Preclinical assessment of analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic potential of Fragaria ananassa and Actinidia deliciosa fruit extract.

Fragaria ananassa (garden strawberry) and Actinidia deliciosa (kiwi) fruits are widely consumed due to their taste and nutritive value however several studies also supports their medicinal uses. Current study was designed to assess the In-Vivo analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activity of ethanol extract of Fragaria ananassa (EEFA), Actinidia deliciosa (EEDA) and their 1:1 combination. Albino Wistar rats were divided into five groups (n=5) for each study comprising of vehicle control, reference standards *(aspirin and paracetamol 100 mg/kg/day), EEFA (800 mg/kg/day), EEAD (800 mg/kg/day) and 1:1 combination of EEFA and EEAD (400 + 400mg/kg/day). The results revealed significant anti-inflammatory potential of EEAD and their combination with 79.35% and 82.03% inhibition in carrageenan induced paw edema whereas 52.54% inhibition was produced by EEFA against control. However most powerful analgesic effect was produced by EEFA with 52.23% at 60 min followed by EEAD (48.38%) and EEFA+ EEAD combination (44.09%). Similarly, EEFA, EEAD and their combination also lowered the rectal temperature in highly significant manner (p< 0.01) against control. These results suggested the possible role of garden strawberry and kiwi in treating the ailments related to pain, inflammation and fever however further studies are required to elucidate the constituents responsible for it and their exact mechanism.

Fractionation of Biomolecules in Withania coagulans Extract for Bioreductive Nanoparticle Synthesis, Antifungal and Biofilm Activity.

Withania coagulans contains a complex mixture of various bioactive compounds. In order to reduce the complexity of the plant extract to purify its phytochemical biomolecules, a novel fractionation strategy using different solvent combination ratios was applied to isolate twelve bioactive fractions. These fractions were tested for activity in the biogenic synthesis of cobalt oxide nanoparticles, biofilm and antifungal activities. The results revealed that plant extract with bioactive fractions in 30% ratio for all solvent combinations showed more potent bioreducing power, according to the observed color changes and the appearance of representative absorption peaks at 500-510 nm in the UV-visible spectra which confirm the synthesis of cobalt oxide nanoparticles (Co3O4 NPs). XRD diffraction was used to define the crystal structure, size and phase composition of the products. The fractions obtained using 90% methanol/hexane and 30% methanol/hexane showed more effectiveness against biofilm formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus so these fractions could potentially be used to treat bacterial infections. The 90% hexane/H2O fraction showed excellent antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans, while the 70% methanol/hexane fraction showed good antifungal activity for C. albicans, so these fractions are potentially useful for the treatment of various fungal infections. On the whole it was concluded that fractionation based on effective combinations of methanol/hexane was useful to investigate and study bioactive compounds, and the active compounds from these fractions may be further purified and tested in various clinical trials.

Purification and characterization of kininogens from sheep plasma.

High molecular weight kininogen (HMWK) and low molecular weight kininogen (LMWK) have been purified from sheep (Avis Arias) plasma in three steps involving ammonium sulphate precipitation, column chromatography on Sephacryl-300HR and ion exchange chromatography on DEAE cellulose. HMWK gave a single band on native and SDS-PAGE with a molecular weight corresponding to 280 kDa. Under reducing conditions purified HMWK was again resolved to a single band with molecular weight corresponding to 140 kDa indicative of its dimeric nature. LMWK was resolved into two isoforms named as LMWK1 and LMWK2, with an apparent molecular weight of 68 kDa. The yield of HMWK, LMWK1 and 2 was about 8.1, 5.63 and 10.65 respectively. HMWK, LMWK1 and 2 strongly inhibited activities of ficin and papain but not of trypsin, chymotrypsin and bromelain. Ki values estimated for HMWK with papain and ficin was 0.8 and 0.6 nM respectively. Ki values estimated for LMWK1 and 2 with papain were 2.40 and 2.00 nM respectively. Binding of HMWK, LMWK1 and 2 to activated papain were accompanied by pronounced changes in secondary and tertiary structure that are compatible with perturbations of environment of aromatic residues.