•This is the first demonstration of testicular protective effect of Satureja montana.•Satureja montana ameliorates cyclophosphamide-induced testicular injury in rats.•Satureja montana exerts its ...protection via antioxidant & anti-apoptotic mechanisms.•Satureja montana restores cyclophosphamide-lowered serum testosterone level.•Satureja montana upregulates cyclophosphamide-lowered testicular PPAR-γ & Akt1.
The present study investigated the protective effect of Satureja montana extract against cyclophosphamide-induced testicular injury in rats. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the extract were 1.03% and 0.34%w/w of dry herb expressed as chlorogenic acid and quercetin, respectively. HPLC analysis identified caffeic, syringic and rosmarinic acids as the chief phenolic acids, and rutin as the major flavonoid in the extract. Oral daily administration of S.montana extract (50mg/kg/day) for 7days before and 7days after an intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (200mg/kg) restored the reduced relative testicular weight, serum testosterone level and testicular alkaline phosphatase activity, raised the lowered testicular sorbitol dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase activities, and decreased the elevated testicular hemoglobin absorbance. It also attenuated lipid peroxidation, restored the lowered glutathione content, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase activities, and improved total antioxidant capacity. Moreover, S.montana extract mitigated testicular DNA fragmentation, decreased the elevated Fas and Bax gene expression, up-regulated the decreased Bcl-2 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-γ) gene expression and normalized Akt1 protein level. Histopathological investigation confirmed the protective effects of the extract. Conclusively, S.montana extract protects the rat testis against cyclophosphamide-induced damage via anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic mechanisms that seem to be mediated, at least in part, by PPAR-γ and Akt1 up-regulation.
The soft coral genus
contains the enzymatic machinery to synthesize a multitude of cembrene-type diterpenes. Herein, highly oxygenated cembrenoids, sarcoconvolutum A-E (
-
) were purified and ...characterized from an ethyl acetate extract of the red sea soft coral,
. Compounds were assemblies according to spectroscopic methods including FTIR, 1D- and 2D-NMR as well as HRMS. Metabolite cytotoxicity was tested against lung adenocarcinoma, cervical cancer, and oral-cavity carcinoma (A549, HeLa and HSC-2, respectively). The most cytotoxic compound, (
) was observed to be active against cell lines A549 and HSC-2 with IC
values of 49.70 and 53.17 μM, respectively.
This work goal is to develop a valuable biodegradable material for sustainable packaging. The utilization of agriculture wastes to produce biodegradable packaging films based on carboxymethyl ...cellulose (CMC) will reduce its price. CMC was prepared from sugar cane bagasse, and used to prepare composite films with mandarin and cantaloupe peels extracts of different ratios. The effects of these extracts on the mechanical and antimicrobial properties of the prepared films were evaluated. Thus, the films incorporated with 10% concentration of mandarin and cantaloupe peels extract exhibited excellent antimicrobial properties against gram positive, gram negative bacteria and pathogenic yeast than the other lower concentrated films. The physiochemical properties of each developed biodegradable films were characterized using Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and antimicrobial. The reflected work is a novel approach, and which is vital in the conversion of organic waste to value-added product development.
In this study, we have used hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) to prepare antimicrobial films for multipurpose applications. Using HEC gives mangiferin powder (M) mechanical properties, while mangiferin ...powder gives HEC antimicrobial activities. Various concentrations of M (2.5, 5 and 10% wt/vol) were added to HEC to enhance the antimicrobial ability of HEC/M films. The results showed that 10% (wt/vol) was the optimum concentration to accomplish the antimicrobial activity. Various analyses were performed to study the prepared films’ physical, chemical, mechanical, and antimicrobial properties.
