Pyroligneous acid (PA) obtained from slow pyrolysis of palm kernel shell (PKS) has high total phenolic contents and exhibits various biological activities including antioxidant, antibacterial and antifungal. In this study, PA obtained using slow pyrolysis method and fractionated using column chromatography was characterized (chemical and antioxidative properties) and investigated for its cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) inhibition activities using the in vitro and in silico approaches. The F9 PA fraction exhibited highest total phenolic content of 181.75 ± 17.0 μg/mL. Fraction F21-25 showed ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (331.80 ± 4.60 mg TE/g) and IC50 of 18.56 ± 0.01 μg/mL towards COX-2 and 5.25 ± 0.03 μg/mL towards the 5-LOX enzymes, respectively. Molecular docking analysis suggested favourable binding energy for all chemical compounds present in fraction F21-25, notably 1-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)-2-pentanone, towards both COX-2 (- 6.9 kcal/mol) and 5-LOX (- 6.4 kcal/mol) enzymes. As a conclusion, PA from PKS has the potential to be used as an alternative antioxidant and antiinflammatory agents which is biodegradable and a more sustainable supply of raw materials.
Ficus deltoidea was known for its potent antioxidant, anti-melanogenic and photoprotective skin barrier activities. These properties are contributed by its biomarkers which are vitexin and isovitexin. This study aims to optimize the yield of methanolic extraction of Ficus deltoidea leaves (EFD) and evaluate their effects on skin barrier function and hydration. For optimization, Box-Behnken design was utilized to investigate the effects of methanol concentration, sonication time, and solvent-to-sample ratio on the yields of vitexin and isovitexin in EFD. The optimal yields obtained were 32.29 mg/g for vitexin and 35.87 mg/g for isovitexin. The optimum extraction conditions were 77.66% methanol concentration, 20.03 min sonication time, and 19.88 mL/g solvent-to-sample ratio. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was utilized to measure variant marker genes of transglutaminase-1, caspase 14, ceramide synthase 3, involucrin, and filaggrin of EFD-induced keratinocyte differentiation by in vitro study. Exposure to EFD has elevated the mRNA levels of all tested marker genes by 0.7-9.2 folds. Then, in vivo efficacy study was conducted on 20 female subjects for 14 days to evaluate skin biophysical assessment of hydration. EFD topical formulation treatment successfully increased skin hydration on day 7 (43.74%) and day 14 (47.23%). In silico study by molecular docking was performed to identify intermolecular binding interactions of vitexin and isovitexin with the interested proteins of tested marker genes. The result of molecular docking to the interested proteins revealed a similar trend with real-time PCR data. In conclusion, EFD potentially enhanced the skin barrier function and hydration of human skin cells.
This study highlights the biosorption capacity for Cd (II), Cu (II) and Pb (II) by a locally isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa DR7. At initial concentrations of 150 mg L-1 and 240 min of contact time, P. aeruginosa DR7 showed a 62.56 mg/g removal capacity for Cd (II) at an optimum pH of 6.0, 72.49 mg/g for Cu (II) at an optimum pH of 6.0, and 94.2 mg/g for Pb (II) at an optimum pH of 7.0. The experimental data of Cd (II), Cu (II), and Pb (II) adsorbed by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model correlates well with P. aeruginosa DR7, with R2 all above 0.99, showing that the fitting effect was satisfactory. The isothermal adsorption processes of Cd (II) (0.980) and Cu (II) (0.986) were more consistent with the Freundlich model, whereas Pb (II) was more consistent with the Langmuir model (0.978). FTIR analysis suggested the involvement of hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, and amine groups present in the inner regions of P. aeruginosa cells during the biosorption process. SEM-EDS analysis revealed that after contact with metals, there were slight changes in the surface appearance of the cells, which confirmed the deposition of metals on the bacterial surface. There was also the possibility of the metals being translocated into the bacterial inner regions by the appearance of electron-dense particles, as observed using TEM. As a conclusion, the removal of metals from solutions using P. aeruginosa DR7 was a plausible alternative as a safe, cheap, and easily used biosorbent.