ABSTRACT
Antibiotic abuse is rampant in India, such that one may expect to see an increase of Clostridium difficile infections (CDI). However, we found that the incidence of CDI in India (1.67%) is no different from that reported in USA (1.6%) using similar techniques of detection (polymerase chain reaction test). We offer a possible explanation for this paradox. It is likely that a diet rich in fiber, yogurt, and possibly turmeric may have a protective role in decreasing the incidence of CDIs in India.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/adverse effects , Clostridium Infections/epidemiology , Clostridium Infections/prevention & control , Curcuma , Dietary Fiber/therapeutic use , Yogurt , Clostridioides difficile/growth & development , Clostridium Infections/chemically induced , Diarrhea/chemically induced , Diarrhea/microbiology , Diarrhea/prevention & control , Humans , Incidence , India/epidemiology , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Phytochemical and pharmacognostic investigation were carried out on the stem of Naringi crenulata (Roxb.) Nicols. The pharmacognostic analysis revealed total ash of 9.65%, water soluble ash of 48.0%, alcohol soluble extractive value of 13.0% and acid insoluble ash of 48.0%. The quantitative and qualitative analysis is very essential for identifying the compounds present in the medicinal plants. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of protein, lipid, carbohydrate, reducing sugar, phenol, tannin, flavonoid, saponin, and alkaloid, while triterpenoid, anthraquinone and quinone were absent. The present paper deals with the standardization of its aerial part of plant on the basis of various pharmacognostic parameters. The determination of these characters will aid future investigators in their pharmacological analysis of this species.
ABSTRACT
Depleted uranium is now widely used in the armor of military vehicles as well as in kinetic-energy penetrators designed to defeat enemy armor. As a result, the potential that personnel will be wounded by depleted uranium fragments has increased. Because toxicities associated with depleted uranium fragments may ultimately require different treatment protocols than those used for traditional metal fragment injuries, a method to rapidly detect the presence of depleted uranium in surgically excised shrapnel fragments is required. By treating the shrapnel fragment with an extracting agent, such as nitric acid, for 5 minutes in an ultrasonic cleaner, sufficient metal is solubilized to allow for colorimetric detection using a pyridylazo dye. Although several metals are capable of being detected under these conditions, the reaction can be made specific for depleted uranium through the use of masking agents such as sodium citrate and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. This procedure allows for the rapid (< 15 minutes) extraction and detection of depleted uranium in metal shrapnel fragments.
Subject(s)
Azo Compounds , Chelating Agents , Military Medicine/methods , Radioisotopes/analysis , Uranium/analysis , Wounds, Gunshot/diagnosis , Azo Compounds/chemistry , Chelating Agents/chemistry , Colorimetry , Humans , Spectrophotometry, Atomic , Ultrasonics , United StatesABSTRACT
The ability of oxidative stress to induce apoptosis (programmed cell death), and the effect of Trolox, a water soluble vitamin E analog, on this induction were studied in vitro in mouse thymocytes. Cells were exposed to oxidative stress by treating them with 0.5-10 microM hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for 10 min, in phosphate-buffered saline supplemented with 0.1 mM ferrous sulfate. Cells were resuspended in RPMI 1640 medium with 10% serum and incubated at 37 degrees C under 5% CO2 in air. Electron microscopic studies revealed morphological changes characteristic of apoptosis in H2O2-treated cells. H2O2 treatment fragmented the DNA in a manner typical of apoptotic cells, producing a ladder pattern of 200 base pair increments upon agarose gel electrophoresis. The percentage of DNA fragmentation (determined fluorometrically) increased with increasing doses of H2O2 and postexposure incubation times. Pre- or posttreatment of cells with Trolox reduced H2O2-induced DNA fragmentation to control levels and below. The results indicate that oxidative stress induces apoptosis in thymocytes, and this induction can be prevented by Trolox, a powerful inhibitor of membrane damage.
Subject(s)
Antioxidants/pharmacology , Apoptosis/drug effects , Chromans/pharmacology , Hydrogen Peroxide/toxicity , Thymus Gland/cytology , Animals , Cells, Cultured , DNA/drug effects , DNA/isolation & purification , DNA Damage , Hydrogen Peroxide/antagonists & inhibitors , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred Strains , Microscopy, Electron , Thymus Gland/drug effects , Thymus Gland/ultrastructureABSTRACT
Lipoic acid is a lipophilic antioxidant that participates in many enzymatic reactions and is used clinically to treat mushroom poisoning and metal toxicity. In this report the protective effect of lipoic acid (oxidized form) against radiation injury to hematopoietic tissues in mice was assessed by the endogenous and exogenous spleen colony assays and survival (LD50/30) assay. Intraperitoneal administration of lipoic acid at a nonlethal concentration of 200 mg/kg body wt, 30 min before irradiation increased the LD50/30 from 8.67 to 10.93 Gy in male CD2F1 mice. Following a 9-Gy irradiation, the yield of endogenous spleen colony-forming units in mice treated with saline and lipoic acid was 0.75 +/- 0.5 and 8.9 +/- 1.6, respectively. Using the exogenous spleen colony assay, lipoic acid treatment increased the D0 from 0.81 +/- 0.01 to 1.09 +/- 0.01 Gy, yielding a dose modification factor of 1.34 +/- 0.01. Dihydrolipoic acid (reduced form) has no radioprotective effect in CD2F1 mice.