Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

CODEN: IJBBBQ  ISSN: 0301-1208

http://www.niscair.res.in; http://nopr.niscair.res.in

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VOLUME 46

NUMBER 2

APRIL 2009

CONTENTS

Papers
Interaction of nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin with wild type and mutated quinolone-resistance-determining region of DNA gyrase A	147
Jitendra Vashist, Vishvanath, Renuka Kapoor, Arti Kapil, Ragothaman Yennamalli, N Subbarao & Moganty R Rajeswari*
Inhibition of local effects of Indian Daboia/Vipera russelli venom by the methanolic extract of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) seeds	154
Y H Mahadeswaraswamy, S Devaraja, M S Kumar , Y N J Goutham & K Kemparaju*
Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) mushroom extract protects against hydrogen peroxide induced cytotoxicty in peripheral blood mononuclear cells	161
U R Kuppusamy*, Y L Chong, A A Mahmood, M Indran, Noorlidah Abdullah & S Vikineswary
Superoxide dismutase functional regulation in neonatal hypoxia: Effect of glucose, oxygen and epinephrine	166
T R Anju, Athira Babu and C S Paulose*
Oxidative stress and sperm mitochondrial DNA mutation in idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermic men	172
R Kumar, S Venkatesh, M Kumar, M Tanwar, M B Shasmsi, R Kumar, N P Gupta, R K Sharma, P Talwar & Rima Dada*
Optimization of physical parameters for lipase production from Arthrobacter sp. BGCC# 490	178
Anjana Sharma*, Dipa Bardhan and Rashmi Patel
Characterization of water binding and germination traits of magnetically exposed maize (Zea mays L.) seeds equilibrated at different relative humidities at two temperatures	184
Ananta Vashisth^* & Shantha Nagarajan
Interactions of bacterial polysaccharides with cationic dyes: Physicochemical studies	192
S Dasgupta, R K Nath, S Biswas , A Mitra & A K Panda*
Note
Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of Caesalpinia pulcherrima wood	198
C R Pawar*, R E Mutha , A D Landge, R B Jadhav and S J Surana
Conference Report	201
Instructions to Authors	205

——————

*Author for correspondence

AUTHOR INDEX

Abdullah N	161
Anju T R	166
Babu A	166
Bardhan D	178
Biswas S	192
Chong Y L	161
Dasgupta S	192
Devaraja S	154
Goutham Y N J	154
Gupta N P	172
Indran M	161
Jadhav R B	198
Kapil A	147
Kapoor R	147
Kemparaju K	154
Kumar M S	154
Kumar M	172
Kumar R	172
Kumar R	172
Kuppusamy U R	161
Landge A D	198
Mahadeswaraswamy Y H	154
Mahmood A A	161
Mitra A	192
Mutha R E	198
Nagarajan S	184
Nath R K	192
Panda A K	192
Patel R	178
Paulose C S	166
Pawar C R	198
Rajeswari M R	147
Rima Dada	172
Sharma A	178
Sharma R K	172
Shasmsi M B	172
Subbarao N	147
Surana S J	198
Talwar P	172
Tanwar M	172
Vashist J	147
Vashisth A	184
Venkatesh S	172
Vikineswary S	161
Yennamalli R	147

PAPERS

Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Vol. 46, April 2009, pp.147-153

Interaction of nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin with wild type and mutated quinolone-resistance-determining region of DNA gyrase A

Jitendra Vashist¹, Vishvanath¹, Renuka Kapoor², Arti Kapil², Ragothaman Yennamalli³, N Subbarao³ and
Moganty R Rajeswari¹*

¹Department of Biochemistry, ²Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 110029, India

