41 research outputs found
Presence of antioxidants and nitric-oxide precursors in Mimosa pudica extract
No full textBlood pressure lowering effect of Mimosa pudica induced by dieresis was reported earlier. As a diuretic it enhances urine outflow, decreases plasma volume, venous return; and thereby, reduce blood pressure. Besides the diuretic agent, some other blood pressure lowering substance may also be present in Mimosa pudica. Present study was undertaken to reveal the presence of antioxidants and nitrite in Mimosa pudica extract, which may help to reduce blood pressure. Methanolic extract of Mimosa pudica (using 80% methanol) was lyophilised to obtain dried Mimosa pudica Extract (MPE). For Total phenolic content estimation Folin’s method and for estimation of flavonoids, Aluminium chloride method were followed. The radical scavenging and superoxide anion radical scavenging activity were measured following standardised methods. Nitrite content of MPE at different dilutions (10-100 µl in methanol) was measured following standardised procedure keeping sodium nitrite as the standard. Present study noted presence of favonoids and phenolic compounds and also noted antioxidant property in the aforesaid extract that exhibited DPPH+ and superoxide scavenging activities. Besides that, this study also revealed formation of nitrites in the extract of Mimosa pudica in a dose dependent manner. Nitrite is the precursor of nitric oxide (NO). NO is a potent vasodilator that decreases blood pressure. Present study indicated the presence of both antioxidants and nitrites in Mimosa pudica extract; both of which have blood pressure lowering properties indicating it as a blood pressure lowering agent; and helpful in the maintenance of vascular health
Grimaldina brazzai Richard 1892
No full text(60) Grimaldina brazzai Richard, 1892 Indian records. Assam —Sharma B.K. & Sharma S. (2008a, b); Madhya Pradesh — Rane (1984c); Rajasthan — Venkataraman (1990b); Tamil Nadu — Raghunathan & Suresh Kumar (2002, 2009); West Bengal — Venkataraman & Das (1993), Venkataraman (1998c), Venkataraman et al. (2000); General record— Fernando & Kanduru (1984); Raghunathan & Suresh Kumar (2003). Remarks. Valid taxon described from Gabon, West Africa (Richard 1892). It probably consists of a series of cryptic species (H. J. Dumont, pers. comm.). Venkataraman (1998) recorded this species from West Bengal and claim that it is the first report from India, later Venkataraman & Das (1993) again said they had found the first record, although Rane (1984c) already found this taxon before. Distribution. At the time, regarded as circumtropical (Smirnov 1992; Kotov & Ferrari 2010). Guernella ceylonica Daday, 1898 Indian records. General record— Brehm (1953), Raghunathan & Suresh Kumar (2003). Remarks. Described from Sri Lanka (Daday 1898). Junior synonym of G. raphaelis Richard, 1892 (Smirnov 1976, 1992), also listed as such in Michael & Sharma B.K. (1988). However, G. raphaelis is described from West Africa, and ceylonica is an available name for Oriental populations if these would indeed prove to belong to a separate species. Guernella odiosa (Gurney, 1916) Indian records. General record— Raghunathan & Suresh Kumar (2003). Remarks. Raghunathan and Kumar (2003) listed this combination as apparent mistake. In reality, this combination was never proposed by any other author in cladoceran taxonomy. Sometimes Macrothrix odiosa was placed to the genus Gurneyella Brehm, 1930 (see Biswas 1971), not Guernella Richard, 1892. If Guernella is a valid taxon, which is indeed very different from Macrothrix (Smirnov 1976, 1992), Gurneyella is an apparent junior synonym of Macrothrix (Kotov et al. 2005). See Macrothrix odiosa for further comments.Published as part of CHATTERJEE, TAPAS, KOTOV, ALEXEY A., DAMME, KAY VAN, CHANDRASEKHAR, S. V. A. & PADHYE, SAMEER, 2013, An annotated checklist of the Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from India, pp. 1-89 in Zootaxa 3667 (1) on pages 30-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3667.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/526620
Macrothrix laticornis, s.lat.
