Displaying publications 41 - 60 of 124 in total

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  1. Fulltext Recombinant human Erythropoietin enhanced the cytotoxic effects of tamoxifen toward the spheroid MCF-7 breast cancer cells
    Shujaa Edin HY, Al-Haj NA, Rasedee A, Banu Alitheen N, Abdul Kadir A, Wun How C, et al.
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Sep;28(9):5214-5220.
    PMID: 34466099 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.05.043
    Erythropoietin (EPO) is widely used to treat anemia in patients undergoing chemotherapy for cancers. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of rHuEPO on the response of spheroid breast cancer, MCF-7, cells to tamoxifen treatment. The MCF-7 spheroids were treated with 10 mg/mL tamoxifen in combination with either 0, 10, 100 or 200 IU/mL rHuEPO for 24, 48 or 72 h. The viability of the MCF-7 cells was determined using the annexin-V, cell cycle, caspases activation and acridine orange/propidium iodide staining. rHuEPO-tamoxifen combination significantly (p greater than 0.05) increased the number of spheroid MCF-7 cells entering early apoptotic phase after 12 h and late apoptotic phase after 24 h of treatment; primarily the result of the antiproliferative effect tamoxifen. Tamoxifen alone significantly (p 
  2. Fulltext Ecotoxicological assessment and dermal layer interactions of nanoparticle and its routes of penetrations
    Thanigaivel S, Vickram AS, Anbarasu K, Gulothungan G, Nanmaran R, Vignesh D, et al.
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Sep;28(9):5168-5174.
    PMID: 34466094 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.05.048
    Our review focused on nanomaterials-based toxicity evaluation and its exposure to the human and aquatic animals when it was leached and contaminated in the environment. Ecotoxicological assessment and its mechanism mainly affect the skin covering layers and its preventive barriers that protect the foreign particles' skin. Nanoscale materials are essential in the medical field, especially in biomedical and commercial applications such as nanomedicine and drug delivery, mainly in therapeutic treatments. However, various commercial formulations of pharmaceutical drugs are manufactured through a series of clinical trials. The role of such drugs and their metabolites has not met the requirement of an individual's need at the early stage of the treatments except few drugs and medicines with minimal or no side effects. Therefore, biology and medicines are taken up the advantages of nano scaled drugs and formulations for the treatment of various diseases. The present study identifies and analyses the different nanoparticles and their chemical components on the skin and their effects due to penetration. There are advantageous factors available to facilitate positive and negative contact between dermal layers. It creates a new agenda for an established application that is mainly based on skin diseases.
  3. Fulltext How deep is deep enough? Analysis of sea turtle eggs nest relocation procedure at Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary
    Najwa-Sawawi S, Azman NM, Rusli MU, Ahmad A, Fahmi-Ahmad M, Fadzly N
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Sep;28(9):5053-5060.
    PMID: 34466082 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.05.021
    Sea turtle eggs incubation involves natural and artificial incubation of eggs, and indeed the depth will be varied and presumably affect the development of hatchlings. For nest relocation, the researcher needs to decide on the depth to incubate the eggs. Sea turtle eggs clutches may vary between 40 and 120 eggs for the green turtle, thus using a single value as the standard procedure might affect the quality of hatchlings. Here we quantify the dimension of the natural (in-situ) nest constructed by the nester and the artificial (ex-situ) built by our ranger during nest relocation. We suggest a linear regression calculation of Y = 0.2366X + 59.3267, better predict a more accurate nest depth based on the number of eggs to imitate the natural nest.
  4. Fulltext Pomegranate peels waste hydrolyzate optimization by Response Surface Methodology for Bioethanol production
    Chaudhary A, Hussain Z, Aihetasham A, El-Sharnouby M, Abdul Rehman R, Azmat Ullah Khan M, et al.
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Sep;28(9):4867-4875.
