Displaying publications 801 - 820 of 961 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Jamain Z, Omar NF, Khairuddean M
    Molecules, 2020 Aug 20;25(17).
    PMID: 32825211 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25173780
    A series of liquid crystal molecules with two Schiff base linking units and a cinnamaldehyde core with different terminal groups were synthesized and characterized. The intermediates of 4-heptyloxybenzaldehyde (1a) and 4-dodeyloxybenzaldehyde (1b) were synthesized through the alkylation of 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde with a series of bromoalkane. A condensation reaction of cinnamaldehyde, 1,4-phenylenediamine and a series of substituted benzaldehydes with different terminal groups such as bromo, chloro, hydroxy, cinnamaldehyde, hydrogen, methoxy, heptyloxy and dodecyloxy produced a series of new cinnamaldehyde-based compounds, 2-9, respectively. All these compounds were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and CHN elemental analysis. The liquid crystal properties of these compounds were determined using polarized optical microscopy (POM), and their transitions were further confirmed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Compounds with chloro, bromo, methoxy, heptyloxy, and dodecyloxy substituents are mesogenic compounds with nematic phase behavior. However, the other compounds were found to be non-mesogenic without any mesophase transitions. The structure-property relationship was investigated in order to study the effect of different terminal groups and Schiff base linking units on the liquid crystalline behavior of these compounds.
  2. Muchtaridi M, Fauzi M, Khairul Ikram NK, Mohd Gazzali A, Wahab HA
    Molecules, 2020 Sep 01;25(17).
    PMID: 32882868 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25173980
    Over the years, coronaviruses (CoV) have posed a severe public health threat, causing an increase in mortality and morbidity rates throughout the world. The recent outbreak of a novel coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that affected more than 215 countries with over 23 million cases and 800,000 deaths as of today. The situation is critical, especially with the absence of specific medicines or vaccines; hence, efforts toward the development of anti-COVID-19 medicines are being intensively undertaken. One of the potential therapeutic targets of anti-COVID-19 drugs is the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). ACE2 was identified as a key functional receptor for CoV associated with COVID-19. ACE2, which is located on the surface of the host cells, binds effectively to the spike protein of CoV, thus enabling the virus to infect the epithelial cells of the host. Previous studies showed that certain flavonoids exhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition activity, which plays a crucial role in the regulation of arterial blood pressure. Thus, it is being postulated that these flavonoids might also interact with ACE2. This postulation might be of interest because these compounds also show antiviral activity in vitro. This article summarizes the natural flavonoids with potential efficacy against COVID-19 through ACE2 receptor inhibition.
  3. Adeyi AA, Jamil SNAM, Abdullah LC, Choong TSY, Lau KL, Alias NH
    Molecules, 2020 Jun 07;25(11).
    PMID: 32517324 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25112650
    Proper remediation of aquatic environments contaminated by toxic organic dyes has become a research focus globally for environmental and chemical engineers. This study evaluates the adsorption potential of a polymer-based adsorbent, thiourea-modified poly(acrylonitrile-co-acrylic acid) (T-PAA) adsorbent, for the simultaneous uptake of malachite green (MG) and methylene blue (MB) dye ions from binary system in a continuous flow adsorption column. The influence of inlet dye concentrations, pH, flow rate, and adsorbent bed depth on adsorption process were investigated, and the breakthrough curves obtained experimentally. Results revealed that the sorption capacity of the T-PAA for MG and MB increase at high pH, concentration and bed-depth. Thomas, Bohart-Adams, and Yoon-Nelson models constants were calculated to describe MG and MB adsorption. It was found that the three dynamic models perfectly simulate the adsorption rate and behavior of cationic dyes entrapment. Finally, T-PAA adsorbent demonstrated good cyclic stability. It can be regenerated seven times (or cycles) with no significant loss in adsorption potential. Overall, the excellent sorption capacity and multiple usage make T-PAA polymer an attractive adsorbent materials for treatment of multicomponent dye bearing effluent in a fixed-bed column system.
  4. Muhialdin BJ, Saari N, Meor Hussin AS
    Molecules, 2020 Jun 07;25(11).
