Anti-cataract Activity of Abies Pindrow Luffa Cylindrica

Anti-cataract Activity of Abies Pindrow Luffa Cylindrica â€Å"Evaluation of in-vitro anti-cataract activity of Abies pindrow Luffa cylindrica†: A Comparative study Suchita Dubey, Sudipta Saha, Shubhini A Saraf* Abstract- Context- Cataract is the opacification of lenses resulting in blurring of vision.Oxidative stress is the major cause of many diseases including cataract. Objective- The study was designed to evaluate and compare the in-vitro anti-cataract activity of aqueous extracts of Abiespindrowleaves (APE) and Luffacylindrica fruits (LCE) against hydrogen peroxide induced cataractogenesis, using isolated goat lenses. Materials and Methods-Standardized extracts of APE and LCE were compared for their anti-cataract activity against marketed eye drops. Hydrogen peroxide (0.05M) was used to induce cataract in goat eye lenses. Photographic evaluation confirmed the clarity of lenses incubated in APE and LCE respectively. Result-.MeanGSH Value in normal lenses was found to be 2.9765 ±0.17 µg/mg of fresh weight of the lens.In the presence of APE and LCE respectively, a significant restoration of the levels of GSH as compared to the toxic control was observed. An increase in MDA level was found in the control opposed to the normal lenses (1.57 ±0.04ÃŽ ¼mol/g of fresh weight of lens; P Discussion -SOD, GSH, TPC and copper-induced lipoprotein diene formation was found to increase, whereas MDA levels significantly decreased, as the concentration of APE and LCE increased. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that monotherapy of APE and LCE respectively, has the potential to prevent cataract because of the strong antioxidant potential of each. Keywords- Antioxidant, Cataract, Hydrogen Peroxide, Abies pindrow, Luffa cylindrica Introduction- Oxidative stress has been the major cause of many diseases including cataract. The free radicals that are produced as the result of daily stress borne by the human body are scavenged by a range of antioxidant enzymes and small molecule antioxidants. Cataract is the opacification of lenses resulting in the blurring of vision. Since ancient times, India’s conventional medicinal knowledge has been extraordinarily useful in treating rarest of the rare diseases. The term cataract describes lenticular opacities that may be congenital or acquired. Systemic diseases (such as galactosemia, diabetes mellitus, Wilson disease atopic dermatitis), drugs (especially corticosteroids), radiation, trauma, and many intraocular disorders are associated with cataract. Traditional medicines have proved to be effective to an extent in curing cataract. Plants such as Embellica Officinalis (Amla) and those which are rich in gallic acid, digallic acid, ellagic acid, and tannins respectively serve as g ood anticataract options.[1] The development of the disease depends on many factors.The lens Na+- K+-ATPase activity plays an important role in maintaining lens transparency, and its impairment causes accumulation of Na+ and loss of K+ with hydration and swelling of the lens fibres leading to cataractogenesis[2] . In conjunction, aldose reductase is a lens enzyme probably involved in the development of cataract [3]. It acts on the sugars like glucose, galactose, and xylose and converts them into their respective alcohols. These alcohols, also known as polyols: accumulate within the lens thereby producing osmotic effects. Since polyols are not capable of either diffusing out easily nor are metabolizes rapidly, they may cause hyper tonicity responsible for the formation of cataract [4]. Oxidative mechanism plays an important role in biological phenomena including cataract formation. The formation of superoxide radicals in the aqueous humor and in lens and its derivatization to other potent oxidants may be responsible for initiating various toxic biochemical reactions leading to the formation of cataract. Catlin is the marketed drug with considerable anticataract activity hence was taken as standard and various parameters measured, including total proteins and malondialdehyde (MDA) in vitro on goat lenses. Materials and Methods- Plants- Standardized extracts of â€Å"Abies pindrow leaf† and â€Å"Luffa cylindrica fruit† were obtained from Navchetna Kendra, New Delhi (A registered manufacturer, exporter and supplier of herbal products in India) along with the certificate of analysis of both the extracts confirming that extract complies with all the morphological specification of colour, odour, taste along with LOD, Ash value and microbial load (Total Plate Count, yeast and mould and E.coli). Drug- Catlin eye drop available in the market were purchased from medical store in Lucknow, UP. Eye Balls-Goat eye balls were used in the present study. They were obtained from the slaughterhouse and immediately transferred to laboratory at 0-4 degree Celsius in physiological salt solution containing 1% solution of antibiotic to prevent microbial contamination. Preparation of Lens Culture- The lenses were removed by extracapsular extraction and incubated in