Current Issue : July - September Volume : 2017 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 6 Articles
Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) is a plant native of Central and South America, but widely\ndistributed in the wild or semi-cultivated areas in Africa, India, and South East Asia. Although\nstudies are available in literature on the polyphenolic content and bioactivity of Jatropha curcas L.,\nno information is currently available on plants grown in pedoclimatic and soil conditions different\nfrom the autochthon regions. The aim of the present work was to characterize the antioxidant system\ndeveloped by the plant under a new growing condition and to evaluate the polyphenol amount\nin a methanolic extract of leaves. Along with these analyses we have also tested the antioxidant\nand cytoprotective activities on lymphocytes. RP-HPLC-DAD analysis of flavonoids revealed a\nchromatographic profile dominated by the presence of flavone C-glucosydes. Vitexin is the most\nabundant identified compound followed by vicenin-2, stellarin-2, rhoifolin, and traces of isovitexin\nand isorhoifolin. Methanolic extract had high scavenging activity in all antioxidant assays tested and\ncytoprotective activity on lymphocytes exposed to tertz-buthylhydroperoxide. The results highlighted\na well-defined mechanism of adaptation of the plant and a significant content of secondary metabolites\nwith antioxidant properties, which are of interest for their potential uses, especially as a rich source\nof biologically active products....
Background: Pathogenic yeasts resistance to current drugs emphasizes the need for new, safe,\nand cost-effective drugs. Also, new inhibitors are needed to control the effects of enzymes that are\nimplicated in metabolic dysfunctions such as cancer, obesity, and epilepsy. Methods: The anti-yeast extract\nfrom Terminalia mantaly (Combretaceae) was fractionated and the structures of the isolated compounds\nestablished by means of spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data. Activity was assessed\nagainst Candida albicans, C. parapsilosis and C. krusei using the microdilution method, and against four\nenzymes of metabolic significance: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, human erythrocyte carbonic\nanhydrase I and II, and glutathione S-transferase. Results: Seven compounds, 3,3-di-O-methylellagic\nacid 4-O-�±-rhamnopyranoside; 3-O-methylellagic acid; arjungenin or 2,3,19,23-tetrahydroxyolean-12-en-\n28-o�¯c acid; arjunglucoside or 2,3,19,23-tetrahydroxyolean-12-en-28-o�¯c acid glucopyranoside;\n2�±,3�±,24-trihydroxyolean-11,13(18)-dien-28-o�¯c acid; stigmasterol; and stigmasterol 3-O-�²-dglucopyranoside\nwere isolated from the extract. Among those, 3,3-di-O-methylellagic acid\n4-O-�±-rhamnopyranoside, 3-O-methylellagic acid, and arjunglucoside showed anti-yeast activity\ncomparable to that of reference fluconazole with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) below\n32 �¼g/mL. Besides, Arjunglucoside potently inhibited the tested enzymes with 50% inhibitory\nconcentrations (IC50) below 4 �¼M and inhibitory constant (Ki) <3 �¼M. Conclusions: The results\nachieved indicate that further SAR studies will likely identify potent hit derivatives that should\nsubsequently enter the drug development pipeline....
Apoptosis of lymphocytes is associated with immunosuppression and poor\nprognosis in sepsis. Our previous report showed that histones, nuclear proteins\nreleased from damaged or dying cells in sepsis, can mediate lymphocyte apoptosis\nvia mitochondria damage. Grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE), a natural\nsubstance with protective properties against oxidative stress, plays a vital role in\ncell and mitochondria protection. We thus hypothesized that GSPE may play a\nprotective role in histone-induced lymphocyte apoptosis through its anti-oxidative\nproperties. In this study, we investigated the protective efficacy of GSPE on\nlymphocyte apoptosis induced by extracellular histones, a main contributor of death\nin sepsis. Human blood lymphocytes were treated with 50 mg/ml histones, 2 mg/ml\nGSPE, or a combination of both. A total of 100 mM N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a\nreactive oxygen species (ROS) inhibitor, was used as a positive control for GSPE.\nApoptosis, intracellular ROS levels, mitochondrial membrane potential, Bcl-2\nexpression, and caspase-3 cleavage were measured. Our data clearly indicate that\nGSPE significantly inhibited lymphocyte apoptosis, generation of ROS, the loss of\nmitochondrial membrane potential, the decrease in Bcl-2 expression, and caspase-3\nactivation induced by extracellular histones. In conclusion, we show that GSPE\nhas a protective effect on lymphocyte apoptosis induced by extracellular histones.\nThis study suggests GSPE as a potential therapeutic agent that could help reduce\nlymphocyte apoptosis, and thus the state of immunosuppression was observed in\nseptic patients....
