IT may occasion some surprise to those men of science who are ill-acquainted with India, and who so frequently express the view that Governments are unappreciative of the importance of science to learn that as far back as 1886 the Government of India arranged for Dr. George (later Sir George) Watt, professor of botany in the Presidency College, Calcutta, to prepare a "Dictionary of the Economic Products of India". The six volumes of this standard work were published during the years 1889-99. In 1908 Sir George Watt published a condensed version, "The Commercial Products of India". Whatever the defects of these 'dictionaries', they have been of inestimable value to all interested in Indian natural products. The Wealth of India A Dictionary of Indian Raw Materials and Industrial Products. Raw Materials, Vol. 1. Pp. xxvii+254+39 plates. 15 rupees ; 24s. Industrial Products, Part 1. Pp. xii+182+8 plates. 8 rupees ; 12s. (New Delhi : Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948.)

The Wealth of India

Metal nanoparticles synthesis: An overview on methods of preparation, advantages and disadvantages, and applications

A wide range of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) have been explored for their essential oils in the past few decades. Essential oils are complex volatile compounds, synthesized naturally in different plant parts during the process of secondary metabolism. Essential oils have great potential in the field of biomedicine as they effectively destroy several bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens. The presence of different types of aldehydes, phenolics, terpenes, and other antimicrobial compounds means that the essential oils are effective against a diverse range of pathogens. The reactivity of essential oil depends upon the nature, composition, and orientation of its functional groups. The aim of this article is to review the antimicrobial potential of essential oils secreted from MAPs and their possible mechanisms of action against human pathogens. This comprehensive review will benefit researchers who wish to explore the potential of essential oils in the development of novel broad-spectrum key molecules against a broad range of drug-resistant pathogenic microbes.

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Antimicrobial Properties of Plant Essential Oils against Human Pathogens and Their Mode of Action: An Updated Review.

Introduction Japanese encephalitis (JE) is among the most important viral encephalitides in Asia, especially in rural and suburban areas where rice culture and pig farming coexist. (1-3) It has also occurred rarely and sporadically in northern Australia and parts of the Western Pacific. (4-6) JE is due to infection with the JE virus (JEV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus. The main JEV transmission cycle involves Culex tritaeniorhynchus mosquitoes and similar species that lay eggs in rice paddies and other open water sources, with pigs and aquatic birds as principal vertebrate amplifying hosts. (1,2,7) Humans are generally thought to be dead-end JEV hosts, i.e. they seldom develop enough viremia to infect feeding mosquitoes. Fewer than 1% of human JEV infections result in JE. Approximately 20-30% of JE cases are fatal and 30-50% of survivors have significant neurologic sequelae. (8) JE is primarily a disease of children and most adults in endemic countries have natural immunity after childhood infection, but all age groups are affected. In most temperate areas of Asia, JEV is transmitted mainly during the warm season, when large epidemics can occur. In the tropics and subtropics, transmission can occur year-round but often intensifes during the rainy season. (1-3) The global incidence of JE is unknown because the intensity and quality of JE surveillance and the availability of diagnostic laboratory testing vary throughout the world. Countries that have implemented high-quality childhood JE vaccination programmes have seen a dramatic decline in JE incidence. Although JE is reportable to the World Health Organization (WHO) by its Member States, reporting is highly variable and incomplete. In the late 1980s, Burke and Leake estimated that 50 000 new cases of JE occurred annually among the 2.4 billion people living in the 16 Asian countries considered endemic at the time (approximate overall annual incidence: 2 per 100 000). (2) In the intervening two decades, despite major population growth, urbanization, changes in agricultural practices and increased use of the JE vaccine in many countries, this figure has been widely quoted, including very recently. (9-13) In 2000, assuming an annual, age-group-specific incidence of 25 cases per 100 000, Tsai estimated that in the absence of vaccination 175 000 cases of JE would occur annually among Asian children aged 0-14 years living in rural areas. (14) The current study used more recent, published, local or national incidence estimates and current population data to produce an updated estimate of the annual global incidence of JE. Methods We approximated the JE-affected territory of each of the 24 countries endemic for JE using a recent update (15) of an earlier approximation by Tsai (16) with some modifications (Table 1, available at: http://www.who.int/bulletin/ volumes/89/10/10-085233). Based on these same approximations, (15,16) we then stratified the JE-affected territory of some countries (e.g. China excluding Taiwan, India and Nepal) into two or more incidence strata. Because suitable studies of JE incidence were not available for every endemic country or incidence stratum, we sorted JE-endemic countries and incidence strata into 10 incidence groups (A, B, C1, C2 and D through I) based primarily on geographic proximity, ecologic similarity, vaccine programme similarity. Table 1 briefly describes the status of each endemic country's JE vaccination programme as of 2009, according to recent publications and unpublished sources. (8,17-20) Incidence data We identified studies that contained potentially useful data on the incidence of JE in Asia in a manner similar to the one used in a recent study of global typhoid fever incidence. (21) Whenever possible, this review followed the relevant guidelines for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). (22) The review process is described as follows and no protocol is available. …

Estimated Global Incidence of Japanese Encephalitis: A Systematic review/Estimation De L'incidence Mondiale De L'encephalite Japonaise: Une Evaluation Systematique/ Incidencia Global Estimada De la Encefalitis Japonesa: Una Revision Sistematica

https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/files/20192880/STOTEN_D_20_04893R2_COVID_19_accepted_article.pdf

