One new species of Pallisentis Van Cleave, 1928 is described from Channa punctatus (Bloch) from Gomti River (tributary of the Ganga River), in Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow district, India. Pallisentis thapari n. sp. is characterized morphologically by individuals having a globular proboscis armed with rooted hooks in 4 circles of 8–10 hooks each, the first circle more than 100 long and hooks gradually declining in size posteriorly. The trunk is cylindrical, with collar spines comprised of 15–17 complete circles of spines, each ring with 12–22 spines. As common in members of the genus, a narrow spine-free zone lies in between the rings of collar and trunk spines. Field of spines extends posteriorly to half of the body length, ending above the level of testes in males and slightly past mid-body in females; trunk spines have an optically-dense Y-shaped core. The trunk is only slightly wider at the anterior end. The syncytial cement gland of males contained 23–30 nuclei. Individuals of Channa striatus Bloch from the same locality also were infected with the new species. A second species of Acanthocephala, Acanthosentis seenghalae Chowhan, Gupta, Khera, 1988, was found as a parasite of Puntius sophore (Hamilton) from the same locality. The proboscis is short, globular, with 3 circles of hooks each circle bearing 6 hooks. The trunk is broad in the middle and tapered at both ends, with the posterior end narrower than the anterior end. Twelve to 16 circles of spines, each with 21–40 spines, extend from anterior end to just past mid-body in males and only to mid-body in females. The syncytial cement gland of males contains 6–10 nuclei. The analysis of 18s rDNA identified two clades of a monophyletic Pallisentis and placed the isolate of P. thapari n. sp. within that clade; previously established subgenera were not supported by the results of the analysis.

Surveys of freshwater fishes of India were carried out during the period 2011–2017. Members of the species of the genus Prosorhynchoides Dollfus, 1929 (Digenea: Bucephalidae) infect the intestine of freshwater and marine fishes. Prosorhynchoides fusiformis (Verma, 1936) Srivastava and Chauhan, 1973, Prosorhynchoides garuai (Verma, 1936) Srivastava and Chauhan, 1973, Prosorhynchoides karvei (Bhalerao, 1937) Srivastava and Chauhan, 1973, and Prosorhynchoides thapari (Dayal, 1948) Bott and Cribb, 2005, are redescribed from the intestine of some freshwater fishes of India. In this paper we also review the taxonomic status of Indian freshwater Prosorhynchoides spp. We transfer Prosorhynchoides macronius and Prosorhynchoides bagarius (previous name Neobucephalopsis bagarius) to P. fusiformis and accordingly revise the status of other Neobucephalopsis spp. We also transfer Prosorhynchoides sinhai, Prosorhynchoides eutropiichthis, and Prosorhynchoides mauryai (previous name Neobucephalopsis garuai) to P....

Background: Trichosanthes cucumerina L. (TC), Momordica charantia var. muricata (Willd.) Chakrav. (MCM), and Luffa acutangula (L) Roxb. (LA) are common vegetables widely used in traditional and folk systems of medicine for various ailments including diabetes. Methodology: This work evaluated the antidiabetic potential of 95% ethanolic extract (EE) obtained from Trichosanthes cucumerina, Momordica charantia var. muricata, and Luffa acutangula whole plant. Their antidiabetic activity was screened in fasted, fed, glucose-loaded, and diabetic rats treated for up to 4 h. Results: The tested herbal extracts possess potent therapeutic applications; more specifically Momordica charantia var. muricata whole plant extract possessed the most significant blood glucose lowering in fasted (19.68%; p<0.001), fed (8.1%; p<0.001), glucose loaded (18.78%; p<0.001), and diabetic (30.99%; p<0.001) models. Conclusion: Our method of testing the glucose-lowering in four experimental models offers a time-saving approach to screen the hypoglycemic potential of candidate drugs. These findings validate the traditional claims and provide novel insights into the quest for antidiabetic cure.

Genus Masenia Chatterji, 1933 (Trematoda: Maseniidae Yamaguti, 1954) is one of the most important digenean trematode parasite with wide geographic distribution in the world. The purpose of the present study was to describe morphological and morphometrical characteristics of digenetic trematodes. The present study was carried out in fresh water fish fauna of River Gomti, Daliganj at Lucknow (26° 51’ 30” N, 80° 56’14” E). We have found that fresh water fishes heavily infected with various helminthes parasites. We have recovered large number of digenean parasites which belong to genus viz. Masenia Chatterji, 1933. During the survey (2012, Daliganj Lucknow) of fresh water digenetic trematode parasites, collected three different species of the genus Masenia, out of these one is new species, another are redescribed to show certain variation, the new parasite was obtain from the intestine of fish Mystus vittatus (Bloch, 1794) (Actinopterygii: Bagridae).