Inflammation and Ovulation

The ovulation is a complex physiological process which is very commonly affected in patients with PCOS. Understanding inflammatory process involved in ovulation is important with respect to its onset, diagnosis and treatment. There are multiple inflammatory factors are associated with ovulation however anovulation and contraception have not been therapeutically explored in context with inflammatory process. Therefore, this chapter is written to help readers to understand the basics of inflammation in ovulation and role of inflammatory mediators in ovulation. This chapter also describes genetic and molecular aspects linked to ovulation

ANTIPROLIFERATIVE AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF LEAVES EXTRACTS OF MORINGA OLEIFERA

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the ethanolic and aqueous extract of leaves of Moringa oleifera for phytochemical constituents, antiproliferative and antioxidant activity.Methods: The ethanolic extract of leaves of Moringa oleifera, belonging to the family Moringaceae was prepared by using soxhlet apparatus and aqueous extract was prepared by using maceration process. The extract was evaluated for its phytochemical constituents. The antiproliferative effects of both extracts were checked by using MTT ([3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide]) assay on HT-29 colon cell line and the antioxidant activity were checked by using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assay. In antiproliferative and antioxidant activity the 5-FU (5-fluro uracil) and Ascorbic acid used as a standard drug for present results conclusion respectively.Results: The results obtained in MTT assay shown that ethanolic extract of Moringa oleifera had a more potent antiproliferative effect (growth inhibition of 62.25% at 100 μg/ml) on HT-29 colon cell line as compared to aqueous extract (% growth inhibition of 27.86 at 100 μg/ml) of Moringa oleifera. The ethanolic extract of Moringa oleifera shown more potent antioxidant activity (% inhibition of ethanolic 75.57 at 100 μg/ml) than aqueous extract (38.16 at 100 μg/ml) of Moringa oleifera. The activity shown by the extract is concentration dependent.Conclusion: In the present study we have investigated that the effect of ethanolic and aqueous leaves extracts of Moringa oleifera possess antiproliferative and antioxidant properties

Impact of Medical Conditions and Medications on Road Traffic Safety

Objectives: Many medical conditions and medicines with therapeutic importance have been shown to impair driving skills, causing road traffic accidents, which leads to great human and economic suffering in Oman. The primary purpose of this study was to assess retrospectively the extent of medical conditions and medications influencing road traffic safety among drivers involved in road accidents. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study among 951 injured or non-injured drivers who reported to Khoula and Nizwa hospitals. We used the Al-Shifa database to find the drivers and contacted randomly selected patients over phone. Results: The majority of victims were male (72.0%), involving personal cars, and reported at Khoula Hospital. The results show that 7.6% of the victimized drivers had a history of medical conditions with diabetes and hypertension (36.1% each) the most common. About 4.0% of victims were on medications of which insulin was the most common (9.4%). Loss of control was contributed to 38.5% of cases followed by dizziness (25.6%), sleep amnesia (10.3%), and blurred vision (7.7%). Other effects blamed by victimized drivers include vertigo, phonophobia, photophobia, back pain, loss of sensation, and headache accounting for 17.9% of cases. Conclusion: Medical conditions and medications influence road traffic safety to some extent in Oman

Hypoglycemic Effect of Calotropis gigantea Linn. Leaves and Flowers in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Objectives: To evaluate the hypoglycemic and anti-diabetic activity of chloroform extract of Calotropis gigantea leaves and flowers in normal rats and streptozotocin induced diabetes.Methods: The hypoglycemic activity in normal rats was carried out by treatment using chloroform extract of Calotropis gigantea leaf and flower 10, 20 and 50 mg/kg, orally. The oral glucose tolerance test was carried out by administering glucose (2 g/kg, p.o), to non-diabetic rats treated with leaf and flowers extracts at oral doses 10, 20 and 50 mg/kg, p.o and glibenclamide 10 mg/kg. The serum glucose was then measured at 0, 1.5, 3 and 5 hr after administration of extracts/drug. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were administered the same doses of leaf and flower extracts, and standard drugs glibenclamide was given to the normal rats or 0.5 ml of 5�0Tween-80, for 27 days. The blood sample from all groups collected by retro-orbital puncture on 7, 14, 21 and 27th days after administration of the extracts/drug and used for the estimation of serum glucose levels using the glucose kit.Results: The Calotropis gigantea leaves and flowers extracts were effective in lowering serum glucose levels in normal rats. Improvement in oral glucose tolerance was also registered by treatment with Calotropis gigantean. The administration of leaf and flower extracts to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats showed a significant reduction in serum glucose levels.Conclusion: It is concluded that chloroform extracts of Calotropis gigantea leaves and flowers have significant anti-diabetic activity

