Organic production can be defined as "an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony." Organic foods form a key component in consumer trend known as a whole health solution - diet that promote health and well-being, prevent disease, help to cure illness and protect the environment. The complete information about organic foods has been collected from various journals, books, online databases and various reports from international conferences for time period of 1974-2013. This article will give an overview of organic foods and its perspective in India.

Silibinin, a flavonolignan, is the major active component of the milk thistle plant (Silybummarianum). Silibinin have been used as medicinal herbs in the treatment of liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, and gallbladder disorders. Numerous studies suggest that silibinin is a powerful antioxidant and has hepatoprotective properties and anti-neoplastic effects against various carcinoma cells. Silibinin had shown promising anti-neoplastic effects against skin, breast, lung, pancreatic, colon, cervical, prostate, bladder, and kidney carcinomas in various in vitro/in vivo and preclinical studies. Treatment claims also include lowering cholesterol levels, reducing insulin resistance, and anti-viral activity. Other reported uses of milk thistle in folk medicine include as a treatment for malarial fever, bronchitis, peritonitis, uterine congestion, varicose veins, and as a milk production stimulant for nursing mothers. The aim of the present article is to review and summarize the pharmacokinetics, physical properties, the mechanism of action, and the effectiveness and safety of silibininin various cancers/neoplasms.

There has been renewed interest in the natural and alternative therapy, for holistic management of various complex diseases, in the recent past. Clinical application of probiotics in such cases is a very promising field. Probiotics are one of the finest natural tools for maintaining the delicate balance between disease and health. Many clinical trials have shown that probiotics are not only useful in various forms of diarrhea, but are also showing promising results in other diseases like immunological diseases, allergies and some cancers. However, more robust studies are warranted to evaluate their efficacy before mass application.

Photochemotherapy (PUVA) is a type of ultraviolet radiation (UVA). Treatment (phototherapy) used for severe skin diseases. PUVA is a combination treatment, which consists of Psoralens (P) and then exposing the skin to long wave UVA. PUVA has become a useful alternative in dermatologic therapy. Starting from historical date up to modern era the safe and useful modes of PUVA has been documented in many immunological disorders. PUVA is useful for patients with various skin disorders, including psoriasis, dermatitis, polymorphic light eruption, and mycosis fungoides. The number and the frequency of PUVA treatments will depend on the condition being treated and individual factors. Despite side effects and potential long-term hazards, PUVA is shown in clinical routine as an effective alternative to conventional immunosuppressive therapy. A wide range of diverse field for its possible utility provides an alternative armamentarium in many immunological disorders for dermatologist and also for oral diagnostician.

The focus of present scientific discussion is still the question on how to optimize the dietary fat intake in order to achieve maximum health benefits, that is, what is the optimum amount and composition of dietary fat. Over the past few years, there have been plenty of new findings concerning the various effects and modes of action of different fatty acids giving details on their specific role in health and diseases. Fatty acids are now known to not only play a role in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases via their effect on serum lipids but also because they directly influence a number of other risk factors in various ways and have direct effect on atherogenesis. Therefore, the health effects of dietary fat have to be judged according to its respective fatty acid composition. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that dietary monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) may have a beneficial health effect. This article summarizes present knowledge concerning the effects of mono unsaturated fatty acids with a focus on their role in coronary heart disease (CHD), diabetes, and their risk factors.

Introduction: Ammonia is present in all living organisms as a byproduct of the degradation of proteins and other nitrogenous compounds. At high levels ammonia is toxic, causing functional disturbances in the central nervous system that could even lead to coma and death. The present study evaluates the efficacy of an ethanolic extract of Momordica charantia L. (MCE) fruits in decreasing serum and tissue lipids and body weight in rats with experimentally-induced hyperammonemia. Materials and Methods: Experimental hyperammonemia was induced in adult male Wistar rats (180-200 g) by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of ammonium chloride (100 mg/kg body weight) thrice a week. The effect of oral administration (thrice a week for eight consecutive weeks) of MCE (300 mg/kg body weight) on lipid profiles in serum and tissues (brain and liver) of normal and experimental animals were analyzed. Results and Discussion: The levels of serum and tissue cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, and phospholipids were significantly increased in ammonium chloride - induced hyperammonemic rats. The administration of MCE to ammonium chloride - treated rats significantly restored all these changes to almost normal levels. Ammonium chloride - treated rats showed increases in body weight compared to the control rats. The exact mechanism of this antihyperlipidemic effect of MCE needs to be investigated and the active constituents identified and isolated.

