Plants are recognized as the richest source of biologically active components called as plant secondary metabolites such as steroids, phytolipids, alkaloids, phenolics and antimicrobial agents. Many plant species are popular due to containing complex mixtures of volatile compounds, mainly composed of terpenoids, with specific essence and odour. The complex mixture of these components obtained from plants is regarded as essential oils. Recently, the essential oils are gaining valuable importance as a good source of antioxidants in nature and harmless bioactives with promising biological and pharmacological applications. During the recent few years, a lot of research is happening to appraise the composition and biological potential of plant EOs (essential oils). The present research work was mainly planned to appraise the variations in physicochemical parameters, composition as well as biological attributes of EOs isolated from four selected medicinal plants such as Euclayptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Basil (Ocimum basilicum), Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) and Mentha (Mentha piperita) using two different techniques including hydro-distillation (HD) and super critical fluid extraction (SCFE). The selected plants were harvested from Soon Valley of Punjab, Pakistan which has specific agroclimatic conditions compared with the adjacent areas. The yields of essential oils from the areal parts of the selected medicinal plants by SCFE and HD revealed significant (P <0.05) variations between the extraction techniques. Overall, the yields of hydro-distilled plants essential oils were higher than the SCF extracted essential oils; hydro-distilled Eucalyptus essential oil gave the highest yield among others. Nevertheless, among the selected plants, the least essential oil yield was obtained from Eucalyptus using SCFE. The results regarding physicochemical parameters showed that the tested SCF extracted essential oils were somewhat denser and had higher refractive index than the essential oils obtained by HD. According to GC/GC-MS compositional analysis, the major chemical component identified in Eucalyptus essential oil, isolated using both the SCFE and HD techniques, was found to be eucalyptol; other important components detected were α-pinene, spathulenol, globulol etc. Linalool was the principal chemical component in Basil EO isolated by either of the techniques while estragole, piperitone oxide, and α- xix bergamotene were some of the other key chemical compounds detected in this oil. Mentha essential oil, produced by either of the techniques, was mainly composed of menthol and menthone. Meanwhile, SCF extracted and hydro-distilled Coriander essential oil contained linalool as a major component followed by α-pinene, phytol, camphor etc. Statistically notable variations were observed in quantitative chemical composition in the selected plant essential oils in relation to SCFE & HD that can be linked to the operational conditions and efficacy of the technique employed. The biological activities of the tested essential oils were evaluated by studying their antioxidant (TPC, TFC, DPPH free radical scavenging capacity and reducing power), antimicrobial (using bacteria and fungus), biofilm inhibition and hemolytic activities. The results showed that the maximum TPC, TFC and DPPH radical scavenging capacity were exhibited by SCF extracted essential oil of Coriander while the essential oil of Eucalyptus obtained by SCFE had superior reducing power among others. Overall, the plants essential oils isolated by SCFE had superior antioxidant capacity as compared to the essential oils obtained by HD. While from the data of antimicrobial activity it was noted that among the selected plants essential oils, isolated by either technique, Coriander essential oil acted as a better antibacterial and antifungal agent against the tested microorganisms. The essential oil of Eucalyptus obtained by SCFE exhibited superior biofilm inhibition potential while the hydro-distilled EO from Coriander gave the minimum hemolytic activity. Based upon the findings of this research project this can be inferred that the biological attributes and composition of the selected plant EOs not only varied within the plant species but also in relation to the two isolation techniques employed (P<0.05). Overall, the SCF extracted essential oils were found to be superior to the hydro-distilled essential oils in terms of antioxidant and biological attributes studied. It can be accepted that the essential oils from the selected medicinal plants of Soon Valley are good source of biologically active components and possessed appreciable antioxidant and other biological activities thus supporting their potential utilization as components for the functional food, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications. In this direction, further studies can be conducted in future towards evaluation of broader spectrum antioxidants using in-vivo trials.