Triticum aestivum is also known as wheat grass which is rich in anti oxidants and flavonoids. Due to high antioxidant content and enzyme super oxide dismutase (SOD) which converts dangerous free radical reactive oxygen species into hydrogen peroxide having extra oxygen molecule to kill cancer cells. The aim of this study was to elucidate the in-vitro cytotoxic activity of Triticum aestivum. The cytotoxic activity of the Triticum aestivum extracts were evaluated with the in-vitro hemolytic assay and brine shrimp lethality (lethality assay). In the hemolytic study, the absorbance of the liberated haemoglobin is checked using UV spectrophotometer and in the lethality assay the % mortality was checked by counting the viable nauplii at different time intervals. The Triticum aestivum extracts has shown significant cytotoxic action in the hemolytic assay as well as in lethality assay. The concentration depended cytotoxic activity was observed. 1000 mcg/ml has shown the highest potency. In-vitro cytotoxic hemolytic study for methanolic extract of Triticum aestivum showed concentration dependent effect on erythrocytes which support cytotoxic action of Triticum aestivum. With respect to the effect of the time of exposure, in the lethargy test the highest percentage of cytotoxicity was detected at 12 h or 24 h of exposure. Triticum aestivum could be attributed to the presence of phytochemical in suitable form. So, it can be the next better, safer and cheaper herbal alternate in management of chronic diseases like cancer....
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is still a global health problem mainly due to development of resistance and co-infection\nwith the Human immune Virus (HIV). Treatment of multi and extensively drug resistant TB requires use of second line\ndrugs which are less efficacious, expensive and very toxic. This has necessitated a need to search for new treatment\nregimens especially from medicinal plants. Zanthoxylum leprieurii, a plant species from Rutaceae is used locally in the\ntreatment of tuberculosis in Uganda. The aim of the study was to isolate, identify and characterize bio active compounds\nfrom Z. leprieurii stem bark with antimycobacterial activity.\nMethods: Crude extracts, fractions and compounds from air dried stem bark of Z. leprieurii were tested against pan\nsensitive (H37rv), isoniazid resistant (TMC 301) and rifampicin resistant (TMC 331) strains of M. tuberculosis using micro\nplate alamar blue assay. Isolation of active compounds was done by using column chromatography and thin layer\nchromatography. They were analysed using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy.\nResults: The methanol extract had minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 47.5, 75.3 and 125.0 �¼g/ml on the pan\nsensitive strain, rifampicin resistant and isozianid resistant strains of M. tuberculosis respectively. The chloroform extract had\nMIC values of 260 �¼g/ml agnaist the pan sensitive strain and 156 �¼g/ml on the rifampicin resistant strain. Of the sixteen\nfractions from the methanol extract, fraction Za4 (MIC = 6.3 �¼g/mL, 23.0 �¼g/mL, 11.7 �¼g/mL) and Za6 (MIC = 11.7 �¼g/mL\n31.2 �¼g/ml, 31.2 �¼g/ml) were the most active. Three acridone alkaloids; hydroxy-1, 3-dimethoxy-10-methyl-9-acridone (1),\n1-hydroxy-3-methoxy-10-methyl-9-acridone (2) and 3-hydroxy-1, 5, 6-trimethoxy-9-acridone (3) were isolated from Za4\nand Za6. TheMIC of compound 3 was found to be 5.1 �¼g/ml, 4.5 �¼g/ml and 3.9 �¼g/ml on H37rv, TMC 331 and TMC 301\nwhile that of 1 was found to be 1.5 �¼g/ml, 8.3 �¼g/ml and 3.5 �¼g/ml respectively.\nConclusion: The results of this study suggest that Z. leprieurii is active on resistant strains of M. tuberculosis and could be a\npotential source of new leads against resistant tuberculosis. It also verifies the local use of the plant in treatment of\ntuberculosis....
A protracted pro-inflammatory state is a major contributing factor in the development,\nprogression and complication of the most common chronic pathologies. Fruit and vegetables represent\nthe main sources of dietary antioxidants and their consumption can be considered an efficient\ntool to counteract inflammatory states. In this context an evaluation of the protective effects of\nstrawberry extracts on inflammatory stress induced by E. coli LPS on human dermal fibroblast cells\nwas performed in terms of viability assays, ROS and nitrite production and biomarkers of oxidative\ndamage of the main biological macromolecules. The results demonstrated that strawberry extracts\nexerted an anti-inflammatory effect on LPS-treated cells, through an increase in cell viability, and the\nreduction of ROS and nitrite levels, and lipid, protein and DNA damage. This work showed for the\nfirst time the potential health benefits of strawberry extract against inflammatory and oxidative stress\nin LPS-treated human dermal fibroblast cells....
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