³School of Information Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India

Received 13 October 2008; revised 28 January 2009

The quinolones exert their anti-bacterial activity by binding to DNA gyrase A (GyrA), an essential enzyme in maintenance of DNA topology within bacterial cell. The mutations conferring resistance to quinolones arise within the quinolone-resistance-determining region (QRDR) of GyrA. Therefore, quinolones interaction with wild and mutated GyrA can provide the molecular explanation for resistance. Resistant strains of Salmonella enterica of our hospital have shown mutations in the QRDR of GyrA of serine 83 (to phenylalanine or tyrosine) or aspartic acid 87 (to glycine or tyrosine). In order to understand the association between observed resistance and structural alterations of GyrA with respect to quinolone binding, we have studied the interaction of mutated QRDR of GyrA with nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin by molecular modeling using GLIDE v4. Analysis of interaction parameters like G-score has revealed reduced interaction between nalidixic acid/ciprofloxacin with QRDR of GyrA in all four mutated cases of resistant strains. The mutation of Ser83 to Phe or Tyr shows least binding for nalidixic acid, while Asp87 to Gly or Tyr exhibits minimal binding for ciprofloxacin. The study also highlights the important role of arginines at 21, 91 and His at 45, which form strong hydrogen bonds (at < 3 Å) with quinolones. The hydrophilic OH group of Serine 83, which is in close proximity to the quinolone binding site is replaced by aromatic moieties of Tyr or Phe in mutated GyrA. This replacement leads to steric hindrance for quinolone binding. Therefore, quinolone resistance developed by Salmonella appears to be due to the decreased selectivity and affinity of nalidixic acid/ciprofloxacin to QRDR of GyrA.

Keywords: Gyrase A, Ciprofloxacin, Nalidixic acid, GLIDE, Quinolone-resistance-determining region mutation

*E-mail: mrraji@hotmail.com

Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Vol. 46, April 2009, pp.154-160

Inhibition of local effects of Indian Daboia/Vipera russelli venom by the methanolic extract of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) seeds

Y H Mahadeswaraswamy, S Devaraja, M S Kumar, Y N J Goutham and K Kemparaju*

Department of Studies in Biochemistry, University of Mysore, Mysore 570006, India

Received 01 May; revised 21 January 2009

Although anti-venom therapy is available for the treatment of fatal bite by snakes, it offers less or no protection against the local effects such as dermo- and myonecrosis, edema, hemorrhage and inflammation at the bitten region. The viper species are known for their violent local effects and such effects have been commonly treated with plant extracts without any scientific validation in rural India. In this investigation, the methanolic extract of grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) seed was studied against the Indian Daboia/Vipera russelli venom-induced local effects. The extract abolished the proteolytic and hyaluronidase activities and also efficiently neutralized the hemorrhage, edema-inducing and myonecrotic properties of the venom. In addition, the extract also inhibited partially the pro-coagulant activity of the venom and abolished the degradation of Aα and Bβ chains of human fibrinogen. Thus, the extract possesses potent anti-snake venom property, especially against the local effects of viper bites.

Keywords: Hyaluronidase, Local effects, Metalloprotease, Neutralization, Snake venom, Proteolytic activity, Hemorrhagic activity, Edema-inducing activity, Myonecrotic activity, Fibrinogenolytic activity, Pro-coagulant activity Daboia russelli, Vipera russelli, Grape seed, Vitis vinifera L.

           *Email: kemparaj@rediffmail.com

Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Vol. 46, April 2009, pp.161-165

Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) mushroom extract protects against hydrogen peroxide induced cytotoxicty in peripheral blood mononuclear cells

U R Kuppusamy*, Y L Chong, A A Mahmood, M Indran, Noorlidah Abdullah⁺ and S Vikineswary⁺

Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, ⁺Institute of Biological Sciences,
Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Received 13 June 2008; revised 29 January 2009

Lentinula edodes (Berk) Pegler, commonly known as Shiitake mushroom has been used as medicinal food in Asian countries, especially in China and Japan and is believed to possess strong immunomodulatory property. In the present study, the methanolic extract of the fruit bodies of L. edodes was investigated for cytoprotective effect against H₂O₂-induced cytotoxicity in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by measuring the activities of xanthine oxidase (XO) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) . H₂O₂ at a concentration of 5 μM caused 50% inhibition of PBMCs viability. The extract improved the PBMC viability and exerted a dose-dependent protection against H₂O₂-induced cytotoxicity. At 100 μg/ml of extract concentration, the cell viability increased by 60% compared with the PBMCs incubated with H₂O₂ alone. The extract also inhibited XO activity in PBMC, while showing moderate stimulatory effect on GPx. However, in the presence of H₂O₂ alone, both the enzyme activities were increased significantly. The GPx activity increased, possibly in response to the increased availability of H₂O₂ in the cell. When the cells were pretreated with the extract and washed (to remove the extract) prior to the addition of H₂O₂, the GPx and XO activities as well as the cell viability were comparable to those when incubated with the extract alone. Thus, it is suggested that one of the possible mechanisms via which L. edodes methanolic extract confers protection against H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress in PBMC is by inhibiting the superoxide-producing XO and increasing GPx activity which could rapidly inactivate H₂O₂.