ڈاکٹر اعجاز حسین ؍ ڈاکٹر مسیح الزماں گزشتہ مہینہ میں ڈاکٹر اعجاز حسین سابق صدر شعبہ اردو الہ آباد یونیورسٹی کا انتقال حرکت قلب بند ہوجانے سے مظفرپور میں ہوگیا، جہاں وہ ممتحن بن کر گئے ہوئے تھے، ان کی میت الہ آباد لائی گئی، اپنی ملازمت سے سبکدوش ہونے کے بعد بھی لکھنے پڑھنے کا شغل جاری رکھا تھا، اہم اور مفید کتابوں کے مصنف تھے، جن میں مختصر تاریخ ادب اردو اور نئے ادبی رجحانات وغیرہ زیادہ مقبول ہوئیں، اپنے شاگردوں میں بہت مقبول رہے، ان کی وفات سے اردو ادب ایک بہت ہی لائق مصنف اور خدمت گزار سے محروم ہوگیا، ان سے کچھ ہی روز پہلے ڈاکٹر مسیح الزماں ریڈیو شعبہ اردو الہ آباد یونیورسٹی کی بھی وفات اچانک ہوگئی، اردو کی مرثیہ نگاری ان کا خاص موضوع تھا، ان کی عمر وفا کرتی تو اس صنف میں ان کا ادبی کارنامہ بڑا قابل قدر ہوتا، وہ پروفیسر مسعود حسن رضوی سابق صدر شعبہ اردو لکھنؤ یونیورسٹی کے داماد تھے، جن کے لئے اس کبرسنی میں یہ سانحہ بڑا ہی جانکاہ ہوگا۔ دعا ہے کہ خدا اردو ادب کے ان دونوں خدمت گزاروں کو غریق رحمت کرے، آمین ثم آمین۔ (صباح الدین عبدالرحمن، مارچ ۱۹۷۵ء)
As Muslim scholarship generally treated with the issues relating to rebellion in the manuals of creed, Western scholars and many modern Muslim scholars generally overlooked them. Moreover, when some of them focused on manuals of law-proper where the rules for regulating the conduct of hostilities during rebellion are elaborated, they pick and choose between the views of the jurists belonging to various schools presuming that jurists of various schools followed a common legal theory. The present paper after critically evaluating the methodology of these scholars concludes that every school of law represents a distinct and internally coherent legal theory and as scuh mixing the views of the various schools leads to analytical inconsistency. Hence, it suggests that scholars woking on the legality of rebellion from the perspective of Islamic law should focus on proper legal sources and should adopt a principle-based approach instead of mixing the views of the various schools which are founded on different, sometimes, conficting legal principles.
This study aimed to explore grade VIII students’ perspectives on Urdu teachers’ feedback in private secondary schools in district Chitral, Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey was employed to collect students’ perceptions by using a newly developed and validated tool (questionnaire) for this study. A total of 156 grade VIII students participated in this study selected through convenience sampling. Data were analyzed through SPSS and transferred into MS EXCEL for tabulation. The results indicate that from students’ perspectives, Urdu teachers gave feedback in general and they were more likely to give feedback when their students performed well rather than poorly on a test or in a given task. Moreover, verbal feedback in the form of comment or helpful suggestion was more frequent in Urdu teachers’ practice; however, the feedback in a written form was less frequent in practice. Additionally, Urdu teachers tended to give feedback to the whole class rather than to the individuals. The form of feedback was less likely to be dialogic. For students, their Urdu teachers seldom gave them personal and judgmental criticism (bad, poor and weak) which was not related to their work. The findings demonstrate that for students, the open dialogue between students and teachers in a positive way or in an encouraging tone with ways forward and challenging (critical idea) feedback plays a vital role in motivating them towards learning. On the other hand, personal and judgmental criticisms toward students and their work demotivated and discouraged them from learning. Students preferred dialogic and challenging feedback rather than simply a mark, praise, and correction both in written and verbal form. This study provides an insight into the voice of students or their perceptions on their Urdu teachers’ feedback practices, the influence of such practices on their learning behavior, and their preferences regarding Urdu teachers’ feedback. The implication of this study is to enhance teachers’ feedback techniques as a part of the assessment skills through trainings or workshops provided by the school management.