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Investigations on biological activity of Vetiveria zizanioides L. Nash, a palingenesis of some important findings in miracle grass
Get PDFVetiveria zizanioides L. Nash synonymously known as Chrysopogon zizanioides L. Roberty (Family: Poaceae/Graminae), widely cultivated in the tropical regions of the world, is a miraculous grass native to India first developed for soil and water conservation by the World Bank during mid 1980s. Popularly known as ‘KHUS’, it is the major source of the well-known oil of vetiver, which is used in medicine, cosmetics and in perfumery making agarbattis, soaps, soft drinks, pan masala. Being a major constituent of ‘Rasayana’ in Ayurveda, different parts of the vetiver plant have traditionally been used by the Indian tribes for treating various ailments, diseases and disorders including boils, burns, epilepsy, fever, scorpion sting, snakebite, sores in the mouth, headache, toothache, weakness, lumbago, sprain, rheumatism, urinary tract infection, malarial fever, acidity relief and as an anti-helmintic. It has also been used in traditional medicine of Asia and Africa, particularly ancient Tamil literature mentions the use of vetiver for medical purposes. The essential oil of vetiver has extensive applications in toiletries and cosmetics, possesses sedative property and has traditionally been used in aromatherapy for relieving stress, anxiety, nervous tension and insomnia. Root is also important in traditional medicine as a carminative, stimulant and diaphoretic. Besides these medicinal properties of the plant, the dried culms of the plant are used as brooms and to thatch roofs. Pulp of the plant is used to prepare straw boards and paper. In India, the roots have been used for making screens, mats, hand fans, and baskets. Formulations containing oil and/or extracts of vetiver have been reported to treat inflammatory bowel disease, urinary tract infection, and in making insect repellents. Research on various aspects of vetiver make it an excellent plant describing many characteristics including phytoremediation, water purification, leachate and effluent disposal, utilizing wastewater, removing nitrogen and phosphorus etc. It is one of the most promising aromatic plants known to possess antimicrobial, antioxidant and termicidal properties. However, the plant has not been studied exclusively for other pharmacological activities and there is a lack of scientific evidence to prove these effects. We are studying bioactivity of vetiver root as a part of our effort to discover plant-based biologically active molecules since last many years using molecular and cell target based assays. In our published reports, we showed potent antibacterial, drug-resistant modifying, hydroxyl radical scavenging, anticancer, antihepatotoxic and antioxidant activity in intact and spent root of vetiver. In view of our findings, the present paper recapitulates some important findings on the bioactivity of Vetiveria zizanioides L. Nash and a palingenesis has been made for this miracle grass
Chemopreventive potential of natural products isolated from a alchornea glandulosa, pterogyne nitens and its semisynthetic analogs
No full textINTRODUCTION: Chemoprevention involves the use of natural or synthetic substances to reduce the risk of developing cancer. Gallic acid was found to possess several pharmacological activities, such as anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory. Guanidine alkaloids display a broad spectrum of biological activities and its cytotoxic effect were well investigated.
OBJECTIVES: The present study evaluated the chemopreventive potential of natural products and its semi-synthetic analogs using quinone reductase (QR) induction, aromatase inhibition and the suppression of NFκB activity, which are well established strategies for screening compounds to cancer chemoprevention. 
METHODS: Gallic acid was isolated from Alchornea glandulosa, and alkyl gallates were prepared from the reaction of the corresponding alcohols with gallic acid or from the reaction with acetic anhydride. The guanidine alkaloids nitensidines A and B were isolated from Pterogyne nitens. All compounds were evaluated for QR induction using murine hepatoma cell line Hepa 1c1c7 and two mutant cell lines; for in vitro aromatase inhibition; and against TNFα-induced NFκB activation with stable transfected 293/NFκB-Luc human embryonic kidney cells. Compounds were tested at 20Bg/mL following 1:3 serial dilutions.
RESULTS: No QR induction was observed at tested concentrations. Nitensidine A and B showed aromatase inhibition (IC50 18,3 ± 8,7 uM), but moderately cytotoxic to Hepa 1c1c7 cells (IC50 5,7 ± 0,6 uM). With IC50 values in a range of 10 to 50 μM, all the gallic acid esters mediated NFκB inhibitory activity. In addition, gallic acid mediated a modest cytotoxic effect, but none of the gallate esters affected cell viability at the tested concentrations. 
