Effects of Carica Papaya and Psidium Guajava Extracts on Hepato-Renal Performance of Streptozotocin- Induced Diabetic Male Albino Rats Carica Papaya and Psidium Guajava Extracts & Diabetic rats

The growing number of diabetes coupled with the harsh side effects of some synthetic drugs has led to the increasing search for alternative medicine which are relatively cheap with minimum side effects. Objective: To investigate the anti-diabetic effect of ethanolic extract of Carica papaya and Psidiumguajava extracts separately and in combination, and the effect of treatment on hepato-renal performance. Methods: Papaya and guava leaves were macerated in 98% ethanol for extraction. Results: The result showed that ethanolic leaf extract of P. Guajava and C. Papaya significantly (P< 0.05) reduced blood glucose level, Total Cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and significant increase in high density lipoprotein (HDL) as compared to diabetic control group. Serum activities of liver enzymes such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was slightly elevated that indicate hepatotoxic nature of plant extracts. The level of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), bilirubin and HbA1C level were restored to normal range. A slight reduction in body weight (P>0.05) of treated groups was observed. Serum urea and creatinine concentration was restored to normal level in treated rats with regeneration of kidney function. Conclusions: The study concluded that individual and combined plant extract show anti-hyperglycemic effect but the combined remedy at this dose show hepatotoxicity

An Investigation of Misconceptions of Biology Students at Secondary Level and Effectiveness of Conceptual Change Instructional Strategy

This study was an attempt to find out the misconceptions of biology students at secondary level. It is a well known fact that students enter in science classroom with a lot of misconceptions, which are based on their beliefs and observations. The focus of this research study was to find out the misconceptions of students about selected concepts of biology e.g. classification of animals, photosynthesis and green house effect. The nature of the research study was exploratory and interviews were conducted to investigate the misconceptions. The 2 schools were purposely selected as a study site. The size of the sample of the study was 80 students (50% boys & 50% girls), who participated in the study voluntarily. A well established technique ‘Interview About Instances’ (IAI) was used to explore misconceptions of the students. To apply this interview technique instance cards (20 for each concept) were developed to present examples and non- examples of biology concepts in the form of diagrams, line diagrams and pictures. Non-formal, semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant to explore the existing misconceptions of the students. Interviews were audio-taped with permission and later on transcribed. The codes were assigned to the responses on the basis of similarities and differences. The responses were combined to find out the underlying themes which combined into three categories. The inquiry sessions were planned. The participants were randomly divided into two equal groups’ i.e. Group A & Group B. Group B participated in inquiry sessions while group A was kept outside. Researcher facilitated the inquiry sessions, students planned activities to explore the concepts. Afterwards, the same instance cards were shown to both A & B groups. Interviews about instances were conducted, recorded, transcribed and coded. The responses of students were consolidated into themes which were combined into three categories. The frequencies and percentages of categories of responses in pre and post session interviews were calculated and compared. Moreover to establish the effectiveness of inquiry approach as a conceptual change instructional strategy the responses of Group A & B in post session were also compared. The improvement in scientific responses and correctness of misconceptions was observed in the responses of group B in post session interviews. It was concluded that students had misconceptions in basic biological concepts. The misconceptions found were large in number which can be addressed with appropriate conceptual change instructional strategy. It was also concluded that inquiry method is an effective strategy to replace the misconceptions with accurate conceptions. It was recommended that misconceptions of students should be explored and addressed appropriately prior to teaching.