scholarly journals Biological activities of basil essential oil: a review of the current evidence

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e363101220409
Author(s):  
Mayara Zagoto ◽  
Gabriel Fernando Esteves Cardia ◽  
Edvalkia Magna Teobaldo da Rocha ◽  
Kathia Socorro Mathias Mourão ◽  
Vanderly Janeiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Essential Oil ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Low Toxicity ◽  
Pharmacological Potential ◽  
Clinical Conditions ◽  
Insight Into

Currently, natural products are being used as a therapeutic alternative in the treatment and prevention of several diseases due to their low toxicity and relevant pharmacological potential. Thus, we can highlight basil (Ocimum basilicum L), one of the most used aromatic plants worldwide. Therefore, we provide some current evidence and insight into the potential therapeutic effect of basil essential oil to expand the available knowledge. A narrative review was carried out by searching electronic databases, providing a comprehensive analysis of the literature, where it was possible to identify existing problems and gaps to facilitate future research on basil essential oil. The available literature on basil essential oil presents us with several important pharmacological activities, such as: antioxidant, antiviral, antimicrobial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic and diuretic properties, among others. However, further research must be carried out to increase knowledge about this plant with enormous potential and determine its effectiveness and use in clinical conditions.

scholarly journals Genetic and neural relationships underpinning impulsivity

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 80-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nichol Wong ◽  
Tatia Lee
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Psychological Functioning ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
Clinical Conditions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
The Continuum

Impulsivity refers to acting without forethought. It can be detrimental to daily social functioning and interaction, and is significantly implicated in several clinical conditions, e.g. violence and addiction. Evidence for the neural underpinnings of impulsivity from both healthy and clinical populations, integrated with the findings from genetic studies on the same topic, lend important insight into a neurobehavioral model of impulsivity. In this review, disinhibition and impulsive decision-making in the impulsivity construct are covered. Recent behavioral and imaging-genetic studies on the topic will also be reviewed and discussed. Findings from neuroimaging studies, clinical studies, and genetic studies converge to provide a better understanding of individual differences on the continuum. Future research efforts should continue to focus on the association approach to identify relevant neural-behavioral correlations in order for elucidating the impact from genes through neural to behavioral phenotypes. These potential findings, when being incorporated with physiological and immunological measures, would not only hasten understanding of impulsivity, but guide interventions development for ameliorating maladaptive social/psychological functioning disorders underpinned by it.

Citrus peel derived’ Poly-Methoxylated Flavones (PMF)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Mahdi Vajdi ◽  
Mahdieh Abbasalizad Farhangi
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Accumulation ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
In Vitro Studies ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Citrus Peel ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Methoxylated Flavones

Abstract. The prevalence of obesity has increased substantially over the last several decades and several environmental factors have accelerated this trend. Poly-methoxy flavones (PMFs) exist abundantly in the peels of citrus, and their biological activities have been broadly examined in recent years. Several studies have examined the effects of PMFs on obesity and its-related diseases. This systematic review conducted to focus on the effect of PMFs on obesity and its related conditions management. The PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct databases were searched for relevant studies published before November 2020. Out of 1,615 records screened, 16 studies met the study criteria. The range of dosage of PMFs was varied from 10 to 200 mg/kg (5–26 weeks) and 1–100 μmol (2h–8 days) across selected animal and in vitro studies, respectively. The literature reviewed shows that PMFs modulate several biological processes associated with obesity such as lipid and glucose metabolism, inflammation, energy balance, and oxidative stress by different mechanisms. All of the animal studies showed significant positive effects of PMFs on obesity by reducing body weight (e.g. reduced weight gain by 21.04%), insulin resistance, energy expenditure, inhibiting lipogenesis and reduced blood lipids (e.g. reduced total cholesterol by 23.10%, TG by 44.35% and LDL by 34.41%). The results of the reviewed in vitro studies have revealed that treatment with PMFs significantly inhibits lipid accumulation in adipocytes (e.g. reduced lipid accumulation by 55–60%) and 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte differentiation as well by decreasing the expression of PPARγ and C/EBPα and also reduces the number and size of fat cells and reduced TG content in adipocytes by 45.67% and 23.10% and 16.08% for nobiletin, tangeretin and hesperetin, respectively. Although current evidence supports the use of PMFs as a complementary treatment in obesity, future research is needed to validate this promising treatment modality.

