Traditional and modern management strategies for rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a serious disorder of the joints affecting 1 or 2% of the population aged between 20 and 50 years worldwide. RA is the foremost cause of disability in developing and Western populations. It is an autoimmune disease-causing inflammation and pain involving synovial joints. Pro-inflammatory markers, including cytokines, such as interleukin -1 (IL-1), IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are involved in RA. RA treatment involves TNF-α blockade, B cell therapy, IL-1 and IL-6 blockade, and angiogenesis inhibition. Synthetic drugs available for the treatment of RA include disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARD), such as cyclophosphamide, sulfasalazine, methotrexate, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and intramuscular gold. These agents induce adverse hepatorenal effects, hypertension, and gastric ulcers. We found that patients diagnosed with chronic pain, as in RA, and those refractory to contemporary management are most likely to seek traditional medicine. Approximately 60-90% of patients with arthritis use traditional medicines. Therefore, the efficacy and safety of these traditional medicines need to be established. The treatment for RA entails a comprehensive multidisciplinary strategy to reduce pain and inflammation and to restore the activity of joints. The potential medicinal plants exhibiting anti-arthritic and anti-rheumatic pharmacological activity are reviewed here.

Anti-diabetic activity of aqueous extract of Ipomoea batatas L. in alloxan induced diabetic Wistar rats and its effects on biochemical parameters in diabetic rats.

Diabetes is a condition where the fasting blood glucose level elevated above the normal range (80-120mg/dL). This increase in blood glucose level may be due to the insulin deficiency i.e. insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM or type I) or due to insulin resistance i.e. non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM or type II). Diabetes leads to severe complications in the body even life treating complications e.g. nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy increased vascular permeability and delayed wound healing if left untreated. Different drugs are used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, but synthetic drugs are costly and possess severe side effects. So, more emphasis is being placed on the use of traditional medicines because these sources have fewer side effects than the synthetics drugs and are economical. So the white skinned sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) peel-off was selected for its anti-diabetic effect as well as to see its effects on biochemical parameters. Both young (3-4 months) and old (up to 1 year) Wistar rats were selected for current study. It was found that the aqueous extract of WSSP peel-off had shown beneficial effects. In addition to the decrease in blood glucose level it also decreased protein glycation level total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol. Increase in HDL-cholesterol was also observed after treating the rats with aqueous extract of Ipomoea batatas. Additionally, WSSP peel-off had also shown positive results on total protein concentration, albumin, globulin, and plasma enzymes (SGOT and SGPT). Further research would be needed in order to purify the anti-diabetic components and it should be available in compact dose form for all diabetic patients.

Enhanced production of Lovastatin by filamentous fungi through solid state fermentation.

Lovastatin is a natural competitive inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme-A (HMG-CoA) reductase and inhibits specifically rate limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis. Further, lovastatin in comparison with synthetic drugs has no well-reported side effects. Four pure isolated filamentous fungal strains including Aspergillus niger IBL, Aspergillus terreus FFCBP-1053, Aspergillus flavus PML and Aspergillus nidulans FFCBP-014 have been cultured by solid state fermentation (SSF) using rice straw as substrate for the synthesis of lovastatin. After selecting Aspergillus terreus FFCBP-1053 as the best producer of lovastatin, various selected physical parameters including pH, temperature, inoculums size and moisture content were optimized through response surface methodology (RSM) under center composite design (CCD) for lovastatin hyper production. Maximum lovastatin production of 2070±91.5 was predicted by the quadratic model in the medium having moisture content 70% and pH 4.5 at 35°C which was verified experimentally to be 2140±93.25µg/g DW of FM (microgram/gram dry weight of fermentation medium), significantly (P<0.05) high as compared to un-optimized conditions while it was noted that lovastatin production is independent on inoculum size (P>0.05) measured by spectrophotometer at 245 nm against standard. It was determined that optimized conditions for the hyper-production of lovastatin from fungal sources have a significant effect.

Modified Atmosphere Packaging Technology of Fresh and Fresh-cut Produce and the Microbial Consequences-A Review.

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) technology offers the possibility to retard the respiration rate and extend the shelf life of fresh produce, and is increasingly used globally as value adding in the fresh and fresh-cut food industry. However, the outbreaks of foodborne diseases and emergence of resistant foodborne pathogens in MAP have heightened public interest on the effects of MAP technology on the survival and growth of pathogenic organisms. This paper critically reviews the effects of MAP on the microbiological safety of fresh or fresh-cut produce, including the role of innovative tools such as the use of pressurised inert/noble gases, predictive microbiology and intelligent packaging in the advancement of MAP safety. The integration of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points-based programs to ensure fresh food quality and microbial safety in packaging technology is highlighted.

