Bashir A. Lone

In vitro and in vivo anthelmintic activity of Euphorbia helioscopia L.

The anthelmintic potentials of the aqueous and methanol extracts of Euphorbia helioscopia were investigated. In folklore medicine, E. helioscopia (Euphorbiaceae) is used in the treatment of various gastrointestinal ailments and diseases. A worm motility inhibition (WMI) assay and egg hatch assay (EHA) were used for in vitro assessment, and a faecal egg count reduction (FECR) assay was used for an in vivo study. The in vitro study revealed anthelmintic effects of crude methanolic extracts of E. helioscopia on live Haemonchus contortus worms as evident from their paralysis and/or death at 8h after exposure, different concentrations (12.5 mg ml(-1), 25 mg ml(-1) and 50 mg ml(-1)) of aqueous and methanolic extracts were used against H. contortus which exhibited dose-dependent anthelmintic effects on H. contortus. Aqueous and methanolic extracts of aerial parts (stem, leaves and flowers) of E. helioscopia were found to have very low percent inhibitory egg hatching as compared to levamisole. It is concluded that the entire plant of E. helioscopia possesses significant anthelmintic activity and could be a potential alternative for treating cases of helminth infections in ruminants.

Phytochemical screening, antimicrobial and antioxidant efficacy of different extracts of Rumex dentatus L. – A locally used medicinal herb of Kashmir Himalaya

Objective To elucidate the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Rumex dentatus L. (R. dentatus) along with its phytochemical analysis.

Opportunistic fungi in lake water and fungal infections in associated human population in Dal Lake, Kashmir.

Natural habitats of opportunistic fungal pathogens are outside of the host; therefore, it is critically important to understand their ecology and routes of transmission. In this study, we investigated the presence of human pathogenic opportunistic fungi in lake water and incidence of fungal infections in associated population in Kashmir, India. Six hundred forty water samples were taken on seasonal basis from a wide network of sampling stations of the lake for an extended period of two years for screening their occurrence. The samples were inoculated onto rose bengal agar, malt extract agar, potato dextrose agar and other specified culture media supplemented with Chloramphenicol and Streptomycin followed by incubation at 37 °C. All the samples were positive for fungi, which were later identified by sequencing the rDNA internal transcribed spacer region aided by classical morphological culture techniques and physiological profiling. The whole process led to the isolation of sixteen species of opportunistic fungal pathogens belonging to genus Aspergillus, Candida, Penicillium, Cryptococcus, Fusarium, Rhizopus and Mucor in decreasing order of prevalence. Furthermore, 20% population (n = 384) of Dal inhabitants was examined for possible fungal infections and it was observed that only 8.07% individuals were positive for fungal infections with 4.68% skin infection cases, 2.34% onychomycosis cases and 1.04% candidiasis cases. Scrapings from onychomycosis and candidiasis patients showed the presence of Aversicolor and Calbicans respectively, resembling exactly the strains isolated from the lake water. However, the skin infection was because of a dermatophyte not isolated for the lake water. Higher prevalence of infection (6.77%) was seen in people using lake water followed by a positive prevalence of 1.30% using tap water. The results of present study suggest that the lake inhabitants are at a greater risk of getting life threatening fungal diseases which may lead to various morbidities.

Anthelmintic, antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of Caltha palustris var. alba Kashmir, India.

The methanolic extract obtained from the root portion of Caltha palustris var. alba was evaluated for its anthelmintic efficacy against gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep under both in vitro and in vivo conditions using worm motility inhibition (WMI) assay and fecal egg count reduction (FECR) assay, respectively. The extract was subjected to antimicrobial activity using agar-well diffusion method against different bacterial strains. In addition the extract was evaluated for cytotoxic and antioxidant activity against cultured THP-1(Leukemia), A-549 (Lung), HCT-15 (Colon), Cervix (HeLa) and PC-3(Prostrate) cell lines by SRB and DPPH radical scavenging assays. The extract used resulted in mean %WMI of 94.44%, as observed when the worms were put in lukewarm buffer for 30 min after exposure to different treatments. The mean mortality index of the sample was 0.95. The lethal concentration (LC50) was 0.11 mg·mL(-1). Cell lines were exposed to concentration of 100 μg·mL(-1) of extract for 48 h, which reduced the viability of these cell lines. The same plant extract also showed 55.58% DPPH radical scavenging activity.

Chromosomes of two species of Acanthocephalans collected from the fishes of Kashmir valley, India.

In the present study, karyotypes and chromosomes of two species of the families Pomphorhynchidae (Pomphorhynchus kashmirensis, Kaw 1941) and Neoechinorhynchidae (Neoechinorhynchus manasbalensis, kaw 1951) from intestinal tissues of Schizothorax and Cyprinus spps, were studied. Karyotypes of both the species is 2n=8 in which P. kashmirensis possess 4 submetacentric and 4 subtelocentric chromosome pairs whereas in case of N. manasbalensis first two pairs are metacentric, next two pairs are submetacentric and last 4 pairs are telocentric. The karyotype of N. manasbalensis seems to be more ancient, because its chromosomes are nearly telocentric. Such uniformity could be regarded as a plesiomorphic character of an ancestral karyotype.

In Vitro Anthelmintic and Antimicrobial Activities of Methanolic Extracts of Fumaria Indica

Objective: The present study was undertaken to elucidate the anthelmintic and antimicrobial activities of Fumaria indica. Methods: The methanolic extract of Fumaria indica was evaluated for in vitro anthelmintic efficacy against gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep (Haemonchus contortus) using adult motility assay. In vitro antimicrobial activities of various concentrations ranging from 100 to 500 mg/ml of alcoholic (methanol) extracts of Fumaria indica were analyzed on different clinical bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas multocida and Klebsiella pneumonia) and fungal strains (Aspergillus flavus, Candida kruesie and Candida albicans) using agar disk diffusion method and broth dilution method (MIC and MBC determination) for antimicrobial activity. Results: Crude methanol extract of Fumaria indica resulted in mean percentage mortality of 94.44%, as observed after the worms were put in lukewarm PBS for 30 min after exposure to different treatments (p<0.01). Highest mortality (95.00%) of worms was observed 8 hours post-exposure @ 50 mg/ml. There was 100% mortality of worms in Levamisole (used as a reference drug) within 4 hours post-exposure. In vitro antimicrobial activity results revealed that methanol extract of F. indica possess greater antibacterial activity than antifungal activity. MIC and MBC of methanolic extract showed that MIC values were 150 ml/ml against E. coli and 250 ml/ml. Conclusions: It can be concluded that Fumaria indica has got a broad spectrum in vitro anthelmintic and antimicrobial activity and could be used as a potential alternative for treating various diseases.