Improving survival of probiotic bacteria using bacterial poly-γ-glutamic acid.

A major hurdle in producing a useful probiotic food product is bacterial survival during storage and ingestion. The aim of this study was to test the effect of γ-PGA immobilisation on the survival of probiotic bacteria when stored in acidic fruit juice. Fruit juices provide an alternative means of probiotic delivery, especially to lactose intolerant individuals. In addition, the survival of γ-PGA-immobilised cells in simulated gastric juice was also assessed. Bifidobacteria strains (Bifidobacteria longum, Bifidobacteria breve), immobilised on 2.5% γ-PGA, survived significantly better (P<0.05) in orange and pomegranate juice for 39 and 11 days respectively, compared to free cells. However, cells survived significantly better (P<0.05) when stored in orange juice compared to pomegranate juice. Moreover, both strains, when protected with 2.5% γ-PGA, survived in simulated gastric juice (pH2.0) with a marginal reduction (<0.47 log CFU/ml) or no significant reduction in viable cells after 4h, whereas free cells died within 2h. In conclusion, this research indicates that γ-PGA can be used to protect Bifidobacteria cells in fruit juice, and could also help improve the survival of cells as they pass through the harsh conditions of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Following our previous report on the use of γ-PGA as a cryoprotectant for probiotic bacteria, this research further suggests that γ-PGA could be used to improve probiotic survival during the various stages of preparation, storage and ingestion of probiotic cells.

N-(2-Amino-3,5-dibromo-benz-yl)-N-methyl-cyclo-hexan-1-aminium p-toluenesulfonate.

The title compound, C(14)H(21)Br(2)N(2) (+)·C(7)H(7)O(3)S(-), features a salt of protonated bromhexine, a pharmaceutical used in the treatment of respiratory disorders, and the p-toluenesulfonate anion. The crystal packing is stabilized by inter-molecular N-H⋯O, N-H⋯Br and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

Head injury in children due to cricket ball scenario in developing countries.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was the assessment of head injury caused by cricket ball injury in children. In underdeveloped countries, this is particularly important due to the absence of safety precautions. The study was undertaken to increase the public awareness of the need to reduce the morbidity related to this sport. METHODS: This was a prospective study in which all the children <18 years who had sustained head injury due to cricket balls were enrolled. RESULTS: The study included 27 children, 26 males and 1 female. Out of these 21 cases of head injury were due to hard plastic cricket balls and the rest were due to conventional cricket balls. In 25 patients, CT scan was done, which revealed a lesion in 21 of them. Six patients required surgery, 3 for extradural hematoma, 1 for acute subdural hematoma, 1 for contusion and 1 for compound depressed fracture. One death occurred in our series. There was no significant difference in the nature of injury sustained by either plastic or conventional cricket balls. CONCLUSION: Head injury due to cricket balls can lead to serious consequences even if an innocuous plastic ball is used in place of a conventional cricket ball. Public awareness apart from safety measures is required so that helmets are worn during playing. Change in the nature of the balls may bring a reduction in the severity of head injury.

Antiinflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activity of certain thiazolidinones.

The thiazolidin-4-one derivatives and the corresponding spiro compounds were synthesized from sulphanilamide and were evaluated for anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity in acute and sub acute models. Compounds were also evaluated for antipyretic and cyclooxygenase enzyme inhibitory activity. All the compounds showed significant antiinflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activity at 100 mg/kg in all the models. The compounds B1, B2, B5, B6, and B8 showed maximum inhibition of COX-2 activity without inhibiting the COX-1 activity. The nimesulide was used as standard drug for comparison. The substitution at R, R(1) and R(2) with the functional groups Cl, OCH(3), NO(2) and OH in the aromatic ring resulted in increased activity as compared to unsubstituted thiazolidin-4-ones. However the substitution at R(3) with spiro group did not improve the activity. The study suggests that COX-2 binding site may not be a rigid structure but might adopt to various related molecules.

Synthesis and valuation of mannich bases of certain novel nitro hydroxy 1, 2 - pyrazolines.

A study was conducted to synthesise and evaluate the anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activities of mannich bases from 1, 2 - hydroxy pyrazolines. For this, vanillin was reacted with substituted acetophenones and different vanillinyl chalcones were obtained which when coupled with phenyl hydrazine, produced hudroxy 1, 2 - pyrazolines. The hydroxyl pyrazolines were reacted with sulpha drugs and other compounds of biological interest containing free amino group in the presence of formaldehyde when mannich bases of 1, 2- hydroxyl pyrazolines were obtained. The compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, Ultra Violet (UV), Infra Red (IR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) studies. All the newly synthesized compounds have been screened for Anti-inflammatory and Anti-microbial activity. Out of six compounds, para nitro hydroxy pyrazolines of sulphadiazine mannich base (A), nitrohydroxy pyrazoline of sulphacetamide (B) substituted nitro hydroxyl pyrazoline of amino anti-pyrine mannich (F) exhibited significant or oedema in habiting oedem activity. Out of six compounds, para nitro hydroxyl pyrazoline of sulphadiazine mannich base (A) also exhibited anti-microbial activity.

