Context:Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth most common mental disorder and is diagnosed nearly as often as asthma and diabetes mellitus. Over the last decade, the inhibition of burying of glass marbles by mice has been used as an index of anti-OCD drug action in the so-called marble-burying test. Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standley (LS), commonly known as “bottle gourd” (English), possesses several medicinal properties; little is known about its action as a nerve tonic.Objective:The purpose of this study was to characterize the anti-OCD (anti-compulsive) activity of the methanolic extract of the fruits of L. siceraria (Molina) Standley (LS) using the marble-burying behavior in mice.Materials and Methods:The experiment was conducted in specific animal models of Swiss albino mice to evaluate marble-burying behavior.Results and Conclusions:Intraperitonial administration of 25 and 50 mg/kg of LS extract significantly (P < 0.001) decreased the total number of buried marbles. The effect was comparable to that of the fluoxetine (10 mg/kg, i.p.). Fluoxetine and LS fruit extract do not produce any overt motor dysfunction. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the methanolic extract of LS showed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, sterols, proteins, tannins and carbohydrates. The results of the study for the first time show that the plant possesses anti-compulsive (anti-OCD) activity, confirming the traditional claims. Future research should focus on the identification and the mechanism of action of the constituents from this plant.

Spinel oxide Cr 0.5 Li 0.5 Fe 2 O 4 has been irradiated at Nuclear Science Centre, New Delhi, by 50 MeV lithium ions of fluence 5*10 13 ions/cm 2 and irradiation effect on hyperfine interactions has been investigated by Mossbauer spectroscopy. The Mossbauer spectrum of irradiated sample shows no paramagnetic doublet contribution and the hyperfine fields corresponding to the Fe 3+ in the octahedral (B) and the tetrahedral (A) sites are very well separated. That is the observed superimposed A and B sites in unirradiated sample are split into separate lines after Li irradiation. Further an increase of the intensity of the lines (2) -(5) with respect to (1) -(6) signals an orientation of the hyperfine magnetic field towards a direction perpendicular to the ion path due to the irradiation induced strain by the latent tracks. The computer simulation of Mossbauer spectra indicated that the irradiated Fe 3+ -site occupancy of the A-site hyperfine field increased from 43% to 55% whereas the B-site hyperfine field decreased from 57% to 45% compared to unirradiated sample.

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Single crystals of potassium dihydrogen phosphate, KH2P0, (KDP), grown by isothermal evaporation at room temperature have been characterized by their measurement of electrical conductivity and dielectric behaviour. Implications in respect of practical utility of KDP crystals in devices have been given.