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Fulltext Mechanistic Perspectives of Maslinic Acid in Targeting Inflammation

Yap WH, Lim YM

Biochem Res Int, 2015;2015:279356.
PMID: 26491566 DOI: 10.1155/2015/279356

Chronic inflammation drives the development of various pathological diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, multiple sclerosis, and cancer. The arachidonic acid pathway represents one of the major mechanisms for inflammation. Prostaglandins (PGs) are lipid products generated from arachidonic acid by the action of cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes and their activity is blocked by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). The use of natural compounds in regulation of COX activity/prostaglandins production is receiving increasing attention. In Mediterranean diet, olive oil and table olives contain significant dietary sources of maslinic acid. Maslinic acid is arising as a safe and novel natural pentacyclic triterpene which has protective effects against chronic inflammatory diseases in various in vivo and in vitro experimental models. Understanding the anti-inflammatory mechanism of maslinic acid is crucial for its development as a potential dietary nutraceutical. This review focuses on the mechanistic action of maslinic acid in regulating the inflammation pathways through modulation of the arachidonic acid metabolism including the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)/COX-2 expression, upstream protein kinase signaling, and phospholipase A2 enzyme activity. Further investigations may provide insight into the mechanism of maslinic acid in regulating the molecular targets and their associated pathways in response to specific inflammatory stimuli.
Fulltext Recent Advances in Enzymes for the Bioremediation of Pollutants

Mousavi SM, Hashemi SA, Iman Moezzi SM, Ravan N, Gholami A, Lai CW, et al.

Biochem Res Int, 2021;2021:5599204.
PMID: 34401207 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5599204

Nowadays, pollution of the environment is a huge problem for humans and other organisms' health. Conventional methods of pollutant removal like membrane filtration or ion exchange are not efficient enough to lower the number of pollutants to standard levels. Biological methods, because of their higher efficiency and biocompatibility, are preferred for the remediation of pollutants. These cost-effective and environment-friendly methods of reducing pollutants are called bioremediation. In bioremediation methods, enzymes play the most crucial role. Enzymes can remedy different types of organic and inorganic pollutants, including PAHs, azo dyes, polymers, organocyanides, lead, chromium, and mercury. Different enzymes isolated from various species have been used for the bioremediation of pollutants. Discovering new enzymes and new subtypes with specific physicochemical characteristics would be a promising way to find more efficient and cost-effective tools for the remediation of pollutants.
Fulltext Phytochemical Screening of Essential Oils and Antibacterial Activity and Antioxidant Properties of Barringtonia asiatica (L) Leaf Extract

Umaru IJ, Badruddin FA, Umaru HA

Biochem Res Int, 2019;2019:7143989.
PMID: 30891316 DOI: 10.1155/2019/7143989

Objective: To ascertain the essential oil phytochemicals of the leaf and to test for the antibacterial and antioxidant properties of dichloromethane crude extract of Barringtonia asiatica leaf.
Methods: The phytochemical screening of essential oils, extraction by hydrodistillation using the Clevenger apparatus, and analysis performed by gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Antibacterial activity and the inhibition rate (mm) were determined using the agar disc method against four bacterial strains using tetracycline as positive control. The antioxidant potential of dichloromethane crude extract was investigated spectrophotometrically using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl.
Results: The essential oil properties were reasonable with major phytochemicals like uncineol 30.9%, eicosane 27.4%, eicosane 21.6%, and 4-propyl-guaiacol 14.05%. The antibacterial activity of the dichloromethane crude extract showed broad-spectrum activity against Salmonella typhi, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae with inhibition value ranges between 2.50 ± 0.10 mm and 5.00 ± 0.06 mm. The dichloromethane crude extract exhibited strong antioxidant activities when compared to the standard.
Conclusions: These results suggest that the leaves of Barringtonia asiatica is composed of essential compound as well as antibacterial and antioxidant properties from the crude extract; these are possible due to the presence of some bioactive compounds in the crude extract. The species also showed a reasonable amount of natural products in the essential oils from the hydrodistillation which can as well be used in the cosmetics and food industries.
Fulltext Bacterial Metabolomics: Sample Preparation Methods

Mohd Kamal K, Mahamad Maifiah MH, Abdul Rahim N, Hashim YZH, Abdullah Sani MS, Azizan KA

Biochem Res Int, 2022;2022:9186536.
PMID: 35465444 DOI: 10.1155/2022/9186536

Metabolomics is a comprehensive analysis of metabolites existing in biological systems. As one of the important "omics" tools, the approach has been widely employed in various fields in helping to better understand the complex cellular metabolic states and changes. Bacterial metabolomics has gained a significant interest as bacteria serve to provide a better subject or model at systems level. The approach in metabolomics is categorized into untargeted and targeted which serves different paradigms of interest. Nevertheless, the bottleneck in metabolomics has been the sample or metabolite preparation method. A custom-made method and design for a particular species or strain of bacteria might be necessary as most studies generally refer to other bacteria or even yeast and fungi that may lead to unreliable analysis. The paramount aspect of metabolomics design comprises sample harvesting, quenching, and metabolite extraction procedures. Depending on the type of samples and research objective, each step must be at optimal conditions which are significantly important in determining the final output. To date, there are no standardized nor single designated protocols that have been established for a specific bacteria strain for untargeted and targeted approaches. In this paper, the existing and current developments of sample preparation methods of bacterial metabolomics used in both approaches are reviewed. The review also highlights previous literature of optimized conditions used to propose the most ideal methods for metabolite preparation, particularly for bacterial cells. Advantages and limitations of methods are discussed for future improvement of bacterial metabolomics.