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The peels of edible roots and tubers contain nutritionally and industrially important compounds but are frequently discarded as agro-waste. In the present work, the peels of radish (Raphanus sativus), turnip (Brassica rapa), beetroot (Beta vulgaris), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), and potato (Solanum tuberosum) were analysed for their potential cytotoxicity in terms of haemolytic activity; antioxidant activity in terms of total phenolic contents (TPC); DPPH radical scavenging assay, and antimutagenic activity using Ames bacterial reverse mutation test. Characterisation of individual phenolic acids was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The haemolytic activity of radish, turnip, potato, sweet potato, and beetroot peels ranged from 0.34 - 4.85% and the TPC ranged from 43.82 - 67.23 mg GAE/g DW. Strong antimutagenic behaviour was exhibited by beetroot peels while sweet potato peels were found to be weak antimutagenic agent. Overall, the result infers that peels of selected edible roots and tubers are a rich source of antioxidants with good antimutagenic potential but weak cytotoxicity towards normal human blood cells. Therefore, the peels of roots and tubers can be used as feed, food and natural pharmaceutical or chemo-preventive agent after applying suitable processing techniques rather than discarded as agro-waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study describes the chemical composition, as well as the antioxidant activity of the seeds of different cultivars of mungbeans. Mungbeans are found to have a good antioxidant activity and hence can be a potential source of nutraceuticals and functional foods.

Background : Despite the advances in imaging techniques and treatment modalities, the prognosis of lung cancer remains poor, with five-year survival of 14% at early stages and less than 5% in locally advanced stages. Before starting treatment a clear distinction between small cell and nonsmall cell carcinoma must be made, for that histopathology remains the mainstay of confirmation of diagnosis. To combat the disease successfully, it should be diagnosed at earliest possible stage. If bronchial brush cytology yield comparable diagnostic specificity, then it may easy for the patient and physician to manage this fatal disease. Purpose : The study was designed to evaluate the diagnostic yield of bronchial brush cytology in central (endoscopically visible) bronchial carcinoma. Subjects and methods: This cross sectional study was done in the Department of Medicine, and Respiratory Medicine units of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, Sylhet during the period from July 2012 to June 2014.Thirty seven patients with clinically suspected bronchial carcinoma were enrolled in this study fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In all cases bronchial brush cytology and endo-bronchial biopsy were performed and results of both techniques were compared. Reasults: The mean age of the patients with bronchial carcinoma was 59.65 (SD 12.95) years; 28 (75.7%) patients were 51 years or above with a ratio of male to female of 17.5:1. The sensitivity of bronchial brush cytology in the diagnosis of central bronchial carcinoma was 89.2% and that of endobronchial biopsy was 67.6%, no true negative cases were detected. Five (13.5%) patients developed respiratory distress and minor bleeding in 4 (10.8%) as a complications of bronchoscopy procedure. Conclusion: The diagnostic yield of bronchial brush cytology is non inferior to than that of endobronchial biopsy in the diagnosis of central bronchial carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal plants namely P. guajava, F. benghalensis, C. paradisi, G. radicans, F. religiosa, V. vinifera, P. granatum, M. alba and Z. jujuba leaves were assessed for their total phenolics (TP), total flavonoids (TF) and antioxidant potential. The selected plant leaves were extracted in 80% methanol. The TP and TF contents found to be in the range of 24.0 to 47.6 mg GAE/g DW and 14.9-114.9 mg CE/g DW, respectively. Major phenolics, i.e. gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, m-coumaric acid, 4-hydroxy,3-methoxy benzoic acid, ferulic acid, syringic acid and vanillic acid were detected by reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Among all plant leaves, P. granatum exhibited maximum amount of phenolic acids followed by M. alba. The DPPH radical scavenging activity was 29.11-83.20%, whereas reducing potential of 2.5 to 10 mg/ml was recorded to be 0.47-1.41. A positive relationship between total phenolics, total flavonoids and antioxidant capacity was found in selected medicinal plant leaves and results revealed that plant under