Pharmacological properties of Datura stramonium L. as a potential medicinal tree:An overview

India has a great wealth of various naturally occurring plant drugs which have great potential pharmacological activities.Datura stramonium(D.stramonium is one of the widely well known folklore medicinal herbs.The troublesome weed,D.stramonium is a plant with both poisonous and medicinal preperties and has been proven to have great pharmacological potential with a great utility real usage in folklore medicine.D.stromonium has been scientifically proven to contain alkaloids,tannins,carbohydrates and proteins.This plant has contributed various pharmacological actions in the scientific field of Indian systems of medicines like analgesic and antiasthmatic activities.The present paper presents an exclusive review work on the ethnomedical,phytochemical,pharmacological activities of this plant.

Inhibition of Toxic Effects of Viper and Cobra Venom by Indian Medicinal Plants

The mortality rate from snakebites in West Bengal is very high and most of the deaths are caused by the Daboia russelli and Naja naja envenomation. Twenty-three plants from the seventeen families were collected from the traditional healers and explored for the first time for antisnake venom activity. In our previous report, the methanolic root extract of the Indian medicinal plants Pluchea indica, Hemidesmus indicus, Vitex negundo and Emblica officinalis significantly neutralized the Viper and Cobra venom-induced pathophysiological changes [1][2]. In the present study, we explored four plant extracts (Curcuma aromatica, Aristolochia indica, Androgrphis paniculata and Curcuma zeodaria) for the antisnake venom activity. The plant extracts significantly antagonized Daboia russelli, Echis carinatus, Ophiophagus hannah and Naja kaouthia venom-induced lethal activity both in in vitro and in vivo studies. Daboia russellii venom-induced haemorrhage, coagulant, defibrinogenating and PLA2 activity were significantly neutralized by the extracts. No precipitating bands were observed between the plant extract and venom. This observation confirmed the role of active constituents of plants and plant materials involved in snake venom inhibition. Further studies are going on in our laboratory for the identification of active molecules as well as their mechanism of venom inhibition.

Efficient Performance Analysis of Spectrum Sensing for Cascaded Multihop Network over Nagakami-m Fading Channels

Performance evaluation of spectrum sensing in infrastructure based multihop network is very hard to achieve because of the adverse effects of channel fading. In this paper, performance of a multihop link is studied over Nakagami-m distribution. It provides the exact theoretical methodology for the performance analysis of spectrum sensing by evaluating detection probability. Using a cascaded multihop model, the end-to-end Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is given over Nakagami-m distribution. In the analysis, multihop model based on relays are considered over independent and not identically distributed (i.n.i.d) wireless channels. Simulation results show the effect of increase in number of hops on probability of detection for multihop links. Subsequent to the thorough fading severity analysis, it has been accomplished that spectrum hole detection is more crucial at lower SNR values with large number of hops.

Revisiting the role of mesenchymal stem cells in tuberculosis and other infectious diseases

Mesenchymal stem cells(MsCs)play diverse roles ranging from regeneration and wound healing to immune signaling.Recent investigations have indicated the crucial role of these multipotent stem cells in regulating various aspects of the immune system.MsCs express unique signaling molecules and secrete various soluble factors that play critical roles in modulating and shaping immune responses,and in some other cases,MSCs can also exert direct antimicrobial effects,thereby helping with the eradication of invading organisms.Recently,it has been demonstrated that MSCs are recruited at the periphery of the granuloma containing Mycobacterium tuberculosis and exert"Janus"-like functions by harboring pathogens and mediating host protective immune responses.This leads to the establishment of a dynamic balance between the host and the pathogen.MsCs function through various immunomodulatory factors such as nitric oxide(NO),IDO,and immunosuppressive cytokines.Recently,our group has shown that M.tb uses MSCs as a niche to evade host protective immune surveillance mechanisms and establish dormancy.MSCs also express a large number of ABC efflux pumps;therefore,dormant M.tb residing in MSCs are exposed to a suboptimal dose of drugs.Therefore,it is highly likely that drug resistance is coupled with dormancy and originates within MSCs.In this review,we discussed various immunomodulatory properties of MsCs,their interactions with important immune cells,and soluble factors.We also discussed the possible roles of MsCs in the outcome of multiple infections and in shaping the immune system,which may provide insight into therapeutic approaches using these cells in different infection models.

An unusual bioactive oleanane triterpenoid from Rhododendron campanulatum D.Don

An unusual oleanane triterpene（1） was isolated from aerial parts of Rhododendron campanulatum.The compound had shown prominent antibacterial and immunomodulatory activities.The structure of the compound was determined by spectroscopic data including 1D and 2D NMR spectral analysis.