ABSTRACT
Punica granatum has been used for centuries to confer health benefits in a number of inflammatory diseases. Based on its usage in Ayurvedic and Unani medicine, dietary supplements containing pomegranate extract are becoming popular for the treatment and prevention of arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. Pet-ether, dichloromethane and methanol fractions of flower part were chosen for pharmacological screening and analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities in animal model. The anti-inflammatory activity was assessed using the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model. The analgesic effect was measured in mice using the acetic acid-induced writhing test. In the acetic acid-induced writhing test in mice, pet-ether, dichloromethane and methanol fractions at 200 mg/kg doses level showed 75.77% (p<0.001), 68.56% (p<0.001), 54.64% (p<0.001) inhibition of writhing, respectively. In rat paw edema model induced by carrageenan, pet-ether, dichloromethane and methanol fractions were found to reduce significantly (p<0.001) the formation of edema at the 100 mg/kg dose level and showed 26.92% (p<0.001), 27.97%(p<0.001), 21.85%(p<0.001) inhibition respectively of edema volume at the end of 4 h. Punica granatum possesses evident analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. The results signify the traditional uses of Punica granatum for inflammation and pain.
ABSTRACT
Vibrio cholerae is a major cause of diarrhoeal illness in endemic regions, such as Bangladesh. Understanding the factors that determine an individual’s susceptibility to infection due to V. cholerae may lead to improved prevention and control strategies. Increasing evidence suggests that human genetic factors affect the severity of V. cholerae-associated infection. This study, therefore, sought to characterize the heritable component of susceptibility to infection due to V. cholerae using the Matlab Health and Demographic Surveillance System database of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh. In total, 144 pedigrees that included a cholera patient and 341 pedigrees without a cholera patient were evaluated during 1 January–31 December 1992. The odds of the sibling of a patient being admitted with cholera were 7.67 times the odds of the sibling of an unaffected individual being admitted with cholera [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.40-24.5, p<0.001], after adjustment for gender, age, socioeconomic status, and hygiene practices. Although exposure to environmental reservoirs is essential in the epidemiology of cholera, household-specific factors, such as familial relatedness to an index case, may also be important determinants of risk of cholera. Further analysis of human genetic factors that contribute to susceptibility to cholera may be productive.