Use of Propolis in Cancer Research.

Interest to develop new anticancer drugs and to design combination treatments with little or no secondary effects provides new scope for traditional phytochemicals in chemoprevention and therapy. Propolis is a known source of polyphenols, and flavonoids found in them have been widely studied as biochemical markers for botanical origin and in explaining their antioxidant capacity as a key factor in chemoprevention. Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticancer biological activities of propolis are known. Studies of cancer cells to measure the anticancer effect of propolis are designed with one carefully chosen component, and with extracts applied to cells in culture media. The antitumor effect of propolis and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), bioactive compound of propolis extract, is seen to be associated with its ability to initiate apoptosis of cancer cells. Chrysin is a flavonoid of interest to identify signaling molecules related to cancer. As cancer cells develop multidrug resistance (MDR) during chemotherapy, this opens a new avenue of research on cellular mechanisms of propolis components in combined treatments designed to overcome MDR. ABBREVIATIONS: BRP;- Brazilian red propolis CA;- caffeic acid CAPE-; phenetyl caffeate COX;- cyclooxygenase COX-1;- cyclooxygenase-1 COX-2;- cyclooxygenase-2 EEP-; ethanolic extract of propolis GPE;- grape polyphenols HUVEC;- human umbilical vein endothelial cells IFNγ;- interferon γ IgG-; immunoglobulin IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6-; interleukin family, interleukin-2, interleukin-6 iNOS;- inducible nitric oxide synthase LPS;- lipopolysacharide MDR -; multidrug resistance MMPs;- metalloproteinases MoDCs-; monocyte-derived dendritic cells NADPH-oxidase;- nicotin adenin dinucleotide phosphate oxidase NF-kB-; nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells NO-; nitric oxide OSF-; oral submucous fibrosis RNS-; reactive nitrogen species ROS-; reactive oxygen species STAT3;- cytokine-activated transcription factor in Th17 TNBC-; triple negative breast cancer TNF-α-; tumor necrosis factor TRAIL-; tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand TSCCa-; tongue squamous cell carcinoma STAT 3-; signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 Th17-; T helper 17 cell UPLC–qTOF;-MS/MS;- ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry VEGF;- vascular endothelial growth factor.

Isolation and identification of mycobacteria from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

A total of 500 clinically and radiologically positive cases of pulmonary tuberculosis were examined microscopically and culturally for the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Out of those, 40 percent were found to be positive by ordinary Z.N. stain and 35 per cent by culture. Fluorescent stain proved to be more sensitive than ordinary Z.N. stain, where 62.7 per cent was found to be positive. All the isolated culture when subjected to different biochemical tests for identification of the strains, they all turned out to be Myco. tuberculosis, human type.

Study of the presence of rabies virus in indigenous bats.

One hundred and thirteen fruit eating and insectivorous bats were captured from different parts of Bangladesh. Antemortem and post mortem examinations of the bats for rabies were conducted. Microscopic studies and biological tests were carried-out with bat's brain for the detection of rabies virus. The results were negative. It may therefore, be concluded that the insectivorous and fruit eating bats from different parts of Bangladesh do not act as the reservoir for rabies virus.

Studies of the presence of rabies virus among stray dogs in Dhaka City.

One hundred and thirty one stray dogs were captured from Dhaka City. Anti-mortem as well post-mortem examination of the dogs for rabies were conducted. Microscopic studies and biological tests were carried-out with dog's brain for the detection of rabies virus. One dog was found to have rabies virus in its brain. The stray dogs under Dhaka Municipal Corporation area therefore, seem to harbour rabies virus in their brains and could be a source of potential danger to the community after the full development of the disease.

Epidemiological study and comparison of pyrantel and levamisole in the treatment of roundworm and hookworm infestations.

Stool examined for presence of nematodes from 467 school students in Dacca city showed 48% ova positive cases with 22% among them cases of mixed nematode infection. Highest prevalence of 58% was observed with roundworm and 5% was hookworm infestations. Among hookworm cases, Necator americana (68%) appears to be the predominant species. Two anthelmintics-pyrantel and levamisole achieved similar high cure rate (around 97%) and Egg reduction rate of 99% in roundworm infection. However, pyrantel was observed to be more effective in hookworm infestation (87% against 60%) particularly in Necator americana cases.

Disease agents carried by flies in Dacca city.

Studies were conducted to determine the different disease agents naturally carried by flies in Dacca city by collecting outdoor unbaited flies from 8 different representative locations and identifying the agents in the laboratory. Out of 96 fly pools containing 25 flies each, 62.5%, 46.9%, 15.6%, 8.3%, 8.3%, 15.6% and 6.2% of the pools were found positive for Ascaris lumbrioeides, Trichuris trichiura, Hookworm, Enterebious vermicularis eggs and Entamoeba coli, Trichomonas spp Giardia spp. cysts, respectively. Similarly, out of the same number of fly pools, 8.3%, 6.25%, 66.6%, 20.8% and 29.2% of the pools were found positive for Shigella flexner-3, Cholera vibrio, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas, respectively besides many other non-pathogenic bacteria.

Candida infection in human.

Sputum, vaginal smear, skin and nail scraping, and oral scraping from 269 suspected cases of fungus infection were examined by microscopy and culture for fungus. One hundred similar specimens from healthy individuals were examined as controls. Statistically significant (p less than 0.001) difference was observed (67.3% versus 7%) in the rate of isolation of fungus in the two groups. Three strains of Candida species were found among the isolates. In sputum, oral scraping and vaginal discharge, C. albicans, and in skin and nail scraping Candida stellatoidia were the prevalent strains. Candida tropicalis was isolated in fair proportion from the skin and nail scraping.

A study of the isolation of Corynebacterium diphtheria from clinical cases of diphtheria.

Throat swabs from 1000 clinical cases of diphtheria were studied for isolation of C. diphtheria; only 21.4% were found to be positive. Most of the cases were between 1 to 4 years of age followed by 5 to 8 years. No cases were found below 8 months of age. The throat swabs taken from another 22 clinical diphtheria patients were immediately cultured at patients bed side and 63.6% were found to be positive for C. diphtheria. Time between the collection and plating the specimen was considered to be one of the main factors in the variation of the percentage isolation of C. diphtheria. From all KLB positive cases on direct smear, C. diphtheria could not be isolated on culture. Also, from all cases having definite patch(es) over tonsil(s), C. diphtheria could not be isolated. All strains were found to be sensitive against commonly used antibiotics.

Adhesion of cholera phage to glass surfaces at high inactivation temperatures.

Decimal dilutions of cholera phage heated in test tubes at the temperature range of 65 degrees to 70 degrees showed an erratic behaviour in that the residual counts had no relationship to the quantity of phage originally present in the tubes. If the contents of the heated tubes were decanted off and the empty tubes washed repeatedly with broth, the recovery of phage from successive washings of the tubes was much higher than what would be expected on the basis of the simple dilution effect of washings. The data presented indicate that the heating causes loose adhesion of phage to the wall of the glass tubes from where they can be detached by washing or shaking. The facts that E. coli phage T1 and also cholera phages tested with two different broths have given similar results, suggest that some general property of the phage itself is responsible for the phenomenon observed. The phenomenon appears to be different from the adsorption of phage to glass filters at lower temperature range described by earlier workers.