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To study the effect of rice bran oil (RBO) on serum lipids and lipid peroxides in human volunteers. Nine healthy volunteers, aged between 42 to 57 years were given 75 ml of RBO thrice daily as the cooking medium with break fast, lunch and dinner for a period of 50 days. At the beginning and at the end of 50 days, 5 ml of blood were drawn from an ante cubital vein. Serum lipids and lipid peroxides levels were estimated from the blood sample. There was a significant decrease in the levels of lipid peroxides, triglycerides, LDL, VLDL, and total cholesterol in human volunteers who switched over to RBO. RBO has evidently antioxidant and antilipidemic activities in human subjects.

DPPH (alpha,alpha-diphenyl-beta-picryl hydrazyl) (CAS 217-591-8), a stable free radical can be used to determine the antioxidant activity (AOA) of some drugs. In the present study the DPPH method was used for the first time to test AOA of dapsone (CAS 80-08-0), clofazimine (CAS 2030-63-9) and rifampicin (CAS 13282-42-1) in vitro and deproteinated blood method. Ascorbic acid (CAS 50-81-7) was used as a control in the study, which showed concentration-dependent antioxidant activity. Rifampicin showed a per se effect but it showed concentration dependent decrease in the DPPH absorbance. Ascorbic acid, dapsone and rifampicin showed DPPH scavenging activity both in vitro and deproteinated blood method. Clofazimine did not have any influence on DPPH. This method may be extended to different drugs for testing their AOA in biological fluids.

Bronchial asthma is characterized by both bronchoconstriction and airway inflammation which leads to bronchial hyperresponsiveness to various stimuli. Different mediators are implicated in asthma. As the precise etiology is not known and multiple biochemical processes are triggered by different causative factors, it is difficult to have a single drug which can effectively and simultaneously act upon different mediators. This led to an intense search for potent and safe antiasthmatic drugs. This review intends to compile different screening methods for the evaluation of new candidate drugs with potential for the treatment of asthma. These include in vitro, in vivo, receptor binding and enzymatic methods. Detailed experimental methods have been included with appropriate literature citations.

The phytochemical study using Caralluma umbellata (Asclepiadaceae) whole plant allowed the isolation of a novel pregnane glycoside named carumbelloside-I (3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-3beta,14beta -dihydroxypregn-5-en-20-one). Carumbelloside-I was evaluated for both antinociceptive activity and anti-inflammatory activity. The antinociceptive activity was evaluated in mice using the writhing test method, while the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated in rats using the paw edema test with carrageenin. Carumbelloside-I has significant antinociceptive action. It has no anti-inflammatory activity.

Management of root fracture of mandibular lateral incisors during mixed dentition with developing crowding in a ten year old boy by bilateral surgical extraction. Migration of permanent canine into the extracted region of lateral incisors was favourable with minimal spacing in between the rest of the teeth. The near normal parallel position of the roots of the permanent canines was achieved by early treatment planning of extraction of the lateral incisors instead of treating by other modalities which have a poor prognosis.

While extracting the M. leprae from the nasal flushings of leprosy patients it was found that these organisms were trapped in the waxy layer, between the aqueous and the chloroform layers. Thin layer chromotography (TLC) analysis of this layer, using chloroform-methanol-water system, revealed different spots when sprayed with acid alcohol and heated at 160 degrees C. The TLC profile of lipids of lepromatous and borderline (MB according to the WHO terminology) leprosy patients was distinctly different from that of tuberculoid leprosy patients and normal human volunteers. A simple, economical and fast procedure to characterize patients belonging to different spectra has been developed.

Leprosy is transmitted by dissemination of M.leprae which are lodged in the nose of the patients suffering from multibacillary (MB) type of the disease. Rifampicin, a potent bactericidal antileprotic drug is given orally to the patients with a view to make the infective cases non-infective. Earlier work by us has shown that intranasal administration of rifampicin helps in reducing the M.leprae load in the nose much faster than after conventional oral administration. In the present study, rifampicin concentrations in plasma/urine/nasal wash of healthy volunteers following oral and intranasal administration were determined. Following intranasal administration, rifampicin was not detectable in plasma and high concentrations were measured in the nasal wash. Following oral administration, rifampicin was not detectable in the nasal wash indicating that enough antibiotic levels are not available for clearing M.leprae from nose.

