Objective: To study the phytochemical and biological properties (antioxidant, anthelmintic and thrombolytic) of methanolic extracts of Enhydra fluctuans Lour., a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family.
Methods:The phytochemical evaluation was carried out by qualitative analysis. In vitro antioxidant activity of extract was studied using free radical scavenging assay, ability of reduction, total phenol and total flavonoid contents determination assays. The anthelmintic activity was determined using paralysis and death time of Pheretima posthuma (earthworm) and thrombolytic activity by clot disruption assay.
Results:The phytochemical evaluation showed significant presence of flavonoids, triterpenes,carbohydrate, reducing sugars, saponins, phenols, diterpenes, protein and tannin. The antioxidant activity was found significant [IC50=(135.20±0.56) μg/mL] as compared to ascorbic acid [(130.00±0.76) μg/mL]. The reducing power was increased with concentration. Total phenol and total flavonoid contents were (153.08±0.38) mg/mL and (172.04±0.56) mg/mL respectively. The paralysis and death time of earthworms for different concentrations of extract were determined and compared with albendazole. The results showed that 10 mg/mL of the crude extract had similar effect with albendazole. Additionally, the crude extract showed a concentration depended relationship with its anthelmintic property. The clot lysis activity of crude extract was compared to the standard streptokinase’s clot lysis (40.13%) activity and found significant (31%).
Conclusions: The study proves that the crude methanolic extract of Enhydra fluctuans Lour. has significant antioxidant, anthelmintic and thrombolytic activity containing wide range of phytochemicals.

Aims: The combination of knowledge, attitudes and practices is an important psycho-behavioural mechanism in the disease-management strategies of HIV patients. This study reviews the global evidence of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of HIV patients. Design: Systematic review. Data sources: Four databases- Pubmed, Scopus, Science Direct and Web of Science (WOS) were searched from January 10 to April 25, 2021. Methods: Databases were searched for the predefined keywords of “knowledge”, “attitudes”, “practices”, “people living with HIV/AIDS” and “HIV/AIDS”. The inclusion criteria were limited to time range, language and study types and nature. PRISMA was followed and JBI quality assessment tools for cross-sectional and qualitative studies were used. Results: A total of 18 papers have been selected for the extraction of 1964 articles. The KAP were assessed related to nutrition, infant feeding, disclosure of HIV/AIDS, WASH (or hygiene), oral health, cancer-related domains with HIV/AIDS and HA(ART). Relevant dimensional KAP were incorporated with the basic items about HIV/AIDS. Overall, a mixed level of knowledge, discriminatory attitudes and malpractices were observed throughout the study. Socio-economic, counselling, support and dimensions related factors were identified as associated risk factors. Conclusion: Variation in assessing KAP is a critical problem and unique, outcome-based KAP assessment tools integrated with qualitative assessments were suggested to examine the interrelationship of the KAP components and outcomes.

Objective: To analyze in-vitro antimicrobial activities of some ethno-pharmacologically significant medicinal plants (methanol extract) against the pathogenic microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans). Methods: The disc diffusion method was applied for antibacterial test and the poisoned food technique was applied for antifungal test. Results: The methanol extract of Terminalia chebula (bark), Phyllanthus acidus (fruits), Sarcochlamys pulcherrima (leaves) and Abelmoschus esculentus (fruits) had significant in vitro antibacterial activity angainst the entire test samples in comparison to standard drug ciprofloxacin. Most of the plant extracts showed low activity against Gram negative bacteria while potential activity against Gram positive bacteria. The antifungal activities of methanol extracts of these plants and standard drug griseofulvin were determined against two pathogenic fungi, and Polygonum lapathifolium (leaves) and Cinnamomum tamala (leaves) showed maximum activity, while Erioglossum rubiginosum (leaves) showed no antifungal activity. Conclusions: Further chemical and pharmacological investigations are required to identify and isolate chemical constituents responsible for these potential bioactivities and thus to determine their full spectrum of efficacy.