CONCLUSION: Based on these intracellular responses, we suggest that gallate esters are related to suppression of NFκB activation, which it could play a chemopreventive role in carcinogenesis
Protocol for Metatranscriptomic analysis of Intestinal Microbiota
Get PDFThe objective of this publication is to provide the detailed protocol for metartancriptomisc studies of animal intestinal microbiota. The protocol describes isolation of high quality microbial community RNA from the mammalian intestinal content, subsequent mRNA enrichment, cDNA synthesis and sequencing. Twelve libraries were prepared, pooled in equimolar concentrations into a single library and sequenced on one GS Titanium 70×75 picotiter plate, following this protocol. The total number of reads obtained for 12 libraries was 1,155,062 (average 96,000 per library) and the combined size of 12 libraries was 521 million bases (average 43 million bases per library). The reported size of non-ribosomal RNA library fraction is ~15%, the fraction of non-ribosomal reads is ~17%. Hence we described a robust technique for metranscriptomic studies of animal intestinal microbiota. The double stranded cDNAs, prepared following this protocol, are suitable for pyrosequencing (454, Illumina), clone library construction or could be used to archive and store metaranscriptomic samples
Codonopsis pilosula twines either to the left or to the right
Get PDFWe report the twining handedness of Codonopsis pilosula, which has either a left- or right-handed helix among different plants, among different tillers within a single plant, and among different branches within a single tiller. The handedness was randomly distributed among different plants, among the tillers within the same plants, but not among the branches within the same tillers. Moreover, the handedness of the stems can be strongly influenced by external forces, i.e. the compulsory left and right forming inclined to produce more left- and right-handed twining stems, respectively, and the reversing could make a left-handed stem to be right-handed and vice versa. We also discuss the probable mechanisms these curious cases happen
Colour reverse learning and animal personalities: the advantage of behavioural diversity assessed with agent-based simulations
Get PDFForaging bees use colour cues to help identify rewarding from unrewarding flowers, but as conditions change, bees may require behavioural flexibility to reverse their learnt preferences. Perceptually similar colours are learnt slowly by honeybees and thus potentially pose a difficult task to reverse-learn. Free-flying honeybees (N = 32) were trained to learn a fine colour discrimination task that could be resolved at ca. 70% accuracy following extended differential conditioning, and were then tested for their ability to reverse-learn this visual problem multiple times. Subsequent analyses identified three different strategies: ‘Deliberative-decisive’ bees that could, after several flower visits, decisively make a large change to learnt preferences; ‘Fickle- circumspect’ bees that changed their preferences by a small amount every time they encountered evidence in their environment; and ‘Stay’ bees that did not change from their initially learnt preference. The next aim was to determine if there was any advantage to a colony in maintaining bees with a variety of decision-making strategies. To understand the potential benefits of the observed behavioural diversity agent-based computer simulations were conducted by systematically varying parameters for flower reward switch oscillation frequency, flower handling time, and fraction of defective ‘target’ stimuli. These simulations revealed that when there is a relatively high frequency of reward reversals, fickle-circumspect bees are more efficient at nectar collection. However, as the reward reversal frequency decreases the performance of deliberative-decisive bees becomes most efficient. These findings show there to be an evolutionary benefit for honeybee colonies with individuals exhibiting these different strategies for managing resource change. The strategies have similarities to some complex decision-making processes observed in humans, and algorithms implemented in artificial intelligence systems
Nitric oxide synthase in skeletal muscle fibres of patients with type 2 diabetes
Get PDFMuscle-derived nitric oxide (NO) mediates fundamental physiological actions on skeletal muscle including glucose uptake into muscle cells. Recently, we have shown that the altered glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with changes in the metabolic profile of individual muscle fibres, but fibre-type specific changes in NO synthase (NOS) expression in skeletal muscle of T2D patients remain to be elucidated. Here we investigated fibre-type related NOS expression in vastus lateralis muscle of T2D patients compared with healthy individuals with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). Cytophotometrical assay and Western blotting did not reveal any quantitative differences between NOS expression in muscles from NGT and T2D subjects. Positive NOS immunoreactivity in vastus lateralis of T2D patients was found to be associated with fast-oxidative glycolytic (FOG) muscle phenotype. This indicates that NOS expression in T2D patients correlates both with skeletal muscle fibre type distribution and the activity of oxidative and glycolytic enzymes
Mummification in a Bitch: A case report
Get PDFA pug aged 5 years was admitted in the Lyka pet clinic with difficulty in parturition. Breeding history of the dog was collected from the owner. X-ray was conducted which confirmed the presence of foetus. The bitch was manually handled to relieve the Dystocia following intravenous drip of N.S.S. and oxytocin. In the vent of unsuccessful attempt the bitch was surgically operated for C.S. and six fetuses of which four normal and two mummified were relieved. Routine post operative care were undertaken and the bitch recovered normally with out any complication. Photographic recording was also made during the recovery of mummified foetus
Critical nutritional stress among adult tribal populations of West Bengal and Orissa, India.
