Biological Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles by Amaryllis vittata (L.) Herit: From Antimicrobial to Biomedical Applications.

The current study sought to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from Amaryllis vittata (L.) leaf and bulb extracts in order to determine their biological significance and use the toxic plants for human health benefits. The formation of silver nanoparticles was detected by a change in color from whitish to brown for bulb-AgNPs and from light green to dark brown for leaf-AgNPs. For the optimization of silver nanoparticles, various experimental physicochemical parameters such as pH, temperature, and salt were determined. UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray dispersion spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersion spectroscopy analysis were used to characterize nanoparticles. Despite the fact that flavonoids in plant extracts were implicated in the reduction and capping procedure, the prepared nanoparticles demonstrated maximum absorbency between 400 and 500 nm. SEM analysis confirmed the preparation of monodispersed spherical crystalline particles with fcc structure. The bioinspired nanoparticles were found to show effective insecticidal activity against Tribolium castaneum and phytotoxic activity against Lemna aequincotialis. In comparison to plant extracts alone, the tested fabricated nanoparticles showed significant potential to scavenge free radicals and relieve pain. Antibacterial testing against human pathogenic strains, i.e., Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aureginosa, and antifungal testing against Aspergillus niger revealed the significant potential for microbe resistance using AgNPs. As a result of the findings, the tested silver nanoparticles demonstrated promising potential for developing new and effective pharmacological and agricultural medications. Furthermore, the effects of biogenic AgNPs on an in vitro culture of Solanum tuberosum L. plants were investigated, and the findings indicated that bulb-AgNPs and leaf-AgNPs produced biomass and induced antioxidants via their active constituents. As a result, bulb-AgNPs and leaf-AgNPs may be recommended for use in Solanum tuberosum L. tissue culture for biomass fabrication and metabolic induction.

Activity guided isolation and mechanistic approach towards analgesic potential of Chenopodium mediated through opioidergic pathway.

The current study is focused towards screening for its phytochemicals, phenolic and flavonoid contents of different species of Chenopodium. The plants were also screened for corroborating the traditional use of medicinal plants locally used for pain by determining the extract and their fractions for the in-vivo analgesic activity by using the modern scientific system. Among chloroform fractions, a high level of total phenolic contents was found in chloroform fraction of Chenopodium ambrosioides (ChAm-Chf) with 57.12±1.02 followed by Chenopodium botrys (ChBt-Chf) with 56.79±0.71. High content of flavonoids was found in chloroform fraction of Chenopodium botrys (ChBt-Chf) extract with 78.35±0.84 followed by Chenopodium ambrosioides (ChAm-Chf) with 75.20±0.81. The crude extract Chenopodium album, Chenopodium botrys and Chenopodium ambrosioides (ChAl-Crd, ChBt-Crd and ChAm-Crd) at 100 and 200 mg/kg, chloroform and ethylacetate fractions (ChAl-Chf, ChBt-Chf, ChAm-Chf, ChAl-Et, ChBt-Et and ChAm-Et) at 75 mg/kg caused significant inhibition (P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.001, n=8) of the analgesic response induced by acetic acid, formalin and hotplate method. Mechanistically, the naloxone overturns completely the analgesic effects of beta-sitosterol (SN2) while partial reversal was observed by ursolic acid (SN1) indicating other possible mechanisms in association with opioid receptors.

Cervical carcinoma in a Muslim community.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the research was to review the distributions of age, stage at presentation, and morphology of patients presenting with carcinoma of the cervix in a predominantly Muslim population. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective study was conducted at a comprehensive cancer diagnostic and treatment facility situated in Lahore, Pakistan, reviewing the medical records of the patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Four-hundred and nineteen cervical cancer patients were registered at the hospital during a nine-and a half year time period extending from December 1994 to June 2004. Histology was confirmed by exfoliative cervical cytology typically by means of Papanicolaou smear. The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics classification was used to stage the disease. Univariate analysis on factors as age, stage at presentation, and morphology was conducted. RESULTS: 1) The age distribution of the 419 patient cohort was recorded to be as follows: mean 49.2 years (SD 11.7, range 11-85 years) and mode 50 years (37 patients). Only one patient was less than 18 years. 2) Of these 419 patients, 73.5% (308/419) had squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 7.9% (33/419) had adenocarcinoma, and 0.7% (3/419) had adenosquamous carcinoma; of the remainder, 1.4% (6/419) had rare types (3 each of sarcoma and small cell carcinoma) and 16.5% (69/419) had unspecified carcinoma. 3) Only two patients (0.5%) were identified as being in stage 0, 49/419 (11.7%) in stage I, 140/419 (33.4%) in stage II, 90/419 (21.5%) in stage III, 52/419 (12.4%) in stage IV, and 86/419 (20.5%) as not being evaluable. CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of patients (67%) presented in stages II to IV and only 12% presented early at stages 0 or I. This emphasizes the need for early detection of this tumor in our population. Accordingly, the importance of detection of the pre-clinical stage of the disease by considering the possibility of initiating a cost-effective screening measures needs to be emphasized in our setting.