    PMID: 32517380 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25112655
    The challenges to fulfill the demand for a safe food supply are dramatically increasing. Mycotoxins produced by certain fungi cause great economic loss and negative impact on the sustainability of food supplies. Moreover, the occurrence of mycotoxins at high levels in foods poses a high health threat for the consumers. Biological detoxification has exhibited a high potential to detoxify foodstuffs on a cost-effective and large scale. Lactic acid bacteria showed a good potential as an alternative strategy for the elimination of mycotoxins. The current review describes the health and economic impacts associated with mycotoxin contamination in foodstuffs. Moreover, this review highlights the biological detoxification of common food mycotoxins by lactic acid bacteria.
  5. Mat Zaid MH, Che-Engku-Chik CEN, Yusof NA, Abdullah J, Othman SS, Issa R, et al.
    Molecules, 2020 Jul 24;25(15).
    PMID: 32722334 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25153373
    Death from tuberculosis has resulted in an increased need for early detection to prevent a tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, especially in closed and crowded populations. Herein, a sensitive electrochemical DNA biosensor based on functionalized iron oxide with mercaptopropionic acid (MPA-Fe3O4) nanoparticle and nanocellulose crystalline functionalized cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (NCC/CTAB) has been fabricated for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). In this study, a simple drop cast method was applied to deposit solution of MPA-Fe3O4/NCC/CTAB onto the surface of the screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE). Then, a specific sequence of MTB DNA probe was immobilized onto a modified SPCE surface by using the 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC/NHS) coupling mechanism. For better signal amplification and electrochemical response, ruthenium bipyridyl Ru(bpy)32+ was assigned as labels of hybridization followed by the characteristic test using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The results of this biosensor enable the detection of target DNA until a concentration as low as 7.96 × 10-13 M with a wide detection range from 1.0 × 10-6 to 1.0 × 10-12 M. In addition, the developed biosensor has shown a differentiation between positive and negative MTB samples in real sampel analysis.
  6. Seifaddinipour M, Farghadani R, Namvar F, Mohamad J, Abdul Kadir H
    Molecules, 2018 Jan 05;23(1).
    PMID: 29303970 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23010110
    Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) hulls (PVLH) represents a significant by-product of industrial pistachio processing that contains high amounta of phenolic and flavonoid compounds known to act as antioxidants. The current study was designed to evaluate the anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic potentials of PVLH extracts. The cytotoxic effects of hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water PVLH extracts toward human colon cancer (HT-29 and HCT-116), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), lung adenocarcinoma (H23), liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), cervical cancer (Ca Ski), and normal fibroblast (BJ-5ta) cells were assessed using a MTT cell viability assay. Apoptosis induction was evaluated through the different nuclear staining assays and confirmed by flow cytometry analysis. Anti-angiogenic activities were also determined using chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. PVLH ethyl acetate extracts (PVLH-EAE) demonstrated a suppressive effect with an IC50 value of 21.20 ± 1.35, 23.00 ± 1.2 and 25.15 ± 1.85 µg/mL against MCF-7, HT-29 and HCT-116, respectively, after 72 h of treatment. Morphological assessment and flow cytometry analysis showed the potential of PVLH-EAE to induce apoptosis. PVLH-EAE at the highest concentration demonstrated significant inhibition of angiogenesis as comparing with control group. Also the expression of Bax increased and the expression of Bcl-2 decreased in treated MCF-7 cells. Thus, the apoptosis induction and angiogenesis potential of PVLH-EAE make it to be the most suitable for further cancer research study to deal with selective antitumor active substances to human cancers especially breast cancer.
  7. Harun SNA, Israf DA, Tham CL, Lam KW, Cheema MS, Md Hashim NF
    Molecules, 2018 Apr 10;23(4).
