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Verotoxin-producing E. coli are getting an emergence for human health and day by day, it is also becoming more alarming in the fact that, they are acquiring multidrug-resistant profiles. This study aimed at isolation and identification of verotoxigenic E. coli followed by the antibiogram of the species from salad vegetables at Jashore district in Bangladesh. A total of 119 raw vegetable salad samples were collected from different areas of the Jashore district. The collected samples were initially enriched in nutrient broth and then used for streak plating on MacConkey and followed by Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) agar media. Escherichia coli species were isolated and identified following observation of the cultural, microscopic, and biochemical characteristics and further analyzed to determine the presence of verotoxin (VT) producing genes through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers (VT1, VT2, and Eae). A panel of antibiotics were tested following the disc diffusion method for determining the antibiotic profile. Total 55 (46.22%) E. coli was isolated phenotypically. 6 (10.9%) isolated E. coli showed positive by amplifying verotoxin-producing gene vt1, but none of the samples were positive vt2 and eaeA gene. Antibiogram for 55 E. coli isolates showed the highest resistance to Erythromycin (83.64%), Streptomycin (78.18%), Ceftriaxone (70.91%). On the other hand, the most heightened susceptibility was observed for Nalidixic acid (76.36%). Moreover, six vt1 positive isolates showed a multidrug-resistant profile. Thus, the presence of toxigenic genes in the isolates suggests the proper maintenance and regular monitoring of raw salad items should be increase to ensure healthy life in this region. Key words: Vegetable salad, Escherichia coli, verotoxin, antimicrobial resistant, polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

The influence of dietary supplementation of mannan oligosaccharide (MOS) on growth performance, feed utilization, body composition and haematological parameters were evaluated in Asian catfish (Clarias batrachus) juveniles. Triplicate groups of juveniles Asian catfish (21.23 ± 1.01 g) were fed twice per day at 3 % of body weight for 12 weeks, with 0 (control), 0.2, 0.4 or 0.6% MOS diets. Compared to control, those fed with MOS supplemented diets had significantly improved (P

Fermented rice is a traditional dish of Bangladesh and believed to contain various beneficial bacterial species. This study has been conducted to isolate and characterize bacteria from the samples of fermented rice. For this purpose, the samples were collected from three different districts of Bangladesh, namely Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi and Kushtia. A total of three bacterial isolates, denoted as Isolate 1, Isolate 2 and Isolate 3, were isolated from the fermented rice samples and identified by a series of morphological and biochemical tests. The three isolates were gram-positive, round-shaped and non-motile. For the biochemical characterization, the isolated bacteria were tested with several media like Mannitol Salt Agar, MacConkey Agar, EMB Agar, TSI Agar, Simmons Citrate Agar, Urea Agar, BSA and Starch Agar with Catalase assay. Thus the isolates have been confirmed as Staphylococcus sp. both morphologically and biochemically. The isolates were also tested for their antibiotic sensitivities by the disc diffusion method with twelve different antibiotics. All of the isolated bacteria showed resistance to three of the antibiotics, namely aztreonam, ampicillin and penicillin, and showed susceptibility to four, such as imipenem, ciprofloxacin, rifampicin and doxycycline. According to this study, it can be concluded that Staphylococcus sp. could be found in the fermented rice, and antibiotics are available to control these bacteria.

Coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) first reported in Wuhan, China, causes serious respiratory illnesses such as lung failure and pneumonia. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) the pathogenic agent of COVID-19 has been confirmed as a novel coronavirus. WHO announced COVID-19 a global pandemic and now the whole world is eagerly waiting for vaccines and therapeutic treatment to get rid of this unstoppable coronavirus. As COVID-19 infection, a global threat creates unwanted human casualties and serious economic loss. To stop the ongoing uncontrolled situation researchers are racing to develop prevention and treatment strategies. Vaccines of different countries are in clinical and preclinical trials and the repurposed-drugs are providing to find out a positive result against COVID-19. The report is an analysis of published information focusing on treatment options including vaccination, drug-therapy, cytokines, therapeutic antibodies. Most of the vaccine’s development strategies and drugs target the surface structural spike glycoprotein or S-protein, the major inducer of pathogenic responses. Here, it is reviewed the features of SARS-CoV-2 and the global current status of therapeutic, and vaccine development for the prevention and effective treatment of COVID-19.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a contemporary coronavirus, has impacted global economic activity and has a high transmission rate. As a result of the virus’s severe medical effects, developing effective vaccinations is vital. Plant-derived metabolites have been discovered as potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors. The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) is a target for therapeutic research because of its highly conserved protein sequence. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and molecular docking were used to screen 34 compounds identified from Leucas zeylanica for potential inhibitory activity against the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. In addition, prime molecular mechanics–generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA) was used to screen the compound dataset using a molecular dynamics simulation. From molecular docking analysis, 26 compounds were capable of interaction with the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro, while three compounds, namely 11-oxa-dispiro[4.0.4.1]undecan-1-ol (−5.755 kcal/mol), azetidin-2-one 3,3-dimethyl-4-(1-aminoethyl) (−5.39 kcal/mol), and lorazepam, 2TMS derivative (−5.246 kcal/mol), exhibited the highest docking scores. These three ligands were assessed by MM-GBSA, which revealed that they bind with the necessary Mpro amino acids in the catalytic groove to cause protein inhibition, including Ser144, Cys145, and His41. The molecular dynamics simulation confirmed the complex rigidity and stability of the docked ligand–Mpro complexes based on the analysis of mean radical variations, root-mean-square fluctuations, solvent-accessible surface area, radius of gyration, and hydrogen bond formation. The study of the postmolecular dynamics confirmation also confirmed that lorazepam, 11-oxa-dispiro[4.0.4.1]undecan-1-ol, and azetidin-2-one-3, 3-dimethyl-4-(1-aminoethyl) interact with similar Mpro binding pockets. The results of our computerized drug design approach may assist in the fight against SARS-CoV-2.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first recognized in Wuhan in late 2019 and, since then, had spread globally, eventually culminating in the ongoing pandemic. As there is a lack of targeted therapeutics, there is certain opportunity for the scientific community to develop new drugs or vaccines against COVID-19 and so many synthetic bioactive compounds are undergoing clinical trials. In most of the countries, due to the broad therapeutic spectrum and minimal side effects, medicinal plants have been used widely throughout history as traditional healing remedy. Because of the unavailability of synthetic bioactive antiviral drugs, hence all possible efforts have been focused on the search for new drugs and alternative medicines from different herbal formulations. In recent times, it has been assured that the Mpro, also called 3CLpro, is the SARS-CoV-2 main protease enzyme responsible for viral reproduction and thereby impeding the host’s immune response. As such, Mpro represents a highly specified target for drugs capable of inhibitory action against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As there continue to be no clear options for the treatment of COVID-19, the identification of potential candidates has become a necessity. The present investigation focuses on the in silico pharmacological activity of Calotropis gigantea, a large shrub, as a potential option for COVID-19 Mpro inhibition and includes an ADME/T profile analysis of that ligand. For this study, with the help of gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of C. gigantea methanolic leaf extract, a total of 30 bioactive compounds were selected. Our analyses unveiled the top four options that might turn out to be prospective anti–SARS-CoV-2 lead molecules; these warrant further exploration as well as possible application in processes of drug development to combat COVID-19.

