Satadal Das

Polyphenol oxidase(PPO) is a food enzyme which holds a very important place in the food industry mainly because of its impairing effects. This enzyme leads to the darkening of tissue when fruits are cut or any damage occurs which leads to the depreciation of nutritional value and food acceptability. It is not clear which roles this compound may have in cell metabolism. In plants, PPO contributes to defence mechanisms against pests and pathogens by producing toxic quinones that deter herbivory and inhibit microbial growth. In this report, the possible antifungal effects were examined. Analyses are carried out by properties of standard polyphenolic substances oxidized by PPO were assayed on Red delicious apple extract whose phenolics were previously isolated.

Curcuma longa is a widely used plant in folk medicine. In this study, we assessed the action of the ethanolic extract of C. longa on WHO strains of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi and Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis. Curcumin is one of the most active ingredients of C. longa. In the presence of the ethanolic extract of C. longa, the bacterial count of both Salmonella was remarkably increased which was statistically highly significant. We also could not demonstrate MIC value even at 50 mg/ml concentration of the extract in Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi, while Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis only showed MIC value at a very high concentration of 6.25 mg/ml. However, two common bacteria E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus showed a MIC value of 0.39 and 3.125 mg/ml respectively. Thus, the use of C. longa in materials for public use should be done cautiously.

HLA-B27 test is generally positive in spondyloarthritis (SpA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Several anomalous laboratory test results are frequently found in HLA-B27-positive patients. In this study, we intended to evaluate two groups of HLA-B27 positive patients- one group belonging to the 13-40 years age group and another group belonging to the 41-71 years age group. The rationale of this partition was based on the age when AS first emerged and the age when the disease was set up for quite a few years respectively. We anticipate alterations of several familiar laboratory test outcomes between these two groups. After our analysis, we found that in the upper age group, ESR and uric acid are significantly decreased, while SGPT, creatinine, and HbA1C are significantly increased. Other values like ct value in PCR, RA seropositivity, and TC of WBC are decreased a bit in the higher age group; haemoglobin and CRP also marginally increased in this set which are not statistically significant. The plausible explanations behind these changes are discussed.

Bakreshwar hot springs have geological significance, and are known to have curative properties for any diseases. In this study, antimicrobial activities of the hot spring Bakreshwar water were assessed against MDR and ATCC microorganisms. A range of bacterial strains, including Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Escherichia coli (MDR), Klebsiella sp. (MDR), Acinetobacter sp. (MDR) and Pseudomonas sp. (MDR) were used to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the water. The results showed that the hot spring water expressed significant antimicrobial activity against all tested MDR and ATCC microorganisms. High temperature and strong alkaline pH (9.2) of the hot spring water, the presence of minerals and the physical and chemical agents in the water are probably responsible for the antimicrobial activities that were observed. The findings lead us to believe that the hot spring water from Bakreshwar might be a source of natural antimicrobial properties, which could be utilized for the development of new drugs for treating infections caused by resistant bacteria. Further studies are required to confirm the specific mineral, chemical or physical agent that are responsible for the observed activity.