    PMID: 29642589 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23040865
    In order to metastasize, tumor cells need to migrate and invade the surrounding tissues. It is important to identify compound(s) capable of disrupting the metastasis of invasive cancer cells, especially for hindering invadopodia formation, so as to provide anti-metastasis targeted therapy. Invadopodia are thought to be specialized actin-rich protrusions formed by highly invasive cancer cells to degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM). A curcuminoid analogue known as 2,6-bis-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidine)cyclohexanone or BHMC has shown good potential in inhibiting inflammation and hyperalgesia. It also possesses an anti-tumor effects on 4T1 murine breast cancer cells in vivo. However, there is still a lack of empirical evidence on how BHMC works in preventing human breast cancer invasion. In this study, we investigated the effect of BHMC on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and its underlying mechanism of action to prevent breast cancer invasion, especially during the formation of invadopodia. All MDA-MB-231 cells, which were exposed to the non-cytotoxic concentrations of BHMC, expressed the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), which indicate that the anti-proliferative effects of BHMC did not interfere in the subsequent experiments. By using a scratch migration assay, transwell migration and invasion assays, we determined that BHMC reduces the percentage of migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. The gelatin degradation assay showed that BHMC reduced the number of cells with invadopodia. Analysis of the proteins involved in the invasion showed that there is a significant reduction in the expressions of Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 7 (β-PIX), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) in the presence of BHMC treatment at 12.5 µM. Therefore, it can be postulated that BHMC at 12.5 µM is the optimal concentration for preventing breast cancer invasion.
  8. Megat Abdul Wahab R, Abdullah N, Zainal Ariffin SH, Che Abdullah CA, Yazid F
    Molecules, 2020 Jul 08;25(14).
    PMID: 32650572 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25143129
    A hydroxyapatite scaffold is a suitable biomaterial for bone tissue engineering due to its chemical component which mimics native bone. Electronic states which present on the surface of hydroxyapatite have the potential to be used to promote the adsorption or transduction of biomolecules such as protein or DNA. This study aimed to compare the morphology and bioactivity of sinter and nonsinter marine-based hydroxyapatite scaffolds. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and micro-computed tomography (microCT) were used to characterize the morphology of both scaffolds. Scaffolds were co-cultured with 5 × 104/cm2 of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast cells for 7, 14, and 21 days. FESEM was used to observe the cell morphology, and MTT and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assays were conducted to determine the cell viability and differentiation capacity of cells on both scaffolds. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) was used to identify the expression of osteoblast markers. The sinter scaffold had a porous microstructure with the presence of interconnected pores as compared with the nonsinter scaffold. This sinter scaffold also significantly supported viability and differentiation of the MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast cells (p < 0.05). The marked expression of Col1α1 and osteocalcin (OCN) osteoblast markers were also observed after 14 days of incubation (p < 0.05). The sinter scaffold supported attachment, viability, and differentiation of preosteoblast cells. Hence, sinter hydroxyapatite scaffold from nacreous layer is a promising biomaterial for bone tissue engineering.
  9. Ramdzan NSM, Fen YW, Anas NAA, Omar NAS, Saleviter S
    Molecules, 2020 May 30;25(11).
    PMID: 32486124 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25112548
    Great efforts have been devoted to the invention of environmental sensors as the amount of water pollution has increased in recent decades. Chitosan, cellulose and nanocrystalline cellulose are examples of biopolymers that have been intensively studied due to their potential applications, particularly as sensors. Furthermore, the rapid use of conducting polymer materials as a sensing layer in environmental monitoring has also been developed. Thus, the incorporation of biopolymer and conducting polymer materials with various methods has shown promising potential with sensitively and selectively toward heavy metal ions. In this feature paper, selected recent and updated investigations are reviewed on biopolymer and conducting polymer-based materials in sensors aimed at the detection of heavy metal ions by optical methods. This review intends to provide sufficient evidence of the potential of polymer-based materials as sensing layers, and future outlooks are considered in developing surface plasmon resonance as an excellent and valid sensor for heavy metal ion detection.
  10. Abdulhafiz F, Mohammed A, Kayat F, Bhaskar M, Hamzah Z, Podapati SK, et al.
    Molecules, 2020 Jun 08;25(11).