Objectives: This study analyzes the research output of India in Parkinson's disease (PD) during 2002-2011 on several parameters including the growth, rank, and global publications share, citation impact, share of international collaborative papers, contribution of major collaborative partner countries, contribution of various subject-fields, contribution and impact of most productive institutions and authors, media of communication, and characteristics of high-cited papers. Materials and Methods: The Scopus Citation Database has been used to retrieve the data for 10 years (2002-2011) by searching the keywords PD in the combined Title, Abstract, and Keywords fields. Results: Among the top 20 most productive countries in PD, India ranks 16 ^th (with 458 papers) with a global publication share of 1.47% and an annual average publication growth rate of 26.05% during 2002-2011. Its global publication share has increased over the years, rising from 1.08% during 2002-2006 to 1.74% during 2007-2011. Its citation impact per paper was 5.77 during 2002-2011, which decreased from 8.40 during 2002-2006 to 4.64 during 2007-2011. Its international collaborative publications share was 26.18% during 2002-2011, which marginally increased from 26.17% during 2002-2006 to 26.18% during 2007-2011. Conclusion: It can be concluded that India's research performance in PD is quite good in the global context, despite the low prevalence of PD in the country. However, India needs to intensify its innovative strategies and international collaboration to strengthen its research output, human resources, funds, public-health awareness through local campaigns, and initiatives for the prevention and treatment of PD.

Introduction: Cronobacter sakazakii is an emerging and opportunistic pathogen, related with outbreaks of necrotizing enterocolitis, bacteremia, and infant meningitis. Powdered infant formula (PIF)-products contaminated by C. sakazakii cause severe infections in infants. Materials and Methods: In the present study, C. sakazakii isolates were tested for their susceptibility to various antibiotics using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Alternatively, C. sakazakii infections can be controlled by various plant products and probiotics. Aqueous and alcoholic extracts of Citrus sinensis, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Piper chaba, Terminalia chebula, Terminalia arjuna, Mangifera indica, Zingiber officinale, Allium sativum, Azadirachta indica, Ocimum sanctum, Syzygium aromaticum, Terminalia bellirica and Emblica officinalis were prepared and their antimicrobial activities were checked against C. sakazakii by the Muller-Hinton Agar well diffusion method. For probiotic control, an in vitro study was conducted to determine the antibacterial activity of lactic acid bacteria against C. sakazakii. Results: Results showed the antimicrobial activity of plant products and lactic acid bacteria against C. sakazakii. It is recommended that these plant products and lactic acid bacteria could be utilized as natural antimicrobials in baby food-formulations to inhibit C. sakazakii infections in neonates. Conclusion: Emergence of multi-drug resistance and side-effects of antibiotics, plant products can serve as effective antimicrobial agents against C. sakazakii. Lactic acid bacteria can also serve in the control of infections caused by C. sakazakii. Specific probiotics may be useful for healthy intestinal colonization and barrier function to fight pathogen adhesion.

Objectives: The aim was to elucidate the effect of gallic acid (GA) on encephalon/brain and myocardium/heart of rats subjected to immobilization stress (IS). Materials and Methods: IS was induced by placing the rats in 20 cm × 7 cm plastic tubes for 2 h/day for 21 days. Rats were post-orally treated with GA at 10 mg/kg body weight daily for three weeks. Followed by sacrifice, brain and heart tissues were removed carefully for biochemical estimations, and H and E staining for histopathological studies. Results: In IS, significant ( P < 0.05) increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) and a significant ( P < 0.05) decrease in antioxidant activities showed shrunken neurons in brain and myocardial edema as an evidence of major tissue damage in stressed rats. The data revealed that IS produced a severe oxidative damage in the brain and myocardium, and treatment with GA distinctly reduced these stress-induced changes compared to stressed rats. GA (10 mg/kg) to control rats did not show any significant effect. Conclusions: We concluded that GA inhibits LPO and preserved the antioxidant levels as an evidence of resuming the structural integrity of brain and heart tissues. So, GA may be valuable for the prevention and treatment of stress related disorders.