artificial aqueous humor (NaCl 140 mM, KCl 5 mM, MgCl2 2 mM, NaHCO3 0.5 mM, NaH (PO4)2 0.5 mM, CaCl2 0.4 mM) at room temperature and pH 7.8 for 72 h. Penicillin 32 mg% and streptomycin 250 mg% were added to the culture media to prevent bacterial contamination [6]. H2O2 (0.05M) was used to induce cataract. Preparation of Lens Homogenate-After incubation, lenses were homogenized in 10 volumes of 0.1M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0. The homogenate was centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 1 hour and the supernatant was used for estimation of biochemical parameters. Drug Concentration and Groups- The standard drug Catlin was taken in the concentration of 1% v/v and the Goat’s eye lenses were incubated with Abies pindrow extract (APE) (5mg/ml, 10mg/ml, 15mg/ml 20mg/ml) andLuffa cylindrica extract (LCE) (5mg/ml, 10mg/ml, 15mg/ml, 20mg/ml, 25mg/ml 30mg/ml) concentrations as mono therapy. A total of 65 lenses were divided into 13 groups of n=5. Group 1- PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + lens Group 2- PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + H2O2(0.05 M) 0.5ml+ lens Group 3- PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + Catlin (KI-3.3%, NaCl-0.83%, CaCl2-1%w/v) 1ml Group 4- PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + APE (5%) Group 5-PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + APE (10%) Group 6-PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + APE (15%) Group 7-PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + APE (20%) Group 8-PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + LCE (5%) Group 9-PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + LCE (10%) Group 10-PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + LCE (15%) Group 11-PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + LCE (20%) Group 12-PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + LCE (25%) Group 13-PSS + Ab 250 mg (1%) + LCE (30%) Homogenate preparation- After incubation, lenses were homogenized in 10 volumes of 0.1M potassium phosphate buffer, pH 7.0. The homogenate was centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 1 hour and the supernatant was used for estimation of biochemical parameters. Biochemical estimation- SOD and GSH levels were measured using Ellman’s method[6]. Protein estimation was done by Lowry’s method [7]. The degree of oxidative stress was assessed by measuring the MDA levels by using TCA-TBA-HCl reagent. [8] (Table-2,3). The mean GSH Value in normal lenses was found to be 2.9765 ±0.17  µg/mg of fresh weight of the lens (Fig-5) . A significant decrease was observed in presence of in GSH value in presence of hydrogen peroxide in control. In the presence of APE and LCE, there was a significant restoration of the levels of GSH as compared to the toxic control. A significant increase in MDA level was found in the control opposed to the normal lenses (1.57 ±0.04ÃŽ ¼mol/g of fresh weight of lens; P APE and LCE significantly protected the test group lenses from lipid peroxidation; Hydrogen peroxide treated lenses showed significantly low concentrations of proteins (total and water soluble proteins) in the lens homogenate (P SOD levels as compared to the toxic control were found to be significantly more in normal lens group (1.76 ±0.10unit/mg of protein) which was far less than that of the toxic group (0.23 ±0.01unit/mg of protein). APE and LCE were found to increase the level of SOD in presence of hydrogen peroxide as well (Fig-4). Result- Photographic evaluation confirmed the clearance of vision when the lenses were incubated in APE and LCE (Figure 6). Photographic Evaluation: Scale of opacity- Absence of opacitySlightly opaquePresence of diffuse opacityPresence of extensive thick opacityResults of biochemical parameters are reported as Mean ±SD. (Table-2,3). Comparisons were made on the basis of one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni test was performed between test samples and data was considered to be statistically significant when p Discussion-Cataract is mostly brought about by age. It is common to older people. Inflammatory reactions to the lens material may develop as a result of the exposure of intact lens cortex by rupture of the lens capsule. In cataractogenesis, the parameters commonly considered are malondialdehyde (MDA) and proteins (total proteins and water soluble proteins). Oxidative stress is the main marker of cataract and is responsible for its pathogenesis.The study demonstrated that AP and LC are effective against H2O2 induced cataractogenesis in goat eye lens, used as in-vitro model. Significant prevention of cataract was observed during the study. SOD, GSH, TPC and copper induced lipoprotein diene formation was found to increase proportionally with the concentration whereas MDA levels significantly decreased as the concentration increased and reached its saturation level at the concentration 20% and 30% respectively for AP and LC (Table 2, 3). The photographic evaluation based on the opacity scale (Table-1) showed that highest concentrations of both the plants i.e. AP (20%) LC (30%) maintained the vision for 39.5 42 hours respectively. It was also observed that the lens incubated in Hydrogen peroxide swelled imbibed more solution which can be a possible outcome of inflammation while the lenses incubated in plant groups were less swollen which further potentiates the anti-inflammatory activities of both the plants. