Florida Tilton’s research while affiliated with Biozone Research Technologies and other places

Women with Polycystic ovarian condition (PCOS) are reported to have obesity, which essentially influences the disorder's associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. PCOS is a problem of endocrine abnormality in women between the ages of 14-44. In this paper we review on recent methods in genotyping of fat mass obesity (FTO) associated gene single nucleotide polymorphism and its relationship with PCOS. Literature survey indicated that in diagnosis of PCOS, blood tests were normally used in gene polymorphism investigations and DNA tests were used for genotyping examination. The quick detection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification is one of the commonest tests for identifying single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for FTO traits which is being routinely used to understand the frequency of SNP polymorphism in a given set of population in various countries and in ethnic groups. Worldwide, extensive investigations were carried out to analyze the genotypes of FTO traits and its association in understanding the etiology of PCOS. Such literature surveys are beneficial in developing simple PCOS diagnostic methods and finding new approaches in therapeutic interventions. In this review paper, we highlight the genetic basis and importance of testing the FTO parameter in understanding the pathogenesis and the management of PCOS.

The antimicrobial activity of Mimosa pudica , Centella asiatica , Dodonaea viscosa has been recognized for many years. In the present study these three plant extracts were investigated for inhibitory activity against antibiotic resistant organisms which include Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli which were found by an antibiogram assay . The active phyto-components of these three plants were found using phytochemical analysis. An experiment was carried out to study the antimicrobial activity of petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and ethanol extract of these three plant extracts by well diffusion method. The zone of inhibition produced by petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and ethanol extracts in doses of 200,400,600,800 and 1000 µg/ml against the above selected strains was measured and compared with the standard antibiotic Tetracycline (10mg/ml) and the results have been illustrated

The aim of the investigation is to achieve molecular characterization of the medicinal plant Citrullus colocynthis through short orthologous DNA marker. The molecular characterization of Citrullus colocynthis is performed by following standard protocols for DNA barcoding specific to Angiogerms based on trnH-psbA intergenic spacer region. The method initially begins with plant sample collection followed by Doyle and Doyle method of DNA isolation, PCR amplification and DNA sequencing. The short sequence obtained was also analyzed insilico using Blastn and Portable software for Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA version 6). The DNA sequence of Citrullus colocynthis trnH-psbA intergenic spacer region was 181 base pair long. The Blastn sequence analysis found an array of 13 homologous eudicot species. The evolutionary divergence analysis based on maximumlikelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree and pairwise distance Matrix revealed closely related species and Ancestral data.

Over the last few years, the interest in Aeromonas infection in India has gone beyond the boundaries due to the increase of diseases which is responsible for watery diarrhea. Most reports have described gastroenteritis, septicemia, meningitis, pneumonia, or surgical wound infections, primarily in immune-compromised patients1. Infections caused by resistant microorganisms often fail to respond to the standard treatment, resulting in prolonged illness costing a financial burden to families and greater risk of death. This bacterium produces a large number of extracellular virulence factors that are closely associated with specific diseases. It is known that Aeromonas spp possess different chromosomal β-lactamase genes and most of the antibiotics have been rendered futile against this environmental pathogen thus forcing mankind to device methods for control and treatment against them by locating new drug targets. In this study, a total of 30 stool samples were collected from patients in an around hospitals in south Chennai with diarrhoea. A large number of A. hydrophila colonies were isolated and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern was analyzed. Amp C beta-lactamase is Ambler class C enzymes that confer resistance to extended spectrum cephalosporins and their detection is crucial, since the phenotypic tests are not standardized leading to ambiguity in interpretation of results. PCR technique detects antibiotic resistance to more than one antibiotic resistant genes thus facilitating to identify the pervasiveness of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing genes such as CTX-M, TEM and SHV in this study.

Medicinal plants have been considered as a host of fungal endophytes with novel metabolites of pharmaceutical importance. Most endophytic fungi that live in higher plants are capable of producing secondary metabolites which are medicinally significant components whose activity against pathogens have been studied previously. Hence an effort was taken to isolate endophytic fungi from leaves of Barringtonia acutangula commonly called the Indian oak or Samudraphal, an evergreen tree with medicinal properties. Two endophytic fungi were successfully isolated and grown in culture plates followed by extraction of secondary metabolites. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the secondary metabolites were checked. Molecular characterization was performed by PCR and sequencing of the ITS region, followed by BLAST and Phylogenetic analysis. The antimicrobial tests showed significant activities against bacteria like Bacillus subtillis, Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and fungi such as Microsporumgypseum and Trichophytonrubrum. The endophytic fungi were identified as Colletotrichumgloeosporioides (Accession no: JQ844304) and Phomopsis species (Accession no: KC168054). This research was aimed to identify bioactive Endophytic fungi that can serve as alternate sources of alkaloids that are usually produced by their hosts. Identification of such fungi would play a vital role in Pharmacology and Toxicology studies.

