Intestinal permeability and morphology improved significantly in both glutamine and ACG.

Butea monosperma (Lam.) (family: Fabaceae) popularly known as 'Palas' or 'fire of forest' has been used traditionally as a hepatoprotective agent. This study evaluated the hepatoprotective and antitumorigenic properties of the aqueous extract and butanol fractions of B. monosperma flowers in animal models. Dried flowers of B. monosperma were extracted with water and fractionated further using n-butanol. The hepatoprotective activity of the aqueous extract was initially confirmed in a carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage model of rats. Oral administration of the aqueous extract produced a strong hepatoprotective effect similar to silymarin and normalized the serum levels of ALT, AST, bilirubin and triglyceride in rats. However, it did not affect the levels of glutathione and malondialdehyde which are oxidative stress markers in liver. Intraperitoneal administration of the aqueous extract in the X15-myc oncomice not only maintained liver architecture and nuclear morphometry but also down-regulated the serum VEGF levels. Immunohistochemical staining of liver sections with anti-Ribosomal protein S27a antibody showed post-treatment abolition of this proliferation marker from the tumor tissue. The butanol fractions, however, did not show antitumorigenic activity. Thus, the aqueous extract of B. monosperma flowers is not only hepatoprotective but also antitumorigenic by preserving the nuclear morphometry of the liver.

Sellar paragangliomas are very rare lesions with only 11 previous cases described in the literature. We present a further case of sellar paraganglioma. The patient is a 17-year-old man who developed headache, visual blurring, and diplopia. MRI showed a sellar lesion. Trans-nasal trans-sphenoid biopsy showed features of paraganglioma. He was treated by Stereotactic radiotherapy. Four months after treatment he developed bone metastases which was palliated by radiation, zoledronic acid, and chemotherapy. This is the first case of sellar paraganglioma showing metastases to bone.

Malignant melanoma of soft parts (MMSP), first described by Franz M. Enzinger, is a rare tumour of unknown cell origin. We describe a case of a 45-year-old male who presented with a one-year history of abdominal pain, weakness, and anaemia. Computerised tomography enteroclysis showed a mass in the jejunum that was suggestive of a gastrointestinal stromal tumour. An ulceroinfiltrative lesion measuring 6.5 x 4 x 2cm was identified. Microscopy revealed typical features of MMSP with numerous osteoclasts-like giant cells. The diverse histomorphology and immunohistochemical characteristics of this case involving a rare tumour at a rare site is presented.

Malignant melanoma of soft parts (MMSP), first described by Franz M. Enzinger, is a rare tumour of unknown cell origin. We describe a case of a 45-year-old male who presented with a one-year history of abdominal pain, weakness, and anaemia. Computerised tomography enteroclysis showed a mass in the jejunum that was suggestive of a gastrointestinal stromal tumour. An ulceroinfiltrative lesion measuring 6.5 x 4 x 2cm was identified. Microscopy revealed typical features of MMSP with numerous osteoclasts-like giant cells. The diverse histomorphology and immunohistochemical characteristics of this case involving a rare tumour at a rare site is presented.