Keywords: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells, Lentinus edodes, Oxidative stress, Cytotoxicity, Glutathione peroxidase, Xanthine oxidase

*Email: umah@um.edu.my

Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Vol. 46, April 2009, pp.166-171

Superoxide dismutase functional regulation in neonatal hypoxia: Effect of glucose, oxygen and epinephrine

T R Anju, Athira Babu and C S Paulose *

Molecular Neurobiology and Cell Biology Unit, Centre for Neuroscience,

Department of Biotechnology, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, 682022, Kerala, India

Received 18 August 2008; revised 09 February 2009

Hypoxia is one of the major causes of damage to the fetal and neonatal brain and cardiac functions. In earlier studies, we have reported the brain damage caused by hypoxia and resuscitation with oxygen and epinephrine and have found that glucose treatment to hypoxic rats and hypoxic rats treated with oxygen shows a reversal of brain damage. The neonatal rats are shown to be deficient in free radical scavenging system, which offers a high risk of oxidative stress. In the present study, we induced hypoxia in neonatal Wistar rats and resuscitated with glucose, oxygen and epinephrine. Heart tissue and cerebral cortex were used to study the kinetics of superoxide dismutase activity in experimental groups of rats to assess the free radical status. Results showed that glucose supplementation in hypoxia (Hx + G) and hypoxic + oxygen (Hx + O) had an efficient free radical scavenging capability, compared to all other experimental groups. The observation was ascertained by studying the activity of catalase, another antioxidant enzyme in the body. Our results suggested that in neonatal rats during hypoxic condition, damage to heart and brain was more prominent in all groups, except when supplemented with glucose. These findings may have clinical significance in the proper management of heart and brain function.

Keywords: Superoxide dismutase, Neonatal hypoxia, Free radical, Catalase, Glucose, Oxygen, Epinephrine

*E-mail: cspaulose@cusat.ac.in; paulosecs@yahoo.co.in

Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Vol. 46, April 2009, pp.172-177

Oxidative stress and sperm mitochondrial DNA mutation in idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermic men

R Kumar^a, S Venkatesh^a, M Kumar^a, M Tanwar^a, M B Shasmsi^a, R Kumar^b, N P Gupta^b, R K Sharma^c, P Talwar^c

and Rima Dada^a*

^aLaboratory for Molecular Reproduction and Genetics, Department of Anatomy;

^bDepartment of Urology; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India

^cAssisted Reproductive Technique Centre, Army Research and Referral Hospital, New Delhi, 110010

Received 22 October 2008; revised 20 February 2009

Physiological function of reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been known since a long, but recently toxic effects of ROS on spermatozoa have gained much importance in male infertility. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is believed to be both source and target of ROS. mtDNA unlike nuclear DNA is not compactly packed and hence more susceptible to oxidative stress (OS) than nuclear DNA. In the present study, the role of OS in mitochondrial genome changes was studied in men with idiopathic infertility. The study included 33 infertile oligo-asthenozoospermic (OA) men and 30 fertile controls. Semen analyses were performed and OS was measured by estimating the level of malondialdehye (MDA) in the seminal plasma and ROS in the sperm. Sperm mtDNA was sequenced by standard PCR-DNA sequencing protocol for ATPase and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase (ND) groups of genes. Sperm count and progressive motility were found to be significantly lower in infertile group than the fertile controls. Semen MDA and ROS levels of infertile group were significantly higher (p<0.0001), when compared to the control group. However, catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels were significantly lower in infertile group, compared to controls, but no significant difference in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was observed between control and cases. This might be due to higher expression of SOD alone in order to overcome OS in the semen. mtDNA analysis showed significant and high frequency of nucleotide changes in the ATPase (6 and 8), ND (2, 3, 4 and 5) genes of infertile cases compared to the controls. Hence excess ROS and low antioxidant levels in the semen might cause mtDNA mutations and vice versa in OA men that might impair the fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa. Thus, it is important to understand the etiology of mitochondrial genome mutations in idiopathic OA cases for better diagnostic and prognostic value in infertility treatment/assisted reproductive technique.