    PMID: 34466060 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.06.081
    Unwanted agricultural waste is largely comprised of lignocellulosic substrate which could be transformed into sugars. The production of bioethanol from garbage manifested an agreeable proposal towards waste management as well as energy causation. The goal of this work is to optimize parameters for generation of bioethanol through fermentation by different yeast strains while Saccharomyces cerevisiae used as standard strain. The low cost fermentable sugars from pomegranate peels waste (PPW) were obtained by hydrolysis with HNO3 (1 to 5%). The optimum levels of hydrolysis time and temperature were elucidated via RSM (CCD) ranging from 30 to 60 min and 50 to 100 °C respectively. The result shows that optimum values (g/L) for reducing sugars was 61.45 ± 0.01 while for total carbohydrates was 236 ± 0.01. These values were found when PPW was hydrolyzed with 3% HNO3, at 75 °C for one hour. The hydrolyzates obtained from the dilute HNO3 pretreated PPW yielded a maximum of 0.43 ± 0.04, 0.41 ± 0.03 g ethanol per g of reducing sugars by both Metchnikowia sp. Y31 and M. cibodasensis Y34 at day 7 of ethanologenic experiment. The current study exhibited that by fermentation of dilute HNO3 hydrolyzates of PPW could develop copious amount of ethanol by optimized conditions.
  5. Fulltext In silico proteolysis and analysis of bioactive peptides from sequences of fatty acid desaturase 3 (FAD3) of flaxseed protein
    Langyan S, Khan FN, Yadava P, Alhazmi A, Mahmoud SF, Saleh DI, et al.
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Oct;28(10):5480-5489.
    PMID: 34588858 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.08.027
    Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum), commonly known as linseed is an oilseed crop, emerging as an important and functional ingredient of food and has been paid more attention due to its nutritional value as well as beneficial effects. It is mainly rich in is α-linolenic acid (ALA, omega-3 fatty acid), fibres and lignans that have potential health benefits in reducing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, cancer, arthritis, neurological and autoimmune disorders. Due to its richness in omega-3 fatty acid, a group of enzymes known as fatty acid desaturases (FADs) mainly introduce double bonds into fatty acids' (FAs) hydrocarbon chains that produce unsaturated fatty acids. Fatty acid desaturase 3 (FAD3), the commonest microsomal enzyme of omega-3 fatty acid, synthesizes linolenic acid (C18:3) from linoleic acid located in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) facing towards the cytosol. The emerging field of bioinformatics and large number of databases of bioactive peptides, helps in providing time-saving and efficient method for identification of potential bioactivities of any protein. In this study, 10 unique sequences of FAD3 from flaxseed protein have been used for in silico proteolysis and releasing of various bioactive peptides using three plant proteases, namely ficin, papain and stem bromelain, that are evaluated with the help of BIOPEP database. Overall, 20 biological activities were identified from these proteins. The results showed that FAD3 protein is a potential source of peptides with angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) activities, and also various parameters such as ∑A, ∑B, AE, W, BE, V and DHt were also calculated. Furthermore, PeptideRanker have been used for screening of novel promising bioactive peptides. Various bioinformatics tools also used to study protein's physicochemical properties, peptide's score, toxicity, allergenicity aggregation, water solubility, and drug likeliness. The present work suggests that flaxseed protein can be a good source of bioactive peptides for the synthesis of good quality and quantity of oil, and in silico method helps in investigating and production of functional peptides.
  6. Fulltext Antibacterial potential of Malaysian ethnomedicinal plants against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
    Yi Xin L, Hui Min T, Nur Liyana Mohd Zin P, Pulingam T, Nelson Appaturi J, Parumasivam T
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2021 Oct;28(10):5884-5889.
