Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease

175-180

Authors: Mahesh Bandappa Manke, Shashikant Chaburao Dhawale, Prasad Govindrao Jamkhande

Helminthiasis is the most common infection caused by worms that is contaminant to human body parts. Normally, the worms live in the gastrointestinal tract, liver and other organs. The currently available anthelmintic drugs, including albendazole, mebendazole, thiabendazole, niridazole, dietylcarbamazine, ivermectin, praziquantel, are widely used to control helminthiasis. But these drugs have serious drawbacks such as hepatotoxicity, loss of appetite, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache and diarrhea. Thus, it is necessary to look for more effective anthelmintic drugs with the minimum side effects. Eighty percent of the world’s population relies on traditional medicines and plant extracts and the active constituents are used to meet people’s primary health care needs. This review focuses on helminthiasis and the role of traditional plants in the treatment of helminthiasis.

186-189

Authors: Hidayat Hussain, Karl-Heinz Drogies, Ahmed Al-Harrasi, Zahid Hassan, Afzal Shah3 , Usman Ali Rana, Ivan Robert Green, Siegfried Draeger, Barbara Schulz, Karsten Krohn

Objective: To evaluate the antimicrobial potential of fraction of the fungus Fusarium sp. and study the tentative identification of their active constituents. Methods: Six compounds were purified from an fraction of endophytic fungus Fusarium sp. using column chromatography and their structures have been confirmed based on 1 H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer, 2D COSY, heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation experiments. The six isolated compounds were screened for antimicrobial activity using the agar well diffusion method. Results: Phytochemical investigation of endophytic fungus Fusarium sp. lead to the isolation and identification of the following compounds viz., colletorin B, colletochlorin B, LL-Z1272β (llicicolin B), 4,5-dihydroascochlorin, ascochlorin, and 4,5-dihydrodechloroascochlorin. Colletorin B and colletochlorin B displayed moderate herbicidal, antifungal and antibacterial activities towards Chlorella fusca, Ustilago violacea, Fusarium oxysporum, and Bacillus megaterium. On the other hand LL-Z1272β (llicicolin B) showed moderate antifungal activity towards Ustilago violacea and Fusarium oxysporum while 4,5-dihydroascochlorin showed strong antibacterial activity towards Bacillus megaterium. Furthermore, 4,5-dihydrodechloroascochlorin showed very strong antifungal activity towards Eurotium repens. Conclusions: Antimicrobial activities demonstrated by five of the six isolated compounds clearly demonstrate that these fungi extracts and active compounds present a great potential for the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

195-198

Authors: Md. Nazmul Hasan, Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Renkai Guo, Akinori Hirashima

Objective: To estimate the hypoglycemic activity of Blumea lacera (B. lacera) leaf methanol extract. Methods: A study was undertaken for preliminary exploration of hypoglycemic activity via oral glucose tolerance test. B. lacera leaves were dried under shaded sunlight, milled and then macerated in methanol. Glibenclamide was used as reference drug, and 50-400 mg/kg leaf extract was administered orally to four test groups. Results: Treatment of leaf extract on glucose loaded hypoglycemic mice lead to significant (P<0.000 1) reduction of the blood glucose levels in a dose dependent manner. Conclusions: The result suggests that methanolic leaf extract of B. lacera possesses antidiabetic properties, and its use as ethnomedicine for treatment of diabetes.

204-209

Authors: Kollakondan Muthaiya Maria John, Muniappan Ayyanar, Thangavel Arumugam, Gansukh Enkhtaivan, Kijoun Jin, Doo Hwan Kim

Objective: To study the phytochemical class and its antioxidant activity of various extractions of Strychnos minor (S. minor), a rare endemic medicinal plant of South India. Methods: Leaves of S. minor were collected from Agasthiyar Malai hills of South India and shade dried. Different solvent extractions were made for the preliminary screening of phytochemicals and their total flavonoids and polyphenols levels were quantified using standard procedures. Finally, the extracts were studied for their antioxidant potential by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and chelating effects on ferrous ions. Results: Phytochemical screening of the plant shows the presence of various biochemicals like alkaloid, tannins, terpenoids, saponins, flavonoids and resins and absence of phlobatannins. Flavanoids were high with water extracts (6.14 mg/g) and showed high 1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (77.25%) whereas total polyphenols was high with methanol extraction (12.12 mg/g). Ethylacetae extract showed poor flavanoid and polyphenol content which reflected their low antioxidant potential when compared to other extracts. Conclusions: The present study confirms the presence of various phytochemicals which shows good antioxidant potential of S. minor. This work will be helpful to explore the biochemical profile and active compound identification in the field of pharmaceutical research.

214-218

Authors: Christopher Igoche Ogbaje, Idris Alao Lawal, Ologunja Joseph Ajanusi

Objective: To assess Nigerian field isolates of Trypanosoma congolense (T. congolense) and Trypanosoma vivax (T. vivax) to commonly available trypanocides (isometamidium chloride, homidium chloride and diminazene aceturate). Methods: Thirty-six Yankasa sheep of both sexes were used for the study. The sheep were screened for ecto and endoparasites, and acclimatized for 2 weeks before the commencement of the experiment. The animals were randomly divided into six groups of six sheep each. Two groups (A and B) were infected intravenously with phosphate buffer solution dilute infected blood of approximately 2.0×106 of T. vivax and two other groups (E and F) were also infected intravenously with blood containing the same number of T. congolense. The remaining two groups served as uninfected controls. Of the two T. vivax infected groups, one was further divided into three subgroups of two animals each and each of the sub-groups was treated with different trypanocides 9 days after the establishment of parasitaemia. The same treatment was carried out on the T. congolense infected groups. The other infected groups were left untreated. All the animals were monitored for 8 weeks post infection. Prepatent period of 6 d was recorded for both parasite species. Results: T. vivax was found to be resistant to homidium chloride but sensitive to diminazene aceturate and isometamidium chloride at the recommended doses. Conversely, T. congolense was found to be resistant to all the three trypanocides used at the recommended doses. Conclusions: Although, resistance to trypanocides exists, it was observed to be more prominent with T. congolense than T. vivax infected sheep.

