Colostrum Feeding among Newborns Visiting the Outpatient Department of Pediatrics of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Colostrum is the thick yellowish breast milk that is produced during the first 3-5 days of childbirth. Feeding colostrum protects the newborn from various diseases, thus promoting the overall well-being of the newborn. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of colostrum feeding among newborns visiting the Department of Pediatrics in a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done among infants presenting to the Department of Pediatrics in a tertiary care centre. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 2078/079/107). The duration of study was six month from 12 February 2022 to 12 August 2022. A pre-designed questionnaire was used for face-to-face interviews. Convenience sampling was done. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Among 350 newborns, colostrum was fed to 305 (87.14%) (83.63-90.65, 95% Confidence Interval) newborns. A total of 180 (59.02%) were breastfed within 1 hour of delivery. Conclusions: The prevalence of colostrum feeding was higher in our study than in other studies done in similar settings. Keywords: colostrum; exclusive breastfeeding; newborns; prevalence.

Nutraceuticals and COVID-19: A mechanistic approach toward attenuating the disease complications.

Nutraceuticals have emerged as potential compounds to attenuate the COVID-19 complications. Precisely, these food additives strengthen the overall COVID treatment and enhance the immunity of a person. Such compounds have been used at a large scale, in almost every household due to their better affordability and easy access. Therefore, current research is focused on developing newer advanced formulations from potential drug candidates including nutraceuticals with desirable properties viz, affordability, ease of availability, ease of administration, stability under room temperature, and potentially longer shelf-lives. As such, various nutraceutical-based products such as compounds could be promising agents for effectively managing COVID-19 symptoms and complications. Most importantly, regular consumption of such nutraceuticals has been shown to boost the immune system and prevent viral infections. Nutraceuticals such as vitamins, amino acids, flavonoids like curcumin, and probiotics have been studied for their role in the prevention of COVID-19 symptoms such as fever, pain, malaise, and dry cough. In this review, we have critically reviewed the potential of various nutraceutical-based therapeutics for the management of COVID-19. We searched the information relevant to our topic from search engines such as PubMed and Scopus using COVID-19, nutraceuticals, probiotics, and vitamins as a keyword. Any scientific literature published in a language other than English was excluded. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Nutraceuticals possess both nutritional values and medicinal properties. They can aid in the prevention and treatment of diseases, as well as promote physical health and the immune system, normalizing body functions, and improving longevity. Recently, nutraceuticals such as probiotics, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, trace minerals, and medicinal plants have attracted considerable attention and are widely regarded as potential alternatives to current therapeutic options for the effective management of various diseases, including COVID-19.

Recent Advances in Chronotherapy Targeting Respiratory Diseases.

Respiratory diseases contribute to a significant percentage of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The circadian rhythm is a natural biological process where our bodily functions align with the 24 h oscillation (sleep-wake cycle) process and are controlled by the circadian clock protein/gene. Disruption of the circadian rhythm could alter normal lung function. Chronotherapy is a type of therapy provided at specific time intervals based on an individual's circadian rhythm. This would allow the drug to show optimum action, and thereby modulate its pharmacokinetics to lessen unwanted or unintended effects. In this review, we deliberated on the recent advances employed in chrono-targeted therapeutics for chronic respiratory diseases.

In Silico Prediction, Molecular Docking and Dynamics Studies of Steroidal Alkaloids of Holarrhena pubescens Wall. ex G. Don to Guanylyl Cyclase C: Implications in Designing of Novel Antidiarrheal Therapeutic Strategies.

The binding of heat stable enterotoxin (STa) secreted by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) to the extracellular domain of guanylyl cyclase c (ECDGC-C) causes activation of a signaling cascade, which ultimately results in watery diarrhea. We carried out this study with the objective of finding ligands that would interfere with the binding of STa on ECDGC-C. With this view in mind, we tested the biological activity of a alkaloid rich fraction of Holarrhena pubescens against ETEC under in vitro conditions. Since this fraction showed significant antibacterial activity against ETEC, we decided to test the screen binding affinity of nine compounds of steroidal alkaloid type from Holarrhena pubescens against extracellular domain (ECD) by molecular docking and identified three compounds with significant binding energy. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed for all the three lead compounds to establish the stability of their interaction with the target protein. Pharmacokinetics and toxicity profiling of these leads demonstrated that they possessed good drug-like properties. Furthermore, the ability of these leads to inhibit the binding of STa to ECD was evaluated. This was first done by identifying amino acid residues of ECDGC-C binding to STa by protein-protein docking. The results were matched with our molecular docking results. We report here that holadysenterine, one of the lead compounds that showed a strong affinity for the amino acid residues on ECDGC-C, also binds to STa. This suggests that holadysenterine has the potential to inhibit binding of STa on ECD and can be considered for future study, involving its validation through in vitro assays and animal model studies.