    PMID: 34588904 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.06.036
    This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activities of 61 plant extracts from 49 Malaysian ethnomedicinal plants and to investigate the interaction of the active plant extracts in combination with synthetic antibiotics against the MSSA and MRSA strains. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the plant extracts were determined using a microdilution method against MSSA and MRSA strains. The interaction between active plant extracts and the antibiotics was assessed using the checkerboard method. The total fractional inhibitory concentration (∑FIC) indices from the combination were calculated to determine the nature of the interaction. Out of the 61 plant extracts tested against the MSSA strain, 7 plant extracts (~ 11%) showed MIC values of less than 200 μg/mL, 17 extracts (~ 28%) showed MIC between 200 and 800 µg/mL and seed extracts of Areca catechu showed MBC values of 400 μg/mL. The seed extract of A. catechu showed MIC and MBC of 400 μg/mL against the MRSA strains while leaf extract of Cocos nucifera showed MIC of 400 μg/mL against MRSA NCTC 12493. When the active plant extracts (MIC ≤ 200 µg/mL for MSSA, and ≤ 400 µg/mL for MRSA) were tested in combination with vancomycin and ciprofloxacin, they showed no interaction against both MSSA and MRSA with ∑FIC between 1.06 and 2.03. These findings provide a preliminary overview of the anti-MSSA and anti-MRSA properties of Malaysian ethnobotanical plants to combat Staphylococcal infections. Further research is needed to establish an antibacterial profile of the tested plant extracts.
  7. Fulltext The effects of applying sewage sludge into Jiangxi red soil on the growth of vegetables and the migration and enrichment of Cu and Zn
    Rrong W, Aiping T, Ashraf MA
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Sep;23(5):660-6.
    PMID: 27579018 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.10.028
    Jiangxi red soil was used as the tested soil and water spinach (Ipomoea aquatic) and Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) were used as the tested vegetables in this study to investigate the effects of different amounts of sewage-sludge application on the growth of vegetables and the migration and enrichment patterns of Cu and Zn in vegetables using the potted method. The results indicated that the application of sewage sludge could improve the properties of red soil and promote vegetable growth. The dry weight of water spinach and Chinese chive reached the maximal levels when treated with the amount of sewage sludge at 4% and 10%, which was 4.38 ± 0.82 g and 1.56 ± 0.31 g, respectively. The dry weights after the application of sewage sludge were all larger than control treatment (CK) without sludge application. With increases in the applied amount of sewage sludge, the concentrations of Cu and Zu in red soil continued to increase, and the peak value was not reached. After the two vegetables were planted, the concentrations of Cu and Zn in red soil decreased by different degrees. The degrees of decrease of Zn were generally higher than those of Cu. The enrichment coefficient of water spinach on Cu showed a trend of increase followed by a decrease and reached the peak value of 1.04 ± 0.38 when the applied amount was 4%. The enrichment coefficient of Chinese chive on Cu overall showed a decreasing trend and did not reach the peak value under the treatment levels used in this experiment. The enrichment pattern of Chinese chive on Zn was not obvious, and the differences among all treatment levels were not significant (p 
  8. Fulltext Geographic Information System (GIS) modeling approach to determine the fastest delivery routes
    Abousaeidi M, Fauzi R, Muhamad R
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Sep;23(5):555-64.
    PMID: 27579003 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.06.004
    This study involves the adoption of the Geographic Information System (GIS) modeling approach to determine the quickest routes for fresh vegetable delivery. During transport, fresh vegetables mainly deteriorate on account of temperature and delivery time. Nonetheless, little attention has been directed to transportation issues in most areas within Kuala Lumpur. In addition, perishable food normally has a short shelf life, thus timely delivery significantly affects delivery costs. Therefore, selecting efficient routes would consequently reduce the total transportation costs. The regression model is applied in this study to determine the parameters that affect route selection with respect to the fastest delivery of fresh vegetables. For the purpose of this research, ArcGIS software with network analyst extension is adopted to solve the problem of complex networks. The final output of this research is a map of quickest routes with the best delivery times based on all variables. The variables tested from regression analysis are the most effective parameters to make the flow of road networks slower. The objective is to improve the delivery services by achieving the least drive time. The main findings of this research are that Land use such as residential area and population as variables are the effective parameters on drive time.
  9. Fulltext Ultrastructural effects on gill tissues induced in red tilapia Oreochromis sp. by a waterborne lead exposure
    Aldoghachi MA, Azirun MS, Yusoff I, Ashraf MA
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Sep;23(5):634-41.