Objectives: The nutrition transition in developing countries has resulted in the "nutrition paradox" where both under- and over-nutrition exist in the same population. This phenomenon is scarcely reported in Nigeria. The prevalence of thinness and overweight/obesity was therefore studied in Umuahia, Nigeria using two international references and the results compared. Subjects and Methods: A total of 1911 children and adolescents (51.3% females) were recruited and anthropometric data obtained from them using the standard procedures. Age was determined from each subject's school records. Overweight, obesity, and thinness (stages 1-3) were defined using the Cole et al. International surveys (IS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) study references. Appropriate statistical analyses were carried out on data generated. Results: As much as 24.2% of the boys and 19.2% of the girls were thin, based on the WHO standards, whereas, 17.3% of the boys and 15.5% of the girls were thin based on the IS standard. A total of 4.9% of boys and 9.2% of girls (WHO); and 3.9% of boys and 5.8% of girls (IS) were overweight. Obesity was found in 1.1% and 1.8% of the boys and girls respectively (WHO); and 0.3% and 1.0% of the boys and girls respectively (IS). Irrespective of age, there were no significant differences ( P > 0.05) between the proportions of the population diagnosed with thinness, overweight or obesity by the two standards used. Conclusion: Under- and over-nutrition, typified by thinness and overweight/obesity respectively co-exist in the studied population. The IS and WHO reference methods give statistically similar estimates of the nutritional status in this population.

Context: Diagnosis of infection involving the central nervous system is of critical importance. Aims, Settings and Design: Objectives were to isolate and identify the organisms causing bacterial meningitis in patients admitted in the intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital in Bihar, India. To assess the clinical presentation and to further determine the isolates causing meningitis by antigen testing. Materials and Methods: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood samples were collected from 83 patients with signs and symptoms of meningitis and were cultured on 5% sheep blood agar, MacConkey's agar and chocolate agar. Smears were made with the centrifuged deposit of CSF and stained by Gram stain, Ziehl Neelsen stain and negative staining. The supernatant was used for latex agglutination test (LAT). Antibiotics susceptibility tests were also performed for all isolates. Statistical Analysis Used: S.S.P.E version 11. Results: Most of the cases of meningitis occurred in winter and spring. Out of 83 cases 38 (45.8%) were found to be cases of bacterial meningitis. The most common presenting feature in both bacterial and aseptic meningitis was fever, followed by altered sensorium. Only 15.7% (13/83) of cases had neck rigidity. The organisms isolated were Escherichia coli 25.6% (10/39), Staphylococcus aureus 15.4% (6/39), Streptococcus pneumonia 10.2% (4/39), Klebsiella species 10.2% (4/39) and Pseudomonas areuginosa 10.2% (4/39). LAT detected bacterial antigens in 16.9% (14/38) cases. The common etiological agent identified was E. coli 10/38 (71.4%) and followed by Streptococcus pneumonia 4/38 (28.6%). Conclusions: To conclude, Gram negative bacilli were found to be more frequently isolated in our series of patients with E. coli being the most common isolate. Established organisms of meningitis such as Haemophilus influenzae and Niesseria meningitidis were not isolated at all, despite all our efforts.

Aim: Chronic renal failure (CRF) is one of the major contributors of cardiovascular pathological events and CRF associated uremic condition in rats elevates liver oxidative stress. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the preventive potential of diosgenin on antioxidant system and molecular protection potential in liver of CRF rats. Materials and Methods: CRF in rats was induced by feeding rats with diet containing 0.75% adenine for 5 weeks. Diosgenin was given orally at a dose of 40 mg/kg body weight (bw) of animal each and every day. The activities of antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation level were determined by biochemical assays. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to illustrate the molecular protection potential of diosgenin. Results: This study has shown adenine containing diet induced CRF in rats elevates liver oxidative stress by suppressing the activity of enzymatic antioxidant system, increased lipid peroxidation, and macromolecular structural alterations. In this study, treatment of diosgenin 40 mg/kg bw of rat significantly restores the enzymatic antioxidant system and reduces the lipid peroxidation level. Moreover, based on the FTIR study, we confirmed that diosgenin administration significantly protected the macromolecular changes including, the protein structural damage that occurred in liver. Conclusion: This study has proved the hepato protective action of diosgenin through antioxidant and molecular protection effect in CRF condition.

