Radiomodifying Potential of Panax ginseng in Liver of Swiss Albino Mice against Gamma Radiation

Sharma, Mukesh Kumar,Kumar, Madhu,Kumar, Ashok The Korean Society of Ginseng 2004 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.28 No.2

Panax ginseng occupies an important role in the folk medicine of China, Korea and Japan. The present study was undertaken to determine the radioprotective efficacy of ginseng root extract in the liver of Swiss albino mice. The animals were divided into 4 groups. Group I-Only vehicle was administered. Group II-The animals received 10 mg/kg body weight ginseng root extract i.p. for 4 consecutive days. Group III-Animals were irradiated with 8Gy gamma radiation at the dose rate of 1.69 Gy/min at the distance of 80 ems. Group IV-Animals were given by ginseng root extract (10 mg/kg body weight) continuously for 4 days and on 4th day they were irradiated with 8 Gy gamma radiation after 30 min. The animals from above groups were autopsied on 1,3,7,14 and 30 days. Biochemical estimations of phosphatases (acid & alkaline), LDH (lactate dehydrogenase), LPO (lipid peroxidation) and GSH (reduced glutathione) in liver and SGOT (serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase), SGPT (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase) and alkaline phosphatase in serum were done. In ginseng treated group acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), LPO and LDH in liver and SGOT, SGPT and alkaline phosphatase in serum did not show any significant alteration. However, a significant increase in GSH content in liver was recorded. In irradiated group there was a significant increase in ACP, ALP and LPO content in liver and SGOT & SGPT in serum was noted. Whereas, a significant decrease was recorded in GSH and LDH activity in liver and alkaline phosphatase activity in serum. Pretreatment of ginseng with radiation significantly alters the biochemical parameters in liver and serum. A significant decline in ACP, ALP activity and LPO content in liver and SGOT and SGPT activity in serum was observed. However, a significant increase in GSH content and LDH activity in liver and ALP activity in serum was estimated. The present study suggests that pretreatment of ginseng before irradiation significantly protects the liver and maintains the enzyme activity.

Investigations on magnetic and electrical properties of Zn doped Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles and their correlation with local electronic structures

Kumar, Parmod,Sharma, Vikas,Singh, Jitendra P.,Kumar, Ashish,Chahal, Surjeet,Sachdev, K.,Chae, K.H.,Kumar, Ashok,Asokan, K.,Kanjilal, D. Elsevier 2019 Journal of magnetism and magnetic materials Vol.489 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Present work aims at investigating the structural, magnetic and dielectric properties of zinc doped Fe<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB> nanoparticles (pure, 10%, 20% & 30%) and correlated with their local electronic structures using X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction and Raman measurements infer that doping of Zn cations lead to the formation of secondary phases corresponding to ZnFe<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>4</SUB> along with the hematite phase of Fe<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB>. Magnetic measurements show that magnetization vs magnetic field curve for 10% Zn doping exhibit maximum saturation magnetization (~2.93 × 10<SUP>−3</SUP> emu/g) as well as the coercivity (~956 Oe). The values of these parameters decrease for higher content of Zn. The temperature dependence of dielectric behaviour follows the same trend as that of the lattice parameter and magnetic measurements. The XANES spectra at Fe L- and Fe K-edges indicate partial reduction of Fe<SUP>3+</SUP> ions into Fe<SUP>2+</SUP> upon Zn doping in the Fe<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB> lattice. However, divalent state is favourable for Zn (i.e. Zn<SUP>2+</SUP>) within the doping range reported in this study.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Zn doped Fe<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB> nanoparticles. </LI> <LI> Study of magnetic and electrical properties. </LI> <LI> Correlation of magnetic and electrical properties with local electronic structure. </LI> </UL> </P>

Radioprotective and Antioxidant Activity of Fractionated Extracts of Berries of Hippophae rhamnoides

Rakesh Kumar Sharma,Raman Chawla,Rajesh Arora,Shikha Singh,Ravinder Kumar Sagar,Raj Kumar,Ashok Sharma,Manju L. Gupta,Surender Singh,Jagdish Prasad,Haider A. Khan,Anand Swaroop,A.K. Sinha,A.K. Gupta,R 한국식품영양과학회 2007 Journal of medicinal food Vol.10 No.1

