IN VITRO ANTI-UROLITHIATIC ACTIVITY OF FRESH JUICE OF WHEATGRASS

The objective of this work was to determine the anti-urolithiatic potential of fresh juice of wheatgrass, i.e., Triticum aestivum L. Wheatgrass juice is a rich source of mineral nutrients like iron (Fe), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). The qualitative phytochemical screening of fresh wheatgrass juice showed the presence of amino acids, flavonoids, saponins, phenols and tannins. The in vitro anti-urolithiatic activity was determined using dissolution method and by turbidity method. Crystals of calcium oxalate were prepared and packed in semi-permeable membrane in both methods. Percentage increase in dissolution of calcium oxalate crystals and increase in turbidity was measured, and compared with control (distilled water). Wheatgrass juice exhibited significant anti-urolithiatic activity when compared to the control. The result revealed that wheatgrass juice has potential in the treatment of kidney stone.

IN VITRO ANTIUROLITHIATIC ACTIVITY OF MACERATED AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF TERMINALIA BELERICA BY USING TURBIDITY METHOD

Objective: To evaluate the anti-urolithiatic activity of macerated aqueous extract of Terminalia belerica by using turbidity method Method: The present study was used to study the inhibitory effect of the Terminalia belerica on urinary stone formation. The aim of study was to examine the In vitro antiurolithiatic activity of macerated aqueous extract of T.belerica was to estimate inhibitory activity of aqueous extract on the formation of urinary stone. Cystone was used as a positive control. Anti urolithiatic study was performed by turbidity method. Result: The percentage inhibition shown by aqueous extract at 20μg/ml was 60% and with almost constant inhibition at 100μg/ml and 200μg/ml ranging between 72% and 80%. The percentage inhibition showed by aqueous extract of Terminalia belerica has significant compared to standard drug. Conclusion: In future this drug can be performed in vitro and clinical study beneficial for people with avoiding adverse effect of modern medicinal drugs

Formulation and standardization of polyherbal hand sanitizer

Clean hands are an essential practice for the control and preventing of infections. of herbal origin represents an expanded source for medicines against all the known kinds of microbial infections. These are very potent to treat the infections besides limiting many of the side effects that are often associated with synthetic . Such active anti-microbial herbs can be safely incorporated in formulating hand washes. The herbal hand was prepared using different herbals extract and was evaluated for its anti-microbial efficacy by Disc diffusion & Turbidity method. Values showed that the formulation was non-irritant and possessed good anti-bacterial activity when compared to a standard marketed formulation and control. From the present study, the formulated Herbal hand was shown to affect bacteria and non-irritant.

Anti-aggregation effect of Ascorbic Acid and Quercetin on aggregated Bovine Serum Albumin Induced by Dithiothreitol: Comparison of Turbidity and Soluble Protein Fraction Methods

Studies on the anti-aggregation of dithiothreitol (DTT) induced - protein is generally determined by the fraction soluble (non-aggregated) protein. While the turbidity method is commonly used in studies of anti-aggregation, in which protein is induced by heat, in this study, both methods are compared in observing the anti-aggregation activity of ascorbic acid and quercetin toward bovine serum albumin induced by DTT. The DTT is a reducing agent for protein disulfide bonds and capable of inducing protein aggregation at physiological pH and temperature. The work was performed by the formation of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) aggregates induced by DTT under physiological conditions, which are pH 7.4 and 37°C. The aggregated protein profile was observed using the turbidity method at the end of incubation and measuring the difference of concentration between the fraction of soluble protein before and after incubation. The measurement was carried out using a spectrophotometer UV-Vis. The results indicate that both methods show similar inhibition profiles. The potential inhibition of ascorbic acid (AA) toward BSA protein aggregation induced by DTT increased along with incubation time. While quercetin shows the highest inhibition at 12 hours but decreased at 18 hours, this study reveals that both methods can observe the anti-aggregation activity of ascorbic acid and quercetin.

Effect of graphene oxide nanoparticle coatings on the strength of packaging paper and its barrier and antibacterial properties

The aim of this study was to assess the performance of graphene oxide nanoparticles in paper coating formulations in order to improve the antibacterial, physical and mechanical properties of paperboard. The paper was coated with graphene oxide nanoparticles at concentrations of 100 and 200 ppm together with 5% cationic starch (dry weight) as a retention aid and for better coverage and more homogeneous positioning of nanographene oxide particles on the surface of the paper. The paper surface coated with nanographene oxide particles and starch was characterised using ATR-FTIR and SEM. The antibacterial assay was performed according to the Turbidity Method. For the antibacterial tests of paper sheets, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were used as Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria respectively. The results showed that UV adsorption was reduced, with the largest reduction obtained when using nanographene oxide particles at 200 ppm. Turbidity in the samples including S. aureus was also lower. The growth rates of S. aureus bacterium in the control and the paper specimens coated with 200 ppm nanographene oxide were 89% and 24%, respectively. The density and thickness of the paper sheets increased in the paper coated with cationic starch and nanoparticles in comparison with uncoated paper. The nanoparticles had no significant effect on the thickness of coated papers. The addition of nanographene oxide particles improved the resistance to air and barrier properties of paper sheets. The burst and tear indexes increased for the paper coated with starch and nanographene oxide particles.