scholarly journals New Perspectives on Emotional Processing in People with Symptomatic Huntington’s Disease: Impaired Emotion Regulation and Recognition of Emotional Body Language†

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 610-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolò Zarotti ◽  
Ian Fletcher ◽  
Jane Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Body Language ◽  
Disease Stage ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Clinical Conditions

Abstract Objective Emotion regulation and emotional body language (EBL) recognition represent two fundamental components of emotional processing that have recently seen a considerable surge in research interest, in part due to the role they play in optimizing mental health. This appears to be particularly true for clinical conditions that can profoundly affect emotional functioning. Among these is Huntington’s disease (HD), a neurodegenerative disorder that is associated with several psychological difficulties and cognitive impairments, including well-established deficits in facial emotion recognition. However, although the theoretical case for impairments is strong, the current evidence in HD on other components such as emotion regulation and EBL recognition is sparse. Method In this study, it was hypothesized that emotion regulation and recognition of EBL are impaired in people with symptomatic HD, and that these impairments significantly and positively correlate with each other. A between-subjects design was adopted to compare 13 people with symptomatic HD with 12 non-affected controls matched for age and education. Results The results showed that emotion regulation and EBL recognition were significantly impaired in individuals with HD. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was observed between facial and EBL recognition impairments, whereas EBL performance was negatively related to the disease stage. However, emotion regulation and recognition performances were not significantly correlated. Conclusions This investigation represents the first evidence of a deficit of emotion regulation and EBL recognition in individuals with HD. The clinical implications of these findings are explored, and indications for future research are proposed.

scholarly journals An Insight into 4-Thiazolidinones

2021 ◽  
pp. 162-174
Author(s):  
Smriti Sahu ◽  
Prabhat Kumar Upadhyay ◽  
Pradeep Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activities ◽  
Ring System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Aryl Group ◽  
Synthetic Compounds ◽  
Structural Modifications ◽  
The Core ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Anti Fungal ◽  
Insight Into

Aims: This assessment is all about to get imminent into 4-thiazolidinones and comprehensively reviewing this molecule. 4-Thiazolidinones are known for their wide-ranging biological activities. 4 - Thiazolidinones contains thiazolidine ring having carbonyl group in the 4-position. The chemistry of thiazolidinones has drawn scientific interest through the years because this particular ring system is the core structure in a variety of synthetic compounds with a broad spectrum of biological activities such as anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, insecticidal, anti-epileptic, anti-mycobacterial, anti- inflammatory, anti-parasitic, hypnotic and anti-cancer. Structural modifications on the 4-thiazolidinone moiety, either by replacing the aryl group with the heteroaryl scaffold or by incorporating different groups and moieties (A&B) on –CH– group of nucleus paving a new pathway for the future research. It necessitates to widely reviewing the structure, chemistry and pharmacological aspects of 4-thiazolidinones.

scholarly journals Transcriptomic Effects of Healthspan-Promoting Dietary Interventions: Current Evidence and Future Directions

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devin Wahl ◽  
Thomas J. LaRocca
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Nutrient Sensing ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Intermittent Fasting ◽  
Dietary Interventions ◽  
Nutritional Interventions ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Dietary Strategies ◽  
Insight Into