    PMID: 32521624 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25112658
    Alocasia longiloba, locally known as 'Keladi Candik', has been used traditionally to treat wounds, furuncle and joint inflammations. A. longiloba can be a new source of herbal medicine against hyperuricemia by inhibiting the activity of xanthine oxidase enzyme, the enzyme which is responsible for the development of hyperuricemia in human. Existing xanthine oxidase inhibitors (XOI drugs) show several side effects on gout patients. Therefore, an alternative herbal medicine from plants, with high therapeutic property and free of side effects, are greatly needed. This study was conducted to evaluate XO inhibitory activity, chemical composition, antioxidant activity and GC-MS profile of A. longiloba. Our results showed that ethanolic petiole extract exhibited the highest XO inhibitory activity (70.40 ± 0.05%) with IC50 value of 42.71 μg/mL, followed by ethanolic fruit extracts (61.44 ± 1.24%) with the IC50 value of 51.32 μg/mL. In a parallel study, the phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloid, flavonoid, terpenoids, glycoside and saponin in petiole and fruit extracts, as well as higher total phenolic and flavonoid contents and strong scavenging activity on DPPH and ABTS antioxidant assay. The GC-MS analysis of fruit and petiole extracts revealed the presence of various compounds belonging to different chemical nature, among them are limonen-6-ol, α-DGlucopyranoside, paromomycin, aziridine, phenol, Heptatriacotanol, Phen-1,2,3-dimethyl and Betulin found in ethanolic fruit extract, and Phen-1,4-diol,2,3-dimethyl-, 1-Ethynyl-3,trans(1,1-dimethylethyl), Phenol,2,6-dimethoxy-4-(2-propenyl)- and 7-Methyl-Z-tetradecen-1-olacetate found in ethanolic petiole extract. Some compounds were documented as potent anti-inflammatory and arthritis related diseases by other researchers. In this study, the efficiency of solvents to extract bioactives was found to be ethanol > water, methanol > hexane > chloroform. Together, our results suggest the prospective utilization of fruit and petiole of A. longiloba to inhibit the activity of XO enzyme.
  11. Mangzira Kemung H, Tan LT, Chan KG, Ser HL, Law JW, Lee LH, et al.
    Molecules, 2020 Aug 03;25(15).
    PMID: 32756432 DOI: 10.3390/molecules25153545
    There is an urgent need to search for new antibiotics to counter the growing number of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, one of which is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Herein, we report a Streptomyces sp. strain MUSC 125 from mangrove soil in Malaysia which was identified using 16S rRNA phylogenetic and phenotypic analysis. The methanolic extract of strain MUSC 125 showed anti-MRSA, anti-biofilm and antioxidant activities. Strain MUSC 125 was further screened for the presence of secondary metabolite biosynthetic genes. Our results indicated that both polyketide synthase (pks) gene clusters, pksI and pksII, were detected in strain MUSC 125 by PCR amplification. In addition, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) detected the presence of different chemicals in the methanolic extract. Based on the GC-MS analysis, eight known compounds were detected suggesting their contribution towards the anti-MRSA and anti-biofilm activities observed. Overall, the study bolsters the potential of strain MUSC 125 as a promising source of anti-MRSA and antibiofilm compounds and warrants further investigation.
  12. Kaswan NK, Mohammed Izham NAB, Tengku Mohamad TAS, Sulaiman MR, Perimal EK
    Molecules, 2021 Jun 16;26(12).
    PMID: 34208700 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26123677
    Cardamonin, a naturally occurring chalcone isolated from Alpinia species has shown to possess strong anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive activities. Previous studies have demonstrated that cardamonin exerts antihyperalgesic and antiallodynic properties in chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced neuropathic pain animal model. However, the mechanisms underlying cardamonin's effect have yet to be fully understood. The present study aims to investigate the involvement of the serotonergic system in cardamonin induced antihyperalgesic and antiallodynic effects in CCI-induced neuropathic pain mice model. The neuropathic pain symptoms in the CCI mice model were assessed using Hargreaves Plantar test and von-Frey filament test on day 14 post-surgery. Central depletion of serotonin along the descending serotonergic pathway was done using ρ-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA, 100 mg/kg, i.p.), an inhibitor of serotonin synthesis for four consecutive days before cardamonin treatment, and was found to reverse the antihyperalgesic and antiallodynic effect produced by cardamonin. Pretreatment of the mice with several 5-HT receptor subtypes antagonists: methiothepin (5-HT1/6/77 receptor antagonist, 0.1 mg/kg), WAY 100635 (5-HT1A receptor antagonist, 1 mg/kg), isamoltane (5-HT1B receptor antagonist, 2.5 mg/kg), ketanserin (5-HT2A receptor antagonist, 0.3 mg/kg), and ondansetron (5-HT3 receptor antagonist, 0.5 mg/kg) were shown to abolish the effect of cardamonin induced antihyperalgesic and antiallodynic effects. Further evaluation of the 5-HT1A receptor subtype protein expressions reveals that cardamonin significantly upregulated its expression in the brainstem and spinal cord. Our results suggest that the serotonergic pathway is essential for cardamonin to exert its antineuropathic effect in CCI mice through the involvement of the 5-HT1A receptor subtype in the central nervous system.