No full text(63) Macrothrix laticornis (Jurine, 1820) s.lat. Indian records. Andhra Pradesh— Karuthapandi et al. (2012); Andaman & Nicobar Islands — Venkataraman (2000a); Assam —Sharma S. (2008a, b); Jammu & Kashmir— Brehm (1936), Raina & Vass (1993); Jharkhand — Chandrasekhar & Chatterjee (2008); Kerala —Michael & Sharma B.K. (1988); Maharashtra —Gaikwad et al. (2008), Koli & Muley (2012); Manipur —Sharma B.K. & Sharma S. (2009a); Meghalaya —Hatter et al. (2004), Sharma S (2010b); Rajasthan —Sharma V. et al. (2012); Tamil Nadu —Michael & Sharma B.K. (1988), Venkataraman (1999b), Raghunathan (1983), Raghunathan & Suresh Kumar (2002, 2009); West Bengal — Datta (2011); General record— Fernando & Kanduru (1984), Sharma & Michael (1987), Murugan et al. (1998), Raghunathan & Suresh Kumar (2003). Remarks. Described from Switzerland (Jurine 1820). The Indian record needs to be checked, probably, they belong to M. vietnamensis Silva-Briano, Dieu & Dumont, 1999. Raghunathan & Suresh Kumar (2003) listed Macrothrix laticornis (Fischer) in their checklist, but the author was represented in the wrong way. Distribution. M. laticornis s.str. is "reliably known from most of Europe, and extending east across most of temperate Asia, with outlying populations occurring as far as Central Nepal " (Silva-Briano et al. 1999). Macrothrix capensis monodi Gauthier, 1930 Indian records. Maharashtra — Rane (2005b); Goa— Rane (2008); Tripura —Venkataraman (1994); General record— Raghunathan & Suresh Kumar (2003). Remarks. Described from Algeria (Gauthier 1930). Junior synonym of M. odiosa (Kotov et al. 2005).Published as part of CHATTERJEE, TAPAS, KOTOV, ALEXEY A., DAMME, KAY VAN, CHANDRASEKHAR, S. V. A. & PADHYE, SAMEER, 2013, An annotated checklist of the Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from India, pp. 1-89 in Zootaxa 3667 (1) on page 32, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3667.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/526620
Detection of arecoline by simple high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method in Indian nontobacco pan masala
No full textChewing the habit of blended pan masala containing areca nut with or without tobacco is a common practice in the Indian subcontinent. Arecoline, a pyridine alkaloid presence in areca nut alarmed for oral carcinogenesis and strictly prohibited in the western world. However, in India using blended pan masala is very popular among young and old individuals. In this context, we aimed to detect arecoline in Indian blended nontobacco pan masala sold in Kolkata using a simple densitometric high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method and for alarming their use in common people. Eleven popularly Indian blended nontobacco pan masala were collected from the territory of Kolkata and isolated arecoline, following solvent extraction method derived for pyridine alkaloid. The quantitative analysis of arecoline was measured using automated software-based HPTLC instruments and validated the method according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Arecoline was detected in all 11 blended nontobacco pan masala samples in a range of minimum 130 to maximum 415 μg/g dry samples. Arecoline is hazardous carcinogenic compound, so the use of Indian blended nontobacco pan masala should be restricted. Further, the method was found suitable for routine quantitative analysis of arecoline in areca nut containing substances
Efecto antirradical y antiulceroso de las hojas de Sonneratia apetala Buch-Ham contra la lesión de la mucosa gástrica inducida por el alcohol
No full textIntroduction: Sonneratia apetala Buch-Ham is a true mangrove inhabitant in Indian Sunderban and it is used in folk medicine for digestive disorders.
Method: Hydro-methanolic (20:80) extract of Sonneratia apetala leaves (SA) was chemically standardized by HPTLC and evaluated for its antiradical and gastro-protective properties. Phenolics and flavonoids present in SA were determined and antiradical activities were assessed by in vitro methods like, DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), nitric oxides, superoxides, hydroxyl and ABTS (2,2/-azino-bis-3-ethyl benzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid). Further, gastro-protective efficacy of SA was assessed in alcohol (50% v/v, 5 ml/kg) induced oxidative ulceration in rats.
Results: Chemically standardized SA exhibited presence of polyphenolic compounds. It also showed strong antiradical properties. Oral administrations of SA (125 mg/kg and 250 mg/kg) significantly protected gastric mucosal membrane from ulcerative damage caused by alcohol, similar to Omeprazole (20 mg/kg) in rats. Moreover, SA treatment significantly reduced the elevation of lipid peroxides; while enhanced the concentration of glutathione and catalase in gastric mucosa in respect to ethanol induced untreated control rats.
Conclusions The results obtained from this study suggest Sonneratia apetala leaf has antioxidant properties and has capabilities to protect gastric mucosal injury caused by alcohol ingestion.Introducción: Sonneratia apetala Buch-Ham es un verdadero habitante de los manglares en Sunderban indio y se utiliza en la medicina popular para los trastornos digestivos.
Método: El extracto hidrometanólico (20:80) de hojas de Sonneratia apetala (SA) se estandarizó químicamente por HPTLC y se evaluó por sus propiedades antirradicales y gastroprotectoras. Se determinaron los fenólicos y flavonoides presentes en SA y se evaluaron las actividades antirradicales mediante métodos in vitro como, DPPH (1,1-difenil-2-picrilhidrazilo), óxidos nítricos, superóxidos, hidroxilo y ABTS (2,2 / -azino-bis- Ácido 3-etilbenztiazolin-6-sulfónico). Además, se evaluó la eficacia gastroprotectora de SA en la ulceración oxidativa inducida por alcohol (50% v / v, 5 ml / kg) en ratas.