OBJECTIVETo study the phytochemical and biological properties (antioxidant, anthelmintic and thrombolytic) of methanolic extracts of Enhydra fluctuans Lour., a plant belonging to the Asteraceae family.

METHODSThe phytochemical evaluation was carried out by qualitative analysis. In vitro antioxidant activity of extract was studied using free radical scavenging assay, ability of reduction, total phenol and total flavonoid contents determination assays. The anthelmintic activity was determined using paralysis and death time of Pheretima posthuma (earthworm) and thrombolytic activity by clot disruption assay.

RESULTSThe phytochemical evaluation showed significant presence of flavonoids, triterpenes, carbohydrate, reducing sugars, saponins, phenols, diterpenes, protein and tannin. The antioxidant activity was found significant [IC50=(135.20±0.56) µg/mL] as compared to ascorbic acid [(130.00±0.76) µg/mL]. The reducing power was increased with concentration. Total phenol and total flavonoid contents were (153.08±0.38) mg/mL and (172.04±0.56) mg/mL respectively. The paralysis and death time of earthworms for different concentrations of extract were determined and compared with albendazole. The results showed that 10 mg/mL of the crude extract had similar effect with albendazole. Additionally, the crude extract showed a concentration depended relationship with its anthelmintic property. The clot lysis activity of crude extract was compared to the standard streptokinase's clot lysis (40.13%) activity and found significant (31%).

CONCLUSIONSThe study proves that the crude methanolic extract of Enhydra fluctuans Lour. has significant antioxidant, anthelmintic and thrombolytic activity containing wide range of phytochemicals.

Aims: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant public health concern of modern civilization. The potential risk of AMR is significant in terms of both human and animal health. This study aims to assess the antimicrobial resistance pattern of selected antimicrobials against Escherichia coli of animal, poultry and human origin in the Cumilla district of Bangladesh. Methodology and results: A total of 200 samples were collected from different sources. Isolation and identification of commensal E. coli were performed following standard bacteriological and molecular techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed following the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion technique. Ampicillin, tetracycline and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim resistance genes were detected by polymerase chain reactions (PCR). A total of 152 (76%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 70-81%) E. coli were isolated from cattle, sheep, chicken and human, where 37.5% of isolates were found to be multidrug-resistant (MDR). In the cultural sensitivity test, E. coli showed the highest resistance to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (71%), tetracycline (63%), ampicillin (62%), where gentamicin (23%) showed the lowest resistance, followed by ceftriaxone (26%). The prevalence of resistance genes like blaTEM, tetA, tetB, tetC, sul1 and sul2 were 100%, 95%, 11%, 8%, 58% and 52%, respectively. Conclusion, significance and impact of study The emergence of multidrug-resistant commensal E. coli and resistance genes circulating in animals, poultry and humans limit the treatment options for serious infections.
Escherichia coli ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial

Objective: To isolate and evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the active principle(s) from the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extract of endophytic fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (C. gloeosporioides) isolated from Sonneratia apetala. Methods: Water agar technique was used to isolate the fungus, and both microscopic and molecular techniques were used for identification of the strain. Potato dextrose broth was used to grow the fungus in large-scale. Reversed-phase preparative HPLC analysis was performed to isolate the major active compound, kojic acid. The EtOAc extract and kojic acid were screened for their antimicrobial activity against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria as well as a fungal strain using the resazurin 96-well microtitre plate antimicrobial assay. Results: The fungus C. gloeosporioides was isolated from the leaves of Sonneratia apetala. Initial identification of the fugal isolate was carried out using spore characteristics observed under the microscope. Subsequently, the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequencing was employed for species-level identification of the fungus C. gloeosporioides. Five litres of liquid culture of the fungus produced approximately 610 mg of a mixture of secondary metabolites. Kojic acid (1) was isolated as the main secondary metabolite present in the fungal extract, and the structure was confirmed by 1D, 2D NMR and mass spectrometry. The EtOAc extract and compound 1 exhibited considerable antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms. Whilst the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values from the EtOAc extract ranged between 2.4× 10