Molecular typing of Bordetella parapertussis isolates circulating in Pakistan.

Although a whole-cell pertussis vaccine was introduced in Pakistan in 1980, little is known about the pertussis prevalence and circulating strains in Pakistan. The aim of this study was to analyze Bordetella parapertussis isolates circulating between 2005 and 2009 in Pakistan and to compare them with those found in other countries during different periods. A total of 59 (7.35%) B. parapertussis isolates from 802 subjects (median age, 3 years) from Pakistan, with pertussis-like symptoms were investigated. We carried out genotyping and DNA microarray analyses on these isolates and compared them with some international isolates of B. parapertussis. We found that the allele for pertactin (prn) found in strains studied from Pakistan was identical to the predominant type found in Europe. We showed that B. parapertussis isolates circulating in Pakistan are part of the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis group to those circulating in Finland during the period of 1982-2007. Finally, microarray analysis confirmed that the isolates collected in Pakistan, were quite similar to international strains. Overall, these results confirm that B. parapertussis is extremely monomorphic. The high isolation rate of B. parapertussis (7.35%) compared to Bordetella pertussis (0.5%) may suggest that the whole-cell vaccine used in Pakistan is effective against B. pertussis (0.5% infections detected), but much less so against B. parapertussis.

Whooping cough in Pakistan: Bordetella pertussis vs Bordetella parapertussis in 2005-2009.

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is an acute respiratory disease mainly affecting infants and children and is caused by Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis. The aim of this study was to investigate the share of Bordetella species from potential whooping cough cases during 2005-2009. Eight hundred and two samples from suspected pertussis cases were collected, mainly from 2 provinces of Pakistan. Bacterial culture, identification, DNA extraction and routinely used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods using IS1001, IS1002 and IS481 were used to identify the Bordetella species. The results were unexpected, because all of the isolates collected from the different cities were identified as B. parapertussis (7.4%); B. pertussis was not isolated from any sample. However, PCR results indicated the presence of a small percentage (0.6%) of B. pertussis among the total cases studied. This study suggests that vaccines to protect against both B. pertussis and B. parapertussis should be considered.

Chemical composition and glycemic index of three varieties of Omani dates.

The present study evaluated the nutritional quality and glycemic index of three sun-dried date varieties (Khalas, Khsab and Fardh) grown in Oman. Significant (P<0.05) differences were observed in the proximate chemical composition, dietary fiber contents, various sugar fractions and energy value of these dates. The moisture, ash, crude protein, total fat, and nitrogen-free extract values ranged between 18.77 and 23.71 g/100 g date flesh, 1.12 and 1.55 g/100 g date flesh, 1.28 and 1.89 g/100 g date flesh, 1.14 and 2.37 g/100 g date flesh, and 68.53 and 75.37 g/100 g date flesh, respectively. The dietary fiber and total sugar contents ranged between 8.83 and 13.11 g/100 g and between 52.17 and 59.96 g/100 g, respectively. The glycemic index (GI) of different varieties of dates collected from various regions of Oman ranged between 47.6 and 57.7. Overall no significant (P<0.05) differences were observed in the GI values of different varieties of dates. The regional effects on the GI values of dates were also non-significant (P>0.05). An inverse correlation (r(2)) was observed between the fructose fraction and the GI value of dates.

Seroepidemiology of Bordetella pertussis infections in the twin cities of Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Bordetella pertussis is the cause of whooping cough occurring mainly in children. The prevalence of this disease has been reduced largely due to worldwide mass vaccination with DTP vaccine. However, the immunity produced by the vaccination wanes by the passage of time. Still this disease kills around 2-4 million children annually. Adults may be a source of infection for infants and children. Furthermore, Bordetella pertussis has also been found to be associated with cases of persistent cough in adults in many countries. AIM: The aim of this study was to study the exposure of the adult population to the Bordetella pertussis by detecting IgG antibodies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed Seroepidemiology of Bordetella pertussis infections in multiethnic twin cities of Pakistan (Rawalpindi and Islamabad) using a commercially available ELISA kit to have a picture of epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis in Pakistan. We targeted adults of age between 18-45 years (mean age 29.64 years). RESULTS: The results of our study show a high percentage of seropositivity to Bordetella pertussis (89 percent), which indicates higher exposure to this organism and risk of infection to infants, children, adolescents and adults. CONCLUSION: A high percentage of seropositive individuals are alarming to health care professionals as well as policy makers. Bordetella pertussis infections may be associated with their atypical manifestation in Pakistan. Adult vaccination with DTP is recommended to reduce the risk of infection in infants and children through adult reservoirs.