There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Assay for lipid peroxides in animal tissues by thiobarbituric acid reaction

There has been increasing interest in the research on flavonoids from plant sources because of their versatile health benefits reported in various epidemiological studies. Since flavonoids are directly associated with human dietary ingredients and health, there is need to evaluate structure and function relationship. The bioavailability, metabolism, and biological activity of flavonoids depend upon the configuration, total number of hydroxyl groups, and substitution of functional groups about their nuclear structure. Fruits and vegetables are the main dietary sources of flavonoids for humans, along with tea and wine. Most recent researches have focused on the health aspects of flavonoids for humans. Many flavonoids are shown to have antioxidative activity, free radical scavenging capacity, coronary heart disease prevention, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities, while some flavonoids exhibit potential antiviral activities. In plant systems, flavonoids help in combating oxidative stress and act as growth regulators. For pharmaceutical purposes cost-effective bulk production of different types of flavonoids has been made possible with the help of microbial biotechnology. This review highlights the structural features of flavonoids, their beneficial roles in human health, and significance in plants as well as their microbial production.

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Chemistry and Biological Activities of Flavonoids: An Overview

The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics A Textbook of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics for Physicians and Medical Students. By Prof. Louis Goodman and Prof. Alfred Gilman. Pp. xiii + 1383. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1941.) 50s. net.

The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics

http://academic.oup.com/milmed/article-pdf/146/7/506/24126715/milmed-146-7-506.pdf

Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics

The unique physicochemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) make them widely used in cosmetics, medicines, food additives, and antibacterial and antiviral compounds. NPs are also used in therapy and diagnostic applications. Depending on their origin, the NPs are commonly classified as naturally occurring and synthetic or anthropogenic NPs. Naturally occurring nanoparticles can be formed by many physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring in all spheres of the earth. However, synthetic NPs are specifically designed or unintentionally produced by different human activities. Owing to their nano size and special properties, the engineered NPs can enter the human body through different routes such as dermal penetration, intravenous injection and inhalation. NPs may accumulate in various tissues and organs including the brain. Indiscriminate use of NP is a matter concern due to the dangers of NP exposure to living organisms. It is possible for NPs to cross the placental barrier, and adversely affect the developing fetus, posing a health hazard in them by causing neurodevelopmental toxicity. Thus, NP-induced neurotoxicity is a topic that demands attention at the maternal-fetal interface. This chapter summarizes the routes by which NPs circumvent the blood-brain barrier, including recent investigations about NPs’ neurotoxicity as well as possible mechanisms involved in neural fetotoxicity.

In-Utero Neurotoxicity of Nanoparticles

Depressive disorders are among most common psychiatric diseases and second most common form of psychiatric illness globally. Commonly available chemical drugs used for treatment of nervous system disorders exert undesirable effects. Therefore, there is a growing need towards exploring novel antidepressants of herbal origin. Earlier, the antidepressant effect of methanolic extract of garlic has been shown. In this study, the ethanolic extract of garlic was prepared and chemically analysed using Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) screening. A total of 35 compounds were found to be present, which might act as antidepressant. Using computational analyses, these compounds were screened as potential inhibitors (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)) against serotonin transporter (SERT)/leucine receptor (LEUT). In silico docking studies and other physicochemical, bioactivity and ADMET studies resulted in the selection of compound 1 ((2-Cyclohexyl-1-methylpropyl) cyclohexane) as potential SSRI (binding energy -8.1 kcal/mol) compared to known reference SSRI fluoxetine (binding energy -8.0 kcal/mol). Analysis of conformational stability, residue flexibility, compactness, binding interactions, solvent accessible surface area (SASA), dynamic correlation, and binding free energy predicted from molecular mechanics (MD) with generalised Born and surface area solvation (MM/GBSA) studies revealed formation of a more stable SSRI like complex with compound 1 having strong inhibitory interaction compared to known SSRI fluoxetine/reference complex. Thus, compound 1 may act as an active SSRI leading to discovery of potential antidepressant drug.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

(2-Cyclohexyl-1-methylpropyl) cyclohexane isolated from garlic extract exhibits antidepressant-like activity: extraction, docking, drug-like properties, molecular dynamics simulations and MM/GBSA studies.