COVID-19: A promising cure for the global panic.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infects around 350 million of the global population. The current antivirals are laden with side effects as well as expense burden. An alternative medication based on Ayurveda is being proposed to counter this scenario. Hep-1 to Hep-6 are herbal formulations used for the treatment of hepatitis B virus. They are also indicated for alleviation of hepatotoxicity. The molecular mechanism involved in the anti-HBV activity of these formulations is being studied using in-vitro models for the first time. Inhibition of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) secretion from the transfected human hepatocarcinoma PLC/PRF/5 cells, as well as inhibition of the surface antigen binding was taken up in the present study. These anti-HBV activities were detected by HBsAg specific antibody-mediated enzyme assay (ELISA) at concentrations ranging from 50 to 250µg/mL. The results indicate that the suppression of HBsAg production and inhibition were best observed at 150µg/mL across the extracts. This concentration was used to determine the hepatoprotectivity of these extracts in a Kupffer cell-hepatocyte in-vitro co-culture; determined by the expression of cytokines TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10, in presence of bacterial lipopolysaccharide. Hep-1 was found to be the most suitable formulation showing both anti-HBV activity and optimum hepatoprotectivity during the study. This extract could thus be beneficial in the treatment of liver inflammation.

/pdf/in-vitro-evaluation-of-the-anti-hepatitis-hbv-and-hepato-4p0khopb6y.pdf

In-Vitro Evaluation of the Anti-Hepatitis (HBV) and Hepato-Protective Activity of Herbal Extracts

Vibrio cholerae erupted as leading, unpredictable, potent pathogen to the global fear of reemergence with an ability to cause epidemics and antibiotic resistance. Newer molecular and more discriminatory procedures helping epidemiologists to understand evolution, spread and emergence of newer variants. To study prevalence of V. cholerae and to identify current circulating biotype, serotype, phage type and changing pattern of antibiotic resistogram for epidemiological purpose. Hanging drop preparations (HDP) technique performed on all samples. Identified strains were serotyped using high titer antisera against O1, Ogawa, Inaba and O139. Phage typing by ‘Basu and Mukherjee' & ‘New Scheme' performed. Antibiogram had done using modified Kirby-Bauer’s disc diffusion method by standard CLSI guidelines. HDP showed more specificity (75.77%, HDP + culture positive) than sensitivity (24.22%, culture positive, HDP negative). Gentamycin showed 100% sensitivity. Co-trimoxazol showed 100% resistance from 2008 onwards. T-4 was common phage type been replaced by T-2 by ‘Basu and Mukherjee' scheme while, T27 was the only predominant one by ‘New scheme’. In 2009, newer phage variants observed. High incidence rate of diarrhea due to V. cholerae is of utmost importance. HDP still has a limited role in diagnosis. Important to study biotype, serotype, phage type and resistogram prevalent in that area for epidemiological control purpose. . Appearance of different circulating phage types in Mumbai, probably originating from different parts of country.

Acute gastroenteritis (age) due to vibrio cholerae eltor ogawa in mumbai – a 5 year study

Background: India, being a country where fungal infections are rampant, is urgently in need of effective tools for early and accurate diagnosis of fungal infections. Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) is a recent method which has shown potential in identifying clinically important bacterial pathogens as well as clinically important fungi. The main objective of this study was to compare the utility of MALDI-TOF MS for the identification of fungi against that of conventional methods. Methods: The project was carried out in a tertiary care government hospital in India. Fifty clinical isolates comprising mainly various yeast species were subjected to conventional identification (Phenotypic) as well as MALDI-TOF-MS. Their results were further compared. Results: MALDI-TOF MS showed a high concordance with conventional methods while identifying species like C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis and C. neoformans, although the concordance for species such as Rhodotorula and Trichosporon could only be matched up to genus level. Conclusions: MALDI-TOF MS-based identification is both a rapid and a viable tool for identification of clinically relevant yeast species with good correlation to conventional methods and a quick turnaround time.

MALDI-TOF MS: the proteomic approach, the future of fungal identification in India

In Vitro Production of Secondary Metabolites of Medicinal Plants

Objective: Pepsin has a close resemblance with HIV-protease in proteolytic activity as both of them belong to same aspartate enzyme family. Hence in the present study, pepsin was used as a substitute for HIV-protease. Pepsin assay could be used for preliminary screening of natural products for probable HIV-protease inhibitory activity. Therefore the objective of present study was to prepare 4 extracts namely, Fresh-Aqueous, FreshHydroalcoholic (HA), Dry-Aqueous and Dry-Hydroalcoholic (HA) from fresh as well as air dried leaves of Costus pictus D. Don. and to evaluate their effect on pepsin enzyme. Methods: Pepsin assay was carried out using hemoglobin as a substrate. Further, the antioxidant activity of extracts was monitored using DPPH assay, whereas, phenolic content was estimated using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. Results: All the extracts showed potent inhibitory effect against pepsin enzyme, wherein Fresh-HA revealed the highest inhibitory activity (93.49%) followed by Dry-HA (88.11%). The highest antioxidant potential was exhibited by Dry-HA extract (IC 50 = 1.03mg/ml). Conclusion: The present study suggests that C. pictus might be useful as a HIV protease inhibitor. The inhibitory activity could be attributed to phenolic content of the extracts.

Abhay Chowdhary

Papers

In-Vitro Evaluation of the Anti-Hepatitis (HBV) and Hepato-Protective Activity of Herbal Extracts

Acute gastroenteritis (age) due to vibrio cholerae eltor ogawa in mumbai – a 5 year study

MALDI-TOF MS: the proteomic approach, the future of fungal identification in India

In Vitro Production of Secondary Metabolites of Medicinal Plants

Effect of costus pictus d. don. on pepsin enzyme