Quantification of biochemical compounds in Bauhinia Variegata Linn flower extract and its hepatoprotective effect

Liver disorders may occur as a result of exposure to chemical compounds capable of inducing the oxidative stress and hepatic injuries. The aim of present study was to investigate the effects of flower extracts of B. Variegata for the treatment of liver injury induced by the CCl₄. About 1 ml/kg body weight (b.w) of CCl4 was induced to experimental mice by intraperitoneal way for 14 days. The methanol and chloroform extracts (100, 200 and 300 mg/kg b.w) were administered to experimental animals for 14 days along with standard drug Silymarine (100 mg/kg b.w). The extracts alone showed no evidence of hepatic toxicity but animals exposed to CCl₄ without the treatment with B. Variegata presented variations in levels of liver enzymes, antioxidant enzymes, proteins and blood cells as well as injuries in liver cells were also observed during histopathological study. However, after the treatments especially with 300 mg/kg b.w of methanol flower extracts levels of liver markers (ALT, AST and ALP), antioxidant enzymes and blood cells decreases and turned towards normal levels. Whereas level of total proteins and bilirubin was improved and damaged liver cells were repaired. The curative activity of flower extracts can be correlated to the higher potential of antioxidants and occurrence of Quercetin and some other organic compounds those were investigated from flower extracts of B. Variegata during HPLC and GC-MS analysis. The finding of this study supports the use of B. Variegata flower formulation in folk medicines.     

Farmers’ knowledge,perception and management of mango mealy bug,Drosicha mangiferae Green (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae), on Mangifera indica in Punjab,Pakistan

In 2004–05, during the December to February about 141 mango farmers were interviewed during peak activity of mango mealy bug in southern Punjab, Pakistan. The objective was to know the farmers’ knowledge, perceptions and practices in the management of mango mealy bug. Most of the farmers (94.33%) reported that Chaunsa variety (king of all mango varieties) was susceptible to mango and irrigation water was the major source of flare up of this pest. Basudin and Supracide were the most commonly used insecticides as 72.92 and 51.77 percent farmers gave positive response and grease bands were applied for the control of mango mealy bug by the majority of the respondents. Hundred percent yield losses was told by 22.7 percent respondents whereas 75 percent, 50 percent and 25 percent losses were reported by 39.7, 31.9 and 14.2 insecticidal spray did not show satisfaction to the respondents for the control of fertilized females of mango mealy bug coming down from the trees. Lack of knowledge about the pest, lack of money, adulterated and shortage of pesticides, lack of unity amongst farmers Further the growers’ views were tested in the field for confirmation and small land holdings were the main constraints for the control of mango mealy bug.     

In silico annotation of unreviewed acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in some lepidopteran insect pest species reveals the causes of insecticide resistance

Lepidoptera is the second most diverse insect order outnumbered only by the Coeleptera. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is the major target site for insecticides. Extensive use of insecticides, to inhibit the function of this enzyme, have resulted in the development of insecticide resistance. Complete knowledge of the target proteins is very important to know the cause of resistance. Computational annotation of insect acetylcholinesterase can be helpful for the characterization of this important protein. Acetylcholinesterase of fourteen lepidopteran insect pest species was annotated by using different bioinformatics tools. AChE in all the species was hydrophilic and thermostable. All the species showed lower values for instability index except L. orbonalis, S. exigua and T. absoluta. Highest percentage of Arg, Asp, Asn, Gln and Cys were recorded in P. rapae. High percentage of Cys and Gln might be reason for insecticide resistance development in P. rapae. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the AChE in T. absoluta, L. orbonalis and S. exigua are closely related and emerged from same primary branch. Three functional motifs were predicted in eleven species while only two were found in L. orbonalis, S. exigua and T. absoluta. AChE in eleven species followed secretory pathway and have signal peptides. No signal peptides were predicted for S. exigua, L. orbonalis and T. absoluta and follow non secretory pathway. Arginine methylation and cysteine palmotylation was found in all species except S. exigua, L. orbonalis and T. absoluta. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor was predicted in only nine species.     