Aging is the greatest risk factor most diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, cancers, diabetes, and neurodegeneration, but select nutritional interventions may profoundly reduce the risk for these conditions. These interventions include calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, protein restriction, and reducing intake of certain amino acids. Certain ad libitum diets, including the Mediterranean, Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability, and Okinawan diets also promote healthy aging. Evidence indicates that these dietary strategies influence aging and healthspan by acting on the biological “hallmarks of aging” and especially upstream nutrient sensing pathways. Recent advances in “omics” technologies, including RNA-sequencing (transcriptomics), have increased our understanding of how such nutritional interventions may influence gene expression related to these biological mediators of aging, primarily in pre-clinical studies. However, whether these effects are also reflected in the human transcriptome, which may provide insight on other downstream/related cellular processes with aging, is an emerging topic. Broadly, the investigation of how these nutritional interventions influence the transcriptome may provide novel insight into pathways associated with aging, and potential targets to treat age-associated disease and increase healthspan. Therefore, the purpose of this mini review is to summarize what is known about the transcriptomic effects of key dietary/nutritional interventions in both pre-clinical models and humans, address gaps in the literature, and provide insight into future research directions.

scholarly journals GC-MS Characterization of Antibacterial, Antioxidant, and Antitrypanosomal Activity of Syzygium aromaticum Essential Oil and Eugenol

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Amanda Mara Teles ◽  
João Victor Silva-Silva ◽  
Juan Matheus Pereira Fernandes ◽  
Ana Lucia Abreu-Silva ◽  
Kátia da Silva Calabrese ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Essential Oil ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Total Phenolic ◽  
Syzygium Aromaticum ◽  
Antitrypanosomal Activity ◽  
Low Cytotoxicity ◽  
Therapeutic Alternatives

Syzygium aromaticum has a diversity of biological activities due to the chemical compounds found in its plant products such as total phenolic compounds and flavonoids. The present work describes the chemical analysis and antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antitrypanosomal activity of the essential oil of S. aromaticum. Eugenol (53.23%) as the major compound was verified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. S. aromaticum essential oil was more effective against S. aureus (MIC 50 μg/mL) than eugenol (MIC 250 μg/mL). Eugenol presented higher antioxidant activity than S. aromaticum essential oil, with an EC50 of 12.66 and 78.98 µg/mL, respectively. S. aromaticum essential oil and eugenol exhibited Trypanosoma cruzi inhibitory activity, with IC50 of 28.68 ± 1.073 and 31.97 ± 1.061 μg/mL against epimastigotes and IC50 of 64.51 ± 1.658 and 45.73 ± 1.252 μg/mL against intracellular amastigotes, respectively. Both compounds presented low cytotoxicity, with S. aromaticum essential oil displaying 15.5-fold greater selectivity for the parasite than the cells. Nitrite levels in T. cruzi-stimulated cells were reduced by essential oil (47.01%; p  = 0.002) and eugenol (48.05%; p  = 0.003) treatment. The trypanocidal activity of S. aromaticum essential oil showed that it is reasonable to use it in future research in the search for new therapeutic alternatives for trypanosomiasis.

scholarly journals MCMs in Cancer: Prognostic Potential and Mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Yu ◽  
Guanqun Wang ◽  
Yue Shi ◽  
Haifeng Xu ◽  
Yongchang Zheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Replication Initiation ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Hallmarks Of Cancer ◽  
Minichromosome Maintenance ◽  
Proliferation Markers ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Insight Into

Enabling replicative immortality and uncontrolled cell cycle are hallmarks of cancer cells. Minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCMs) exhibit helicase activity in replication initiation and play vital roles in controlling replication times within a cell cycle. Overexpressed MCMs are detected in various cancerous tissues and cancer cell lines. Previous studies have proposed MCMs as promising proliferation markers in cancers, while the prognostic values remain controversial and the underlying mechanisms remain unascertained. This review provides an overview of the significant findings regarding the cellular and tumorigenic functions of the MCM family. Besides, current evidence of the prognostic roles of MCMs is retrospectively reviewed. This work also offers insight into the mechanisms of MCMs prompting carcinogenesis and adverse prognosis, providing information for future research. Finally, MCMs in liver cancer are specifically discussed, and future perspectives are provided.

scholarly journals Epidermal Lamellar Body Biogenesis: Insight Into the Roles of Golgi and Lysosomes

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarmistha Mahanty ◽  
Subba Rao Gangi Setty
Keyword(s):  
Skin Diseases ◽  
Lamellar Body ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Cargo Transport ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
Lysosome Related Organelles ◽  
Golgi Network ◽  
Insight Into

