BackgroundThere is no available information on physicochemical and antioxidant properties on Bangladeshi honey. We investigated five different monofloral and three different multifloral honey samples collected from different parts of Bangladesh.MethodsThe levels of phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, ascorbic acid equivalent antioxidant content (AEAC), proline, protein and antioxidants were determined in the honey samples using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays.ResultsThe highest level of phenolic was 688.5 ± 5.9 mg Gallic acid/kg, and the highest level of flavonoid was 155 ± 6.9 mg Catechin/kg. The highest color intensity was 2034.00 ± 17.5 mAU, and the highest protein content was 8.6 ± 0.0mg/g. High levels of proline (2932.8 ± 3.7 mg/kg), ascorbic acid (154.3 ± 0.3 mg/kg), AEAC (34.1 ± 1.4mg/100 g) and FRAP (772.4 ± 2.5 μmol Fe (II)/100 g) were detected in some of the samples, especially the multifloral honey samples, indicating good antioxidant properties. A strong positive correlation was found between phenolics, flavonoids, DPPH, FRAP and color intensity, indicating that in addition to total phenolic and flavonoid concentrations, color intensity and amino acid are good indicators of the antioxidant potential of honey. Except for a single sample (BDH-6), the honey samples stored for 1.5 years at room temperature still had 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) values within the recommended range (mean = 10.93 mg/kg), indicating that the rate of HMF production in Bangladeshi honey samples is low.ConclusionIt is postulated that the low rate of HMF formation could be attributed to the acidic and low moisture content in the samples. In general, multifloral honeys have higher antioxidant properties based on their high levels of phenolics, flavonoids, AEAC, DPPH and FRAP when compared to monofloral honeys. We also found that monofloral honey samples from Guizotia abyssinica and Nigella sativa had high antioxidant properties.

BackgroundThe global burden from cancer is rising, especially as low-income countries like Bangladesh observe rapid aging. So far, there are no comprehensive descriptions reporting diagnosed cancer group that include hematological malignancies in Bangladesh.MethodsThis was a multi-center hospital-based retrospective descriptive study of over 5000 confirmed hematological cancer cases in between January 2008 to December 2012. Morphological typing was carried out using the “French American British” classification system.ResultsA total of 5013 patients aged between 2 to 90 years had been diagnosed with malignant hematological disorders. A 69.2% were males (n = 3468) and 30.8% females (n = 1545), with a male to female ratio of 2.2:1. The overall median age at diagnosis was 42 years. Acute myeloid leukemia was most frequent (28.3%) with a median age of 35 years, followed by chronic myeloid leukemia with 18.2% (median age 40 years), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (16.9%; median age 48 years), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (14.1%; median age 27 years), multiple myeloma (10.5%; median age 55 years), myelodysplastic syndromes (4.5%; median age 57 years) and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (3.9%; median age 36 years). The least common was chronic lymphocytic leukemia (3.7%; median age 60 years). Below the age of 20 years, acute lymphoblastic leukemia was predominant (37.3%), followed by acute myeloid leukemia (34%). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma had mostly occurred among older patients, aged 50-over.ConclusionsFor the first time, our study presents the pattern and distribution of diagnosed hematological cancers in Bangladesh. It shows differences in population distributions as compared to other settings with possibly a lower presence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. There might be under-reporting of affected women. Further studies are necessary on the epidemiology, genetics and potential environmental risk factors within this rapidly aging country.

BackgroundWithania somnifera, also known as ashwagandha, is an important herb in ayurvedic and indigenous medical systems. The present study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of an 80% aqueous methanolic extract of W. somnifera roots (WSREt), fruits (WSFEt) and leaves (WSLEt).MethodsSeveral assays were performed to determine the antioxidant properties of this herb including 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), ferrous chelation and inhibition of β-carotene bleaching.ResultsThe values for DPPH, FRAP, ferrous chelation and inhibition of β carotene bleaching for the three types of extracts ranged from 101.73-801.93 μg/ml, 2.26-3.29 mM Fe/kg, 0.22-0.65 mg/ml and 69.87-79.67%, respectively, indicating that W. somnifera, particularly the leaves, possesses significant antioxidant properties. The mean ascorbic acid content was 20.60-62.60 mg/100 g, and the mean anthocyanin content was 2.86-12.50 mg/100 g. Antibacterial activities were measured using the agar well diffusion method and five pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Citrobacter freundii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The leaf extracts displayed the highest activity against S. typhi (32.00 ± 0.75 mm zone of inhibition), whereas the lowest activity was against K. pneumoniae (19.00 ± 1.48 mm zone of inhibition). The lowest minimum inhibitory concentration value was 6.25 mg/ml, which was against S. typhi, followed by 12.5 mg/ml against E. coli.ConclusionIn addition to its antioxidant properties, W. somnifera exhibited significant antibacterial activities against Gram-negative bacteria, particularly S. typhi.

The paper reports the findings on the concentrations of  heavy metals in ten different fish feed by using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. The level of heavy metal concentrations (dry weight) in the fish feed ranged from 1.17 to 2.0, 2.33 to 4.67, 5.17 to 21.67, 106.67 to 363.3, 3.5 to 7.16, 3.83 to 21.2, 56.7 to 141.6 and 2.1 to 16.49 mg/kg of Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn and Cr respectively. The concentrations of Fe, Pb, Co, Cr in different brands of fish feed exceeded the maximum permissible limits recommended by FAO/WHO and EU whereas the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni, Zn were within acceptable limits. Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Vol. 42, No. 2, 207-210, 2018

BackgroundHere, we report the phase distribution of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), defined based on the World Health Organization criteria, among 63 patients in Bangladesh. All patients were diagnosed based on complete blood count, bone marrow examination including bone marrow aspiration and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Out of 63 patients, 42 were male and 21 were female. The mean age of the subjects was 37.4 years, with an age range of 17-60 years. The majority of patients (86%) were classified in the chronic phase (CP), 7 (11%) in the accelerated phase (AP) and two (3%) in blast crisis (BC). The most frequent patient age ranges were 21-30 years for CP, 41-50 years for AP and 41-50 years for BC.ResultsThe Philadelphia chromosome was detected in 48 patients by RT-PCR. The mean total leukocyte counts, platelet counts, hemoglobin levels and marrow blast frequencies were 101 × 109/L, 409 × 109/L, 12.2 g/dl and 2.8% for CP; 121 × 109/L, 418 × 109/L, 8.7 g/dl and 15% for AP and 311 × 109/L, 396 × 109/L, 9.2 g/dl and 26% for BC, respectively.ConclusionThis study concluded that most CML patients in Bangladesh are from a younger age group (31-40 years). In addition, males were more commonly affected, although females were afflicted with this disease at a younger age.