Role of Flavonoids against COVID-19

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has entered a threatening stage all over the world. Many lives have been lost, and many more are in need of treatment. The mild symptoms may include fever and dry cough, but in severe cases, it could lead to pneumonia and ultimately death in some instances. Though medical scientists all over the globe are working hard to develop a treatment for this disease, yet no definite cure has been found. To date, the treatment strategy is based on adopting strategies to break the transmission of the virus and repurposing of the old drugs to prevent the loss of life. Among the various potent candidates, flavonoids may play a protective role in these times. Studies have already proven various health-promoting properties of flavonoids in earlier viral diseases, like SARS and MERS. Since ancient times, been plants have used to treat a number of human diseases. Different phytoproducts have been previously described to inhibit the replication of numerous viruses. Despite the positive reports for plant-based medications, no successful clinical trials on phytoproducts as anti-COVID agents have been conducted to date. This review highlights the efficacy of flavonoids as a treatment strategy either alone or in combination with other drugs.

Composition and Quality Standards of Naturally Derived Anti Tan Medicine

Background: Tanning nowadays due to pollution, stress, UV rays, and lifestyle has become a major skincare problem. Synthesis of a poly-herbal anti-tan formulation has been performed in this work, and it is evaluated on various parameters. Objective: The present work is aimed at the synthesis of herb-based anti-tan medicine and the evaluation of its various parameters for its efficiency as well as stability. Materials & Methods: The herbal preparation was prepared in-house according to the proposed composition, using all the natural contents. The dye was evaluated for its different standards. Results: The values of various parameters certified the quality standards of the formulation. The parameters were found to be ample enough for the standardization of herbal medicinal formulation. Conclusion: The prepared herbal pack was found to be appropriate according to all standards and can serve as a better alternative for treating tanning.

Human Amniotic Fluid for the Treatment of Hospitalized, Symptomatic, and Laboratory-verified SARS-CoV-2 Patients

New reports offer evidence that under different circumstances, intrauterine mother-infant transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs. In contrast, early observations in the COVID-19 pandemic recommended that vertical transmission from women infected with SARS-CoV-2 can be challenging and no virus is detected in human amniotic fluid (HAF). The present study aimed to propose the idea that HAF can be used as a potential therapy for hospitalized, symptomatic, and laboratory-verified SARS-CoV-2 patients by mitigating COVID-19 related inflammation and decreasing its fibrosis. Considering that COVID-19 can cause a severe pulmonary fibrotic response in some patients, HAF by decreasing fibrosis may be considered as an alternative and novel therapy against COVID-19. Lastly, given the inexpensive, easy to access, and safe nature of HAF, integrating this therapy may decrease the COVID-19 attributed death and burden to the health system, especially in countries with limited access to vaccines where HAF is widely available.

A Detailed Biological Approach on Hormonal Imbalance Causing Depression in Critical Periods (Postpartum, Postmenopausal and Perimenopausal Depression) in Adult Women

Background: In today's global world, most women are experiencing midlife health problems which can affect their lives and mental status. Most of the diseases occurr after childbirth and during pregnancy or gestation period which can lead to severe problems such as postpartum depression (PPD), postmenopausal depression, perimenopausal depression which ultimately affects the mental health condition and develop various depressive episodes which ultimately lead to depression in women. Objective: The review paper gives the information that if there is untreated maternal depression then it can lead to anxiety, fear, negative effect on child development, disruption of the mother-infant relationship, and the occurrence of depressive symptoms in the early life of infants. Hormone levels are changed at the time of pregnancy. Methods: The data was collected by studying combination of research and review papers from different databases like PubMed, Medline, and Web of science by using search keywords like “Postpartum depression”, “Postmenopausal depression”, “Risk factors”, “Pathogenesis of PPD”, “Predictors of postpartum depression”. Results: This can lead to disrupting the quality of life of menopausal women like deficiency of nutrients, not properly regular physical activities, elevated Body Mass Index (BMI), loss of libido (loss of interest in sexual activities), due to the lack of education, and awareness among the people. Factors like increase in physical activity can naturally help in PPD condition. Mind body therapy, drug therapy and cognitive and mindfulness-based therapies help in hormonal imbalances. Conclusion: It was found that low birth weight and congenital abnormalities in babies lead to affect depression after delivery. It is recommended that health care providers and physicians are provided with information regarding factors contributing PPD and postmenopausal depression. Sleep timings and consumptions of nutraceuticals can help in natural healing with depression amongst women suffering from postpartum, postmenopausal and perimenopausal depression.