Epidermal lamellar bodies (eLBs) are secretory organelles that carry a wide variety of secretory cargo required for skin homeostasis. eLBs belong to the class of lysosome-related organelles (LROs), which are cell-type-specific organelles that perform diverse functions. The formation of eLBs is thought to be related to that of other LROs, which are formed either through the gradual maturation of Golgi/endosomal precursors or by the conversion of conventional lysosomes. Current evidence suggests that eLB biogenesis presumably initiate from trans-Golgi network and receive cargo from endosomes, and also acquire lysosome characteristics during maturation. These multistep biogenesis processes are frequently disrupted in human skin disorders. However, many gaps remain in our understanding of eLB biogenesis and their relationship to skin diseases. Here, we describe our current understanding on eLB biogenesis with a focus on cargo transport to this LRO and highlight key areas where future research is needed.

scholarly journals Biological Activities and Chemistry of Triterpene Saponins from Medicago Species: An Update Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Guanzhen Wang ◽  
Junlong Wang ◽  
Wei Liu ◽  
Muhammad Farrukh Nisar ◽  
Mohamed A. El-Esawi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activities ◽  
Antioxidant Properties ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Chemical Structures ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Molecular Masses ◽  
Pharmacological Potential ◽  
Medicago Species

Plants are known to be a great source of phytochemicals for centuries. Medicago, belonging to the Family Fabaceae, is a large and well spread genus comprising about 83 cosmopolitan species, of which one-third are annuals and span diverse ecological niches. Medicago species are rich in saponins mainly classified into three classes, namely, steroid alkaloid glycosides, triterpene glycosides, and steroid glycosides. These saponins are important compounds having diverse pharmacological and biological activities. As a whole, 95 of saponins are reported to date occurring in Medicago species using various latest extraction/isolation techniques. Considering the multiple biological and pharmacological potential of Medicago species due to saponins along with structural diversity, we compiled this review article to sum up the recent reports for the pharmacological potential of the Medicago’s derived saponins in modern as well as traditional medication systems. The current manuscript produces data of chemical structures and molecular masses of all Medicago species saponins simultaneously. The toxicity of certain pure saponins (aglycones) has been reported in vitro; hederagenin appeared highly toxic in comparison to medicagenic acid and bayogenin against X. index, while soyasaponin I, containing soyasapogenol B as a glycone, appeared as the least toxic saponin. The diversity in the structural forms shows a close relationship for its biological and pharmacological actions. Moreover, saponins showed antioxidant properties and the mechanism behind antimicrobial potential also elaborated in this review article is mainly because of the side sugar groups on these compounds. The collected data presented herein include chemical structures and molecular masses of all saponins so far. Their biological activity and therapeutic potential are also discussed. This information can be the starting point for future research on this important genus.

Click Reactions in Chemistry of Triterpenes - Advances Towards Development of Potential Therapeutics

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 636-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Pokorny ◽  
Lucie Borkova ◽  
Milan Urban
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activities ◽  
Synthetic Approach ◽  
Clinical Use ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Click Reactions ◽  
Drug Candidates ◽  
The Past ◽  
Low Toxicity ◽  
New Compounds ◽  
Potential Therapeutics

Triterpenoids are natural compounds with a large variety of biological activities such as anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antiparazitic, antiinflammatory and others. Despite their low toxicity and simple availability from the natural resources, their clinical use is still severely limited by their higher IC50 and worse pharmacological properties than in the currently used therapeutics. This fact encouraged a number of researchers to develop new terpenic derivatives more suitable for the potential clinical use. This review summarizes a new approach to improve both, the activity and ADME-Tox properties by connecting active terpenes to another modifying molecules using click reactions. Within the past few years, this synthetic approach was well explored yielding a lot of great improvements of the parent compounds along with some less successful attempts. A large quantity of the new compounds presented here are superior in both activity and ADME-Tox properties to their parents. This review should serve the researchers who need to promote their hit triterpenic structures towards their clinical use and it is intended as a guide for the chemical synthesis of better drug candidates.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document