Evaluation of Pleurotus Mushroom Effects on Histopathological Changes in Organs of Diabetic Rats.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder that can be categorized mainly into type 1 and type 2. Diabetes type 1 is caused due to ß-cell destruction, whereas type 2 is caused by the resistance of cell receptors. Many therapies are available for the management of diabetes, but they have some side effects, and as a result of this, people are attracted to natural treatments. Pleurotus mushrooms are well documented for their medicinal attributes and their role in the treatment of diseases like cancer, infectious disease, neurodiseases, and inflammatory disease. The protective mechanism of the Pleurotus fossulatus (P. fossulatus) mushroom and its detailed histological study on kidneys and the liver in diabetic conditions were unexplored. The present study evaluated the effects of P. fossulatus aqueous extract on histological changes in the diabetic rat model. Male Wistar albino rats were used to create the diabetic model by using streptozotocin (STZ) intraperitoneal (IP) injection. The animals were separated into five different groups, with six animals in each. Only group I, animals that did not receive STZ, was considered a normal control. Group II was a diabetic control and received normal saline, and group III was a drug control and received metformin as a standard drug. Groups IV and V were dosing groups, which received the aqueous extract of P. fossulatus in 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg of body weight concentrations, labeled as T1 and T2 groups, respectively. The T1 and T2 groups clearly showed their potential to reverse the histopathological changes in the kidney and liver. However, the T2 group was more effective than the T1 group, as results indicate that functions of the glomerulus and its structural deformity were restored to their near-natural form in the T2 group. In the case of the liver, the histological changes like the dilatation of sinusoids, more numbers of the Kupffer cell formation, and necrosis were restored in the T2 group. All these results proved the potential of P. fossulatus against the side effects of diabetes. It could protect the organs from developing diabetic nephropathy (DN) and liver-related diseases like cirrhosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Therapeutic Potential of Phytoconstituents in Management of Alzheimer's Disease.

Since primitive times, herbs have been extensively used in conventional remedies for boosting cognitive impairment and age-associated memory loss. It is mentioned that medicinal plants have a variety of dynamic components, and they have become a prominent choice for synthetic medications for the care of cognitive and associated disorders. Herbal remedies have played a major role in the progression of medicine, and many advanced drugs have already been developed. Many studies have endorsed practicing herbal remedies with phytoconstituents, for healing Alzheimer's disease (AD). All the information in this article was collated from selected research papers from online scientific databases, such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. The aim of this article is to convey the potential of herbal remedies for the prospect management of Alzheimer's and related diseases. Herbal remedies may be useful in the discovery and advancement of drugs, thus extending new leads for neurodegenerative diseases such as AD. Nanocarriers play a significant role in delivering herbal medicaments to a specific target. Therefore, many drugs have been described for the management of age-linked complaints such as dementia, AD, and the like. Several phytochemicals are capable of managing AD, but their therapeutic claims are restricted due to their lower solubility and metabolism. These limitations of natural therapeutics can be overcome by using a targeted nanocarrier system. This article will provide the primitive remedies as well as the development of herbal remedies for AD management.

Therapeutic applications of mushrooms and their biomolecules along with a glimpse of in silico approach in neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) represent a common neurological pathology that determines a progressive deterioration of the brain or the nervous system. For treating NDs, comprehensive and alternative medicines have attracted scientific researchers' attention recently. Edible mushrooms are essential for preventing several age-based neuronal dysfunctions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Mushroom such as Grifola frondosa, Lignosus rhinocerotis, Hericium erinaceus, may improve cognitive functions. It has also been reported that edible mushrooms (basidiocarps/mycelia extracts or isolated bioactive compounds) may reduce beta-amyloid-induced neurotoxicity. Medicinal mushrooms are being used for novel and natural compounds that help modulate immune responses and possess anti-cancer, anti-microbial, and anti-oxidant properties. Compounds such as polyphenols, terpenoids, alkaloids, sesquiterpenes, polysaccharides, and metal chelating agents are validated in different ND treatments. This review aims to assess mushrooms' role and their biomolecules utilization for treating different kinds of NDs. The action mechanisms, presented here, including reducing oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and modulation of acetylcholinesterase activity, protecting neurons or stimulation, and regulating neurotrophins synthesis. We also provide background about neurodegenerative diseases and in-silico techniques of the drug research. High costs associated with experiments and current ethical law imply efficient alternatives with limited cost value. In silico approaches provide an alternative method with low cost that has been successfully implemented to cure ND disorders in recent days. We also describe the applications of computational procedures such as molecular docking, virtual high-throughput screening, molecular dynamic (MD) simulation, quantum-mechanical methods for drug design. They were reported against various targets in NDs.