The Presence of Microbial Air Contaminants in the Operating Theatre at a Teaching Hospital in East Coast Malaysia

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the presence of microbial air contaminants in the operating theatre at a teaching hospital. Objective: Airborne microbial level in operation theatre is one of the significant risks in hospital as it can increase the surgical site infection and nosocomial infections. Background: Duo SAS Super 360 Air Sampler was used to collect the airborne samples in triplicate each for nutrient and MacConkey agar at eight operation rooms and two corridors for morning and evening sessions. Sampling was conducted for three months and repeated every two months. Microbiological culture, gram staining and biochemical tests such as catalase test, oxidase test, coagulase test, Triple Sugar Iron Agar test, urease test, citrate test, Sulfide, Indole, Motility test, Methyl Red Voges-Proskauer test, disc diffusion test, and Albert’s stain were performed on the pure isolated culture. Methods: Sampling was conducted for three months and repeated every two months. Microbiological culture, gram staining and biochemical tests such as catalase test, oxidase test, coagulase test, Triple Sugar Iron Agar test, urease test, citrate test, Sulfide, Indole, Motility test, Methyl Red Voges- Proskauer test, disc diffusion test, and Albert’s stain were performed on the pure isolated culture. Bacteria that were present in the operation rooms were Bacillus spp., Micrococcus spp. and Staphylococcus spp. while Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii were absent. The bacteria identified in the operation theater may also cause surgical site infections and nosocomial infections to the patients, although the microbial contamination in the air of the operation theatre is low. Results: The bacteria identified in the operation theater may also cause surgical site infections and nosocomial infections to the patients, although the microbial contamination in the air of the operation theatre is low. Conclusion: Strengthening surveillance on the hygienic condition of the operation theatre and routine sampling is strongly recommended to control all possible sources and types of infection.

Industrial Wastewater: Health Concern and Treatment Strategies

Water is a basic need for the functioning of all life forms that exist on earth. However, current water resources are being polluted by anthropogenic sources, which include social unit, as well as agricultural and industrial waste. People all over the world have concerns about the impact of effluent pollution on the atmosphere, which is increasing day by day. It is hard to purify wastewater before it flows into water reservoirs. Hence, the treatment of wastewater remains an essential need before it is allowed to enter natural water streams. Wastewater treatment is relatively a modern practice. This review will particularly discuss the ways of heavy metal ion removal from wastewater. The ultimate purpose of wastewater management is to improve the health of human and environmental aspects.

Formulation of Herbal Shampoo against Head Louse (Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer)

Background: Natural herbal shampoos are appealing to the consumers as they contain natural herbs without any harmful effects. The shampoo is used to remove dirt or other debris from hairs. Natural herbs are used in a herbal shampoo, which becomes more beneficial, safe, or efficacious than synthetic ones. Aim: The present study aims to formulate and evaluate a herbal shampoo containing various herbal extracts for anti-lice activity. Materials and Methods: Natural herbs such as neem, hibiscus, henna leaves, amla fruit and reetha epicarp are the components of the natural herbal shampoos used in this study. Soxhlet apparatus was used for water-based extraction of these natural herbs, whereas the maceration process was used for alcohol-based extraction. Nine formulations were prepared and evaluated by using different parameters like physical appearance, viscosity, surface tension, foam volume, pH, solid content, dirt dispersion and wetting time. Results: All nine shampoo formulations were successfully prepared at the pH range of 5.86-6.06. The physical appearance was observed to be between light brown to greenish-brown for F1 to F9 batches. The viscosity of the formulations was found to be between 1.05±0.011 to 0.96±0.011. Mortality of head lice (Lethal time (LT50)) for all the formulations was found in the range of 7.5 min- 52.5 min. Formulation F5 was found to be the best in the context of all the parameters. Formulation F5 showed good foaming property. The wetting ability was found to be good due to reduced surface tension (33.05±0.86); solid content was found to be 1.74% so that it would be easy to wash out from the hair. Conclusion: All the shampoo formulations showed good quality and could be used safely and effectively. These formulations also showed anti-lice activity so they can be used for the problem of head lice.

Insights into Super-host Plant Species of Galling Insects in the Neotropical Region

Background: The term ‘super host’ plant is often used in the literature surrounding plant-galling interactions, but the different contexts in which the term is used generates doubt and confusion due to the absence of a systematic definition of the term’s meaning. Objective: In this study, we used 60 well-defined plant-galling assemblages to propose a systematic definition of super-host plants at the local and regional level. In addition, we investigated factors that explain the number of galling species per host plant at different geographic scales. Methods: Plant-galling assemblages were compiled from an extensive literature review on insect gall inventories carried out in Brazil. Results: We found 888 host plant species belonging to 94 families and 340 genera hosting 2,376 insect gall morphotypes. At a local scale, 33.2% of host plant species harbored one insect gall morphotype and 12.2% hosted two gall morphotypes, making up 45.4% of the host plant species in each locality. At the regional scale, 51.5% of host plant species harbored one insect gall morphotype, and 17.9% of host plant species hosted two gall morphotypes, corresponding to 69.4% of all host plant species. Based on the average number of galling species per plant species, we classified the plant species into: 1) Host species; 2) Multi-host species and 3) Super-host species. The super-host plant species that showed the greatest richness of gall morphotypes at the local level were Baccharis reticularia and Adenocalymma neoflavidu. Furthermore, we found a positive relationship between plant life-form architectural complexity and the number of galling species at the local level. At the regional scale, we registered five super-host species (Guapira opposita, Protium heptaphyllum, Copaifera langsdorffii, Myrcia splendens, and Byrsonima sericea) which hosted 21 or more insect gall morphotypes. The number of galling species per host plant species at the regional scale was influenced positively by geographic distribution rank and number of biomes in which each species of the plant occurs. Conclusion: The present study stands out as the first of its kind to provide a systematic standardization for the super-host plants and to investigate factors influencing these species.