Monday, January 27, 2020

Mukia Maderaspatana Antioxidant Properties

Mukia Maderaspatana Antioxidant Properties Plants have the ability to synthesize a wide variety of chemical compounds that are used to perform important biological functions and to defend against attack from predators. Mukia maderaspatana (L.)M. Romer, is an annual monoecious climber, belonging to Cucurbitaceae family. This plant specify many medicinal properties such as constipation, cough, vertigo, burning sensation, dyspepsia and dental pain.. In this study, ascorbic acid content from fresh leaves and fruits were carried out. Also, the phytochemical analysis such as Total flavonoid, total phenolics contents of the plant were characterized, and found that leaves of M.maderaspatana is rich in ascorbic acid, an antioxidant than that of fruits and also contains adequate amount of phenolics and flavonoid contents in leaves as compared to fruits. Keywords: Mukia maderaspatana, Phytochemical activity, Antioxidant activity. Introduction: Plants (fruits, vegetables, medicinal herbs, etc.) may contain a wide variety of free radical scavenging molecules, such as phenolic compounds (e.g. phenolic acids, flavonoids, lignans, tannins), nitrogen compounds, vitamins, terpenoids (including carotenoids), and some other endogenous metabolites, which are rich in antioxidant activity (; Zheng and Wang, 2001; Cai et al., 2003). Phytochemicals present in plants have been shown to have diverse biological activities like cardioprotective, cancer prevention and inhibiton of bone resorption. One of the most common activities of the phytochemicals is the antioxidant .(B.R.Srilatha and S.Ananda., 2012). The total antioxidant activity of plant foods is the result of individual activities of each of the antioxidant compounds present such as vitamin C, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds, the latter being the major phytochemicals responsible for antioxidant activity of plant materials (Javanmardi, Stushnoff, Locke, Vivanco, 2003;) Plants are the natural source for many biochemicals, fragrance, food coloures ,flavors and medicines with less side affects. Most valuable phytochemicals are the products of secondary metabolism .The use of plants as medicines predates written human history. All the plants produce chemical compounds as a part of their normal metabolic activity. The scientific interest in identifying novel natural antioxidants for use in foods has considerably increased in recent years, because the use of synthetic antioxidants as food additives is limited by specific regulations in various countries, established on the basis of their safety.(Spiridon Kintzios et al.2010). Many plants synthesize substances that are useful to the maintenance of health in humans and other animals. Compounds like flavonoids, phenolics are widely distributed in plants fulfilling many functions. They are most common group of polyphenolic compounds in human diet, and are known for their antioxidant activities. Pharmaceutica ls and food manufactures have become interested in these compounds for their medicinal properties especially their putatitive role in inhibiting cancer or cardiovascular diseases. Antioxidant plays an important role in the living system and it prevents the oxidative damage that may result in cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. (Sangilimuthu Alagar Yadav et al.,2012) Ascorbic acid , which is commonly known as vitamin C is common antioxidant . Ascorbic acid present in medicinal plants has attracted the attention of many researchers because of the wide range of their biological activities. (Mallika Jainu et al., 2008). Many studies have correlated high intakes of vitamin c, with low rates of cancer, particularly cancers of mouth, larynx and esophagus. Use of plants to treat diseases is almost universal among non industrialized societies, and are often more affordable than purchasing expensive modern pharmaceuticals. Many of the pharmaceuticals currently available to physician s have long history of use as herbal remedies including aspirin, digitalis, quinine and opium. Leaves and Fruits of Mukia maderasapatana Melothria madraspatana (Syn. Mukia maderaspatana L.) is an annual climber with hair shoots. It is an edible plant typically low in calories, low in fat, high in dietary fibre, high in iron and calcium and very high in phytochemicals such as Vitamin C, vitaminK, carotenoids, lutein, folate and polyphenolics compounds such as flavonoid etc. The whole plant is useful as it has valuable medicinal properties, cough, dental pain, burning sensation, and ayurvedic properties such as Rasa, Guna,Virya, vata, pita. In scientific literature M. maderaspatana has been shown to be anti-inflammatory, anti arthiritic Immunomodulatory, anti platelet ,hepato protective and antimicrobial. (B.R.Srilatha and S.Ananda., 2012). So the present study was carried out to evaluate the total phenolics, flavonoid and ascorbic acid contents in the leaves and the fruits of the plant. Materials and methods Plant material: M.maderaspatana were collected from vellore institute of technology (VIT) garden, vellore, Tamilnadu, State of India. Chemicals: Ascorbate, Trichloroacetic acid, DNPH (2,4 Dinitro phenylhydrazine) reagent, Thiourea solution, FC ( Folin ciocalteau)reagent, Catechol, Sodium carbonate, Ethanol, Quercetin, Aluminium Chloride, Potassium acetate. Estimation of Ascorbic acid The amount of ascorbic acid present in leaves and fruits of M.maderaspatana was estimated by method of (Roe and Keuther1943).Fresh leaves and fruits (1gm) were homogenized with 10ml of 4% TCA and centrifuged at 2000 rpm. The supernatant obtained was treated with pinch of activated charcoal for 10 min. Centrifugation was repeated and clear supernatant was obtained. Two different aliquots of supernatant (0.5 and 1.0ml) were taken as test sample . The volume was made upto 2.0ml with 4% TCA ,0.5ml of DNPH, 2drop of 10% thiourea solution was added and incubated for 3 hour at 37ËÅ ¡c . 