Evaluation of the aphrodisiac potential of a chemically characterized aqueous extract of Tamarindus indica pulp

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Tamarindus indica is an ingredient in the traditional aphrodisiac formulations in Africa and India. It is also a widely used food ingredient in other tropical countries.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The present study was aimed to evaluate the aphrodisiac potential and reproductive safety profile of aqueous extract of Tamarindus indica in male Wistar rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The aqueous extract was prepared by maceration of pulp followed by reduction of volume in rotavapor under heat followed by freeze drying. The prepared extract was characterized for contents of total phenol, flavonoid, and saponin. It was also subjected to phytoconstituent analysis using GCMS. Further, the extract was evaluated for acute toxicity study. The aphrodisiac and reproductive toxicity potential were evaluated in animals after grouping them in four with six animals each namely, normal control, standard (Sildenafil citrate, 4mg/kg p.o.) and extract of Tamarindus indica treated groups at two dose levels, 125 and 250mg/kg p.o. The study was conducted for 54 days with daily once dosing of extract and standard. Equal number of females was grouped without treatment for evaluation of parameters of sexual desire (mount frequency and intromission frequency) and parameters of sexual arousal (mount latency and intromission latency). These parameters were evaluated on day 14, 28, 42 and 54. Animals were sacrificed on day 54, testes were removed and studied for histopathological changes.

RESULTS

The extract showed 6.6mg gallic acid equivalent/g of total phenol, 2.3mg catechin equivalent/g of flavonoid and 11.6% saponin. Forty chemical constituents were identified by GCMS analysis. In acute toxicity study, the extract was found to be safe till 2000mg/kg p.o. Efficacy study showed significant (p<0.05) improvement in parameters of sexual desire (mount frequency and intromission frequency) and parameters of sexual arousal on all observed days except mount frequency for 125mg/kg on 42nd day and intromission frequency for both doses of tamarind compared to normal control. Improvements in these parameters were comparable to the standard drug. Histopathology study and sperm count suggested an increase in sperm production without any sign of toxicity in testis. Sperm motility significantly (p<0.05) increased in the treatment groups that received extract at 250mg/kg compared to normal control.

CONCLUSION

Aqueous extract of Tamarindus indica possessed aphrodisiac activity together with spermatogenic potential.

Use of cable guide while performing segmental mandibulectomy using Gigli saw

Segmental mandibulectomies are performed commonly in patients having benign or malignant pathologies of mandible. For this purpose, Gigli saw is used frequently by most of the maxillofacial surgeons. The two main challenging tasks while using Gigli saw includes passage of the device around the bone which is to be cut and the preservation of the underlying soft tissue from getting damaged by the saw during its movement. Hence, we propose the use of a "Cable guide with hook" which not only helps in easy passage of Gigli saw around the mandible but also prevents injury to the underlying soft tissue while performing mandibulectomy.

Computational deciphering of biotic stress associated genes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the major vegetable plant and a model system for fruit development. Its global importance is due to its lycopene pigment which has anti-oxidative and anti-cancerous properties. Though > 1.5 M biotic stress associated ESTs of tomato are available but cumulative analysis to predict genes is warranted. Availability of whole genome de novo assembly can advantageously be used to map them over different chromosome. Further, available 0.14 M catalogued markers can be used to introgress specific desirable genes in varietal improvement program. We report here 57 novel genes associated with biotic stress of tomato along with 50 genes having physical location over different chromosomes. We also report 52 cis-regulating elements and 69 putative miRNAs which are involved in regulation of these biotic stresses associated genes. These putative candidate genes associated with biotic stress can be used in molecular breeding in the endeavor of tomato productivity along with its sustainable germplasm management.

•

ESts related to biotic stress were collected and assembled into contigs.

•

Total 57 novel genes were computationally mined from the assembled contigs.

•

Among the predicted novel gene, 50 genes were mapped on tomato genome.

•

52 cis-regulating elements and 69 putative miRNAs were predicted for the novel genes.