Keywords: Reactive oxygen species, Oxidative stress, Infertility, Antioxidant enzymes, mtDNA mutations, Assisted reproductive technique, Sperm, Oligoasthenozoospermic

*E-mail: rima_dada@rediffmail.com

Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Vol. 46, April 2009, pp.178-183

Optimization of physical parameters for lipase production from
Arthrobacter sp. BGCC#490

Anjana Sharma*, Dipa Bardhan and Rashmi Patel

Department of P.G. Studies and Research in Biological Sciences, Rani Durgavati University, Jabalpur (M.P.), India

Received 01 April 2008; revised 6 January 2009

The physical parameters for the production of thermostable, alkaline lipase from Arthrobacter sp. BGCC# 490 were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM), employing face centered central composite design (FCCCD). The design was employed by selecting pH, temperature and incubation period as the model factors and to achieve maximum yield, interaction of these factors was studied by RSM. A second-order quadratic model and response surface method showed that the optimum conditions for lipase production (pH 10.0, temperature 40^oC and incubation period 48 h) resulted in 1.6-fold increase in lipase production (13.75 EUml^-1), as compared to the initial level (8.6 EUml^-1) after 48 h of incubation, whereas its value predicted by the quadratic model was 12.8 EUml^-1. Lipase showed stability in the pH range 8-10 and temperature range 40-60^oC, with maximum activity at pH 9.0 and temperature 50^oC. Lipase activity was enhanced in the presence of K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ ions, but inhibited by Hg²⁺ ions. The enzyme exhibited high activity in the presence of acetone, isopropanol and ethanol, but was unaffected by methanol. These properties suggest that the lipase may find potential applications in the detergent industry. The present work also demonstrated the feasibility of using experimental design tools to optimize physical parameters for lipase production by an indigenous Arthrobacter sp.

Keywords: Alkaline lipase, Arthrobacter sp., Face centered central composite design, Response surface methodology, Statistical analysis

*E-mail: anjoo_1999@yahoo.com

Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Vol. 46, April 2009, pp.184-191

Characterization of water binding and germination traits of magnetically exposed maize (Zea mays L.) seeds equilibrated at different relative humidities at two temperatures

Ananta Vashisth^1* and Shantha Nagarajan²

¹Division of Agricultural Physics ,²Nuclear Research Laboratory

Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi-110012, India

Received 25 July 2008; revised 08 December 2008

A study was undertaken to characterize the water sorption properties and enhancement in germination and seedling vigour of maize (Zea mays L.) seeds exposed to static magnetic fields of 100 mT and 200 mT for 2 and 1h, respectively. Water sorption isotherms were constructed for magnetically- exposed and unexposed seeds by equilibrating over different saturated salt solutions at 25 and 35°C. The germination and vigour parameters were evaluated for magnetically-exposed and unexposed seeds, equilibrated over the wide range of relative humidities (RHs) at 25 and 35°C. Moisture content increased with increase in RH and decreased with increase in equilibrium temperature. The germination and vigour reduced at high and very low humidities. Magnetically-exposed seeds maintained higher germination and vigour at both temperatures and all RHs, indicating the better quality of magnetically- exposed seeds. The leachate conductivity of magnetically-exposed seeds was lower than unexposed seeds at all RHs, suggesting better membrane integrity in magnetically-exposed seeds. Analysis of the isotherms using D’Arcy-Watt equation revealed that irrespective of the temperature, in magnetically-treated seeds weak binding sites were more and strong and multi-molecular binding sites were less compared to the unexposed seeds. Total binding sites were more in unexposed control seeds. The modification of binding properties of seed water and increased seed membrane integrity in magnetically-exposed seeds might have enhanced the germination traits and early seedling growth of maize.

Keywords: Magnetic field, Seed water binding, Sorption isotherm, Seed leachate conductivity, Germination characteristics, Maize, Zea mays L.