224-230

Authors: Thodhal Yoganandham Suman, Radhika Rajasree Santha Ravindranath, Devan Elumalai, Patheri Kuny Kaleena, Rajendiran Ramkumar, Pachiappan Perumal, Lakshminarayanan Aranganathan, Paneer Selvam Chitrarasu

Objective: To assess the larvicidal activity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPS) synthesized from the root aqueous extract of Morinda citrifolia (M. citrifolia) against the larvae of Anopheles stephensi (An. stephensi), Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) and Culex quinquefasciatus (Cx. quinquefasciatus). Methods: The M. citrifolia broth solution was prepared by taking 8 g of the powdered root of M. citrifolia in 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask along with 100 mL of distilled water and boiled for 5 min. About 20 mL of M. citrifolia root extract was added into the 80 mL of an aqueous solution of 5 mmol/L TiO(OH)2 for the reduction under continuous stirring for 4 h at 50 °C. Synthesized TiO2NPS were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction confirmed the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles. Toxicity studies were carried out against non-target fish species Poecilia reticulata, the most common organism in the habitats of An. stephensi, Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus. Results: The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for TiO2NPS synthesized by M. citrifolia root extract showed band at 3 426 cm-1 , 1 637 cm-1 and 714 cm-1 . The 3 426 cm-1 showed O-H stretching due to alcoholic group; 1 637 cm-1 showed N-H bend due to alcoholic group. In particular, the 1 637 cm-1 indicated the presence of H bend bond for 1° for proteins. A peak was observed around 714 cm-1 due to Ti-O-O bond. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed the spherical nature of the nanoparticles with a size of 20.46-39.20 nm. The biosynthesized TiO2NPS showed maximum activity against the larvae of An. stephensi, Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus when compared to the aqueous extract of M. citrifolia. Toxicity studies revealed no toxicity towards Poecilia reticulata at LC50 and LC90 doses of TiO2NPS. Conclusions: TiO2NPS could be used along with Poecilia reticulata in integrated vector control.

234-238

Authors: Sonali Jain, Amit Kumar Singh, Ravinder Pal Singh, Jyoti Bajaj, Ajit Shriram Damle

Objective: To determine the occurrence of tuberculosis (TB) among HIV infected patients and their CD4 + cell count profile. Methods: A total of 263 HIV-seropositive patients either hospitalized or reporting to the antiretroviral therapy centre for follow up were included in the study. HIV-seropositive patients were then investigated clinically, radiologically and microbiologically for diagnosis of pulmonary TB as per the revised guidelines issued by WHO. Two early morning sputum samples were collected from patients, and isolation and identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was done as per standard protocol. Results: Out of them 41 (15.6%) were TB positive and 222 (84.4%) were TB negative. Among TB positive patients, smear positive and culture positive patients were 19 (7.2%), while smear negative and culture positive were 9 (3.4%). Mean CD4 + T cell counts for HIV-seropositive and HIV-related TB patients were 156.14 cells/µL and 197.24 cells/µL respectively. Conclusions: The clinical manifestations in HIV-related TB patients are quite variable and lead to difficulties in diagnosis. Thus radiological evaluation along with proper laboratory investigation in all clinically suspected cases of tuberculosis is the key for prompt diagnosis and treatment.

242-245

Authors: Gholamreza Farnoosh, Mohamadreza Mahmoudian Sani, Kazem Hassanpour, Mostafa Mellat, Ramezan Ali Taheri

Objective: To investigate drug resistance of various strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria isolated from female patients with urinary tracts infections (UTIs) in Shalamzar, Iran. Methods: This study was conducted from April 2011 to April 2012 on 150 female patients with positive urine culture and 105 CFU/mL colony count. The pattern of antibiotic sensitivity was recognized using antibiogram by the disc diffusion method. Results: The results revealed that the predominant bacterium was E. coli (90%), followed by Klebsiella pneumonia (3%). Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is the initial medicine to treat UTIs (without complications) which demonstrated relatively poor activity against E. coli (with 40% sensitivity), though alternative medicines such as nitrofurantoin (97% sensitivity) and ciprofloxacin (91% sensitivity) showed good activity against E. coli as well. Conclusions: The findings emphasized the necessity of pursuing the investigations in national and local governments in order to retain the efficacy of treating UTIs using effective antibiotics.

251-252

Authors: Somsri Wiwanitkit, Viroj Wiwanitkit

Feline disease is usually an important concern in veterinarian medical practice. There are many feline diseases and some have trends to transmit to human. As cat is an important human pet, it is no doubt that zoonosis is important consideration in veterinarian medicine. Here, the author briefly reviews and discusses on the important feline diseases that pose chance for human zoonosis in Thailand, a tropical Southeast Asian country.