In April 2009, World Health Organization’s director-general declared a “public health emergency of international concern” following the cases from the US and other parts of the world. It was also suggested that in the event of a pandemic, there will be limited management options available, because of the unavailable information on strain variation and its antigenic pattern. The information on the behavior of sporadic and epidemic influenza, as distinct from pandemic type, is still scanty. To deal with public health problems pertaining to influenza, the paper, “An Update on Influenza A (H1N1) Virus”, by Pratap Chandran R, Sujeesh B V, Aswathi Chandran, Anoobraj A B, Lekshmi R Nair and Sreelekha S, describes the subtypes, genetic makeup, detection kits and its treatment availability.

Over the last decade, DNA chips have been a powerful research tool holding much promise for future use in clinical settings. Tiny silicon or glass surfaces covered with thousands of DNA fragments are used by the researchers to discover genes in DNA samples. The (photo) chemical reaction mechanism of the immobilization process and the subsequent effect of this reaction on the functionality of the capture probe, i.e., hybridization with a target molecule, are poorly understood. In order to improve hybridization signals and a better understanding of their mechanisms, the author, Ajay Kumar in his article, “Synthesis of Oligonucleotides on Nylon Supports and Hybridization with Human Genomic DNA”, has attempted to synthesize nylon membrane strips bound oligonucleotides which seem to be used as quantitative diagnostic probe.

Traditionally, drugs were discovered by testing compounds synthesized in time-consuming multistep processes against a battery of in-vivo biological screens. Today, testing of drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics and toxicity are done much earlier by predicting its insilco 3D structure which paves way for instant Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME) data. The paper, “Insilico 3D Structure Prediction of Argininosuccinate Lyase from Salmonella choleraesuis”, by C Lavanya, describes the simulated 3D structure of argininosuccinate lyase by MODELLER which helps to predict the active site and the binding site, and lead to better understanding of its toxicity in in-vivo models.

Nature has continuously provided mankind with a broad and structurally diverse array of pharmacologically active compounds that have proved to be indispensable for the cure of deadly diseases or as lead structures for novel pharmaceuticals. Traditionally used medicinal plants produce a variety of compounds of known therapeutic properties. Chemical synthesis is often not an economically feasible alternative to harvest from wild stocks, as the most interesting compounds are structurally highly complex featuring numerous chiral center. Spices and herbs in food as medicine is a current hot trend that is capturing everyone’s imagination with images of a new magic bullet or fountain of youth. The substances that can either inhibit the growth of pathogens or kill them and have no or least toxicity to host cells are considered candidates for developing new antimicrobial drugs. In recent years, antimicrobial properties of medicinal plants are being increasingly reported from different parts of the world. Several therapeutically and industrially useful preparations and compounds have also been marketed, which generate enough encouragement among the scientists in exploring more information about these medicinal plants. A Z Abubaker, B R Ehsan and N K Bipinraj, in the paper, “Antimicrobial Activity of Six Indian Spices”, have reported antimicrobial activity of asafoetida, black cumin, fennel, black cardamom, licorice and black caraway against seven bacterial strains and suggested black caraway as a biological alternative instead of chemical food preservative.

The intake of antioxidant compounds present in food is an important health-protecting factor. The increasing interest in the search for natural replacements for synthetic antioxidants has led to the antioxidant evaluation from a number of plant sources. The most current research on antioxidant action focuses on phenolic compounds such as flavonoids. Fruits and vegetables contain different antioxidant compounds, such as vitamin C, vitamin E and carotenoids, whose activities have been established in recent years. In the paper, “Effect of Processing Methods on Antioxidant Availability in Wheat, Rice and Bajra Flours”, by Chitra Pandita and Promila Gupta, antioxidant levels are estimated in wheat, rice and bajra flours.

A systematic hypoglycemic effect of Ampelodesma mauritanica was tested along with its antioxidant property, in the paper, “Hypoglycemic Activity and Antioxidant Potential of Ampelodesma mauritanica Extract”, by A Djilani, N Toudert, S E Djilani and A Dicko.

Plant diseases play a direct role in the destruction of natural resources in agriculture.

In particular, pathogens cause important losses, fungi being the most aggressive. C S Shobana, K Panneer Selvam, P Manikandan, P Amsaveni, M Sureshkumar and R Rajendran, in the paper, “A Study on the Pathogenic Molds of Pleurotus ostreatus (Oyster Mushroom) and Related Materials”, have shown the presence of 60 variants of fungi in Pleurotus ostreatus which affect the yield. The authors have emphasized on the importance of use of aseptic conditions to control the growth of fungal pathogens.

- - S K Verma
Consulting Editor