investigation could be potential source of natural antioxidants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work explores underutilized Lemon (Citrus limon) and Galgal (Citrus pseudolimon) residues for their phenolic contents and in-vitro antioxidant activities. Methanolic extracts from different parts of these two Citrus species were tested for total phenolic contents (TPC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), DPPH radical scavenging activity, % inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation and reducing power by using respective in-vitro antioxidant model assays. The percentage yield of extracts, total phenolic and flavonoid contents among parts tested varied from 6.13 - 24.20 g/100g, 98.20 - 199.18 (mg gallic acid equivalent/g of extract) and 19.95 - 39.60 (mg catechin equivalent/g of extract), respectively. Percent inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation and DPPH radical scavenging capacity for the tested extracts ranged between 31- 60 and 40-62%, respectively. The overall order of antioxidant potential among parts of Citrus species was established to be: C. pseudolimon leave > C. limon leave > C. pseudolimon peel > C. limon peel > C. pseudolimon seed ≈ C. limon seed. It could be concluded that extracts of Citrus fruit residues, especially, leaves can be explored as an economically viable source of natural antioxidants and nutraceuticals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud computing has recently emerged as a new paradigm for hosting and delivering services over the Internet. This article provides brief information on cloud computing and the future prospects of cloud computing in India. Cloud computing is one contemporary technology in which the research community has recently embarked. The main purpose of this article is to know about the future of cloud computing in India which is defined there with the help of SWOT analysis. The aim is to provide a better understanding of the design challenges of cloud computing and identify important research directions in this increasingly important area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants, being a rich source of medicinally important compounds such as antioxidants, have chemo-preventive role against the risk of oxidative stress-related diseases. There has been much interest in fruits and vegetable rich diets as a natural source of antioxidants and functional ingredients. As well as targeting plants high in antioxidant activity it is also important to optimize extraction parameters. Four extracting solvents, methanol, ethanol, aqueous methanol (80% v/v) and aqueous ethanol (80% v/v) were evaluated for their efficacy to extract antioxidants from cauliflower that had undergone different drying processes namely air-drying, sun-drying and oven-drying. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the extracting ability of each of the solvents. The aqueous solvents were superior in their ability to extract the antioxidants and aqueous methanol was significantly more efficient than aqueous ethanol. This result was consistent across a number of parameters including extraction yield, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Furthermore, the samples drying process prior to extraction, also significantly influenced (P < 0.05) the extraction yield. Oven dried (40 °C) cauliflower had the highest yield of extractable antioxidants while air dried (ambient, approx 25 °C) had the lowest. Again, there was excellent correlation between extraction yield, antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present monograph describes the salting-out assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (SALLME) and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (RP-HPLC-DAD) based quantification of two frequently applied neonicotinoid insecticides, i.e., acetamiprid (ACE) and imidacloprid (IMD), from selected tropical fruits (citrus and guava) and vegetables (tomato, okra and cauliflower). The SALLME conditions like pH, liquid/solid ratio and salt ratio (NaCl/Na2SO4) were varied over a wide range of conditions for the enhanced recovery of IMD and ACE from spiked quality control (low, high and medium) of fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, RP-HPLC-DAD quantification of IMD and ACE was found to be linear over 1-100 μg/L with the coefficient of determination (R2) value ≥0.997 and slope of the calibration curve (sensitivity) ≥2.3 × 104 peak area unit (μAu). The analysis of selected fruits and vegetables after 0 (1 h), 1, 3, 7, 10 and 14 days of foliar application revealed the presence of IMD and ACE residues in okra and guava higher than maximum residual limits set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission until the