    PMID: 27579014 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.08.004
    Experiments on hybrid red tilapia Oreochromis sp. were conducted to assess histopathological effects induced in gill tissues of 96 h exposure to waterborne lead (5.5 mg/L). These tissues were investigated by light and scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that structural design of gill tissues was noticeably disrupted. Major symptoms were changes of epithelial cells, fusion in adjacent secondary lamellae, hypertrophy and hyperplasia of chloride cells and coagulate necrosis in pavement cells with disappearance of its microridges. Electron microscopic X-ray microanalysis of fish gills exposed to sublethal lead revealed that lead accumulated on the surface of the gill lamella. This study confirmed that lead exposure incited a difference of histological impairment in fish, supporting environmental watch over aquatic systems when polluted by lead.
  10. Fulltext Milk derived bioactive peptides and their impact on human health - A review
    Mohanty DP, Mohapatra S, Misra S, Sahu PS
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Sep;23(5):577-83.
    PMID: 27579006 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.06.005
    Milk-derived bioactive peptides have been identified as potential ingredients of health-promoting functional foods. These bioactive peptides are targeted at diet-related chronic diseases especially the non-communicable diseases viz., obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Peptides derived from the milk of cow, goat, sheep, buffalo and camel exert multifunctional properties, including anti-microbial, immune modulatory, anti-oxidant, inhibitory effect on enzymes, anti-thrombotic, and antagonistic activities against various toxic agents. Majority of those regulate immunological, gastrointestinal, hormonal and neurological responses, thereby playing a vital role in the prevention of cancer, osteoporosis, hypertension and other disorders as discussed in this review. For the commercial production of such novel bioactive peptides large scale technologies based on membrane separation and ion exchange chromatography methods have been developed. Separation and identification of those peptides and their pharmacodynamic parameters are necessary to transfer their potent functional properties into food applications. The present review summarizes the preliminary classes of bioactive milk-derived peptides along with their physiological functions, general characteristics and potential applications in health-care.
  11. Fulltext Periodicity computation of generalized mathematical biology problems involving delay differential equations
    Jasim Mohammed M, Ibrahim RW, Ahmad MZ
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2017 Mar;24(3):737-740.
    PMID: 28386204 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2017.01.050
    In this paper, we consider a low initial population model. Our aim is to study the periodicity computation of this model by using neutral differential equations, which are recognized in various studies including biology. We generalize the neutral Rayleigh equation for the third-order by exploiting the model of fractional calculus, in particular the Riemann-Liouville differential operator. We establish the existence and uniqueness of a periodic computational outcome. The technique depends on the continuation theorem of the coincidence degree theory. Besides, an example is presented to demonstrate the finding.
  12. Fulltext Nesting biology of Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) in oil palm landscape in Carey Island, Peninsular Malaysia
    Ramli R, Fauzi A
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2018 Mar;25(3):513-519.
    PMID: 29686514 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2016.01.017
    Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) is a well-known raptor that inhabits open areas such as oil palm plantation or paddy field. To determine preferable habitat and nesting site of Black-shouldered Kite in oil palm landscape, we conducted a study on Black-shouldered Kite's nesting biology in Carey Island, Selangor, Malaysia. We divided the island into six types of habitat and conducted road-side count of Black-shouldered Kite from April 2009 to February 2011. Whenever the Black-shouldered Kite was detected, we thoroughly searched the surrounding area for their nest. In total, we have recorded forty nests. The nests were built on 15 species of trees but most of the trees shared common physical characteristics. Some novice breeders also used oil palm tree as their nesting site. Structure and building materials of nests constructed on oil palm trees were different from nests built on other trees. Of all breeding attempts, only four nests which were located in residential area adjacent to young oil palm habitat were successful. Among important characteristics of successful nesting site include taller trees with strong branches and good leaf coverage. These trees not only protect nests from predator detection (except from other predatory birds) and physical environment but also facilitate Black-shouldered Kite's foraging activities by providing good vantage point.
  13. Fulltext Function of PD-L1 in antitumor immunity of glioma cells
    Lou Y, Shi J, Guo D, Qureshi AK, Song L
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2017 May;24(4):803-807.