  13. Wibawa PJ, Nur M, Asy'ari M, Wijanarka W, Susanto H, Sutanto H, et al.
    Molecules, 2021 Jun 22;26(13).
    PMID: 34206375 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26133790
    This research aimed to enhance the antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized from silver nitrate (AgNO3) using aloe vera extract. It was performed by means of incorporating AgNPs on an activated carbon nanoparticle (ACNPs) under ultrasonic agitation (40 kHz, 2 × 50 watt) for 30 min in an aqueous colloidal medium. The successful AgNPs synthesis was clarified with both Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometers. The successful AgNPs-ACNPs incorporation and its particle size analysis was performed using Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). The brown color suspension generation and UV-Vis's spectra maximum wavelength at around 480 nm confirmed the existence of AgNPs. The particle sizes of the produced AgNPs were about 5 to 10 nm in the majority number, which collectively surrounded the aloe vera extract secondary metabolites formed core-shell like nanostructure of 8.20 ± 2.05 nm in average size, while ACNPs themselves were about 20.10 ± 1.52 nm in average size formed particles cluster, and 48.00 ± 8.37 nm in average size as stacking of other particles. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized AgNPs and AgNPs-immobilized ACNPs was 57.58% and 63.64%, respectively (for E. coli); 61.25%, and 93.49%, respectively (for S. aureus). In addition, when the AgNPs-immobilized ACNPs material was coated on the cotton and polyester fabrics, the antibacterial activity of the materials changed, becoming 19.23% (cotton; E. coli), 31.73% (polyester; E. coli), 13.36% (cotton; S. aureus), 21.15% (polyester; S. aureus).
  14. Chia JSM, Farouk AAO, Mohamad TAST, Sulaiman MR, Zakaria H, Hassan NI, et al.
    Molecules, 2021 Jun 24;26(13).
    PMID: 34202590 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26133849
    Neuropathic pain is a chronic pain condition persisting past the presence of any noxious stimulus or inflammation. Zerumbone, of the Zingiber zerumbet ginger plant, has exhibited anti-allodynic and antihyperalgesic effects in a neuropathic pain animal model, amongst other pharmacological properties. This study was conducted to further elucidate the mechanisms underlying zerumbone's antineuropathic actions. Research on therapeutic agents involving cannabinoid (CB) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) is rising. These receptor systems have shown importance in causing a synergistic effect in suppressing nociceptive processing. Behavioural responses were assessed using the von Frey filament test (mechanical allodynia) and Hargreaves plantar test (thermal hyperalgesia), in chronic constriction injury (CCI) neuropathic pain mice. Antagonists SR141716 (CB1 receptor), SR144528 (CB2 receptor), GW6471 (PPARα receptor) and GW9662 (PPARγ receptor) were pre-administered before the zerumbone treatment. Our findings indicated the involvement of CB1, PPARα and PPARγ in zerumbone's action against mechanical allodynia, whereas only CB1 and PPARα were involved against thermal hyperalgesia. Molecular docking studies also suggest that zerumbone has a comparable and favourable binding affinity against the respective agonist on the CB and PPAR receptors studied. This finding will contribute to advance our knowledge on zerumbone and its significance in treating neuropathic pain.
  15. Mphahlele MJ, Agbo EN, Choong YS
    Molecules, 2021 May 04;26(9).
