COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF KRIMIGHNA DRUGS MENTIONED IN THE AYURVEDIC PHARMACOPOEIA OF INDIA

Ayurveda is the science of life having wide description of Krimighna dravya in its literature. Ayurvedic pharmacopeia of India published by the Ministry of AYUSH is a monograph of single drugs; which is very popular for all stack holder of Ayush system of medicines. This article details the review of single drugs mentioned in API part I (Vol I to VI) and their screening for Krimighna (antimicrobial) properties. Present article also aims for validating classical fact with published scientific research work. Authors searched 54 drugs out of 519 single drugs described in the API & it was found most of Ayurvedic Krimighnadravya were recognized for having antimicrobial property which was established through various Preclinical & clinical work carried out by the scientific community. Authors collected data with references to validate API drugs having antimicrobial property. All screened content can be taken for various high-tech research work by various students in MD, PhD or in the various other project of CSIR, DST, EMR project of CCRAS for further development of new drugs and conversion of available drugs to latest dosage form

EMERGING QUALITY CONTROL PERSPECTIVES FOR AYURVEDIC DRUG

Ayush system of medicines based Herbal Pharmaceutical industry (ASU & H drug mfg) is having great potential and opportunities in India for development in future because of global acceptability of the medicinal plants & their value added products in Domestic & International Market as Ayurvedic, Unani and Siddha medicines, Herbal Nutraceuticals, Herbal Cosmoceutical, Herbal Health drinks, Dietary Health Supplements, Medicinal Plants / Crude Drugs, Herbal Extracts / Concentrates, Veterinary Medicines, Health Foods. India is rich with 771468 registered Ayush practitioners, 8667 licensed Ayurvedic drug manufacturing units. Quality Control/Assurance is the department, which controls all activities at various level of manufacturing as National & International standard. Ministry of Ayush continues to lay emphasis on up gradation of AYUSH educational standards, Quality control and standardisation of drugs, improving the availability of medicinal plant material, research and development and awareness generation about the efficacy of the system domestically and internationally. There are various issues & challenges related to drug quality for ASU&H Pharmaceutical Industries in India. It needs proper attention of policy makers and regulator & academia. Complete Implementation of GMP (schedule T) norm/guidelines and quality control/assurance procedure and activities is a big challenge for ensuring quality of drug

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children <18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p<0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p<0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p<0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Variations in killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor and human leukocyte antigen genes and immunity to malaria

Malaria is one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world. Immune responses to Plasmodium falciparum malaria vary among individuals and between populations. Human genetic variation in immune system genes is likely to play a role in this heterogeneity. Natural killer (NK) cells produce inflammatory cytokines in response to malaria infection, kill intraerythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum parasites by cytolysis, and participate in the initiation and development of adaptive immune responses to plasmodial infection. These functions are modulated by interactions between killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and human leukocyte antigens (HLA). Therefore, variations in KIR and HLA genes can have a direct impact on NK cell functions. Understanding the role of KIR and HLA in immunity to malaria can help to better characterize antimalarial immune responses. In this review, we summarize the different KIR and HLA so far associated with immunity to malaria.This work was supported through the DELTAS Africa Initiative (Grant no. 107743), that funded Stephen Tukwasibwe through PhD fellowship award, and Annettee Nakimuli through group leader award. The DELTAS Africa Initiative is an independent funding scheme of the African Academy of Science (AAS), Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) and supported by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency) with funding from the Wellcome Trust (Grant no. 107743) and the UK government. Francesco Colucci is funded by Wellcome Trust grant 200841/Z/16/Z. The project received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 695551) for James Traherne and John Trowsdale. Jyothi Jayaraman is a recipient of fellowship from the Centre for Trophoblast Research

Optimization of <i>Parisheka kriyakalpa</i> (procedure for closed eye irrigation) 3: A clinical study on acute conjunctivitis with <i>Triphala</i> decoction

107-112Scientific validation of any drug, therapy, protocol or procedure requires a standardized procedure of manufacturing process, execution of the protocol or therapeutic procedure for standardization if the formulation protocol or procedure has variables in literature and practice; they need to be optimized first following a systematic approach with prospective clinical application for further validation of the optimized data. Netra Parisheka/Seka foremost topical ocular therapeutic procedure had similar prevalence of variability in literature and practice. To meet the above criteria and to achieve the objective of standardization; optimization of SOP of Netra Parisheka procedure was thought to be the pre-requisite. Using all adopted parameters, total 51 (68 eyes) patients were enrolled out of which 50 (67 eyes) patients completed the study. Highly significant result with P value > 0.001 of Netra Parisheka procedure for a period of four days in dose of 750 ml, 500 ml & 250 ml for Vata, Pitta & Kaphaja Netra roga, respectively, temperature 37.2–37.7 oC, height 6-6.5 cm, duration 5–15 min, width 1.5-2.0 mm in Aamavastha of Netra roga (acute inflammatory condition of the eye) and shows its definite role of the procedure in the conversion of Aamavastha to Niraamavastha (remission of acute inflammatory sign) after 4th day. In some cases complete remission of symptoms was observed, i.e., 40%, while more than 70 % patients were having improvement in their signs and symptoms

Chemical characterization of an <em>Ayurvedic </em> herbo-mineral preparation- <em>Arogyavardhani Vati</em>: A potential tool for quality assurance

176-183‘Rasa Yoga’ the Ayurvedic herbo-mineral preparations have been used for treatment of a variety of ailments since time immemorial. Attempts were made to prepare this Rasa Yoga as per SoPs/ standard guideline mentioned in classical text and to analyze it chemically which includes organoleptic, physicochemical parameters, Assay of Elements by ICP-MS, HPTLC, X-ray diffraction (XRD) to ensure the quality of the drug. The results from HPTLC revealed presence of organic constituents from plant material. The XRD results have indicated that all the samples contained meta-cinnabar (the form of mercury sulphide in the Kajjali added in preparation), haematite Fe2O3 as the identity of Loha bhasma (incinerated iron) used as one of the ingredient and free sulphur. The drug was also tested for residual pesticide and microbiological contamination which were found within permissible limits. The scientific data generated on different parameters utilizing modern advanced technology, would certainly form a basis for enriching the standards for quality assurance and ensuring the reproducibility of the product

Nutritive investigation of plants used in dietetics: with special reference to <i>Yoga</i>

53-59The present study estimated the nutritive values and proximate analysis of some plants used in Ayurveda which are commonly available in the local market of Bangalore. Most of the plants evaluated are used as vegetable in the daily life of the local inhabitants of Bengaluru and adjoining area as recorded in our earlier study. Proximate analysis was done such as estimation of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamin C, calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin B1, B2, B3, fat, calories, crude fiber and other minerals. This paper also covers about the importance of Ahara in “Yoga” which is an age old tradition and has become one of the major holistic approaches for the management and well being around the globe. Apart from the physical activities it is also important to have a healthy and ‘Satvik’ diet which also includes vegetables and fruits. Plants mentioned as diet in classical Ayurvedic literatures also possesses broad spectrum of therapeutic activity. Some of the plants are also used as dietetics and consumed by different populations in India. The results revealed that all the vegetables and fruit selected in the study exhibits high calorific value, vitamin C, iron, etc. which are essential for the development of body