Evaluation of cytotoxic and antiviral activities of aqueous leaves extracts of different plants against foot and mouth disease virus infection in farming animals

Cytotoxic and antiviral activity of aqueous leaves extracts of three plants: Azadirachta indica, Moringa oleifera and Moms alba against Foot and Mouth disease virus [FMDV] were determined using MTT assay [3-[4, 5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide]. Eight different concentrations of each plant were evaluated. Cytotoxic and antiviral activity of each extract was evaluated as cell survival percentage and results were expressed as Means +/- S.D. From the tested plant extracts, Azadirachta indica and Moringa oleifera exhibited cytotoxicity at 200 and 100 microg/ml respectively. In case of antiviral assay, Moringa oleifera showed potent antiviral activity [p<0.05] while Azadirachta indica showed significant antiviral activity in the range of 12.5-50 microg/ml and 50-100 microg/ml respectively. In contrast no anti-FMDV activity in the present study was observed with Morus alba, although all the tested concentrations were found to be safe

vitro evaluation of mutagenicity of metformin and aspartame alone and in combination

To assess the Mutagenicity of Metformin and Aspartame in vitro. Observational/Analytical study This study was carried out at Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore from 1[st] Jan 2011 to Dec 2011. Ames Salmonella/ Microsome Mutagenicity Assay was used to check the mutagenic potential of test chemicals and control. The data was analyzed by using Statistical Package of Social Sciences. Metformin was found to be highly mutagenic against TA 100 and TA98 both in the presence and absence of metabolic activation system. The results were significant because there was 2 fold rise in number of revertants as compared to the negative control. Overall metformin exhibited more mutagenicity against TA 100 as compared to TA 98 strain of Salmonella Typhimurium. Aspartame showed significant rise in mutagenicity at l00microg/plate and 250microg/plate in dose dependant manner against TA 100 in presence of metabolic activation system. When combination doses of aspartame and metformin were studied, even those doses became mutagenic which were not mutagenic alone. The data advocates that combination doses showed significant additive effect [p < 0.05] in the intensity of mutagenic index as compared to the mutagenic index of metformin and aspartame alone. Both of these products alone and together may cause significant damage to the cells of body as well. Combination therapy of these products should be monitored closely

To assess the in vitro genotoxicity of metformin and aspartame alone and in combination

Metformin is a known oral antidiabetic agent belonging to the class of biguanides, widely prescribed for the treatment of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus [DM]. In this study the genotoxic potential of metformin was studied alone and in combination with an artificial sweetener aspartame as most of the diabetic patients utilized this low calorie sweetener to reduce their sugar consumption per day. Many complaints regarding its potential to cause DNA damage have been submitted to PDA. Experimental study. This study was carried out at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore from 1[st] Jan 2011 to Dec 2011. Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes were exposed to various concentrations of metformin, aspartame and their combination. DNA damage was checked by comet assay. The data was analyzed by using Analysis of Variance [ANOVA] by Statistical Package of Social Sciences SPSS Exhibited dose dependant rise in comet tail lengths. Moreover the data advocates that tail lengths of lymphocytes after exposure to aspartame were high as compared to metformin. When lymphocytes were exposed to combination of aspartame and metformin and DNA damage was checked by comet assay, the results were significantly different [p<0.05] as compared to metformin and aspartame alone. It can be concluded from the present study that aspartame is posing great genotoxic threat to the cells as compared to metformin and the combination is even more toxic to DNA, so the drug regime of diabetic patient must be closely monitored. There is further need of more studies in this regard

Exploration of potential ligands against cancer-causing transcription factor E2F3

The transcription factor-based therapeutic approaches are the mainstay of current anticancer drug design options to develop highly selective agents with novel modes of action. In this paper, a homology model of DNA-binding domain of transcription factor E2F3 was generated according to X-ray structure of E2F4. As a first step of our proposed project aspired towards exploration of highly selective potential E2F3 ligands, we performed structure-based virtual screening of ZINC 3D chemical database by using Dock Blaster server. Then 31 compounds, selected by filtration step, were docked against the prominent DNA binding site residues of E2F3 model. Two of them have shown a promising interaction with respect to binding poses. The aim is to propose new active ligands against neoplasias characterized by over expression of E2F3 transcription factor