Background: Brucellosis is a chronic zoonotic disease with negligible mortality rate that might be the reason not to attract the concerned authority to prevent and eradicate it in low income endemic countries. Recently, it has been recognized as a re-emerging zoonotic disease not only in low income countries but also its eradicated developed world. Objective: The main objective was to determine the humoral immune response (HIR) in crossbred dairy heifers immunized with Brucella abortus strain RB51 vaccine by using indirect ELISA Materials and Methods: Each of the 20 randomly selected B. abortus sero-negative crossbred (Holstein-Friesian  Local) dairy heifers aged between 4 to 8 months old at the Military Dairy Farm received 2.0 ml imported commercial B. abortus SRB51 strain vaccine subcutaneously in the neck region at day 0 and then booster dose at 60 days after first vaccination with similar dose and route during the period from June to October 2020. Each of the collected serum samples of 20 heifers at day 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 60, 90, 120 and 150 was tested to detect the antibody status by using commercial indirect ELISA kit. Results: The humoral immune response (HIR) in terms of antibody levels detected by OD values in the serum of immunized cross-bred dairy heifers by using B. abortus strain RB51 commercial vaccine resulted 0.097  0.0032 (mean  SE) OD value at 0 day (i.e. pre-immunization) and 0.108 ± 0.0032 at 7th day. After that, the OD value started to rise from day 14 (OD value 0.124 ± 0.0032) and reached to a peak level at 60 days (OD value 0.223  0.0032) with the initial vaccination. Booster vaccination inoculated at 60 days resulted peak antibody level in terms of OD value (0.313  0.0032) at the day 90 and then the antibody level started to decline from 120 days (OD value 0.242  0.0032) to 150 days (OD value 0.199 0.0032) in cross-bred dairy heifers. Conclusions: This study suggests that the commercial B. abortus RB51 strain vaccine has induced satisfactory HIR with initial inoculation and significantly higher HIR produced with a booster dose in crossbred heifers by using commercial I-ELISA. The presence of Brucella antibodies have importance on sero-diagnosis whereas the cell mediated immunity (CMI) plays major role in protection against brucellosis which needs further investigation in cross-bred heifers in Bangladesh. Keywords: Brucellosis, SRB51 vaccine, Humoral immune response, I-ELISA, Cross-bred heifers, Bangladesh

Epilepsy is a frequently observed neurological abnormality. In the manual method, a physician monitors the recording of Electroencephalogram (EEG) of a patient to detect epileptic seizures. But this method is time-consuming and fallible. This chapter presents an automatic epileptic seizures detection and EEG signals classification method based on multi-domain feature extraction and multiscale entropy analysis. In this method, EEG data is collected and preprocessed for artifacts removal from the original data. Then discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and discrete wavelet transform (DWT) are applied for extracting features. Multiscale entropy (MSE) with sample entropy is also applied to extract nonlinear features. Finally, supervised learning classifiers such as support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest-neighbors (k-NN) and artificial neural network (ANN) are used for epileptic seizures detection, three-class and five-class classification of the EEG signals. The dataset has been collected from the University of Bonn. This method attained an accuracy of 99.54%, sensitivity of 98.56% and specificity of 99.76% for epileptic seizures detection. For three-class and five-class classification, accuracy was 98.22% and 87.00%, respectively.

Background: Brucellosis is a neglected re-emerging important zoonotic disease in the developing world. Most of the research on brucellosis was limited on the sero-epidemiology during the last 50 years and recently molecular techniques have been initiated to study brucellosis in Bangladesh. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine sero-molecular prevalence, identify risk factors and detect Brucella species associated with bovine and human brucellosis in Bangladesh Materials and Methods: Serum and milk samples from 1003 lactating dairy cows of eight military dairy farms and 715 serum samples of dairy farm workers and hospital patients were collected during the 36 months period from 2017 to 2020. All the collected sera and milk samples were tested with four different commercial diagnostic test kits to detect the prevalence of Brucella infection. The four sero-positive milkers sera and milk, and all animal samples collected from aborted cases were tested for Brucella genus-specific RT-PCR and Brucella species-specific DNA (B. abortus and B. melitensis) Multiplex PCR. Conventional PCR and sequencing were also performed. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression were used to identify important risk factors of brucellosis. Results: The overall 2.39% sero-prevalence of Brucella infection was recorded with all the CFT, SAT and ELISA assay and 3.09% with RBT, whereas only 0.20% tested milks samples showed positive with MRT in the lactating dairy cows. The B. abortus DNA was amplified from all of the four RBT positive human serum samples tested. Phylogenetic tree of partial 16S ribosomal RNA sequences of the PCR products was closely matched with B. abortus. Three variables (age, parity and abortion) were found to be significantly associated with B. abortus infection in lactating cows. Conclusions: B. abortus is the causal agent of bovine brucellosis which is identified as the first time as an etiological agent of human brucellosis in occupationally exposed dairy farm workers in Bangladesh. This study could not detect the most important zoonotic B. melitensis DNA either in humans or animal samples, even in any earlier studies and therefore, further studies are required to explore the occurrence of B. melitensis in human and animal population in Bangladesh. Keywords: B. abortus, Lactating cows, Military dairy farms, Sero-tests, Genus specific RT-PCR, Species

