Background & Objectives: Monotherapy and combination therapy studies were to determine antileishmanial activities of the methanolic and water leaf extracts from Aloe secundiflora and Plumbago capensis.

Methods: The plants were analyzed by determining the Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC), Nitric Oxide (NO) production stimulation, Infection Rates (IR) and Multiplication Index (MI). Cytotoxicity of these plant extracts was also assessed.

Results: The MIC levels of water and methanolic plant extracts, amphotericin B and Pentostam were 2000μg/ml, 1000μg/ml, 125μg/ml and 250μg/ml respectively against Leishmania major promastigotes. Study revealed that water and methanolic plant extracts significantly inhibited the growth of Leishmania parasites (P≤0.05) as compared to amphotericin B with respect to the parasite infection rates and MIC levels. The IC50 for the water and methanolic plant extracts was 279.488μg/ml and 42.824μg/ml respectively. A similar extraction procedure was done for P.capensis. When administered orally, a combination of P.capensis and A.secundiflora proved to be more effective than that of the methanolic extract with LDU units of 4,800 and 15,300 respectively. Water extracts of P.capensis when used alone gave LDU of 5,200 units, methanolic extract gave 11,000 units. Aloe secundiflora water and methanolic extracts gave the same LDU of 10,700. Methanolic extract combinations of the two plants were the least effective, yielding the highest LDU of 21,000 units.

Interpretation & Conclusion: The results suggest that a combination oral therapy of extracts of the two plants and monotherapy using P.capensis can be effective methods of partially treating leishmaniasis.

Melanoma occurs when the pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) that give colour to the skin become cancerous. Malignant melanoma has become one major problem for its higher rate of occurrence among patients than any other type of cancer throughout the world. Hence, it has become very crucial to treat melanoma skin cancers by early detection and prevention. It is remarkable how an advanced therapy like gene therapy is leading towards a better solution for melanoma skin cancer. Not only can gene therapy cure an individual, it also prevents same set of diseases throughout a blood line. With supported evidences from research and clinical trials, gene therapy also provides clue for a new generation treatment for different diseases including cancer.

Twelve quarters of six lactating cows were inoculated with Mycoplasma leachii strain GN407 through intramammary ductal infusion, and another twelve quarters were inoculated with Mycoplasma culture medium as controls. One lactating cow was used as negative control, in which two quarters were inoculated with Mycoplasma culture medium, and another two quarters were not inoculated with any medium. Clinical observations, histopathology and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) detection were performed on Post Inoculation Days (PIDs) 3, 6 and 9 to elucidate the pathogenicity of M. leachii in bovine mastitis. From PIDs 3 to 9, twelve inoculated quarters developed mild to severe clinical mastitis and mammary tissue histopathological changes, including inflammatory cell infiltration and architectural destruction of mammary gland ducts; on PID 9, the control quarters also developed mild mastitis and histopathological changes. Throughout the experimental period, the quarters of the negative control cow were clinically and pathologically normal. The M. leachii antigen was detected by IHC in the mammary tissues of the inoculated quarters as a weak signal on PID 6 and as a strong signal on PID 9; on PID 9, the M. leachii IHC signal was also detected in mammary gland epithelial cells of the control quarters of the inoculated cattle. The M. leachii antigen was not detected in the mammary tissues from the quarters of the negative control cow on PID 9. In conclusion, direct histological and immunohistochemical evidence confirmed that M. leachii causes clinical bovine mastitis through histopathological lesions induced by the invasion of the pathogen into mammary gland cells and inflammatory cell infiltration

G. lucidum is a typical representative of wood-rotting polypores of the Ganodermataceae family (Basidiomycetes). In Russia, G. lucidum is predominantly found in southern regions: in Stavropol and Krasnodar krais, Northern Caucasus, as well as in Altai taiga in logging areas. In this study we investigated the phylogeny of G. lucidum specimens from Altai based on the ITS1 ribosomal spacer, and compared them to reishi from other regions of the world. We also studied the phytochemical content of reishi fruit bodies. Results of the screening suggest that ethanol fractions contain mostly flavonoids, phenols, and coumarins; water fractions are dominated by tannins, carbohydrates, and coumarins; and hexane and ethyl acetate extracts, by terpenoids. The main fatty acids were palmitic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids. We found that fruit bodies of Altai G. lucidum contained 32.4 mg of phenols per 1 g of extract (in pyrocatechol equivalent), while flavonoids made up 11.1 mg per g (in quercetin equivalent). Polysaccharide content was 10.72% of the absolutely dry substance.