    PMID: 28490949 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.06.025
    Human glioma is a highly fatal tumor with a significant feature of immune suppression. The functions of PD-L1 refer to co-simulation and immune regulation. To investigate expression and functional activity of PD-L1 in human glioma cell in vivo and in vitro. Expressions of PD-L1mRNA and protein in the human glioma cell line were analyzed with quantitative RT-PCR and flow cytometer; and then expression of PD-L1 in tissue specimens of 10 glioma patients was treated with immunohistochemical analysis; glioma cell and allogeneic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were co-cultured, and cytokine IFN-γ, IL-2 and IL-10 in cultured supernatant fluid were determined with ELISA; upon blocking the interaction between glioma cell and the immune cell with PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (5H1), surface markers on immune cells were analyzed using flow cytometer. All human glioma cell lines constitutively expressed PD-L1, and IFN-γ induced glioma cell to highly express PD-L1. It was shown through immunohistochemical analysis that glioma specimen expressed PD-L1, while expression of PD-L1 was not observed in normal tissue and normal human brain near the tumor location. The release of IFN-γ and IL-2 was inhibited, while IL-10 was increased slightly. Glioma cell may escape from immune recognition and injury with the help of PD-L1, which is a significant pathogenic mechanism of glioma.
  14. Fulltext Effects of Canarium odontophyllum leaves on plasma glucose and T lymphocyte population in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats
    Saari SM, Basri DF, Budin SB, Warif NM
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2017 Feb;24(2):320-323.
    PMID: 28149168 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.09.032
    Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterized by lack of insulin production. Immune mechanisms are implicated in the pathogenesis of Type 1 diabetes. Canarium odontophyllum (CO) fruits and leaves have been shown to possess high antioxidant activity. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of CO leaves aqueous extract on the blood glucose and T lymphocyte population in the spleen of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Nineteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: normal, diabetic control and CO treated diabetic groups. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of 65 mg STZ/kg body weight. The extract of CO leaves was administered orally by force feeding daily at the dose of 300 mg/kg for 28 days. The rats were sacrificed at the end of the study and the spleen was harvested for flow cytometry analysis. The results showed a significant decrease in body weight of diabetic and CO treated diabetic groups compared with the normal group (p 
  15. Fulltext Population structure and genetic diversity of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Penang as revealed by mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I
    Md Naim D, Kamal NZM, Mahboob S
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Mar;27(3):953-967.
    PMID: 32127775 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.01.021
    The population genetics study is crucial as it helps in understanding the epidemiological aspects of dengue and help improving a vector control measures. This research aims to investigate the population genetics structure of two common species of Aedes mosquitoes in Penang; Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus using Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) marker. Molecular investigations were derived from 440 bp and 418 bp mtDNA COI on 125 and 334 larvae of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus respectively, from 32 locations in Penang. All samples were employed in the BLASTn for species identification. The haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity, neutrality test and mismatch distribution analysis were conducted in DnaSP version 5.10.1. AMOVA analysis was conducted in ARLEQUIN version 3.5 and the phylogenetic reconstructions based on maximum likelihood (ML) and neighbor-joining (NJ) methods were implemented in MEGA X. The relationships among haplotypes were further tested by creating a minimum spanning tree using Network version 4.6.1. All samples were genetically identified and clustered into six distinct species. Among the species, Ae. albopictus was the most abundant (67.2%), followed by Ae. aegypti (25.2%) and the rest were counted for Culex sp. and Toxorhynchites sp. Both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus show low nucleotide diversity (π) and high haplotype diversity (h), while the neutrality test shows a negative value in most of the population for both species. There are a total of 39 and 64 haplotypes recorded for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus respectively. AMOVA analysis revealed that most of the variation occurred within population for both species. Mismatch distribution analysis showed bimodal characteristic of population differentiation for Ae. aegypti but Ae. albopictus showed unimodal characteristics of population differentiation. Genetic distance based on Tamura-Nei parameter showed low genetic divergent within population and high genetic divergent among population for both species. The maximum likelihood tree showed no obvious pattern of population genetic structure for both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus from Penang and a moderate to high bootstrap values has supported this conclusion. The minimum spanning network for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus showed five and three dominant haplotypes respectively, which indicates a mixture of haplotypes from the regions analysed. This study revealed that there is no population genetic structure exhibited by both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Penang. Mutation has occurred rapidly in both species and this will be challenging in controlling the populations. However, further analysis needed to confirm this statement.