Background During the time a diarrhea patient presents at a health facility, the household members of the patient are at higher risk of developing diarrheal diseases (> 100 times for cholera) than the general population. The Cholera-Hospital-based-Intervention-for-7-Days (CHoBI7) is a health facility-initiated water treatment and handwashing with soap intervention designed to reduce transmission of diarrheal diseases between patients and their household members. The present research aimed to (1) develop a scalable approach to integrate the CHoBI7 intervention program into services provided at government and private health facilities in Bangladesh; and (2) tailor the intervention program for the household members of all diarrhea patients, irrespective of the etiology of disease. Methods We conducted 8 months of formative research, including 60 semi-structured interviews, 2 group discussions, and a pilot study. Thirty-two interviews were conducted with diarrhea patients and their family caregivers, government stakeholders, and health care providers both to explore existing WASH and diarrhea patient care practices in health facilities and to identify considerations for scaling the CHoBI7 program. Fifty-two diarrhea patient households participated in a pilot study of a modified version of the CHoBI7 intervention program for tailoring. Twenty-eight interviews and 2 group discussions were conducted with pilot households to explore experiences with and recommendations for intervention delivery. Results The intervention program was modified based on formative research findings. Pilot study participants recognized the benefits of the CHoBI7 intervention program and made suggestions to improve the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Modifications included 1) providing additional pictorial modules, cues to action, enabling technologies, and supplies for safe drinking water and handwashing with soap behaviors in the health facility; 2) switching out technology prone to breaks and leaks as well as sourcing plastic technologies from a high-quality, local manufacturer; and 3) including instructions discouraging the non-use or misuse of technologies and supplies. Considerations for scalability include the local availability and marketing of enabling technologies and supplies, staff for program delivery in health facilities, and potential integration into existing government or health promotion programs. Conclusions Formative research identified important considerations for the content, delivery, and scalability of the CHoBI7 health facility-initiated WASH intervention program.

Commelina diffusa Burm. F. is a herbaceous tropical plant with different traditional medicinal uses. Present study is aimed to isolate the bioactive compounds from DCM-Methanol extract of the powdered whole plant of Commelina diffusa and to investigate the cytotoxic, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the crude extract and its twelve vacuum liquid chromatographic fraction (CD1-12). Vacuum Liquid Chromatography (VLC) was employed to isolate bioactive metabolites. The physicochemical properties of the isolated compound were examined and the molecular structure was elucidated by NMR spectroscopy. Cytotoxic, antibacterial, antioxidant activities were evaluated following brine shrimp lethality bioassay, disc diffusion method and DPPH free radical scavenging assay respectively. The isolated compound was identified as steroid (stigmasterol) which had significant cytotoxic effect on vero cell line. The crude extract and its fractions (CD8-CD12) exhibited strong cytotoxicity in brine shrimp lethality bioassay having LC50 values 3.79, 9.19, 29.49, 16.60, 19.36, 44.58 μg/mL respectively. The crude extract showed mild to strong antibacterial activity. Fractions (CD5-CD12) showed mild to strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli in comparison with Kanamycin (standard). Strong antioxidant activities were found in crude extract (IC50 value 30.52 μg/ml), CD11 (IC50 value 39.27 μg/ml) and CD12 (IC50 value 19.50 μg/ml). The study suggests Commelina diffusa plant extract to have strong antioxidant and cytotoxic activity which is indicative of presence of compounds with broad spectrum of curative applications. One compound namely stigmasterol has been isolated from the plant.

BackgroundThe study investigated the in vivo neuroprotective, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory potential and in vitro antioxidant and clot lysis activities of crude methanol extract with its different solvent-soluble fractions like petroleum ether (PESF), carbon tetrachloride (CTSF), chloroform (CSF) and aqueous (AQSF) of Holigarna longifolia Roxb.MethodsPhenobarbitone-induced sleeping time method was used for the neuroprotective activity, writhing response experimental model introduced by acetic acid was designed for antinociceptive efficacy, carrageenan-induced paw edema model was carried out for anti-inflammatory activity, DPPH free radical scavenging activity was assessed for antioxidant activity and clot lysis model was investigated for the thrombolytic potential of the plant.ResultsOn investigation it was found that methanol extract and CS fraction revealed statistically meaningful (pConclusionThe findings demonstrate that H. longifolia could be potential neuroprotective due to its justified antioxidative capacity as well as clot lysis properties.