Get PDFThis paper deals with cross-sectional studies carried out during the period 2004-2007. It is based on eight data sets of tribals of Paschim Medinipur and Bankura Districts of West Bengal and Keonjhar District of Orissa. The tribes include Bhumijs, Kora Mudis, Lodhas, Santals, Bathudis and Savars. Height and weight were measured following standard techniques. The body mass index (BMI) was computed following standard equation. Nutritional status (chronic energy deficiency, CED) was evaluated using internationally accepted cut-off values of BMI. We followed the World Health Organization's classification (1995) of the public health problem of low BMI, based on adult populations worldwide. Our results show that, in general, among the tribes studied:
i)Both sexes had very low levels of BMI
ii)There existed high rates of CED indicating a critical nutritional condition 
iii)Women experienced greater nutritional stress
iv)The nutritional situation is similar in both West Bengal as well as Orissa.

Estimation of extracellular lipase enzyme produced by thermophilic bacillus sp. isolated from arid and semi-arid region of Rajasthan, India
Get PDFThermophilic organisms can be defined as microorganisms which are adapted to live at high temperatures. The enzymes produce by thermophilic bacteria are capable of catalyzing biochemical reactions at high temperatures. Thermophilic bacteria are able to produce thermostable lipase enzymes capable of degradation of lipid at temperatures higher than those of mesophilic bacteria. Therefore, the isolation of thermophilic bacteria from natural sources and their identification are quite useful in terms of discovering thermophilic lipase enzymes. Due to great temperature fluctuation in hot arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan, this area could serve as a good source for new thermophilic lipase producing bacteria with novel industrially important properties. The main objective of this research is the isolation and estimation of industrially important thermophilic lipase enzyme produced by thermophilic bacteria, isolated from arid and semi-arid region of Rajasthan. For this research purpose, soil samples were collected from Churu, Sikar and Jhunjunu regions of Rajasthan. A total of 16 bacterial strains were isolated, and among these bacterial isolates only two thermophilic lipase producing bacteria were identified. The thermophilic lipase enzyme was estimated by qualitative and quantitative experiments. The isolate was identified as Bacillus sp. by microscopic, biochemical and molecular characterization. The optimum enzyme activity was observed at pH 8, temperature 60°C and 5% salt concentration at 24 hrs time duration. Lipases are useful in a variety of biotechnological fields such as food and dairy (cheese ripening, flavour development), detergent, pharmaceutical (naproxen, ibuprofen), agrochemical (insecticide, pesticide) and oleochemical (fat and oil hydrolysis, biosurfactant synthesis) industries. Lipases can be further used in many newer areas where they can serve as potential biocatalysts. 

Analysis of acceptance of bacillus to various heavy metals and antibiotics
Get PDFThe present study was carried out to systematically examine the pathogenic microorganisms in sewage samples isolated from the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. In this survey, 26 bacterial strains were isolated and identified using biochemical and molecular methods. Molecular identification of isolates was done by DNA isolation, PCR amplification using 16S rDNA primer and partial sequencing of purified product after sequencing, out of 26, 10 sequences were submitted to NCBI. Out of these 10 isolates Bacillus pumilis, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis were taken for further studies. There is growing awareness of the need for development of new antimicrobial agents for the treatment of human, animal and plant diseases. Keeping this fact in mind, we did the antibiotic susceptibility of these isolates against various antibiotics (Ampicillin, Erythromycin, Chloramphenicol etc.) by measuring zone of inhibition in Mueller Hinton agar plate by Kirby Bauer method comparing with growth pattern at different pH, temperature and various other environmental factors. Results of present studies indicates that the strains isolated from sewage water are resistant to most of the antibiotics and susceptible to Chromium , Cadmium, Mercury and some other heavy meals whereas Zinc and Iron are supporting the growth of bacillus at various parameters. Till date B.licheniformis has been checked for its resistance pattern to eight heavy metals. This study can be used for bioremediation of the environmental hazards and recombinants will also be examined for the same against positive strains