Oxidative stress and antioxidant responses of crucian carp, upon chronic exposure to endosulfan, were evaluated in vivo. The lethal concentration (LC50–96 h) was 70 μg L−1; on its basis, the fish were exposed to endosulfan at 20, 35, and 50 μg L−1 and autopsy was done on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35. Lipid peroxidation was induced in a concentration-dependent manner, being highest at 50 μg L−1 (3/4 LC50–96 h, sub-lethal concentration-I, SL-I) on day 4 (720% versus control), followed in its extent (490%) at 30 μg L−1 (1/2 LC50–96 h, sub-lethal concentration-II, SL-II) on day 7 and lowest (260%) at 10 μg L−1 (1/4 LC50–96 h, sub-lethal concentration-III, SL-III) on day 14. Glutathione showed a concentration- and time-dependent elevation in the initial phase, with highest level on day 4 (180%) at SL-I, but showed significant reduction in all test concentrations from day 21 of post-exposure. Superoxide dismutase was decreased significantly throughout the study, with highest reduction (63%) on day 4 at SL-I; catalase increased in all test concentrations up to day 14 but showed a significant decrease from the day 28 of post-exposure. The potential role of these parameters as indicators of pesticide pollution in aquatic systems is discussed.
Context: Medicinal plants continue to act as a repository for novel drug leads with novel mechanisms of action. Podophyllum hexandrum Royale (Berberideceae) treats diverse conditions in folk medicine. Objective: The antimutagenic potential of P. hexandrum was evaluated against endosulfan-induced clastogenicity in a piscine model by cytogenetic endpoints. Materials and methods:Podophyllum hexandrum rhizomes were subjected to successive solvent extraction. Fish were exposed to hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous extracts (15 mg/L each) of plant and endosulfan (0.05 mg/L) alone followed by their combination for antimutagenicity estimates. Chromosomal aberrations (CA) were made from kidney cells and micronuclei (MN) slides from peripheral blood erythrocytes at 48, 72 and 96 h. Antioxidant activity was analyzed by the DPPH assay. Phytochemical analyses were carried out using chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Results: Endosulfan induced significant (p R2 =.900) with antimutagenic activity, whereas EE-F4 seemed to act through a different mechanism. Discussion and conclusion: This study confirms the antimutagenic potential of the subject plant with the identification of some novel compounds, justifying their use in folk medicine, and their corresponding benefit to mankind.
River Jhelum is the sole drainage system of Kashmir, being connected to all the water bodies of the valley directly or indirectly. As a consequence of numerous anthropogenic activities in its catchment spread over the whole of the valley, the river receives large quantities of pollutants throughout its course. In order to have an insight into the present status of the water body, water samples were collected at different sites along the river from Verinag to Shadipora (Sumbal) from October 2011 to August 2012 on monthly basis for the assessment of different physico-chemical parameters. Most of the parameters studied showed increasing trend with the increase in distance from source indicating the deterioration of water quality in close relation to the anthropogenic activities in the catchment area. The data procured during the study are discussed in detail in the present communication.
Context: Medicinal plants are a largely unexplored source of drug repository. Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) is used in traditional medicine to treat diverse conditions.Objective: The present study describes the antidiabetic, antiinflammatory, antibacterial activity, and toxicological studies of Urtica dioica.Materials and methods: U. dioica leaves were subjected to solvent extraction with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol, and aqueous, respectively, and screened for antidiabetic (300 mg/kg bw by glucose tolerance test; GTT), antiinflammatory (200 mg/kg bw by rat paw edema assay) and antibacterial activities [by disc-diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays]. Toxicological studies were carried on Artemia salina and Wistar rats; phytochemical analyses were carried out, using chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques.Results: The aqueous extract of U. dioica (AEUD) significantly (p < 0.001; 67.92%) reduced the blood glucose level during GTT in Wistar rats with an effective dose of 300 mg/kg bw in dose-dependent studies. High-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis showed the presence of hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives and flavonoids in AEUD. Hexane Fraction-2 (HF2) exhibited both antiinflammatory activity (48.83% after 3 h), comparable to that of indomethacin (53.48%), and potent antibacterial activity with MIC values ranging from 31.25–250 µg/mL against all the tested strains. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis showed fatty acid esters and terpenes as the major constituents of HF2. Toxicity tests showed higher safety margin of all the solvent extracts with LC50 > 1000 μg/mL each on A. salina.Discussion and conclusion: Our results showed that the U. dioica leaves are an interesting source of bioactive compounds, justifying their use in folk medicine, to treat various diseases.