Background: Diabetes is recognized as one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality and representing as an emerging global epidemic worldwide. Diabetes and stroke both are the conditions which share various common threats. A patient with Diabetes has higher risk of stroke as compared to non Diabetics. Diabetes and stroke both affects the blood vessels. There are several biochemical pathways which are responsible for the developments of vascular complications due to hyperglycemia. Thus prevention and treatment of diabetes and stroke can reduce the risk of various vascular diseases. Cinnamomum zeylanicum has been used for the treatment of diabetes since long time. Cinnamomum zeylanicum rich in phenolic contents (antioxidants) have been identified as a major active component exhibiting antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects. The present study evaluate the neuroprotective effect of Cinnamomum zeylanicum in streptozotocin induced diabetes in mice and experimentally induced global cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury in mice. Materials and methods: Swiss albino mice (male) weighing 20-30 g were randomized into eight groups. Diabetes was induced by administering streptozotocin (65 mg/kg, i.p).Starting from seven days after streptozotocin injection, insulin and Cinnamomum zeylanicum were administered for 3 weeks. Serum glucose level and body weight were measured weekly. Neuroprotective activity was carried out by global cerebral ischemia on swiss albino mice by carotid artery occlusion for 10 min followed by 24 hr. reperfusion. Measurement of Triglycerides, Malondialdehyde , cerebral infarct size and glutathione level was carried out at the end of the study. Results: After 21 days of treatment with Cinnamomum zeylanicum (75 mg/kg, 150 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg, p.o) significant increase in body weight and glutathione level and a significant reduction in serum glucose level, triglycerides, MDA levels and cerebral infarct size was observed as compared to diabetic control and diabetic+ stroke group. Conclusion: The present study concludes that Polyphenolic fraction of Cinnamomum zeylanicum not only attenuates the diabetes but also reverse the cerebral infarction in mice through its neuroprotective actions and thus Cinnamomum zeylanicum may serves as a new therapeutic alternative for management of brain damage associated with type-1 diabetes.

Community awareness regarding rabies and treatment seeking behaviours are critical both for the prevention and control of the disease in human and animals. We conducted a study to explore people's awareness about rabies, their attitudes towards dogs and practices associated with treating dog bites in Satkhira Sadar, a south‐western sub‐district of Bangladesh. Of the total 3200 households (HHs) surveyed, the majority of the respondents have heard about rabies (73%) and there was a high level of awareness that dog bite is the main cause of rabies (86%), and that rabies can be prevented by vaccination (85%). However, 59% of the dog bite victims first seek treatment from traditional healers instead of visiting the hospitals, 29% received the rabies vaccine, 2% practiced proper wound washing with soap and water, while 4.8% have not taken any measures. None of the victims have received rabies immunoglobulin (RIG). Of the respondents, 5.2% reported a history of dog bite in at least one family member, and 11.8% reported a history of dog bite in domestic animals during the previous year. The HHs having a higher number of family members (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.07–1.2), having a pet dog (OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.4–3.2) and caring or feeding a community dog (OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.4–2.9) showed an increased risk of getting a dog bite. Among the bite victims, 3.6% (n = 6) humans and 15.8% (n = 60) animals died. As a measure for dog population management (DPM), 56% preferred sterilization while the rest preferred killing of dogs. The current treatment seeking behaviours of the respondents should be improved through additional education and awareness programme and better availability for the provision of post‐exposure prophylaxis in Bangladesh. We recommend scaling up national mass dog vaccination and DPM to reduce the burden of rabies cases and dog bites in Bangladesh.