2.5ml of 85% sulphuric acid was added and absorbance was read at 540 nm against blank . Ascorbate was used as standard. The ascorbic acid was expressed as mg equivalent per gram of extract. Preparation of ethanolic extract for phenolics: The leaves and the fruits of the plant were shade dried and powdered in the grinder. The powder leaves and fruits (25gm) was extracted with 85% ethanol (100ml) and kept overnight. The ethanol was evaporated next day using water bath and the residue was dried and used for further analysis. Estimation of phenolics: The total phenolic content present in leaves and fruits were assayed by (Mallick and Singh 1980). 10mg of plant extract was dissolved in 1ml of 80% ethanol. Further dilution were made up to 1mg /ml and different concentrations ( 10 µl,50 µl,100 µl and 250 µl) were taken and made up to 3ml with distilled water. 0.5ml of Folin ciocalteau reagent was added and incubated for 3min at RT. 2ml of sodium carbonate was added and kept in boiling water bath for 1min, cooled and absorbance was measured at 650 nm against blank .Catechol was used as standard. The total phenolic content was expressed as Catechol equivalent in mg per gram of extract. Estimation of flavonoids: The total flavonoids contents present in leaves and fruits were assayed by (Chang et al.,2002).10mg of plant extract was dissolved in 1ml of 80% ethanol, further dilution were made upto 1mg/ml and different concentrations ( 10  µl,50 µl,100 µl and 250 µl )were taken, 0.1ml of 10% aluminium chloride and 0.1ml of 1M potassium acetate and reaction mixture were made upto 3ml with distilled water. After 30min incubation at RT, the absorbance was measured at 415nm, against blank. Quercetin was used as standard. The flavonoid content was expressed as Quercetin equivalent in mg per gm of extract. Results: Standard graphs of Ascorbate, Catechol and Quercetin for Ascorbic acid, Phenolics and Flavonoid respectively are shown below, and The total content of these phytochemicals, present in M.maderaspatana were assayed using these standard graph The amount of Ascorbic acid, Total Phenolics and Flavonoids present in the leaves and fruits were investigated. The amount of Ascorbic acid is expressed as mg ascorbate /g. Graph1: (Standard curve equation Y= 0.007 x, r2 = 0.992), The total amount of phenolics is expressed as mg Catechol/g. Graph 2: ( Standard curve equation Y = 0.029 x, , r2 = 0.995) and The total amount of Flavonoid is expressed as mg Quercetin /g. Graph 3: (Standard curve equation Y = 0.012 x, r2 = 0.993) is tabulated below. Discussion: Medicinal plants are reported to be rich in antioxidants, namely polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamin A, C, E and several other constituents, which are necessary for maintaining good health and useful for therapeutic purposes against various diseases (Scalbert, Johnson, Saltmarsh, 2005) Medicinal plants are gaining a lot of importance as an alternate medicine against therapy and prevention from various diseases.(Raj Kumar Dutta et al.,2012). The result of present study in quantitative analysis of Ascorbic acid in leaves of Mukia maderaspatana were high (99.046  ± 1.413  µg/g) comparatively to that of fruits, (24.52  ± 1.43  µg/g) and various studies have revealed that ascorbic acid is an antioxidant vitamin that acts synergistically with tocopherol to preserve antioxidant function in chronic disease states (Bruno et al.,2006; Traber Stevens, 2011, Nuri Andarwulan et al .,2012). And Total Phenolics (31.08  ± 0.5291  µg/g) and Flavonoid (25.388 à ‚ ± 0.0174  µg/g) contents were also high in leaves to that of fruits (14.97  ± 1.127  µg/g ),( 6.47  ± 0.012  µg/g ) respectively .In the whole, leaves showed the higher amount of contents as compared to that of the fruits, and the antioxidant property of ascorbic acid were high when compared to phenolics an flavonoid contents in M.maderaspatana plant. Conclusions: The data presented in the study showed that Mukia maderaspatana is rich in antioxidant properties, especially Ascorbic acid, which is necessary for the treatment and prevention of scurvy and reduce neurological defects. The plant also contain adequate amount of flavonoid and phenolic content, which have anti-germ activities, anti tumor and anti inflammatory properties with reduced risk of heart disease  and many chronical diseases. Thus determining the antioxidant activities from M. maderaspatana could be valuable for pharmaceuticals and even for the food industries as they are abundantly found.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Leadership Notes

