Toxicity studies for indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis isolates from Malang city,East Java on Aedes aegypti larvae

Objective:To investigate the toxicity of indigenous Bacillus thuringiensis（B.thuringiensis）isolates from Malang City for controlling Aedes aegypti（Ae.aegypti）larvae.Methods:Soil samples were taken from Purwantoro and Sawojajar sub-districts.Bacterial isolation was performed using B.thuringiensis selective media.Phenotypic characteristics of the isolates were obtained with the simple matching method.The growth and prevalence of spores were determined by the Total Plate Count method,and toxicity tests were also performed on the third instar larval stage of Ae.aegypti.The percentage of larval mortality was analysed using probit regression.The LC50was analysed by ANOVA,and the Tukey HSD interval was 95%.Results:Among the 33 selected bacterial isolates,six were obtained（PWR4-31,PWR4-32,SWJ4-2b,SWJ4-4b,SWJ-4k and SWJ5-1）that had a similar phenotype to reference B.thuringiensis.Based on the dendrogram,all of the bacterial isolates were 71%similar.Three isolates that had a higher prevalence of reference B.thuringiensis were PWR4-32,SWJ4-4b and SW5-1,of which the spore prevalence was 52.44%,23.59%,34.46%,respectively.These three indigenous isolates from Malang City successfully killed Ae.aegypti larvae.The PWR4-32 isolates were the most effective at killing the larvae.Conclusions:Six indigenous B.thuringiensis isolates among the 33 bacterial isolates found in the Sawojajar and Purwantoro sub-districts were toxic to the third instar larvae of Ae.aegypti.The PWR4-32 isolates were identical to tbe reference B.thuringiensis and had 88%phenotype similarity.The PWR4-32 isolates had the highest spore prevalence（52.44%）,and the early stationary phase occurred at 36 h.The PWR4-32 isolates were the most effective at killing Ae.aegypti larvae(LC50-72 h=2.3×108 cells/mL).

Toxicological study of the hepatotherapeutic herbal formula,Chunggan extract,in beagle dogs

AIM: To evaluate the pharmaceutical safety of a Chinese herbal formula, Chunggan extract (CGX), traditionally prescribed as a hepatotherapeutic drug via systemic acute and subacute toxicological study. METHODS: Twenty male dogs and 20 female dogs were fed doses 50 times and 4 times greater than the clinically-recommended drug dosages in an acute and a subacute toxicological study, respectively. Adverse effects were examined by comparing the differences between normal and drug-administered groups using clinical signs, necropsies, histopathologic findings, haematology, urinalysis, and biochemical analysis. RESULTS: In the acute study no change in the body weight, diarrhoea, apetite, mortality rate and histopa- thology of major organs was observed in male or female dogs with a single administration of CGX at 5 g/kg. No drug-induced abnormalities at analysis of histopathology, haematology, urinalysis, and biochemistry were found with any dose of this drug. CONCLUSION: CGX is supposed to be very safe when used in a clinical application with a wide therapeutic index.

Quality Assurance in Toxicology Studies in Developing Countries

As developing countries become more involved in the international chemical trade, they must adhere to certain requirements for importation of their chemicals into foreign countries. These developing countries will be required to provide basic safety information on their chemical products, including data developed from chemical and toxicologic testing. These data must be developed in accordance with the national requirements of the importing country. Many importing countries have adopted the OECD Test Guidelines and the OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) as primary guidance to assure the quality of laboratory data. These procedures provide a basis for internationally acceptable data. Several countries have incorporated many of these provisions into their national laws or administrative procedures. These procedures describe the process of documenting the conduct of laboratory studies, including recording of data, reporting of study results, and storage of data gathered. This process is intended to assure the quality and integrity of the data so that, if required, the study can be reconstructed by an auditor or an inspector. Details of these procedures and their applicability to the international chemical trade are discussed. 1989 Academic Press, Inc.

Ethnopharmacological,phytochemical and clinical studies on Fenugreek(Trigonella foenum-graecum L.)

Trigonella foenum-graecum(fenugreek)belonging to the family Fabaceae,is widely used for both culinary as well as clinical purposes since antiquity.Folkloric medicines across globe particularly use this plant for boosting immunity and combating digestive and reproductive impairments.The plant is rich reservoir of different phytoconstituents attributed to their diverse pharmacological effects.Therefore,the present article is planned on its ethnomedicinal uses,botanical description,phytochemistry,pharmacology,toxicology,clinical efficacy,mechanism of action and nanoparticle synthesis.In all pharmacological studies,the dose,major bioactive,type of extract and possible outcomes is also discussed,to establish its specific role against a particular ailment.It was hypothesized that the nanoparticle synthesis will lead to the enhanced pharmacology.Results showed that ethnomedicinal data well supports the different pharmacological aspects of Trigonella formulations in different countries.Trigonelline(phytoestrogen)renders most of therapeutic potential of Trigonella.The reported therapeutics can also be accounted as the synergistic pharmacology of different bioactives.Nanoparticle synthesis significantly improves its pharmacological efficacy.Clinical studies well validated its antidiabetic and reproductive health improving efficacies.Though no serious toxic effects were observed with the use of this plant but further well-designed placebo trials are still needed to demonstrate its full therapeutic potential.