An Unusual Progression of Membranous Nephropathy.

Membranous glomerulopathy is one of the commonest causes of nephrotic syndrome and chronic renal insufficiency in adults. There has been documented evidence of a poorer prognosis with factors such as male gender, advanced age, increased blood pressure and persistent loss of proteins in the urine, but the overall prognosis of this condition is excellent. Herein, we present the case of a 20-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with primary membranous nephropathy. Normally, cases of primary membranous nephropathy have good outcomes with conservative management and immunosuppressants but our case had a worsening course and a delayed response even with immunosuppressive treatment. This case has been recorded due to its unusual presentation, unnatural course, and outcomes contrary to what is seen in routine clinical practice.

Effect of microwave pre-treatment on quality parameters in Indian mustard.

Demand for edible oil from crops like groundnut, mustard and soybean, is increasing and likely to increase further. In this regard, Indian mustard seeds were treated with microwaves (MW), to investigate the possibility of enhancing oil yield and nutritional content. MW pre-treatment was given to the seeds of two Indian mustard varieties i.e. PM21 (V1) and PDZ1 (V2) for 0, 2, 4 and 6 min (H0, H2, H4 and H6 min respectively). MW treatment with increasing exposure time showed a linear reduction in the glucosinolate and erucic acid content with concomitant increase in oil yield and moisture loss in both the varieties, as evident from correlation and principal component analysis. Antioxidant capacity has increased with the reduction in phytic acid content (1.82) in V2 at 6 min exposure time with respect to untreated control. Free radical scavenging activity was improved with increasing MW treatment in both the varieties. Therefore, from the obtained results, it is advisable to treat mustard seeds with MW before extraction of oil, because it gives a relatively good oil yield, with enhanced nutritional factors. Moreover, microwaving was effective in reducing glucosinolates and erucic acid also.

Preliminary nutritional and biological potential of Artocarpus heterophyllus L. shell powder.

Artocarpus heterophyllus shell powder was investigated in terms of its nutritional and biological potential. A thorough examination of shell powder demonstrated its potential as a source of minerals, ß carotene and dietary fiber, which were assessed gravimetrically & spectrophotometrically. This showed 3.05 ± 0.19 g 100 g(-1) DW of alkaloids followed by saponins and tannins. Three different extracts; acetone, methanol, & mix solvent were used to evaluate phenolic & flavonoid content, antioxidant & antimicrobial activity, GC/MS screening and quantitative analysis of polyphenols. Among all, the methanol extract showed highest antioxidant activity evaluated by DPPH, FRAP & ABTS assays and was significantly correlated with phenolic and flavonoid contents. Phenolic & flavonoid content was found to be 158 ± 0.34 mg (GAE) and 10.0 ± 0.64 mg (CE) respectively. The results of antimicrobial activity showed that L. monocytogenes was more susceptible to all extracts followed by other microorganisms. Catechin, ascorbic & chlorogenic acids were identified as major polyphenols analyzed by LC-MS/MS. GC/MS analysis showed that it contains a variety of compounds with different therapeutic activities. The study revealed that A. heterophyllus shell is a good source of natural antioxidants & other bioactive compounds and can be used in cosmetics, medicines and functional food application.

In-vitro cancer cell cytotoxicity and alpha amylase inhibition effect of seven tropical fruit residues

Objective:To determine quantitative phytochemical, anticancer and antidiabetic effect of seven Indian tropical fruit residues. Methods:In-vitro cytotoxic activity (IC50) was evaluated against cervical cancer cells (HeLa), breast cancer cells (MCF-7), hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG-2) and bone sarcoma cells (MG-63) and alpha amylase inhibition assay was used for antidiabetic activity. Results: Results of phytochemical analysis revealed that all residues contained remarkable amount of alkaloid, saponin, tannin and flavonoid. Notable cancer cell growth inhibition was observed for the extract from Carissa carandas pomace and Litchi sinensis seeds with IC50 values ranged from 56.72 to 89.24 μg/mL. Alpha amylase inhibition assay was measured at six different concentrations (5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/mL) by using different solvent extract. Results showed that Carissa carandas possessed best activity with IC50 value as 29.66 mg/mL followed by other residues in methanol extract. Conclusions:Study suggests that these fruit residues demonstrate promising antidiabetic and anticancer activity that substantiated its ethno medicinal use and may provide new molecules for the treatment of these diseases.

Isolation of genomic DNA from medicinal plants without liquid nitrogen.

Genomic DNA was extracted from eight medicinal plants using the present DNA extraction protocols (CTAB extraction method) with some modifications. Leaves were fixed in different fixing solutions containing absolute alcohol (99.99%), chloroform and EDTA, but without liquid nitrogen. DNA quality and quantity obtained were comparable to those isolated with liquid nitrogen, as the lambda260/lambda280 ratio with liquid nitrogen was in range 1.3-1.7 and with other fixing solutions it was 1.1-1.5. Absolute alcohol showed best results as fixing solution. Good quality of DNA was isolated without using liquid nitrogen from different medicinal plant species. DNA isolated by this method was suitable for various molecular biology applications.