Comparative assessment of total polyphenols, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of different tea varieties of Bangladesh

Objective: To determine the total polyphenol content, antioxidant activity and antibacterial properties of the extracts of different Bangladeshi tea varieties such as flowery broken orange pekoe, broken orange pekoe, red dust and green tea.Methods: Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by Folin–Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride colorimetric assay, respectively.The antioxidant capacity was determined by ferric ion reducing antioxidant power and phosphomolybdenum method.Antibacterial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion method in agar plate and subsequently, the minimum inhibitory concentration was determined by broth dilution method.Results: Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were significantly higher(P < 0.05) in green tea compared to other three black tea varieties.The green tea also showed a higher free radical scavenging and antioxidant activities than all the other tea varieties tested(P < 0.05).In addition, the extracts of all four tea varieties showed inhibitory activity against several pathogenic bacteria and also the same trend of higher antimicrobial activity of green tea than other tea varieties was observed.Conclusions: Taken together, the results of this study demonstrated that Bangladeshi tea,especially the green tea, may act as a substitute for natural antioxidants and as a promising antibacterial agent for beneficial influence in human health.

Impairment of extra-high frequency auditory thresholds in subjects with elevated levels of fasting blood glucose

This study was performed to assess whether there is an association between elevated Fasting Blood Glucose(FBG) and hearing impairment in Bangladeshi population. A total of 142 subjects(72 with elevated FBG; 70 control) were included in the study. The mean auditory thresholds of the control subjects at 1,4,8 and 12 kHz frequencies were 6.35 ± 0.35,10.07 ± 0.91,27.57 ± 1.82, 51.28 ± 3.01 dB SPL(decibel sound pressure level), respectively and that of the subjects with elevated FBG were 8.33 ± 0.66,14.37 ± 1.14, 38.96 土 2.23, and 71.11 ± 2.96 dB.respectively. The auditory thresholds of the subjects with elevated FBG were significantly(p < 0.05) higher than the control subjects at all the above frequencies, although hearing impairment was most evidently observed at an extra-high(12 kHz) frequency. Subjects with a long duration of diabetes(>10 years) showed significantly(p < 0.05) higher level of auditory thresholds at 8 and 12 kHz, but not at 1 and 4 kHz frequencies,compared to subjects with shorter duration of diabetes(≤10 years). In addition, based on the data of odds ratio, more acute impairment of hearing at the extra-high frequency was observed in diabetic subjects of both older(>40 years) and younger(<40 years) age groups compared to the respective controls. The binary logistic regression analysis showed a 5.79-fold increase in the odds of extra-high frequency hearing impairment in diabetic subjects after adjustment for age, gender and BMI. This study provides conclusive evidence that auditory threshold at an extra-high frequency could be a sensitive marker for hearing impairment in diabetic subjects.