Devasahayam: The First Martyr For Jesus Christ In Travancore

Travancore was the first and foremost among the princely states of India to receive the message of Jesus Christ. According to tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle came to India in 52 A.D. He made many conversions along the west coast of India. It had to the beginning of the Christian Community in India from the early Christian era. He attained martyrdom in 72 A.D. At Calamina in St. Thomas mount, Madras. He was the first to be sacrificed for the sake of Christ in India. During the close of the second century A.D. The Gospel reached the people of southern most part of India, Travancore. Emperor Constantine deputed Theophilus to India in 354 A.D. To preach the Gospel. During this time the persecution of Christians in Persia seemed to have brought many Christian refugees to Malabar coast and after their arrival it strengthened the Christian community there. During the 4th century A.D. Thomas of Cana, a merchant from West Asia came to Malabar and converted many people. During the 6th century A.D. Theodore, a monk, visited India and reported the existence of a church and a few Christian groups at Mylapore and the monastery of St. Thomas in India. Joannes De Maringoly, Papal Legate who visited Malabar in 1348 has given evidence of the existence of a Latin Church at Quilon. Hosten noted many settlements from Karachi to Cape Comorin and from Cape Comorin to Mylapore. The Portuguese were the first European power to establish their power in India. Under the Portuguese, Christians experienced several changes in their general life and religion. Vas-co-da-gama reached Calicut on May 17, 1498. His arrival marked a new epoch in the history of Christianity in India. Many Syrian Catholics were brought into the Roman Catholic fold and made India, the most Catholic country in the East. Between 1535 to 1537 a group of Paravas were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese. In 1544 a group of fishermen were converted to Christian religion. St. Francis Xavier came to India in the year 1542. He is known as the second Apostle of India. He laid the foundation of Latin Christianity in Travancore. He could make many conversions. He is said to have baptized 30,000 people in South India. Roman Congregation of the propagation of Faith formed a Nemom Mission in 1622. The conversion of the Nairs was given much priority. As a result, several Nairs followed Christian faith particularly around Nemom about 8 k.m. South of Trivandrum. Ettuvitu pillaimars, the feudal chiefs began to persecute the Christians of the Nemom Mission. Martyr Devasahayam, belonged to the Nair community and was executed during the reign of Marthandavarma (1729-1758). It is an important chapter in the History of Christianity in South India in general, and of Travancore in particular.

Synthesis, Spectroscpic Studies and Reactivity of Chromium 111 Complexes With Aroyl Hydrazines

Chromium in biological tissues is mostly present in trivalent form and helps to maintain the normal metabolism of glucose, proteins and fats. Literature suggests that chromium(III) complexes have a number of biological activities but some are cytotoxic in nature. So it is necessary to investigate new non-toxic chromium(III) complexes. Aroylhydrazines are biologically important chemical substances and their activities are known to be more improved after complexation with certain metal ions. In order to reveal the chemistry and biochemistry of chromium(III) complexes, the present work explains the synthesis of chromium(III) complexes with aroylhydrazine ligands, their structural and spectroscopic studies. Another significant contribution of this study is the evaluation of the cytotoxic activity, antioxidant nature, antiglycation property and carbonic anhydrase inhibition activities of synthesized chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes. Aroylhydrazine ligands (1-12) with different substituents and their chromium(III) complexes (1a-12a) were synthesized and characterized by using analytical (C, H, N, Cr and Cl- analysis), physical (conductivity measurements) and spectral (EI-Mass, ESI-Mass, FTIR and UV-visible) methods. These physical, analytical and spectral data support that all chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes exhibit an octahedral geometry in which ligand exhibits as a bidentate coordination and two water molecules coordinated at equatorial positions with general formula [Cr(L)2(H2O)2]Cl3. FTIR study demonstrated that in chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes, the ligands were coordinated in a bidentate fashion through carbonyl oxygen and terminal amino nitrogen. ESI-Mass spectra showed that all chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes produce fragments which were assigned to three chlorides and two water molecules from chromium(III) complexes. UV-visible study showed that there are three absorption bands and they also confirmed octahedral geometry of chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes. UV-visible solution study of chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes were evaluated that all of the aroylhydrazine ligands generate stronger ligand field strength than DMSO. Moreover, viii Time dependent stability study of chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes in DMSO showed the decomposition of complex with the passage of time. Some chromium(III) complexes are reported to exhibit cytotoxicity. However, our studies show that chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes reported here were not found to be toxic against normal cells so these compounds were further studied for other biological activities. All chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes were screened for in vitro diphenyl dipicryl hydrazine (DPPH), superoxide dismutase and nitric oxide radical scavenging activities. Majority of the chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes were found to be more effective scavengers as compared to free aroylhydrazine ligands. Studies showed that both steric hindrance and electron inductive effect play an important role in antioxidant activities. Aroylhydrazine ligands and their chromium(III) complexes were also investigated for carbonic anhydrase (CA II) inhibition activity and it was found that all aroylhydrazine ligands were inactive whereas chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes showed excellent carbonic anhydrase inhibition. Chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes with substituents meta position showed higher inhibition potential which may indicate better orientation of these complexes with interactive sites of enzymes. These studies also justified that slight alteration in the structure of the ligands may enhance the biological activities of chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes. Aroylhydrazine ligands and their chromium(III) complexes were also examined for their antiglycation activity in which ligands were found inactive whereas chromium(III)-aroylhydrazine complexes showed significant inhibition of the process of protein glycation. Antiglycation potential of these complexes are dependent upon various factors such as metal-ligand complexation, binding pattern of ligands in the complexes, presence of nitrogen and nature of the ligands. This study provides the opportunity for future researchers to work in this area in order to find more Cr(III)-based antioxidant & antiglycating agents for controlling of diabetes.