Aims: Prodigiosin is a bright red pigment produced by certain strains of Serratia marcescens, characterized by a common pyrrolylpyrromethane skeleton. This pigment is found to possess antibacterial, antifungal, immunosuppressive and antiproliferative activity. The present study aimed at designing process parameters for the enhanced production of this pigment. Methodology and Results: Peptone glycerol broth was selected as the best synthetic medium. The effects of various media components and process parameters like carbon and nitrogen sources, temperature, pH, incubation period and other supplements were investigated. Maximal amount of prodigiosin was produced at temperature 25 °C, pH 7.0 and incubation period of 48 h. Supplementation of media with maltose and peptone yielded maximal amount of prodigiosin. Incorporation of minimal amount of supplements like silica gel, iron salts, inorganic phosphate also showed promising results. Chromatographic separations suggested that prodigiosin is made up of three different fractions (purple, orange and red). Further investigation of antimicrobial properties of prodigiosin revealed that it is a potent inhibitor against gram positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus and fungal pathogens like Candida albicans, C. parapsilosis and Cryptococcus sp. This antimicrobial potency remained stable under a wide range of temperature and pH. The antioxidant capacity of prodigiosin was found to be 22.05 Bg ascorbic acid equivalents/ml of extract. When applied to textiles, prodigiosin resisted the action of acid, alkali and detergent. Conclusion, Significance and Impact of study: Besides combating gram positive bacterial pathogens and some pathogenic yeasts, prodigiosin with strong dyeing and antioxidant activity may find broad applications in textile and therapeutic industries.

Steroid withdrawal syndrome (SWS) following steroid dependence is becoming a common clinical condition. It may be associated with body image disorder. Though selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are found to be effective SWS associated depression, data for this clinical condition is limited. We present a case of SWS associated with body image disorder which improved with mirtazapine. Mirtazapine might be better option than SSRIs in this subgroup of patients for its noradrenergic property and better gastrointestinal profile. More research should explore its efficacy in this clinical condition.
Body Dysmorphic Disorders ; Depression* ; Humans ; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors

Objective: The present study aimed at isolating proteolytic bacteria from dairy effluent sludge, designing the process parameters for the enhanced production of protease and determination of its fibrinolytic potential. Methods: The dairy sludge was processed according to the microbiological criteria for the isolation of proteolytic bacteria. All the isolates were screened for their protease production ability and the isolate showing highest proteolysis was selected for further studies. Effects of various media components and process parameters like carbon and nitrogen supplementation, temperature, pH and incubation period were investigated. Partial purification of the protease was done using ammonium sulphate fractionation, following which its molecular weight and fibrinolytic activity were determined. Results: Based on the biochemical studies, the selected isolate was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The highest protease yield was obtained with maltose and yeast extract as supplements. The optimum pH, temperature and incubation period for protease production by the isolate was found to be 7.0, 37℃ and 48 h respectively. The partially purified enzyme preparation showed a single protein band in sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, revealing the apparent molecular weight of the enzyme to be 35 kDa. The efficient removal of the blood stain emphasized its fibrinolytic potential. Conclusions: From the present study it is envisaged that cultural parameters significantly affect the protease production. Based upon the fibrinolytic activity, this protease may find broad applications in detergent and pharmaceutical industries.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has garnered tremendous interest as conventional methods include the use and production of toxic chemicals,products,by-products and reagents.In this regard,the synthesis of AgNPs using green tea (GT) extract and two of its components,(-)-epi-gallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and (+)-catechin (Ct) as capping/stabilizing agents,is reported.The syn-thesized AgNPs showed antibacterial activity against the bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli,along with anticancer activity against HeLa cells.After administering nanoparticles to the body,they come in contact with proteins and results in the formation of a protein corona;hence we studied the interactions of these biocompatible AgNPs with hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) as a carrier protein.Static quenching mechanism was accountable for the quenching of HEWL fluorescence by the AgNPs.The binding constant (Kb) was found to be higher for EGCG-AgNPs ((2.309 ± 0.018) × 104 M-1)than for GT-AgNPs and Ct-AgNPs towards HEWL.EGCG-AgNPs increased the polarity near the binding site while Ct-AgNPs caused the opposite effect,but GT-AgNPs had no such observable effects.Circular dichroism studies indicated that the AgNPs had no such appreciable impact on the secondary structure of HEWL.The key findings of this research included the synthesis of AgNPs using GT extract and its con-stituent polyphenols,and showed significant antibacterial,anticancer and protein-binding properties.The-OH groups of the polyphenols drive the in situ capping/stabilization of the AgNPs during synthesis,which might offer new opportunities having implications for nanomedicine and nanodiagnostics.