Differential Iron Status and Trafficking in Blood and Placenta of Anemic and Non-anemic Primigravida Supplemented with Daily and Weekly Iron Folic Acid Tablets.

ABSTRACT: The molecular mechanism of iron transfer across placenta in response to maternal anemic status/ iron supplementation is not clear. We hypothesized that maternal iron/ anemia status during early trimesters can be utilized as a biomarker tool to get estimates of placental iron status. Early interventions can be envisaged to maintain optimum placental/ foetal iron levels for healthy pregnancy outcomes. One hundred twenty primigravida were recruited and divided into non-anemic and anemic group on the basis of hemoglobin levels. The groups were randomly allocated to receive daily and weekly iron folic acid (IFA) tablets till six weeks postpartum. Hematological and iron status markers in blood and placenta were studied along with the delivery notes. Weekly IFA supplementation in anemic primigravidas resulted in significantly reduced levels of hematological markers (p < 0.01); whereas non-anemic primigravidas showed lower ferritin and iron levels, and higher soluble transferrin receptor levels (p < 0.05). At baseline, C-reactive protein and cortisol hormone levels were also significantly lower in non-anemic primigravidas (p < 0.05). A significantly decreased placental ferritin expression (p < 0.05); and an increased placental transferrin expression was seen in anemic primigravidas supplemented with weekly IFA tablets. A significant positive correlation was observed between serum and placental ferritin expression in anemic pregnant women (r = 0.80; p < 0.007). Infant weight, gestational length and placental weight were comparable in both the supplementation groups. To conclude, mother's serum iron / anemia status switches the modulation in placental iron transporter expression for delivering the optimum iron to the foetus for healthy pregnancy outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trial Registry-India: CTRI/2014/10/005135.

Role of edible mushroom as a potent therapeutics for the diabetes and obesity.

Diabetes and obesity are the most frequently found disease worldwide. Several factors are responsible for obesity, i.e., imbalance in energy expenditure, environmental factors, feeding habit, lifestyle, etc., which can also be responsible for type 2 diabetes mellitus. There are several synthetic drugs available to combat these diseases which have some side effects on sufferers. Therefore, people are shifting towards inexpensive, effective, widely available natural and herbal medicines. Edible mushrooms, which have been used from ancient time to cure these diseases, contain anti-oxidant, fibers, triterpenoids, alkaloid, and other phytochemicals. Comatin, ß-glucan, Tremellastin, and Lentinan KS-2 are active chemicals of mushrooms which show great effect on diabetes mellitus and obesity by modulating either cellular function or biochemical pathways. Here, in this review, we have discussed the potential role of edible mushrooms and its biochemicals in control of diabetes and obesity. Using Bioinformatics, we can find the specific targets of theses biochemicals, so that these can be more effective.

Medicinal mushroom: boon for therapeutic applications.

Medicinal mushrooms are higher fungi with additional nutraceutical attributes having low fat content and a trans-isomer of unsaturated fatty acids along with high fibre content, triterpenes, phenolic compounds, sterols, eritadenine and chitosan. They are considered as the unmatched source of healthy foods and drugs. They have outstanding attractive taste, aroma and nutritional value, so are considered as functional food, which means they are beneficial to the body not only in terms of nutrition but also for improved health. Medicinal mushrooms and their extract have a large number of bioactive components called secondary metabolites. The presence of polysaccharide ß-glucans or polysaccharide-protein complexes content in mushroom extract have great therapeutic applications in human health as they possess many properties such as anti-diabetic, anti-cancerous, anti-obesity, immunomodulatory, hypocholesteremia, hepatoprotective nature along with anti-aging. The present review focuses on the comprehensive account of the medicinal properties of various medicinal mushrooms. This will further help the researchers to understand the metabolites and find other metabolites as well from the mushrooms which can be used for the potential development of the drugs to treat various life-threatening diseases.

Electro-biocatalytic treatment of petroleum refinery wastewater using microbial fuel cell (MFC) in continuous mode operation.

Refinery wastewater (RW) treatment in microbial fuel cell (MFC) was studied in batch mode operation followed by continuous mode operation with 8h and 16h hydraulic retention time (HRT). The MFC performance was evaluated in terms of power density, organics removal, specific contaminants (oil & grease, phenol and sulfide) removal and energy conversion efficiency with respect to operation mode. Higher power density of 225±1.4mW/m2 was observed during continuous mode operation with 16h HRT along with a substrate degradation of 84.4±0.8% including the 95±0.6 of oil content. The columbic efficiency during this operation was about 2±0.8% and the projected power yield was 340±20kWh/kg CODR/day. Batch mode operation also showed good substrate degradation (81±1.8%) but took longer HRT which resulted in significantly low substrate degradation rate (0.036±0.002kgCODR/m3-day) over continuous mode operation (1.05±0.01kgCODR/m3-day). Overall, current study depicted the possibility of utilizing RW as substrate in MFC for power generation along with its treatment.

