Devendra Vaishnav

Solasodine protects rat brain against ischemia/reperfusion injury through its antioxidant activity

Ischemic stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide. The major limitation of stroke management is the lack of clinically effective therapy. Antioxidants have been demonstrated as potent neuroprotective agents by enhancing the defense mechanism(s), whereas reducing the oxidative stress in the ischemic stroke models. In the present study, we evaluated neuroprotective potential of solasodine, an antioxidant glycoalkaloid of Solanum species, against global model of ischemia in rats. Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-injury produced marked elevation in lipid peroxidation (LPO) and nitric oxide (NO), whereas superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione (GSH) levels were decreased in experimental animals. Prior administration of solasodine (100 and 200mg/kg, p.o.) significantly heightened SOD, CAT, GSH and total thiols, whereas reduced LPO and NO levels in the brain. Interestingly, brain coronal sectioning and histopathology studies revealed a marked reversal of I/R-provoked neuronal damage in the solasodine treatment groups. Taken together, our study, for the first time, demonstrates neuroprotective potential of solasodine against global ischemia-induced cerebral injury in experimental rats. We propose that the neuroprotection offered by solasodine could be attributed, at least in part, to its anti-oxidant property.

A novel alkaline keratinase from Bacillus subtilis DP1 with potential utility in cosmetic formulation

The Bacillus subtilis DP1 was isolated from poultry farm soil at Anand district, India. The highest enzyme production (379.65U/ml) was obtained at pH 10.0, a temperature of 37°C and a growth period of 72h. The extracellular keratinase was purified by gel filtration chromatography with 27.98 purification fold. Purity was also confirmed by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis, where a major peak having retention time of 2.5min was obtained on C18 column using photo diode array detector. Purified keratinase was stable in a broad range of pH (8-12) and temperature (20-50°C) with optimum at pH 10.0 and 37°C. The metallic ions, Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) enhance keratinase activity. Secondary structure from Circular Dichroism (CD) spectra implies that purified keratinase is largely β-pleated sheet rich protein. For preparation of dehairing cream formulation, compatibility studies of excipients were carried out. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of sodium stearate, calcium carbonate and sodium lauryl sulphate shows no reactivity of functional groups and hence mixture was compatible for formulation of keratinase dehairing cream. Prepared biological depilatory was able to remove hair more efficiently compared to marketed formulations.

Isolation and partial purification of erythromycin from alkaliphilic Streptomyces werraensis isolated from Rajkot, India

An alkaliphilic actinomycete, BCI-1, was isolated from soil samples collected from Saurashtra University campus, Gujarat. Isolated strain was identified as Streptomyces werraensis based on morphological, biochemical and phylogenetic analysis. Maximum antibiotic production was obtained in media containing sucrose 2%, Yeast extract 1.5%, and NaCl 2.5% at pH 9.0 for 7 days at 30 °C. Maximum inhibitory compound was produced at pH 9 and at 30 °C. FTIR revealed imine, amine, alkane (C 000000000000 000000000000 000000000000 111111111111 000000000000 111111111111 000000000000 000000000000 000000000000 C) of aromatic ring and p-di substituted benzene, whereas HPLC analysis of partially purified compound and library search confirmed 95% peaks matches with erythromycin. Chloroform extracted isolated compound showed MIC values 1 μg/ml against Bacillus subtilis, ≤0.5 μg/ml against Staphylococcus aureus, ≤0.5 μg/ml against Escherichia coli and 2.0 μg/ml against Serretia GSD2 sp., which is more effective in comparison to ehtylacetate and methanol extracted compounds. The study holds significance as only few alkaliphilic actinomycetes have been explored for their antimicrobial potential.

Ficus recemosa bark extract attenuates diabetic complications and oxidative stress in STZ-induced diabetic rats