Background: Vaccinating dogs against rabies is an effective means of reducing human rabies. Methods: We analyzed 1,327 clinically diagnosed human rabies deaths and mass dog vaccination (MDV) data during 2006–2018 to quantify the impacts of MDV on human rabies incidence in Bangladesh and a subset of rabies death data (n = 422) for clinico-epidemiological analysis. Results: We found a positive and increasing trend of dog population vaccination (P = .01 and τ = 0.71) and a negative and declining trend (P < .001 and τ = −0.88) of human rabies cases (correlation coefficient, −0.82). Among 422 human rabies death cases, most victims (78%) sought treatment from traditional healers, and 12% received postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). The mean incubation period of rabies cases with exposure sites on the head and neck (35 days) was shorter than the upper limb (mean, 64 days; P = .02) and lower limb (mean, 89 days; P < .01). MDV is effective for reducing human rabies cases in Bangladesh. Conclusions: Creating awareness among the animal bite victims to stop relying on traditional healers rather seeking PEP, addressing the role of traditional healers through an awareness education program in respect to the treatment of dog bites, ensuring availability of PEP, and continuing to scale up MDV can help prevent human rabies deaths.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

Background: This study was carried out to identify important zoonotic diseases of beef cattle at slaughter in Bangladesh. Methods: A total of 20 slaughtered cattle of both sexes, different ages and breeds were taken under investigation from Nilphamari, Rajshahi and Mymensingh district, Bangladesh during July to October, 2017. Detailed ante-mortem and post-slaughter lesions were inspected and the tissues from the lungs, liver, kidney and spleen were collected aseptically for histopathological examination. The tissue sections were processed and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain, acid fast stain and Gram stain. To detect the presence of specific microorganism in the tissues, the genomic DNA was extracted and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out. Results: Grossly, liver appeared as most affected organ followed by lungs, kidney and spleen. Wide spread necrosis and pipe steam liver due to fascioliasis (n=4), hydatidosis in lungs (n=3), congestion in the kidney (n=4) and petechial hemorrhage (n=2) in the spleen were the predominant lesions observed in the slaughtered cattle. H&E staining of tissue sections revealed granulomas in two liver and one lungs. Lung section stained with acid fast stain detected the acid fast bacilli in a case. Tissue sections stained with Gram stain showed cocci bacteria in the liver of two cattle. The PCR confirmed the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a cattle. Conclusions: Fascioliasis, hydatidosis and important zoonotic disease like tuberculosis are prevalent in the slaughtered cattle in Bangladesh. PCR technology appeared as a sensitive and specific screening test to diagnose tuberculosis. However, screening of large number of samples is necessary to detect the presence of important zoonotic diseases in cattle for safe beef production.

Indemnity for frequency disruption in smart grid system due to cyber-attack is essential to avoid unstable power supply which can cause severe blackout. In this paper, a protective model is proposed for providing robust control of frequency in any situation, especially during cyber-attack on automatic generation control. A controlled switching unit is included in the protective model for ensuring protection against disruptive frequency during cyber-attack. The proposed control scheme restores frequency two times faster than the existing method.

Background Black Tea is a widely consumed drink in the world. Evidence suggest Black Tea has stimulatory effect on humans. We investigated the effect of Black Tea on cognition using a cognitive test battery. Methods Participants (n = 32) were fasted overnight for 10 h and restrained from caffeine and other stimulant drugs for 14 days prior to participation. We randomly assigned participants into either an experimental (n = 16) or a control (n = 16) group. Experimental group consumed 250 ml of Black Tea (BT) while control group was received equal volume of water (W). Participants were tested on the following cognitive tasks: executive function, sustained attention, memory (memory span, immediate, delayed, working memory) and arithmetic calculation task. Results We found that BT group performed significantly (p

In folk medicineMallotus repandus(Willd.) Muell. Arg. is used to treat muscle pain, itching, fever, rheumatic arthritis, snake bite, hepatitis, and liver cirrhosis. This study aimed to evaluate the antinociceptive as well as the anti-inflammatory activities of the methanol extract of leaf. The leaves were extracted with methanol following hot extraction and tested for the presence of phytochemical constituents. Analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated using acetic acid induced writhing test, xylene induced ear edema, cotton pellet induced granuloma, and tail immersion methods at doses of 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg body weight. The presence of flavonoids, saponins, and tannins was identified in the extract. The extract exhibited considerable antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities against four classical models of pain. In acetic acid induced writhing, xylene induced ear edema, and cotton pellet granuloma models, the extract revealed dose dependent activity. Additionally, it increased latency time in tail immersion model. It can be concluded thatM. repanduspossesses significant antinociceptive potential. These findings suggest that this plant can be used as a potential source of new antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory candidates. The activity of methanol extract is most likely mediated through central and peripheral inhibitory mechanisms. This study justified the traditional use of leaf part of this plant.