Plants are an abundant source of medicinal compounds, some of which are useful in combating free radical-1002 (flavonoid-poor fraction) of Hippophae rhamnoideswere screened on the basis of their reducing power in the aqueousphase. REC-1001 was selected for further study, since it exhibited 27.38 times higher antioxidant activity than REC-1002.REC-1001 also showed significant (P. .05) membrane protection potential at 50 .g/mL, which was attributed to its abilityto scavenge peroxyl radicals (64.82. 1.25% scavenging within 1,440 min). A significant (P. .05) difference of 67.02% infree radical scavenging activity at 1,000 ng/mL between REC-1001 and vitamin E demonstrated the extract fraction’s worthc-tion. Further, REC-1001 was found to be nontoxic up to 200 mg/kg of body weight. This research suggests that the REC-1001 fraction of H. rhamnoidesextract is a safe and effective antioxidant nutraceutical product.

Radiomodifying Potential of Panax ginseng in Liver of Swiss Albino Mice against Gamma Radiation

Mukesh Kumar Sharma,Madhu Kumar,Ashok Kumar 고려인삼학회 2004 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.28 No.2

Panax ginseng occupies an important role in the folk medicine of China, Korea and Japan. The present study was undertaken to determine the radioprotective efficacy of ginseng root extract in the liver of Swiss albino mice. The animals were divided into 4 groups. Group I Only vehicle was administered. Group II-The animals received 10 mg/kg body weight ginseng root extract i.p. for 4 consecutive days. Group III-Animals were irradiated with 8Gy gamma radiation at the dose rate of 1.69 Gy/min at the distance of 80 cms. Group IV -Animals were given by ginseng root extract (10 mglkg body weight) continuously for 4 days and on 4th day they were irradiated with 8 Gy gamma radiation after 3D min. The animals from above groups were autopsied on I. 3, 7. 14 and 30 days. Biochemical estimations of phosphatases (acid & alkaline), LDH (lactate dehydrogenase), LPO (lipid peroxidation) and GSH (reduced glutathione) in liver and SGOT (serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase). SGPf (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase) and alkaline phosphatase in serum were done. In ginseng treated group acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP). LPO and LDH in liver and SGOT, SGPf and alkaline phosphatase in serum did not show any significant alteration. However, a signiticant increase in GSH content in liver was recorded. In irradiated group there was a signiticant increase in ACP, ALP and LPO content in liver and SGOT & SGPT in serum was noted. Whereas, a significant decrease was recorded in GSH and LDH activity in liver and alkaline phosphatase activity in sel1lm. Pretreatment of ginseng with radiation significantly alters the biochemical parameters in liver and serum. A significant decline in ACP, ALP activity and LPO content in liver and SGOT and SGPf activity in serum was observed. However, a significant increase in GSH content and LDH activity in liver and ALP activity in serum was estimated. The present study suggests that pretreatment of ginseng before irradiation significantly protects the liver and maintains the enzyme activity.

Effects of zolpidem on sleep parameters in patients with cirrhosis and sleep disturbances: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Manoj Kumar Sharma,Sumeet Kainth,Sachin Kumar,Ankit Bhardwaj,Hemant Kumar Agarwal,Rakhi Maiwall,Kapil Dev Jamwal,Saggere Muralikrishna Shasthry,Ankur Jindal,Ashok Choudhary,Lovkesh Anand,Rajender Mal 대한간학회 2019 Clinical and Molecular Hepatology(대한간학회지) Vol.25 No.2

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to study the efficacy and safety of zolpidem for sleep disturbances in patients with cirrhosis. Methods: Fifty-two Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class A or B cirrhotics with Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index >5 were randomized to either zolpidem 5 mg daily (n=26) or placebo (n=26) for 4 weeks. Results: The therapy of 4 weeks was completed by 23 patients receiving zolpidem (3 stopped treatment due to excessive daytime drowsiness) and 24 receiving placebo (2 refused to continue the study). In the zolpidem group, after 4 weeks of therapy, there was significant increase in total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency compared to baseline and improvement in polysomnographic parameters of sleep initiation and maintenance (i.e., decrease in sleep latency time, decrease in wake time, and decreases in number of arousals and periodic limbs movements per hour of sleep), without any significant change in sleep architecture. Conclusions: Four weeks of 5 mg daily zolpidem in CTP class A or B cirrhosis patients with insomnia led to significant increases in TST and sleep efficiency and improvement in polysomnographic parameters of sleep initiation and maintenance without any significant change in sleep architecture.