Objective: There are approximately 26% of adults in the world who suffer from hypertension, which is the most common cardiovascular disease. Essential hypertension is mainly caused by endothelial dysfunction which results from nitric oxide (NO) deficiency. The present study sought to determine the impact of O. sanctum leaf extract (OS) in protecting against L-NAME induced hypertension and oxidative stress in wistar rats. Design and method: A non-specific nitric oxide inhibitor, L-NAME, (40 mg/kg/day), was administered to male Wistar rats to induce hypertension. CoQ10 was used as a standard anti-hypertensive compound. All of the other groups received L-NAME combined with OS extract (200 mg/kg/day) orally for three weeks. Following the treatment, hemodynamic parameters were measured using direct cannulation. The lipid profile, kidney and cardiac functions, as well as markers of oxidative stress were evaluated. The results were expressed as mean ± SD. Results: L-NAME was found to cause high blood pressure, NO depletion, oxidative imbalance and damage in cardiac and kidney function in animals. The Cardiac markers enzyme level were significantly increased in L-NAME only group whereas, the CO-treatment group had lower lower of Cardiac markers as compared to control as well as L-NAME group. In hypertensive rats, OS treatment significantly lowers the expression of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and mineralocorticoid receptor expression in hypertensive rats. Concurrent treatment with L-NAME and OS extract prevented the all injuries without affecting the heart rate or raising blood pressure. Conclusions: The results confirm O. Sanctum leaves extract antihypertensive action and indicate its protective properties in the L-NAME induced hypertension model of rats, likely due to the presence of rich antioxidant potential and by inhibiting the inflammation.

Ps-b05-12: antihypertensive and cardio-protective potential of o. sanctum leaves extract in l-name induced hypertensive rats

Pesticide exposure can pose a serious risk to nontarget animals. Cartap is being broadly used in agricultural fields. The toxic effects of cartap on the levels of hepatotoxicity and neurotoxicity have not been properly studied in mammalian systems. Therefore, the present work focused on the effect of cartap on the liver and brain of Wistar rats and made an assessment of the ameliorating potential of A. vera. The experimental animals were divided into 4 groups, comprising six rats in each: Group 1—Control; Group 2—A. vera; Group 3—Cartap; and Group 4—A. vera + Cartap. The animals orally given cartap and A. vera were sacrificed after 24 h of the final treatment and histological and biochemical investigations were conducted in liver and brain of Wistar rats. Cartap at sublethal concentrations caused substantial decreases in CAT, SOD, and GST levels in the experimental rats. The activity levels of transaminases and phosphatases in cartap group were also found to be substantially altered. The AChE activity was recorded as decreasing in RBC membrane and brain of the cartap-treated animals. The TNF-α and IL-6 level in serum were increased expressively in the cartap challenged groups. Histological investigation of liver showed disorganized hepatic cords and severely congested central veins due to cartap. However, the A. vera extract was observed to significantly protect against the effects of cartap toxicity. The protective impact of A. vera against cartap toxicity may be due to the existence of antioxidants in it. These findings suggest that A. vera may be developed as a potential supplement to the appropriate medication in the treatment of cartap toxicity.

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Amelioration of Hepatotoxic and Neurotoxic Effect of Cartap by Aloe vera in Wistar Rats

The alterations in the activities of acid and alkaline phosphatase are good indicators of stress due to the exposure of fish to any toxicant. The perturbations in their activities may result in the decreased immune responses and intestinal microflora activity. In the present study, the effect of sublethal concentrations of lindane (0.025, 0.05 and 0.1 mg/l) in different tissues of C. punctatus exposed for 96h has been studied. The data showed decrease in the acid phosphatase (AcP) activity in the following order: gills>muscle>heart>brain>kidney>liver, respectively, and for the Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) the order was gills>liver>muscle> heart>brain>kidney, respectively, for 96h treatment. At highest concentration of lindane (0.1 mg/l) tested; the maximum decrease in AcP activity was recorded in gills (47.11%) and minimum in liver (15.02%). The other organs such as muscle, heart, brain and kidney exhibited 38.12, 30.85, 29.97 and 16.85% decrease, respectively. The activity of ALP showed maximum decrease in gills (27.93%) and minimum in kidney (0.98%). At highest concentration of lindane (0.1 mg/l) tested, the brain, heart, liver and muscle registered 1, 6.29, 18.84 and 14.25% decrease in ALP activity, respectively, under this condition.

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Bechan Sharma

Papers

In-Utero Neurotoxicity of Nanoparticles

(2-Cyclohexyl-1-methylpropyl) cyclohexane isolated from garlic extract exhibits antidepressant-like activity: extraction, docking, drug-like properties, molecular dynamics simulations and MM/GBSA studies.

Ps-b05-12: antihypertensive and cardio-protective potential of o. sanctum leaves extract in l-name induced hypertensive rats

Amelioration of Hepatotoxic and Neurotoxic Effect of Cartap by Aloe vera in Wistar Rats

Evaluation of Levels of Phosphatases in the Lindane Exposed Fish, Channa punctatus