Averrhoa bilimbi L. has various beneficial properties including antidiabetic and antioxidant activity. The effect of traditional sun drying on the stability of fresh A. bilimbi fruits was investigated by using different methanol/water extracts, and their total phenolic content (TPC) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) compared. The TAC was evaluated using established in vitro models such as 1,1,diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging activity, 2,2´-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) scavenging assay, total reducing power, phosphomolybdenum assay and metal chelating activity. All the extracts of the dried fruit showed lower TPC compared to the fresh bilimbi extracts by 23-88%, TAC of which corresponded accordingly. The investigation revealed that A. bilimbi was a good source of antioxidants; however, the drying process of the fruit significantly affected the bioactive compounds.

Extended spectrum beta- lactamases (ESBLs) continue to be a major problem in clinical setup worldwide. An attempt is made to detect ESBL production among Enterobacteriaceae members by phenotypic methods, which is easier to perform in all laboratories. A total of 138 multi-drug resistant strains from pyogenic infection were tested for ESBL production by Double disc synergy test (DDST) and Phenotypic confirmatory disc diffusion test (PCDDT). Of the 84 ESBL producer identified, PCDDT detects 71 (84.5%) whereas DDST detects 52 (61.9%) as ESBL producers. Continued detection of ESBL is essential for proper disease management. PCDDT is better and easy test for screening than DDST. Confirmation has to be done by molecular methods.

The present investigation is on endophytic fungus Phomopsis spp isolated from four Indian medicinal plants like., Artabotrys odoratissimus, Cassia auriculata, Guazuma ulmifolia and Terminalia catappa in four different months. Antimicrobial activity of ethyl acetate extract from the culture filtrate of Phomopsis spp were tested against six human pathogenic bacteria. Isolated three Phomopsis spp. were grown in Czapex Dox Broth for 21-days. The extracellular secondary metabolites present in the culture filtrate were extracted with ethyl acetate solvent. The extracellular bio-active compounds of the isolated fungus were tested for its anti microbial potential in well diffusion method, against three, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella Pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Among all the three Phomopsis spp, the extract obtained from Phomopsis sp.2 exhibited a promising activity against the entire test bacteria. This bioactivity compounds focus on clinical pharmacology to identify a novel therapeutic targets and it can be easily scaled up for the large-scale commercial production.

Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis were chronic inflammatory disorders of the bowel categorized as inflammatory bowel diseases. Trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis was one of the most common methods for studying inflammatory bowel disease in animal models. Several factors may, however, affect its reproducibility, rate of animal mortality, and macroscopic and histopathological outcomes.The current study was undertaken with the objective to validate the main contributing factors to this method and compare the effects of different reference drugs upon better amelioration of trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) induced colitis. With the above objectives, ulcerative colitis was induced by intrarectal administration of TNBS in male Wistar rats at a dose rate of 20 mg in 0.5 mL of ethanol per animal for all groups except the negative control group, which received 0.5 mL of normal saline. Different reference drugs like dexamethasone (1 mg/kg, intraperitoneally (i.p.) and 2 mg/kg, orally (p.o.)), hydrocortisone acetate (20 mg/kg, i.p.; 20 mg/kg, enema) and sulfasalazine 500mg/kg ,p.o.were administered daily once from Day 3 to 9 except the negative and positive controls which received normal saline at the rate of 10 mL/kg body weight. All the animals were sacrificed on Day 10; the colons were excised and the colon morphology and net weight of the colon segment were graded and measured, respectively. The intestinal damage had improved significantly in the experiment groups that received different reference drugs which is comparable with sulfasalazine treated group. The experimental observations, gross pathology of intestinal lesions and statistical analysis reveals no significant difference among the different reference drugs treated groups.