third day of spray. Overall, the SALLME-RP-HPLC-DAD was found to be a rapid, selective and expedient choice for the routine analysis of neonicotinoids in environmental and food commodities., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose: To explore the diagnostic value of integrated positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) for the staging of endometrial carcinoma and to investigate the associations between quantitative parameters derived from PET/MRI and clinicopathological characteristics of endometrial carcinoma., Methods: Altogether, 57 patients with endometrial carcinoma who underwent PET/MRI and PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) preoperatively were included. Diagnostic performance of PET/MRI and PET/CT for staging was compared by three readers. Associations between PET/MRI quantitative parameters of primary tumor lesions and clinicopathological characteristics of endometrial carcinoma were analyzed. Histopathological results were used as the standard., Results: The overall accuracy of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging for PET/MRI and PET/CT was 86.0% and 77.2%, respectively. PET/MRI had higher accuracy in diagnosing myometrial invasion and cervical invasion and an equivalent accuracy in diagnosing pelvic lymph node metastasis against PET/CT, although without significance. All PET/MRI quantitative parameters were significantly different between stage I and stage III tumors. Only SUV max /ADC min were significantly different between stage I and II tumors. No parameters were significantly different between stage II and III tumors. The SUV max /ADC min in the receiving operating characteristic (ROC) curve had a higher area under the ROC curve for differentiating stage I tumors and other stages of endometrial carcinoma., Conclusions: PET/MRI had a higher accuracy for the staging of endometrial carcinoma, mainly for FIGO stage I tumors compared to PET/CT. PET/MRI quantitative parameters, especially SUV max /ADC min , were associated with tumor stage and other clinicopathological characteristics. Hence, PET/MRI may be a valuable imaging diagnostic tool for preoperative staging of endometrial carcinoma., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Present study aimed to explore the antihypertensive potential of bioactive peptides isolated from Brassica napus protein as inhibitor of angiotensin converting enzyme. Protein was extracted and assessed for antihypertensive potential. The extracted protein showed 72% antihypertensive activity/potential with IC 50 value of 24±5.60μg/mL. Thirty-one fractions of peptides were isolated by hydrolyzing protein at different time intervals, pH, temperature and enzyme/substrate ratio. The antihypertensive potential of all isolated fractions was measured. It was found that only one peptide fraction exhibited significantly high (75%) antihypertensive potential. This hydrolyzed fraction was characterized through Liquid-Chromatography-Electrospray-Ionization-Mass-Spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). Eleven bioactive peptides were identified in hydrolyzate of Brassica napus which include Serine-Threonine, Methionine-Valine, Methionine-Leucine, Glutamine-Phenylalanine, Alanine-Threonine-Phenylalanine, Alanine-Leucine-Proline-Glycine, Valine-Alanine-Phenylalanine-Glycine, Aspartic acid-Proline-Methionine-Glutamine, Valine-Glutamine-Cysteine-Tyrosine, Methionine-Cysteine-Tyrosine-Tyrosine-Phenylalanine and Alanine-Leucine-Leucine-Alanine-Cysteine-Proline-Alanine. The current study showed that Brassica napus is an important food, having high amount of bioactive peptides with high antihypertensive potential, can control blood pressure very efficiently.

The effluents from textile industries without proper treatment contains a remarkable amount of synthetic dyes which are harmful to the environment and a big challenge globally to degrade it with a eco-friendly way. Conventional methods are extremely energy-consuming, non-effective and generate a toxic sludge impacting the environment. Several microorganisms can be utilized to treat these effluents. The research deals with five bacteria isolated from textile effluent and their consortium for the biodegradation ability of Novacron dyes. The isolates were identified through the Biolog™ identification system and molecular technique. Biodegradation was confirmed by measuring optical density (OD) optimizing conditions (pH 7.0, temperature 37 °C, 10 % inoculums and 100 mg/L dye) under static condition. The isolates started decolourization at 24 h whereas, the consortium started decolourization at 18 h and exhibited a maximum after 72 h. The presence of low molecular weight protein as metabolite supported the biodegradation and non hazardous to environment. This study revealed that these bacteria might have degradation potentials, and research results will help to set up dye removal eco-friendly methods to expose the dye effulents to environment in future., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

