The present study was to evaluate the toxicity of damnacanthal, nordamnacanthal, betulinic acid and zerumbone isolated from local medicinal plants towards leukemia cell lines and immune cells by using MTT assay and flow cytometry cell cycle analysis. The results showed that damnacanthal significantly inhibited HL-60 cells, CEM-SS and WEHI-3B with the IC50 value of 4.0 µg/mL, 8.0 µg/mL and 3.3 µg/mL, respectively. Nordamnacanthal and betulinic acid showed stronger inhibition towards CEM-SS and HL-60 cells with the IC50 value of 5.7 µg/mL and 5.0 µg/mL, respectively. In contrast, Zerumbone was demonstrated to be more toxic towards those leukemia cells with the IC50 value less than 10 µg/mL. Damnacanthal, nordamnacanthal and betulinic acid were not toxic towards 3T3 and PBMC compared to doxorubicin which showed toxicity effects towards 3T3 and PBMC with the IC50 value of 3.0 µg/mL and 28.0 µg/mL, respectively. The cell cycle analysis exhibited that damnacanthal exerted its toxicity effect towards HL-60 cells by inducing apoptosis with value of 25% after 72 hours treatment. Thus, these compounds could be the potential anticancer drug with less toxic side effect.
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a biologically active ingredient derived from rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa, has potent anticancer properties as demonstrated in a plethora of human cancer cell lines/animal carcinogenesis model and also acts as a biological response modifier in various disorders. We have reported previously that dietary supplementation of curcumin suppresses renal ornithine decarboxylase (Okazaki et al. Biochim Biophys Acta 1740:357-366, 2005) and enhances activities of antioxidant and phase II metabolizing enzymes in mice (Iqbal et al. Pharmacol Toxicol 92:33-38, 2003) and also inhibits Fe-NTA-induced oxidative injury of lipids and DNA in vitro (Iqbal et al. Teratog Carcinog Mutagen 1:151-160, 2003). This study was designed to examine whether curcumin possess the potential to suppress the oxidative damage caused by kidney-specific carcinogen, Fe-NTA, in animals. In accord with previous report, at 1 h after Fe-NTA treatment (9.0 mg Fe/kg body weight intraperitoneally), a substantial increased formation of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE)-modified protein adducts in renal proximal tubules of animals was observed. Likewise, the levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and protein reactive carbonyl, an indicator of protein oxidation, were also increased at 1 h after Fe-NTA treatment in the kidneys of animals. The prophylactic feeding of animals with 1.0% curcumin in diet for 4 weeks completely abolished the formation of (i) HNE-modified protein adducts, (ii) 8-OHdG, and (iii) protein reactive carbonyl in the kidneys of Fe-NTA-treated animals. Taken together, our results suggest that curcumin may afford substantial protection against oxidative damage caused by Fe-NTA, and these protective effects may be mediated via its antioxidant properties. These properties of curcumin strongly suggest that it could be used as a cancer chemopreventive agent.
An investigation of Morinda citrifolia roots afforded a new anthraquinone, 2-ethoxy-1-hydroxyanthraquinone (1), along with five other known anthraquinones: 1-hydroxy-2-methylanthraquinone (2), damnacanthal (3), nordamnacanthal (4), 2-formyl-1-hydroxyanthraquinone (5) and morindone-6-methyl-ether (6). This is the first report on the isolation of morindone-6-methyl-ether (6) from this plant. The structures of these compounds were elucidated based on spectroscopic analyses such as NMR, MS and IR. Biological evaluation of five pure compounds and all the extracts against the larvae of Aedes aegypti indicated 1-hydroxy-2-methylanthraquinone (2) and damnacanthal (3) were the extracts to exhibit promising larvicidal activities.
The electrooxidation of propionaldehyde and butyraldehyde on a gold electrode was studied by cyclic voltammetry in alkaline media. Electrooxidation of both aldehydes showed the appearance of two anodic peaks. Another oxidation peak on a newly generated electrode surface was observed after the corresponding reduction peak for both aldehydes.
Physical training is associated with oxidative stress and improvement in blood antioxidant status. In this study, we investigated the effects of training on plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) as markers of lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and ascorbic acid (AA) after a single bout of acute exercise. Twelve healthy, untrained young adult men were recruited for 5 weeks of aerobic training period. They were subjected to a rope-skipping exercise for 20 minutes at the intensity of 65-80% of heart rate reserve, thrice weekly. They also had to perform a single, acute bout of the same exercise protocol prior to and after training period. Venous blood samples were collected at resting condition (BL), immediately (0 h) and 24 hours (24 h) post acute exercise on both single bout sessions. Results showed that the pattern changes of oxidative stress response are quite similar on both acute sessions. The acute bouts of rope-skipping is associated with a significant increased (p = 0.001) in lipid peroxidation markers immediately after cessation of exercise, with a concomitant increases in antioxidant levels, albeit higher when compared to pre-training values (p = 0.001). These changes were followed by a significant decreased (p = 0.001) in all parameters, toward resting values, 24 hours thereafter. The training program seemed to induce a significant increase in MDA and 4-1-INE but also enhanced the antioxidant defense system namely SOD and AA among the untrained subjects.
Polygonum odoratum Lour. has been reclassified as Persicaria odorata (Lour.) Soják [Wilson, K. L. Polygonum sensu lato (Polygonaceae) in Australia. Telopea 1988, 3, 177-182]; other synonyms currently used are Vietnamese mint or Vietnamese coriander and, in Malaysia, Daun Laksa or Laksa plant. The aerial parts of Laksa plant are highly aromatic, and they contain many organic compounds such as (Z)-3-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexenol, decanal, undecanal, and dodecanal that are typical for green, citrus, orange peel, and coriander odors. In addition to these aldehydes, 3-sulfanyl-hexanal and 3-sulfanyl-hexan-1-ol were discovered for the first time in this herb. The fresh leaves are pungent when they are chewed, although the active compound has never been identified. The pungency of Persicaria hydropiper (L.) Spach (formerly Polygonum hydropiper L., synonym water pepper) is produced by polygodial, a 1,4-dialdehyde derived from drimane terpenoids. We also identified polygodial as the active pungent compound in P. odorata (Lour.) Soják.
This study was conducted to evaluate the oxidative damage in diabetic mellitus induced rats. The evaluation of DNA damage was carried out by the Alkaline Comet Assay using peripheral lymphocyte cells taken from streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (50 mg/kg) and control rats. The levels of malondealdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and HbA1c were also measured. All the induced diabetic rats were hyperglycemic until the end of the study with significantly higher levels of FBG and HbA1c as compared to the control rats. The results showed the percentage of tail DNA and tail moment values were also significantly higher in the diabetic induced rats. The same observations were made on the levels of plasma MDA and 4-HNE. In conclusion, this study indicated that hyperglycemic condition in diabetic induced rats could generate oxidative DNA damage.
The dorsal skin of 18 healthy Sprague-Dawley rats was used to investigate the reaction of connective tissue to buffered and unbuffered glutaraldehyde. Both the agents produced well-circumscribed lesions that underwent resolution within 30 days. Observation also shows that 2.0% buffered and unbuffered glutaraldehyde maintained a relatively inflammation-free status in connective tissue.