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that monotherapy of AP and LC had potential to prevent cataract due to their strong antioxidant potential. However, AP in lower concentration was more effective in treating cataract than LC according to results of the photographic evaluation. There is no literature available for anticataract activity of AP and LC. This is the first study which reports that the monotherapy of both the plants can afford significant prevention of cataract. Further studies can be performed with different routes and doses to evaluate the anti-cataract effect of these two drugs as future scope of the work. Conclusion- The herbal extract of both the plants were found to significantly reduce the free radical generation in isolated goat lenses. The extracts can be further developed into a polyherbal formulation or characterisation and isolation of phenolics in the extract can prove to be a good herbal remedy for treatment and prevention of cataract because of potent antioxidant action of plant. Acknowledgement- Suchita Dubey is thankful to University Grant Commission for providing research grant during M.Pharm Project. References- Gupta SK, Kalaiselvan V, Srivastava S, Agrawal SS, Saxena R (2010): Evaluation of anticataract potential of Triphala in selenite-induced cataract: In vitro and in vivo studies. J Ayurveda Integr Med 1: 6 Unakar NJ, Tsui JY. (1983) Inhibition of galactose induced alteration in ocular lens with sorbinil. Exp Eye Res 36: 685-694. Guzmà ¡n à , Guerrero O R (2005) â€Å"Inhibition of aldose reductase by herbs extracts and natural substances and their role in prevention of cataracts† Rev cubana plant med 10 :3-4 Kinoshita JH, Merola LU, Dikmak E. (1962) The accumulation of dulcitol and water in rabbit lens incubated with galactose. Biochem BiophysActa; 62:176-178. Harding JJ, Rixon KC. Carbamylation of lens proteins: (1980) A possible factor in cataractogenesis in some tropical countries. Exp eye res; 31:567-571. Ellman GL. (1959) Tissue sulfhydryl groups. Arch Biochem Biophys. 82: 70-77. Lowry OH., Rosenberg NJ., Farr AL., Randall RJ (1951) Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J. Biochem. 193: 65. Bar-Or D., Rael LT., Lau EP., Rao NK., Thomas GW.,Winkler JV., Yukl RL., Kingston RG. and Curtis CG. (2001) An analog of the human albumin N-terminus (Asp-Ala-His-Lys) prevents formation of copper-induced reactive oxygen species. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 284 , 856-862

Miracles Essay

Examine key concepts of miracles and philosophical reasons to believe in them. Miracle is an event that goes against usual of nature or appearing to break the law of science. Hume defined miracles as a â€Å"violation of the laws of nature† and consequently rejected their occurrence as both improbable and impractical. Many philosophers back this view up to a certain extent, such as Wiles. However Aquinas rejects Hume’s arguments due to the lack of belief of people’s testimonies to be true. Hume (1771-1776) was initially known as an intellectual for his literary works.He was an empiricist, which means that he believed that gaining knowledge from the world from observation and experience is more reliable. Hume’s first argument is the most important point in arguing reasons for believing in miracles. If you interpret the laws of nature to be strict and rigid, then it makes sense that if anything breaks these boundaries, then they should be classed as a miracl e. Hume links the breaking of a law of nature to the ‘Deity', so a miracle has religious meaning. For example it stated in the Bible in the case of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.But this was more of an eyewitness mistake, than an act that violated fixe laws of nature for Hume. Therefore a violation of the laws of nature was an improbable occurrence and is unbelievable. Wiles agrees with Hume’s point that it is more likely the eyewitness was wrong than a miracle occurred. This would make God arbitrary as this would show clear favouritism by creating miracles while others were suffering. Wiles claims that miracles present an obstacle to religious faith: people are being asked to believe in omnibenevolent and omnipotent God who fed 5000 people but does nothing about world starvation today.A God who intervenes selectively would not be worthy of worship because of his failure to act on a wider scale. However Aquinas disagrees with Hume. Around five hundred years earlie r, Thomas Aquinas (1225-1275 CE) married the two ways of knowing: Theology (faith), philosophy (reason) and concluded that both come from God (contained Revelation). He had offered a similar definition of a miracle to that of