As digital outlets of expression become increasingly accessible, means of conveying grief and commemorating the deceased have migrated online. Online memorial websites such as UK-based Muchloved.com boasts thousands of Tributes created by the bereaved to remember the deceased. Many of these Tributes sketch out a rough picture of the person commemorated through text detailing their personal lives, professions, hobbies, and accomplishments, as well as photographs capturing intimate moments with family and community, and condolences contributed by family, friends, and community members. This article examines how stories of migration figure in this large pool of digital Tributes. We draw from Moncur and Kirk's "emergent framework" for the study of digital memorials by analyzing 17 Tributes on MuchLoved.com, which commemorated individuals who, according to these Tributes, migrated from one nation to another. We find that the practices and conventions of memorial-writing to commemorate first-generation immigrants perpetuate narratives of exceptionality.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence and prevalence of drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) as well as its predictors and correlates, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies., Methods: Our protocol was registered with PROSPERO, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology reporting standards were followed. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science. We used a double arcsine transformation and random-effects models to perform our meta-analyses. We performed random-effects meta-regressions using study-level data., Results: Our search strategy identified 10,794 abstracts. Of these, 103 articles met our eligibility criteria. There was high interstudy heterogeneity and risk of bias. The cumulative incidence of DRE was 25.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 16.8-34.3) in child studies but 14.6% (95% CI: 8.8-21.6) in adult/mixed age studies. The prevalence of DRE was 13.7% (95% CI: 9.2-19.0) in population/community-based populations but 36.3% (95% CI: 30.4-42.4) in clinic-based cohorts. Meta-regression confirmed that the prevalence of DRE was higher in clinic-based populations and in focal epilepsy. Multiple predictors and correlates of DRE were identified. The most reported of these were having a neurologic deficit, an abnormal EEG, and symptomatic epilepsy. The most reported genetic predictors of DRE were polymorphisms of the ABCB1 gene., Conclusions: Our observations provide a basis for estimating the incidence and prevalence of DRE, which vary between populations. We identified numerous putative DRE predictors and correlates. These findings are important to plan epilepsy services, including epilepsy surgery, a crucial treatment option for people with disabling seizures and DRE., (© 2021 American Academy of Neurology.)

The aim of this study was to identify and characterize the bioactive compounds of Coriandrum sativum responsible for the treatment of hypertension and to explore their mechanism of action as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Bioactive fractions like alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, and tannins were extracted and evaluated for their ACE inhibition potential. Among them, only flavonoid-rich fraction showed high ACE inhibition potential with IC 50 value of 28.91 ± 13.42  μ g/mL. The flavonoids were characterized through LC-ESI-MS/MS. Seventeen flavonoids were identified in this fraction of Coriandrum sativum in negative ionization mode which includes pinocembrin, apigenin, pseudobaptigenin, galangin-5-methyl ether, quercetin, baicalein trimethyl ether, kaempferol dimethyl ether, pinobanksin-5-methylether-3-O-acetate, pinobanksin-3-O-pentenoate, pinobanksin-3-O-phenylpropionate, pinobanksin-3-O-pentanoate, apigenin-7-O-glucuronoide, quercetin-3-O-glucoside, apigenin-3-O-rutinoside, rutin, isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside, and quercetin dimethyl ether-3-O-rutinoside, while six flavonoids including daidzein, luteolin, pectolinarigenin, apigenin-C-glucoside, kaempferol-3-7-dimethyl ether-3-O-glucoside, and apigenin-7-O-(6-methyl-beta-D-glucoside) were identified in positive ionization mode. The results of this study revealed that Coriandrum sativum is a valuable functional food that possesses a number of therapeutic flavonoids with ACE inhibition potential that can manage blood pressure very efficiently.

