6 research outputs found
Determination of Heavy Metals Present in the Hypoglycemic Karela Powder: An Analytical Assay
Get PDFOpen Access journalDiabetes is a common health condition associated with heightened glucose content in the blood due to impaired insulin production/function. Considering current societal trends, the number of patients with this condition is growing fast. To help this subset of the population, researchers are investigating natural products exhibiting hypoglycaemic effects. It is well known that one third of patients with diabetes mellitus use some form of complementary or alternative medicine. One plant that has received some attention for its anti-diabetic properties is bitter melon, or Momordica charantia, commonly referred to as bitter gourd, karela and balsam pear
Elderberry extract improves molecular markers of endothelial dysfunction linked to atherosclerosis
Get PDFopen access articleEndothelial dysfunction (ED), secondary to diminished nitric oxide (NO) production and oxidative stress, is an early subclinical marker of atherosclerosis. Reduced NO bioavailability enhances the adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells and promotes atherosclerosis. Elderberry extract (EB) is known to contain high levels of anthocyanins which could exert vascular protective effects. Specifically, we investigated the functional capacity of EB on various markers of ED. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were pretreated with EB 50 μg/mL and stimulated with TNF-α 10 ng/mL. Cell viability, apoptosis, oxidative stress; eNOS, Akt, Nrf2, NOX-4, and NF-κB at the protein level were measured. A co-culture model was used to determine whether EB could prevent the adhesion of monocytes (THP-1) to HUVECs. Moreover, the expression of adhesion molecules and pro-inflammatory cytokines were also measured. It was demonstrated that EB prevented TNF-α induced apoptosis and reactive oxygen species production in HUVECs. Additionally, EB upregulated Akt and eNOS activity, and Nrf2 expression in response to TNF-α, whereas it decreased NOX-4 expression and NF-κB activity. EB prevented the adhesion of monocytes to HUVECs, as well as reduced IL-6 and MCP-1 levels, which was associated with inhibition of VCAM-1 expression. Our results demonstrate that EB upregulates key cellular markers of endothelial function and ameliorates markers of ED. EB could be used as a potential nutritional aid for preventing atherosclerosis progression
COINS 2019 presentation
No full textGlobally there are 422 million known cases of people affected with diabetes according to the world health organisation (1). It is estimated that 46% of people with diabetes worldwide are undiagnosed (2). Monitoring diabetes and improving life style for such patients is also a big challenge for current healthcare.
To address this global health issue, we have investigated immunological serum and salivary biomarkers for diabetes using molecular arrays, namely cytokine and growth factor kit I from Randox Laboratories Ltd, London, UK
Qualitative and Qualitative Phytochemical Screening of Medicinal Herbal Ocimum Tulsi Leaves
No full textDepartment of Pharmacy; Chemistry For Health, De Montfort UniversityThe drastic changes in human life style and food habits over the last century have led to various chronic diseases. Diabetes milletus is one such disease, which is causing serious problems to human health in all parts of the world. Diabetes Mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood glucose levels due to defect in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. Poor control of the condition can result in long term complication such as diabetic nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular disease, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Scientific reports revealed that diabetes cannot be cured completely. Current therapy for diabetes is centred around controlling blood sugar levels to keep them in the normal range. However, diabetes is often associated with dyslipidaemia and oxidative stress, which contributes to the damage caused to organs. Therefore, to adequately control diabetes, blood lipid levels and oxidative stress need to be controlled alongside blood glucose. The modern systems of medicine have not shown any significant effect for the treatment of the disease. There are also concerns about the cost and safety in long-term use for some of these
5th Annual International Conference on Health & Medical Sciences, 1-4 May 2017, Athens, Greece: Abstract Book
136
