REVERSIBLE CONTRACEPTIVE POTENTIAL OF HARAD IN MALE ALBINO MICE

Objective: Developing a male contraceptive of plant origin has always been of great interest among researchers. The aim of present investigation was to evaluate the contraceptive potential of Terminalia chebula R. (Harad) with respect to dose and reversibility in male albino mice.Methods: Aqueous bark extract of Harad was administered orally at 100 (G III), 300 (G IV) and 500 (G V) mg/kg b.w. to males for 35 d, and the effect on histology of testis and accessory sex organs, enzymes 3ß-and 17ß-HSDs, SOD, catalase and LPO levels, sialic acid and fructose levels, sperm parameters, serum testosterone and fertility parameters was determined. Toxicological and recovery studies (G VI and VII) were also carried out.Results: Harad-treated mice showed dose-related histological alterations in reproductive organs with reductions in weights, the height of germinal epithelium, germ cell number and diameter of stage VII tubules, along with adverse effect on biochemical and sperm parameters compared to controls. No alterations were noticed in SOD, catalase and LPO levels, though, mice in G V showed an increased LPO level. Libido was not affected, but fertility suppressed significantly in Harad-treated males (G VI) compared to controls. However, 42 d after treatment withdrawal, alterations in reproductive end points and fertility recovered to control levels. Body and organ weights, histo-architecture of vital organs, levels of ALT, AST and creatinine, and hematological parameters remained unchanged.Conclusion: The results suggest that Harad causes dose-dependent reversible contraception in mice without any toxicity.Â

Evaluation of antispermatogenic and antifertility properties of Terminalia chebula (Retz.) in albino mice

Background: The development of an orally active, safe, reversible, and effective male contraceptive of plant origin has always been a matter of great interest among researchers due to its ready availability, cost-effectiveness, and most importantly protection of privacy.  The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of oral feeding of Terminalia chebula Retz. (T. chebula; family: Combretaceae) on male reproductive organs and fertility. Methods: The albino mice were administered orally acetone, methanol, 50% ethanol, and aqueous bark extracts of T. chebula (300 mg/kg body weight daily) for 35 days, and the effect of the treatments on testis, epididymis, seminal vesicle, sperm parameters, biochemical, and fertility indices was investigated. Toxicological studies were also carried out. Results: Treatment with Terminalia extracts brought non-uniform but detectable histologic alterations in the testis, epididymis, and seminal vesicle; the alterations caused in the reproductive organs were, however, severe in mice treated with the aqueous extract of Terminalia compared to those in other treated groups and controls. Further, the level of fructose in the seminal vesicle and that of sialic acid in the epididymis reduced significantly in the above treated mice. Sperm parameters were adversely affected in extracts-treated mice. Libido was not affected, but fertility reduced significantly in aqueous extract-treated males as compared to controls. Further, histoarchitecture of the liver and kidney, serum levels of ALT, AST, creatinine, and haematological parameters remained unaltered in Terminalia-treated mice compared to controls. Conclusions: The results of the present study, therefore, suggested that the aqueous bark extract of T. chebula causes suppression of spermatogenesis and fertility in albino mice, and therefore, might be valuable in male fertility regulation

Dipole-moment induced capacitance in nanoscale molecular junctions

Nanoscale molecular junctions are celebrated nanoelectronic devices for mimicking several electronic functions including rectifiers, sensors, wires, switches, transistors, and memory but capacitive behavior is nearly unexplored. Capacitors are crucial energy storage devices that store energy in the form of electrical charges. A capacitor utilizes two electrical conductors separated by a dielectric material. However, many oxides-based dielectrics are well-studied for integrating capacitors, however, capacitors comprised of thin-film molecular layers are not well-studied. The present work describes electrochemically grafted thin films of benzimidazole (BENZ) grown on patterned ITO electrodes on which a 50 nm Al is deposited to fabricate large-scale (500 x 500 micron2) molecular junctions. The nitrogen and sulfur-containing molecular junctions, ITO/BENZ/Al act as a parallel-plate capacitor with a maximum capacitance of ~59.6 to 4.79 microFcm-2. The present system can be an excellent platform for molecular charge storage for future energy applications.Comment: 12 Pages, 5 Figure

Comparison of the antioxidant activity and total phenolic, flavonoid content of aerial part of Cleome viscosa L.

Cleome viscosa L. (Capparidaceae), commonly known as “wild mustard”, is an annual, sticky herb found as common weed all over the plains of India and throughout the tropics of the world. In traditional systems of medicine the plant is reported to possess beneficial effects as an anthelmintic, antiseptic, carminative, antiscorbutic, febrifuge, and cardiac stimulant.     The aim of the present study was to evaluate to antioxidant activity of 70% methnolic extract of leaf and stem part of Cleome viscosa (CV) by using different in vitro model such as β carotene bleaching assay, reducing power and free radical scavenging activity (DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity). Total phenolic content were estimated by the Folin–Ciocalteu colorimetric method using gallic acid as standard and expressed as mg/g gallic acid equivalent (GAE) and total flavonoid content was estimated by aluminium chloride colourimetric method. The total phenolic, flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of Cleome viscosa leaves were found to be 66.38±0.82mg/g, 0.54±0.04mg/g and 77.30% respectively. Cleome viscosa leaves showed high free radical scavenging activity as evidenced by the low IC50 values in both DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl) (373.18 μg/ml) and hydroxyl radical (573.55 μg/ml) methods. Cleome viscosa leaves possess high phenolic, flavonoid content and potential antioxidant activity, reducing power and free radical scavenging activity in comparison to stem