Background : There is mounting evidence that flavonoid consumption is potentially beneficial to those suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. These beneficial properties are largely attributed to their medicinal values. Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the neuro-protective effect of black hesperidin against 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induced behavioral deficits, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Results: Behavioral analyses showed that hesperidin ameliorates MPTP-induced motor dysfunction. Elevated level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and enhanced activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase with deprived levels of reduced glutathione and activities of glutathione peroxidase in MPTP group was attenuated significantly in hesperidin-treated group. Administration of MPTP-induced glial activation observed by primary marker Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein increased the release of pro-oxidant Cyclooxygenase - 2 and inflammatory cytokines such as Interleukin-1β, Tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-6, IL-4, and IL-10 in striatum and substania nigra. Treatment of hesperidin significantly protects microglia activation and reduces the release of inflammatory cytokines proving the anti-inflammatory effect of hesperidin. Conclusion: These findings suggest that hesperidin partially attenuates MPTP-induced neurotoxicity through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Background and Objectives : Inflammation is the self-protective reaction of tissues towards infection, irritants, or foreign substances. Though it is a part of host defence mechanism, when it becomes severe, it turns out to be a hopeless condition which causes damage of tissues; hence control of inflammation becomes essential. In Ayurvedic texts, a number of medicinal preparations to combat inflammation have been found; among them, Dashanga Yoga is one, which is said to be significant in combating inflammation. To revalidate this claim, the present experimental study was undertaken. Materials and Methods : Wistar strain albino rats weighing 200 ± 20 g and Swiss albino mice (26 ± 2 g) of either sex were used in the study. Pharmacologically validated models were used to evaluate anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. Dashanga Yoga was administered at dose of 45 mg/kg and 65 mg/kg for rat and mouse, respectively. Results : Dashanga Yoga significantly inhibited carrageenan-induced paw edema (P < 0.01) at both three and six hours; however, it failed to suppress formalin-induced paw edema. It decreased the formation of granulation tissue non-significantly in the chronic inflamatory model. In analgesic activity, pretreatment with Dashanga Yoga failed to inhibit the early phase of pain, whereas moderate inhibition occurred in the late phase of pain in the formalin-induced paw-licking model. In the tail fl ick model, Dashanga Yoga significantly increased tail flick latency at 120, 180, and 240 minutes in comparison to the control group. Conclusion : The results revealed that Dashanga Yoga has anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity. Hence, it can be used in the management of pain and inflammatory conditions.

Background: Ageing is a universal process that is associated with deteriorating health status. Even though depression is the commonest psychiatric disorder in the elderly, it is commonly misdiagnosed and under treated. This could be due to the misconception that depression is part of aging rather than a treatable condition. Aim: To assess the prevalence of depression and the factors influencing depression among the geriatric population in a rural area in Tamil Nadu Settings and Design: A cross sectional study was conducted among 400 geriatric population at Attayampatti village in Salem district which is a rural field practicing area for our medical college for a period of 6 months between June 2011 and December 2011. Materials and Methods: A validated depression assessment scale was used to assess their depression status and the various demographic factors like age, sex, education, monthly income, spouse living status were analysed to see for any association with depression. Statistical Analysis: Mean proportions, Chi square and odds ratio. Results: Of the total population 41.2% were normal, 37.8% were having mild depression and 21% were severely depressed. Of the various demographic factors advanced age, sex, education, monthly income, spouse living status, history of chronic ailments and smoking showed a statistically significant association with depression. Conclusion: The results reaffirm that there is a high prevalence of depression among the geriatric population and adequate measures to detect and control this psychiatric disorder in elderly by specialized geropsychiatric services are needed.

Eating disorders are serious illnesses with significant impact on both physical and socio-emotional health of young people; they also have a negative impact on families and cause significant mortality and morbidity. This case series discusses seven Omani adolescents who have been diagnosed with an eating disorder at the Department of Behavioural Medicine at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman. The aim of this case series was to increase the level of awareness of eating disorders among Oman's health-care professionals and most importantly, to highlight the complexity and difficulties faced in managing these adolescents.

Lateral medullary syndrome is a conglomeration of symptoms suggestive of tract involvement at the level of lateral medulla, with classic clinical findings. We report an 82-year-old male with lateral medullary syndrome who developed acute stridor secondary to bilateral vocal cord palsy.

Bottle feeding, in vogue, was evidenced by a Jenukuruba tribal daily-wage working mother of 2-year-old male child who was bottle fed the baby from 2 ^nd day onward with poor bottle hygiene and using a rat bitten nipple. On examination, the child was found to be stunted. This observation calls for strengthening the national programs to educate the tribal community about feeding infants and young children and its implication on their overall health and nutritional status.