Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine

175-179

Authors: Karuppusamy Arunachalam, Thangaraj Parimelazhagan

To investigate the antidiabetic effect of aqueous extract of Merremia tridentata (M. tridentata) root (MTRAE) in normal, glucose-loaded hyperglycemic and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Methods: Oral administration of MTRAE at the doses of 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg was studied in normal, glucose-loaded and STZ-diabetic rats. The three doses caused significant reduction in blood glucose levels in all the models. Results: The effect was more pronounced in 100 and 150 mg/kg than 50 mg/kg. MTRAE also showed significant increase in serum insulin, body weight and glycogen content in liver and skeletal muscle of STZ-induced diabetic rats while there was significant reduction in the levels of serum triglyceride and total cholesterol. MTRAE also showed significant antilipidperoxidative effect in the pancreas of STZ-induced diabetic rats. The antidiabetic effect of M. tridentata was compared with glibenclamide, a well known hypoglycemic drug. Conclusions: The results indicate that aqueous extract of M. tridentata root possesses significant antidiabetic activity.

187-191

Authors: Ritesh Jain, Sanmati Kumar Jain

To elucidate the effect of ethanolic extract of Buchanania lanzan Spreng. (B. lanan)bark against cyclophosphamide induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice. Methods: The prevalence of micronuclei in bone marrow, the extent of lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione and the status of the antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase and catalase in liver of mice were used as intermediate biomarkers for chemoprotection. Lipid peroxidation and associated compromised antioxidant defenses in cyclophosphamide treated mice were observed in the liver. Results: Pre-treatment with B. lanzan 250, 500 and 1 000 mg/ kg, p.o., daily for 7 days significantly reduced the chromosomal damage and lipid peroxidation with concomitant changes in antioxidants and detoxification systems. Conclusions: These results point out the presence of chemopreventive phytoconstituents in the crude extract offering protection against cyclophosphamide induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice.

197-201

Authors: Ashish K Das, Papiya Bigoniya, Neelesh K Verma, AC Rana

The study was aimed at evaluating the antiulcer activity of ethanolic extract of Achyranthes aspera (EEAA) leaf. Methods: The anti-ulcer assays were performed on pylorus ligation and chronic ethanol induced ulcer model. The effects of the EEAA on gastric content volume, pH, free acidity, total acidity and ulcer index were evaluated. Results: The percentage of ulcer protection (59.55% and 35.58%) was significantly (P < 0.001) higher in the groups treated with the high dose of EEAA (600 mg/kg), it also reduced the volume of gastric juice and total acidity whereas, gastric pH was increased significantly. Conclusions: The results of this study show significant gastroprotective activity of EEAA may be due to presence of phyto-constituents like flavanoids, saponins and tannins.

210-213

Authors: Poovendran Ponnusamy, Vidhya Natarajan, Murugan Sevanan

To detect in vitro biofilm formation of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) (UPEC) strains isolated from urine specimens and also to determine their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern using 13 commonly used antibiotics. Methods: The present study comprised of 166 urine specimens collected from tertiary care hospitals in and around Coimbatore, South India. All the specimens were subjected to gram staining, bacterial culture and the E. coli strains were screened for biofilm formation using Tube Method (TM), Congo Red Agar (CRA) and Tissue Culture Plate method (TCP) respectively. Subsequently, the antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed by Kirby Bauer-disk diffusion method for the biofilm and non-biofilm producing E. coli strains. Results: Of the 100 (60.2 %) E. coli strains, 72 strains displayed a biofilm positive phenotype under the optimized conditions in the Tube Method and the strains were classified as highly positive (17, 23.6%), moderate positive (19, 26.3 %) and weakly positive (36, 50.0 %), similarly under the optimized conditions on Congo Red agar medium, biofilm positive phenotype strains were classified as highly positive (23, 23 %), moderate positive (37, 37 %) and weakly positive (40, 40%). While in TCP method, the biofilm positive phenotype strains were also classified as highly positive (6, 6 %), moderate positive (80, 80 %) and weakly positive (14, 14 %), it didn’t not correlate well with the tube method for detecting biofilm formation in E. coli. The rates of antibiotic resistance of biofilm producing E. coli were found to be 100 % for chloramphenicol and amoxyclav (amoxicillin and clavulanic acid), 86% for gentamicin and cefotaxime, 84% for ceftazidime, 83% for cotrimoxazole and piperacillin/tazobactam, 75% for tetracycline and 70% for amikacin. Conclusions: This study reveals the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of biofilm and non-biofilm producing uropathogenic E. coli strains.