The present study was aimed to investigate antioxidant, analgesic and cytotoxic activity of the methanolic extract of Terminalia chebula Retz. fruits. Antioxidant potential of the extract was evaluated by using nitric oxide scavenging assay, reducing power and total antioxidant capacity. The extract showed significant activities in all antioxidant assays compared to ascorbic acid in a dose dependent mode. In nitric oxide scavenging assay, the IC50 value of the extract was found to be 51.3 µg/mL while the IC50 value of ascorbic acid was 77.4 µg/mL. In addition to strong reducing power, total antioxidant activity of the extract was also found to increase in a dose dependent manner. The analgesic activity was evaluated using acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice. The extract, at a dose of 500 mg/kg, showed a maximum of 44.17 % inhibition (p < 0.05) of writhing reaction compared to the reference drug diclofenac-sodium (66.96 %). The extract also showed moderate cytotoxic activity in brine shrimp lethality bioassay and the LC50 value was found to be 97.36 µg/mL.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/icpj.v3i1.17296 International Current Pharmaceutical Journal, December 2013, 3(1): 219-222

Aim: To investigate the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of Chloroform and Pet ether extracts of Manilkara zapota ( MZCE, MZPE ), Polyalthia longifolia ( PLCE, PLPE ), Abroma augusta ( AACE, AAPE ) Ficus hispida ( FHCE, FHPE ), Vitex negundo ( VNCE

As a part of our ongoing research on endophytic fungi, we have isolated a sesterterpene mycotoxin, fusaproliferin (FUS), from a Fusarium solani strain, which is associated with the plant Aglaonema hookerianum Schott. FUS showed rapid and sub-micromolar IC50 against pancreatic cancer cell lines. Time-dependent survival analysis and microscopy imaging showed rapid morphological changes in cancer cell lines 4 h after incubation with FUS. This provides a new chemical scaffold that can be further developed to obtain more potent synthetic agents against pancreatic cancer.

Problem statement: Mikania scandens (L.) Willd., a medicinal plant, is popularly used as herbal remedy for various ailments in Bangladesh. But the scientific basis for its medicinal use especially in pain and inflammation remains unknown. Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate analgesic and antioxidant potential of the hydromethanol extract of the leaves of the plant. Approach: The analgesic activity was determined for its central and peripheral pharmacological actions using hotplate and tail immersion method and acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice respectively. The hydromethanol extract was also investigated for its antioxidant action using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, Nitric Oxide (NO) scavenging and reducing power assays. Results: The extract, at the dose of 250 and 500 mg kg-1, produced a significant (p

Citrus macroptera Montr. (C. macroptera) is locally known as Satkara. The fruit of this plant is used as appetite stimulant and in the treatment of fever. This study therefore aimed to evaluate the toxic effects of the fruit extract using some biochemical and hematological parameters in rat model. The effects of methanol extract of Citrus macroptera Montr. fruit administered at 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight were investigated on hematological and biochemical parameters in Sprague-Dawley female rats. Moreover, histopathological study was performed to observe the presence of pathological lesions in primary body organs. The extract presented no significant effect on body weight, percent water content, relative organ weight and hematological parameters in rat. Significant decrease from control group was observed in the levels of triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein and very low density lipoprotein; thus leading to significant decrease of cardiac risk ratio, castelli's risk index-2, atherogenic coefficient and atherogenic index of plasma at all doses. 500 mg/kg dose significantly decreased alkaline phosphatase (P

Central nervous system (CNS) has a completely separate immune system that communicates with the neurons by small molecules called cytokines. Cytokines are involved in many crucial processes in neuron including cell metabolism and neurotransmitter synthesis. It has been reported that cytokine imbalance is involved in the progression of many CNS diseases such as neuropsychiatric disorders (depression, schizophrenia, autism, and bipolar disorder) and neurodegenerative disorders (Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease). Here, the effects of diclofenac, different antidepressants (sertraline, venlafaxine, and fluvoxamine), and vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine) on IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) change with and without immune challenges with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were investigated in in vitro culture of astrocytes from 2-day-old Swiss-Albino mice. Diclofenac and Sertraline significantly (p0.05) improves anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) while suppress (p0.05) LPS-induced elevated level of pro-inflammatory mediators (TNF-α) in astrocyte culture. Pyridoxine was not able to reduce (p0.05) TNF-α in the astrocyte culture. Antidepressant (sertraline) showed positive effects (increased IL-10 and reduced TNF-α level) possibly through the suppression of Th1 lymphocytes and monocytes and stimulation of Th2 lymphocytes and monocytes/macrophages. NSAID (diclofenac) showed positive immune regulation effect possibly through the inhibition of cyclo-oxygenase enzyme. Based on these findings, it may conclude that, diclofenac and antidepressants (sertraline) may positively contribute in the cytokine production in astrocyte cell culture.