Resultados: El SA químicamente estandarizado mostró presencia de compuestos polifenólicos. También mostró fuertes propiedades antirradicales. Las administraciones orales de SA (125 mg / kg y 250 mg / kg) protegieron significativamente la membrana mucosa gástrica del daño ulcerativo causado por el alcohol, similar al omeprazol (20 mg / kg) en ratas. Además, el tratamiento con SA redujo significativamente la elevación de los peróxidos de lípidos; mientras que aumentó la concentración de glutatión y catalasa en la mucosa gástrica con respecto a las ratas de control no tratadas inducidas por etanol.
Conclusiones: Los resultados obtenidos de este estudio sugieren que la hoja de Sonneratia apetala tiene propiedades antioxidantes y tiene capacidad para proteger la lesión de la mucosa gástrica causada por la ingestión de alcohol
Study on structural and optical properties of α-(AlxCr1-x)2O3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) solid solutions
No full textEnhanced mechanical energy harvesting ability of electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride)/hectorite clay nanocomposites
No full textDynamics of demographic change and economic development
No full textLes changements démographiques et la croissance économique sont intimement liées. Cependant, le complexe rôle du système démographique, particulièrement son aspect temporel, n'a pas encore été analysé avec rigueur jusqu'aujourd'hui. Cette dissertation tente d'aborder cette question afin d'expliquer les changements de croissance des pays. Elle insiste particulièrement sur les projections de croissance de long terme en traitant explicitement les systèmes démographiques dans une structure de chocs stochastiques. Nous exploitons les caractéristiques temporelles des systèmes démographiques pour analyser leur évolution, étudier sa complexe interaction avec le système économique ainsi que les effets de long terme sur la croissance économique. Dans le chapitre 2, nous nous intéressons sur les effets des composantes démographiques , plus précisément comment l'âge d'une population spécifique a changé avec le temps. Suivant la pratique standard qui suppose une « stationnarité » de la croissance de la population, nous évaluons et étendons les modèles empiriques populaires de croissance économique. Nous trouvons que les changements décennaux ont apporté quatre changements dans la croissance économique des pays aussi bien développés qu'en développement. Nous montrons que le fait de tenir compte de l'aspect temporel des systèmes de croissance économique et démographique améliore les résultats sur la persistance des fluctuations de la croissance. Dans le chapitre 3, nous développons un nouveau mécanisme pour caractériser la nature stochastique des chocs démographiques dans laquelle les séries de population avec une large dimension temporelle sont supposées régies par un certain nombre de chocs stochastiques. En procédant de cette manière, la supposition conventionnelle de « stationnarité » qui sous-tend l'exploration théorique et empirique courante est relâchée et beaucoup plus d'informations sur la persistance des chocs sont données dans les modèles de croissance économique. Dans la croissance économique endogène avec un changement endogène de population, ce chapitre construit un modèle « long-memory » de population et de ses composantes (structure par âges) pour montrer les effets des changements démographiques sur les économies tant développées qu'en développement. Pour ce faire, nous donnons d'abord une formulation théorique pour montrer que les chocs « long-memory » dans la structure démographique de la population peut induire une croissance. Une illustration empirique est développée pour montrer que la structure de la population est caractérisée de « long-memory ». Suite au développement théorique et à l'illustration empirique du chapitre 3, le chapitre 4 propose une prévision de la population totale et de la structure démographique en employant de manière fractionnée la technique intégrée ARMA ( ARFIMA en bref). Les méthodes conventionnelles de prévision de la population sont discutées dans ce chapitre valuant les avantages et les faiblesses potentielles de ces méthodes. Notre approche peut être considérée comme un changement de la variante de la méthode conventionnelle « faible, moyenne et élevée » par rapport à la récente projection ARIMA utilisée récemment (qui suppose stationnarité ou différence première de la population agrégée). De plus, notre approche est un départ de la prévision de la population stochastique basée sur la matrice de Leslie. Nous avons aussi examiné un départ de la prévision stochastique basée sur la matrice de Leslie. Dans ce chapitre, nous avons aussi analysé pourquoi les techniques de prévision en démographie n'ont pas beaucoup évolué alors que les méthodes ne sont pas restées si traditionnelles. Dans le chapitre 5, nous incorporons les propriétés démographiques « memory » âge - distribution pour prévoir le Produit Intérieur Brut (ou revenu national) de quelques économies développées et en développement. Nous relâchons l'hypothèse de stationnarité âge-structure et croissance de la population dans le modèle en faisant les projections du revenu de long terme. Nous montrons que la croissance de la population totale n'a pas besoin d'être stationnaire et que tout degré de chocs stochastiques dans ces séries peut affecter la performance de prévision. Etant donné que la méthode de panel "long memory" est encore à construire pour une bonne prévision, nous faisons une prévision du revenu basée sur la démographie dans un contexte uni varié qui suppose une procédure stochastique « long- memory » pour une croissance de la population