Assessing Cosmeceuticals Properties Of Some Macrofungi For Improved Skincare

Objective: This study has investigated cosmeceutical properties namely, antibacterial, sun protection factor and total phenolics contents of some selected macrofungi. The studies were conducted on five reference cultures collected from Indian type culture collection center (IMTEC, Chandigarh, India) and five isolates collected from TERI-Deakin Nano Biotechnology Centre facility at TERI Gram, Gurugram, India. Methods: The cosmeceutical properties of the crude extracts from selected macrofungi were analyzed using standard bioassay techniques. Antibacterial activity was analyzed against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus megaterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Acinetobacter baumannii using Agar well diffusion method. The sun protection factor was estimated and calculated using the Mansur equation. Free radical scavenging activity using DPPH was performed to assess the antioxidant activity of the extracts. Results: Ethyl acetate extracts of the broth from P. florida and TERI-G1 cultures showed a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against S. epidermidis, E. coli, M. luteus and B. megaterium. Ethyl acetate extracts of the broth from TERI-G3 showed the highest SPF activity of 34.02 at 200 µg. ml-1 concentration. Ethyl acetate extract of the broth from F. velutipes, P. florida, P. ostreatus, and TERI-G1 showed comparable antioxidant activity of 66.86%, 79.51%, 82.02%, and 69.58% respectively when compared to ascorbic acid (85.83%) and quercetin (83.09%) taken as positive control in the study and their total phenolic contents were found to be 6.93, 43.68, 20.88 and 13.77 Gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per gram. The minimal inhibitory concentration of F. velutipes, P. florida, P. ostreatus, and TERI-G1 was found to be 3552.89 µg. ml-1, 1250 µg. ml-1, 2418.9 µg. ml-1 and 3219 µg. ml-1 respectively. Conclusion: The work is in progress to identify and characterize TERI-G1and TERI G3 cultures. Further studies on the anti-inflammatory, anti-tyrosinase, elastase inhibition properties of the cultures will be assessed to identify potential cosmeceutical active ingredients with promising applications in cosmeceutical products.

A prospective study of suicidal behaviour in Sundarban delta, West Bengal, India.

Background. Deliberate self-harm is a challenging public health issue but there is a paucity of data on non-fatal deliberate self-harm in the literature. We aimed to understand the behaviour of deliberate self-harm, both fatal and nonfatal, in a primary care setting. Methods. A year-long prospective study of all admitted patients of deliberate self-harm at 13 block primary health centres of the Sundarban region was done to examine the sociodemographic profile and clinical outcome of suicidal behaviour. Data were collected by using an especially devised deliberate self-harm register. Each subject was administered a 20-item case history sheet by trained medical officers and nursing staff. Results. A total of 1614 deliberate self-harm subjects (619 men, 995 women) were admitted during the year, of whom 143 (62 men, 81 women) died. Although women, especially in the younger age groups, constituted the majority of subjects (61.6%), the fatality trend was higher among men than among women (10% v. 8.1%). Poisoning was the commonest (98.4%) method of self-harm, particularly using pesticide. Easy availability of pesticides was a risk factor. Psychosocial stressors, such as conflict with spouse, guardian or in-laws, failed love affairs and economic distress, were the common underlying reasons. The majority of acts of deliberate self-harm (92.6%) were committed inside the home, especially by women. Only a small proportion of subjects had a past or family history of attempt at deliberate self-harm. The overall incidence of fatal and non-fatal deliberate self-harm was 5.98 and 61.51 per 100 000 population, respectively. Conclusion. Both fatal and non-fatal pesticide-related deliberate self-harm is a major public health issue in the Sundarban region. An intersectoral approach involving primary health, administration and agriculture may help in developing an effective preventive programme to reduce the morbidity and mortality from deliberate self-harm.

Study of parental handling patterns in a primary school of Kolkata.

The intricate pattern of parenting in our socio-cultural context needs evaluation hence this study was done with the objective to reveal the parenting styles of school going children. 141 school children belonging to the age group 6-10 years were included in the study. The Parental Handling Questionnaire a 14-item scale consisting of 10 items of care and 4-items of control was administered to the mothers accompanying the children. Rating was done on a 3-point. The scale showed moderate internal consistency. 5 independent factors with overlapping items of care and control were deduced on factor analysis indicating multidimensional aspects of parenting in our society.

Community Psychiatry Clinics at Sundarban: a clinical and cultural experience.

A series of Community Psychiatric Clinics were conducted in different blocks of Sundarban region of West Bengal. One of the primary objectives of this was to collect clinical epidemiological data on psychiatric morbidity in the region. A total of 26 clinics were conducted in Sagar, Kakdwip, Canning and Gosaba block of the Sundarban region during the period from end 1998 to end 2000. A total of 451 psychiatric cases with diagnostic categories (male 239, female 212) and 215 non-psychiatric cases (male 107 and female 108) were seen in these clinics. Diagnostic Interview Schedules (SCID) and Clinical rating scales like Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scales were used to ascertain clinical diagnosis quantitatively. Special emphasis was given on common psychiatric disorders.

Prominence of symptoms and level of stigma among depressed patients in Calcutta.

A pilot study of 29 patients for research on clinical depression employed the framework of cultural epidemiology to examine illness-related experience, meaning, behaviour with a Bengali version of the explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC). This report examined patterns of distress and stigma with reference to the most troubling patient-specified symptom. All subjects were psychiatric outpatients in the Institute of Psychiatry, Calcutta, and met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-IV criteria for a major depressive episode. Only 5 patients (17.2%) identified sadness as the most troubling problem, and 48.3% specified pains and other somatic symptoms instead. An internally consistent stigma scale with Cronbach's alpha of .67, comprised 13 items, was used to assess stigma. In addition to the scale score for each subject, the contribution of each item was reported and compared. A suggestive, though not significantly lower value of the stigma score for patients reporting somatic symptoms as most troubling, compared with sadness, was consistent with findings from prior studies showing a positive relationship between the magnitude of depression and stigma. These findings are discussed with reference to their impact on recognition and help seeking among patients, and recognition and management of depression by general practitioner. Culturally distinctive presentations and social contexts of depression and other mental illnesses should be addressed in professional training and public health communications.

Ketamine-diazepam anaesthesia in surface and major plastic surgical operations.

Ketamine hydrochloride seems to be equally suitable for surface and major plastic surgical operations where controlled ventilation is required. Controlled ventilation performed by less amount of muscle relaxant where patients were ventilated with air only sparing the O2 and N2O. Fifty patients undergoing various operations including major plastic surgery were divided into two groups. In group A, an infusion of 500 mg ketamine hydrochloride, 20 mg diazepam in 500 ml of 5% dextrose was used as anaesthetic and in group B, the same drip was started and pancuronium bromide 0.08 mg/kg IV was given when eyelash reflexes were lost. Mean durations of anaesthesia were 70.4 minutes and 90.2 minutes in groups A and B respectively. Mean doses of ketamine hydrochloride required were 310 mg and 370 mg in groups A and B respectively. Decurarisation was done in usual way in group B patients. The induction, maintenance and recovery were smooth and uneventful in all cases. Moreover no difficulty was encountered in reversing residual curarisation in any of the patients in group B. Mean rise of systolic BP was 12.5 mm Hg and that of pulse rate was 20/minute in group A. In group B, mean rise of systolic BP was 10 mm Hg and that of pulse rate was 16/minute.