Catharanthus roseus (Nyantara), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Allium sativum (Garlic) are medicinal plants, used in Ayurveda for treating various diseases, one of which is diabetes mellitus. In the present study of 12 months period from January to December 2007, aqueous extract of this plants were prepared and blood glucose lowering effect and improvement of body weight gain in Streptozotocin (50 mg/kg bwt i.p.) induced diabetic rats were measured and compared with that of a patent drug glimepride in the Department of Pharmacology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. Rats were administered Catharanthus roseus, Azadirachta indica, Allium sativum extracts at the dose rate of 1g/kg, 500 mg/kg and 1g/kg bwt orally for 14 days, respectively. Blood glucose level and body weight was measured by Glucotrend kit and Electronic balance and that compared with a patent drug Glimepride at a dose rate of 100 mg/kg bwt. The data were compared statistically by using student's unpaired t-test. The herbal preparations of these plants significantly increased body weight gain and decreased blood glucose as compared with the patent drug. The present study clearly indicated the significant antidiabetic activity of Catharanthus Roseus, Azadirachta indica and Allium sativum and supports the traditional usage of the herbal preparations by Ayurvedic physicians for the therapy of diabetics. Key words: Catharanthus roseus, Azadirachta indica, Allium sativum, Glimepride, Streptozotocin, diabetic rat INTRODUCTIONDiabetes mellitus is a major health problem not only in urban but also in the rural areas of Bangladesh. Diabetic patients of rural areas usually do not register themselves in diabetic clinics or hospitals because the medical facilities are mainly concentrated in the urban areas. So, with the ever-increasing incidence of diabetes, it's management is becoming costly not only for the individual and his/her family but also for the national health care sector. Now-a-days various medicinal plants are becoming very popular for the treatment of different diseases in our country as well as all over the world. There are a number of plants to control the blood glucose level such as Nayantara (Catharanthus roseus), Neem (Azadirachta indica), Garlic (Allium sativum), Karela (Momordica indica), Methi (Trigonella foenum graecum), etc, which are indigenous plants of Bangladesh. So, this study with such above-mentioned plants might offer a natural key to unlock a dialectologist's pharmacy in future. For considering all these constraints, in this experiment we wanted to establish indigenous system of medicine (herbal therapy) as anti-diabetic drugs instead of chemical drugs and rat was used as model of animal.

ABSTRACT

Chitosan is naturally occurring compound potentially used in sustainable agriculture to control plant diseases and enhance growth. An attempt was made to control anthracnose or ripen fruit rot of chilli caused by Colletotrichum capsici in the field under inoculated condition and to increase the growth and yield of chilli by different concentrations of chitosan as seed treatment and foliar application methods. C. capsici isolate "So" was found to be the most virulent against chilli at the time of pathogenicity test. Chitosan at 1% concentration was found to be most effective against the radial growth of C. capsici. Subsequently, seed treatment or foliar spray was done with C. capsici spore suspension (5×10 6 ml -1 ) and different concentrations of chitosan as per requirement of the treatments. Anthracnose or ripen fruit rot of chilli and postharvest disease incidence (DI) and percent disease index (PDI) were significantly lowest in the treatment T8, where seeds were treated with 1% chitosan combination with foliar spray of chitosan (0.5%) in pathogen inoculated condition. On the contrary, anthracnose or ripen fruit rot of chilli and post-harvest DI and PDI were significantly highest in the treatment T1, where seeds were treated with C. capsici. Germination percentage, growth promoting components, yield and thousand seed weight (TSW) were also highest in treatment T8 compared to all other treatments. As a result, the combined use of chitosan as seed treatment (1%) and foliar spray (0.5%) appeared to be most effective in controlling anthracnose of chilli and increased yield and yield contributing characters.

Determining the best way to persuade consumers to consume more healthy foods is challenging. In Bangladesh, however, daily newspapers consistently show that various hazardous chemicals (e.g. calcium carbide, sodium cyclamate, cyanide and formalin, etc.) are mixed with or added to foods and foodstuffs. These chemicals are very dangerous to humans. This present study examines the reasons behind the use of hazardous chemicals in foods as well as the extent to which food producers/sellers use such chemicals. In addition, this study assesses consumer perceptions of and attitudes towards these contaminated food items and explores how adulterated foods and foodstuffs affect consumer health. The empirical data were collected from 110 consumers, 25 sellers or producers, seven doctors and seven pharmacists in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. This study shows that nearly every consumer (93.7%) is aware that various foods and foodstuffs contain hazardous chemicals, and that 95.5% of consumers are aware that these adulterated foods and foodstuffs are harmful to their health. This paper explores the myriad reasons why consumers nevertheless feel compelled to consume such chemically treated foods.