structurée suivant l'âge. Finalement, le chapitre 6 résume les resultants principaux de la thèse et montre quelques directions possibles pour des recherches futures. ...Demographic changes and economic growth are inextricably linked. However, the complex role of demographic system, specifically its temporal features have not been treated with rigor till recently. This dissertation undertakes such an attempt to explain cross-country growth variations and focuses on longterm growth projections by explicitly treating demographic system in a stochastic shocks framework. We exploit the temporal characteristics of demographic system to shed light on its evolution, study its complex interaction with economic system and analyze the long-run effect on economic growth/development. The dissertation contains four chapters. After outlining the motivation of the thesis and an overview of the chapter scheme in the first chapter, we investigate in Chapter 2 how the effects of demographic components viz., age specific population have changed over the decades. Following the standard practice of assuming `stationary' features of population growth, we first evaluate and extend the popular empirical economic growth models. We find that decadal changes have brought forth variations in economic growth of developed and developing economies. We argue that accounting for temporal features of the demographic and economic growth system would provide clear insights into persistent growth fluctuations. In Chapter 3 we develop a new mechanism to characterize stochastic nature of demographic shocks in which population series with large temporal dimension is assumed to be governed by certain degree of stochastic shocks. By doing so, the conventional `stationary' assumption underlying the current theoretical and empirical exploration is relaxed and more dynamic information about the persistence of shocks is accommodated in the economic growth models. To this end, we first provide an analytical framework to show that long-memory shocks in demographic age structure or population might induce long-memory in economic growth. An empirical illustration of both developed and developing countries is carried out to demonstrate that population age structure in these countries are characterized by long-memory. The causality of stochastic demographic shocks influence and economic growth (and the converse) is also examined. Following the theoretical development and empirical illustration in Chapter 3, in Chapter 4 we propose to forecast total and age-structured population employing fractionally integrated ARMA (in short, ARFIMA) technique. The conventional methods of population forecasting is discussed in this chapter evaluating the advantages and potential weaknesses of these methods. Our approach to population forecasting can be considered as a shift from the conventional `low, medium, and high' variant and the recently used ARMA projections (assuming stationarity or first difference stationarity of aggregate population) and is a departure from the stochastic population forecast based on Leslie matrix as used in the extant population forecasting literature. In Chapter 5 we incorporate the memory properties of demographic age- distribution to forecast Gross Domestic Product (or National income) of some developed and developing countries. We relax the stationary age-structure and population growth assumption in the model while performing long term income projections. We argue that the growth of total age-structured population need not be stationary and that any degree of stochastic shocks in these series can affect forecasting performance. Given that a long-memory panel method is yet to be comprehensively built for forecasting, we perform forecast of demography-based income in the univariate context assuming a stochastic long-memory process for age-structured population growth. Finally, Chapter 6 summarizes the main findings of the thesis and outlines some possible directions for further research.Doctorat en sciences économiques (ECON 3)--UCL, 200
Assessment on antinociceptive actions of soluble fractions derived from edible mollusc (Bellamya bengalensis Lam.)
No full textBackground: Bellamya bengalensis, an edible bivalve mollusc is traditionally used in the treatment of joint pain, bone fracture, jaundice and eye infections. Present study was designed to find out the most potent analgesic fractions derived from the body mass of Bellamya bengalensis.Methods: The test specimen was collected, identified and fractionated with solvent medium like, phosphate buffer saline (PB), ethyl acetate (EB), methanol (MB) and chloroform (CB). Protein concentration of each fraction was determined. The antinociceptive activities were measured either by thermal models like, hot plate and tail immersion (central analgesic action) or by chemical model like acetic acid induced writhing (peripheral analgesic action) in mice. Diclofenac sodium was used as analgesic standard.Results: Significant peripheral and central analgesic activity showed by phosphate buffer saline fraction at 100mg/kg, even better than diclofenac standard at 10mg/kg. In hot plate and tail immersion tests, phosphate buffer saline showed the highest activity followed by methanol, chloroform and ethyl acetate fraction respectively. However, in case of peripheral analgesic experiment, phosphate buffer fraction exhibited maximum writhing inhibitory properties and that was followed by chloroform, methanol and ethyl acetate fraction respectively.Conclusions: Phosphate buffer saline fraction of Bellamya bengalensis showed maximum potential central and peripheral analgesic activity than any other fractions.</jats:p
