Many of the nitroaromatic agents used in medicine function as prodrugs and must undergo activation before exerting their toxic effects. In most cases, this is catalyzed by flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-dependent type I nitroreductases (NTRs), a class of enzyme absent from higher eukaryotes but expressed by bacteria and several eukaryotic microbes, including trypanosomes and Leishmania. Here, we u...

methanolic and aqueous extracts of dendrophthoe falcata linn. leaves which belongs to the loranthaceae family, were evaluated through dpph (1, 1-diphenyl -2-picryl-hydrazyl), antilipid peroxidation and nitric oxide scavenging methods to assess the antioxidant activity. methanolic and aqueous extracts of dendrophthoe falcata leaves were also evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity by carr...

leptadenia reticulata was reported to be used for several medicinal purposes. the present study was undertaken to evaluate anti-inflammatory, analgesic and lipid peroxidation inhibition activities of l. reticulata. the anti-inflammatory assay was performed by λ-carrageenan and formalin induced paw edema test. pro inflammatory mediators (il2, il6, tnf-α) in serum of treated and control organism ...

We report a patient with fever, progressive jaundice and abdominal distension, having marked pallor, icterus, ascites and hepatosplenomegaly. Investigations revealed pancytopenia and deranged liver functions. Doppler study revealed portal hypertension and endoscopy showed grade II oesophageal varices. Liver biopsy suggested leishmanial hepatitis and bone marrow demonstrated multiple LD bodies. ...

Leishmania spp. is a protozoan parasite and the causative agent of leishmaniasis. Thymidine kinase (TK) catalyses the transfer of the γ-phosphate of ATP to 2'-deoxythymidine (dThd) forming thymidine monophosphate (dTMP). L. major Type II TK (LmTK) has been previously shown to be important for infectivity of the parasite and therefore has potential as a drug target for anti-leishmanial therapy. ...

BACKGROUND A complex interplay between Leishmania and macrophages influences parasite survival and necessitates disruption of signaling molecules, eventually resulting in impairment of macrophage function. In this study, we demonstrate the immunomodulatory activity of Berberine chloride in Leishmania infected macrophages. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The IC(50) of Berberine chloride, a quaternary isoqu...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE The risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infection in patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala-azar in endemic areas has posed a major challenge in control programmes. We undertook this study to identify the high risk groups vulnerable to Leishmania-HIV co-infection in VL endemic State of Bihar, India. Further, immunological responses were also evaluated...