*E-mail: khaliananta@rediffmail.com

Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Vol. 46, April 2009, pp.192-197

Interactions of bacterial polysaccharides with cationic dyes:
Physicochemical studies

S Dasgupta^a, R K Nath^a, S Biswas^a, A Mitra^b and A K Panda^c*

^aDepartment of Chemistry, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Tripura 799 130, India

^bDepartment of Chemistry, N S Mahavidyalaya, Udaipur, Tripura 799 120, India

^cUniversity of North Bengal, Department of Chemistry, P.O. North Bengal University, Darjeeling,
West Bengal 734 013, India

Received 19 June 2008; revised 15 December 2008

Capsular polysaccharides (SPS) are an integral component of gram-negative bacteria, and also have potential use as vaccine. In this paper, interactions of SPS isolated from Klebsiella strains K20 and K51 with cationic dyes pinacyanol chloride (PCYN) and acridine orange (AO) were studied by absorbance and fluorescence measurements. Both the polysaccharides having glucuronic acid as the potential anionic site induced strong metachromasy (blue shift ~100 nm) in the PCYN. The spectral changes were studied at different polymer/dye molar ratios (P/D = 0-40). A complete reversal of metachromasy was observed upon addition of co-solvents, suggesting the breakaway of dye molecules from the biopolymer matrix. Binding constant, changes in free energy, enthalpy and entropy of the dye polymer complex were also computed from the spectral data at different temperatures to reveal the nature of the interaction. Quenching of fluorescence of AO by the polymers and the incorporated mechanisms were also explored.

Keywords: Acridine orange, Bacterial polysaccharide, Binding constant, Dye-polymer interaction, Fluorescence quenching, Klebsiella, Metachromasy, Pinacyanol chloride

        *Email: akpanda1@yahoo.com

NOTE

Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Vol. 46, April 2009, pp.198-200

Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of Caesalpinia pulcherrima wood

C R Pawar*, R E Mutha, A D Landge⁺, R B Jadhav and S J Surana

Department of Pharmacognosy, R. C. Patel College of Pharmacy, Shirpur, Dhule 425 405 (MS), India

⁺Amrutvahini College of Pharmacy, Sangamner, Ahmadnagar (MS), India

Received 29 April 2008; revised 22 February 2009

Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the methanolic and aqueous extracts of Caesalpinia pulcherrima wood were studied in in vitro models. Both extracts exhibited strong antioxidant activity, as evidenced by the low IC₅₀ values in both 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide and superoxide scavenging methods; the values were found to be less or comparable to those of gallic acid, the standard used. To determine the cytotoxic activity, extracts were tested for toxic effects to brine shrimp larvae. In this assay, the methanolic extract had little effect, but aqueous extract was relatively toxic. The antioxidant and cytotoxic activities may be attributed to the total phenolic content in the wood.

Keywords: Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Antioxidant activity, Cytotoxic activity, Total phenolic content

        *Email: chaitalipawar.2006@rediffmail.com

Indian Journal of Biochemistry & Biophysics

Vol. 46, April 2009, pp.201-204

SFRR-India Conference Report 2009

A three day International conference on “Advances in Free Radical Research: Natural Products, Antioxidants and Radioprotectors” (AFRR – 2009) was held at the Scientific Convention Centre of C S M Medical University, Lucknow. The conference was organized as part of the 8^th Annual Meeting of the Society for Free Radical Research – India and was jointly hosted by the Departments of Biochemistry, C S M Medical University (formerly – King George’s Medical University) and Era’s Lucknow Medical College, Lucknow, India. Professor Abbas Ali Mahdi, Department of Biochemistry, C S M Medical University, Lucknow, was the Organizing Secretary and Dr (Mrs.) Farzana Mahdi, Department of Biochemistry, Era’s Lucknow Medical College, Lucknow, was the Co-Organizing Secretary of the conference. The conference was inaugurated by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vishnu Sahai, former Actg. Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, and the inaugural function was presided over by Prof Saroj Chooramani Gopal (Vice Chancellor, C S M Medical University, Lucknow), while Dr T K Chakraborty (Director, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow) was the guest of honor. The inaugural session was also addressed by Padma Bhushan Prof R D Lele, former Dean, Grant Medical College, Mumbai, Dr T P A Devasagayam and Dr S Adhikari, from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, Prof R K Singh, Prof A A Mahdi amongst others.