Synthesis and in-vitro antimicrobial activity of new 1,2,4-triazoles.

We have described the synthesis of new 1,2,4-triazoles and have evaluated their antimicrobial profile. Antitubercular activity was determined in triplicate using the Lowenstein-Jensen medium. A loopful of Mycobacterium tuberculosis suspension was inoculated on the surface of each Lowenstein-Jensen media containing the test compounds (100, 10 or 1 microg mL(-1)). To evaluate in-vitro antibacterial activity, compounds (50, 5 or 0.5 microg) were evaluated against B. subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus typhi by the disc diffusion method. To evaluate antifungal activity Sabourauds Dextrose agar medium was used. Some of the compounds (5, 0.5 or 0.05 microg mL(-1)) were screened for activity against Aspergillus niger 88 and Aspergillus niger 90 and others were screened for activity against T. rubrum TR1, T. rubrum R6, T. rubrum R7 and T. mentagrophyte M1, using the cup plate method. Our results show that the triazoles with a pyrazine moiety at position 3 were more active as antitubercular and antifungal agents compared with the triazoles which had a pyrazine moiety at position 4 of the molecule.

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis : experience of a tertiary referral centre in Thiruvanthapuram, Kerala.

A retrospective review of 32 patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) referred during 1984-1992 to SCTIMST, Thiruvananthapuram was conducted. It was observed that SSPE was more in the rural poor people. No ethnic or geographic clustering of cases could be defined the rough this referral group of patients. A reliable history of measles occurred before the age of 2 years in the majority. Moreover, SSPE occurred at an younger age in those with a history of measles. The clinical features differed little from that reported in the literature. SSPE appeared to occur less frequently in Kerala compared to that reported from Bihar. However, only population-based studies can answer the question of geographic variation in the incidence of SSPEin India.

Acute psychosis following cervical myelography with iohexol.

We report a young man who developed transient acute psychosis following uneventful cervical myelography with iohexol. This complication has not been described previously.

Protease inhibitors in serum and urine of snakebite victims.

In victims of poisonous snakebites, serum total antichymotryptic activity but not the antitryptic activity was found to be increased. In addition, urinary antitryptic activity was found to be markedly elevated. In nonpoisonous snakebite cases, no such differences were noted. Ion-exchange chromatographic analysis of serum protease inhibitors revealed the absence of inhibitory activity in the alpha 2-macroglobulin fraction and elevation of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin in poisonous bite cases. In addition, there was a significant increase in the ratio of cationic to anionic fraction of alpha 1-protease inhibitor compared to normals. Urinary antitryptic activity could serve as a reliable index in assessing clinical improvement in snakebite victims during treatment and in differentiating poisonous from nonpoisonous cases.

Comparative study of proteinase inhibitors in human amniotic fluid and maternal serum.

Serum and amniotic fluid samples from five pregnant women were analyzed for different proteinase inhibitors by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. Alpha-2 macroglobulin was found to be absent in amniotic fluid. Even though alpha-1 antichymotrypsin was identified in amniotic fluid, its concentration gradient between serum and amniotic fluid (20--60) was much higher than that of alpha-1 antitrypsin (8--20). Two forms of alpha-1 antitrypsin were identified in both the fluids. In pregnancy, the ratio of the two forms was altered in favour of the less anionic form compared to normal sera. The contribution of the heat stable proteinase inhibitor for total antitryptic activity in amniotic fluid was more than in serum. The observation that urine samples from immature infants had higher heat stable inhibitory activity than urine samples from normal infants suggests that the heat stable inhibitor in amniotic fluid may arise from fetal kidney.

Protease inhibitors in serum and amniotic fluid during pregnancy.

Antitryptic and antichymotryptic activities in amniotic fluid and maternal serum were measured at various stages of pregnancy using the caseinolytic assay method for proteases. The inhibitory activities increased up to 20 weeks in amniotic fluid and remained in the same range up to 30 weeks; a sharp fall was observed at term. In serum, there was a gradual rise of activities with peak values around 30 weeks. The decrease with further advance of pregnancy was not as sharp as in amniotic fluid. The ratios of antitryptic to antichymotryptic activities remained fairly constant (1.54 +/- 0.07) in amniotic fluid throughout pregnancy. In maternal serum the ratio varied over a range of 1.28 to 2.67 and the increase in antichymotryptic activity was relatively greater between 16 and 30 weeks resulting in a lower ratio between the two activities. Amniotic fluid was found to contain a higher proportion of a heat stable inhibitor compared to serum and its contribution to total antitryptic activity varied from 8.7 to 15.6 per cent.