A study on risk assessment of effect of hematoxylin dye on cytotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in freshwater fish: Food and water security prospective research

The cytotoxicity in freshwater fishes due to different industrial dyes in industrial effluents is a major worldwide issue. Hematoxylin dye has a wide range of uses in textile industries and laboratories. This study was aimed to evaluate the toxic effects of hematoxylin's sublethal effect in vitro in Cirrhinus mrigala. The fish was exposed to different grading concentrations of dye in the aquarium. Fish were sacrificed and dissected to remove the kidney after exposure to hematoxylin dye for specific time intervals. Nephrotoxicity and cytotoxicity induced by this dye were detected through histopathology by using the paraffin wax method. Immediate mortality of fish was noticed against the exposure to 0.08 g/L (LC₅₀) concentration of dye, but at 0.008 mg/L and 0.018 mg/L, it showed tremendous tissue damage in the kidneys, significant reduction in fish growth. This dye induced many alterations in the kidney such as tubular degeneration, vacuolation, shrinkage of a glomerulus, reduced lumen, congestion in the kidney, glomerulonephritis, absence of Bowmen space, necrosis of the hematopoietic interstitial tissues, clogging of tubules, necrosis in the glomerulus and increased space between glomerulus and bowmen's capsule. Although this dye has a wide range of biological and industrial applications, a minute amount of hematoxylin released in effluents is quite toxic to aquatic fauna.     

6-Shogaol attenuated ethylene glycol and aluminium chloride induced urolithiasis and renal injuries in rodents

The 6-shogaol, is a flavanone type flavonoid that is abundant in citrus fruit and has a wide range of pharmacological effects. The present study attempted to evaluate the antiurolithic effect of 6-shogaol on ethylene glycol (EG) and ammonium chloride (AC)-induced experimental urolithiasis in rats. The efficacy of 6-shogaol 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg was studied in EG 0.75% (V/V) and AC 1% (W/V) experimentally induced urolithiasis in rats for 21 days. The weight difference, urine volume, the levels of calcium, phosphate, magnesium, oxalate and uric acid in urine was observed. The blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, uric acid in serum and levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) were also measured. Histopathological analyses in kidneys were also performed. The rats weights were higher in the 6-shogaol groups than the urolithiasis group. EG caused a significant increase in serum creatinine (p < 0.05), BUN (P < 0.001), and uric acid (p < 0.01) while treatment with Cystone (750 mg/kg), and 6-shogaol (50 and 100 mg/kg) showed the significant reduction in increased serum levels of creatinine (p < 0.001), uric acid (p < 0.01) and BUN (p < 0.001). Administration of EG and AC showed statistically significant (p < 0.001) elevated levels of MDA and reduction in GSH levels. Treatment of Cystone (750 mg/kg), and 6-shogaol (50 and 100 mg/kg) significantly (p < 0.001) reduced MDA levels and an increase GSH levels as compared to EG and AC-treated group. The histological findings further attested antiurolithiatic properties of 6-shogaol. The present study attributed clinical shreds of evidence first time that claiming the significant antiurolithic effect of 6-shogaol and could be a cost-effective candidate for the prevention and treatment of urolithiasis.     

Viral impacts on honey bee populations: A review

Honey bee is vital for pollination and ecological services, boosting crops productivity in terms of quality and quantity and production of colony products: wax, royal jelly, bee venom, honey, pollen and propolis. Honey bees are most important plant pollinators and almost one third of diet depends on bee’s pollination, worth billions of dollars. Hence the role that honey bees have in environment and their economic importance in food production, their health is of dominant significance. Honey bees can be infected by various pathogens like: viruses, bacteria, fungi, or infested by parasitic mites. At least more than 20 viruses have been identified to infect honey bees worldwide, generally from Dicistroviridae as well as Iflaviridae families, like ABPV (Acute Bee Paralysis Virus), BQCV (Black Queen Cell Virus), KBV (Kashmir Bee Virus), SBV (Sacbrood Virus), CBPV (Chronic bee paralysis virus), SBPV (Slow Bee Paralysis Virus) along with IAPV (Israeli acute paralysis virus), and DWV (Deformed Wing Virus) are prominent and cause infections harmful for honey bee colonies health. This issue about honey bee viruses demonstrates remarkably how diverse this field is, and considerable work has to be done to get a comprehensive interpretation of the bee virology.     