 Altogether seven plenary lectures were delivered during the three-day conference. The first plenary was delivered by Dr John R Speakman from University of Aberdeen, Scotland (U.K.) on free radical hypothesis of ageing. His laboratory has been performing tests using small animals as a study model to investigate the role of elevated metabolism in ageing. He said that large dosage of vitamin C has no effect on life span of an animal but vitamin E supplementation has a positive benefit. Second plenary lecture was delivered by Prof Hara P Mishra from Virginia (USA) who spoke on the neuroprotective role of certain neutraceuticals, mainly lipoic acid against oxidant-induced neuronal injury. The third plenary lecture was delivered by Dr H J Majima (Department of Oncology, School of Medical & Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan) on the role of mitochondrial stress in degenerative diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and ageing. He through a very interesting presentation demonstrated that as to how mitochondria play a key role in regulating degenerative diseases. The fourth plenary talk was delivered by Dr Dipak K Das (University of Connecticut, School of Medicine, Connecticut, U.S.A.) who spoke on possible use of resveratrol from grapes as a cardioprotective agent. Another plenary talk was delivered by Dr K B Sainis (BARC, Mumbai) on role of nitric oxide in radiation-mediated damage. Dr Hari S Sharma (Rotterdam, Netherlands) in his plenary lecture explained the role of angiogenesis during chronic lung disease. The last plenary lecture was delivered by Prof Angelo Azzi (Vascular Biology Laboratory, Tufts University, Boston, USA) on the mechanism of action of vitamin E.

 Apart from plenary lectures, there were altogether 15 scientific sessions in the conference. In the first session on “Antioxidants and Redox Signaling”, Dr J K Pal (University of Pune, Pune) spoke on the effect of oxidative stress on inhibition of cell proliferation and loss of cell viability that ultimately inhibit protein synthesis. Subsequently, Dr S Santosh Kumar (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai) spoke on the role of cellular redox status in immunomodulation by quinines. Dr Tuli Biswas (Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata) briefed about the importance of ROS-mediated apoptotic death of erythrocytes in two phenotypic forms of beta thalassemia.

 In session II on “Natural antioxidants and traditional/herbal medicine”, Prof T Ramasarma (Centre for DNA Fingerprinting & Diagnostics, Hyderabad) presented his work on hydrogen peroxide as the product of reduction of oxygen by alternative oxidase in mitochondria from potato tubers. Dr P K Srivastava (Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow) highlighted the importance of antioxidants in health using a novel concept called SCIENTOONS. Dr Ashok Kumar (University of Rajasthan, Jaipur) spoke on prevention of cancer by phytochemicals.
Dr Shariq I Sherwani (The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, U S A), and Prof R L Singh (Faizabad) highlighted the importance of plant polyphenols and phytochemicals as potent free radical scavengers and antioxidants.

 The session III on “Diabetes” started with a presentation by Dr M S Kanthimathi (Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) on the beneficial effects of β-sitosterol, as an adjuvant, in mainstream insulin treatment for diabetes as it shows general insulin-like activity and counteracts the antilipolytic activity of insulin. Dr Prity Pugo-Gunsam (Department of Health Sciences, University of Mauritius, Mauritius) emphasized that lack of education is one of the major drawbacks for self-management of the diseases like diabetes. In the same session Prof J K Gambhir (University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi), Prof P P Singh (Era’s Lucknow Medical College & Hospital, Lucknow) and Dr Moinuddin (JNMC, Aligarh) spoke on various aspects of free radicals and antioxidants in diabetes. Subsequently, Prof Saroj Ghaskadbi from Pune University, Pune, presented her interesting lecture on islets cells of pancreas having poor antioxidant defense as well as being defective in rectifying the oxidative DNA damage.