  16. Fulltext Size and time-dependent induction of proinflammatory cytokines expression in brains of mice treated with gold nanoparticles
    Khan HA, Alamery S, Ibrahim KE, El-Nagar DM, Al-Harbi N, Rusop M, et al.
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2019 Mar;26(3):625-631.
    PMID: 30899181 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2018.09.012
    Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are among the ideal nano-sized materials for medical applications such as imaging and drug delivery. Considering the significance of recent reports on acute phase induction of inflammatory mediators by GNPs, we studied the effect of GNPs on proinflammatory cytokines gene expression in mouse brain. Group 1 served as control whereas groups 2-4 were given only one intraperitoneal dose of 5, 20 and 50 nm GNPs, respectively and sacrificed after 24 h. The animals in groups 5-7 also received the same treatment but sacrificed after 7 days. Groups 8-10 received two injections of GNPs (5, 20 and 50 nm, respectively), first at the beginning of study and second on day 6, and sacrificed on day 7. Total RNA was extracted from the cerebral tissue and analyzed for the gene expressions of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α. A single injection of 5 nm diameter GNPs significantly increased the mRNA expression of IL-1β and IL-6 in mouse brain on day 7, which was not augmented by the second dose of the same GNPs. Larger size GNPs (20 nm and 50 nm) did not cause any significant change in the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in mouse brain. In conclusion, systemic administration of small sized GNPs (5 nm) induced a proinflammatory cascade in mouse brain indicating a crucial role of GNPs size on immune response. It is important to use the right sized GNPs in order to avoid an acute phase inflammatory response that could be cytotoxic or interfere with the bioavailability of nanomaterials.
  17. Fulltext In vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiproliferative studies of four different extracts of Orthosiphon stamineus, Gynura procumbens and Ficus deltoidea
    Ashraf K, Halim H, Lim SM, Ramasamy K, Sultan S
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Jan;27(1):417-432.
    PMID: 31889866 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2019.11.003
    Background: Medicinal plants are important source of drugs with pharmacological activities. Therefore, there is always rising demands to discover more therapeutic agents from various species. Orthosiphon stamineus, Gynura procumbens and Ficus deltoidea are high valued medicinal plants of Malaysia contain rich source of phenolic and flavonoid compounds. The aims of the present study were to evaluate anti-oxidant, antimicrobial and anti-proliferative effects on A549, HeGP2 and MCF7 cell lines of four different extracts of Orthosiphon stamineus, Gynura procumbens and Ficus deltoidea.

    Methodology: The leaves of all selected plants were extracted with methanol, chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol separately with simple cold maceration. Antioxidant activity of all crude extracts were quantitatively measured against DPPH and Ferric Reducing Assay. Antimicrobial evaluation was done by Microdilution and MTT assay and antipoliferative activity of all extracts of selected plant were evaluated against A549, HePG2 and MCF7 cell lines.

    Results: Results showed that methanol extract exhibited highest percentage free radical scavenging activity of almost all extracts of selected plants. Antimicrobials results showed chloroform and methanol extracts of O. stamineus extract were the two most active extracts against resistant MRSA but not S. aureus. Only methanol extract of G. procumbens showed antimicrobial activity against the tested pathogens. Chloroform and methanol extracts of F. deltoidea elicited antimicrobial activity against S. aureus but not MRSA. Antiproliferative activity against three tested cell lines results showed that ethyl acetate extract of O. stamineus showed good effect whereas methanol extract of F. deltoidea and G. procumbens exhibited good antiproliferative activity.

    Conclusions: The results of the present investigation demonstrated significant variations in the antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiproliferative effects of different solvent extracts. These data could be helpful in isolation of pure potent compounds with good biological activities from the extracts of plants.