Antioxidant Properties Mediate Nephroprotective and Hepatoprotective Activity of Essential Oil and Hydro-Alcoholic Extract of the High-Altitude Plant <i>Skimmia anquetilia</i>

There are many high-altitude plants such as Skimmia anquetilia that are unexplored for their possible medicinal values. The present study was conducted to examine the antioxidant activities of Skimmia anquetilia (SA) using in vitro and in vivo models. The SA hydro-alcoholic extracts were investigated using LC-MS for their chemical constituents. The essential oil and hydro-alcoholic extracts of SA were evaluated for pharmacological properties. The antioxidant properties were evaluated using in vitro DPPH, reducing power, cupric reducing antioxidant power, and metal chelating assays. The anti-hemolytic activity was carried out using a human blood sample. The in vivo antioxidant activities were evaluated using CCL4-induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity assay. The in vivo evaluation included histopathological examination, tissue biochemical evaluation such as the kidney function test, catalase activity, reduced glutathione activity, and lipid peroxidation estimation. The phytochemical investigation showed that the hydro-alcoholic extract contains multiple important active constituents such as L-carnosine, acacetin, linoleic acid, leucylleucyl tyrosine, esculin sesquihydrate, etc., similar to the components of SA essential oil reported in a previous study. The high amount of total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) reflect (p p p p p < 0.001) levels. Tissue-based activities showed a major rise in catalase, reduced glutathione, and reduced lipid peroxidation activities. We conclude from this study that the occurrence of a high quantity of flavonoid and phenolic contents had strong antioxidant properties, leading to hepatoprotective and nephroprotective activity. Further active constituent-specific activities should be evaluated

Anthropometric and body composition analysis of infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome

أهداف البحث: لتقييم مكونات الجسم، والملف الشخصي للجسم البشري للنساء المصابات بالعقم اللاتي تم تشخيصهن بمتلازمة المبيض المتعدد التكيسات، والتحقق في الإصابة والعلاقة النسبية لمكونات دهون الجسم ومتلازمة المبيض المتعدد التكيسات. طرق البحث: أجريت دراسة مراقبة الحالة في المستشفى على مجموعة مكونة من ١٣٢ من المريضات مع أو بدون متلازمة المبيض المتعدد التكيسات. تم استخدام تحليل المقاومة الكهربائية البيولوجية لتسجيل مكونات الجسم مثل إجمالي الدهون بالجسم، والدهون بالأحشاء، والدهون تحت الجلد، ومكونات عضلات الهيكل العظمي وتوزيعها في الجذع، والساقين والذراعين بالإضافة إلى ضغط الدم. كما تم تسجيل الملف الشخصي للجسم البشري ويتضمن مؤشر كتلة الجسم، ووزن الجسم المثالي، ومحيط الخصر، ومحيط الورك ونسبة الخصر إلى الورك. النتائج: متوسط عمر الإصابة لمتلازمة المبيض المتعدد التكيسات كانت ٢٩. ٧٤ ±٣٫٣٢عاما وكانت الغالبية منهن في الأعلى إلى العالي جدا لفئة الدهون بالأحشاء مع ارتباط كبير. وإجمالي توزيع الدهون بالجسم، وكامل الدهون تحت الجلد، وللجذع، والذراع والساق كانت أعلى بكثير في متلازمة المبيض المتعدد التكيسات. كما كان معدل مؤشر كتلة الجسم، ومحيط الخصر والورك لمجموعة متلازمة المبيض المتعدد التكيسات ٢٨٫٢±٦٫٠٨، ٩٧٫٤٤±١٥٫١١سم، ١٠٩٫٢٢±١٧٫٣٩سم على التوالي. وأظهرت النتائج أيضا زيادة ملحوظة في ضغط الدم الانبساطي والمتوسط لمرضى متلازمة المبيض المتعدد التكيسات بالمقارنة بمجموعة التحكم. الاستنتاجات: أظهرت الدراسة مستويات عالية لمؤشر كتلة الجسم، وتوزيع الدهون بالجسم، ومحيط الخصر والورك، وضغط الدم الانبساطي والمتوسط، والدهون بالأحشاء، وزيادة غير متكافئة في مستوى الدهون الشاملة وتوزيعه