drugs. Hence focus has been turned towards traditional system of medicine. Medicinal plants play an important role in management of diabetes milletus. During the past few years many bioactive drugs have been isolated from plants. Herbal medicines have shown good clinical practice in the therapy of diabetic milletus. The genus Ocimum is of the basil family Lamiaceae, which contains approximately 150 species of aromatic plants that are found mainly in the tropical regions of the world. Many of these species have extensive medicinal applications in indigenous medicinal systems of countries in Asia, Africa and South America. Lamiaceae is one of the holiest and sacred herbs grown in India. This plant is known to possess antiseptic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antistress, Immunomodulatory, hypoglycaemic, hypotensive and antioxidant properties. Among these species are Ocimum sanctum L. or Ocimum tenuiflorum L., also known as Tulsi or Holybasil, an aromatic plant. There are two sub- types of Ocimum sanctum called Krishna tulsi which is the black-purple variety, and the white Vana tulsi. It is widely used in Ayurveda and Siddha system of medicine to cure various ailments. The dried powder of Tulsi was placed in the thimble of Soxhlet apparatus, distilled water employed as a solvent. The extract was concentrated using Rotavapor. Then the extract was dried in a digital water bath till a dark green residue was obtained. The percentage yield was 10%w/w. The test residue and powder was subjected to phytochemical analysis to find out the presence of phytochemical constituents and compared. The phytochemical tests employed for alkaloids and tannins, Cardiac glycosides, saponins, terpenoids and flavonoids. The latter are known for their strong antioxidant properties. Here reported investigation carried out to determine the qualitative and qualitative analysis of phytochemical screening and possible chemical components including assessment of antioxidant properties. The analytical techniques employed for chemical investigation comprised Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy, Thin Layer Chromatography, Mass Spectroscopy, Infrared spectrophotometry, UV and Visible spectroscopy, High Pressure Liquid Chromatography, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.and scanning electron microscope. Ocimum sanctum L. leaves analysis of hydro alcoholic extract revealed mainly Eugenol, an important phytochemical bioactive compound of Ayurvedic and other marketed herbal formulations. This study is currently in progress
Single-Cell Transcript Profiles Reveal Multilineage Priming in Early Progenitors Derived from Lgr5+ Intestinal Stem Cells
Get PDFLgr5+ intestinal stem cells (ISCs) drive epithelial self-renewal, and their immediate progeny—intestinal bipotential progenitors—produce absorptive and secretory lineages via lateral inhibition. To define features of early transit from the ISC compartment, we used a microfluidics approach to measure selected stem- and lineage-specific transcripts in single Lgr5+ cells. We identified two distinct cell populations, one that expresses known ISC markers and a second, abundant population that simultaneously expresses markers of stem and mature absorptive and secretory cells. Single-molecule mRNA in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence verified expression of lineage-restricted genes in a subset of Lgr5+ cells in vivo. Transcriptional network analysis revealed that one group of Lgr5+ cells arises from the other and displays characteristics expected of bipotential progenitors, including activation of Notch ligand and cell-cycle-inhibitor genes. These findings define the earliest steps in ISC differentiation and reveal multilineage gene priming as a fundamental property of the process
Role of polymers in solution and tablet-based carbamazepine cocrystal formulations
No full textThe aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of three chemically diverse polymers, namely hydroxypropylmethylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the phase transformation of three carbamazepine (CBZ) cocrystals including carbamazepine–nicotinamide (CBZ–NIC), carbamazepine–saccharin (CBZ–SAC) and carbamazepine–cinnamic acid (CBZ–CIN) in solution and tablet-based formulations. Based on the solubility and powder dissolution studies, it is demonstrated that cocrystals can be easily formulated through a simple solution formulation or powder formulation to generate supersaturated concentrations and faster dissolution rates to overcome those drugs with solubility and/or dissolution limited bioavailability. However, a polymer-based CBZ cocrystal tablet formulation has not shown any advantage of an improved CBZ release rate compared with the formulation of CBZ III or physical mixtures of CBZ III and coformers. This is in contrast to the solution behaviours of CBZ cocrystals in the solubility and powder dissolution tests because crystallization of the stable solid form of CBZ dihydrate (CBZ DH) within the tablet has taken place, leading to a reduced drug release rate and incomplete release. The mechanism of a polymer inhibition effect on drug precipitation in solution has been elucidated through investigating the molecular interactions among CBZ, coformers and polymers in solution using infrared spectroscopy. Finally, a formulation strategy has been proposed to capture the significant advantages of cocrystals
