Search

The study was intended to find in vitro antioxidant, cytotoxicity and safety profile of Polystichum braunii roots extracts and chemically characterise it by GC–MS and FTIR spectroscopy. Acute and sub-chronic (90-day oral repeated dose at 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg) toxicity studies of P. braunii methanol extract (PBME) were performed in Wistar rats by adopting OECD guidelines. The PBME exerted the highest in vitro antioxidant potential. There was no substantial change in blood parameters and body weight except a notable (p < 0.01) rise in ALT, ALP, MDA and HDL, and decrease in cholesterol and LDL (p < 0.05) in animals sub-chronically treated with PBME at 600 mg/kg dose. The IC50 in HepG2 was more than 1000 µg/ml. The GC–MS analysis revealed Pentadecanoic acid and 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid in PBME. The P. braunii might be safe in acute usage, however, monitoring of liver function tests should be carried out during long-term use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peripheral nerve injuries are among those complicated medical conditions, which are still waiting for their highly effective first‐line therapies. In this study, the role of Calotropis procera crude leaves was evaluated at different doses for their effectiveness in improving functional recovery following sciatic nerve injury‐induced in the mouse model. Thirty‐two healthy albino mice were divided into four groups as Normal chow group (control, n = 8) and C. procera chow groups (50 mg/kg (n = 8), 100 mg/kg (n = 8) and 200 mg/kg (n = 8)). Behavioral analyses were performed to assess and compare improved functional recovery along with skeletal muscle mass measurement in all groups. Serum samples were analyzed for oxidative stress markers. Results showed that C. procera leaves at dose‐dependent manner showed statistically prominent (p <.05) increase in sensorimotor functions reclamation as confirmed by behavioral analyses along with muscle mass restoration and prominent decline in TOS and momentous increase in TAC along with the augmented activity of antioxidative enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dhok Pathan Formation of Middle Siwaliks is remarkably rich for the fossils of ungulates. The fauna consists of Cervidae, Giraffidae, Tragulidae and Suidae but the fossils of family bovidae are more abundant. The 23 collected and described specimens here belong to seven species which are Selenoportax vexillarius, Pachyportax latidens, Miotragocerus cf. gluten, Gazella lydekkeri, Dorcatherium majus, Propotamochoerus hysudricus and Tetraconodon cf. magnus. The described material consists of both upper and lower dentition. The fossil-bearing locality is located near Padhri village 55 km away from the tehsil Dina, district Jhelum. It is mainly composed of claystone, sand-stone and siltstone beds. The studied locality dated to Late Miocene. This Formation was deposited in subtropical condition. Bovids were predominant in Padhri, which indicate the highly moist conditions with small but numerous open standing water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluoroquinolones are targets of interest due to their broad spectrum antibacterial activity. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) of fluoroquinolones clearly indicates that substitution at C-7 position enhances the lipophilicity of these scaffolds resultantly affording pharmacologically significant compounds. Therefore, various ciprofloxacinoxadiazole hybrids were synthesized and characterized by spectral analysis. Cytotoxic activity of these derivatives was assessed using human liver tumor cells (Huh7). One dose anticancer test results revealed moderate cytotoxicity of the newly synthesized compounds against this cell line. As the only compound 4a depicted comparatively lower cell viability value (81.91% using 100μg/mL concentration) than the other compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study was designed to evaluate the anti-oxidant and anti-arthritic potential of a traditionally used herb, Monotheca buxifolia. The M. buxifolia methanolic extract (MBME) was prepared from the aerial parts of the plant followed by chemical characterization with GC–MS. The anti-oxidant potential of the MBME was demonstrated by DPPH scavenging activity. The effects of MBME on protein denaturation and membrane stabilization were determined by inhibition of egg albumin denaturation and RBC membrane stabilization assays, respectively. The in vivo anti-arthritic potential of the MBME at 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg/day was evaluated in Complete Freund's Adjuvant-induced polyarthritis in Wistar rats treated for 21 days. Phytochemicals, such as linolenic acid methyl ester, n-hexadecanoic acid, vitamin E, α-amyrin, and β-amyrin were detected in the GC–MS analysis. The plant extract exhibited a 55.20 ± 0.69% scavenging of free radicals at 100 µg/ml concentration. It significantly (p < 0.05) stabilized human RBC membrane (65.06 ± 0.22%) and inhibited protein denaturation (70.53 ± 0.34%) at 100 mg/ml concentration. The diclofenac sodium (DS) and MBME at 150,100, and 50 mg/kg reduced the paw edema, restored the body weight, and altered blood parameters including CRP. The MBME significantly reduced the MDA and increased the SOD, CAT, and GSH levels in liver tissue homogenate in treated rats. The serum concentration of TNF-α and PGE2 was remarkably (p < 0.01–< 0.0001) restored by the DS and MBME dose dependently. The histopathological study showed that MBME 150 mg/kg commendably restored the ankle joint inflammation, bone erosion, and cartilage damage in polyarthritic rats. It was concluded that the anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects of MBME might be attributed to phenols, flavonoids, triterpenoids, vitamin E, phytol, and other fatty acids. This study showed the anti-arthritic potential of Monotheca buxifolia and thus validates its traditional claim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was carried out to evaluate the hepatoprotective potential of aqueous methanolic extract of Heliotropium strigosum (HSME) against paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity in Swiss albino mice. The plant powder (1.5Kg) was