Metabolomics approach discriminates toxicity index of pyrazinamide and its metabolic products, pyrazinoic acid and 5-hydroxy pyrazinoic acid

Pyrazinamide (PYZ)-an essential component of primary drug regimen used for the treatment and management of multidrug resistant or latent tuberculosis-is well known for its hepatoxicity. However, the mechanism of PYZ-induced hepatotoxicity is still unknown to researchers. Studies have shown that the drug is metabolized in the liver to pyrazinoic acid (PA) and 5-hydroxy pyrazinoic acid (5-OHPA) which individually may cause different degrees of hepatotoxicity. To evaluate this hypothesis, PYZ, PA, and 5-OHPA were administered to albino Wistar rats orally (respectively, at 250, 125, and 125 mg kg^-1 for 28 days). Compared to normal rats, PYZ and its metabolic products decreased the weights of dosed rats and induced liver injury and a status of oxidative stress as assessed by combined histopathological and biochemical analysis. Compared to normal controls, the biochemical and morphological changes were more aberrant in PA- and 5-OHPA-dosed rats with respect to those dosed with PYZ. Finally, the serum metabolic profiles of rats dosed with PYZ, PA, and 5-OHPA were measured and compared with those of normal control rats. With respect to normal control rats, the rats dosed with PYZ and 5-OHPA showed most aberrant metabolic perturbations in their sera as compared to those dosed with PA. Altogether, the study suggests that PYZ-induced hepatotoxicity might be associated with its metabolized products, where 5-OHPA contributes to a higher degree in its overall toxicity than PA.

Role of Antibiotic Cement Coated Nailing in Infected Nonunion of Tibia

Introduction

Infected nonunion of long bones is a chronic and debilitating disorder. It is more difficult to deal with when the implant used for internal fixation itself becomes a potential media for infection because of bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. Traditionally, it is managed by two-stage procedure for controlling the infection first and then treating the nonunion. This study has been undertaken to explore antibiotic cement coated nailing as single stage treatment modality for treating infection and achieving stability at the same time.

Materials and Methods

Twenty patients (above 18 years of age) with infected nonunion of tibia with bone gap less than 2 cm were managed using antibiotic cement coated K-nail. Antibiotic cement nail was prepared using endotracheal tube method. Antibiotics used were a combination of vancomycin and teicoplanin.

Results

Infection was controlled in 95% of the patients. Bony union was achieved in 12 of 20 (60%) patients with antibiotic cement nailing as the only procedure with average time of union of 32 weeks. Remaining 8 patients required additional procedures like bone grafting or exchange nailing and these were done in six patients, with union of fracture. Two patients refused to undergo further procedures. Complications encountered were difficult nail removal in three cases, broken nail in two cases, and bent nail in one case. Recurrence of infection was observed in two patients. Average period of follow-up was 13 months.

Conclusion

Antibiotic cement impregnated nailing is a simple, economical and effective single stage procedure for the management of infected nonunion of tibia. It is advantageous over external fixators, as it eliminates the complications of external fixators and has good patient compliance. The method utilizes existing easily available instrumentation and materials and is technically less demanding, and therefore can be performed at any general orthopaedic center.

The ‘three-legged stool’

Many hospitals do not have a structured process of consent, the attainment of which can often be rather ‘last-minute’ and somewhat chaotic. This is a surprising state of affairs as spinal surgery is a high-risk surgical specialty with potential for expensive litigation claims. More recently, the Montgomery ruling by the United Kingdom Supreme Court has placed the subject of informed consent into the spotlight.

There is a paucity of practical guidance on how a consent process can be achieved in a busy clinical setting. The British Association of Spinal Surgeons (BASS) has convened a working party to address this need. To our knowledge this is the first example of a national professional body, representing a single surgical specialty, taking such a fundamental initiative.

In a hard-pressed clinical environment, the ability to achieve admission reliably on the day of surgery, in patients at ease with their situation and with little likelihood of late cancellation, will be of great benefit. It will reduce litigation and improve the patient experience.

Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1427–30.

An efficient algorithm for protein structure comparison using elastic shape analysis

BACKGROUND

Protein structure comparison play important role in in silico functional prediction of a new protein. It is also used for understanding the evolutionary relationships among proteins. A variety of methods have been proposed in literature for comparing protein structures but they have their own limitations in terms of accuracy and complexity with respect to computational time and space. There is a need to improve the computational complexity in comparison/alignment of proteins through incorporation of important biological and structural properties in the existing techniques.

