GC-MS ANALYSES OF LEAF AND ROOT EXTRACTS OF DIDYMOCARPUS TOMENTOSA

Objective: Didymocarpus tomentosa Wight., is a traditional medicinal plant used in the treatment of fever and skin allergy and the present study were conducted to identify the phytochemical constituents in leaf and root extracts using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS).Methods: The methanolic leaf and root extracts were analyzed using Shimadzu GCMS-QP 2010 gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. The mass spectrum of GC-MS was interpreted using the database of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).Results: The GC-MS analyses of leaf and root extracts revealed the presence of twenty six and twenty three phytochemical constituents respectively. 5-Hydrxoymethylfurfural (15.1%), cis, cis, cis-7,10,13-Hexadecatrienal (12.5%), Hexadecanoic acid (11.8%), Lupenone (29.1%), γ-Sitosterol (21.3%) and Lupeol (12.0%) were the major constituents. Conclusion: The leaf and root extracts of D. tomentosa possess various phytochemical constituents, which are of high therapeutic values.Â

CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF METHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF SOLANUM ERIANTHUM D. DON

Objective: The study was aimed to evaluate cytotoxic activity of the methanolic extracts of Solanum erianthum on HeLa, HepG-2 and MCF-7 cell lines.Methods: The percentage viability of the cell lines were carried out using trypan blue dye exclusion method and the cytotoxicity of the extracts was evaluated by MTT assay. Result: Solanum erianthum leaf and fruit extract showed significant cytotoxic activity on the tested cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 111.67 to 385 µg mL-1. Fruit extract showed potent cytotoxic activity on MCF-7 (IC50 111.67 µgmL-1), followed by leaf extract (IC50 150.50 µgmL-1)on HeLa cell line using MTT assay. Cell viability assay showed that fruit extract was very active on MCF-7 and leaf extract was effective against HeLa. Conclusion: The experiment performed reveals that Solanum erianthum can be used in development of anticancer drug.Â

Measuring tuberculosis patient perceived quality of care in public and public-private mix settings in India: an instrument development and validation study.

BACKGROUND At present, there are no validated quantitative scales available to measure patient-centred quality of care in health facilities providing services for tuberculosis (TB) patients in India and low-income and middle-income countries. METHODS Initial themes and items reflective of TB patient's perceived quality of care were developed using qualitative interviews. Content adequacy of the items were ascertained through Content validity Index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR). Pilot testing of the questionnaire for assessing validity and reliability was undertaken among 714 patients with TB. Sampling adequacy and sphericity were tested by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's test, respectively. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken to test validity. Cronbach's α and test-retest scores were used to test reliability. RESULTS A 32-item tool measuring patient-perceived quality of TB distributed across five domains was developed initially based on a CVI and CVR cut-off score of 0.78 and cognitive interviews with patients with TB. Bartlett's test results showed a strong significance f (χ=3756 and p1 which accounted for 60.9% of the total variance of items. Correlation (z-value >1.96) between items and factors was highly significant and Cronbach's α was acceptable for the global scale (0.76) for the four factors. Intraclass correlation coefficient and the test retest scores for four factors were (<0.001) significant. CONCLUSION We validated a measurement tool for patient-perceived quality of care for TB (PPQCTB) which measured the patient's satisfaction with healthcare provider and services. PPQCTB tool could enrich quality of care evaluation frameworks for TB health services in India

Comparison of microalbuminuria and heart rate variability in prediction of cardiovascular complications in diabetic population: a pilot study

Background: Microalbuminuria is considered as an early marker and strongly associated with risk of cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients. Autonomic imbalance due to micro vascular damage to parasympathetic and sympathetic fibers results in reduced heart rate variability; also predicts increased risk for cardiovascular events in diabetics. Hence it is necessary to identify an early and effective predictor of diabetic micro vascular complications. Objective of the study was to compare heart rate variability of controls with type 2 diabetes with and without microalbuminuria.Methods: This comparative study was conducted among individuals without diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia (controls) and Type II diabetics with and without microalbuminuria (cases). Cases and controls were subjected to general clinical examination; microalbuminuria and HbA1C were noted. heart rate variability was assessed using digital physiograph. Frequency (HF, LF, LF/HF ratio) domain readings were noted.Results: Mann Whitney U test was employed to analyze nonparametric data. Diabetics with microalbuminuria when compared with controls showed statistically significant (p-value=0.015) reduction in vagal activity. When compared with diabetics without microalbuminuria (180.4±151.7) they showed reduction in HF with no statistical significance. When diabetic group without microalbuminuria (0.56±0.31) was compared with controls they showed alternation in LF/HF ratio which has no statistical significance. Diabetics with microalbuminuria when compared with controls showed a statistically significant (p-value=0.009) alternation in LF /HF ratio implying an autonomic imbalance.Conclusions: This study shows there is significant vagal inhibition and autonomic imbalance in diabetic patients with microalbuminuria compared to controls. To ascertain the role of HRV as an early predictor of cardiovascular complications we propose to conduct study with a larger sample size in future.</jats:p