macerated in aqueous methanol (30:70) for 7 days. The extract was evaluated for the presence of different phytochemicals and High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. HSME was orally administered to mice at 125, 250 and 500mg/kg for 8 days followed by paracetamol intoxication (500mg/kg orally) on the 8th day using silymarin as standard control. All the therapy was administered by oral gavage. The liver biochemical parameters and histopathological evaluation were carried out to assess changes in liver function and histology. HPLC analysis confirmed the presence of quercetin, kaempferol, and other phenolic compounds. Treatment with the extract resulted in notable (p<0.05) reduction in liver parameters in dose dependent manner. The action of HSME 500mg/kg dose was comparable to silymarin. The effect of HSME against paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity was demonstrated by protective changes in the liver histopathological which proved the traditional uses of the plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeting cancer-specific metabolic and mitochondrial remodeling has emerged as a novel and selective strategy for cancer therapy during recent years. Phosphoglycerate Mutase 1 (PGAM1) is an important glycolytic enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of 3-phosphoglycerate to 2-phosphoglycerate and plays a critical role in cancer progression by coordinating glycolysis and biosynthesis. PGAM1 has been reported to be over expressed in a variety of cancer types and its inhibition results in decreased tumor growth and metastasis. Recently, there has been a growing interest in identification and characterization of novel PGAM1 inhibitors for the treatment of cancer. In the current study, in silico tools were used to find out natural inhibitors of PGAM1. For docking studies, a database of 5006 phytochemicals were docked against PGAM1, using MOE software in order to identify the compounds which show better binding affinities than PGMI-004A. Out of 5006 compounds screened, eight compounds (1,3-cyclopentanedione, glyflavanone B, 6-demethoxytangeretin, gnaphaliin, lantalucratin A and -(-) morelensin, abyssinin II and monotesone-A) showed significant binding affinity with PGAMI active site. Further, the eight selected compounds were evaluated for different pharmacokinetics parameters using admetSAR, the obtained results demonstrated that none of these hit compounds violated Lipinski's drug rule of 5 and all the hit compounds possess favorable ADMET properties. This study has unveiled the potential of phytochemicals that could serve as probable lead candidates for the development of PGAM1 inhibitors as anti-cancer agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is one of the major health concerns faced by the community at present. Till now, available therapeutic approaches are ineffective to fully heal a nerve injury and to assure the functional recovery entirely. Natural compounds can prove attractive and effective drug candidates to bridge up this gap. In this scenario, the present study was designed to explore the role of methanolic extract of Foeniculum vulgare (F. vulgare) seeds in accelerating the function regain following a sciatic nerve injury in a mouse model. For this purpose, 12 adult healthy albino mice (BALB/C), 8–10 weeks old, were grouped as control (Ctrl, n = 6) and treatment (Trt, n = 6). The treated group was given methanolic extract of F. vulgare (200 mg/kg per day) started from the day of nerve crush until the end of the study. The sensorimotor function regain assessed by hot plate test, grip strength, and SFI assessments was found significantly (p <.05) ameliorated in the F. vulgare‐treated group. A prominent improvement in the muscle mass of the treated group further affirmed these effects. Furthermore, morphometric analysis of muscle fiber cross‐sectional area of tibialis anterior muscle between groups revealed a noticeable improvement in muscle fibers' diameter of the treated group. Conclusively, these findings suggest that F. vulgare methanolic extract exhibits the potential to escalate functional recovery following a peripheral nerve injury. However, the real players of this extract and the mechanism involved in boosting functional restoration need to be dissected by further work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The current study aimed to investigate the ABO and rhesus (Rh) blood group frequency in the people of District Faisalabad and Sheikhupura, Punjab Province, Pakistan. The retrospective study was conducted on more than thirty thousand people including both male and female patients admitted to the Tehsil Headquarter Hospital, Safdarabad and The Best Hospital, Faisalabad. Blood samples were taken from each subject and subsequently ABO and Rh blood groups were evaluated separately. The antigen antibody agglutination slide test for blood grouping (ABO) and Rh were used to assess the blood group frequencies. Results: The frequencies of ABO blood group distribution indicated that blood group B was predominant in the people of Safdarabad followed by O, A and AB respectively. While, among people of Faisalabad, blood group O was predominant followed B, A and AB respectively. Rh negative phenotype was found lesser distributed as compared to the positive Rh phenotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piperazine moiety is found as an efficient pharmacological scaffold in various drugs. To explore the anticancer potential of piperazine framework, a series of novel N-acetamides derivatives of phenyl piperazine containing di-thio-carbamate moiety was designed and synthesized. 1HNMR, 13CNMR, FT-IR and mass spectrometry were used for the structures elucidation of these derivatives. In-vitro cytotoxic evaluation of the prepared novel compounds against lung carcinoma A-549 was carried out using standard MTT assay. All the di-thio-carbamate-piperazine derivatives exhibited moderate to excellent cytotoxic potential against A-549 cell line based on cell viability. Particularly, 6e was found to be the most potent derivative with cell viability 34.12±0.73 % at 100 μg/mL concentration and represents promising lead compound for future progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]