Hume, defining it as, ‘those things†¦ which are done by Divine power apart from the order generally followed in things'.However, he actually differed from the latter Hume’s definition as he said miracles were also: ‘Those events in which something is done by God which nature could never do. ‘, ‘Events in which God does something which nature can do, but not in that order. ‘ And ‘When God does what is usually done by the working of nature, but without the operation of the principles of nature. ‘ he allowed for the possibility of miracles to occur within the ‘system' of ‘natural activity’. Aquinas also allowed for the possibility that God's activity with the natural realm, may be part of the normal order of things.Similarly, Swinburne also disagrees with Hume’s idea of what an improbable event is. Whilst for Hume this means an event which it would be foolish to suggest occurs at all, such as walking on water, Swinburne argues that miracles are more â€Å"probabilistic† such as picking out a red grain of sand, highly unlikely but not totally impossible. Therefore we are able to claim that it is possible to believe in miracles. Agreements on what constitutes a ‘law of nature’ are that people do not come back to life several days after having died, gravity, orbit of the planets, amputees do not grow limbs.However an argument based on logic and reasoning is John Hick's. He defines natural laws as ‘generalisations formulated respectively to cover whatever has, in fact happened'. In other words natural laws must be widened as and when new discoveries are made. For example the first time when humans were able to walk on the moon (1960) and tra vel in space would been defined as a miracle in the past as it goes against the law of gravity. Thus it is possible to believe in miracles.Hume's second reason for rejecting miracles is presented in his practical argument. He considered levels of education to be a significant factor as miracles were only reported to have occurred by those who were not educated enough to understand the scientific explanation of an event. He also highlighted how the early history of countries is full of miracles and visions due to the ignorant and barbarous populations, such as the very long life of Adam. However as the country becomes more developed and the populations better educated such stories disappear.Therefore for Hume Adam living to 930 was simply a story made up by the uneducated, as living so long would suggest the laws of nature to be false. In conclusion Hume believes that miracles are â€Å"violations of the laws of nature† and that they are only experienced by uneducated people w ho do not understand science. Aquinas and Swinburne rejected this view, believing the laws of nature to be â€Å"corrigible†.Overall it is possible to believe in miracles as we can't argue that they don't exist and we can also reject miracles and say they do not exist as this  would conclude that God is arbitrary and it would violate the laws of nature. To what extent do criticisms undermine belief in miracles? One issue that immediately comes to mind is how one begins to distinguish between a miracle and a coincidence? One could say that the distinction is that the former is always the work of God but then does this rule out the possibility of any coincidences being in some way ‘God's work' as well? Not necessarily. However, in order for a miracle to be validated as such we are usually looking for that which is not of the ‘ordinary’.Thus it seems that in order for one to validate and ‘observe' miracles as supra-natural phenomena they may need to be considered along the lines of the Humean definition as a ‘transgression of a law of nature'. Hume believed that the occurrence of a miraculous event was always a violation of the laws of nature. However, his argument does not preclude the possibility of a miracle occurring and this allows for an interesting development in our understanding of miracles. There can be no satisfactory ‘proof' that a miracle has occurred.No atheist would claim that God has performed a miracle and the testimony of any religious person who claims a miracle has occurred is declared insufficient grounds for belief as they have an a priori interest in proving this to be the case. On the other hand if an atheist were to claim that they had witnessed a miracle then, according to the Humean definition, this may be sufficient grounds to believe a miracle had occurred. People are assessing the same phenomena yet using the word ‘miracle' ro mean different things.The religious person uses it to me an a ‘work of God which transgresses the laws of nature' whilst the rationalist is using it to mean ‘an unusual event which can be explained by rational means'. Disagreements between religious people and rationalists are not about whether a ‘miracle' has occurred, but between their use and understanding of the word ‘miracle' itself. In conclusion criticisms undermine belief in miracles to a minimum extent as we can not fully disprove the existence of miracles and therefore it is possible to believe in them.