A field experiment was conducted on a sandy clay soil at Agricultural Research Station, Basanthpur, Medak district of Andhra Pradesh during the kharif seasons of 2009-‘10 and 2010-’11 to study the variation in relative water content (RWC) of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L) Mill Sp.) as influenced by plant densities and supplemental irrigation through drip. Three varied plant densities of pigeonpea (D1–55,555 plants ha- 1, D2–41,666 plants ha-1 and D3–33,333 plants ha-1) were tested as 3 main treatments with 4 irrigation levels as sub treatments involving control (I1 – rainfed), drip irrigation at flowering with 20 mm depth of water (I2), drip irrigation at pod development with 20 mm depth of water (I3) and drip irrigation at flowering and pod development with 20 mm depth of water at each stage, respectively (I4). The RWC was estimated at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150, 165 days after sowing and at harvest. Daily evaporation and rainfall were also recorded at the experimental site. The crop in lower plant density of D3 had higher relative water content in comparison to D2, intermediate and D1, higher plant densities at flowering and pod development stages irrespective of the irrigation treatments imposed. Further, supplemental irrigation at flowering and pod formation stages showed marginal rise in the relative water content irrespective of densities. Lowest relative water content was recorded under nonirrigated rainfed control (I1) at higher plant densities of D1 both at flowering and pod development stages.

The soil samples were collected from the soils of Long Term Fertilizer Experiments that have been fertilized for the last 25 years from a) control plot (receiving no fertilizer/FYM); b) plot receiving 100% NPK fertilizer application and c) Plot receiving 100% N in the form of FYM, to study the changes in nature and amount of organic matter and these were compared with a similar adjacent soil under natural vegetation. The soil samples were collected from 0-15 cm (surface) and 15-30 cm (sub surface) layers. The humic substances were fractionated by Tyurins method. The total N and available N content was determined and C/N ratio was calculated. The humic acid was isolated, purified and analyzed for oxygen containing functional groups and spectral properties. It was observed that the soil under natural vegetation had a higher total N while the soil under continuous cultivation had higher available N. The C/N ratio of soil under natural vegetation was high compared to the soil under continuous cultivation. These values were high in surface layers compare to sub surface layers. The oxygen containing functional groups in Humic acid (HA) were high in soil under natural vegetation compared to the soil under continuous cultivation. The total acidity and COOH content of surface layers was high compared to sub surface layers in soils under both situations. Phenolic OH groups of subsurface layer was high in soil under natural vegetation and continuous cultivation indicating that this group in sub surface layers and high potential for interaction with clays and metal ions. The higher contents of total acidity and –COOH groups in soil under natural vegetation could be attributed to the difference in chemical composition and molecular weight of humic substances. The E4/E6 ratios of HA’S were less than 5.0 indicating high degree of condensation of aromatic humic acid. The potentiometric titrations of humic acids with standard 0.1 N NaOH indicated a gradual increase in pH with the addition of base thus indicating a high buffering capacity of humic acid. The potentiometric titration curves were sigmoid in nature indicating an apparent mono basic character and had a single break suggesting weak acidic character of humic acids. The conduct metric titrations of humic acids showed a slow increase in the initial stage followed by a steep increase at later stages. The apparent pKa values calculated from potentiometric titration data using Henderson-Hassebalch equation varied from 5.24 to 5.68.

Background: Cyclophosphamide (CP), [2-(bis-/2-chloro-ethyl-amino)-tetrahydro-2H-1, 2, 3 oxazaphosphorine-2-oxide], is an alkylating chemotherapeutic agent, which is commonly used against malignancies, such as leukemia, lymphoma, breast, lung, prostrate, and ovarian cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the side effect of CP on male albino rat in response to certain hematological and hepatic and renal biochemical parameters. Methods: In this investigation, total 20 albino rats were divided in to two groups of ten each. Group first served as control received i.p. injection of 0.9 physiological saline fed with standard food and water ad libitum. While, Group second received a single dose (0.4ml/100g b/w) through i.p. injection of cyclophosphamide once in a week for a period of 7 and 35 days and hematological parameters i.e. Hb%, total count-RBCs, total count-WBCs along with some biochemical estimations i.e. protein and creatinine levels in liver and kidney were quantified after 7 and 35 days of the treatments. Results: The hematological parameters i.e. Hb%, total count-RBCs, total count –WBCs and protein and creatinine levels in liver and kidney were significantly lowered after 7 and 35 days treatment of cyclophosphamide. The lowering of these values was more prominent in later part of the experiment. Conclusion: Alteration in hematological parameters after cyclophosphamide exposure may impair the functional activities of liver and kidney of male Rattus norvegicus by interfering enzymatic metabolic activities and protein synthesis.