Surgery for symptomatic hepatic hemangioma: Resection vs. enucleation, an experience over two decades

Nalini Kanta Ghosh,Rahul R,Ashish Singh,Somanath Malage,Supriya Sharma,Ashok Kumar,Rajneesh Kumar Singh,Anu Behari,Ashok Kumar,Rajan Saxena 한국간담췌외과학회 2023 Annals of hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery Vol.27 No.3

Backgrounds/Aims: Hemangiomas are the most common benign liver lesions; however, they are usually asymptomatic and seldom require surgery. Enucleation and resection are the most commonly performed surgical procedures for symptomatic lesions. This study aims to compare the outcomes of these two surgical techniques. Methods: A retrospective analysis of symptomatic hepatic hemangiomas (HH) operated upon between 2000 and 2021. Patients were categorized into the enucleation and resection groups. Demographic profile, intraoperative bleeding, and morbidity (Clavien-Dindo Grade) were compared. Independent t-test and chi-square tests were used for continuous and categorical variables respectively. p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Sixteen symptomatic HH patients aged 30 to 66 years underwent surgery (enucleation = 8, resection = 8) and majority were females (n = 10 [62.5%]). Fifteen patients presented with abdominal pain, and one patient had an interval increase in the size of the lesion from 9 to 12 cm. The size of hemangiomas varied from 6 to 23 cm. The median blood loss (enucleation: 350 vs. resection: 600 mL), operative time (enucleation: 5.8 vs. resection: 7.5 hours), and postoperative hospital stay (enucleation: 6.5 vs. resection: 11 days) were greater in the resection group (statistically insignificant). In the resection group, morbidity was significantly higher (62.6% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.05), including one mortality. All patients remained asymptomatic during the follow-up. Conclusions: Enucleation was simpler with less morbidity as compared to resection in our series. However, considering the small number of patients, further studies are needed with comparable groups to confirm the superiority of enucleation over resection.

Role of Cytocentrifugation Combined with Nuclear Fast Picroindigocarmine Staining in Detecting Cryptozoospermia in Men Diagnosed with Azoospermia

Sharma Rakesh Kumar,Gupta Sajal,Agarwal Ashok,Finelli Renata,Kuroda Shinnosuke,Saleh Ramadan,Boitrelle Florence,Kavoussi Parviz,Gül Murat,Tadros Nicholas,Ko Edmund,Farkouh Ala’a,Henkel Ralf,Arafa Moha 대한남성과학회 2022 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.40 No.4

Purpose: Azoospermia is defined as the absence of spermatozoa in the pellet of a centrifuged semen sample. In fact, when a basic semen analysis fails to detect sperm in the ejaculate, there is still the possibility of detecting rare sperm after centrifugation of the sample and examination of the pellet. In this study, we assessed the role of Cytospin centrifugation in combination with the nuclear fast picroindigocarmine (NF-PIC) staining in identifying sperm in azoospermic samples. Materials and Methods: Semen samples of 251 men diagnosed as having azoospermia after standard examination were further analyzed by Cytospin centrifugation in combination with NF-PIC staining. Results: Sperm were detected in 60 men (23.9%), thus changing their diagnosis to cryptozoospermia. Conclusions: By identifying sperm in the semen of men who were thought to have total azoospermia, the Cytospin NF-PIC test can alter the diagnosis and further treatment of these men.

COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test: Role in Screening Prior to Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Ashok Dalal,Ujjwal Sonika,Manish Kumar,Roshan George,Ajay Kumar,Siddharth Srivastava,Sanjeev Sachdeva,Barjesh Chander Sharma 대한소화기내시경학회 2021 Clinical Endoscopy Vol.54 No.4

Background/Aims: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic has affected the gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopyunits globally owing to the risk of transmission. We present our data on the use of rapid antigen test (RAT) as a screening tool priorto endoscopy to prevent the transmission of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Methods: This study was a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent any GI endoscopic procedure from July 2020 to October2020 at a tertiary referral center in New Delhi, India. All patients underwent screening for COVID-19 using RAT, and endoscopywas performed only when the RAT was negative. The data are presented as numbers and percentages. Results: A total of 3,002 endoscopic procedures were performed during the study period. Only one endoscopic procedure wasperformed in a COVID-19 positive patient. A total of 53 healthcare workers were involved in conducting these procedures. Only2 healthcare workers (3.8%) were diagnosed COVID-19 positive, presumably due to community-acquired infection, during thisperiod. Conclusions: The COVID-19 RAT is easily usable as a simple screening tool prior to GI endoscopy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Glutathione S-transferase M1 and T1 Polymorphisms, Cigarette Smoking and HPV Infection in Precancerous and Cancerous Lesions of the Uterine Cervix

