Well-differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma Arising in Syringocystadenoma Papilliferum

Syringocystadenoma papilliferum (SCAP) is a hamartoma of apocrine sweat gland origin, occurring predominantly in children, in the head and neck region. SCAP can arise or coexist with both benign and malignant tumors. We report herein an extremely rare case of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) arising in SCAP growth located in unusual supragluteal region in an elderly Indian male. A wide surgical excision of the growth was performed which upon histopathological examination revealed the confirmatory diagnosis. SCC arising in SCAP is unusual, and only two histologically confirmed cases have been previously reported in the literature. This case report emphasizes about extremely rare malignant transformation of SCAP, which should be kept in mind while evaluating a suspicious skin lesion.

Chemical characterization of various fractions of leaves of Cinnamomum tamala Linn toward their antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and anti-inflammatory property

Cinnamomum tamala (CT) Linn. (Lauraceae) is a component of Indian spices and is also used as antidiabetic agent. Its antioxidant potential was reported by other authors and recently our group has reported its immune-suppressive property. Here, CT leaves were extracted with methanol (CTT) and also with various organic solvents of increasing polarity such as hexane (CTH), ethyl acetate (CTEA), and methanol (CTE) in successive manner by continuous Soxhlet extractor. The active compounds of CTT and CTH were analyzed by GC-MS and most abundant compound (eugenol) was further analyzed by HPLC. These extracts were tested for their free radical (FR) scavenging potential for different FR species, hypoglycemic potential on alloxan-induced hyperglycemia, and anti-inflammatory property in carrageenan-induced paw edema and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in rat peritoneal macrophage culture. Result showed that CTH was the most active fraction toward these parameters, which was parallel to its eugenol and total phenolic content concentration.

Effect of hexane fraction of leaves of Cinnamomum tamala Linn on macrophage functions

The leaves of Cinnamomum tamala Linn (Lauraceae), component of Indian spices are associated with hypoglycemic property in Ayurveda; however, no report is available towards its immunomodulation property, which has been explored here. The dried powder of CT leaves was extracted with hexane and solvent free extract (CTH) was given orally to rats for 10 days, in various doses. Its effect was studied on peritoneal macrophage functions, and was compared with ascorbic acid (1,000 mg/kg, immune-stimulant) and cyclophosphamide (10 mg/kg, immune-suppressant). CTH significantly suppressed phagocytosis activity (EC(50) 2,355 +/- 52.45 mg/kg), reduced production of superoxide (EC(50) 275.91 +/- 10.21 microg/ml) and cellular NADPH (EC(50) 384.959 +/- 4.85 microg/ml) content in concentration dependent manner. It also inhibited LPS induced production of nitric oxide (EC(50) 143.75 +/- 3.40 microg/ml) and iNOS protein expression (EC(50) 183.132 microg/ml). Thus, it could be suggested that non-polar hexane fraction of leaves of C. tamala possesses immunosuppressive property, which is mediated through modulation of innate immunity.