ABSTRACT Parthenium hysterophorus is an invasive plant variety found in around 50 countries. Phenolic compounds in the P. hysterophorus leaves, HPLC analysis was carried out. In addition, methanolic extract of P. hysterophorus leaves was evaluated for total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), DPPH free radical scavenging activity, and hemolytic activity. The leaves crude extract was orally administered to rabbits (n = 5) at four doses (10, 20, 40 and 80 mg kg–1) for 9 days and its effects on hematological and biochemical parameters were investigated. Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism 8.0 software. The HPLC data revealed the presence of Chlorogenic acid, Bis-HHDP-hex (pedunculagin), Morin, Ellagic acid, Rutin, Syringic acid, etc., which were detected at various retention times. Among these compounds, Ellagic acid was abundantly present with sample peak area of 9594.909 %. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the leaves extracts at a concentration of 80 μg were, 57.35 ± 4.12 μg GAE/μg and 39.44 ± 0.41 μg QE/μg. DPPH free radical scavenging activity was 72.82 % with IC50 value of 168 μg/μL at 80 μg of the extract. In the hemolysis assay, 200 μg of extract had highest cell inhibition of 76.90 % with IC50 >500. Significant (P<0.05) variation in the hematological and biochemical parameters was observed in the extract fed groups. It has been concluded that P. hysterophorus leaves extract had toxic effects on the hematological and biochemical parameters in rabbits which cause abnormal blood profile.

ABSTRACT Conjugated fatty acids (CFAs) mainly consists of Conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) and conjugated linolenic acids (CLNAs). CFAs received significant importance because of their anti-carcinogenic, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, lipid/ energy metabolism modulatory effects and some other health promoting properties. Though, their concentration in food stuff is inadequate for any therapeutic application to be implemented. For a biotechnological perspective, microbial production of these CFAs has been extensively explored as an alternative and various bacterial strains of Propionbacterium , Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium have shown promising results. This review will amass and recap available data concerning CLA and CLNA production by various bacterial strains via various enzymatic reaction behind all the processes. Numerous studies on CFA biochemical pathways are important to understand and discourse the metabolic mechanisms behind this process showing all the gene products that could be involved in the production. Among these bacterial strains few have shown the modulation of lipid metabolism in-vivo , further research should be focused on this topic which would help us to understand the role of gut microbiota on human health and future foods sustainability.

Abstract To evaluate the antibiotic susceptibility patterns in URTIs reporting to tertiary hospitals of Lahore. A cross-sectional study employing 259 culture sensitivity reports obtained from tertiary care hospitals of Lahore. Using SPSS, descriptive statistics were used to estimate frequencies and percentages. In URTIs, S. aureus (5%) was the frequent gram-positive isolate followed by MRSA (1.5%) and MSSA (1.5%), while P. aeruginosa (15.8%) was the prevalent gram-negative isolate followed by Klebsiella (13.1%) and E. coli (6.9%). Against P. aeruginosa, ceftazidime (7.7%), cefuroxime/ceftriaxone (4.6%), amoxicillin (4.3%) and ciprofloxacin (4.2%), were tested resistant, while imipenem (11.2%), ciprofloxacin (9.2%), amikacin (9.2%), meropenem/ levofloxacin/gentamicin (8.1%) and piptaz (6.9%) were found sensitive. Against Klebsiella, carbepenems (7.3%), amikacin (6.5%), ciprofloxacin (5.4%) and gentamicin (5%) were tested sensitive, whereas, ceftazidime (8.5%), ceftriaxone (5.8%), cefaclor (5.5%), ampicillin (4.6%), co-amoxiclave (4.2%) and ciftazidime/ciprofloxacin (3.8%) were found resistant. Overall, imipenem (35%), meropenem (30.8%) and amikacin (31.9%) were the three most sensitive antibiotics, while ceftazidime (25.4%), ceftriaxone (19.2%) and ampicillin (18.5%) were the three most resistant antibiotics. Data suggested that P.aeruginosa and Klebsiella, were the most frequent bacterial isolates in URTIs of Lahore. These isolates were resistant to ampicillin, cefuroxime and ceftazidime, but were sensitive to carbapenem and aminoglycosides.