The present work appraises the phenolic profile of fruit extracts from two species ( Solanum indicum and Solanum surattense ) of Solanaceae . The bioactive components from both the species were extracted with different concentrations of acidified (hydrolysis) and aqueous methanol (non-hydrolyzed) and analyzed for the total phenolics calorimetrically. The hydrolyzed extracts of both the species were characterized for phenolic compounds profiling using LC-ESI-MS/MS. The hydrolysis of fruit samples produced greater extract yield (31.9-50.7%) and total phenolics (250.4-289.5 mg GAE/g of extract) than non-hydrolyzed (11.1-19.2 and 161.5-171.2, respectively). The hydrolyzed extracts from both the species, with higher contents of total phenols were analyzed for phenolic profiling using LC-ESI-MS/MS technique and the data authenticated the presence of caftaric acid, ellagic acid, myricetin, apigenin-7-glucoside and methoxy chrysin in S. indicum while isoquercitrin, gallocatechin, quercetin and catechin in S. surattense. The current study explores the profile of valuable phenolic bioactives of the selected species of Solanaceae , thereby supporting their potential applications as ingredients of functional foods and neutraceuticals.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: About 2-5% of the world's population is suffering from liver toxicity including Pakistan with the second highest rate of hepatitis prevalence. Liver is a vital body organ which not only performs metabolic activities but also aids in detoxification, storage and digestion of food. Now a day's malnutrition, alcohol consumption and drug addiction are major causes of liver diseases throughout the world. In fact, there is no possible outcome to compensate liver malfunction for long term, and transplantation of liver is the only option left after the irretrievable injury of hepatic function. Subsequently, natural based therapeutic approaches are in the process of scrupulous testing as strong hepatoprotective mediator. In this regard plants are well thought hepatoprotective agents having multiple active components. In this review, based on species' pharmacology and safety we have compiled some plants which show strong hepatoprotective activity, main phytoconstituents with biological activities and few commercially used herbal formulations., Materials and Methods: Ethnopharmacological information was gathered by an extensive literature survey like WHO monographs on selected herbal medicinal plants (Vol 1-Vol 4); Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy, Mills S and Bone K, Churchill Livingstone, London, UK; Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals, Wichtl M Medpharm Press, Stuttgart 3rd edn; Pharmacology and Applications of Chinese Materia Medica Vols 1 and 2, Chang H-M and But P P-H World Scientific, Singapore; British Herbal Compendium Vol. 2, Bradley P British Herbal Medicine Association, Bournemouth, UK; ESCOP Monographs 2nd edn. Thieme, Stuttgart, Germany; as well as by using electronic databases such as Pubchem, Chemspider, http://www.herbal-ahp.org; http://www.ahpa.org; http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2003/9241546271.pdf; http://www.escop.com, Pubmed, HubMed and Scopus., Results: Data for more about 29 plants have been accomplished for their bioactive constituent(s), biological activities and medicinal uses. Some of the plants have been identified as strong hepato-modulator. Such knowledge about traditional medicinal plants can be globally applied for safe and evidence based use in pharmacological applications., Conclusion: With the rise in liver risks a meek struggle has been made to draw attention toward herbal therapy. Hepatoprotective constituents of said plants are expressed with chemical structures. However, for certain plants active constituents are not still isolated/purified but overall plant extract was found effective in providing protection against hepatic injury. As a future perspective, there is need to purify plant active constituents for ethnomedical rationale., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This contribution proposes an enzyme-assisted eco-friendly process for the extraction of non-extractable polyphenols (NEPPs) from black tea leftover (BTLO), an underutilized tea waste. BTLO hydrolyzed with various enzyme formulations was extracted using supercritical carbon dioxide and ethanol as co-solvent (SC-CO 2  + EtOH). A conventional solvent extraction (CSE) was performed using EtOH + H 2 O (80:20, v/v) for comparison purposes. The results revealed that hydrolysis of BTLO with 2.9% (w/w) kemzyme at 45 °C and pH 5.4 for 98 min improved the liberation of NEPPs offering 5-fold higher extract yield (g/100 g) as compared with non-treated BTLO. In vitro antioxidant evaluation and LC-MS characterization of extracts revealed the presence of phenolic acids (mainly caffeic and para-coumaric acid) of high antioxidant value. Scanning electron micrograph of the hydrolyzed BTLO samples indicated noteworthy changes in the ultrastructure of BTLO. Moreover, polyphenol extracts obtained by SC-CO 2  + EtOH extraction were found to be cleaner and richer in polyphenols as compared to CSE. The devised enzyme-assisted SC-CO 2  + EtOH extraction process in the present work can be explored as an effective biotechnological mean for the optimal recovery of antioxidant polyphenols. Graphical abstract Enzymatic pretreatment can effectively liberate non-extractable polyphenols (NEPPs) while hydrolyzing the cellulosic and hemicellulosic framework of black tea left overs (BTLO).