Virological surveillance,molecular phylogeny,and evolutionary dynamics of hepatitis C virus subtypes 1a and 4a isolates in patients from Saudi Arabia

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) subtypes are pre-requisite to predict endemicity, epidemiology, clinical pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection. HCV genotypes 4 and 1 are the most prevalent in Saudi Arabia, however; less consensus data exist on circulating HCV subtypes in infected individuals. This study was aimed to demonstrate the virological surveillance, phylogenetic analysis, and evolutionary relationship of HCV genotypes 4 and 1 subtypes in the Saudi population with the rest of the world. Fifty-five clinical specimens from different parts of the country were analyzed based on 5′ untranslated region (5′ UTR) amplification, direct sequencing, and for molecular evolutionary genetic analysis. Pair-wise comparison and multiple sequence alignment were performed to determine the nucleotide conservation, nucleotide variation, and positional mutations within the sequenced isolates. The evolutionary relationship of sequenced HCV isolates with referenced HCV strains from the rest of the world was established by computing pairwise genetic distances and generating phylogenetic trees. Twelve new sequences were submitted to GenBank, NCBI database. The results revealed that HCV subtype 4a is more prevalent preceded by 1a in the Saudi population. Molecular phylogeny predicts the descendants’ relationship of subtype 4a isolates very close to Egyptian prototype HCV strains, while 1a isolates were homogeneous and clustering to the European and North American genetic lineages. The implications of this study highlight the importance of HCV subtyping as an indispensable tool to monitor the distribution of viral strains, to determine the risk factors of infection prevalence, and to investigate clinical differences of treatment outcomes among intergenotypic and intragenotypic isolates in the treated population.     

Foliar application of ascorbic acid enhances salinity stress tolerance in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) through modulation of morpho-physio-biochemical attributes,ions uptake,osmo-protectants and stress response genes expression

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a major cereal grain and is known as a halophyte (a halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity). We therefore conducted a pot experiment to explore plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange attributes, stomatal properties, oxidative stress and antioxidant response and their associated gene expression and absorption of ions in H. Vulgare. The soil used for this analysis was artificially spiked at different salinity concentrations (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM) and different levels of ascorbic acid (AsA) were supplied to plants (0, 30 and 60 mM) shortly after germination of the seed. The results of the present study showed that plant growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange parameters, stomatal properties and ion uptake were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by salinity stress, whereas oxidative stress was induced in plants by generating the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant cells/tissues compared to plants grown in the control treatment. Initially, the activity of antioxidant enzymes and relative gene expression increased to a saline level of 100 mM, and then decreased significantly (P < 0.05) by increasing the saline level (150 mM) in the soil compared to plants grown at 0 mM of salinity. We also elucidated that negative impact of salt stress in H. vulgare plants can overcome by the exogenous application of AsA, which not only increased morpho-physiological traits but decreased oxidative stress in the plants by increasing activities of enzymatic antioxidants. We have also explained the negative effect of salt stress on H. vulgare can decrease by exogenous application of AsA, which not only improved morpho-physiological characteristics, ions accumulation in the roots and shoots of the plants, but decreased oxidative stress in plants by increasing antioxidant compounds (enzymatic and non-enzymatic). Taken together, recognizing AsA's role in nutrient uptake introduces new possibilities for agricultural use of this compound and provides a valuable basis for improving plant tolerance and adaptability to potential salinity stress adjustment.     

Ribosome induces transdifferentiation of A549 and H-111-TC cancer cell lines

Previously we reported that, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) can induce human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells to form multipotent cell clusters which are able to transdifferentiate into three germ layer derived cell lineages. Later on, we confirmed that ribosome is responsible for the LAB-induced transdifferentiation and ribosomes from diverse organisms can mimic the LAB effect on HDF cells. In our present study we have shown that, upon incorporation of ribosomes, non-small cell lung cancer cell line A549 and gastric tubular adenocarcinoma cell line H-111-TC are transformed into spheroid like morphology those can be transdifferentiated into adipocytes and osteoblast. Our qPCR analysis has revealed that, during the formation of ribosome induced cancer cell spheroids, the expression of the cancer cell associated markers and cell cycle/proliferation markers were altered at different time point. Through our investigation, here we report a novel and a non-invasive approach for cancer cell reprogramming by incorporating ribosomes.