Fabrication of Nanofibers Based on Hydroxypropyl Starch/Polyurethane Loaded with the Biosynthesized Silver Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Pathogenic Microbes in Wounds

Fabrication of electrospun nanofibers based on the blending of modified natural polymer, hydroxyl propyl starch (HPS) as one of the most renewable resources, with synthetic polymers, such as polyurethane (PU) is of great potential for biomedical applications. The as-prepared nanofibers were used as antimicrobial sheets via blending with biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which were prepared in a safe way with low cost using the extract of Nerium oleander leaves, which acted as a reducing and stabilizing agent as well. The biosynthesized AgNPs were fully characterized by various techniques (UV-vis, TEM, DLS, zeta potential and XRD). The obtained results from UV-vis depicted that the AgNPs appeared at a wavelength equal to 404 nm affirming the preparation of AgNPs when compared with the wavelength of extract (there are no observable peaks). The average particle size of the fabricated AgNPs that mediated with HPS exhibited a very small size (less than 5 nm) with excellent stability (more than −30 mv). In addition, the fabricated nanofibers were also fully characterized and the obtained data proved that the diameter of nanofibers was enlarged with increasing the concentration of AgNPs. Additionally, the findings illustrated that the pore sizes of electrospun sheets were in the range of 75 to 350 nm. The obtained results proved that the presence of HPS displayed a vital role in decreasing the contact angle of PU nanofibers and thus, increased the hydrophilicity of the net nanofibers. It is worthy to mention that the prepared nanofibers incorporated with AgNPs exhibited incredible antimicrobial activity against pathogenic microbes that actually presented in human wounds. Moreover, P. aeruginosa was the most sensitive species to the fabricated nanofibers compared to other tested ones. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) values of AgNPs-3@NFs against P. aeruginosa, and E. faecalis, were 250 and 500 mg/L within 15 min, respectively.

Building a Barrier: The Influence of Different Wax Fractions on the Water Transpiration Barrier of Leaf Cuticles

Waxes are critical in limiting non-stomatal water loss in higher terrestrial plants by making up the limiting barrier for water diffusion across cuticles. Using a differential extraction protocol, we investigated the influence of various wax fractions on the cuticular transpiration barrier. Triterpenoids (TRPs) and very long-chain aliphatics (VLCAs) were selectively extracted from isolated adaxial leaf cuticles using methanol (MeOH) followed by chloroform (TCM). The water permeabilities of the native and the solvent-treated cuticles were measured gravimetrically. Seven plant species (Camellia sinensis, Ficus elastica, Hedera helix, Ilex aquifolium, Nerium oleander, Vinca minor, and Zamioculcas zamiifolia) with highly varying wax compositions ranging from nearly pure VLCA- to TRP-dominated waxes were selected. After TRP removal with MeOH, water permeability did not or only slightly increase. The subsequent VLCA extraction with TCM led to increases in cuticular water permeabilities by up to two orders of magnitude. These effects were consistent across all species investigated, providing direct evidence that the cuticular transpiration barrier is mainly composed of VLCA. In contrast, TRPs play no or only a minor role in controlling water loss.

STUDI IN SILICO SENYAWA TANAMAN Nerium oleander TERHADAP STAT-3 PADA KANKER PAYUDARA

Kanker payudara merupakan suatu jenis tumor ganas yang berkembang pada sel-sel payudara yang tumbuh secara abnormal. Salah satu agen kemoterapi yang digunakan adalah paclitaxel, namun penggunaannya menimbulkan berbagai efek samping. Maka dari itu, dilakukan pencarian senyawa lain yang dapat digunakan sebagai alternatif pengobatan dengan efek samping seminimal mungkin. Senyawa oleandrin, oleandrigenin, dan odorosida A yang berasal dari daun tanaman Nerium oleander memiliki potensi menghambat aktivasi fosforilasi melalui jalur yang dimediasi oleh fosfo-STAT-3. Tujuan dari studi ini adalah untuk menentukan senyawa terbaik melalui interaksi molekular dan farmakokinetik senyawa tanaman Nerium oleander. Studi interaksi dilakukan dengan metode penambatan molekuler secara in silico. Selain itu dilakukan juga prediksi absorpsi, distribusi, metabolisme dan toksisitas melalui web PreADMET, serta kesesuaian aturan Lipinski. Senyawa oleandrin memiliki aktivitas farmakokinetik yang baik dengan nilai absorpsi HIA dan Caco2 sebesar 94,293% dan 25,490 nm/s, nilai PPB dan BBB sebesar 82,203% dan 0,046%. Oleandrin memiliki energi ikat sebesar -7,22 kkal/mol dengan konstanta inhibisi sebesar 5,07 µM. Oleandrin tidak memiliki potensi mutagenik tetapi memiliki potensi karsinogenik. Namun, sudah terdapat penelitian secara in vitro yang membuktikan bahwa oleandrin memiliki kemampuan untuk menghambat proliferasi sel tumor dan menstimulasi apoptosis sel tumor.

