Pakistani print media coverage of environmental issues: a comparative study of Urdu and English newspapers

Newspaper is the powerful mass media which has played a leading role in the dissemination of knowledge and in building global awareness of different problems in particular in prevalent environmental issues. The purpose of this research is to examine the environmental crisis coverage in both Pakistan's Urdu and English press. It also seeks to examine the role and purpose of the newspaper in environmental awareness. For this analysis, the researchers have examined the content of the two national newspapers: the English (Dawn) and Urdu (Aaj) newspapers. Based on the study findings, it has been confirmed that the government and the general public accept the importance of the issue, if the media set the agenda for a matter. In this respect, the results of the study showed that the media did not develop an appropriate agenda for environmental problems in the country

Cytotoxic, antitumour-promoting and inhibition of protein denaturation effects of flavonoids, isolated from <i>Potentilla evestita</i> Th. Wolf

<div><p>This study was designed to evaluate the isolated flavonoids (chrysin <b>1</b>, and umbelliferone <b>2</b>) from <i>Potentilla evestita</i> for cytotoxic, antitumour-promoting and inhibition of protein denaturation activities. The results showed marked cytotoxic effect of compounds <b>1</b> and <b>2</b> in brine shrimp cytotoxic assay at various concentrations with LD₅₀ of 34.5 and 31.8 mg/mL, respectively. In Epstein–Barr-virus early antigen activation assay, both compounds <b>1</b> and <b>2</b> illustrated significant antitumour-promoting effect with IC₅₀ values of 462 and 308 mol ratio/32 pmol TPA, respectively. The cytotoxic and antitumour-promoting effects of compounds were strongly supported by inhibition of protein denaturation activity with IC₅₀ of 119 and 112 μg/mL, respectively. In conclusion, both compounds possess strong cytotoxic, antitumour-promoting and inhibition of protein denaturation activities.</p></div

Anti-hyperalgesic activity of crude extract and 7-methyljuglone of <i>Diospyros lotus</i> roots

<div><p>This study was designed to evaluate the antihyperalgesic effect of crude extract of <i>Diospyros lotus</i> followed by the isolation and characterisation of 7-methyljuglone in acetic acid and formalin tests. The pretreatment of crude extract evoked dose-dependent inhibition of noxious stimulation with maximum effect of 56.78% in acetic acid-induced writhing test, which were 51.89% and 60.69% in first and second phases, respectively, at 100 mg/kg i.p. The structure of 7-methyljuglone was confirmed by spectroscopic analysis. 7-Methyljuglone evoked profound increase in pain threshhold dose dependently; when it was studied in acetic acid-induced writhing test with 63.73% pain attenuation while 51.22% and 65.44% pain amelioration in first and second phases, respectively, at 100 mg/kg i.p. In conclusion, crude extract and 7-methyljuglone of <i>D. lotus</i> roots possessed both peripheral and central antinociceptive potential and thus could be a useful new therapeutic agent.</p></div

Bioassay-guided isolation of antibacterial constituents from <i>Diospyros lotus</i> roots

<div><p>The aim of this study was to explore the extract/fractions and compounds of <i>Diospyros lotus</i> against various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria strain. The results showed marked susceptibility of extract and its fractions against test pathogens. Among them, chloroform fraction was most dominant and effective against all tested bacteria. The chloroform fraction was subjected to column chromatography which led to the isolation of lupeol (<b>1</b>), 7-methyljuglone (<b>2</b>), β-sitosterol (<b>3</b>), stigmasterol (<b>4</b>), betulinic acid (<b>5</b>), diospyrin (<b>6</b>) and 8-hydroxyisodiospyrin (<b>7</b>). Among the isolated compounds, betulinic acid (<b>5</b>) showed significant activity against most of the tested pathogen. In conclusion, our study validated the traditional uses of the plant in the treatment of infectious diseases which was also strongly supported by the isolated compound, betulinic acid (<b>5</b>).</p></div

Antimicrobial and inhibition on heat-induced protein denaturation of constituents isolated from <i>Polygonatum</i><i>verticillatum</i> rhizomes

<div><p>This study was designed to assess the susceptibility of various microorganisms and inhibition on heat-induced protein denaturation against diosgenin and santonin, isolated from <i>Polygonatum verticillatum</i> rhizomes. Both diosgenin and santonin showed significant zone of inhibition when studied against various Gram-positive (<i>Bacillus subtilis</i>, <i>Bacillus cereus</i>, <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and <i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i>) and Gram-negative bacteria (<i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Salmonella typhi</i>). In antifungal assay, only santonin exhibited profound sensitivity against various fungi (<i>Aspergillus flavus</i>, <i>Aspergillus niger</i>, <i>Trichoderma harzianum</i> and <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>) used in the test. Both diosgenin and santonin also exhibited marked attenuation on heat-induced protein denaturation in a concentration-dependent manner with EC₅₀ values of 375 and 310 μg/mL, respectively. In conclusion, both the isolated compounds have antimicrobial potential supported by strong inhibition on protein denaturation and thus support the antimicrobial uses of plant in traditional system of treatment.</p></div

