Objectives:The aim of the study was to investigate the antibacterial activity, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and cytotoxic activities of petroleum-ether, chloroform, and ethyl acetate extracts of leaves, stolons and ethanol extract of the roots of the plant Alocasia fornicata (Roxb.) from the family Araceae. Materials and Methods: The antimicrobial activity was evaluated using the disk diffusion method and then MIC was detected using the serial dilution technique. The various parts of the plant were also assessed for cytotoxic activity using the brine shrimp lethality bioassay. Results: All crude extracts, except petroleum ether extract of the leaf and stolon showed moderate-to-good levels of antimicrobial activity against most of the tested bacteria, with an average zone of inhibition of 8-20 mm. The MICs were detected using the serial dilution method and the results ranged from 64 µg/ml to 256 µg/ml. All crude extracts displayed considerable general toxicity toward brine shrimps. The chloroform extract of the leaf, ethyl acetate extract of the stolon, and ethanol extract showed good cytotoxic activity and the LC 50 values were found to be 13.98 µg/ml, 12.26 µg/ml, and 12.81 µg/ml, respectively. Conclusion: From the above context, it may be concluded that the plant A. fornicate may be a potential source for the development of traditional medicine, such as, a safer antibiotic and also as an anticancer agent.

Oxidative stress in the brain is the major cause of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Under conditions of oxidative stress, the production of highly reactive oxygen species (ROS) overwhelms antioxidant defenses, resulting in the modification of macromolecules and their deposition in neuronal cell tissues. ROS plays an important role in neuronal cell death that they generate reactive aldehydes from membrane lipid peroxidation. Several neuronal diseases are associated with increased accumulation of abnormal protein adducts of reactive aldehydes, which mediate oxidative stress-linked pathological events, including cell growth inhibition and apoptosis induction. Combining findings on neurodegeneration and oxidative stress in Drosophila with studies on the metabolic characteristics of the human enzyme CBR1, it is clear now that CBR1 has a potential physiological role of neuroprotection in humans. Several studies suggest that CBR1 represents a significant pathway for the detoxification of reactive aldehydes derived from lipid peroxidation and that CBR1 in humans is essential for neuronal cell survival and to confer protection against oxidative stress-induced brain degeneration. Recently, it was discovered that HIF1alpha, AP-1, and Nrf2 could all regulate CBR1 at the transcriptional level. Nrf2 is known to regulate the transcription of antioxidant enzymes, and CBR1 functions as an antioxidant enzyme, suggesting that transcriptional regulation of CBR1 is a major contributor to the control of oxidative stress in neurodegeneration.

including antioxidants finds increased use in the treatment of such diseases. This has stimulated the production of patented antioxidant preparations based on various components of natural or synthetic origin. The use of natural antioxidants for the treatment and prophylaxis of free radical induced pathologies has certain advantages. Most of these agents produce no side effects, possess low toxicity, and effectively act upon the main factors damaging the vascular system. Plants (fruits, vegetables, medicinal herbs) contain a wide variety of free radical scavenging molecules, such as phenolic compounds, nitrogen compounds, vitamins, terpenoids and some other endogenous metabolites, that are rich in antioxidant activity [3,4,5,6]. Diabetes is also the fourth-leading cause of death [7]. The diabetic population is rapidly increasing globally, particularly in the developing countries. South Asian region including Bangladesh is the most vulnerable focus. The current worldwide diabetic population is about 150 million and this will be doubled by 2025 [8]. The estimated prevalence of diabetes in Bangladesh is around 4%, which is similar to the average prevalence in many

ABSTRACT:In the present study, a methanol extract of flower of Alangium salvifolium (AS) and bark of Bombax ceiba (BC) were evaluated for its antioxidant and antidiabetic activities. Both methanol extracts exhibited DPPH free radical scavenging activity and reducing power activity in dose dependent manner. Continuous administration for of methanol extracts of AS for seven days significantly decreased blood glucose level than BC in alloxan induced diabetic rats at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight. The IC 50 value of AS and BC were 17.3 µg/ml and 32.1 µg/ml, respectively. Both extract showed significant decrease of blood sugar after glucose loading points (30, 60 and 120 min). In addition, flower of AS possesses high phenol content than the bark of BC (152.73±13.60 vs 74.38±7.42 mg/g of gallic acid). This is the first report of antioxidant and reducing power evaluation and quantitative analysis of phenol content for this two plant materials. This finding suggest that the potential antioxidant activity and antidiabetic effect of flowers of AS could be due to the presence of phenolic compounds.

Objective:The present study was designed to investigate whether early detection of blood ketone bodies help in diagnosing Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and also to explore whether early changes in blood β-hydroxybutyrate is associated with serum electrolytes and acid-base abnormalities. Research Design and Methods: A total of 122 consecutive type 2 diabetic patients (age 39 ± 15 yrs and body mass index 20.3 ± 2.4 kg/m 2 , mean ± SD) were included in the study. Plasma glucose was measured by glucose oxidase method, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA 1C ) by high-performance liquid chromatography method, blood β-hydroxybutyrate by biosensor method; urinary acetone was measured by strip based on nitroprusside reaction. Serum urea and creatinine were measured by enzymatic method. Serum electrolytes were measured by ion sensitive electrode technique. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) for urinary ketone method were calculated against the blood ketone. Results: The relative frequencies of DKA, using urinary ketone and blood ketone criteria, were 15.6% (19 out of 122) and 13.9% (17 out of 122), respectively. In contrast, 50% (61 out of 122) patients showed hyperketonemia. Using blood ketone as the reference method, the sensitivity of urinary ketone measurement was found to be 32.6% and specificity was 93.7%. PPV and NPV of urinary ketone against blood ketone were 73.68% and 71.84%, respectively. The DKA subjects, diagnosed by blood ketone criteria, showed significant biochemical derangements as compared to Non-DKA subjects [serum urea (P < 0.001), creatinine (P = 0.02), sodium (P < 0.001), potassium (P < 0.001), total carbon dioxide (P = 0.02), and osmolality (P = 0.02)]. Correlation analysis shows that electrolytes, blood gas, and acid-base status have highly significant correlation with blood ketone levels (Na + -r = −0.303, P < 0.001; K + -r = 0.449, P < 0.001; Mg 2+ -r = −0.174, P < 0.05; TCO 2 -r = −0.573, P < 0.001; venous blood pH-r = −0.659, P < 0.001, and osmolality-r = −0.273, P < 0.002). No such correlation was found with plasma glucose except that for serum sodium (r = −0.301, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Measurement of ketonuria by nitroprusside reaction has considerable limitations with an error of about 25-30% in detecting the ketonemic status of type 2 diabetic patients. The present data also demonstrated that severity of hyperketonemia, but not that of hyperglycemia, reflects the underlying biochemical derangements in type 2 diabetic patients better.