Bio-electro catalytic treatment of petroleum produced water: Influence of cathode potential upliftment.

Treatment of petroleum produced water (PPW) was studied using bioelectrochemical system (BES) under uplifted cathode potential. The treatment efficiency in terms of COD and hydrocarbon removal was observed at 91.25% and 76.60% respectively, along with the reduction in TDS during BES operation under 400mV of cathode potential. There was also a reduction in concentration of sulfates, however, it was not significant at, since oxidative conditions are being maintained at anode. Improved oxidation of PPW at anode also resulted in good power output (-20.47mA) and also depicted improved fuel cell behaviour. The electrochemical analysis in terms of cyclic/linear sweep voltammetry also showed well correlation with the observed treatment efficiencies. The microbial dynamics of the BES after loading real field wastewater showed the dominance of species that are reported to be effective for petroleum crude oil degradation.

Electrochemical removal of sulfate from petroleum produced water.

Petroleum produced water (PPW) is a waste-stream that entails huge cost on the petroleum industry. Along with other suspended and dissolved solids, it contains sulfate, which is a major hurdle for its alternative use intended toward enhanced oil recovery. This study proposes a two-step process for sulfate removal from PPW. A synthetic PPW was designed for the study using response surface methodology. During the first step, sulfate present in PPW was reduced to sulfide by anaerobic fermentation with 80% efficiency. In the second step, more than 70% of the accumulated sulfide was electrochemically oxidized. This integrated approach successfully removed sulfate from the synthetic wastewater indicating its applicability in the treatment of PPW and its subsequent applications in other oil field operations.

Antigen specific immune enhancement of innate and acquired immunity by pearl in ashed form.

The present study evaluated mineral compound, pearl in ashed form [PAF], for its potential as oral immunomodulator. ICP-MS, atomic absorption spectroscopy, CHNS analysis and XRD analysis were used for characterization of PAF. Surface antigen markers (TLR-2/4 and CD-80/86) were studied by flow cytometry. At dose concentration of 25, 50, 100 and 500 µg/kg body wt., administrated orally for 10 days, TLR-2 expression on murine peritoneal macrophage increased while TLR-4 expression was reduced as compared to control. There was an increase in OVA and mitogen (Con-A) specific lymphocyte proliferation in OVA immunized mice. Also, level of both Th1 (IL-2/IFN-γ) and Th2 (IL-4/IL-10) cytokines, and level and titer of total IgG, IgG1, IgG2a and IgG2b of OVA immunized mice significantly increased. The level of Inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß and TNF-α) did not increase significantly. Enhancement in T and B cell immune responses may be possibly due to significantly enhanced expression of CD-80 and CD-86 co-stimulatory signals as observed using flow cytometry. Also, enhanced phagocytic activity and DTH response exhibit stimulatory effect of PAF on innate and cell mediated immune response. Histopathological analysis of liver, kidney and spleen and analysis of other toxicity parameters, such as effect on body weight, lymphoid organ weight and cellularity, revealed PAF to exhibit no toxic effects. PAF seems to be a promising balanced Th1 and Th2 directing immunomodulator, possibly activating TLR2 through TIR domain-containing adaptor inducing interferon ß (TRIF)-dependent pathway that leads to T-cell activation and promotes effective immune responses and may find useful application clinically.

Managing the injury burden in Nepal.

Nepal loses about 530,000 disability adjusted life years (DALYs) per year to injury, predominantly due to falls. It takes 30,000 Nepali rupees (NR), or approximately US$430 at 70 rupees per $US saved per DALY to achieve primary prevention and 6000 NR per DALY if we invest in hospitals, versus 1000 NR invested in prehospital care, because simpler less expensive actions performed early have a greater impact on outcome than more complex measures later. A system for prehospital services was planned for medical emergencies at a national level meeting at the Medical University of Nepal to promote healthcare to victims in inaccessible regions by empowered or enlightened citizens. Feasible actions for common emergencies were defined and a tutorial required to help the majority of such victims was created and packaged. The knowledge and attitude component of the tutorial will be delivered through a web site to citizens motivated to learn and help with emergencies. The knowledge will be tested through a net-based Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) test. Practical training in medical triage skills will be provided to those who qualify for the test at the University or its designated affiliates. A mobile phone-based information system will be created and used to make these enlightened citizens available to the victim at the site/time of the emergency.