<i>In vivo</i> antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of umbelliferone isolated from <i>Potentilla evestita</i>

<div><p>This study was designed to evaluate the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of a compound, umbelliferone, isolated from the chloroform fraction of <i>Potentilla evestita</i> in animal models. When tested against acetic acid-induced noxious stimulus, it significantly prolonged pain threshold and provided 38.38% and 60.95% reduction in abdominal constriction at 5 and 10 mg/kg i.p., respectively. Post-umbelliferone injection evoked significant dose-dependent reduction in noxious stimulation with 33.65% and 58.89% pain attenuation at 5 and 10 mg/kg i.p., respectively, in the initial phase. In the late phase, it illustrated more dominant effect with 37.65% and 63.79% blockade of painful sensation. Similarly, it exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity during various assessment times (1–5 h) with 46.28% and 66.13% amelioration after 4th of administration against induced oedema. In conclusion, umbelliferone possessed strong antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities by inhibiting both peripheral and centrally acting pain mediators.</p></div

Phytochemical analysis, antimicrobial, antioxidant and urease inhibitory potential of <i>Cyphostemma digitatum</i> Lam.

<div><p>In this paper we report the antimicrobial, antiradical and urease inhibitory potential along with photochemical investigation of the crude extracts of <i>Cyphostemma digitatum</i> Lam. Phytochemical screening of both the crude (hot/cold) alcoholic and aqueous extracts of <i>C. digitatum</i> showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, coumarins, steroids, terpenoids and tannins. The crude methanolic extract (hot/cold) exhibited good antioxidant activity, while the aqueous extract was a weak antioxidant. The crude methanolic extract was found to be more active against <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>, while both the extracts showed moderate antifungal potential, the methanolic crude extract showed good urease inhibitory activity compared with the aqueous crude extract.</p></div

Antioxidant, antimicrobial and urease inhibiting activities of methanolic extracts from <i>Cyphostemma digitatum</i> stem and roots

<div><p><i>Cyphostemma digitatum</i> stem and roots extracts were investigated for antioxidant, antimicrobial, urease inhibition potential and phytochemical analysis. Phytochemical screening of the roots and stem extract revealed the presence of secondary metabolites including flavonoids, alkaloids, coumarins, saponins, terpenoids, tannins, carbohydrates/reducing sugars and phenolic compounds. The methanolic extracts of the roots displayed highest antioxidant activity (93.518%) against DPPH while the crude methanolic extract of the stem showed highest antioxidant activity (66.163%) at 100 μg/mL concentration. The methanolic extracts of both stem and roots were moderately active or even found to be less active against the selected bacterial and fungal strains (Tables S2 and S3). The roots extract (methanol) showed significant urease enzyme inhibition activity (IC₅₀ = 41.2 ± 0.66; 0.2 mg/mL) while the stem extract was found moderately active (IC₅₀ = 401.1 ± 0.58; 0.2 mg/mL) against thiourea (IC₅₀ = 21.011; 0.2 mg/mL).</p></div

Comparative urease enzyme inhibition profile of leaves and stems of <i>Rumex nervosus</i> vahl

<div><p>Ureases inhibitory agents are becoming important because of their application in treating many aliments. This work describes the urease inhibitory potential of the crude extracts of leaves and stems of <i>Rumex nervosus</i>, which includes crude extracts as well as various sub-fractions, <i>n</i>-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. The crude extracts of stems and leaves exhibited promising ureases inhibition (IC₅₀ values of 17.5 ± 0.84 and 29.6 ± 0.96 μg/mL, respectively). Among the sub-fractions, methanol-soluble fractions of leaves and stems showed significant inhibition having IC₅₀ values of 21.9 ± 0.67 and 21.5 ± 0.69 μg/mL, respectively, followed by ethyl acetate fractions of stems and leaves.</p></div

Biofunctional properties of <i>Eruca sativa</i> Miller (rocket salad) hydroalcoholic extract

<p><i>Eruca sativa</i> Miller is a worldwide common alimentary plant (rocket leaves). The aim of this study was to correlate the potential <i>in vitro</i> scavenging activity of the <i>E. sativa</i> hydroalcoholic extract (HAE) with its <i>in vivo</i> hypoglycaemic effect. In DDPH free radical (DFR) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assays, HAE in a concentration dependent manner (25–100 μg/mL) displayed a strong scavenging activity with maximum effect of 88% and 75% at 100 μg/mL, respectively. Daily administration of HAE (50 mg/kg; p.o.) in the <i>in vivo</i> model of alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits for 28 days showed significant reduction in glycaemia, also supported by recovery of body weight. In conclusion, our results give preliminary information on the potential use of this plant as a nutraceutical, useful to control and/or prevent a hyperglycaemic status.</p