The present study was aimed to appraise the variations in biochemical, antioxidant and nutritional attributes of radish ( Raphanus sativus L.) under foliar application of plant leaf aqueous extracts i.e., mulberry leaf extract (MLE), brassica leaf extract (BLE), sorghum leaf extract (SLE) and moringa leaf extract (MoLE) as natural growth regulators. Samples were collected after three sprays of extracts and analyzed. Total phenolic constituents were determined using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent method, whereas antioxidant potential was evaluated by 1,1 diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical radical scavenging and reducing power assays. Results revealed that application of MLE, BLE, SLE, and MoLE not only improved growth, but also enhanced biochemical and antioxidant activities. Foliar spray of MoLE furnished relatively three folds higher amounts of extractable bioactive compounds (37.65 ± 0.94%), phenolic constituents (54.51-182.71 mg GAE/g f.w). The radical scavenging capacity (RSC) and reducing potential were also enhanced considerably. Furthermore, the moisture, dietary fiber, crude protein, and carotenoids were also enhanced in response of foliar spray of plant extracts. From results, it is concluded that plant extracts are effective sources of natural growth regulars and might be useful for the production of vegetables with improved nutritional value and antioxidant activity.

Cucurbitaceae are one of most widely used plant species for human food but lesser known members have not been examined for bioactive components. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant and genoprotective activities from three cucurbitaceae seeds extracts and to identify phenolic components by LC-ESIMS/MS analysis. From the results, the yield of seeds extract was 20-41% (w/w) and samples had 16-40% total phenols as gallic acid equivalents (GAE). Compared with methanol solvent, using acidified methanol led to increased extraction yield by 1.4 to 10-fold, higher phenolic content (149.5 ± 1.2 to 396.4 ± 1.9 mg GAE/g), higher DPPH radical quenching and enhanced genoprotective activity using the pBR322 plasmid assay. LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis led to identification of 14-17 components, based on authentic standards and comparison with literature reports, as mainly phenolic acids and esters, flavonol glycosides. This may be the first mass spectrometric profiling of polyphenol components from cucurbitaceae seeds., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA(1)c) is a well-established indicator of mean glycemia. The presence of genetic variants of hemoglobin can profoundly affect the accuracy of HbA(1)c measurements. Variants of hemoglobin especially Hemoglobin E (HbE) is prevalent in South East Asia including Bangladesh. The objective of our study is to compare the HbA(1)c values measured on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Turbidimetric Inhibition Immunoassay (TINIA) in diabetic patients with variant hemoglobins including HbE. A total of 7595 diabetic patients receiving treatment at BIRDEM General Hospital were analyzed for HbA(1)c results within a period of two months from December 2013 to January 2014. Seventy two cases out of 7595 (0.95%) had either undetectable or below normal HbA(1)c levels (males-33 and females-39; ratio = 0.82:1) by HPLC method. In 34(0.45%) cases, HbA(1)c value was undetectable by HPLC method but was in the reportable range by TINIA method. In the other 38 (0.55%) cases, HbA(1)c levels were below the reportable range (<4%) by HPLC method but were in the normal or higher range by TINIA method. TINIA method did not agree with HPLC method on Bland Altman plot in the 38 cases with below normal HbA(1)c levels, [Mean bias -5.2(-9.3 to 1.0), 95% CI] but agreed very well [mean bias -0.21 (-0.84 to 0.42), y=1.1037+0.776X; r(2)=0.30, p<0.01] in controls. In control group mean MCV was 83.80±7.48 and in study group was 73.65±10.44. Alkaline electrophoresis confirmed the variant hemoglobin to be HbE. The fasting blood sugar levels of all the 72 cases correlated strongly with TINIA method (r(2) =0.75, p<0.0001) but not with HPLC (r = 0.24, p=0.13). In our regions where populations have a high prevalence of Hb variant, proper knowledge of hemoglobin variants which affect the measurements HbA(1)c level is essential. MCV of 80fl or below may serve as a rough guide to select samples that require analysis by TINIA method. Moreover, HPLC may be a convenient and inexpensive tool for screening of hemoglobinopathies especially among diabetic population in Bangladesh. It may therefore be helpful in improving management of complications related to both anaemia and iron overload.

