Electrospun fibers have emerged as promising materials in the field of biomedicine, due to their superior physical and cell supportive properties. In particular, electrospun mats are being developed for advanced wound dressing applications. Such applications require the firers to possess excellent antimicrobial properties in order to inhibit potential microbial colonization from resident and non-resident bacteria. In this study, we have developed Poly-ε-Caprolactone /gelatin hybrid composite mats loaded with natural herbal extract (Gymnema sylvestre) to prevent bacterial colonization. As-spun scaffolds exhibited good wettability and desirable mechanical properties retaining their fibrous structure after immersing them in phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.2) for up to 30 days. The initial burst release of Gymnema sylvestre prevented the colonization of bacteria as confirmed by the radial disc diffusion assay. Furthermore, the electrospun mats promoted cellular attachment, spreading and proliferation of human primary dermal fibroblasts and cultured keratinocytes, which are crucial parenchymal cell-types involved in the skin recovery process. Overall these results demonstrated the utility of Gymnema sylvestre impregnated electrospun PCL/Gelatin nanofibrous mats as an effective antimicrobial wound dressing.

Cardiospermum L. is a genus belonging to Sapindaceae family. It comprises about 17 species of herbs, vines distributed in the tropical regions of the earth. 15 Cardiospermum halicacabum (C. halicacabum) is an herbaceous climber from Sapindaceae family. It is widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malacca, Africa and America. It is one such plant which is traditionally used in Ayurvedic and folk medicines. 16 This plant is known to possess various biological and pharmacological properties. Various studies have shown the antimicrobial, antioxidant, analgesic, vasodepressant, anti-inflammatory properties of this plant. It is commonly used for treating arthritis, rheumatism, limbs stiffness, diabetes, lumbago, earache, fever. 17,18 It is the bioactive compounds present in the extracts of leaves, seeds, roots of this plant which contributes for the activities. 19,20 Various pharmacological properties of the phytoconstituents of this plant has been studied. Several chemical constituents such as i.e., apigenin, apigenin-7-Oglucuronide, chrysoeriol-7-O-glucuronide, luteolin-7-O-glucuronide rutin, and β-arachidic acid 21 have ABSTRACT Background: Cardiospermum halicacabum (C. halicacabum) is a common medicinal herb found in India and other Asian countries. It has various medicinal properties such as antimicrobial, pain relief, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, anticancer etc. It is commonly used for treating diabetes, arthritis, limbs stiffness, rheumatism, lumbago, earache, fever. Type of solvent and polarity intensively affects the antioxidant activity of the extracts due to the solubility of the phytocompounds such as polyphenols and flavonoids in various solvents. Materials and Methods: In this study, different solvents like, ethanol, methanol, chloroform and petroleum ether were used for the extraction of C. halicacabum. Cold maceration method was followed for extraction. The crude extracts were screened preliminary and then confirmed using Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy analysis. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to determine the chemical composition of each extract. The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method was used for the evaluation of the antioxidant activity of different crude extracts of C. halicacabum. Results: The results showed that there is significant influence of solvent type in preserving various phytocompounds of the C. halicacabum leaves extract. The evaluation of the antioxidant capacity of different crude extracts was in the order of ethanol > methanol > petroleum ether > chloroform extract.

Plant sampleG. sylvestre leaves collected during the month of November 2016. The collected plant samples were identified and authenticated by Dr. G.V.S. Murthy, Botanical Survey of India (Ref No: BSI/ SRC/5/23/2016/Tech/215). The leaves were washed with running tap water, distilled water and shade dried at room temperature. The dried leaves were ground by using a laboratory blender. The pulverized samples were stored in cold storage for further usage.

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BACKGROUND: With recent changes in the curriculum of bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery (MBBS) course to meet the global trends and to fulfill the standards expected from an Indian medical graduate, introduction of newer teaching methodologies becomes mandatory. The usage of flipped classroom (FCR) in medical education has always been rewarding. This study was to evaluate the effectiveness of FCR as a teaching method in comparison with traditional lectures in histology sessions in Sri Ramaswamy Memorial (SRM) Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This interventional study was conducted among the 1st year MBBS students in SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre for a period of 1 year (2018–2019 academic year). The histology sessions were taught using both traditional lectures and FCR methodology. Pre- and posttests were conducted for each traditional and FCR session with ten multiple-choice questions pertaining to that topic. Students' performance was assessed by paired t-test (for pre- and posttest comparisons) and independent t-test (for traditional and FCR posttest mark comparison) using SPSS software version 26. A feedback survey based on Likert scale was also conducted on the students and was analyzed. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Posttest marks had statistically significantly improved when compared to pretest marks (P < 0.0001) in both traditional and FCR teaching methods. Comparison of posttest marks showed statistically significantly higher marks in FCR when compared to traditional teaching (P < 0.0001). Similarly, students’ feedback survey showed that FCR benefitted the students in achieving the competency required. CONCLUSION: FCR methodology of teaching histology had a very impressive outcome and the students' perception was very positive.