In vitro bioaccessibility of selenoamino acids from selenium (Se)-enriched Chlorella vulgaris biomass in comparison to selenized yeast; a Se-enriched food supplement; and Se-rich foods.

Selenium (Se) is an indispensable microelement in our diet and health issues resulting from deficiencies are well documented. Se-containing food supplements are available on the market including Se-enriched Chlorella vulgaris (Se-Chlorella) which accumulates Se in the form of Se-amino acids (Se-AAs). Despite its popular uses, data about the bioaccessibility of Se-AAs from Se-Chlorella are completely missing. In the present study, gastrointestinal digestion times were optimized and the in vitro bioaccessibility of Se-AAs in Se-Chlorella, Se-yeast, a commercially available Se-enriched food supplement (Se-supplement) and Se rich foods (Se-foods) were compared. Higher bioaccessibility was found in Se-Chlorella (∼49%) as compared to Se-yeast (∼21%), Se-supplement (∼32%) and Se-foods. The methods used in production of Se-Chlorella biomass were also investigated. We found that disintegration increased bioaccessibility whereas the drying process had no effect. Similarly, temperature treatment by microwave oven also increased bioaccessibility whereas boiling water did not.

In silico molecular docking, preclinical evaluation of spiroindimicins A-D, lynamicin A and D isolated from deep marine sea derived Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 03032.

The criteria used for successful drug discovery involves high throughput screening for preclinical evaluation and its interaction with target enzymes. In silico approach resulting in the creation of drug like library and identification of essential reactions and pathways spreads across several parts of metabolism. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the preclinical property and interaction to various drug target enzymes for spiroindimicins A-D and lynamicin A and D isolated from deep marine sea derived Streptomyces sp. SCSIO 03032 with 7 selected drug target enzymes. The preclinical and molecular docking simulation was performed using In silico pharmacology and docking tool. Drug likeliness, ADME and toxicity testing findings suggested the compounds with oral drug candidate's probability. Interaction of isolated compounds against drug target enzymes was satisfactory with Spiroindimicins C, D and Lynamicin D emerging as most potent Topoisomerase II, Cathepsin K, Cytochrome P4503A4, Aromatase P450, protein kinase and histone deacetylase inhibitors. Our results suggest that In silico approach in drug discovery procedure in later stage of development can ease up making lead molecules library.

Actividad in vitro of 5-(2, 4-dimetilbencil) pirrolidin-2-uno extraído de Streptomyces VITSVK5 sp. marino frente a patógenos fúngicos y bacterianos humanos / In vitro activity of 5-(2, 4-dimethylbenzyl) pyrrolidin-2-one extracted from marine Streptomyces VITSVK5 spp. against fungal and bacterial human pathogens

Antecedentes: El cribado farmacológico y el uso de productos naturales para el tratamiento de las enfermedades humanas tiene un largo historial que comienza en la medicina tradicional y se extiende hasta los fármacos modernos. La mayoría de los fármacos modernos proceden principalmente de productos naturales. Objetivo. El objetivo del presente estudio fue valorar la actividad inhibidora of 5-(2,4-dimetilbencil) pirrolidin-2-uno (DMBPO) extraído de Streptomyces VITSVK5 sp. marino aislado de muestras de sedimento recolectadas en la costa de Marakkanam de la bahía de Bengala, India. Métodos. El compuesto principal se aisló mediante extracción bioactiva guiada y se purificó mediante cromatografía de columna de gel de sílice. La dilucidación estructural del compuesto principal se efectuó utilizando datos espectrales de las técnicas UV, FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, DEPT y HR-MS. Resultados. El cribado sistemático de los aislamientos en busca de actividad antimicrobiana dio lugar a la identificación de una cepa potencial, Streptomyces VITSVK5 sp. (GQ848482). Con la extracción bioactiva guiada se obtuvo un compuesto DMBPO y su actividad inhibidora se examinó frente a cepas bacterianas y fúngicas seleccionadas. DMBPO mostró una actividad máxima frente a Escherichia coli con un valor de la concentración inhibitoria mínima (CIM) de 187mg/ml, seguida de Klebsiella pneumoniae (CIM de 220mg/ml y zona de inhibición de 10,3mm), Staphylococcus aureus (CIM>1.000mg/ml y zona de inhibición de 4,4mm) y Bacillus subtilis (CIM de 850mg/ml y zona de inhibición de 2,6mm). Además, se puso de relieve que DMBPO también fue un inhibidor potente de los patógenos fúngicos oportunistas. Se demostró una actividad máxima frente a Aspergillus niger con un valor de CIM de 1mg/ml y una zona de inhibición de 28mm. Conclusión. El resultado del presente estudio indica que DMBPO posee actividad antibiótica frente a patógenos bacterianos y fúngicos seleccionados y exhibió una mejor actividad frente a hongos que bacterias(AU)