Enzyme assisted solvent extraction (EASE) of phenolic compounds from watermelon (C. lanatus) rind (WMR) was optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with Rotatable Central Composite Design (RCCD). Four variables each at five levels i.e. enzyme concentration (EC) 0.5-6.5 %, pH 6-9, temperature (T) 25-75 °C and treatment time (t) 30-90 min, were augmented to get optimal yield of polyphenols with maximum retained antioxidant potential. The polyphenol extracts obtained under optimum conditions were evaluated for their in-vitro antioxidant activities and characterized for individual phenolic profile by RP-HPLC-DAD. The results obtained indicated that optimized EASE enhanced the liberation of antioxidant phenolics up to 3 folds on fresh weight basis (FW) as compared to conventional solvent extraction (CSE), with substantial level of total phenolics (173.70 mg GAE/g FW), TEAC 279.96 mg TE/g FW and DPPH radical scavenging ability (IC50) 112.27 mg/mL. Chlorogenic acid (115.60-1611.04), Vanillic acid (26.13-2317.01) and Sinapic acid (113.01-241.12 μg/g) were major phenolic acid found in EASEx of WMR. Overall, it was concluded that EASE might be efficient and green technique to revalorize under-utilized WMR into potent antioxidant phenolic for their further application in food and nutraceutical industries.

Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare autosomal dominant hereditary metabolic disorder having protean manifestations. The clinical presentations of abdominal pain, peripheral neuropathy and changes in mental status are the classic triad of an acute attack. A 15-year old girl was admitted in the medicine department of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College with the complaints of recurrent abdominal pain, convulsions and weakness of lower limbs. She presented with a combination of medical and neuropsychiatric symptoms suggestive of a case of AIP. The clinical presentation and the presence of porphyrins in urine confirmed the diagnosis of AIP. AIP can be life-threatening, so an accurate diagnosis and proper management are highly important.

Antifungal activity in lemon and pomegranate peels was considerable against Aspergillus flavus, higher in pomegranate (DIZ 37mm; MIC 135μg/mL). Powdered peels (5, 10, 20% w/w) were mixed in inoculated rice. The inhibitory effect on fungal-growth and production of aflatoxins by A. flavus was investigated at storage conditions - temperature (25, 30°C) and moisture (18%, 21%) for 9months. The maximum total aflatoxins accumulated at 30°C, 21% moisture and at 25°C, 18% moisture were 265.09 and 163.45ng/g, respectively in control. Addition of pomegranate-peels inhibited aflatoxins production to 100% during four month-storage of rice at 25°C and 18% moisture, while lemon-peels showed similar inhibitory effect for 3months at same conditions. However a linear correlation was observed in aflatoxins level with temperature and moisture. Studies showed that both fruit-wastes are potent preventer of aflatoxin production in rice, useful for a safer and longer storage of rice., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present work explores antimutagenic and antioxidant potential as well as total phenolics of aqueous and acidified methanol extractable components from clove (Syzygium aromaticum L.) seed. The magnitude of antimutagenic activity of clove seed extracts (CSE) against two mutant bacterial strains: S. typhimurium TA98 and S. typhimurium TA100 (Ames bacterial test) ranged from 34.11-79.74%. Antioxidant activity in terms of measurement of DPPH radical scavenging capacity and inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation was noted to be 71.16-94.58% and 54.96-86.89%, respectively. CSE also exhibited an appreciable amount of total phenolics with contribution between 22.80 and 115.33 GAE mg/100g. A strong correlation between total phenolics and tested biological activities were recorded. The results of this study advocate that clove seed can be explored as a viable source of bioactives for the development of chemotherapeutic drugs against cancer in addition to acting as nutraceutical and functional food ingredient.

Hydrolysates of Trianthema portulacastrum in acidified methanol were evaluated for their total phenolic (TP) constituents and respective antioxidant activities using in vitro assays (i.e., 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, percent inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation, and ferric reducing power). The observed results indicate that root, shoot, and leaf fractions of T. portulacastrum contain 50.75~98.09 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight of TP. In addition, these fractions have substantial reducing potentials (0.10~0.59), abilities to inhibit peroxidation (43.26~89.98%), and DPPH radical scavenging capabilities (6.98~311.61 μg/mL IC50). The experimental data not only reveal T. portulacastrum as potential source of valuable antioxidants, but also indicate that acidified methanol may be an ideal choice for the enhanced recovery of phenolic compounds with retained biological potential for the food and pharmaceutical industry.