Objective: The aim of the study wasto isolate bacterial consortium from the effluent contaminated site that is used in the mineralizing both natural rubber and synthetic rubber, to optimise the growth conditions for efficient mineralisation and to biochemically characterise and to use 16s RNA sequencing for identifying the bacterial strains.

Materials and Methods: Natural rubber mineralizing bacterial consortium was isolated from effluent contaminated soil. The mineralisation study was performed for five days at every 24 h interval. Optimization studies were performed with different parameters such as varying concentrations of latex, pH, carbon sources, nitrogen sources, mixed carbon and nitrogen source and different temperature. The bacterial consortium mineralizing nr latex was used to mineralize Synthetic Rubber Gloves (SRG) using the same medium for 40 days at every 5 days interval. Effect of pre-treatment was studied by pre-treating the SRG with acetone and exposing it to sunlight. Mineralisation of the Rubber was confirmed by spectrophotometric and Fourier Transform Infra-Red
(FTIR) studies.

Results: Isolated organism was identified as Enterobater cloacae, Microbacterium laevaniformans and Methylobacterium rhodesianum. Maximum mineralisation of (1.66x10-4) was shown on the 4th day of incubation. Conformation of NR degradation was done by FTIR analysis that shows the presence of aldehyde and ketone produced due to bacterial degradation. The parameters giving optimum results were concentration of latex -1%, pH- 8.5, carbon source- Xylose, nitrogen source - Ammonium Nitrate, temperature- 37°C. Maximum mineralisation of synthetic rubber was shown on the 20th day (1.3x10-4). Among the pre-treated and the untreated samples most prominent distortions were visible on the surface of the sunlight sample when visualized under
scanning electron microscopy.

Conclusion: From the present investigation, it can be concluded that the isolated bacterial consortium containing the strains Enterobater cloacae, Microbacterium laevaniformans and Methylobacterium rhodesianum were able to mineralize natural rubber as well as synthetic rubber. This could be applied in the removal of waste rubber products present in the environment.

Dermatophytes are a group of fungi that can invade keratinized tissues of humans and other animals and produce an infection called Dermatophytosis. As chitosan possesses antimicrobial activity, it can potentially be used to treat dermatophytic infections. The main objective of this work was therefore, to evaluate the antifungal activity of chitosan upon some dermatophytes, namely Microsporum canis and Trychophyton rubrum. In view of this, Minimum Inhibitory (MICs) and Minimum Fungicidal Concentrations (MFCs) of chitosans upon the fungi were determined. Moreover, in order to understand the effect of chitosan on fungal activity, hair was infected with these fungi in the presence and absence of chitosan and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images were obtained and analyzed. Lastly, keratin-azure was used as substrate to evaluate the effect of chitosan on keratin degradation by M. canis and T. rubrum. The results showed that chitosan possesses antifungal activity against T. rubrum and M. canis, presenting MICs and MFCs ranging from 1.1 to 2.2 mg/mL. The antifungal activity of chitosan is concentration dependent. The analysis of SEM images of hair infected with these dermatophytes revealed that chitosan seems to have a protective effect on the hair, reducing the extent of damage when compared to the control. Chitosan also displayed important activity in preventing proteases’ action and in preventing hair damage. Based on the obtained results, it’s possible to conclude that chitosan showed relevant antifungal activity against dermatophytes, which opens good prospects to the use of chitosan as an alternative for the conventional fungal treatments.