T wo new steroidal glycosides [1 and 2] have been isolated from Mimusops elengi and characterized as the 3-0-3-D-glucopyranoside and the 3-0-ß-D-galactopyranoside of (24R)stigmast-7,22(£)-dien-3ot-ol, respectively.The genus Mimusops belongs to the family Sapotaceae and comprises 30 species, of which three, including M. elengi L., are indigenous to Pakistan. . elengi is an ornamental tree with sweet-scented flowers. The bark and fruit of this plant are used in the treatment of diarrhea and dysentery, and a decoction of the bark is used as a gargle (1,2). The pounded seeds pasted with oil are used for the treatment of obstinate constipation. Pillow stuffing made from the dried flowers induces nasal discharge and relieves headache (2). Previously, several triterpenoids, steroids, steroidal glycosides, flavonoids, and alkaloids have been reported from this species (2). The current report describes the iso-

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SUMMARYIn the UK, people of South Asian origin are at more than twice the risk of end-stage renal failure encountered in the Caucasian population but are under-represented among organ donors. Difficulties with matching mean that few donated kidneys are suitable for transplantation to South Asian recipients. A survey of attitudes in 100 South Asian adults was conducted in the main street of Southall, Middlesex. 90 of those questioned were aware of organ transplantation and 69 had heard about donor cards. However, the 16% who carried a donor card was lower than the 28% reported in the general population. The main reason for the low organ donation rate by South Asians seemed to be lack of knowledge, and this could be remedied by more targeting of information in the Asian media.

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Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae ( Xoo ) is a gram-negative pathogen which causes leaf blight disease. Known traditional bactericides are not much more effective in inhibiting this bacteria than before. Selecting the virulence factor of the bacteria as the target without affecting their growth has been considered as a novel method for developing new anti-microbial drugs. Type III secretion systems (T3SS) are one of the important and highly conserved virulence factors in most gram-negative pathogens, which has been considered as an effective target to develop new anti-microbial drugs. In order to discover potential anti-microbial drugs against Xoo pathogens, a series of ethyl 2-nitro-3-arylacrylates compounds were screened. Among them, the compounds I-9, I-12, and I-13 could highly inhibit the promoter activity of a harpin gene hpa1 , which were used to further check for the influence on bacterial growth and on the hypersensitive response (HR) caused by Xoo bacteria on non-host plants. The results showed that above compounds could reduce HR without affecting bacterial growth and survival. Moreover, qRT-PCR analysis indicated that treatment with the three inhibitors (I-9, I-12, and I-13) could suppress the expression of the Xoo T3SS in different extent. The mRNA levels of representative genes in the hrp cluster, including the key regulatory genes hrpG and hrpX , were decreased. Last but not least, in vivo test ensured that the above compounds reduced the disease symptoms of Xoo on the rice and Xcc on the Chinese radish.

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