Background: The present work was designed to appraise how different extraction solvents and techniques affect the extractability of antioxidant and antimicrobial components from Lantana camara (L. camard) flowers., Material and Methods: Four extraction solvents including 100% methanol, 80% methanol, 100% ethanol and 80% ethanol coupled with three extraction techniques namely stirring, microwave-assisted stirring and ultrasonic-assisted stirring employed to isolate extractable components from the flowers of L. camara. The extracts produced were evaluated for their antioxidant and antimicrobial attributes., Results and Discussion: The yield of extractable components varied over a wide range 4.87-30.00% in relation to extraction solvent and techniques. The extracts produced contained considerable amounts of total phenolics (8.28-52.34 mg GAE/100 g DW) and total flavonoids (1.24-7.88 mg CE/100 g DW). Furthermore, a promising antioxidant activity in terms of DPPH° scavenging, inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation and reducing power, as well as antimicrobial potential of the extracts were recorded against the selected bacterial and fungal strains., Conclusions: It was concluded that both extraction solvent and techniques employed affected the antioxidant and antimicrobial attributes of the extracts from L. camara flowers. With few exceptions, overall methanolic extracts produced by ultrasonic-assisted stirring offered superior activities followed by the microwave-assisted stirring and then stirring. The results advocate the use of appropriate extraction strategies to recover potent antioxidant and antimicrobial agents from the flowers of L. camara for nutraceutical and therapeutic.

Bioactive polyphenols, cartenoids, and anthocyanins present in fruits and vegetables are receiving much attention because of their potential antioxidant activity. This study was conducted to determine antioxidant activity of leaves, peels, stem bark, and kernel of mango varieties langra and chonsa. Total phenolic (TPC) and total flavonoid contents (TFCs) in segments of langra ranged from 63.89 to 116.80 mg GAE/g DW and 45.56 to 90.89 mg CE/g DW, respectively, and that of chonsa were 69.24 to 122.60 mg GAE/g DW and 48.43 to 92.55 mg CE/g DW, respectively. The 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity and linoleic inhibition capacity in segments of langra ranged from 53.30% to 61.10% and 40.0% to 47.20%, respectively, whereas for chonsa; 56.40% to 66.0% and 48.1% to 49.0%, respectively. The reducing potentials of different segments of langra and chonsa at concentration of 10 mg/mL were 0.512 to 0.850 and 0.595 to 0.665 mV, respectively. Comparison between both varieties showed chonsa exhibited better antioxidant activity. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) using completely randomised design (CRD) under factorial., (© 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®)

The present investigation was carried out to appraise the levels of total phenols and vitamin C as well as antioxidant potential at three different ripening stages (un-ripe, semi-ripe and fully-ripe) of guava (Psidium guajava L.) fruit collected from three different geographical regions of Pakistan (Islamabad, Faisalabad and Bhakkar). The antioxidant potential of guava fruit extracts was assessed by means of different in-vitro antioxidant assays, namely inhibition of peroxidation in linoleic acid system, reducing power and radical scavenging capability. Overall, fruit at the un-ripe stage (G1) exhibited the highest levels of TPC, TFC, reducing power and DPPH radical scavenging activity, followed by the semi-ripe (G2) and fully-ripe (G3) stages. On the other hand, vitamin C content increased as the fruit maturity progressed, with highest value seen at the fully-ripe stage (G3) followed by the semi-ripe (G2) and un-ripe stage (G1). The concentration of vitamin C in fruits varied as: Faisalabad (136.4-247.9 mg 100 g⁻¹), Islamabad (89.7-149.7 mg 100 g⁻¹) and Bhakkar (73.1-129.5 mg 100 g⁻¹). The results showed that different stages of maturation and geographical locations had profound effects on the antioxidant activity and vitamin C contents of guava fruit.