Tissue distribution and deposition characteristics of clofazimine (CAS 2030-63-9), an antileprotic drug in rats have been investigated following controlled sub-chronic administration (p.o.) for a period of 1-2 months. The drug was administered alone at a dose of 20 mg/kg body weight and in combination with rifampicin (CAS 13292-46-1) (20 mg/kg p.o.). Various tissues (liver, lung, spleen, small intestine, brain, heart, kidney, skin, stomach and subcutaneous fat) were analyzed for clofazimine in all the treated groups. High levels (range 0.9-3.6 mg/g of wet tissue) were observed in tissues having reticuloendothelial components. In other tissues the levels were relatively lower (range 3-114 micrograms/g of wet tissue). Histopathological studies revealed that clofazimine is deposited in many tissues in the form of reddish-orange crystals. Concomitant treatment with rifampicin did not significantly alter tissue distribution or deposition profile of clofazimine nor did it influence the histopathology.

The use of rifampin and clofazimine ointments alone and in combination over the patches of tuberculoid patients had a beneficial effect. In combination (rifampin and clofazimine), erythema, inflammation, and edema are considerably reduced. For some of the cases with a recent appearance of a patch, the patch completely disappeared. It is suggested that topical therapy with rifampin and clofazimine ointments would be economical and beneficial in tuberculoid leprosy.

Nose forms an important site at which the M. leprae in lepromatous leprosy (LL) patients lodge and multiply. Nose forms an important reservoir for M. leprae, from where they may be transmitted to healthy contacts. Inspite of realizing the above fact, nose does not normally receive due importance during the chemotherapy of leprosy. LL patients, after regular treatment with dapsone or rifampin for about 20 wks and 3 wks respectively are normally considered non-infectious. From the present investigation it is clear that local treatment of the ones with a bactericidal agent should perhaps be necessary during chemotherapy of LL patients to make them non-infectious and to control the transmission of the disease.

The effect of local treatment of nose of lepromatous type of patients with different formulations of rifampicin nasal drops/sprays was investigated in a large number of patients. The preparations were either sprayed or instilled into the nostrils after flushing the nostrils with normal saline at 37 degrees C. It was observed that 10 mg/ml of rifampicin was effective in reducing the BI and MI to zero in nose in seven days in majority of the patients. No untoward effect was seen in any of the patients. It is suggested that nasal sprays/drops may be able to prevent the transmission of hanseniasis, as nose is recognised to be an important portal of exit of M. leprae. Further when rifampicin drops/sprays are used as soon as the diagnosis is made, the nasal deformity may be prevented. It is believed that local treatment along with systemic therapy would go a long way in controlling the transmission of hanseniasis.

The fatty acid composition of total lipids, triglycerides, free fatty acid pool, esterified cholesterol, phosphatidyl choline, and phosphatidyl ethanolamine of mammary tissue of lactating and nonlactating buffalo has been studied. The distribution of long chain triglycerides, free fatty acids free cholesterol and esterified cholesterol in nonlactating mammary tissue was 76.1,4.2,4 and 0.5 percent of total lipids respectively and in lactating mammary tissue it was 68.3, 1.2, 2.7 and 0.3 percent respectively. Short chain triglycerides constituting about 6.6% of total lipids and could be detected only in lactating mammary tissue. Among phospholipids, phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ethanolamine and sphingomyelin constituted about 39.4, 21.5 and 15.6 percent respectively of total phospholipids in nonlactating tissue and 39.3, 22.6 and 10.7 percent respectively in lactating tissue. All the major fatty acids viz myristic, palmitic, stearic acid oleic were present in various lipid components of both lactating and nonlactating mammary tissue. Linoleic acid was present only in the lactating mammary tissue. Differences were observed in the distribution of fatty acids in lipid components of lactating and nonlactating mammary tissue.