Analysis of Antimicrobial Properties of Some Ethnomedicinal Plants

The world is suffering through large number of diseases which are primarily caused by the microbes, though it is bacteria, fungi, viruses or protozoans. The inappropriate, prolonged use of antibiotics and loss of biodiversity and climate change is leading to the invasion of microbes in the human population, because of which every individual on the earth is suffering from diseases caused by microorganisms. In current scenario it is the prerequisite to screen the effective, safe, cheap, and available therapeutics from plants and natural products. Plant parts of sixteen medicinal plant species such as Aegle marmelos, Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Azadirachta indica, Calotropis procera, Cassia fistula, Catharanths roseus, Coriandrum sativum, Curcuma longa, Emblica officinalis, Eucalyptus, Mentha piperita, Nerium oleander, Ocimum sanctum, Withania somnifera and Zingiber officinale with high antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Gram-negative Escherichia coli and fungus Aspergillus niger were extracted with aqueous, ethanol and acetone and with the help of well diffusion method minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined. Out of three solvent phases, ethanol extract showed the highest inhibition against the microbes, where as the efficacy of most of the aqueous and acetone plant extracts were also confirmed as antimicrobial agent and their use as therapeutic drugs for the treatment of various diseases.

Severe Oleander Poisoning Presenting with Hyperkalaemia and Unusual Electrocardiographic Changes

Background: Hyperkalaemia in oleander (Nerium oleander) poisoning has been associated with a poor prognosis. Different electrocardiographic (ECG) presentations are possible because of vagotonia and hyperkalaemia. Methods/Results: We report a series of three cases of oleander poisoning in which ECG showed unusual hyperkalaemia features, such as bradyarrhythmia, sinoatrial block, atrioventricular block and junctional rhythm. Conclusions: If arterial blood gas analysis or laboratory values indicate hyperkalaemia in oleander poisoning, the hyperkalaemia should be treated immediately, even if the ECG does not show typical hyperkalaemia features.

Green synthesis and characterization of silver and iron nanoparticles using Nerium oleander extracts and their antibacterial and anticancer activities

Medicinal plants can be used as reducing agents in the preparation of metal nanoparticles by green synthesis because of the chemotherapeutic and anti-infectious properties of natural compounds. Therefore, this paper reports the green synthesis of silver and iron nanoparticles from leaf and flower extracts of Nerium oleander and their capacity as anticancer and antimicrobial agents. Nanoparticle manufacturing and structural characterization of silver and iron nanoparticles are reported. The formation of nanoparticles is characterized by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV-Vis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Nanoparticles formation was also investigated the surface charge, particle size, and distribution using zeta sizer analysis by DLS. Green synthesis of silver and iron nanoparticles using N. oleander showed different levels of selective cytotoxicity against K562 (human chronic myeloid leukemia cells) in low concentrations and were not cytotoxic to the HUVEC (human umbilical vein endothelial cells) in the same concentrations. Silver nanoparticles showed antibacterial activity against multidrug pathogens, while iron nanoparticles failed to show such activity. Results of the present research demonstrate the potential use of green synthesized nanoparticles in various biomedicine and pharmaceuticals fields in the future.

Seasonal development of aboveground phytomass of evergreen introduced plants on the Southern Coast of the Crimea

For the Southern Coast of Crimea, the problem of park communities’ productivity, due to the high recreational load on the environment and climate change, is of particular relevance. The aim of the research was to study the features of the introduced park communities evergreen aboveground phytomass formation and seasonal growth in the conditions of the Southern coast of the Crimea. A comparative assessment of vegetative shoots seasonal growth features of plants Laurus nobilis L., Prunus laurocerasus L., Viburnum tinus L., Aucuba japonica Thunb and Nerium oleander L. was performed. It was found that the time of renewal of shoot growth in spring after winter dormancy in V. tinus and A. japonica began at 459-462 °C, P. laurocerasus - 649 °C, and L. nobilis - 886 °C and N. oleander - 990 °C amounts of active air temperatures above 5 °C. The largest growth (49.3 cm) and the accumulation of leaf phytomass (42.3 cm3) differ in annual shoots of N. oleander. P. laurocerasus has a great potential with a phytomass volume an annual shoot of 24.5 cm3. The increase of shoots phytomass in V. tinus, A. japonica, and L. nobilis is 7-8 times less than that in N. oleander.

Indicator Made from Countryside Flower Petals

Present research introduces on the natural indicator (Acid-Base). For this samples were collected from countryside flower petals. These are pink Madhabilata flower, violet Dahlia flower, yellowish red Miralibis Jalapa, light pink Nerium Oleander. With the help of pH meter colour changes were observed using Soxhlet extractor. Cold extract of the flower petals are prepared. For this study we use UV/Visible Spectrophotometer to determine the maximum wave length. The decreasing order of intercept from the above spectroscopic plots that pink Madhabilata> violet Dahlia>redish yellow Miralibis Jalapa> light pink Nerium Oleander. Natural indicators show prominent colour changes in acidic and basic solutions. So, it is easily replaceable to the synthetic indicator which is toxic in nature. These natural indicators are easily available, cheap, environment friendly and also nature friendly.