 In session IV on “Ageing and Related disorders” Dr Malyn Chulasiri (Research & Development Division, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand) gave an interesting lecture on fusion products like cosmeceuticals that are designed to address appearance and health synergistically. Cosmeceuticals are natural antioxidants that can provide anti-aging benefits to improve aging skin. Prof S Asha Devi from Bangalore University, Bangalore, spoke on the possible role of oxidative stress in the young and old red blood cells and the impact of ascorbic acid in overcoming oxidative damage. Dr K K Janardhan (Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thrissur) and Dr S Majumdar (Department of Biochemistry, University of Calcutta, Kolkata) highlighted the importance of some plant products as anti-aging agents.

 Session V on “Neurological disorders” started with an interesting presentation by Dr S Chattopadhyay (BARC, Mumbai) on as to how progenitor prevents daughter’s neurotoxicity. Dr V K Khanna (IITR, Lucknow) delivered his talk on neuroprotective efficacy of curcumin, while Dr. Naheed Banu (AMU, Aligarh) spoke on in vivo antioxidant status as a putative target of antidepressant action. Dr Sukesh Mukherjee (Department of Biochemistry, Amrita School of Medicine, Kochi) presented his work on role of ethanol in triggering neuronal apoptosis in this session.

 Dr Shakti Aggarwal (University of Missouri-Columbia, USA) initiated the session VI by explaining the influence of atherosclerosis and exercise on arterial lipoprotein lipase activity and concluded that exercise increases arterial activity of lipoprotein-induced atherosclerosis. Dr H G Raj (Patel Chest Institute, Delhi) spoke on the evaluation of free radicals scavenging activity of polyphenols by EPR spectrometry. Dr Pestehchian Nader (Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran) revealed the differential diagnosis of various parasites via PCR using ITS-2 sequence.

 In session VII on “Microbes and oxidative stress” Dr M Talibkhan Garoussi (Department of Clinical Sciences, Ferdowsi, University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran) spoke on the prevalence of bovine viral diarrhoea antigen positive in dairy cattle herds. Dr N Islam (AMU, Aligarh) spoke on the role of polyphenols isolated from green tea in the management of tuberculosis. In the same session, oral presentations by Dr S Bhattacharya (Department of Chemical Technology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata), Dr Raj Kumar (National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal), Dr Aijaz Ahmad (Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi) and Dr Harsh Vardhan (Molecular Microbiology Lab, Institute of Pathology, ICMR, New Delhi) were also made.

 Day two of the conference started with a power-packed session VIII on “Cardiovascular diseases” with a presentation by Dr Michael Moorehouse (Bioinformatics Department, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) who spoke on cardiovascular genomics and i-gene analysis. Dr P Kuppusamy (Institute of Orgganic and Medicinial Chemistry, University Pécs, Pécs, Hungary) spoke on possible use of synthetic curcumin compounds in cardiovascular diseases. Dr Elisabeth Deindl (Walter-Brendel-Center for Experimental Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany) delivered her talk on molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis related stress in cardiovascular diseases. Dr S C Tyagi (University of Louisville, School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky, USA) spoke on the cardioprotective effect of sodium thiosulphate in chronic heart failure. Dr R Puvanakrishnan (Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai) emphasized on the cardioprotective role of curcumin in myocardial ischemia and infarction. Dr S B Sharma (UCMS, Delhi) and Dr Z Behdadipour (University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran) also in their presentations in the same session briefed the role of some medicinal plants with anti-atherosclerotic activity. Dr G Illangovan (The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA) spoke on chemotherapeutics-induced cardiotoxicity in cancer patients. Dr G R Dashti (School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran) described the effect of lead exposure in the induction of cardiovascular diseases.

 Session IX on “Digestive and hepatic diseases” started with a presentation by Dr T P A Devasagayam (BARC, Mumbai), who briefed about the mechanism of action of some aminothiazole compounds in hepatoprotection. Dr S Adhikari also from BARC, Mumbai, spoke on techniques like pulse radiolysis to understand the efficacy and mechanistic pathway of bilirubin and some polyphenols. Dr Poonam Kakkar (IITR, Lucknow) spoke on mitochondria-mediated pathway involving Bax in nimesulide-induced apoptosis in rat hepatocytes.