Study of Thyroid Function Tests in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

Background: The metabolic syndrome is a constellation of clinical and metabolic abnormalities including abdominal obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. Metabolic syndrome and thyroid dysfunction are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Aims and objectives: To study the prevalence, symptomatology of thyroid dysfunction and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) findings of thyroidin the patients having metabolic syndrome. Material and methods: The study was carried out in 60 cases of metabolic syndrome (according to NCEP ATP III criteria) selected from the medicine outdoor clinic (including diabetic clinics, thyroid clinics) and medicine indoor wards in Post Graduate Department of Medicine, SN Medical College and Hospital, Agra. Diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction was made by history, examination and serum FT4 and TSH. Resultand observations: Out of 60 patients of metabolic syndrome, 30 patients (50%) were euthyroid, 13 patients (21.66%) had subclinical hypothyroid and 12 patients (20%) had overt hypothyroid. Five patients (8.33%) of metabolic syndrome had hyperthyroidism. Truncal obesity was most prevalent (80.0%) component of metabolic syndrome, followed by hypertriglyceridemia (70%). Diabetes mellitus was equally prevalent in both males as well as females and was presentin about 40.0% patients and 53% of patients with metabolic syndrome were hypertensive. Conclusion: This study shows that 50% metabolic syndrome patients had thyroid dysfunction. About 21.66% had subclinical hypothyroidism, 20% had overt hypothyroidism and 8.33% were having hyperthyroidism. The most common symptom in metabolic syndrome patients with hypothyroidism was lethargy/sleepiness followed by dry and coarse skin. The most commonsymptom in hyperthyroid patients was nervousness (100%) followed by sweating, heat intolerance and palpitation in 80% of the patients

Study of Thyroid Function Tests in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

Background: The metabolic syndrome is a constellation of clinical and metabolic abnormalities including abdominal obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia and impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. Metabolic syndrome and thyroid dysfunction are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Aims and objectives: To study the prevalence, symptomatology of thyroid dysfunction and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) findings of thyroid in thepatients having metabolic syndrome. Material and methods: The study was carried out in 60 cases of metabolic syndrome (according to NCEP ATP III criteria) selected from the medicine outdoor clinic (including diabetic clinics, thyroid clinics) and medicine indoor wards in Post Graduate Department of Medicine, SN Medical College and Hospital, Agra. Diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction was made by history, examination and serum FT4 and TSH. Result and observations: Out of 60 patients of metabolic syndrome, 30 patients (50%) were euthyroid, 13 patients (21.66%) had subclinical hypothyroid and 12 patients (20%) had overt hypothyroid. Five patients (8.33%) of metabolic syndrome had hyperthyroidism. Truncal obesity was most prevalent (80.0%) component of metabolic syndrome, followed by hypertriglyceridemia (70%). Diabetes mellitus was equally prevalent in both males as well as females and was present in about 40.0% patients and 53% of patients with metabolic syndrome were hypertensive. Conclusion: This study shows that 50% metabolic syndrome patients had thyroid dysfunction. About 21.66% had subclinical hypothyroidism, 20% had overt hypothyroidism and 8.33% were having hyperthyroidism. The most common symptom in metabolic syndrome patients with hypothyroidism was lethargy/ sleepiness followed by dry and coarse skin. The most common symptom in hyperthyroid patients was nervousness (100%) followed by sweating, heat intolerance and palpitation in 80% of th

Electric Field-induced Charge Transport in Redox-active Molecular Junctions

The formation of well-defined three-dimensional (3D) redox-active molecular nanostructures at the electrode surfaces may open additional routes to achieve higher conductance in molecular junctions (MJs). We report here experimental and theoretical charge transport analysis on electroactive ruthenium(II)-tri(phenanthroline) [Ru(Phen)3]-based molecular junctions covalently grown on patterned ITO electrode. Thicknesses of the molecular layers are varied between 4 to 13 nm, thanks to the potential-driven electrochemical technique to achieve it. A thin layer of Al was deposited on top contact over ITO/ Ru(Phen)3 to fabricate large-area solid-state molecular junctions with a stacking configuration of ITO/[Ru(Phen)3]4nm, 10nm, 13nm/Al. The electrified molecular junctions show LUMO-mediated electron-driven resonant charge conduction with attenuation in conductance as a function of the length of Ru(Phen)3 layers (\b{eta} = 0.48 to 0.60 nm-1). Molecular junctions consisting of 4 nm Ru(Phen)3 layers follow quantum tunneling, while the thicker junctions (10, and 13 nm) follow Poole-Frenkel and electric-field induced charge conduction. Considering the energy level of frontier molecular orbitals, Fermi energy of ITO, and Al contact, a mechanism of symmetric current-voltage features with respect to the bias-polarity is predicted. The present work describes a simple, controllable, low-cost, and versatile approach to fabricating 3D molecular assembly for mimicking conventional electronic functions.Comment: 13 pages, 5 Figure