RESUMEN
Nature is enriched with a huge variety of plant life having distinctive properties. Human ardor for herbal medicine dates lower back to Vedic length. People have been making use of plant materials lengthy earlier than scientific explanations were advanced. One of the tremendous capabilities of the local health practice is they use domestically available and quite often readily available sources. The “Birds eye view” of our great saints led to the invention of different medicinal plants one among them is drug Vata. Vata is considered as one among the Pancha valkala which constitute the famous Ksheeri vrukshas. Elaborate description of the plant Vata and its therapeutic action are explained by our Acharyas in Vedas, Puranas, and Samhithas and in the later Nighantus. Vata (Ficus bengalensis) is such a drug which is widely and cheaply available and is having many mentioning in the classics for its effectiveness in many diseases. Vata does not have any controversies in any of the literatures or classics regarding its identification or usage. The current article is to highlight the importance of drug Vata (Ficus benghalensis) and references has been collected from Vedas, Puranas, Samhita kala, Nighantu kala. Synonyms, Gana Varga, Vernacular names etc has been collected and arranged systematically.
RESUMEN
Viral diseases are the major causes of devastations in the human history and animal farming worldwide. Bacterial and parasitic diseases have been controlled by use of effective disinfectants, antibiotics and antiparasitic agents. Since, viruses are intracellular and any intervention will affect the cellular metabolism of the host, development of antiviral drugs is a challenge. Drugs acting on microbial agents have been mentioned in Ayurvedic texts as Krimighna Dravyas. Tulsi, Ocimum sanctum is one of the most important medicinal plants mentioned in Ayurvedic literature for its medicinal and spiritual properties. The plant is an highly celebrated medicinal plant as “The incomparable one,†“Mother medicine of nature†and “The queen of herbsâ€. Tulsi, along with other health benefits is known to have anti-infective functions. Hence, antiviral activity of aqueous, ethanol, methanol and chloroform extract of powdered drugs was evaluated against economically important viruses of veterinary importance, Orthmyxovirus and Paramyxovirus. The in vitro cytotoxicity confirmed the safety of the extracts and aqueous extract showed no inhibition on paramyxovirus while showing moderate inhibitory activity on orthomyxovirus while ethanol extract showed moderate inhibitory activity on paramyxovirus and no activity on orthomyxoviruses. Methanol extract showed no inhibition of paramyxovirus while showed significant inhibition of orthomyxovirus. Chloroform extract of the plant showed no inhibition paramyxovirus while significant inhibition was observed on orthomyxoviurs. Results of the study suggest that the O. sanctum can be used as antiviral agent for effective control of viral infections of animal importance.
RESUMEN
The setback of sleep deficiency and sleep related disorders is colossal among the general population. Sleep deficiency and irregularity in sleep patterns have also been a common occurrence among doctors, as well as medical students for many years now. The study is of great significance in the medical fraternity, as future doctors are highly susceptible to irregular sleep patterns and duration. Obesity is well-known disorder of the 21st century which is constantly on the rise, carrying with it the vast Variety of health related factors. The study included 200 medical students from the age groups18 to 24 years of which 98 were males and 102 were females. The students were examined thoroughly, so as to exclude those suffering from major diseases, psychological problems and those on medication. Obesity was determined by calculating the body mass index (BMI) according to the American journal of clinical nutrition. The grading of obesity into various grades between 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2, was done according to the world health organization (WHO). Sleep patterns and duration were determined and assessed by using a standardized and validated questionnaire: the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). After appropriate statistical analysis it was observed that 48 (24%) students belonged to the overweight category with BMI ranging from 30.0 to 39.9. Maximum number of students 68 (34%) had sleep duration between 5 to 6 hours daily with a mean of 6.16 and a standard deviation (SD) of 0.93. Irregular sleep patterns were observed in a near to majority of the students with a mean of 6.82 and a standard deviation (SD) of 2.42. There was significant negative correlation observed between BMI and sleep duration with a p value of 0.13, highly significant positive correlation was observed between BMI and sleep patterns (PSQI) with a p value of 0.007. Higher BMI was observed in that category of students having higher irregularity in sleep patterns and lower sleep duration.