Management Unit 6 Study Note: Leadership Leading Basics Leadership: The process of inspiring others to work hard to accomplish important tasks * One of the four functions that constitute the management process * Planning: sets direction and objectives * Organizing: brings resources together and turn plans into action * Leading: builds the commitments and enthusiasm needed to accomplish plans Controlling: makes sure things turns out rightVision: A term used to describe a clear sense of the future Visionary Leadership: Brings to the situation a clear sense of the future and an understanding of how to get there * Visionary leaders inspire others to take the actions necessary to turn vision into reality Power: The ability to convince someone else to do something you want, your way. Position Power: Temporary forms of power such as reward power, coercive power, and legitimate power.Personal Power: Permanent forms of power such as expert power and referent power Reward Power: Rewarding good behavior with compliments or assets Coercive Power: Deterring bad behavior with punishments or negative feedback Legitimate Power: Applying good behavior through the use of authority and rights of office Expert Power: Supporting good behavior through example, advice, and experience Referent Power: Inspiring good behavior through personal respect, integrity, and admiration Keys to Developing Position Power: Centrality: Establishing a broad network of contacts and getting involved with important information flows * Criticality: Taking good care of others * Visibility: Becoming known as an influential person Empowerment: The process through which managers enable and help others to gain power and achieve influence. Important Leadership Traits: * Drive * Self-confidence * Creativity * Cognitive ability * Business knowledge * Motivation * Flexibility * Honesty and integrityEffective Leaders: Provide information, responsibility, authority, and trust. They encourage others to take initiati ve, make decisions, utilise knowledge. Task Concerns: * Plans and defines work to be done * Assigns task responsibilities * Sets clear work standards * Urges task completion * Monitors performance results People Concerns: * Acts warm and supportive toward followers * Develops social rapport with followers * Respects the feelings of followers * Is sensitive to followers’ needs * Shows trust in followersLeadership Styles Blake/ Mouton Leadership Grid: * Team Management: High task concern; high people concern * Authority-Obedience Management: High task concern; low people concern * Country Club Management: High people concern; low task concern * Impoverished Management: Low task concern; low people concern. * Middle of the Road Management: Non-committal for both task concern and people concern Hersey-Blanchard: Leadership theory that calls for adjustments of styles for per situation.Delegating: Low-task, low-relationship style that works best in high readiness-situations Partici pating: Low-task, high-relationship style that works best in low- to moderate-readiness situations Selling: High-task, high-relationship style that works best in moderate- to high-readiness situations Telling: High-task, low-relationship style that works best in low-readiness situations Fiedler Contingency Model: Good leadership is based on leadership style (task or relationship otivated) and situational demands (member relations, task structure, position power) Task – Oriented Leader: Leader that focuses on task completion. Strong in high control situations but weak in low control situations Relationship – Oriented Leader: Leader that focuses on employee relationships. They are strongest in middle control situations. House Path Goal Leadership: * Directive Leadership: When job assignments are ambiguous. * Supportive Leadership: When worker self-confidence is low. * Participative Leadership: When performance incentives are poor. Achievement-Oriented Leadership: When ta sk challenge is insufficient Readiness: How ready, willing, and able employees are in performing tasks. Substitutes for Leadership: Factors in the work setting that direct work efforts without the involvement of a leader * Subordinate: Ability, experience, independence * Task Characteristics: Routine, availability of feedback * Organizational Characteristics: Clarity of plans and formalization of rules and procedures Charismatic Leaders: Develop special leader-follower relationships and inspire others in extraordinary ways.Vroom-Jago Leader-Participation Model: designed to help a leader choose the method of decision making that best fits the nature of the problem being faced. In this model, the best leader is someone able to choose and implement the most appropriate decision methods. * Authoritative decision – made by leader * Consultative decision – made by leader with help of group * Group decision – made by group members through participation Works best when: -leader lacks sufficient info -problem is unclear acceptance of others is necessary for implementation -adequate time is available to allow for true participation Transformational Leadership: Someone who is truly inspirational as a leader and who arouses others to seek extraordinary performance accomplishments. * Vision * Charisma * Symbolism * Empowerment * Intellectual stimulation * Integrity Transactional Leadership: Someone who is methodical as a leader and keeps others focused on progressing toward goal accomplishment.Emotional Intelligence: The ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively Male Leadership: Men tend to use transactional leadership Female Leadership: Women tend to use interactive leadership, a style that shares qualities with transformational leadership and behaviors. Ethical Leadership: * Integrity: The leader’s honesty, credibility, and consistency in putting values into action. Crucial for transformational leadership and good old-fashi oned leadership. * Moral Obligation: Awaken people’s potential, instill high expectations and let others do their best.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Reflection paper about educational class Essay

