Monira Ahsan

The study's objectives include phytochemical profiling and biological (antioxidant, thrombolytic and cytotoxic) analysis of pure chemicals from Jatropha pandurifolia stem bark ethyl acetate extract. Five different compounds including octacosanyl cis ferulate (1), hexacosyl (E)-ferulate (2) triacontyl ferulate (3), β-sitosterol (4) and stigmasterol (5) are elucidated. Their structures determine through 1HNMR analysis and comparison to published data, while three ferulic acid alkyl esters (1-3) were isolated for the first time from J. pandurifolia. Compounds 1, 2, and 3 all have significant thrombolytic potential with respective values of 68.92% ±1.17 (**P<0.01), 66.56% ±2.35 (**P<0.01) and 70.81%±0.98 (**P<0.01) with comparison to standard streptokinase (73.6%±0.76). When compared to BHT (6.82± 0.99 μg/ml) the IC50 (DPPH assay) values were 16.26±1.07 (**P<0.01), 14.12±1.23 (**P<0.01), and 13.16±1.70 μg/ml (**P<0.01). Comparing the three compounds to the reference vincristine sulphate (LC50: 0.52±0.18 μg/ml), of compound 1 (1.56±0.35 μg/ml) (**P<0.01), compound 2 (1.3±0.78 μg/ml) (**P<0.01) and compound 3 (1.29±0.33 μg/ml) (**P<0.01). The results can therefore be interpreted as a concept of isolated molecules having potential for application in additional pharmaceutical research.

The study investigated the concentration of IgA, IgM and IgG in colostrum, transitional and mature milk and the effect of parity, age, BMI and family income on secreted immunoglobulin contents of human milk. Sequential samples of colostrum, transitional and mature milk were collected from 38 women. Enzymelinked immunosorbent assay was used to analyse the immunoglobulin concentrations. The study revealed that IgA was the dominant immunoglobulin and mean concentration in colostrum, transitional and mature milk was 5.92 ± 1.50 g/L, 3.85 ± 0.64 g/L and 3.72 ± 0.68 g/L, respectively. Both IgA and IgM levels of colostrum decreased significantly in both transitional (P = 0.000) and mature milk (P = 0.000), while the concentration of IgG rises significantly in them (colostrum vs. transitional milk, P = 0.000; and colostrum vs. mature milk P = 0.011). While maternal age, BMI and family income had no significant influence on the immunoglobulin levels at different stages of lactation, parity showed significant influence on IgG (P = 0.03) and IgM (P = 0.05) levels of transitional milk and IgA level of colostrum (P = 0.05). The findings suggest that immunoglobulin composition in breast milk is strongly associated with stage of lactation and is likely to be more susceptible to parity than BMI and socioeconomic characteristics.

Background: Phenolics and carotenoids are natural antioxidants, which provide health benefit and protect against degenerative chronic diseases. Utilization and identification of foods with high content of these received greater attention nowadays. Objective: The present study reports the total phenolics (TPC) and total carotenoids (TCC) contents of thirty-two selected unconventional vegetables growing in Bangladesh. In addition, they were also analyzed for their antioxidant potentials. Methods: Folin-Ciocalteu and acetone–petroleum ether extraction followed by spectrophotometric measurement were employed for TPC and TCC, respectively. The antioxidant capacities of the selected unconventional leafy vegetables were analyzed using DPPH and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) assays. Results: The results revealed that the TPC ranged from 82.41 mg GAE/100 g in Kiokro to 2711.05 mg GAE/100 g in Mrolapiong whereas the TCC values ranged from 43.05 µg/100 g in Fala to 12863.54 µg/100 g in Roktodrone. The study findings also revealed that the selected plant samples exhibited high antioxidant capacities. Mrolapiong demonstrated highest DPPH inhibition (91.31 %) and TEAC (485.55 μmol Trolox/g) value, than others. The antioxidant capacities were attributed to phenolic compounds as there exist a positive correlation between these two variables. Bioactive phytochemicals are widely distributed in these vegetables, although their amounts are varying among the different types of vegetables. Conclusion: The study results suggest that the vegetables analyzed may provide a possible source of dietary antioxidant and serve as material for functional foods. Therefore, their production and consumption must be encouraged in order to preserve biodiversity and prevent their extinction.