Browsing by Author "Ajit Kumar Thakur"

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Beneficial effects of an Andrographis paniculata extract and andrographolide on cognitive functions in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
(Taylor and Francis Ltd, 2016) Ajit Kumar Thakur; Geeta Rai; Shyam Sunder Chatterjee; Vikas Kumar
Context Andrographolide containing Andrographis paniculata (Burm. F.) Wall. Ex Nees (Acanthaceae) extracts is often used for treatments of diabetes and other inflammatory disorders commonly accompanying cognitive and other psychiatric disorders. Objective To compare the efficacies of a standardised A. paniculata extract (AP) and pure andrographolide on cognitive functions, oxidative stress and cholinergic function in diabetic rats. Materials and methods Streptozotocin-induced diabetic Charles Foster albino rats treated orally with a hydro-methanolic A. paniculata leaf extract (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/day), or with pure andrographolide (15, 30 and 60 mg/kg/day) for 10 consecutive days, were subjected to Morris water maze test. After the test, acetylcholinesterase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activities and lipid peroxidation (LPO) in brain tissues were assessed. Results Acetylcholinesterase activity in pre-frontal cortex and hippocampus of diabetic rats was 2.1 and 2.6 times higher compared to nondiabetic rats. LPO was 1.6 times higher and decreased SOD (56.3%) and CAT (44.9%) activities in pre-frontal cortex of diabetic rats compared to nondiabetic rats. AP or andrographolide treatments dose dependently attenuated cognitive deficits, reduced acetylcholinesterase activity, oxidative stress, improved diabetic hyperglycemia and insulin deficiency. All observed effects of AP were quantitatively almost equal to those expected from its analytically quantified andrographolide content. Discussion and conclusion Reported observations are the very first ones suggesting beneficial effects of andrographolide against diabetes associated cognitive deficits, increased acetylcholinesterase activity and deteriorated antioxidative status. Efforts to exploit A. paniculata extracts enriched in andrographolide as preventive measures against such disorders can be warranted. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Obesity, cancer and psychopathology: Can vegetarian diet be of help?
(Springer Netherlands, 2012) Vikas Kumar; Ajit Kumar Thakur; Shyam Sunder Chatterjee
High body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, physical inactivity, tobacco use, alcohol use and unsafe sex are six behaviorally modifiable risk factors potentially involved in increased cancer rates observed during recent years. Numerous epidemiological and experimental data are now beginning to point out that the functions of the central nervous system may also be detrimentally effected by these risk factors, and that complex psychobiological processes are involved in obesity associated comorbidities. Several phytochemicals commonly consumed with fruits and vegetables are known since long to possess chemopreventive as well as beneficial effects on cognitive functions. However, as yet little concentrated efforts have been made to properly understand the health benefits of diverse combinations of phytochemicals commonly consumed with every day meals. Available information on health benefits of some vegetables in obesity associated carcinogenesis are summarized and discussed in short in this chapter. It is concluded that at old fashioned holistic pharmacological approaches could be helpful for identifying effective safe and affordable nutraceuticals and drug leads urgently needed for combating oncological problems associated with obesity. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. All rights reserved.
Protective Effects of Andrographis paniculata Extract and Pure Andrographolide Against Chronic Stress-Triggered Pathologies in Rats
(Springer Science and Business Media, LLC, 2014) Ajit Kumar Thakur; Upendra Kumar Soni; Geeta Rai; Shyam Sunder Chatterjee; Vikas Kumar
This study was designed to experimentally verify the possibility that Andrographis paniculata could be another medicinal herb potentially useful for prevention of diverse spectrums of pathologies commonly associated with chronic unavoidable environmental stress, and whether andrographolide could as well be its quantitatively major bioactive secondary metabolite. Preventive effects of 21 daily oral 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg doses of a therapeutically used extract of the plant (AP) and 30 and 60 mg/kg/day of pure andrographolide were compared in rats subjected to 1-h daily unavoidable foot-shocks. A pharmaceutically well-standardized Withania somnifera (WS) root extract was used as a reference herbal anti-stress agent in all experiments. Effects of the treatments on stress-induced alterations in body weight, gastric ulcer, adrenal and spleen weights, and depressive state and sexual behavior in male rats were quantified. Other parameters quantified were plasma cortisol levels, and expressions of the cytokines TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-1β in blood and brain. All observed stress-induced pathological changes were less pronounced or completely prevented by both AP and pure andrographolide. Even the lowest tested doses of AP (50 mg/kg/day) or of andrographolide (30 mg/kg/day) suppressed almost maximally the blood IL-1β and IL-10 as well as brain TNF-α and IL-10 expressions induced by chronic stress. Qualitatively, the observed activity profiles of both of them were similar to those of WS dose tested. These results reveal that both AP and andrographolide are pharmacologically polyvalent anti-stress agents, and that biological processes regulating corticosterone and cytokine homeostasis are involved in their modes of actions. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York.