Reflection paper about education class Introduction                  Child safety involves preventing the child from physical, psychological and emotional harm. I have learnt a lot from this course since child safety is a major issue in the society. This is because as a grown up I am obligated to take care of all the children. I came to learn that child safety is very crucial since it sets the foundation of the child development. This will make the children to feel appreciated and loved as the parent guide them in decision making which is very crucial in their lifetime. I also came to learn that child safety is more than providing food, shelter, education and other basic needs, but it entail protection from harm resulting from abuse and neglect. I came to learn that child are at high risk of injuries, accidents and crime which necessitate appropriate measures so as to provide a safe environment for the children. I learnt that there are several ways of enhancing child safety which include: providing a safe environment, implementing safety measures as well as educating protective measures to the children. I also learnt that parent advice is paramount as it guides the children on appropriate safety measures. Parents should also listen and respond to their children’s needs which ensure they maintain good rapport between parent and the child. In conclusion, child safety is becoming a social concern since children are likely to face many risky situations. Providing necessary child safety is very central to every child especially in their development. This is because the children grow up in a safe environment free from abuse and neglect. Children should be protected from physical, emotional and psychological harm. However, it is imperative to provide the appropriate level of child safety since overprotecting the children have adverse consequences. References Child care safety checklist for parents & child care providers. (2009). Bethesda, Md.: Consumer Product Safety Commission. Source document

Thursday, January 2, 2020

How Social Reformers Influenced Edward Bellamy, Henry...

How did social reformers such as Edward Bellamy, Henry George, and the Knights of Labor conceive of liberty and freedom differently than the proponents of the liberty of contract and laissez-faire like Herbert Spencer and Andrew Carnegie? Which of these groups was successful in imposing their vision on the larger society in the years before the turn of the century? Why? Introduction Liberty and freedom was conceived differently by the social reformers and the proponents of the liberty of contract and laissez-faire. The difference actually emanated in the manner in which the two groups interpreted the suitability of the operation of the economy. While the economy can operate on the basis of capitalism where individualism and private property are the basis of creating wealth, it can also operate on the basis of collectivity, where communism and pooling of the labor and output together forms the basis of wealth accumulation for the society. In this respect, the social reformers such as Edward Bellamy, Henry George, and the Knights of Labor conceived the freedom and liberty to entail the rights of the laborers to earn better wages, work for a few hours and have a legal tender mechanism from the government that was not under the control of the banks . On the other hand, the proponents of the liberty of contract and laissez-faire like Herbert Spencer and Andrew Carneg ie conceived the liberty and freedom to entail individualism and private property ownership as the basis of