Effect of Aegle Marmelose Leaf Extract on Allbxan Induced Diabetic Rats

Alloxan induced diabetic animal model was sed to evaluate the potential antidiabetic effect of ie aqueous leaf extract of Aegle marmelose. Insuinjection and oral treatment of Aegle marmelose of extract to the alloxan induced rats maintained ;e animal weight near to the control rats whereas ,,ere was a significant decrease in weight in alloxan •duced rats. Insulin injection and oral treatment the leaf extract reversed the decrease of protein )ntent in all the organs studied except the pancas. Glucose level was maintained near to the co- :rol levels in the insulin injected and leaf extract Bated alloxan diabetic rats. A significant increased ucose tolerance was observed in animals orally ven the leaf extract prior to the experiment. The suits indicate that there is an increased utilization glucose in the Aegle marmelose leaf extract treed rats.

Kinetic Studies of Purified malate Dehydrogenase in Liver of Streptozotocindiabetic Rats and the Effect of Leaf Extract of Aegle Marmelose (L.) Correa ex Roxb

The functional basis of diabetes-mellitus to a certain extent, can be elucidated by studying diabetes-induced changes in metabolic enzymes. Malate dehydrogenase (MDH), is an enzyme directly involved in glucose metabolism. The kinetic parameters of MDH and its purified cytosolic isozyme, S-MDH, have been studied in the liver of streptozotocin- diabetic rats; also the potential of the leaf extract of A. marmelose as an was investigated. The Km of the liver enzyme increased significantly, in both crude and purified preparations in the diabetic state when compared to Lhe respective controls. Insulin as well as leaf- •extract treatment of the diabetic rats brought about a reversal of K. values to near normal. Vmax of purified S-MDH was significantly higher in the diabetic state when compared to the control. Insulin and leaf extract treatment did not reverse this change. Since MDH is an important enzyme in glucose metabolism, the variation in its quantitative and qualitative nature may contribute to the pathological status of diabetes. The fact that leaf extract of A. marmelose was found to be as effective as insulin in restoration of blood glucose and body weight to normal levels, the use of A. marmelose as potential hypoglycemic agent is suggested.

Down-regulation of cerebellar 5-HT2C receptors in pilocarpine-induced epilepsy in rats: Therapeutic role of Bacopa monnieri extract

Epilepsy is a syndrome of episodic brain dysfunction characterized by recurrent unpredictable, spontaneous seizures. Cerebellar dysfunction is a recognized complication of temporal lobe epilepsy and it is associated with seizure generation, motor deficits and memory impairment. Serotonin is known to exert a modulatory action on cerebellar function through 5HT2C receptors. 5-HT2C receptors are novel targets for developing anticonvulsant drugs. In the present study, we investigated the changes in the 5-HT2C receptors binding and gene expression in the cerebellum of control, epileptic and Bacopa monnieri treated epileptic rats. There was a significant down regulation of the 5-HT content (pb0.001), 5-HT2C gene expression (pb0.001) and 5-HT2C receptor binding (pb0.001) with an increased affinity (pb0.001). Carbamazepine and B. monnieri treatments to epileptic rats reversed the down regulated 5-HT content (pb0.01), 5-HT2C receptor binding (pb0.001) and gene expression (pb0.01) to near control level. Also, the Rotarod test confirms the motor dysfunction and recovery by B. monnieri treatment. These data suggest the neuroprotective role of B. monnieri through the upregulation of 5-HT2C receptor in epileptic rats. This has clinical significance in the management of epilepsy

Serotonin- 5-HT2A and Glutamate Receptors Gene Expression in Streptozotocin induced diabetic rats:Effects of pyridoxine and Aegle marmelose leaf extract

Department of Biotechnology, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Lipase Production by Candida rugosa

Strain improvement is one of the major objectives for maximizing the microbial production of industrially significant primary and secondary metabolites. This goal can be achieved by judicious tuning of the organisms by monitoring its growth parameters and optimizing adequate supply of micro and macro nutrients, inducers, pH, temperature and other factors which control fermentation. Though C. rugosa has been under extensive studies for lipases, maximum world production is only 36 units. In fact, in India, enhanced production conditions for lipases have not yet been initiated. C. rugosa has been cultivated in diverse environments like liquid, semi-solid, solid—state and immobilized conditions, though major emphasis is on SmF or suspension culture. Hence the present investigations mainly focused on increasing the yield by adjusting the physico-chemical growth parameters and to characterize the lipase isoforms secreted by C. rugosa in the culture medium. Maximum possible improved methods were investigated to achieve these objectives. Within this under-optimised background, enhancement of lipase production and its characterization were investigated, employing modified liquid, semi-solid, solid—state and immobilized fermentation strategies

Anti–white spot syndrome virus activity of Ceriops tagal aqueous extract in giant tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV), the most contagious pathogen of cultured shrimp, causes mass mortality, leading to huge economic loss to the shrimp industry. The lack of effective therapeutic or prophylactic measures has aggravated the situation, necessitating the development of antiviral agents. With this objective, the antiviral activity in the aqueous extract of a mangrove plant Ceriops tagal in Penaeus monodon was evaluated. The Ceriops tagal aqueous extract (CTAE) was non-toxic to shrimps at 50 mg/ml when injected intramuscularly at a dosage of 10 lL/animal (0.5 mg/animal) and showed a protective effect against WSSV at 30 mg/ml when mixed with WSSV suspension at a 1:1 ratio. When the extract was administered along with the diet and the animals were challenged orally, there was a dose-dependent increase in survival, culminating in 100 % survival at a concentration of 500 mg/kg body weight/day. Neither hypertrophied nuclei nor the viral envelope protein VP28 could be demonstrated in surviving shrimps using histology and indirect immunofluorescence histochemistry (IIFH), respectively. To elucidate the mode of action, the temporal expression of WSSV genes and shrimp immune genes, including antimicrobial peptides, was attempted. None of the viral genes were found to be expressed in shrimps that were fed with the extract and challenged or in those that were administered CTAE-exposed WSSV. The overall results suggest that the aqueous extract from C. tagal can protect P. monodon from white spot syndrome virus infection.

Effect of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) extract on weight, hematology and cell-mediated immune response of newborn goat kids

This study aimed at evaluating the effects of different levels of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) extract on growth rate, hematology and cell-mediated immune response in Markhoz newborn goat kids. Twenty four goat kids (aged 7 +/- 3 days) were randomly allotted to four groups with six replicates. The groups included: control, T1, T2 and T3 groups which received supplemented-milk with 0, 100, 200 and 400mg aqueous rosemary extract per kg of live body weight per day for 42 days. Body weights of kids were measured weekly until the end of the experiment. On day 42, 10 ml blood samples were collected from each kid through the jugular vein. Cell-mediated immune response was assessed through the double skin thickness after intradermal injection of phyto-hematoglutinin (PHA) at day 21 and 42. No significant differences were seen in initial body weight, average daily gain (ADG) and total gain. However, significant differences in globulin (P <0.05), and white blood cells (WBC) (P <0.001) were observed. There were no significant differences in haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cells (RBC), lymphocytes and neutrophils between the treatments. Skin thickness in response to intra dermal injection of PHA significantly increased in the treated groups as compared to the control group at day 42 (P< 0.01) with the T3 group showing the highest response to PHA injection. In conclusion, the results indicated that aqueous rosemary extract supplemented-milk had a positive effect on immunity and skin thickness of newborn goat kids.

William Tilney, Walsingham biography and manuscript extract

from William Tilney's anthology