Bibhu Prasad Panda

The effect of high-fat diet-induced obesity on cardiovascular toxicity in wistar albino rats

The consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) is considered a risk factor for obesity development. Nonetheless, a causal role of dietary fat has never been documented, because of inadequate animal models. In our study, one group of rats was fed with standard rat diet, while other group of rats fed with high-fat diet for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks of feeding, the hemodynamic parameters in the rats fed with HFD were significantly increased as compared with control rats. Rats fed with HFD had elevated levels of serum lipids, insulin, leptin, glucose and apolipoprotein B. Lipid peroxides and caspase-3 levels were increased while serum apolipoprotein A1 and antioxidant enzymes levels in heart tissues were decreased in HFD-induced obesity in rats as compared to normal healthy control rats fed on standard rat pellet diet. This model of diet-induced obesity will be a useful tool for studying the mechanisms by which dietary fat induces the obesity in humans.

Development of an HPTLC-based diagnostic method for invasive aspergillosis.

A rapid, sensitive and specific high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method was developed and validated for determination of gliotoxin in Aspergillus infected immunocompromised patients with invasive aspergillosis (IA). Densitometric analysis of gliotoxin was carried out in the absorbance mode at 254 nm after single-step extraction with chloroform. The method uses TLC aluminum plates pre-coated with silica gel 60F-254 as a stationary phase and toluene-isoamyl alcohol-methanol (10:0.5:0.5, v/v/v) as mobile phase, which gives compact spot of gliotoxin (R(f) = 0.51). The calibration curve was linear (r(2) > or = 0.994) between peak area and concentration in the tested range of 100-1000 ng spot(-1) with minimum detectable range 0.025 ng mu(-1) of serum sample. The mean +/- SD value of slope and intercept of the standard chromatogram of gliotoxin were found to be 523.2 +/- 1.555635 and 915.8 +/- 30.68843, respectively. The developed method is simple, rapid, precise and less costly than earlier diagnostic methods, and different serum samples can be run on a single TLC plate for comparative analysis. The proposed method can be used to analyze gliotoxin in patient serum for easy, rapid and cost-effective diagnosis of IA.

Development and optimization of gastroretentive mucoadhesive microspheres of gabapentin by Box - Behnken design

Abstract Context: Gabapentin follows saturation kinetics for absorption because of carrier-mediated transport and narrow absorption window in stomach. There is need to develop a gastroretentive formulation to maximize the absorption without crossing the saturation threshold for absorption. Objective: The aim was to develop a gastroretentive formulation of gabapentin to increase the fraction of drug absorbed in stomach. Materials and methods: Sodium alginate and sodium carboxymethylcellulose were used to formulate the microsphere by ionotropic gelation with calcium chloride. The formulation was optimized using a three-factor, three-level Box–Behnken design. Results: The particle size varied from 559.50 to 801.10 μm, entrapment efficiency from 61.29 to 81.00% and in vitro release from 69.40 to 83.70%. The optimized formulation was found using point-prediction, and formulation OF-3 showed optimum results at 608.21 μm size, 79.65% entrapment efficiency and 82.72% drug release and 81% mucoadhesion up to 10 h. The drug release was controlled for more than 12 h. Discussion: The particle size was most influenced by sodium alginate while entrapment efficiency and drug release depended upon both polymers. The release followed Higuchi model. Conclusion: Gastroretentive formulation was successfully optimized by a three-factor, three-level Box–Behnken design and found to be useful.

Production of angkak through co-culture of Monascus purpureus and Monascus ruber

Angkak (red mold rice, red yeast rice, Chinese red rice) is a traditional Chinese medicine produced by solid-state fermentation of cooked non-glutinous rice with Monascus species. The secondary metabolite of Monascus species, monacolin K /lovastatin, has been proven to lower blood lipid levels. In this study, a co-culture of Monascus purpureus MTCC 369 and Monascus ruber MTCC 1880 was used for angkak production. Four medium parameters screened by Plackett-Burman design were optimized by response surface methodology for highest lovastatin production in angkak during solid-state fermentation by the co-culture. Maximum lovastatin production of 2.84 mg g-1 was predicted in solid medium containing 20 g rice and 40 ml liquid nutrients medium (malt extract 9.68 g l-1, dextrose 38.90 g l-1, MnSO4.H2O 1.96 g l-1, and MgSO4.7H2O 0.730 g l-1) by point prediction tool of Design Expert 7.1 software (Statease Inc. USA).

Determination of Aflatoxins in Medicinal Plants by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

PURPOSE The intention of the proposed work is to study the presence of the aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 in medicinal plants, namely Mucuna pruriens, Delphinium denudatum and Portulaca oleraceae. METHODOLOGY The aflatoxins were extracted, purified by immunoaffinity column chromatography and analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry with electrospray ionisation (HPLC-MS/MS). Fungal count was carried out in PDA media. RESULTS A good linear relationship was found for AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2 at 1-10 ppb (r>0.9995). The analyte accuracy under three different spiking levels was 86.7-108.1 %, with low per cent relative standard deviations in each case. The aflatoxins can be separated within 5 to7 min using an Agilent XDB C18-column. We found that AFB1 and AFB2 were in trace amounts below the detection limit in M. pruriens whilst they were not detected in D. denudatum. P. oleraceae was found to be contaminated with AFB1 and AFB2. AFG1 and AFG2 were not detected in M. pruriens, P. oleraceae and were below the detection limit in D. denudatum. This was consistent with very low numbers of fungal colonies observed after 6 hr of incubation. CONCLUSION The analytical method developed is simple, precise, accurate, economical and can be effectively used to determine the aflatoxins in medicinal plants and therefore to control the quality of products. The aflatoxin levels in the plant extracts examined were related to the minimal fungal load in the medicinal plants examined.

Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of 2-chloroquinoline incorporated pyrazoline derivatives

Purpose : A series of 2-chloroquinoline containing pyrazoline derivatives having 3,4-dichloro/ 3,4-dimethoxy in the phenyl ring were synthesized and screened for their antimicrobial activity against a panel of bacterial and fungal strains. Materials and Methods : The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were established on the basis of spectral data obtained from the FTIR, 1H and 13C-NMR, and mass spectrometry. All the compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (NCTC, 10418), Staphylococcus aureus (NCTC, 65710), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (NCTC, 10662). The compounds were also tested for antifungal activity aganist Aspergillus niger (MTCC, 281), Aspergillus flavus (MTCC, 277), Monascus purpureus (MTCC, 369) and Penicillium citrinum (NCIM, 768) by the cup-plate method. Results : Among the compounds tested, 3,4-dichloro derivatives were comparatively more active in antimicrobial screening with respect to their 3,4-dimethoxy analog. Conclusion : A careful analysis of the antimicrobial activity data of the compounds revealed that compounds 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3e exhibited potent antibacterial

Synthesis and in-vitro antimicrobial activity of secondary and tertiary amines containing 2-chloro-6-methylquinoline moiety.

A number of secondary and tertiary amines bearing 2‐chloro‐6‐methylquinoline were synthesized by nucleophilic substitution reaction of 3‐(chloromethyl)‐2‐chloro‐6‐methylquinoline with substituted aromatic primary and secondary amines in presence of catalytic amount of triethylamine (TEA) and K2CO3. All the compounds were characterized by combined use of IR, 1H‐NMR, 13C‐NMR, mass spectral data, and microanalyses. The newly synthesized quinolinyl amines were screened in vitro for their antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger MTCC 281, Aspergillus flavus MTCC 277, Monascus purpureus MTCC 369, Penicillium citrinum NCIM 768 and for antibacterial activity strains viz. Escherichia coli NCTC 10418, Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 65710, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCTC 10662 by agar diffusion technique. Results of the preliminary screening revealed that some of the compounds mainly those with electron withdrawing groups in the phenyl ring showed promising antifungal activity.

Statistical optimization of process parameters influencing the biotransformation of plant tannin into gallic acid under solid-liquid fermentation

Purpose : To optimize and produce gallic acid by biotransformation of plant tannin under solid-liquid fermentation. Materials and Methods : Optimization of different process parameters like temperature, relative humidity, pH of the liquid medium, fermentation period, volume of inoculum weight of substrate influencing gallic acid production from plant tannin were carried out by EVOP factorial method. Results : Maximum gallic acid yield of 93.29% was produced at 28ΊC, 70% relative humidity, pH 6, a 72-hour fermentation period, 3 ml inoculum volume, and 25 g substrate weight, from plant tannin under solid-liquid fermentation. Conclusion : Gallic acid (3, 4, 5-trihydroxy benzoic acid), an important organic acid for synthesis of propyl gallate and trimethoprim, was produced by solid-liquid fermentation using Rhizopus oryzae NRRL 21498. Combination of Evolutionary operation, factorial design, and response surface methodology was applied successfully to elucidate the effect of different process parameters influencing biotransformation of natural tannin (powdered chebulic myrobalan fruit) to gallic acid.

PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF NUTRACEUTICALS USING BACILLUS SUBTILIS NCIM 2708 UNDER SOLID STATE FERMENTATION BY RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

The conducted clinical and instrumental study revealed that the aggregate group of the patients with chronic diseases of throat differs by increased frequency of isolated and combined disorders of gastrointestinal tract. If a patient has such symptoms as hoarseness, tickling, scratching, burning, feeling of dryness in throat, frequent variant of gastro-intestinal tract disorders is gastroesophageal reflux disease with pharyngolaryneal reflux. There are such severe pathologies of throat as pachydermia of vocal cords and nodules of vocal cords among more frequently met disorders at gastro-intestinal tract diseases. High probability of accompanied pathology of throat in the form of pachydermia and nodules of vocal cords at patients with gastro-intestinal tract disorders stipulates for the necessity of conducting fibrorhynolaryngoscopy in combination with fibergastroscopy.Study presents short overview of drug situation’s indicators during the first, or heroin decade of drugs, and then during the second, soft and synthetic drugs decade of drugs in Slovakia. Then the results of series of nation-wide school surveys, mapping development of licit and illicit drugs use among children and youth during nineties are outlined. The results indicated constant growth of licit and illicit drugs consumption among primary school pupils, and secondary school students until the fourth wave of nation-wide school surveys in the years 2006 – 2007. However, the next wave after four years has detected profound change in the expected pattern of further growth in the case of illicit drugs. Instead of this decline of use or at least stabilization occurred among Slovak youth. At the same time we have found growth of use in the case of licit drugs – alcohol and tobacco, more profoundly among girls. Also the use of new synthetic drugs among young people was revealed via traditional school survey.