Objectives: The aim of this research was to evaluate the phytochemical, antioxidant and cytotoxic property of the fruit extract from Cucurbita digitata. Methods: The phytochemical screening in fruit extracts from C.digitata was performed for carbohydrates, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, terpenoids, triterpenoids, phenols, phytosteroids, phlobatannins, alkaloids, anthraquinones, coumarins, flavonoids, saponins, tannins and phenolic acids. The color intensity or the precipitate formation was used as analytical responses to these tests. The total antioxidant capacity was evaluated by an array of experiments such as FRAP (Ferric reducing antioxidant power assay), DPPH(1,1-diphenil-2-picrylhydrazyl), NO (Nitric oxide) and SO (Superoxide) assays. The annihilation activity of free radicals was calculated in % inhibition and absorbance. The cytotoxicity and cell viability was calculated by using MTT (Microculture Tetrazolium Assay) colorimetric assay. Results: The phytochemical screening showed positive results for flavonoids, quinones, carbohydrates, phytosteroids, glycosides and coumarins. Total contents of 7.44mg/g, 6.78mg/g, 0.89mg/g, 345.5mg/g, 167.5mg/g and 5.56mg/g were respectively obtained for flavanoids, quinones, coumarins, carbohydrates, glycosides and phytosteroids in 100 g of the dry sample. The antioxidant capacity measured was effective in Methanol extract and showed inhibition greater than 58% at150 μg in DPPH (1,1-diphenil-2-picrylhydrazyl), NO (Nitric oxide) and SO (Superoxide) assay and absorbance value 1.8 at 150 μg in FRAP (Ferric reducing antioxidant power assay). For the MTT (Microculture Tetrazolium Assay) cytotoxicity studies, the cell viability was about 55% at 750 μg. Conclusion: Cucurbita digitata fruit extract demonstrated the presence of secondary metabolites with potential antioxidant and cytotoxic activities.

Halophiles are known to be potent sources of commercially exploitable substances. Recent interest in the halophile research has its focus on the medicinal properties of these microorganisms. In the current study, an attempt was made to isolate carotenoids from two strains of halophilic bacteria-Halobacterium salinarium and Haloferox volcanii. Media optimization was carried out and H. salinarium was found to produce the maximum yield of carotenoids among the strains. The isolated carotenoids were tested for their free radical scavenging activity by DPPH assay and the results validated the known antioxidant activity of carotenoids. A further analysis of the cytotoxic properties of the carotenoids against human liver cancer cell lines hinted at their anticancer properties. This work is a contribution to the recent research on alternative natural sources of medicine.

Diabetes mellitus is a prevalent disease affecting the citizens of both developed and developing countries. Despite considerable progress in the treatment of diabetes by oral hypoglycemic agents, search for newer drugs continues because the existing synthetic drugs have several limitations. The herbal drugs with antidiabetic activity are yet to be commercially formulated as modern medicines, even though they have been acclaimed for their therapeutic properties in the traditional systems of medicine. The present work deals with the analysis of binding mechanism of 11 selected natural compounds from different Andrographis species against the novel targets for type T2D namely C/EBP-α and PPAR-γ compared with Rosiglitazone (standard compound) using GOLD software. The results revealed that most of the selected herbal lead compounds were effective targets against the receptors. These compounds showed favorable interactions with the amino acid residues thereby substantiating their proven efficacy as anti-diabetic compounds. The resulting data of receptor-ligand interactions demonstrates that in silico screening method is highly efficient for identifying potential lead compounds against major disorders/diseases.

Among the MDR efflux pump mechanisms in Aeromonas hydrophila, the Ahe ABC efflux pump lays a major role in the multiresistance mechanism. The AheB protein structure is predicted using MODELLER 9.9 and the final model is refined by energy minimization. The quality of the refined model is assessed using PROCHECK. The interaction between the efflux pump inhibitors 1-(1-naphthylmethyl)-piperazine (NMP) and phenyl-arginine-β-naphthylamide (PAβN) is analysed in silico by GOLD Software. The results of this study will provide an insight into the understanding of the mechanism of Ahe ABC efflux pump and the identification of the novel method to block the mechanism.