220-224

Authors: Shyamapada Mandal, Manisha Deb Mandal, Nishith Kumar Pal

To evaluate the antibacterial activity of Ocimum sanctum (O. sanctum) leaf extract, alone, and in combination with chloramphenicol (C) and trimethoprim (Tm) against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. typhi). Methods: The antibacterial activity of ethanolic extract of tulsi, O. sanctum, leaf (TLE; 500 毺g) for 23 S. typhi isolates was determined following agar diffusion. The C (30 毺g) and Tm (5 毺g) activity alone and in combination with TLE (250 毺g) was determined by disk diffusion. The zone diameter of inhibition (ZDI) for the agents was recorded, and growth inhibitory indices (GIIs) were calculated. Results: The S. typhi isolates (n=23), which were resistant to both C (ZDI 6 mm) and Tm (ZDI 6 mm), had TLE (500 毺g) ZDIs 16-24 mm. The ZDIs of C and Tm were increased up to 15-21 mm and 17-23 mm, respectively, when TLE (250 毺g) was added to the C and Tm discs. The GIIs ranged 0.789-1.235 and 0.894-1.352, due to combined activity against S. typhi isolates, of C and TLE and Tm and TLE, respectively. Conclusions: The data suggest that TLE, in combination with C and Tm, had synergistic activity for S. typhi isolates, and hence O. sanctum is potential in combating S. typhi drug resistance, as well promising in the development of non-antibiotic drug for S. typhi infection.

231-233

Authors: Ze-You Li, Yong Wang, Wen-Tao Shen, Peng Zhou

To determine the content of benzyl glucosinolate (BG) in the pulp and the seed and investigate the anti-cancer activity of its hydrolysis product in Carica papaya L. Methods: Determination of BG was performed on an Hypersil BDS C18 column at the wavelength of 214 nm with 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) aqueous solution (A) and 0.1%TFA acetonitrile (B) as the mobile phase. In vitro activity test was adopted with cultured human lung cancer H69 cell in vitro to investigate the inhibition rate of cell proliferation of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) against H69 cell. Results: The pulp has more BG before the maturation of papaya and it nearly disappeared after papaya matured, while the seed contains BG at every stage. Activity test demonstrated that the a higher concentration of BITC would have better inhibition rate of cell proliferation on H69 cell, and the IC50 was 6.5 毺mol/L. Conclusions: BG also can be produced in the pulp of papaya and it will be stored in the seed after the fruit has been matured. The hydrolysis product of BG has certain cancer-prevention anti-cancer activities for human.

243-248

Authors: Pan Wei, Ming Liu, Yan Chen, De-Cai Chen

To clarify the effect of soy isoflavones on prevention of osteoporosis, and the effective dosage of soy isoflavones and its duration. Methods: Random control trials that investigated the association of soy isoflavones and osteoporosis were included in the meta-analysis by researching MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Chinese Biomedical Database up to October 2011. The RevMan software was used for all of the statistical analysis. Results: The present meta-analysis found that soy isoflavones significantly increased the bone mineral density by 54% and decreased the bone resorption marker urinary deoxypyridinoline (DPD) by 23% compared to baseline in women. Using random effects model, the effect of isoflavones on bone mineral density (BMD) regarding menopausal status and isoflavone dose revealed higher weighted mean difference changes were found in postmenopausal women and isoflavone dose above 75 mg/d. Subgroup analysis of trials with menopausal status, supplement type, isoflavone dose and intervention duration that used soy isoflavone extracts resulted in significant different overall effect of DPD using by random effects model. Sensitivity analysis indicated that the effect of soy isoflavones on BMD and DPD was robust. Conclusions: The present meta-analysis reveals that soy isoflavone supplements significantly increase bone mineral density and decrease the bone resorption marker urinary DPD. It shows no significant effect on bone formation markers serum bone alkaline phosphatase. The significant effect of soy isoflavones on BMD and urinary DPD is relative to menopausal status, supplement type, isoflavone dose and intervention duration.