is a medicinal plant that is widely used in Saudi folklore medicine for treatment of various diseases.
fruit powder was sequentially extracted with
-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol ...using a Soxhlet extractor. The cytotoxic effects of these fractions on human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) and non-tumorigenic control cells (MCF-10A) were evaluated via cell viability measurements, microscopy, gene expression, and migration assays. Moreover, the effect of the most promising extract on 7,12-dimethyl-benzaanthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer was investigated in rats. The promising extract was also subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Fruit extracts of
were significantly cytotoxic toward all tested cell lines, as demonstrated by MTT and LDH assays. Treatment of MDA-MB-231 cells with fruit ethyl acetate fraction (RSF EtOAc) increased expression 11of P53, Bax and activation of caspase 3/7. A cell migration scratch assay demonstrated that extracts at non-cytotoxic concentrations exerted a potent anti-migration activity against the highly invasive MDA-MB-231 cell line. Moreover, RT-PCR results showed that RSF EtOAc significantly downregulated MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression, which play an important role in breast cancer metastasis. Histological studies of breast tissue in experimental animals showed a slight improvement in tissue treated with fruit ethyl acetate extract. GC-MS chromatogram showed thirteen peaks with major constituents were camphor, trichosenic acid and guanidine. Our current study demonstrates that fruit extracts of
are cytotoxic toward breast cancer cell lines through apoptotic mechanisms.
Saussurea costus (Falc) Lipsch is a traditional herb used to treat kidney stone problems because it contains several molecules used to treat this health problem, such as quercitrin. Infectious stones ...are the most painful of all urinary tract disorders, with ammonium phosphate (struvite) and carbapatite stones being the most common, caused by a bacterial infection with urease activity. These stones are treated with antibiotics, but antibiotic resistance is on the rise. The current study investigated the anti-urolithic activities of S. costus aqueous and ethanolic extracts of against struvite crystals synthesized using microscopic crystallization and turbidimetric methods, respectively. The utilized methods indicated that the ethanolic extract of this plant has a significant inhibitory effect on struvite crystallization, with a percentage inhibition of (87.45 ± 1.107) (p < 0.001) for a concentration of 1 mg mL−1 and a decrease in the number of struvite crystals, reaching values less than 100/mm3. For the number of struvite crystals inhibited by cystone, we found a value of 400/mm3 and with the aqueous extract we found 700/mm3. The antibacterial activity of the plant extracts studied was examined against several urease-producing bacteria, and this activity was evaluated by qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods; the highest minimum inhibitory concentration was seen in the ethanolic extract, with an MIC of 50 mg mL−1 for Staphylococcus aureus followed by an MIC of 200 mg mL−1 for Klebsiella pneumoniae. It showed a minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) against S. aureus and K. pneumoniae (>50 mg mL−1 and >200 mg mL−1, respectively). Furthermore, to determine the extract’s anti-inflammatory activity, in vivo anti-inflammatory activity was investigated in rats. The results show that at a dose of 400 mg kg−1, the ethanolic extract has a maximum edema inhibition of 66%.
Ker Gawl. is one of the medicinal plants used for the prevention and treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM) in Morocco. This study aims to investigate the antihyperglycemic effect of
seed oil (ODSO), ...its mechanism of action, and any hypoglycemic risk and toxic effects. The antihyperglycemic effect was assessed using the OGTT test in normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats. The mechanisms of action were explored by studying the effect of ODSO on the intestinal absorption of d-glucose using the intestinal in situ single-pass perfusion technique. An Ussing chamber was used to explore the effects of ODSO on intestinal sodium-glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1). Additionally, ODSO's effect on carbohydrate degrading enzymes, pancreatic α-amylase, and intestinal α-glucosidase was evaluated in vitro and in vivo using STZ-diabetic rats. The acute toxicity test on mice was performed, along with a single-dose hypoglycemic effect test. The results showed that ODSO significantly attenuated the postprandial hyperglycemia in normal and STZ-diabetic rats. Indeed, ODSO significantly decreased the intestinal d-glucose absorption in situ. The ex vivo test (Ussing chamber) showed that the ODSO significantly blocks the SGLT1 (IC
= 60.24 µg/mL). Moreover, ODSO indu\ced a significant inhibition of intestinal α-glucosidase (IC
= 278 ± 0.01 µg/mL) and pancreatic α-amylase (IC
= 0.81 ± 0.09 mg/mL) in vitro. A significant decrease of postprandial hyperglycemia was observed in sucrose/starch-loaded normal and STZ-diabetic ODSO-treated rats. On the other hand, ODSO had no risk of hypoglycemia on the basal glucose levels in normal rats. Therefore, no toxic effect was observed in ODSO-treated mice up to 7 mL/kg. The results of this study suggest that ODSO could be suitable as an antidiabetic functional food.
