Plants have been used since ancient times to repel/kill blood-sucking insects in the human history and even now, in many parts of the world people are practicing plants substances to repel/kill the mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects. The phytochemicals derived from plant sources can act as larvicides, insect growth regulators, repellents and ovipositional attractants. Mosquitoes in the larval stage are attractive targets for pesticides because mosquitoes breed in water, and thus, it is easy to deal with them in this habitat. The use of conventional pesticides in the water sources, however, introduces many risks to people and/or the environment. Natural pesticides, especially those derived from plants, are more promising in this aspect. The present study assessed the role of larvicidal activities of various solvent extracts (viz. hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol) of fifty different important medicinal plants. Different plant parts such as leaf, rhizome, bulb, stem and root bark, whole plant and essential oil showed significant larvicidal properties against different mosquito vectors viz., An. stephensi, Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus, P. duboscqi, An. aambiae, A. fluviatilis etc.  This review may open the possibility for further investigations of the efficacy of larvicidal properties of natural product extracts.
Abstract Online: 29-Jan-2015

The air pollution tolerance index was studied for Ficus religiosa, Millettia pinnatta, Psidium guajava, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Tamarindus indica, Azadirachta indica, Santalum album, Casuarina equisetifolia, Annona squamosa, Cicca acida, Wrightia tinctoria, Atrocarpous heterophyllus, Polyalthia longifolia, Ficus benghalensis that were present in the selected spot. The soil samples  from the study area was also assessed for its nutrients. The 15 plants selected for the study showed APTI values below 16 and thud classed under sensitive plants. The sensitivity might be due to seasonal variations and climatic conditions. The soil nutrients supplying essential factors for growth showed normal potassium and nitrogen content. Total mineral content noticed was 281.78kg/acre.
Abstract Online: 31-Jan-2015

The uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) is one of the causative agents of urinary tract infections (UTI). Like any other bacterial diseases, the UTI by UPEC is treated by antibiotics since many years. However the increase in antibiotic resistance among UPEC has created a great concern in the treatment of UTI. Hence we are in need of new and effective anti-microbial strategies. One such strategy is inhibition of virulence factor of bacteria and thereby reduction of its virulence. The important prerequisite of the UPEC’s pathogenecity is its adhesion and colonisation. FimH in the type 1 pili is responsible for the adherence of bacteria with the host cell. Currently the FimH antoganists are tried as new therapeutics for the treatment and prevention of urinary tract infections. The three dimensional crystal structure of FimH was obtained from RCSB database. Its PDB code is 4AUU. The polyphenol diosmetin present in the tea is selected for the present study. The derivatives of the diosmetin were prepared in ACD chemsketch software. Rapid virtual screenings of these compounds were performed in the docking tool iGEMDOCK v2.0. The selected ligands were then analyzed for drug- relevant properties based on “Lipinski’s rule of five” and other drug like properties using ACD/iLab web portal. The protein – ligand docking was performed by Hex version 8.0.0. Four disometin derivatives that have shown excellent drug properties against UPEC. These drug candidates have been validated through all insilico methods and have been proved to have excellent inhibitory effect against FimH of UPEC with good drug like properties.
Abstract Online: 26-Feb-2015

Plants such as Azadirachta indica, Millettia pinnata, Wrightia tinctoria, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Delonix elata, Albizia amara, Mangifera indica, Citrus aurantiaca, Psidium guajava, Holoptelea integrifolia, Delonix regia, Bambusa tulda, Morinda pubescens, Manilkara zapota, Tetelia were selected for the experimental study of secondary  metabolites, various antioxidant assays. The study shows that  all plants contain phenolics and flavonoid in significant amount. The hydrogen peroxide activity was found to be high compared to other activities tested. All the other parameters were found to be  moderate  with most of the plants studied. The experiments performed shows that high phenolics, flavonoid content might be a significant factor, which suits its application in various pharmacological drugs
Abstract Online: 28-Feb-2015

In 2004 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as part of the Process Analytical Technology Guidance, introduced the idea of Quality by Design (QbD). The core objective was to design quality into the process and product rather than try to check quality of the product at the end of production. It has been known since long time that “quality by testing” is a low-yield and costly strategy. ICH, in 2005, outlined the concept of design space in its Q8 guideline related to development of pharmaceuticals. Since that time, pharmaceutical companies, despite depending on innovation for their livelihood, have been adopting QbD for new drug applications (NDA) and as well as for Abbreviated New Drug applications (ANDA). In nutshell it has been observed that, now QbD is becoming mainstay of development of pharmaceutical products.
Abstract Online: 28-Feb-2015