Underage drinking

Underage Drinking underage drinkers drink to look cool and It may be the social thing to do at the latest party or even at home; feeling curious a teen may consume alcohol to tit in with their surroundings. This can be due to the fact that the minor could be pressured into drinking. With all the popular media hype about alcohol and especially during the Super Bowl; it Just shows minors that it is okay to participate in drinking and if they do, this great boost will occur.The other cause to these other Influences could have already had happened, such as the childhood experience being abused by the runken father or alcoholic mother who does not nurture her children. Underage drinking Is detrimental to the health of themselves and others whom they affect: It Is an ongoing problem that continues, with the number of students Increasing each year Drinking underage can be linked to advertising that is very persuasive to the minors. These advertisements, some say target children, but the alc ohol companies deny.In efforts to prove the people wrong; alcohol companies have put forth their part into making an advertisement discouraging alcohol abuse. The advertisements ake the young minded minors to think drinking can put on physical attractiveness, It is fun, or gives special powers to make the person better at athletics. Some would soy the audience that Is targeted In the beer advertisements. such ds Bud Light, are Indeed minors, seeing an alcoholic beverage and having the appeal to take acuon are different. ne of the advertisements by Bug Light were shown on the super Bowl commercials ot people stranded on an island; they found a radio, but instead ot using it to find help, they found a cart of alcoholic beverages and showed them aving the best time on the island. The reality of this commercial is saying to teens, if you drink alcohol you will have the best time of your life. Especially, when those minors are being pressured into by their peers to take the shot, it make s the situation Into a more dangerous one.Having a party with friends Is one thing, but If that party host has access to their parents liquor stash It becomes d different party. â€Å"Rates are higher among 12th graders, with reporting at least one alcoholic drink during their lifetime, 43% reported at least one drink In the past 30 days, 28% reporting runkenness in the past 30 days, and reported daily use ot alcohol (Centers tor Disease Control and Prevention, 2008; Johnson et al. , 2009! ‘ (Song).These statistics are also closely related to my own experience, my own friends would come to the football game under the influence or go to the party this weekend which had alcohol. Drinking while in high school can also be lead to drinking in college, but the major dfference Is that alcohol is more demanding dt the college parties. Minor's consequences on whom drinks can also Increase their risk of unhealthy outcomes; uch as fighting one another. which can lead to Injuries, reckle ss sexual behavior and drlvlng under the Influence. hile many do not have parents who have alcohol at their house, there are many ways ot obtaining alcohol by having take ID's, by asking a stranger and giving them extra money for buying the booze for them; making college parties that much easier to obtain alcohol. â€Å"Researchers have identified a number of factors that contribute to adolescent alcohol use, including being male, having easy peers also drink alcohol† (Song). Minors receive biases messages about alcohol, it can e from the D. A. R. E program that educates the minors about the drugs and what it does to their bodies.The other messages could be from biased adults and popular media whom say one drink will not hurt, but the fact is that one drink can harm the body of the minor in psychological and physical ways. One of the counter arguments about underage drinking is lowering the drinking age to prevent binge-drinking at age 18 or 19 years old. â€Å"The problem i s that underage drinking is now forced off campus, leading to â€Å"a culture of dangerous, clandestine binge-drinking† (Alcoholism Drug Abuse Weekly). Having the law as it is, makes the drinking go farther than the campus walls.If the age at which people are legal to drink is lowered, then the developing minds that are affected by the alcohol can reduce the minor's chances of being successful. Having the age at 21 is good, not only does it prevent alcohol- related trauma, â€Å"But 10 percent of a state's federal highway funds are cut if the state doesn't mandate a drinking age of 