AIM OF THE STUDY: Recent studies have demonstrated a potent anticancer potential of P. macrocarpa, especially against HeLa cell. The objective of this study was to investigate the regulation of miRNAs on MDA-MB-231 treated with P. macrocarpa ethyl acetate fraction (PMEAF).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The regulation of miRNAs on MDA-MB-231 cells treated with PMEAF was studied through IIlumina, Hi-Seq. 2000 platform of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and various in silico bioinformatics tools.
RESULTS: The PMEAF treatment against MDA-MB-231 cells identified 10 upregulated and 10 downregulated miRNAs. A set of 606 target genes of 10 upregulated miRNAs and 517 target genes of 10 downregulated miRNAs were predicted based on computational and validated databases by using miRGate DB Query. Meanwhile, results from DAVID Bioinformatics Resources 6.8 specified the functional annotation of the upregulated miRNAs involvement in cancer pathway by suppressing the oncogenes and downregulating miRNAs by expressing the tumour suppressor genes in the regulation of apoptosis pathway.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the results of this study proved that PMEAF is a promising anticancer agent with high cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and it induced apoptotic cell death mechanism through the regulation of miRNAs. PMEAF might be the best candidate for developing more potent anticancer drugs or chemo preventive supplements.
METHODS: In the present study, the dried roots of Hemidesmusindicus were crushed to a coarse powder and extracted with water under reflux for 36 hours to obtain the aqueous extract of roots of Hemidesmusindicus (AERHI). The extract was reconstituted in 2% aqueous tragacanth just before use and administered orally at a dose 0f 100 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg. In a single dose study, the parameters were assessed after oral administration of the single dose of the AERHI, whereas in a multiple dose study, the animals daily received the suitable oral dose of the AERHI for a period of 30 days. The parameters were assessed on the 15th and 30th day. The antipsychotic activity was screened using Apomorphine induced Stereotyped behavior in rats and Haloperidol induced catalepsy models were used. In Apomorphine induced Stereotyped behavior inhibition of the Stereotyped behavior was considered to be anti-psychotic activity and in Haloperidol induced catalepsy, we observed whether the AERHI potentate or attenuate the catalepsy in rats.
RESULTS: In this study, the extract of Hemidesmusindicus significantly inhibited the stereotyped behavior induced by apomorphine in rats and also potentiate the catalepsy induced by haloperidol, thereby showing its anti-psychotic activity.
CONCLUSION: All these observations imply that Hemidesmusindicus extract possesses anti-psychotic activity in experimental animals.
METHODS: The in vitro anti-TB activity of different solvent partitions of the plant materials was determined against M. tuberculosis H37Rv using a tetrazolium colorimetric microdilution assay. The phytochemical compounds in the most active partition of each plant were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The effects of these partitions on the growth kinetics of the mycobacteria were evaluated over 7-day treatment period in a batch culture system. Their effects on the mycobacterial cellular integrity were observed under a scanning electron microscope (SEM).
RESULTS: The respective n-hexane partition of C. speciosus, C. citratus, and T. coronaria exhibited the highest anti-TB activity with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 100-200 μg/mL and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 200 μg/mL. GC-MS phytochemical analysis of these active partitions revealed that majority of the identified compounds belonged to lipophilic fatty acid groups. The active partitions of C. speciosus and T. coronaria exhibited high cidal activity in relation to time, killing more than 99% of the cell population. SEM observations showed that these active plant partitions caused multiple structural changes indicating massive cellular damages.
CONCLUSIONS: The n-hexane partition of the plant materials exhibited promising in vitro anti-TB activity against M. tuberculosis H37Rv. Their anti-TB activity was supported by their destructive effects on the integrity of the mycobacterial cellular structure.
METHODS: Twelve rats were used in the study and divided in to two equal groups. All the animals in the control group were intragastically gavaged by distilled water and continues for ten days, from day 24 to day 34 of age, while the animals in the study group were intragastically gavaged by GT extract (300mg/kg/day) which continues also for ten days from day 24 to day 34 of age. On day 34 of age, and two hours after the last dose, the rats were anaesthetized and blood collection by cardiac puncture was taken.
RESULTS: The results showed that the intragastric gavage of a high dose of GT extract caused a non-significant increase in serum magnesium, and calcium levels (p>0.05), but a significant increase in zinc serum level was seen(p< 0.05).
CONCLUSION: GT can cause a significant increase in zinc serum level, and this may explain the significant role of GT in the response to different oxidative stress. It is recommended to measure the Zn serum level in rats after a period longer than two hrs from the time of the last dose of intragastric gavage of GT extract.
AIM: In this study, maceration and Soxhlet extraction of the whole plant of Cassia alata Linn. (leaves, roots, and stem) were performed using four solvents with different polarities, namely n-hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol and distilled water. The crude extracts were screened using agar well diffusion, colorimetric broth microdilution, grid culture and bacterial growth curve analysis against Staphylococcus aureus. The phytochemicals in the crude extracts were identified using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS).
RESULTS: Agar-well diffusion analysis revealed that extraction using ethyl acetate showed the largest inhibition zone with an average diameter of 15.30 mm (root Soxhlet extract) followed by 14.70 mm (leaf Soxhlet extract) and 13.70 mm (root maceration extract). The lowest minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentration in root Soxhlet extract using ethyl acetate was 0.313 and 0.625 µg µL-1, respectively. Our study proved that crude extract of the plant suppressed the growth of S. aureus as evidenced from a significant regression extension (p plant should be intensively studied for more medicinal uses.
METHODS: Lignosus rhinocerotis, Pleurotus giganteus, Hericium erinaceus, Schizophyllum commune and Ganoderma lucidium were selected for evaluation of their in-vitro anti-dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) activities. Hot aqueous extracts (HAEs), ethanol extracts (EEs), hexane soluble extracts (HSEs), ethyl acetate soluble extracts (ESEs) and aqueous soluble extracts (ASEs) were prepared from the selected mushrooms. The cytotoxic effects of the extracts were evaluated by the MTT assay. The anti-DENV-2 activities of the extracts were evaluated in three different assays: simultaneous, attachment and penetration assays were perfomed using plaque reduction assays and RT-qPCR assays. The effect of the addition time on viral replication was assessed by the time of addition assay, and a virucidal assay was carried out to evaluate the direct effect of each mushroom extract on DENV-2. The chemical composition of glucans, and the protein and phenolic acid contents in the extracts were estimated.
RESULTS: We found that the HAEs and ASEs of L. rhinocerotis, P. giganteus, H. erinaceus and S. commune were the least toxic to Vero cells and showed very prominent anti-DENV2 activity. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of the ASEs ranged between 399.2-637.9 μg/ml, while for the HAEs the range was 312.9-680.6 μg/ml during simultaneous treatment. Significant anti-dengue activity was also detected in the penetration assay of ASEs (IC50: 226.3-315.4 μg/ml) and HAEs (IC50: 943.1-2080.2 μg/ml). Similarly, we observed a marked reduction in the expression levels of the ENV and NS5 genes in the simultaneous and penetration assays of the ASEs and HAEs. Time-of-addition experiments showed that the highest percent of anti-DENV2 activity was observed when the mushroom extracts were added immediately after virus adsorption. None of the extracts exhibited virucidal effect. Chemical composition analysis showed that the major components in the mushroom HAEs and ASEs were glucan (beta D-glucan) and proteins, however, there was no significant correlation between the anti-dengue activity and the concentration of glucans and proteins.
CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrated the potential of mushroom extracts as anti-dengue therapeutic agents with less toxic effects.