Rhinosporidiosis of the parotid duct presenting as a parotid duct cyst - A report of three cases.

Rhinosporidiosis is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by Rhinosporidium seeberi. Rhinosporidiosis has been reported from many countries but is endemic in certain parts of India and Sri Lanka. The common sites of involvement are the nose and nasopharynx followed by ocular tissue. Rhinosporidiosis is also known to involve many rare sites and may become disseminated to occur in a generalized form. Rhinosporidiosis of the parotid duct is rare and only five reported cases could be found in the literature. We report three cases of rhinosporidiosis of parotid duct presenting clinically as a parotid duct cyst. Rhinosporidiosis was diagnosed by histopathology. None of these patients had rhinosporidiosis at any other site

The analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of the hydroalcholic extract of "Shirishadi compound" in animal model.

The main objective of the present investigation is to evaluate the anti-inflammatory & analgesic activity of ethanolic extract of Shirishadi polyherbal compound on rats. Shirishadi compound consist of three herbal drugs namely- Shirisha (Albizzia lebbeck), Nagarmotha (Cyprus rotandus) & Kantakari (Solanum xanthocarpum).In Ayurveda (ancient Indian system of medicine) all these herbs alone or in combination with other herbs are commonly used in the managmant of bronchial asthma. In the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema test for acute inflammation, the extract of Shirishadi compound in doses of 50mg, 200 mg and 500 mg/kg body weight showed 77% and 79% and 81% inhibition of edema, respectively, at the end of 4h which is comparable to that of standard ( endomethacin) i.e. 92%. In the acetic acid induced writhing test the extract of Shirishadi compound ( 200 and 500 mg/kg body weight) showed a significant (p<0.001) reduction in the number of writhes with 65.6% and 70.9% of inhibition, respectively. In radiant heat tail-flick test the crude extract produced 58.1% (p<0.001) and 61.1% (p<0.001) elongation of tail flicking time 30 minutes after oral doses of 200 and 500 mg/kg body weight respectively . After 60 minutes the extract showed 56.3% (p<0.001) and 59% (p<0.001) elongation of tail flicking time. Experimental results showed that Shirishadi compound has persuasive anti-inflammmatory property along with significant analgesic activity.

In vitro propagation of Lagerstromia parviflora Roxb. from adult tree.

A micropropagation protocol based on axillary bud proliferation has been developed from mature Lagerstromia parviflora adult tree. Nodal segments cultured on woody plant medium supplemented with 5.0 microl. BAP and 0.25 microm IAA gave maximum (86.9%) morphogenetic response. Proliferated shoots (10.7 per explants) were elongated to 3.9 cm within 6 weeks. In vitro produced micro-shoots were subjected to an IBA treatment (500 ppm for 2 min. dip) and placed under misting conditions for rooting. Misting beds were prepared with sand: soil (3:1) for 80.6% rooting and was acclimatized. Shoot length seems to be important to induce adventitious roots. The highest (91.7%) rooting was recorded on shoots ranging a length between 3.1-4.0 cm. Rooted and hardened plants were later transferred to poly bags and maintained in shadenet house. The protocol has the realizes capacity to produce 260 plants from a single explants within 10 months multiplication cycle.