21† (Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly). Popular media, community norms, and peer pressure, all have a fundamental root cause to hy adolescents drink at such an early age, it is because of their childhood experience.In order to be able to understand why college students are drinking at such an early age, analyzing how they were raised and their family life can be a big factor. One's childhood e xperience can drastically take for the worst if their mother, father, or parental guardian is a drunk. Every night they would come home from drinking at the bar, see their child and tell them that everything is okay; the child would start to develop the idea that coming home drunk is an okay thing to do.The reason for the child's drinking at an early age would be to cope with such a graphic image of their parent figure drinking and acting out violently towards their loved ones, â€Å"First, it created physical and emotional stress, which participants believed could be reduced through alcohol use. Second, victims of abuse began â€Å"to stop caring† about what happened to them or what people thought about their behavior. Third, many abuse victims absented themselves in order to escape the abuse, removing themselves to unsupervised or risky settings where they were offered, or it as easy to obtain, alcohol and drugs† (Rothman).The turn to alcohol is easy with a motive, s uch as lessening or not dealing with the burden put on the child through the traumatization. The risks to drinking can be the underdevelopment of the brain, although the changes are subtle, over a long period of time it can be noticeable. The liver and the growth hormones are affected by the consumption of alcohol at the early ages; they tend to produce a lot of liver enzyme, which is indicating some liver damage and throwing off the hormones of the adolescent's puberty stage.With the umber of the population increasing, so does the student body, thus resulting in the pressures of drinking at an early age because of the ongoing problem with underage drinking. The cycle of underage drinking would occur, if the parents are young and are not ready to deal with a child; so when the child is growing the parents might be drinking because of the stress of dealing with the financial troubles if present. The problem on campus is not because the college students are doing it because they can, it is a variety of issues that causes them to take the drink at the college party.This problem is need of the utmost attention because it affects the student life on pressures of drinking or taking the load off. Its impact on the community is detrimental to their personal health, but also the safety of others due to the fact that driving under the influence can be fatal to not only themselves, but whom they cause harm to. Work Cited Rothman, Emily F. , Judith Bernstein, and Lee Strunin. â€Å"Why Might Adverse Childhood Experiences Lead To Underage Drinking Among US Youth? Findings From An Emergency Department-Based Qualitative Pilot Study.

Notes On The Great Gatsby By Leon Garfield - 1560 Words

TITLE Smith explores how both [intuition/morals] and intelligence are required to break the bonds of poverty. The Industrial Revolution was a time of great advancement, but also great grime, greed, dust, and dirt. The great dark mazes called neighborhoods were awash with the poor; there were homeless, orphans, criminals, or combinations of the three and more. Everyone was playing their own game of life, surviving by their own crooked means. Trust was dangerous, even between close family and friends. Every man, woman, and child within the shroud of poverty was competing for their own gains. It is in this sanctimonious, stinking, soot-covered world that young Smith, the protagonist of Smith by Leon Garfield, finds himself in. Smith has taken it upon himself to escape the prison that poverty is through the discovery of a [adjective portraying power, special, dangerous, sought after] document. Smith, along with others, fight for ownership of the document, to unlock its secrets and use to their benefit. Smith must use his skills of intelligence and intuition if he is to succeed, or even survive the escape of poverty. The river of Poverty is a great one; it is easy to slip and go down yet almost impossible to crawl back up. It is even worse for those who start at the very bottom. Everything above those at the bottom wants to want to push and pull them back, as if to prevent them from reaching any level of human decency. Even today poverty claims many. During the Industrial