Nutrition plays a vital role in overall health, and fiber has emerged as a key component in promoting well-being. Recent research highlights its significance in maintaining gut health, aiding weight management, and benefiting cardiovascular health. Soluble fiber supports beneficial gut bacteria, aids digestion, and prevents constipation. High-fiber diets contribute to weight control by promoting satiety and stabilizing blood sugar levels. Additionally, soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease. Further studies on specific fiber types can optimize dietary recommendations for various health conditions. Encouraging fiber-rich diets empowers individuals to make informed choices and improve their quality of life. This chapter deals with the comprehensive analysis of the current literature on the health effects of fiber-rich diets and their potential implications for healthcare professionals and policymakers.
Context: Medicinal plants continue to act as a repository for novel drug leads with novel mechanisms of action. Podophyllum hexandrum Royale (Berberideceae) treats diverse conditions in folk medicine.Objective: The antimutagenic potential of P. hexandrum was evaluated against endosulfan-induced clastogenicity in a piscine model by cytogenetic endpoints.Materials and methods: Podophyllum hexandrum rhizomes were subjected to successive solvent extraction. Fish were exposed to hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous extracts (15 mg/L each) of plant and endosulfan (0.05 mg/L) alone followed by their combination for antimutagenicity estimates. Chromosomal aberrations (CA) were made from kidney cells and micronuclei (MN) slides from peripheral blood erythrocytes at 48, 72 and 96 h. Antioxidant activity was analyzed by the DPPH assay. Phytochemical analyses were carried out using chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques.Results: Endosulfan induced significant (p < .05) MN, authenticated by scanning electron microscopy, and CA in a time-dependent manner. However, methanol and ethyl acetate extracts revealed ameliorating effects. The column eluted methanolic fraction-2 (ME-F2) showed highest reduction profile of 83 and 84% in CA and MN, followed in its extent (73 and 72%) by ethyl acetate fraction-4 (EE-F4). ME-F2 and EE-F4 showed three and six major peaks when analyzed by GC-MS. To explore possible mechanism of action, ME-F2 showed potent antioxidant potential and strong correlation (R2 = .900) with antimutagenic activity, whereas EE-F4 seemed to act through a different mechanism.Discussion and conclusion: This study confirms the antimutagenic potential of the subject plant with the identification of some novel compounds, justifying their use in folk medicine, and their corresponding benefit to mankind.
The present study describes the anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial activity and lipophilic profile with acute toxicological studies of Urtica dioica. Successive extraction of the leaves with organic solvents of increasing polarity and their screening for anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity was assessed. Hexane extract showed good anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity; hence it was further fractionated using open silica gel column chromatography into 19 sub fractions which were pooled together according to their thin layer chromatography (TLC) profile to give an overall 5 fractions. Among the 5 fractions, fraction-II (FII) at a dose of 200 mg/kg body-weight (bw) exhibits equipotent anti-inflammatory activity (48.83% after 3 h) as that of the standard drug indomethacin (53.48%) in Wistar rats. FII also showed a potent anti-microbial activity against all the tested bacterial strains and its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value was 125, 15.62, 31.25, 250, 31.25, 125 and 7.81 µg/ml against Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae,Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella flexneri and Salmonella typhi, respectively which was determined by serial tube dilution method. FII was subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis in search of potent anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial compound(s). 2,4-Di-t-butylphenol (4.56%), neophytadiene (26.97%), butyl tetradecyl ester (9.53%), dibutyl phthalate (7.45%), bis(2-ethyl hexyl) maleate (8.80%), 1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid (9.89%) and 2-tert-butyl-4,6-bis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzyl)phenol (3.19%) were the major constituents responsible for both anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity of hexane extract of U. dioica. Sub-acute oral toxicity of crude n-hexane extract of U. dioica was carried out in Wistar rats at doses of 250, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg bw to assess the safety index. Hematological parameters from blood and other biochemical parameters from serum confirmed its safety at tested concentrations. Our results corroborate the anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activity of U. dioica, and could justify its use in folk medicine for the treatment of rheumatic arthritis and other infectious diseases.
Key words: Urtica dioica, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), toxicity.
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