1.Larvicidal activity of few select indigenous plants of North East India against disease vector mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae)
Dohutia, C ; Bhattacharyya, D.R ; Sharma, S.K ; Mohapatra, P.K ; Bhattacharjee, K ; Gogoi, K ; Gogoi, P ; Mahanta, J ; Prakash, A.
Tropical Biomedicine 2015;32(1):17-23
Mosquitoes are the vectors of several life threatening diseases like dengue, malaria,
Japanese encephalitis and lymphatic filariasis, which are widely present in the north-eastern
states of India. Investigations on five local plants of north-east India, selected on the basis of
their use by indigenous communities as fish poison, were carried out to study their mosquito
larvicidal potential against Anopheles stephensi (malaria vector), Stegomyia aegypti (dengue
vector) and Culex quinquefasciatus (lymphatic filariasis vector) mosquitoes. Crude Petroleum
ether extracts of the roots of three plants viz. Derris elliptica, Linostoma decandrum and
Croton tiglium were found to have remarkable larvicidal activity; D. elliptica extract was
the most effective and with LC50 value of 0.307 μg/ml its activity was superior to propoxur,
the standard synthetic larvicide. Half-life of larvicidal activity of D. elliptica and L. decandrum
extracts ranged from 2-4 days.
2.Studies on Toxicity, Anti_stress and Hepato_protective Properties of Kombucha Tea
T PAULINE ; P DIPTI ; B ANJU ; S.K SHARMA ; A.K KAIN. ; S SARADA ; G ILAVAZHAGAN ; DEVENDRA ; KUMAR ; W SELVAMURTHY ; S KAVIMANI ; K.S. SAIRAM M
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2001;14(3):207-213
Objective The objective of the study was to evaluate toxicity, anti_stress activity and hepato_protective properties of Kombucha tea. Method Kombucha tea was fed orally for 15 days using three different doses i.e. normal dose, five and ten times the dose. Rats were then sacrificed and various biochemical, and histological parameters were estimated. Anti_stress activity was evaluated either by 1) by exposing animals to cold and hypoxia and estimating the levels of malondialdehyde and reduced glutathione in plasma/ blood or 2) by subjecting the animals to restraint stress and recording faecal output. Hepato_toxicity was induced by challenging the animals to an acute dose of paracetamol (1 gm/kg) orally and determining the plasma levels of SGPT, SGOT and MDA. Results The effect of oral administration of different doses of K_tea to albino rats was examined and the results indicate that K_tea has no significant toxicity as revealed by various biochemical and histopathological parameters. K_tea has been found to prevent lipid peroxidation and fall in reduced glutathione level when rats were exposed to cold and hypoxia in simulated chamber. Further, K_tea has also been found to decrease the Wrap_restraint faecal pellet output in rats. K_tea has also been found to decrease paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity significantly. Conclusion The study shows that K_tea has anti_stress and hepato_protective activities.
3.Clinical features and management of COVID-19: A systematic review
Daha, S.K. ; Koirala, B. ; Chapagain, D. ; Lohani, P. ; Acharya, S. ; Sharma, P.
Tropical Biomedicine 2020;37(No.2):409-420
Novel coronavirus disease, the latest world pandemic is one of the most contagious viral infections to date. There has been a lack of uniformity on recognizing this condition clinically because of poorly understood pathophysiology and clinical nature. Also due to ongoing clinical trials, its management is also varied. This is a systematic review from evidence-based studies until March 1st, 2020, covering an update on its clinical features and management. This study shows the multisystem involvement of COVID-19 with dominant respiratory features followed by the musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal system and others. The clinical features varied from asymptomatic to severe forms. Major causes of fatality were acute respiratory distress syndrome, shock, acute cardiac injury, acute kidney injury, rhabdomyolysis, and arrhythmia. Major modalities of management included supportive, antiviral and antibiotic therapy. There was no direct relationship between the specific treatment and the outcome.
4.Prospective evaluation of the diagnostic potential of LipL32 based latex agglutination test for Bovine leptospirosis
Sabarinath, T. ; Behera, S.K ; Chopra, S. ; Deneke, Y. ; Sharma, V. ; Ali, S.A. ; Chaudhuri, P. ; Kumar, A.
Tropical Biomedicine 2019;36(2):367-372
The Livestock Sector of India plays an important role in livelihood security and
socioeconomic development of rural households. Leptospirosis is an important zoonotic
disease responsible for septicaemia, interstitial nephritis, jaundice, abortion, reproductive
problem in most of the animal species. Reproductive disturbances in bovine population is
most often restricted to investigation of brucellosis, however apart from brucellosis, there
are many undiagnosed diseases like leptospirosis that takes a toll in the reproductive
anomalies of cattle and buffalo. Hence, the present study was elucidated to screen the
seroprevalence of Leptospira in cattle and buffalo in various hamlets of North India using
a user friendly screening test i.e. LipL32 latex agglutination test. The overall seropositivity
was found to be 26.01% (230/884) in case of bovine in this study and the LipL32 LAT
showed a profound sensitivity and specificity with level of 94.97% and 99.53% respectively.