Article history: We analyzed the prevalence of polypharmacy among cardiac patients in the Natioal Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Polypharmacy was defined as consumption of six or more drugs at the same time. We entered the drugs that were prescribed into the Drug Interaction Checker provided by MedScape online edition. Almost 85% of cardiac patients met criteria for three types of polypharmacy (minor, moderate and serious). However, serious and moderate types of polypharmacy were not influnenced by the increase in number of disorders (polymorbidity) as well as by the total number of drugs taken. The most frequent cause and threat that is associated with polypharmacy comes primarily from the quality of drug-drug interactions and not the total number of drugs prescribed. Most of the dangerous consecuences of polypharmacy came from the interaction of Clopidogrel with either Aspirin or PPIs. Our study emphasizes the need of informing doctors more about the problem of polypharmacy. Careful and thoughtful drug prescription strategy seems to be able to eliminate most of the cases of polypharmacy even in patients who are suffering from a multiplace disorders simultaneously. The results also provide support for development of new drugs that take into account compatibility with other medication, especially in elderly people.

In this investigation we included an extraction of Borassusflabilifer root and reported to have beneficial effect in lowering of blood pressure and treatment of hypertensive patients. Borassusflabilifer root were collected from various part of Noakhali and extract was prepared by following standard method. The present study was conducted to determine the in vivo effect of Borassusflabilifer root extract on tissues and serum lipids in experimental rats. 15 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 3 groups and administered different doses of the extract for 30 days while control group received distilled water. Lipid profile in the serum, liver, kidney and heart of the experimental animals were measured and compared with the control. Borassusflabilifer caused significant (p

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of methanol extract of Citrus macroptera Montr.fruit in α-amylase inhibitory activity (in vitro) and hypoglycemic activity in normal and glucose induced hyperglycemic rats (in vivo). Methods: Fruits of Citrus macroptera without rind was extracted with pure methanol following cold extraction and tested for presence of phytochemical constituents, α-amylase inhibitory activity, and hypoglycemic effect in normal rats and glucose induced hyperglycemic rats. Results: Presence of saponin, steroid and terpenoid were identified in the extract. The results showed that fruit extract had moderate α-amylase inhibitory activity [IC50 value=(3.638±0.190) mg/mL] as compared to acarbose. Moreover at 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg doses fruit extract significantly (P

Background Thysanolaena maxima (Roxb.) Kuntze, a perennial grass plant, is usually distributed in hilly regions of the Indian Subcontinent. Different parts of T. maxima have been used as herbal medicine by traditional healers of this region. In this present study, T. maxima plant extract has been screened for examination of its secondary metabolite content with their probable cytotoxic activity. Methods Secondary metabolites of the crude T. maxima plant extract were isolated by different chromatographic methods. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic data (1H NMR, 13C NMR) as well as comparison with available literature sources. Antiradical activity by DPPH radical scavenging assay and antimicrobial activity by disc diffusion method of the fractions and cytotoxic activity by trypan blue exclusion method of the isolated compounds were also evaluated. Results Three phenolic compounds 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (1), 4-hydroxycinnamic acid (2), 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (3) and two steroids stigmast-4-en-3-one (4) and β-stigmasterol (5) were isolated from the aerial part of T. maxima. Among the compounds 4-hydroxycinnamic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and stigmast-4-en-3-one exhibited notable cytotoxic activity against African Green Monkey Kidney Cell line (Vero cell). Conclusion Bioassay investigation of the isolated compounds and fractions suggested that T. maxima could be a potential source of bioactive secondary metabolites. Graphical abstract