A Rapid ATP Bioluminescence-based Test for Detecting Levofloxacin Resistance Starting from Positive Blood Culture Bottles

Administering appropriate antimicrobial therapy as early as possible is important for rescuing bacteremic patients. Therefore, rapid antimicrobial susceptibility tests in positive blood culture specimens have been diligently sought. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence-based methods have been used for rapid antimicrobial susceptibility tests. However, blood culture specimens have not been examined in many studies, possibly due to abundant intracellular ATP in blood corpuscles resulting in false-susceptible results. In this study, we developed a rapid ATP bioluminescence-based method for detecting antibiotic resistance starting from positive blood culture. To minimize background ATP originating from blood corpuscles, specimens were centrifuged and the supernatant diluted with broth, and an ATP-eliminating reagent was then added to the bacterial suspension at the beginning of incubation. This newly devised procedure reduced the background ATP by more than five orders of magnitude. In a pilot study using levofloxacin, no false-susceptible results were observed in 15 clinical specimens. Furthermore, the results indicated that the rapid method provided additional information about bacterial activities with high resolution, in contrast to the less-thorough findings with the conventional turbidity method. Therefore, our approach will contribute to the treatment of infectious diseases as a rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test.

Elevated serum IL-35 levels in rheumatoid arthritis are associated with disease activity

To investigate serum interleukin (IL)- 35 levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to describe the association between serum IL-35 levels and clinical parameters: erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C reactive protein (CRP), global health on Visual Analog Scale, Disease Activity Score in 28 joints based on ESR (DAS28-ESR), rheumatoid factor (RF) and anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPAs). The study included 129 patients with RA and 83 healthy controls. Serum IL-35 levels were detected by ELISA. ESR and CRP were measured by the Westergren method and the immune transmission turbidity method, respectively. RF and ACPA were measured using immunoturbidimetric assays and chemiluminescence analysis, respectively. The results showed that serum IL-35 levels were elevated in patients with RA. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the high serum IL-35 levels were correlated with low ESR and DAS28-ESR. These suggested that IL-35, an important anti-inflammatory cytokine, may participate in the regulation of the pathogenesis of RA, especially with disease activity.

In-vitro evaluation of Scoparia dulcis Linn. for anti – urolithiatic activity

Introduction: Urolithiasis is a complex process that occurs from series of several physicochemical event including super-saturation, nucleation, growth, aggregation and retention within the kidneys. Data from invitro, in- vivo and clinical trials reveal that phytotherapeutic agents could be useful as either alternative or an adjunct therapy in the management of Urolithiasis. Scoparia dulcis (L.) have been reported to possess antiurolithiatic property by various folk lore practitioners. Methods: The in- vitro antiurolithiatic study of the whole plant of S. dulcis (L). through titrimetric and turbidity method to check their potential in dissolving calcium oxalate crystals using Cystone as the standard compound Result: The aqueous extract showed relatively higher dissolution of 66.96% of stones than the alcoholic extract. The turbidity showed by the alcohol extract and the aqueous extract of test drug (S. dulcis (L).) was highly significant compared to the standard (Cystone)

Comparison of anti-acne property of carbopol gels

Skin is the body is the largest organ and is the protective covering of the body. It is responsible for the normal functions like protection of the organs, healthy maintenance of the body and shaping and stretching. The skin is exposed to various types of stress like allergy-causing agents, disease-causing microorganisms etc. Medicinal plants are valuable resources that are known to the man from many generations that promote beauty and health. They are called as cosmeceuticals. These have various chemical constituents that promote beauty by reducing the acnes and killing the bacteria that causes and grow in the acnes. Anti-acne gels were prepared using the ethanol extracts of the plant Tulsi and Need incorporating the tea tree oil as a standard antioxidant. These were prepared, and the pH of the formulations was almost neutral to the skin and are stable in a stress test too. The anti-bacterial property of the gels was investigated in two methods, disc diffusion and turbidity method. The results showed a better activity of the formulations compared with tulsi and the standard antibiotic drug.