Diversity of flora used for the cure of equine diseases in selected peri-urban areas of Punjab,Pakistan

Background

Plants have widely been used and documented for their therapeutic potential in many parts of the world. There are, however, few reports on the use of plants for the treatment of diseases of equines. To this end, participatory epidemiology and rapid rural appraisal techniques were used to document the plants having pharmacotherapeutic significance against different ailments of equines in selected population of Punjab, Pakistan.

Methods

A survey was conducted to interview a total of 450 respondents (150 from each of the districts of Faisalabad, Lahore and Sargodha of Pakistan) to collect information about disease recognition of the equines and their treatment on a well ? structured questionnaire. A total of 60 plants belonging to 40 families were documented. An inventory was developed depicting detailed information of plants used in treatment of different conditions of equines.

Results

The top ten species of plants used were: Allium cepa, Zingiber officinale, Vernonia anthelmintica, Capsicum annum, Brassica campestris, Trachyspermum ammi, Anethum graveolens, Picrorhiza kurroa, Azadirachta indica, and Citrullus colocynthis. Seeds were the most frequently used (n?=?16/60) parts, followed by leaves (n?=?12/60) and fruits (n?=?11/60) of plants. Based on the combination of different parts of plants used in different ratios and variation in their dose or mode of preparation led to a large number of recipes/remedies against wounds, lameness, bronchitis, colic, anorexia, dermatitis, weakness, parasitism (internal & external), fever, heat stress, urine retention, swelling, toxemia, and indigestion.

Conclusions

This study generated lot of data on phytomedicinal approach for the treatment of ailments in the equines in some selected areas. It would, therefore, be imperative to expand similar studies in other parts of Pakistan and elsewhere. Moreover, use of the documented plants may be validated employing standard scientific procedures, which may have their application in the drug discovery/development by the pharmaceutical industry.

     

Expression of artificial microRNAs in tomato confers efficient and stable virus resistance in a cell-autonomous manner

Expression of artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) in plants can target and degrade the invading viral RNA, consequently conferring virus resistance. Two amiRNAs, targeting the coding sequence shared by the 2a and 2b genes and the highly conserved 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), respectively, were generated and introduced into the susceptible tomato. The transgenic tomato plants expressing amiRNAs displayed effective resistance to CMV infection and CMV mixed with non-targeted viruses, including tobacco mosaic virus and tomato yellow leaf curl virus. A series of grafting assays indicate scions originated from the transgenic tomato plant maintain stable resistance to CMV infection after grafted onto a CMV-infected rootstock. However, the grafting assay also suggests that the amiRNA-mediated resistance acts in a cell-autonomous manner and the amiRNA signal cannot be transmitted over long distances through the vascular system. Moreover, transgenic plants expressing amiRNA targeting the 2a and 2b viral genes displayed slightly more effective to repress CMV RNA accumulation than transgenic plants expressing amiRNA targeting the 3′ UTR of viral genome did. Our work provides new evidence of the use of amiRNAs as an effective approach to engineer viral resistance in the tomato and possibly in other crops.     

Reproductive tissues-specific meta-QTLs and candidate genes for development of heat-tolerant rice cultivars

Plant Molecular Biology - By integrating genetics and genomics data, reproductive tissues-specific and heat stress responsive 35 meta-QTLs and 45 candidate genes were identified, which could be...     

National Assessment of Statin Therapy in Patients Hospitalized with Acute Myocardial Infarction: Insight from China PEACE-Retrospective AMI Study, 2001, 2006, 2011

BackgroundStatin therapy is among the most effective treatments to improve short- and long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction. The use of statin, and the intensity of their use, has not been described in acute myocardial infarction patients in China, a country with a rapidly growing burden of cardiovascular disease.ConclusionsThe use of statin therapy has dramatically increased over the past decade in Chinese patients with acute myocardial infarction. However, half of patients still did not receive intensive statin therapy in 2011.Given that guidelines strongly endorse intensive statin therapy for acute myocardial infarction patients, initiatives promoting the use of statin therapy, with attention to treatment intensity, would support further improvements in practice.     

Proximate composition and elemental analysis in soft tissues of freshwater mussels (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Anodonta anatina</Emphasis>) from the Chashma Lake,River Indus Pakistan

Background

Aquatic invertebrates are playing an important role in assessment of the water contaminants and also serve as a major component of food chain. Freshwater mussels are considered to be the good bioindicator species of aquatic environment and widely used to determine the metals load.

Methods

Proximate composition and elemental analysis were carried out in edible (foot, mantle) and non-edible portion (gills) of freshwater mussels (Anodonta anatina) harvested from various site of Chashma Lake, River Indus Pakistan.

Results

The nutritional components were varied among the studied portion and muscular foot found to be the best part for consumption. Protein and fat contents were significantly higher in foot (15.90±0.88%, 1.19±0.26%) as compared to mantle (10.78±2.24%, 0.27±0.09%) and gills (6.44±1.22%, 0.53±0.15%) respectively. For the macro minerals mantle had high concentration of Ca (46838±984 mg/kg), Na (2706±343 mg/kg), P (6921±1063 mg/kg) and Mn (7207±1046 mg/kg) as compared to foot.

Conclusions

Heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Cr) concentration in edible portions were lower than the permissible limit by WHO whereas the concentration of Pb was slightly higher than the recommended value that might be the risk for the consumers. Being filter feeder gills accumulated the high concentration of all the metals and found to be the key portion for biomonitoring studies. Freshwater mussels of Chashma Lake Indus River are the rich source of protein and all the other micro and macro minerals therefore could be used as an excellent source of food.