Biological and mechanistic activities of xanthorrizol and 4-(1',5'-dimethylhex-4'-enyl)-2-methylphenol isolated from Iostephane heterophylla.

Xanthorrizol (1) and 4-(1',5'-dimethylhex-4'-enyl)-2-methylphenol (2) were identified as the principal antimicrobial components of a CH(2)Cl(2)-MeOH (1:1) extract derived from Iostephane heterophylla. Compound 2 is a new natural product, but has been synthesized. Both compounds exhibited low level activity (MICs of 16-32 microg/mL) against methicillin-resistant staphylococci and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. They were either inactive or poorly active against Gram-negative bacteria and yeast. Mechanistic studies performed in Escherichia coli imp suggested nonspecific inhibition of DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis by both of these compounds. Compound 1 was tested in an in vivo model; it did not provide protection to mice infected with Staphylococcus aureus.

Phytochemical, morphological, and biological investigations of propolis from Central Chile.

Propolis from central Chile was investigated for its plant origin by microscopical analysis of pollen grains and leaf fragments found in the sample. The pollen grains that appear with significant higher frequency in the sample corresponded to four native and two introduced species, whereas leaf fragments corresponded to four native species. Seventeen phenolic compounds that belong to the phenylpropane, benzaldehyde, dihydrobenzofuran, or benzopyran classes, were isolated from an organic extract that was found to have a moderate growth inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium avium, M. tuberculosis, and two strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The components responsible for activity were determined.

Modelling of oxygen transport in systemic circulation in a hyperbaric environment.

A mathematical model is developed for analysing the transport of oxygen in the systemic capillaries and surrounding tissue in a hyperbaric environment. The governing equation in the capillary describes the transport due to molecular diffusion (radial as well as axial) and the convective effect of the blood. The non-linear oxygen dissociation curve is represented by a linear function simulating the conditions of a hyperbaric environment. The corresponding equation in the tissue region is based on the transport of oxygen due to radial as well as axial diffusion and the zero order metabolic consumption rate. The equations in both the regions are connected through the interface conditions. An analytical solution of the resulting system of elliptic partial differential equations with the physiologically relevant boundary conditions is obtained by the method of eigenfunction expansion. It is found that the amount of oxygen decreases from the core of the capillary to the periphery of the tissue. It is shown that significant radial diffusion of oxygen takes place in the initial part of the tissue close to the arterial end. The accumulation of oxygen in the tissue has been examined in terms of various non-dimensional parameters. The physiological relevance of these parameters in determining the degree of accumulation of O2 in the tissue in a hyperbaric environment is discussed in the light of previous experimental studies.

The process of gas exchange in systemic circulation in a hyperbaric environment: an analytical approach.

A mathematical model is proposed to deal with the simultaneous transport of oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) in systemic capillaries and the surrounding tissue in a hyperbaric environment. The transport in the capillary region depends on molecular diffusion (radial as well as axial), the convective effect of the blood, and the saturation of haemoglobin with O2 and CO2. The corresponding equation in the tissue region describes the transport of the species due to radial and axial diffusion in the tissue and consumption of O2 in the metabolic process. The production of CO2 inside the tissue is incorporated through the respiratory quotient. The saturation of blood with O2 and CO2 have been approximated by linear functions to simulate the conditions of the hyperbaric environment. The resulting system of governing equations with the physiologically relevant boundary conditions is solved analytically. The concentration of O2 is shown to decrease from the core of the capillary to the tissue periphery, whereas the concentration of CO2 increases. It is shown that very little of the CO2 is transported radially. The location of the vulnerable point from the point of view of CO2 accumulation is found to be the corner (x = R2, z = L) situated at the periphery of the tissue near the venous end of the capillary. The accumulation of O2 and CO2 in the tissue is discussed in terms of various dimensionless parameters. It is found that the accumulation of CO2 increases whereas that of O2 decreases in the hyperbaric environment. Finally, it is surmised that one of the major causes of discomfort among divers could be excessive accumulation of CO2 in the tissue.

Perforation of the intussuscipiens transverse colon: an unusual complication in infancy.

A case of an ileocolic intussusception in an infant is presented, complicated by an unusually "silent" rupture of the intussuscipiens transverse colon. We stress the importance of clinical diagnosis even in the absence of convincing plain film findings. The value of laparotomy is also emphasised in this particular case, where a barium enema could have been potentially hazardous for the patient.