Utpal Kumar Karmakar

Antinociceptive and antioxidant potential of the crude ethanol extract of the leaves of Ageratum conyzoides grown in Bangladesh

Abstract Context: Ageratum conyzoides Linn. (Asteraceae) is an annual herbaceous plant with a long history of traditional medicinal and agricultural uses; it is usually grown in the northeast part of Bangladesh. Objective: The ethanol extract of the plant leaves was evaluated for preliminary phytochemical screening with its antinociceptive and antioxidant activities. Materials and methods: The preliminary phytochemical analysis was performed on the basis of standard procedures. The analgesic activity of the extract was investigated using the acetic acid-induced writhing method in mice. Five complementary tests such as DPPH free radical scavenging, nitric oxide (NO) scavenging, reducing power, Fe++ ion chelating ability and total phenolic content were used for determining antioxidant activities. Results: The results of preliminary phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, reducing sugars, saponins, gums, steroids, tannins and flavonoids. The extract possessed a significant dose-dependent DPPH free radical scavenging activity with an IC50 value of 18.91 μg/ml compared to ascorbic acid (IC50: 2.937 μg/ml) and butylated hydroxyanisole (IC50: 5.10 μg/ml). The IC50 value of the extract for NO scavenging (41.81 μg/ml) was also found to be significant compared to the IC50 value of ascorbic acid (37.93 μg/ml). Moreover, the extract showed reducing power activity and Fe++ ion chelating ability. The total phenolic amount was also calculated as quite high (378.37 mg/g of gallic acid equivalents) in the crude ethanol extract. Discussion and conclusion: Therefore, the obtained results tend to suggest the antinociceptive and antioxidant activities of the ethanol extract of the plant leaves and justify its use in folkloric remedies.

Prevalence of uropathogens in diabetic patients and their corresponding resistance pattern: results of a survey conducted at diagnostic centers in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVES Urinary tract infection is the second most common clinical indication for empirical antibiotic treatment in primary and secondary health care settings. The incidence of diabetes mellitus throughout the world is increasing strikingly and in the long run, it has some major effects on the genitourinary system which makes diabetic patients more liable to urinary tract infection. This study is designed to reveal the distribution of uropathogens in diabetic patients according to age and sex, and corresponding resistance patterns. METHODS A six-month retrospective review of urine culture assay data from August 2009 to January 2010 from randomly selected 85 patients who suffered from both urinary tract infection and diabetes was conducted. Relevant information was retrieved and analyzed statistically using Microsoft® Excel 2002 software. RESULTS The study showed that females are more vulnerable to pathogenic attack than males throughout a wide age distribution. In terms of pathogenic distribution, Escherichia coli was the highest followed by Streptococcus sp., Acinetobacter, Klebsiella pneumoniae and few others. Though Meropenem showed no resistance with E. coli, Acinetobacter and Klebsiella pneumoniae, in the case of Streptococcus sp. it exhibited resistance of 25%. Amikacin exhibited only 3% resistance with E. coli, whereas no resistance with Acinetobacter and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and most interestingly showed 75% resistance with Streptococcus sp. Gentamicin exhibited no resistance with Acinetobacter while 26.9%, 50% and 87.5% resistance with E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus sp. respectively. Hence, Nitrofurantoin exhibited less resistance 11.9% compared to 12.5% resistance with E. coli and Streptococcus sp. Nitrofurantoin was highly prone to resistance with Acinetobacter and Klebsiella pneumoniae (100%, 50% respectively). Cephalosporins (cephradine, cefixime, ceftriaxone, cefepime etc.) showed moderate resistance (avg. 50%), whereas amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin showed the highest resistance in all these cases. CONCLUSION Pathogens are mostly resistant to antibiotics including amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, cephalosporins and nitrofurantoin, with few exceptions including gentamicin, amikacin and meropenem.

Phytol: A review of biomedical activities

Phytol (PYT) is a diterpene member of the long-chain unsaturated acyclic alcohols. PYT and some of its derivatives, including phytanic acid (PA), exert a wide range of biological effects. PYT is a valuable essential oil (EO) used as a fragrance and a potential candidate for a broad range of applications in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry. There is ample evidence that PA may play a crucial role in the development of pathophysiological states. Focusing on PYT and some of its most relevant derivatives, here we present a systematic review of reported biological activities, along with their underlying mechanism of action. Recent investigations with PYT demonstrated anxiolytic, metabolism-modulating, cytotoxic, antioxidant, autophagy- and apoptosis-inducing, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, immune-modulating, and antimicrobial effects. PPARs- and NF-κB-mediated activities are also discussed as mechanisms responsible for some of the bioactivities of PYT. The overall goal of this review is to discuss recent findings pertaining to PYT biological activities and its possible applications.