  18. Fulltext Effect of fetal bovine serum on erythropoietin receptor expression and viability of breast cancer cells
    Teo GY, Rasedee A, Al-Haj NA, Beh CY, How CW, Rahman HS, et al.
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Feb;27(2):653-658.
    PMID: 32210684 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2019.11.032
    Erythropoietin receptors (EPORs) are present not only in erythrocyte precursors but also in non-hematopoietic cells including cancer cells. In this study, we determined the effect of fetal bovine serum (FBS) in culture medium on the EPOR expression and viability of the estrogen receptor (ER)-positive MCF-7 and ER-negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Using flow cytometry, we showed that the inclusion of 10% FBS in the medium increased the EPOR expressions and viabilities of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells. The MDA-MB-231 showed greater EPOR expression than MCF-7 cells, suggesting that the presence of ERs on cells is associated with poor expression of EPOR. Culture medium containing 10% FBS also caused increased number of breast cancer cells entering the synthesis phase of the cell cycle. The study also showed that rHuEPO treatment did not affect viability of breast cancer cells. In conclusion, it was shown that the inclusion of FBS in culture medium increased expression of EPOR in breast cancer cells and rHuEPO treatment had no effect on the proliferation of these cancer cells.
  19. Fulltext Effects of graded dose dietary supplementation of Piper betle leaf meal and Persicaria odorata leaf meal on growth performance, apparent ileal digestibility, and gut morphology in broilers
    Basit MA, Arifah AK, Loh TC, Saleha AA, Salleh A, Kaka U, et al.
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Jun;27(6):1503-1513.
    PMID: 32489287 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.04.017
    Due to antimicrobial resistance and the public health hazard of antibiotic growth promoters, there is a grave need to find potential alternatives for sustainable poultry production. Piper betle (PB) and Persicaria odorata (PO) are herbs, which have been reported for antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study aimed to estimate the influence of different dose supplementation of Piper betle leaf meal (PBLM) and Persicaria odorata leaf meal (POLM) on growth performance, ileal digestibility and gut morphology of broilers chickens. A total of 210 one day-old broiler chicks were randomly grouped into 7 treatments, and each treatment group has 3 replicates (n = 10) with a total number of 30 chicks. The treatments included T1 control (basal diet (BD) with no supplementation), T2 (BD + 2 g/kg PBLM); T3 (BD + 4 g/kg PBLM), T4 (BD + 8 g/kg PBLM), T5 (BD + 2 g/kg POLM), T6 (BD + 4 g/kg POLM), T7 (BD + 8 g/kg POLM). Growth performance, gut morphology and ileal digestibility were measured. Except for T4 (8 g/kg PBLM), graded dose inclusion of PBLM and POLM increased (P 
  20. Fulltext Malaysian macroalga Padina australis Hauck attenuates high dose corticosterone-mediated oxidative damage in PC12 cells mimicking the effects of depression
    Subermaniam K, Yow YY, Lim SH, Koh OH, Wong KH
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2020 Jun;27(6):1435-1445.
    PMID: 32489279 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.04.042
    Oxidative damage has been associated with the pathophysiology of depression. Macroalgae are equipped with antioxidant defense system to counteract the effects of free radicals. We explored the use of Malaysian Padina australis to attenuate high dose corticosterone-mediated oxidative damage in a cellular model mimicking depression. Fresh specimen of P. australis was freeze-dried and extracted sequentially with hexanes, ethyl acetate and ethanol. The extracts were screened for their phytochemical contents and antioxidant activities. Ethanol extract demonstrated the most potent antioxidant capacity and was selected for subsequent assays against high dose corticosterone of 600 µM-mediated oxidative damage in the rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. The corticosterone reduced the cell viability, glutathione (GSH) level, aconitase activity, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP); and increased the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and apoptosis. However, the extent of oxidative damage was reversed by 0.25-0.5 mg/mL ethanol extract suggesting a possible role of P. australis-based antioxidants in the mitochondrial defense against constant ROS generation and regulation of antioxidant pathway. The effects were similar to that of desipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant. Our findings indicate that P. australis can be developed as a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant to mitigate antidepressant-like effects.
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