Detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus type O in recovered as well as healthy cattle to study carrier status in Assam

Foot and mouth disease (FMD), one of the most contagious diseases of animals, affects different host species including wild animals. Asymptomatic FMD recovered animals may remain as carrier, which may be threat to other healthy animals. Hence, it is necessary to monitor the carrier status of the FMD recovered animals to effectively prevent further spread of the disease. Out of all the seven serotypes of FMD, O serotype is most commonly found in livestock. Therefore, in the present study, we chose to detect serotype ‘O’ in oropharyngeal fluid (OP) and to quantify cytokines, viz. IL-1?, IL-1? and IL-2. A total of 30 OP fluids and 30 blood samples were collected from 10 animals (1 in-contact healthy animal) for 3 months post infection. FMD O serotype could be detected in all the animals (100%). The RQ values were found to be 0.014 to 63.118 and 0.162 to 46.889 for IL-1? and IL-1? genes respectively, while insignificant RQ values were obtained for IL-2. In the second and third months, two animals showed down regulation for IL-1? gene, while IL-1? and IL-2 genes were down regulated in 7 animals and in all 10 animals, respectively for all the three months.

Antinociceptive activity of methanolic extract of leaves of Achyranthes aspera Linn. (Amaranthaceae) in animal models of nociception.

Antinociceptive activity of methanolic extract of leaves of A. aspera was studied by peripheral/non-narcotic model of nociception like acetic acid induced writhing syndrome test and central/narcotic models like hot plate and tail flick tests. The methanolic extract of the plant, administered orally (@ 300, 600 and 900 mg/kg, body weight) and the standard drug (piroxicam; 10 mg/kg body weight, po) produced significant analgesic activity in acetic acid induced writhing syndrome as compared to the vehicle treated control group. In the hot plate analgesic test, in A. aspera at the above doses and the standard drug treated group (morphine sulphate @ 1.5 mg/kg, ip), the duration of reaction time (sec) increased dose dependently and significantly compared to the control group. In the tail flick test, the plant extract produced dose dependant increase in reaction time which was significantly higher in the test and standard group compared to the control group. The plant possesses significant antinociceptive property as evidenced in all the animal models of nociception. It might possibly exert its effect through diverse mechanism that may involve both central and peripheral pathways. The preliminary phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of steroids, alkaloids and triterpene in the methanolic extract of leaves of A. aspera which may be responsible for its antinociceptive activity.