Background cultivated and wild plants are used to treat different ailments. The Astragalus genus is found in temperate and dry climates; thus, it is found in Egypt and the arab world. Astragalus ...caprinus has a good amount of bioactive chemicals, which may help explain its therapeutic effects in reducing the risk of consequences from disease. Method The phytochemical investigation of the herb and roots of Astragalus caprinus L. included the analytical characterization for the petroleum ether components by GC/MS, unsaponifiable matter (unsap. fraction), and fatty acids (FAME) investigation by GLC analysis. Main flavonoids were chromatographically isolated from ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts. In vitro antimicrobial activity has been tested against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus mutans for different plant extracts, the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia, the fungus Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger, and the Escherichia coli bacterium. Metabolite cytotoxicity was examined using the MTT assay against HepG-2 (human liver carcinoma) and MCF-7 (breast carcinoma). Results Identifying the important components of the herb and root petroleum ether extracts was achieved. Using column chromatography, luteolin, cosmosiin (apigenin-7-O-glucoside), and cynaroside (luteolin-7-O-glucoside) were separated and identified using UV, NMR, and Mass Spectroscopy. Root extracts displayed potential antimicrobial activity against most of the tested pathogens. Both extracts (herb and roots) were active against the MCF-7 cell line and HepG-2 cell line with IC.sub.50 62.5 + or - 0.64 and 72.4 + or - 2.3 microg/ml, and 75.9 + or - 2.5 and 96.8 + or - 4.2 microg/ml, respectively. Conclusion Astragalus caprinus seems to be a promising source of bioactive compounds that could potentially aid in preventing disease complications and address common health issues in developing countries. Moreover, the various parts of this plant could be utilized as natural raw materials for producing health-boosting products that could address common health issues in developing countries. Keywords: Astragalus Caprinus, Lipid fraction, Flavonoids, Antitumor, Antimicrobial activity
Background
Diospyros kaki
L. is considered one of the most important economical medicinal plant in Chinese herbal medicine belonging to family Ebenaceae as it contains varied secondary metabolites ...and used in treatment of many diseases. For there is an efficient and promising protocol for in vitro propagation of
Diospyros kaki
L. cv. Costata was established
Diospyros kaki
L. cv. Costata although it is difficult to initiate it in sterilized artificial media due to the browning of tissue caused by oxidation of phenolics. An efficient sterilizing method for leaf and internode explants was obtained by using 0.2% mercuric chloride (Hg
2
Cl
2
) for 5 min. Woody plant medium
(
WPM) supplemented with 2 mg/l zeatin (Zt) + 5 mg/l isopentenyl adenine (2 iP). Calli were induced on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) augmented with 10 mg/l Zt + 10 mg/l indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) + 500 mg/l polyvinylpyrolidone (PVP) + 0.1 mg/l thiamine HCL from internode explants. However, the regeneration efficiency was obtained with ½ MS-media fortified with 1 mg/l Zt + 2 mg/l IAA + 4 mg/l benzylaminopurine (BAp) + 0.5 g/l PVP from internode calli explants.
Results
The highest amounts of scopoletin 57.08, 26.42, and 25.30 (μg/g DW) were detected using reversed phase of high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) in leaves extract of intact plant followed by regenerated and calli cultures of internod explants, respectively.
Conclusion
This study is the first record for in vitro propagation and production of secondary metabolites from
Diospyros kaki
L. using biotechnology techniques. Chemical anaysis were carried out using HPLC technique.
Objective
Cancer chemoprevention is defined as the use of chemicals or dietary components to block, inhibit, or reverse the development of cancer in normal or pre‐neoplastic tissue. Mentha extract ...(ME) has antioxidant and antiperoxidant properties. This study was held to investigate the protective and anticancer effect of Mentha leaves aqueous extract on oral epithelium of mice tongues.
Design
A total of 80 Egyptian albino mice were divided into three groups. Group I served as control (not subjected to any kind of treatment), and groups II and III were subjected to two‐stage chemical carcinogenesis through topical application of dimethylbenzaanthracene (DMBA) followed by formaldehyde on dorsal and ventral surfaces of tongues for 9 weeks. Mentha leaves extract was administrated to group III at the same time of cancer induction. Histological changes were assessed in H&E sections at 3‐week intervals. The anticarcinogenic effect of Mentha piperita was tested using immunostain with anticaspase antibody.
Results
The oral administration of ME reduced the appearance of dysplastic cellular changes with 61% and inhibited tumor incidence with 100%. Group I showed moderate‐to‐strong cytoplasmic caspase expression. At 6‐week interval, group II showed weak‐to‐moderate caspase expression, while sections from group III showed moderate‐to‐strong caspase expression. High significant statistical difference in the total score of caspase 3 expression was found between specimens obtained from animals sacrificed at 6 weeks in groups I, II, and III (P = 0.001**).
Conclusion
Our study demonstrated that Mentha piperita has inhibited the initiation and promotion of oral dysplastic lesions.
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