Acaricidal activity of paste of methanolic extract of leaf of Azadirachta indica, Eucalyptus hybrid, Saraca asoca and Murraya koenigii against the bovine ticks in in-vitro condition.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the acaricidal activity of a paste made from freeze-dried methanolic extracts of air-dried leaf powders of Azadirachta indica, Eucalyptus hybrid, Saraca asoca, and Murraya koenigii against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus on cellulose paper. The extracts were tested in both single form (100% and 50% concentration) and dual combination (prepared by mixing equal proportions of the extracts in 100% concentration). The results showed a direct proportional relationship (p < 0.05) between the concentration of the extracts and the mortality percentage at 72 h post-treatment, as well as the inhibition of oviposition (I.O.) percentage. The highest mortality rate of 98.75 ± 1.25% and I.O. of 44.47 ± 0.87% was observed with the A. indica extract at 100% concentration, followed by E. hybrid, S. asoca, and M. koenigii. The combination of A. indica and E. hybrid extracts had a mortality rate of 87.5 ± 5.59% and I.O. of 42.91 ± 0.44%, followed by the combinations of S. asoca: E. hybrid, A. indica: S. asoca, E. hybrid: M. koenigii, and A. indica: M. koenigii. The extracts of A. indica and E. hybrid demonstrated the highest mortality and inhibition of oviposition percentages compared to the other extracts in both single and dual combinations. These extracts required 72 h to reach their maximum mortality.

Toll-like receptor 2 (-196 to -174) del and TLR1 743 A > G gene polymorphism-a possible association with drug-resistant tuberculosis in the north Indian population.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to analyze the association between TLR2 deletion (-196 to -174) and TLR1 743 A > G gene polymorphism with drug resistant tuberculosis (PTB, MDR-TB, and XDR-TB) in a population from Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Methods: The present case-control study included 101 pulmonary TB patients, 104 multidrug-resistant TB patients, 48 extremely drug-resistant TB patients, and 130 healthy and unrelated controls residing in the same locality. The genotyping method for TLR2 deletion (-196 to -174) was carried out by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and TLR1 743 A > G gene polymorphism was performed by hybridization probe chemistry in Roche Real-Time PCR. Genotype and allele frequencies were analyzed by the chi-square test. Cytokine levels were measured by ELISA and compared using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: The frequency of heterozygous (Ins/del) genotypes for TLR2 (-196 to -174) polymorphism was predominant in XDR-TB patients (0.57), whereas heterozygous A/G genotype for TLR1 743 A > G single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was predominant in healthy controls (0.57) for TLR1 743 A > G gene polymorphism. The heterozygous genotype of TLR2 deletion polymorphism was found to be significantly higher in XDR-TB (p = 0.0001). TLR1 743 A > G SNP, AG genotypes were found to be significantly associated with healthy controls than PTB (p = 0.047). The level of serum cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) was also found to be significantly different among TB patients and healthy controls. Conclusion: The findings suggested that in the present population, the heterozygous (Ins/Del) genotype and deletion allele of TLR2 deletion (-196 to -174) polymorphism are associated with the risk for the development of drug-resistant TB. Furthermore, for TLR1 743 A > G gene polymorphism, A/G genotype, and G allele are found associated with healthy controls, suggesting the protective role against TB.