OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the antidiabetic and antioxidant effects of M. latifolia bark extracts, fractions, and isolated constituents.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Melicope latifolia extracts (hexane, chloroform, and methanol), fractions, and isolated constituents with varying concentrations (0.078-10 mg/mL) were subjected to in vitro α-amylase and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitory assay. Molecular docking was performed to study the binding mechanism of active compounds towards α-amylase and DPP-4 enzymes. The antioxidant activity of M. latifolia fractions and compounds were determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and β-carotene bleaching assays.
RESULTS: Melicope latifolia chloroform extract showed the highest antidiabetic activity (α-amylase IC50: 1464.32 μg/mL; DPP-4 IC50: 221.58 μg/mL). Fractionation of chloroform extract yielded four major fractions (CF1-CF4) whereby CF3 showed the highest antidiabetic activity (α-amylase IC50: 397.68 μg/mL; DPP-4 IC50: 37.16 μg/mL) and resulted in β-sitosterol (1), halfordin (2), methyl p-coumarate (3), and protocatechuic acid (4). Isolation of compounds 2-4 from the species and their DPP-4 inhibitory were reported for the first time. Compound 2 showed the highest α-amylase (IC50: 197.53 μM) and β-carotene (88.48%) inhibition, and formed the highest number of molecular interactions with critical amino acid residues of α-amylase. The highest DPP-4 inhibition was exhibited by compound 3 (IC50: 911.44 μM).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The in vitro and in silico analyses indicated the potential of M. latifolia as an alternative source of α-amylase and DPP-4 inhibitors. Further pharmacological studies on the compounds are recommended.
Objective: To assess the periodontal status of pre-dialysis CKD patients in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Methods: A total of 46 pre-dialysis CKD patients who attended the nephrology clinic at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia were enrolled in this study. Periodontal examination was performed using the periodontal probing depth (PPD), clinical attachment loss (CAL) and plaque index.
Results: The majority of the CKD patients were Malay (95.7%) and 80.4% were males. The mean age of the patients was 58.5 years. Using PPD measurement, 37 (74.0%) of the patients had mild periodontitis, 9 (20.0%) had moderate periodontitis and 3 (6.0%) had no periodontitis. Based on CAL measurement, 12 (26%) patients had mild periodontitis, 29 (63.0%) had moderate periodontitis and 5 (11%) had severe periodontitis. The mean (standard deviation [SD]) value of mild and moderate-to-severe periodontitis by PPD measurement were 4.26 (0.26) and 5.24 (0.36), respectively. The mean of mild and moderate-to-severe periodontitis by CAL measurement were 2.66 (0.62) and 4.98 (0.73), respectively. There was no correlation between the periodontal parameters and estimated glomerular filtration rate (PPD: r = -0.160, P = 0.914; CAL: r = -0.135, P = 0.372; plaque index: r = 0.005, P = 0.974).
Conclusion: This study revealed a greater prevalence and severity of chronic periodontitis among CKD patients. Thus, the periodontal health of CKD patients' needs to be screened and monitored.
METHODS: This prospective cohort study enrolled consecutive samples of HCC patients and healthy controls. Venous blood samples were obtained at baseline and after interventions to determine serum levels of PIVKA-II and AFP using the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay method. Radiologic responses were determined based on the WHO criteria.
RESULTS: Fifty-four HCC patients (mean age 58.9 years, 49 males) and 40 healthy controls (mean age 33.5 years, 26 males) were recruited. The median serum levels of PIVKA-II and AFP in HCC vs. healthy controls were 988.4 vs. 24.2 mAU/ml and 13.6 vs. 1.7 ng/ml, respectively (both p
PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was designed and performed at the Dental Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM). Random sampling was employed to identify 88 participants into three groups: 30 mild periodontitis, 30 moderate to severe periodontitis, and 28 healthy (nonperiodontitis) patients. Periodontal parameters: periodontal pocket depth (PPD), clinical attachment level (CAL), plaque score (PS), and gingival bleeding index (GBI) were recorded. In total, 4 mL of unstimulated whole saliva was collected to determine the levels of salivary RANKL and OPG proteins by using ELISA technique. Data were analyzed by using SPSS software version 24.0.
RESULTS: Mean values for PPD (5.3 ± 0.5) and CAL (5.6 ± 0.5) were observed higher for moderate to severe periodontitis as compared with values (4.4 ± 0.2) (4.5 ± 0.2) in mild periodontitis patients. The mean salivary RANKL and OPG was 0.23 ± 0.07 ng/mL and 1.78 ± 0.70 ng/mL respectively in moderate to severe periodontitis. Only salivary RANKL levels were significantly and positively correlated with all the clinical periodontal parameters.
CONCLUSION: The levels of salivary RANKL were higher as opposed to lower OPG levels in periodontitis patients in contrast to healthy (nonperiodontitis) patients. RANKL levels were significantly associated with the periodontal parameters. Therefore, we can conclude that RANKL can potentially aid as an adjunctive diagnostic protein in evaluating periodontal disease.