    PMID: 34064448 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26092692
    The 2-amino-5-(3/4-fluorostyryl)acetophenones were prepared and reacted with benzaldehyde derivatives to afford the corresponding 5-styryl-2-aminochalcone hybrids. The trans geometry of the styryl and α,β-unsaturated carbonyl arms, and the presence of NH…O intramolecular hydrogen bond were validated using 1H-NMR and X-ray data. The 2-amino-5-styrylacetophenones and their 5-styryl-2-aminochalcone derivatives were screened in vitro for their capability to inhibit α-glucosidase and/or α-amylase activities. Their antioxidant properties were evaluated in vitro through the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and nitric oxide (NO) free radical scavenging assays. Kinetic studies of the most active derivatives from each series against α-glucosidase and/or α-amylase activities have been performed supported by molecular docking studies to determine plausible protein-ligand interactions on a molecular level. The key aspects of the pharmacokinetics of these compounds, i.e., absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion have also been simulated at theoretical level. The most active compounds from each series, namely, 2a and 3e, were evaluated for cytotoxicity against the normal monkey kidney cells (Vero cells) and the adenocarcinomic human epithelial (A549) cell line to establish their safety profile at least in vitro.
  16. Himmat M, Salim N, Al-Dabbagh MM, Saeed F, Ahmed A
    Molecules, 2016 Apr 13;21(4):476.
    PMID: 27089312 DOI: 10.3390/molecules21040476
    Quantifying the similarity of molecules is considered one of the major tasks in virtual screening. There are many similarity measures that have been proposed for this purpose, some of which have been derived from document and text retrieving areas as most often these similarity methods give good results in document retrieval and can achieve good results in virtual screening. In this work, we propose a similarity measure for ligand-based virtual screening, which has been derived from a text processing similarity measure. It has been adopted to be suitable for virtual screening; we called this proposed measure the Adapted Similarity Measure of Text Processing (ASMTP). For evaluating and testing the proposed ASMTP we conducted several experiments on two different benchmark datasets: the Maximum Unbiased Validation (MUV) and the MDL Drug Data Report (MDDR). The experiments have been conducted by choosing 10 reference structures from each class randomly as queries and evaluate them in the recall of cut-offs at 1% and 5%. The overall obtained results are compared with some similarity methods including the Tanimoto coefficient, which are considered to be the conventional and standard similarity coefficients for fingerprint-based similarity calculations. The achieved results show that the performance of ligand-based virtual screening is better and outperforms the Tanimoto coefficients and other methods.
  17. Rehman SU, Choe K, Yoo HH
    Molecules, 2016 Mar 10;21(3):331.
    PMID: 26978330 DOI: 10.3390/molecules21030331
    Eurycoma longifolia Jack (known as tongkat ali), a popular traditional herbal medicine, is a flowering plant of the family Simaroubaceae, native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and also Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. E. longifolia, is one of the well-known folk medicines for aphrodisiac effects as well as intermittent fever (malaria) in Asia. Decoctions of E. longifolia leaves are used for washing itches, while its fruits are used in curing dysentery. Its bark is mostly used as a vermifuge, while the taproots are used to treat high blood pressure, and the root bark is used for the treatment of diarrhea and fever. Mostly, the roots extract of E. longifolia are used as folk medicine for sexual dysfunction, aging, malaria, cancer, diabetes, anxiety, aches, constipation, exercise recovery, fever, increased energy, increased strength, leukemia, osteoporosis, stress, syphilis and glandular swelling. The roots are also used as an aphrodisiac, antibiotic, appetite stimulant and health supplement. The plant is reported to be rich in various classes of bioactive compounds such as quassinoids, canthin-6-one alkaloids, β-carboline alkaloids, triterpene tirucallane type, squalene derivatives and biphenyl neolignan, eurycolactone, laurycolactone, and eurycomalactone, and bioactive steroids. Among these phytoconstituents, quassinoids account for a major portion of the E. longifolia root phytochemicals. An acute toxicity study has found that the oral Lethal Dose 50 (LD50) of the alcoholic extract of E. longifolia in mice is between 1500-2000 mg/kg, while the oral LD50 of the aqueous extract form is more than 3000 mg/kg. Liver and renal function tests showed no adverse changes at normal daily dose and chronic use of E. longifolia. Based on established literature on health benefits of E. longifolia, it is important to focus attention on its more active constituents and the constituents' identification, determination, further development and most importantly, the standardization. Besides the available data, more evidence is required regarding its therapeutic efficacy and safety, so it can be considered a rich herbal source of new drug candidates. It is very important to conserve this valuable medicinal plant for the health benefit of future generations.