Abstract Context Ficus recemosa Linn. (Moraceae) has been reported as a natural folk medicine with diverse pathological activities such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, renoprotective and cardioprotective. Objective The present study evaluates the preventive effect of standardised ethanol extract of F. racemosa stem bark (EEFSB) on diabetic cardiomyopathy (DC) and diabetic nephropathy (DN). Materials and methods Animals were rendered diabetic by one time administration of STZ (45 mg kg−1, i.v.) and, after 7 d, diabetic rats were randomised into four groups of eight rats each. EEFSB (200 and 400 mg kg−1) was administered to diabetic rats once daily for 8 weeks. Furthermore, the presence of phytochemicals was evaluated by HPTLC. Results Treatment with EEFSB markedly restores the blood glucose and lipid level (p < 0.001), also reduced creatinine kinase (p < 0.001), lactate dehydrogenase (p < 0.001), C-reactive protein (p < 0.001), creatinine (p < 0.001), blood urea nitrogen (p < 0.001), collagen (p < 0.05) and albumin (p < 0.001) levels. Reduced level of sodium (p < 0.001), creatinine (p < 0.001), albumin (p < 0.001) and malondialdehyde (p < 0.01) in heart and kidney tissue along with enhanced activities of superoxide dismutase (p < 0.001) and reduced glutathione (p < 0.001). Moreover, left ventricular hypertrophic index and cardiac hypertrophic index were markedly reduced by EEFSB treatment. Conclusion The findings of this study provided strong scientific evidence for the traditional use of F. racemosa and postulate protective effects against diabetes and its complications such as DC and DN.

Magnesium valproate ameliorates type 1 diabetes and cardiomyopathy in diabetic rats through estrogen receptors

Estrogen is known to exhibit cardioprotective and antihyperlipidemic action. Valproic acid has been shown to upregulate estrogen receptors (ERs) in breast and prostate cancer tissues. No pharmacological evaluations for magnesium valproate (MgV) so far have been done for diabetic cadio-lipidemic complications. Based on the above context, current study was undertaken to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of MgV in cardiac complications associated with type-1 diabetes mellitus in rats wherein diabetes was induced by single tail vein injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 45mg/kg, IV) in female Sprague Dawley rats and treatment of MgV (210mg/kg, PO) was given for eight weeks to diabetic animals, after which, various biochemical and cardiac biomarkers, hypertrophic, hemodynamic and histological parameters along with immunohistochemistry of ERs in the left ventricle (LV) were estimated. MgV treatment significantly controlled hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia, reduced elevated cardiac biomarkers and C-reactive protein(CRP), significantly improved hemodynamic functions and increased the rate of pressure development and decay. MgV also significantly reduced left ventricular hypertrophy index and cardiac hypertrophy index, LV wall thickness, LV collagen, cardiomyocyte diameter and prevented the oxidative stress with significant increase in Na+-K+-ATPase activity in LV. Moreover, MgV reversed STZ-induced histological alterations and decreased glycogen content in LV and increased the ERβ expressions in LV as evidenced by immunohistochemistry. The result indicated that MgV prevented disease progression in the early stage of diabetic cardiomyopathy which seems to be mediated by upregulation of estrogen receptors in LV tissue.

A statistical approach for the enhanced production of thermostable alkaline protease showing detergent compatibility activity from Bacillus circulans

Abstract Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to enhance the production of a thermostable alkaline protease from Bacillus circulans. Significant influences of peptone, yeast extract, and glucose on protease production were noted with a one-variable-at-a-time optimization strategy. Then, a full factorial central composite design (CCD) was applied to study the effects of glucose, peptone, and yeast extract to determine the optimal concentrations of these compounds for protease production by B. circulans under shake flask fermentation conditions. The statistical reliability and significance of the model was validated by an F-test for analysis of variance (ANOVA); enzyme production was improved significantly under optimized conditions. The enzyme was purified by ammonium sulphate fractionation, and gel filtration chromatography. Maximum enzyme activity was observed at 60°C temperature, and at pH 10. Alkaline protease from B. circulans showed excellent compatibility and stability in the presence of commercial detergents like Ariel, Surf Excel, Tide, Rin, Nirma, Wheel, and Doctor and showed excellent blood destaining effectiveness with commercial detergents.

Seaweed Pretreatment of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) Enhances Post Harvest Preservation by Reducing Germination

The plant growth enhancer property of seaweeds has been studied in different crops. Seaweed (Sargassum wightii and Uluva lectuca) were collected from costal region of Mangrol and studied for its effect on germination and storage of chickpea. Chickpea seeds were soaked in 1% seaweed extracts for 6 h and dried at room temperature before sowing for germination in the soil. Percentage of seeds germination was less in S. wightii (67%) and U. lectuca (65%) treated seeds as compared to control. Furthermore, the treatment also prolonged germination time as compared to untreated control. Seaweed extracts effects on seeds viability upon longer storage was affected by the storage conditions. For instance, storage of seeds treated with seaweeds extracts at room temperature was more affected as compared to 4-8°C and -20°C. These results showed that seaweed extract is possible to use for increasing post harvest shelf life of chickpea without affecting its natural texture.