It is postulated that alterations in membranous lipids construction, surface characteristics, fluidity, Ca2+ permeability, and cholesterol levels collectively contribute to the process of ...capacitation induction. The change in sperm membrane calcium permeability following capacitation is the main signal for the acrosome reaction. The acrosome response is commonly induced in vitro using calcium ionophore. The study's objectives are to determine how the calcium ionophore (ionomycin) and the solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) affect the motility, hyperactivity, and velocity of bovine frozen–thawed spermatozoa at varying concentrations and incubation times. The capacitation medium consisted of Bracket–Oliphant medium. Four capacitation media were prepared; two treated groups were supplemented with 25 nM and 50 nM of ionomycin, one group was without ionomycin, and the control group was supplemented with DMSO. Sperm motility decreased substantially with increasing time period in all four groups, according to the findings. The result found that there was some variance in the sperm parameters between the groups and treatment times. Overall, the group exposed to 25 nM had better semen and sperm parameters than the group exposed to 50 nM. In conclusion, the role of calcium ionophore had better semen and sperm parameters in the group exposed with a lower concentration than a higher concentration on sperm.
The cell-traversal protein for ookinetes and sporozoites (CelTOS), expressed on the surface of ookinetes and sporozoitesin 'Plasmodium species', is a promising malaria vaccine candidate. CelTOS is ...essential for parasite invasion into mosquito midgut and human hepatocytes, thereby contributing to malaria transmission and disease pathogenesis. This study explores the genetic diversity, polymorphisms, haplotypes, natural selection, phylogenetic analysis, and epitope prediction in the full-length 'Plasmodium knowlesi CelTOS' gene in clinical samples from Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, and long-term laboratory strains from Peninsular Malaysia and the Philippines. Our analysis revealed a high level of genetic variation in the 'PkCelTOS' gene, with a nucleotide diversity of pi ~ 0.021, which was skewed towards the 3' end of the gene. This level of diversity is double that observed in PfCelTOS and 20 times that observed in PvCelTOS from worldwide clinical samples. Tests of natural selection revealed evidence for positive selection within clinical samples. Phylogenetic analysis of the amino acid sequence of 'PkCelTOS' revealed the presence of two distinct groups, although no geographical clustering was observed. Epitope prediction analysis identified two potential epitopes (96AQLKATA102 and 124TIKPPRIKED133) using the IEDB server and one epitope (125IKPPRIKED133) by Bcepred server on the C' terminal region of 'PkCelTOS' protein. Both the servers predicted a common epitope region of nine amino acid length (IKPPRIKED) peptide, which can be studied in the future as a potential candidate for vaccine development. These findings shed light on the genetic diversity, polymorphism, haplotypes, and natural selection within 'PkCelTOS' in clinical samples and provide insights about its future prospects as a potential candidate for 'P. knowlesi' malaria vaccine development.
The neurodegenerative condition known as Parkinson's disease (PD) is brought on by the depletion of dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia, which is the brain region that controls body movement. ...PD occurs due to many factors, from which one of the acknowledged effects of oxidative stress is pathogenic pathways that play a role in the development of Parkinson's disease. Antioxidants, including flavonoids, vitamins E and C, and polyphenolic substances, help to reduce the oxidative stress brought on by free radicals. Consequently, this lowers the risk of neurodegenerative disorders in the long term. Although there is currently no cure for neurodegenerative illnesses, these conditions can be controlled. The treatment of this disease lessens its symptoms, which helps to preserve the patient's quality of life. Therefore, the use of naturally occurring antioxidants, such as polyphenols, which may be obtained through food or nutritional supplements and have a variety of positive effects, has emerged as an appealing alternative management strategy. This article will examine the extent of knowledge about antioxidants in the treatment of neurodegenerative illnesses, as well as future directions for research. Additionally, an evaluation of the value of antioxidants as neuroprotective agents will be provided.
Cisplatin is a common drug used to treat patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, cisplatin-induced chemoresistance poses a major challenge to its clinical application. Our recent study ...has shown that anethole possesses an anti-oral cancer effect. In this study, we examined the combined effect of anethole and cisplatin on oral cancer therapy. Gingival cancer cells Ca9-22 were cultured in the presence of various concentrations of cisplatin with or without anethole. The cell viability/proliferation and cytotoxicity were evaluated, respectively, by MTT, Hoechst staining, and LDH assay, while colony formation was measured by crystal violet. Oral cancer cell migration was evaluated by the scratch method. Apoptosis, caspase activity, oxidative stress, MitoSOX, and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) levels were evaluated by flow cytometry, and the inhibition of signaling pathways was investigated by Western blot. Our results show that anethole (3 µM) potentiates cisplatin-induced inhibition of cell proliferation and decreases the ΔΨm on Ca9-22 cells. Furthermore, drug combination was found to inhibit cell migration and enhanced cisplatin cytotoxicity. The combination of anethole and cisplatin potentiates cisplatin-induced oral cancer cell apoptosis through the activation of caspase, while we also found anethole and cisplatin to enhance the cisplatin-induced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial stress. In addition, major cancer signaling pathways were inhibited by the combination of anethole and cisplatin such as MAPKase, beta-catenin, and NF-κB pathways. This study reports that the combination of anethole and cisplatin might provide a beneficial effect in enhancing the cisplatin cancer cell-killing effect, thus lowering the associated side effects.
