Effect of Prunetin on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Nephropathy in Rats - a Biochemical and Molecular Approach

In the modern era, chronic kidney failure due to diabetes has spread across the globe. Prunetin (PRU), a component of herbal medicines, has a broad variety of pharmacological activities; these may help to slow the onset of diabetic kidney disease. The anti-nephropathic effects of PRU have not yet been reported. The present study explored the potential nephroprotective actions of PRU in diabetic rats. For 28 days, nephropathic rats were given oral doses of PRU (20, 40, and 80 mg/kg). Body weight, blood urea, creatinine, total protein, lipid profile, liver marker enzymes, carbohydrate metabolic enzymes, C-reactive protein, antioxidants, lipid peroxidative indicators, and the expression of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) and glucose transporter 2 (GLUT-2) mRNA genes were all examined. Histological examinations of the kidneys, liver, and pancreas were also performed.The oral treatment of PRU drastically lowered the blood glucose, HbA1c, blood urea, creatinine, serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, lipid profile, and hexokinase. Meanwhile, the levels of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, glucose-6-phosphatase, and phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase were all elevated, but glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase dropped significantly. Inflammatory marker antioxidants and lipid peroxidative markers were also less persistent due to this administration. PRU upregulated the IRS-1 and GLUT-2 gene expression in the nephropathic group.The possible renoprotective properties of PRU were validated by histopathology of the liver, kidney, and pancreatic tissues. It is therefore proposed that PRU (80 mg/kg) has considerable renoprotective benefits in diabetic nephropathy in rats.

Silver nanoparticles containing stearic acid isolated from Catharanthus roseus: Ovicidal and oviposition-deterrent activities on Earias vittella and ecotoxicological studies.

In the recent past, many agrochemicals have been used to control pests, but many of these fail due to the development of resistance. Many researchers, therefore, concentrate on developing new pesticide formulations from natural resources (plants/microorganism). In the present study, different extracts from Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle) was evaluated for their ovicidal and oviposition deterrent activities against Earias vittella (spiny bollworm). Among the tested extracts DCM (Dichloromethane) extract showed highest ovicidal activity (70.47%) and oviposition deterrent activity (75.41%) against E. vittella. Based on this biological activity, DCM extract was fractionated and isolated 7 fractions; all of these were evaluated for their ovicidal and oviposition deterrent activity against E. vittella. Maximum ovicidal and oviposition deterrent activity was recorded in fraction 5, followed by the 7th fraction. Stearic acid was isolated from fraction 5 and was subjected to nanoparticle synthesis. This nanoparticle was tested for its effects against E. vittella. It was found to exhibit 100% oviposition deterrent and 95% ovicidal activities against E. vittella, and also reduced the protein (53.63%), glutothionine esterase (39.16%), and esterase activity (45.25%) of the treated larvae. The synthesized nanoparticle was subjected to ecotoxicology evaluation against Daphnia sp. (water fleas) and Cyprinus carpio (common carp). The nanoparticle showed >100 mg/L for EC50 and LC50 against both aquatic organisms. Based on the result, it could be studied further to develop the ecofriendly formulation with stability studies for agriculture pest management.

Prevalence of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli among isolates from community-acquired infections and in silico structural modeling of an ESBL protein.

Escherichia coli is a common major cause of bacterial infections in tea tribe patients of the northeast region of Assam, India. In this study, we documented multidrug resistance (MDR) and the prevalence of extended-spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBLs) among 148 E. coli strains that were isolated from bacterial infections in tea tribe patients who had a history of self-medication. High prevalence of resistance to ampicillin (82%), amoxicillin (68%), cefixime (60%), norfloxacin (60%), nalidixic acid (60%), and co-trimoxazole (53%) was observed. Of 148 E. coli isolates, 38 (26%) were confirmed as ESBL producers. The ESBL genes were sequenced from highly resistant ESBL producing E. coli isolates. Molecular modeling was performed using MODELLER 9v10 software to determine the three-dimensional structure of a protein. This result indicates that the prevailing reason for the high prevalence of antibiotic resistance in this community is prior exposure to low-quality antibiotics, hence MDR in E. coli is increasing. ESBLs are enzymes that are produced by resistant bacteria that hydrolyze advanced generations of cephalosporin antibiotics and cause resistance, even in patients with community-acquired infections. So our results provide a framework for understanding the structure and possible binding sites of ESBL proteins for drug targeting, and the results were found to be reliable.