EVALUATION OF ANTIARTHRITIC ACTIVITY OF YOGRAJ GUGGUL FORMULATION IN FREUNDS ADJUVANT INDUCED POLY-ARTHRITIC RAT MODEL

The paper discusses evaluation of antiarthritic activity of Yograj guggul formulation in freund’s adjuvant induced poly-arthritis rat model. The findings demonstrate that the treatment with Yograj guggul formulation (200, 400 mg/kg/day) for 14 days produced a significant anti-arthritic activity (decreased arthritic index), inhibited connective tissue metabolism (reduced hydroxyproline and hexosamine content of edematous tissue) and caused haematological alterations (WBC, RBC, ESR and differential cell count) occur during Freund’s adjuvant induced polyarthritis in rats. The antiarthritic effect of Yograj guggul formulation at 400 mg/kg was comparable to that of reference drug, diclofenac sodium (10 mg/kg). The antiarthritic activity observed in the present study may be attributed to the various herbs present in the formulation. It is proposed that, the Yograj guggul formulation elicited antiarthritic activity largely due to the prevention of connective tissue breakdown, decreased capillary permeability and improvement of immune system.

Morphometric Evaluation of Rhesus Articular Cartilage: Correlation of Hexosamine and 35SO4= Incorporation

Morphometric evaluation of 20 rhesus articular cartilage samples were correlated with hexosamine and an 18–hour incorporation of 35SO4= as a measure of proteoglycan production on samples from the same joint. Reduced chondrocyte cellularity was the basis of the reduced maintenance of the matrix by the chondrocyte. In the more cellular cartilage, the matrix/lacunae area ratio was <25, and the less cellular group had a ratio of >40. An inverse correlation existed between morphometric cartilage matrix/lacunar area ratio and hexosamine content. A significant difference of 35SO4= incorporation was not seen between the three morphometric grades. Morphometric assessment reduces the subjectivity of articular cartilage evaluation.

Mechanical Properties of the Lateral Collateral Ligament: Effect of Cruciate Instability in the Rabbit

Concomitant soft tissue injury resulting from knee instability following cruciate rupture is a serious clinical problem. To study this injury mechanism, the biomechanical properties of the lateral collateral ligament were measured at 0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks post-operatively in rabbits having the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments sectioned. No significant changes were found in the ligament’s cross-sectional area, tensile mechanical response, or in its hexosamine content. The predominant mode of ligament failure was by bone avulsion at the insertion sites (78 percent) with 86 percent of paired limbs failing in a similar manner.

Anionic Glycoproteins and their Hexosamine Content in Neoplastic Patients: Relationships with the Clinical Stage and the Course of the Disease

In 40 healthy subjects, in 47 non-cancer patients, and in 142 cancer patients, perchloric acid-soluble glycoproteins (PASG) and hexosamines were determined to investigate their tumor specificity and correlation with the tumor mass. Cancer patients were divided into three subgroups: CI, no evidence of cancer (after radical surgery); CII, locoregional disease; CIII, widespread metastatic disease. There was no statistically significant difference in PASG among normals, non-cancer and CI patients; hexosamines in non-cancer and in CI patients were higher (P < 0.002) than in normals; both PASG and hexosamines were significantly higher in CII and CIII patients than in normals (P < 0.001). In the CI group, 62% of patients who relapsed within 10 months after surgery had high hexosamine values, whereas 69% of patients who did not relapse showed normal levels (P < 0.05). PASG and hexosamines significantly increased with cancer progression and decreased when objective response to treatment was achieved. They are not tumor specific, but seem to be related to the tumor burden; hexosamines seem to have some prognostic value.

Effect of strain variation and growth phase of culture on dry weight and hexosamine content of cell wall layers of a marine pseudomonad

Two variants of marine pseudomonad B-16 (ATCC 19855) differing in that one, variant 3, formed opaque colonies and the other, variant 7, formed translucent colonies were examined to determine if the variants differed in the amount and hexosamine content of their three outer cell wall layers. In both variants, the three outer layers of the cell wall, the loosely bound outer layer, the outer double-track layer, and the underlying (periplasmic space) layer contributed less to the dry weight of the cells when the cells were harvested in the stationary than in the logarithmic phase of growth. The hexosamine content of the layers of variant 3 increased dramatically as the cells went from the logarithmic to the stationary phase. The hexosamine content of the layers of variant 7 changed little by comparison. Thus cells of the variant which forms opaque colonies enrich the outer layers of their cell wall with hexosamine when grown to stationary phase.