A grindstone method based on Mannich condensation was used to synthesize geranylacetone derivatives (1a–1f). The method showed a high yield under milder reaction conditions. Analyses of the ...synthesized compounds were carried out by FTIR, 1H, 13C NMR, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. We synthesized and evaluated the larvicidal and ichthyotoxic activities of six compounds (1a–1f) in this study. Compound 1f (5,9-dimethyl-1-phenyl-3-(2-(3-phenylallylidene)hydrazinyl)deca-4,8-dien-1-one) was more active (LD50: 14.1 µg/mL) against the second instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus than geranylacetone (67.2 µg/mL), whereas the former caused 13.9% mortality at 100 µg/mL. Geranylacetone, in an antifeedant screening test, showed 53.1% against Oreochromis mossambicus within 24 h. The compound 1f showed high larvicidal activity against C. quinquefasciatus and was non-toxic to non-target aquatic species.
Citrus fruits and juices have been studied extensively for their potential involvement in the prevention of various diseases. Flavanones, the characteristic polyphenols of citrus species, are the ...primarily compounds responsible for these studied health benefits. Using in silico and in vitro methods, we are exploring the possible antidiabetic action of narirutin, a flavanone family member. The goal of the in silico research was to anticipate how narirutin would interact with eight distinct receptors implicated in diabetes control and complications, namely, dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP4), protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), free fatty acid receptor 1 (FFAR1), aldose reductase (AldR), glycogen phosphorylase (GP), alpha-amylase (AAM), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), alpha-glucosidase (AGL), while the in vitro study looked into narirutin’s possible inhibitory impact on alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase. The results indicate that the studied citrus flavanone interacted remarkably with most of the receptors and had an excellent inhibitory activity during the in vitro tests suggesting its potent role among the different constituent of the citrus compounds in the management of diabetes and also its complications.
The livers of reptiles are being studied as a model for the link between the environment and hepatic tissue. There have been few investigations on the histology of reptile livers, and very few or no ...studies have examined the histology of liver of veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus). This paper describes the histomorphological, histochemical and ultrastructural characterization of the liver of veiled chameleons in southern Saudi Arabia. Seven Chamaeleo calyptratus were captured in the summer season in Abha City, Aseer region, southern Saudi Arabia. Chamaeleon liver samples were processed for histomorphology, histochemistry and ultrastructure analyses. Morphologically liver of Chamaeleo calyptratus was observed as a large dark brown organ with lighter speckles, which represent melanin deposits. It located at the ventral part of abdominal cavity forward of the stomach. Its dimensions approximately were 3.7 x 2 cm. The liver was a bilobed organ divided into two lobes, right and left lobes. The right one was bigger than the others. The gallbladder was well developed and had an elongated shape, situated between the two lobes and contained the bile for the digestion. Microscopically, the liver was found to be covered by a thick layer of connective tissue, which formed the hepatic capsule. Hepatic parenchyma probably appeared in cross sections as hepatic glandular-like alveoli “acini” or follicular structures with various diameters, each acinus contains approximately four to six hepatocytes, surrounded by sinusoidal capillaries filled with abundant melanomacrophages, which are absent in birds and mammals. Melanomacrophages are common in the hepatic parenchyma's perisinusoidal areas, particularly near portal spaces. Hepatocytes are polyhedral or pyramidal with and mostly contained large, rounded nuclei mostly peripherally located, with prominent dark oval nucleoli. Some of nuclei are eccentric or central position. The cytoplasm appeared spongy or vacuolated and more eosinophilic when stained by hematoxylin-eosin and strongly reactive to PAS staining technique, indicating abundant glycogen content. The reticular fibers that surround hepatocytes, blood arteries, and sinusoids supported the hepatic parenchyma. The blood sinusoids are seen interspersed among hepatocytes of varying sizes. The sinusoidal lumen was bordered by flattened endothelial cells and includes elliptical nucleated erythrocytes and liver macrophages as phagocytes, which are also known as Kupffer cells. Branches of the portal vein, hepatic artery, small bile duct, and lymph vessels were detected in the hepatic portal area “tract” or triad which made up of connective. Hematopoietic tissue was observed in subcapsular region and portal triads. Ultrastructurally, the hepatocyte appeared polyhedric containing a single large rounded basal or eccentric vesicular nucleus with prominent nucleolus. Extensive network of rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) often arranged in an array parallel to the nuclear membrane with many mitochondria, and Golgi apparatus were described. The cytoplasm contained glycogen granules, vesicles or vacuoles scattered throughout the cytoplasm especially at the apical region were reported. The bile canaliculi and the hepatic "Kupffer" cells were also discussed. This is the first study on the histological characterization of the healthy liver of Yemen veiled chameleon in southern Saudi Arabia. The findings reported here should be used as a reference to compare with the pathological abnormalities of the liver in this animal.
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