profiling was performed to unravel the biological pathways altered by miR-338-5p/-421. IHC and RNA in situ hybridization were carried out on prostate cancer patients\u27 tissue microarray for SPINK1 and EZH2 expression, respectively. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay was performed to examine EZH2 occupancy on the miR-338-5p/-421-regulatory regions. Bisulfite sequencing and methylated DNA immunoprecipitation were performed on prostate cancer cell lines and patients\u27 specimens. RESULTS: We established a critical role of miRNA-338-5p/-421 in posttranscriptional regulation of SPINK1. Ectopic expression of miRNA-338-5p/-421 in SPINK1-positive cells abrogates oncogenic properties including cell-cycle progression, stemness, and drug resistance, and shows reduced tumor burden and distant metastases in a mouse model. Importantly, we show that patients with SPINK1-positive prostate cancer exhibit increased EZH2 expression, suggesting its role in epigenetic silencing of miRNA-338-5p/-421. Furthermore, presence of CpG dinucleotide DNA methylation marks on the regulatory regions of miR-338-5p/-421 in SPINK1-positive prostate cancer cells and patients\u27 specimens confirms epigenetic silencing. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed that miRNA-338-5p/-421 are epigenetically silenced in SPINK1-positive prostate cancer, although restoring the expression of these miRNAs using epigenetic drugs or synthetic mimics could abrogate SPINK1-mediated oncogenesis. See related commentary by Bjartell, p. 2679