Background. Pharmacological screening and usage of natural products for the treatment of human diseases has had a long history from traditional medicine to modern drugs. The majority of modern drugs are reported to be mostly from natural products. Objective. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the inhibitory activity of 5-(2,4-dimethylbenzyl) pyrrolidin-2-one (DMBPO) extracted from marine Streptomyces VITSVK5 spp. isolated from sediment samples collected at Marakkanam coast of Bay of Bengal, India. Methods. The lead compound was isolated by bioactive guided extraction and purified by silica gel column chromatography. Structural elucidation of the lead compound was carried out by using UV, FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, DEPT and HR-MS spectral data. Results. Systematic screening of isolates for antimicrobial activity lead to identification of a potential strain, Streptomyces VITSVK5 spp. (GQ848482). Bioactivity guided extraction yielded a compound DMBPO and its inhibitory activity was tested against selected bacterial and fungal strains. DMBPO showed maximal activity against Escherichia coli with a MIC value of 187mg/ml, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (MIC of 220mg/ml and 10.3mm zone of inhibition), Staphylococcus aureus (MIC of >1000mg/ml and 4.4mm zone of inhibition) and Bacillus subtilis (MIC of 850m/ml and 2.6mm zone of inhibition). Furthermore, DMBPO was found to be a potent inhibitor of opportunistic fungal pathogens too. It showed a maximum activity against Aspergillus niger with a MIC value of 1mg/ml and 28mm zone of inhibition. Conclusion. The result of this study indicates that DMBPO possess antibiotic activity to selected bacterial and fungal pathogens and exhibited better activity against fungi than bacteria(AU)

In vitro activity of 5-(2,4-dimethylbenzyl) pyrrolidin-2-one extracted from marine Streptomyces VITSVK5 spp. against fungal and bacterial human pathogens.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacological screening and usage of natural products for the treatment of human diseases has had a long history from traditional medicine to modern drugs. The majority of modern drugs are reported to be mostly from natural products. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the inhibitory activity of 5-(2,4-dimethylbenzyl) pyrrolidin-2-one (DMBPO) extracted from marine Streptomyces VITSVK5 spp. isolated from sediment samples collected at Marakkanam coast of Bay of Bengal, India. METHODS: The lead compound was isolated by bioactive guided extraction and purified by silica gel column chromatography. Structural elucidation of the lead compound was carried out by using UV, FT-IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, DEPT and HR-MS spectral data. RESULTS: Systematic screening of isolates for antimicrobial activity lead to identification of a potential strain, Streptomyces VITSVK5 spp. (GQ848482). Bioactivity guided extraction yielded a compound DMBPO and its inhibitory activity was tested against selected bacterial and fungal strains. DMBPO showed maximal activity against Escherichia coli with a MIC value of 187 µg/ml, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (MIC of 220 µg/ml and 10.3mm zone of inhibition), Staphylococcus aureus (MIC of >1000 µg/ml and 4.4mm zone of inhibition) and Bacillus subtilis (MIC of 850 µg/ml and 2.6mm zone of inhibition). Furthermore, DMBPO was found to be a potent inhibitor of opportunistic fungal pathogens too. It showed a maximum activity against Aspergillus niger with a MIC value of 1 µg/ml and 28 mm zone of inhibition. CONCLUSION: The result of this study indicates that DMBPO possess antibiotic activity to selected bacterial and fungal pathogens and exhibited better activity against fungi than bacteria.