  18. Suresh Kumar R, Almansour AI, Arumugam N, Altaf M, Menéndez JC, Kumar RR, et al.
    Molecules, 2016 Jan 29;21(2):165.
    PMID: 26840282 DOI: 10.3390/molecules21020165
    The microwave-assisted three-component reactions of 3,5-bis(E)-arylmethylidene]tetrahydro-4(1H)-pyridinones, acenaphthenequinone and cyclic α-amino acids in an ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide, occurred through a domino sequence affording structurally intriguing diazaheptacyclic cage-like compounds in excellent yields.
  19. Yaacob N, Ahmad Kamarudin NH, Leow ATC, Salleh AB, Raja Abd Rahman RNZ, Mohamad Ali MS
    Molecules, 2017 Aug 12;22(8).
    PMID: 28805665 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22081312
    The alkaline cold-active lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens AMS8 undergoes major structural changes when reacted with hydrophobic organic solvents. In toluene, the AMS8 lipase catalytic region is exposed by the moving hydrophobic lid 2 (Glu-148 to Gly-167). Solvent-accessible surface area analysis revealed that Leu-208, which is located next to the nucleophilic Ser-207 has a focal function in influencing substrate accessibility and flexibility of the catalytic pocket. Based on molecular dynamic simulations, it was found that Leu-208 strongly facilitates the lid 2 opening via its side-chain. The KM and Kcat/KM of L208A mutant were substrate dependent as it preferred a smaller-chain ester (pNP-caprylate) as compared to medium (pNP-laurate) or long-chain (pNP-palmitate) esters. In esterification of ethyl hexanoate, L208A promotes a higher ester conversion rate at 20 °C but not at 30 °C, as a 27% decline was observed. Interestingly, the wild-type (WT) lipase's conversion rate was found to increase with a higher temperature. WT lipase AMS8 esterification was higher in toluene as compared to L208A. Hence, the results showed that Leu-208 of AMS8 lipase plays an important role in steering a broad range of substrates into its active site region by regulating the flexibility of this region. Leu-208 is therefore predicted to be crucial for its role in interfacial activation and catalysis in toluene.
  20. Mohanty SK, Swamy MK, Sinniah UR, Anuradha M
    Molecules, 2017 06 19;22(6).
    PMID: 28629185 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22061019
    Leptadenia reticulata (Retz.) Wight & Arn. (Apocynaceae), is a traditional medicinal plant species widely used to treat various ailments such as tuberculosis, hematopoiesis, emaciation, cough, dyspnea, fever, burning sensation, night blindness, cancer, and dysentery. In Ayurveda, it is known for its revitalizing, rejuvenating, and lactogenic properties. This plant is one of the major ingredients in many commercial herbal formulations, including Speman, Envirocare, Calshakti, Antisept, and Chyawanprash. The therapeutic potential of this herb is because of the presence of diverse bioactive compounds such as α-amyrin, β-amyrin, ferulic acid, luteolin, diosmetin, rutin, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, hentricontanol, a triterpene alcohol simiarenol, apigenin, reticulin, deniculatin, and leptaculatin. However, most biological studies on L. reticulata are restricted to crude extracts, and many biologically active compounds are yet to be identified in order to base the traditional uses of L. reticulata on evidence-based data. At present, L. reticulata is a threatened endangered plant because of overexploitation, unscientific harvesting, and habitat loss. The increased demand from pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and veterinary industries has prompted its large-scale propagation. However, its commercial cultivation is hampered because of the non-availability of genuine planting material and the lack of knowledge about its agronomical practices. In this regard, micropropagation techniques will be useful to obtain true-to-type L. reticulata planting materials from an elite germplasm to meet the current demand. Adopting other biotechnological approaches such as synthetic seed technology, cryopreservation, cell culture, and genetic transformation can help conservation as well as increased metabolite production from L. reticulata. The present review summarizes scientific information on the botanical, agronomical, phytochemical, pharmacological, and biotechnological aspects of L. reticulata. This comprehensive information will certainly allow better utilization of this industrially important herb towards the discovery of lead drug molecules.
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links