 Session X on “Cancer” started with a presentation by Dr S K Bandyopadhyay (Institute of Basic Medical Sciences & IPGME & R, Kolkata) on chemopreventive role of resveratrol. Dr Sanjeev Shukla (Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, USA) spoke on role of apigenin in prostate cancer. Dr J W Park (Kuungpook National University, Taegu, Korea) described the role of mitochondrial redox balance towards anticancer drugs. Dr Harish C Joshi (Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA) through a very interesting presentation described the role of plant alkaloid noscapine in non-toxic cancer therapeutics. Apart from these, more than half a dozen oral presentations were also made during this session.

 Session XI on “Inflammation, immunity and infectious diseases’’ started with a presentation of Prof R D Lele (Mumbai), describing various strategies for prevention of chronic oxidative stress. Dr Irfan Rehman (University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA) presented his work on redox regulation of epigenetics in lung inflammation. Dr S Basu (Uppsala University, Sweden) elucidated the link between oxidative stress and inflammation by demonstrating the involvement of isoprostanes and prostaglandins in atherosclerosis and emphasized that they are potent target compounds to study oxidative stress and inflammation. Prof D N Rao (AIIMS, New Delhi) spoke on the role of nano particles as vaccine targets. Dr N Jawali (BARC, Mumbai), Dr E Padmini (Chennai) and Dr Molly Jacob (Christian Medical College, Vellore) also made their oral presentations in the same session.

 Dr Y Chancerelle (Centre de Rescherches, La Tronche, France) initiated the session XII on “Radiation Biology, radio-sensitization and radioprotection”. He spoke on the role of stem cells for treatment of cutaneous injuries. Dr P K Goyal (University of Rajasthan, Jaipur) briefed on the prophylactic and therapeutic use of several medicinal plants extracts against radiation injury. Dr R C Chaubey (Mumbai) discussed the in vivo radioprotective effect of curcumin and tourine on DNA damage in mouse. There were several other oral presentations made during this session.

 On concluding day, three sessions (XIII, XIV and XV) were held. Dr Q Rahman (Integral University, Lucknow) presented her work on the role of oxidative stress in the toxicity of engineered nanoparticles. Dr S K Rastogi (IITR, Lucknow) briefed about the role of oxidative stress in farming community exposed to organophosphate pesticides. Dr Bechan Sharma (Allahabad) described the pesticides-induced oxidative stress in various mammalian systems.
Dr S.S.A. Zaidi (Ahmedabad) in his lecture described the adverse effects of chromium in occupationally exposed workers. Dr Rajender Singh (CDRI, Lucknow) revealed the beneficial role of Indian herbs in the treatment of male fertility. Dr J Darragh (Crumlin, UK) spoke on using a rapid colorimetric assay kit for the assessment of total antioxidant capacity in different matrices. Dr M Maleki (Ferdowsi, University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran) spoke on the importance of short-term calorie restriction on the skin wound healing. Dr. Iqbal Ahmad (IITR, Lucknow) explained the beneficial effects of micronutrients on free radical-mediated cytotoxicity of Talc nanoparticles.

 In the three days conference, apart from 7 plenary lectures, 81 invited talks and 67 oral presentations, there were 223 poster presentations made by the students from various Institutes/Universities across the country. Of these, ten were selected for “best poster presentation” awards. Each award carried
Rs. 1500/- in cash and a certificate. At the end of the conference a valedictory function was held in which prizes were distributed. Prof Angelo Azzi, President, IUBMB and SFRR–International was the chief guest, while Dr T Mukherjee (BARC, Mumbai), Dr Dipak K Das (USA) and Mr V P Singh (Registrar, C S M Medical University, Lucknow) were the guests of honor. The valedictory address was given by Dr Mukherjee and Dr T P A Devasagayam, President, SFRR–Asia, Dr S Adhikari, Secretary-General, SFRR–India, Dr Vijay Kumar Kutala, Organizing Secretary for the next conference also spoke on the occasion. Prof. A A. Mahdi and Dr (Mrs.) Farzana Mahdi proposed a vote of thanks to all the participants.

Prof Abbas Ali Mahdi

Organizing Secretary, SFRR – 2009

Professor & Incharge

Medical Elementology & Free Radical Biology Lab.

Department of Biochemistry

C S M Medical University

Lucknow - 226003, India

E-mail: mahdiaa@rediffmail.com