Role of Labetolol in hypertension in pregnancy in comparison with Nifedipine in terms of fetomaternal outcome

Background: Hypertensive disorders complicate 5-10% of all pregnancies and together they form one member of the deadly triad, along with haemorrhage and infection that contribute greatly to maternal morbidity and mortality rates. Materials and methods: Antihypertensive drugs taken into the study were Tab. Labetolol, 100-300 mg three times a daily, max dose 2400 mg per day and T. Nifedipine, 10 mg three times a day, max dose 120 mg per day. The study was a randomised control clinical trial, the study period started from Nov 2014 to June 2016, in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, KGH, Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam, India. Results: Age distribution, Gravidity, Gestational age at the time of admission, Distribution of cases as per type of hypertension, Duration of therapy before delivery in study group, Changes in blood pressure, Maternal side effects in the study group, Mode of delivery, APGAR score of the babies at the time of delivery were tabulated. Conclusion: Labetolol gave good control of BP with single agent, when the dose was titrated appropriately, till the BP was controlled. The control of BP was consistent with labetolol, and also could be used for longer duration without any additional therapy whereas with nifedipine, control of BP was inconsistent and required additional medication for proper control of BP.

In vitro Propagation of Caralluma diffusa (Wight) N.E.Br.

An efficient protocol is described for the rapid in vitro multiplication of an endangered medicinal plant, Caralluma diffusa, via enhanced axillary bud proliferation from nodal explants collected from young shoots of six-months-old plant. The physiological effects of growth regulators Benzylamino purine (BAP), Thidiazuron (TDZ), Kinetin (KIN), α- Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) full strength of Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium on in vitro propagation were investigated. The highest number of shoots in initiation (4.16±0.30) and in subculture (17.33±0.33) and the maximum average shoot length (4.17±0.03cm) were recorded on MS medium supplemented with BAP (4.44 μM) and TDZ (0.90 μM) at pH 5.8. Rooting was best achieved on MS medium augmented with NAA (5.37 μM). The plantlets regenerated in vitro with well-developed shoot and roots were successfully established in pots containing decomposed coir waste, vermiculite and garden soil (1:1:1ratio) and grown in a shade house with 93.83% survival rate.

Regeneration of Shoots from Callus of Ceropegia pusilla Wight and ARN.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the most suitable concentration of plant growth regulators and suitable explants for callus induction and subsequent organogenesis of an endangered medicinal plant Ceropegia pusilla. The best performance of callus induction and morphogenesis was found on MS medium supplemented with 6- benzylaminopurine (BA) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), from node and internode the maximum account of callus initiation was recorded on MS medium supplemented with BA+NAA (2.22μM + 5.37 μM) and the maximum % of callus induced on subculture is 5.47  0.68. Rooting was best achieved on MS medium augmented with IBA (2.46μM). The maximum number of roots (4.72  0.66 cm) and root length (4.8  0.49 cm) were recorded). Plantlets regenerated in vitro with well-developed shoot and roots were successfully acclimatized in pots containing a mixture of decomposed coir waste, perlite and compost 1: 1:1 ratio and grown in a shade house with 81  3.16 percent survival rates.