Sharma, Anita,Gupta, Sanjay,Sodhani, Pushpa,Singh, Veena,Sehgal, Ashok,Sardana, Sarita,Mehrotra, Ravi,Sharma, Joginder Kumar Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.15

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play an important role in detoxification of carcinogenic electrophiles. The null genotypes in GSTM1 and GSTT1 have been implicated in carcinogenesis. Present study was planned to evaluate the influence of genetic polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1 gene loci in cervical carcinogenesis. The study was conducted in Lok Nayak hospital, New Delhi. DNA from clinical scrapes of 482 women with minor gynaecologic complaints attending Gynaecology OPD and tumor biopsies of 135 cervical cancer cases attending the cancer clinic was extracted. HPV DNA was detected by standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using L1 consensus primer pair. Polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1 were analysed by multiplex PCR procedures. Differences in proportions were tested using Pearson's Chi-square test with Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). The risk of cervical cancer was almost three times in women with GSTM1 homozygous null genotype (OR-2.62, 95%CI, 1.77-3.88; p<0.0001). No association of GSTM1 or GSTT1 homozygous null genotypes was observed in women with normal, precancerous and cervical cancerous lesions among ${\leq}35$ or >35 years of age groups. Smokers with null GSTT1 genotype had a higher risk of cervical cancer as compared to non-smokers (OR-3.01, 95% CI, 1.10-8.23; p=0.03). The results further showed that a significant increased risk of cervical cancer was observed in HPV positive smoker women with GSTT1 (OR-4.36, 95% CI, 1.27-15.03; p=0.02) and GSTM1T1 (OR-3.87, 95% CI, 1.05-14.23; p=0.04) homozygous null genotypes as compared to HPV positive non smokers. The results demonstrate that the GST null genotypes were alone not associated with the development of cervical cancer, but interacted with smoking and HPV to exert effects in our Delhi population.

Chronic persistent post-surgical pain following staging laparotomy for carcinoma of ovary and its relationship to signal transduction genes

( Ashok Kumar Saxena ),( Geetanjali T Chilkoti ),( Anand K Chopra ),( Basu Dev Banerjee ),( Tusha Sharma ) 대한통증학회 2016 The Korean Journal of Pain Vol.29 No.4

Background: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the incidence of chronic persistent post-surgical pain (CPPP) and the role of signal transduction genes in patients undergoing staging laparotomy for carcinoma ovary. Methods: The present observational study was undertaken following institutional ethical committee approval and informed consent from all the participants. A total 21 patients of ASA grade I to III with age 20-70 years, scheduled for elective staging laparotomy for carcinoma ovary were included. Patients were excluded if had other causes of pain, cognitive dysfunction or chronic neurological disorders. Statistical analysis of pool data was done using SPSS version-17. For various scales like GPE, PDQ, NPSI, the visual analogue scale (VAS), global perceived effect (GPE), the pain DETECT questionnaire (PDQ), and neuropathic pain symptoms inventory (NPSI), one factor repaeted measure ANOVA applied with simple contrast with baseline as on post-operative day 1 (considered as reference and compared with subsequent time-interval), and the P values were adjusted according to “Bonferroni adjustments”. In patients with CPPP, the Δct values of mRNA expressions of genes at the end of postoperative day 90 were compared with the baseline control values by one factor repeated ANOVA. P value < 0.005 significant. Results: The present study demonstrates 38.1% (8 out of 21 patients) incidence of CPPP. The functional status and quality of life as were observed to be significantly diminished in all patients with chronic pain. An up-regulation in the mRNA expression of signal transduction and a positive correlation was noted between the mRNA expression of signal transduction genes and VAS score in all patients with CPPP at the end of postoperative day 90. Conclusions: The reported incidence of CPPP in patients with carcinoma ovary was 38.1%. An up-regulation and positive correlation between mRNA expression of signal transduction genes and VAS score depicts its potential role in the pathogenesis of CPPP. (Korean J Pain 2016; 29: 239-48)