Hexagonal Boron Nitride Quantum Dots Embedded on Layer-by-Layer Films for Peroxidase-Assisted Colorimetric Detection of β-Galactosidase Producing Pathogens.

Pathogen detection has become a major research area all over the world for water quality surveillance and microbial risk assessment. Therefore, designing simple and sensitive detection kits plays a key role in envisaging and evaluating the risk of disease outbreaks and providing quality healthcare settings. Herein, we have designed a facile and low-cost colorimetric sensing strategy for the selective and sensitive determination of β-galactosidase producing pathogens.

Alleviation of Diabetic Retinopathy by Glucose-Triggered Delivery of Vitamin D via Dextran-Gated Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common retinal disorder, developed in 35% of patients with diabetes mellitus. Lower serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D are associated with the increased risk of developing DR. High doses of the active form of vitamin D (VD), on the contrary, for a long period of time may lead to hypercalcemia and an imbalance in the regulation of bone metabolism.

Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles: Drug Delivery Vehicles for Antidiabetic Molecules.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are promising nanomaterials that are widely used in biomedical applications like drug delivery, diagnosis, bio-sensing and cell tracking. MSNs have been investigated meticulously in the drug-delivery field due to their unique chemical and pharmacokinetic properties, such as highly ordered mesopores, high surface area and pore volume, tuneable pore size, stability, surface functionalisation, and biocompatibility. MSN-based nanocomposites have been used to deliver therapeutic molecules like insulin, GLP-1, exenatide, DPP-4 inhibitor and plasmid-containing GLP-1 genes for managing diabetes mellitus for the last decade.

A popular fermented soybean food of Northeast India exerted promising antihyperglycemic potential via stimulating PI3K/AKT/AMPK/GLUT4 signaling pathways and regulating muscle glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes.

This study examined the antidiabetic efficacy of popular fermented soybean foods (FSF) of Northeast (NE) India. Results showed that among different FSF, aqueous extract of Hawaijar (AEH), a traditional FSF of Manipur, NE India, significantly augmented glucose utilization in cultured myotubes treated with high glucose (HG, 25 mM). Furthermore, AEH also upregulated glucose uptake, glucose-6-phosphate level, and phopho-PI3K/phospho-AKT/phospho-AMPK/GLUT4 protein expression in HG-treated myotubes.

Current perspectives on the anti-inflammatory potential of fermented soy foods.

Fermented soy foods (FSF) are gaining significant attention due to promising health benefits. In recent years, FSF are being studied extensively due to the presence of diverse functional ingredients including active isoflavones and peptides along with essential micronutrients. The process of fermentation is responsible for the enrichment of various bioactive principles in soy-based fermented foods and exclusion of some anti-nutrient factors which are found predominantly in raw soybeans.

Antidiabetic potential of soy protein/peptide: A therapeutic insight.

Soybean (Glycine max) harbours high quality proteins which have been evident to exhibit therapeutic properties in alleviating many diseases including but not limited to diabetes and its related metabolic complications. Since diabetes is often manifested with hyperglycemia, impaired energy homeostasis and even low-grade chronic inflammation, plenty of information has raised the suggestion for soy protein supplementation in preventing and controlling these abnormalities. Moreover, clinical intervention studies have established a noteworthy correlation between soy protein intake and lower prevalence of diabetes.

Homeopathic Medicines Used as Prophylaxis in Kolkata during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Community-Based, Cluster-Randomized Trial.

Introduction: There is some evidence that homeopathic treatment has been used successfully in previous epidemics, and currently some countries are testing homeoprophylaxis for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. There is a strong tradition of homeopathic treatment in India: therefore, we decided to compare three different homeopathic medicines against placebo in prevention of COVID-19 infections.

Methods: In this double-blind, cluster-randomized, placebo-controlled, four parallel arms, community-based, clinical trial, a 20,000-person sample of the population residing in Ward Number 57 of the Tangra area, Kolkata, was randomized in a 1:1:1:1 ratio of clusters to receive one of three homeopathic medicines ( 30cH, 30cH, 30cH) or identical-looking placebo, for 3 (children) or 6 (adults) days.

Is diabetes mellitus a wrongdoer to COVID-19 severity?

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has turned out to be a pandemic in short period of time due to the high transmissibility of its causative agent, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Various reports have suggested the promising link between overexpression of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and COVID-19 pathogenesis. The severity of COVID-19 pathophysiology is greatly depended on several comorbidities, like hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM), respiratory and cardiovascular disease, out of which DM has emerged as a major risk factor.

Chitosan: A promising therapeutic agent and effective drug delivery system in managing diabetes mellitus.

Chitosan, a promising carbohydrate biopolymer is gaining scientific attention in a wide range of biomedical applications due to its outstanding chemical and pharmacokinetic properties. Recently, various studies have demonstrated the beneficial activities of chitosan in protecting and proliferating pancreatic beta cells, lowering hyperglycemia, and preventing impaired lipid metabolism associated diabetes mellitus. Moreover, chitosan has also been used in formulating several types of micro/nano-carriers for the delivery of different antidiabetic drugs, like insulin, GLP1, exendin-4, DPP-4 inhibitor, and plasmid encoding insulin or GLP to reduce hyperglycemia.

Daidzein, its effects on impaired glucose and lipid metabolism and vascular inflammation associated with type 2 diabetes.

Over the last decades, the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is increasing substantially. Emerging evidences from epidemiological studies have shown the association between higher intake of soy isoflavones and reduced risk of T2D and its associated health risks. Daidzein, a soy isoflavone, has been found to have a promising therapeutic potential in managing T2D pathophysiology.