The highest formal academic qualification is the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Currently, in US alone, 1.77% of its population has doctorates or its equivalent degree holders. It differs in every country depending on the quality of education system that it has. As it is the highest recognition for academic performance, a lot have dreamt to hold the revered scroll. However, quite a number have failed trying. There are a lot of descriptions for the acronym PhD; the most frightening one, Permanent Head Damage. Upon reflection, one description fits well. The formula of success for obtaining PhD consists of the elements known as strategical Plan (P), the rich health (H) and the awesome determination (D). This paper is elaborating these three elements and more, required for a person who is attempting to acquire the degree based on a review of literature and my personal experiences. Hopefully, it will be able to help those who are still fighting their way through their journey.
Plants have sustained the life of man since the beginning of the time. Their functionalities go beyond being wood for fire, instead, they are able to protect, provide and nourish. The many purposes of plants have been described by many. In this article, we will describe functional plants through the chemical perspective particularly the biologically active secondary metabolites. The initiatives in natural products studies can be traced to the early years of man when plants were used for health and treatment management as documented in traditional materia medica. In modern days, numerous phytochemicals have become the main ingredients in drugs, foods, cosmetics and many more after detailed and rigorous research programs which determine their safety and efficacy. In Malaysia, and Sabah in particular, efforts are planned and carried out to identify potential traditional plants that will be beneficial in their truest forms.
Quassia borneensis has been traditionally used as antihypertensive agent without any scientific literature on its mechanism
of action. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antiinflammatory, antioxidant and antiproliferation properties of
Q. borneensis extracts. The hexane, chloroform and aqueous extracts of root and bark of Q. borneensis were subjected to
nitric oxide (NO) inhibition assay in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) protein
level was analyzed by Western blot. The antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of the extracts on HL-60 cells were
determined using Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) and MTT assays, respectively. The chloroform extract of
Q. borneensis root obtained by soxhlet method (CSR) significantly inhibited 97.64 ± 0.96% of NO production (p < 0.001)
and suppressed iNOS expression (p < 0.05) at the highest concentration of 1.0 µg/ml. The chloroform extract of bark
obtained by maceration (CMB) exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity in the absence and presence of HL-60 cells,
where the FRAP value were 125.45 ± 9.10 µM FeSO4
.7H2
O and 181.55 ± 3.45 µM FeSO4
.7H2
O, respectively. The greatest
inhibition of HL-60 cell proliferation was exhibited by the chloroform extract of bark obtained by soxhlet method (CSB)
with the IC50 of 5.0 µg/ml. The findings suggested that the chloroform extracts of Q. borneensis possess antiinflammatory,
antioxidant and antiproliferative activities.