RESULTS

An efficient algorithm has been developed for comparing protein structures using elastic shape analysis in which the sequence of 3D coordinates atoms of protein structures supplemented by additional auxiliary information from side-chain properties are incorporated. The protein structure is represented by a special function called square-root velocity function. Furthermore, singular value decomposition and dynamic programming have been employed for optimal rotation and optimal matching of the proteins, respectively. Also, geodesic distance has been calculated and used as the dissimilarity score between two protein structures. The performance of the developed algorithm is tested and found to be more efficient, i.e., running time reduced by 80-90 % without compromising accuracy of comparison when compared with the existing methods. Source codes for different functions have been developed in R. Also, user friendly web-based application called ProtSComp has been developed using above algorithm for comparing protein 3D structures and is accessible free.

CONCLUSIONS

The methodology and algorithm developed in this study is taking considerably less computational time without loss of accuracy (Table 2). The proposed algorithm is considering different criteria of representing protein structures using 3D coordinates of atoms and inclusion of residue wise molecular properties as auxiliary information.

P14: DOXYCYCLINE: A RARE CAUSE OF DRUG INDUCED PANCREATITIS

Purpose of Study

Drug-induced pancreatitis (DIP) is a rare clinicopathologic entity. We report a 58-year-old female who developed DIP secondary to administration of doxycycline.

Methods Used

A 48 year old female with a history of hypertension presented to the hospital with complains of nausea/vomiting, right upper-quadrant gnawing abdominal pain, 8/10 in intensity with radiation to the back. She denied exacerbating factors, use of alcohol, tobacco and drug. Patient also denied diarrhea, constipation and changes in skin or stool color. On examination patient was hypertensive (155/95) with a heart rate of 102. She had epigastric/right upper quadrant tenderness on superficial palpation, hypoactive bowel sounds without any palpable organs, rebound tenderness or rigidity. Serum lipase was elevated at 2508 IU/L, negative pregnancy and insignificant urinalysis findings. Liver function tests, lipid panel, chemistry panel and hematologic panel were within normal limits. Radiologic investigations with abdominal ultrasound depicted mild proximal dilatation of the common bile duct with smooth tapering of the duct distally indicating status post-cholecystectomy. Contrast enhanced computed tomography scan revealed mild enlargement of the body of the pancreas with adjacent peripancreatic fatty infiltration consistent with acute pancreatitis. Upon further questioning patient explains recent diagnosis (7 days) of tibial orthopedic hardware infection as she was prescribed doxycycline 200 mg twice a day in anticipation of irrigation of infected site. After confirmation, and discontinuation of doxycycline, our patient recovered and has been disease-free for over a month.

Summary of Results

Drug-induced pancreatitis is uncommon etiology of acute pancreatitis, which is responsible for 0.1%–2% of all the acute pancreatitis cases. Among adverse drug reactions, pancreatitis is often-ignored because of the difficulty in implicating a drug as its cause.

Conclusions

In our vastly evolving pharmacotherapy world, DIP should be included in the differential of idiopathic pancreatitis, especially after other common causes have been ruled out.

Risk Factors and Outcome of Neonates Born through Meconium Stained Amniotic Fluid in a Tertiary Hospital of Nepal

Introduction: The incidence of meconium aspiration syndrome is still high in the developing world contributing significantly to the neonatal mortality. The study was aimed to know the risk factors contributing to meconium aspiration syndrome and neonatal outcome in a tertiary government hospital of the country.Materials and Methods: It was a hospital based cross sectional study done over a period of three months. All live newborns born through meconium stained liquor were enrolled and all the details regarding mother, neonate were recorded. Odd’s ratio and bivariate analysis was done to assess the risk factors for meconium aspiration syndrome.Result: Out of all the deliveries 14.6% were meconium stained amniotic fluid and meconium aspiration syndrome developed in 6.6% of the neonates. Low Apgar score and premature rupture of membranes was significantly associated with the risk of occurrence of meconium aspiration syndrome. Neonates who developed meconium aspiration syndrome had mortality of 11.3%.Conclusion: Perinatal asphyxia and premature rupture of membranes were significantly associated with the development of meconium aspiration syndrome and neonates who developed meconium aspiration syndrome had high mortality.J Nepal Paediatr Soc 2015;35(1):44-48