Mohammad Nurul Amin

Elevated serum MDA and depleted non-enzymatic antioxidants, macro-minerals and trace elements are associated with bipolar disorder

Genetic and neurobiological factors are considered to be the major causes of mood and mental disorders. However, over the past few years, increased levels of serum malondialdehyde and altered levels of various non-enzymatic antioxidants and essential minerals involved in abnormal functional activity have been identified as major contributing factors to the pathogenesis of several neurological disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of the serum lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde (MDA), antioxidants (vitamin A, E and C), macro-minerals (calcium, potassium and sodium) and trace elements (zinc, iron and selenium) in patients with bipolar disorder and to explore their role in disease progression. This is a prospective case-control study that evaluated 55 patients with bipolar disorder and 55 healthy volunteers matched by age and sex. Serum MDA levels were determined by UV spectrophotometry as a marker of lipid peroxidation. RP-HPLC was employed to investigate the serum vitamin A and E concentrations, whereas UV spectrophotometry was used to quantify levels of vitamin C. Serum macro-minerals and trace elements were analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Statistical analysis was performed with independent sample t-tests and Pearsons correlation test. We found significantly higher concentrations of MDA (p<0.05) and significantly lower concentrations of antioxidants (vitamin A, E and C) (p<0.05) in the patient group compared with control group. Regarding trace elements and macro-minerals, lower concentrations of zinc, calcium, iron, selenium, sodium and potassium were found in the patient group compared with control subjects (p<0.05). Our study suggests that high serum MDA concentrations and low serum concentrations of antioxidants, macro-minerals and trace elements are strongly associated with bipolar disorder.

Phytochemical Nature and Pharmacological Evaluation of ChloroformExtract of Pandanus fascicularis L. (Fruits) An in vivo Study

The current study was undertaken to investigate analgesic, anti-pyretic, anti-inflammatory, and gastrointestinal (GI) motility of fruit extract of P. fascicularis L. The analgesic potentials of plant extract was screened by using the acetic acid-induced writhing test. Antipyretic study was done by yeast induced pyrexia. The extracts were used for anti-inflammatory studies by albumin induced edema over a period of time; finally, gastrointestinal (GI) motility test was performed using charcoal. The chloroform extracts showed presence of maximum phytochemicals such as alkaloid, tannin, saponin, steroid, terpenoid, protein, flavonoid etc. In case of analgesic assay the dose of 400 mg/kg was capable of inhibiting 62.96% writhing in comparison to standard Diclofenac sodium, while our antipyretic assay were resembled initial (38.7 ± 0.45°C) and final (37.83 ± 0.37°C) rectal temperatures when treated with chloroform extract (400 mg/kg); where the values for Acetyl salicylic acid (100 mg/kg) were found 38.4 ± 0.11oC and 37.5 ± 0.010°C respectively. During anti-inflammatory assay edema was reduced from 0.62 ± 0.06 to 0.45 ± 0.02 after 5 h of administration of chloroform extract (400 mg/kg), where aspirin did this from 0.60 ± 0.002 to 0.42 ± 0.01 at 200 mg/ kg dose. The motility rates of castor oil and chloroform extract were found 53.24%and 31.78% at 10 ml/kg and 400 mg/kg respectively, where the control represented 63.68% motility rate. These results show that, chloroform extract of fruit of P. fascicularis L. has significant analgesic, anti-pyretic, anti-inflammatory and gastrointestinal (GI) motility effects that increase with the increase of concentration. It can be assumed that, phytochemicals present, are the source of potency of the chloroform extract.

Association of Biochemical Parameters with Renal Functions of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Patients of Bangladesh

Biochemical parameters are greatly influenced by genetic, physiological and environmental factors. Regional data is essential to establish a relationship between End stage renal disease (ESRD) and biochemical parameters. In Bangladesh, there is not any established research data on biochemical parameters of ESRD patient. The present study was a case control study with 500 ESRD patients and equal number of healthy volunteers (controls). Sociodemographic, anthropometric and clinical data of both patients and controls were collected. Serum biochemical parameters were analyzed by laboratory test. Statistical software package SPSS were used for independent sample t-test and Pearson’s correlation test. Our study found that serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum uric acid were significantly higher (p<0.05) and serum potassium were significantly lower in ESRD patient as compared to control subjects (p<0.05). But serum chloride, serum sodium and serum calcium level were in the normal range. Pearson correlation analysis reveals that serum creatinine and serum chloride was inversely correlated with GFR (glomerular filtration rate) in both patient and control groups. This study explored that ESRD patients have higher level of serum creatinine, BUN and serum uric acid but lower level of serum potassium than normal patient. Routine investigation of serum biochemical parameters may help to prevent ESRD complication.