Aquilaria Species (Thymelaeaceae) Distribution, Volatile and Non-Volatile Phytochemicals, Pharmacological Uses, Agarwood Grading System, and Induction Methods

Agarwood is a highly valuable fragrant wood of Aquilaria spp. (Thymelaeaceae) which has been widely utilized in traditional medicine, religious rites, and cultural activities. This study summarizes a review on the identification of Aquilaria cultivars, volatile and non-volatile phytochemicals, pharmacological uses, and agarwood grading system to determine its quality, and different agarwood induction methods. Due to the highly demanding and depleted natural resources, the research on agarwood is still insufficient, and it has broad research and development prospects in many industries. However, due to the significant scientific nature of agarwood application, developing high-quality products and drugs from agarwood have become highly important, while no one has discussed in detail the phytochemicals uses and provided a summary until now. The main phytochemicals of agarwood include terpenoids, dominated by sesquiterpenes. For centuries, terpenoids have been used in traditional Chinese medicine and have been shown to possess various pharmacological properties, including bacteriostatic, antibacterial, sedation, analgesia, anti-inflammation, anti-asthmatic, hypoglycemic, antidepressant, and many others. Alongside biological activity screening, phytochemical advances and pharmacological research have also made certain progress. Therefore, this review discusses the research progress of agarwood in recent years and provides a reference basis for further study of Aquilaria plants and agarwood.

Review on Capsicum frutescens, A Tribal herbal food used as Medicine

Nature always stands as a golden mark to exemplify the outstanding phenomena of symbiosis. Natural products from plant, animal and minerals have been the basis of the treatment of human disease. About 500 plants with medicinal use are mentioned in ancient literature and around 800 plants have been used in indigenous systems of medicine. India is a vast repository of medicinal plants that are used in traditional medical treatments. Capsicum frutescens. belonging to the family of Solanaceae is an extremely valuable medicinal herb, distributed throughout India. in traditional medicine, due to presence of phytochemicals it has been used for the treatment of cough, toothache, sore throat, parasitic infections, rheumatism, wound healing etc. Other effects such as antibacterial and anticancer are also their properties. In this article, its phytochemical screening, pharmacognostic studies, pharmacological activity screening will be reviewed out.

In vitro antimicrobial activity screening of new Heterocyclic compounds derived from 5-bromo-2,3-di(furan-2-yl)-1h-indole

This article describes the antimicrobial activity evaluation of new heterocyclic compounds derived from 5-bromo-2,3-di(furan-2-yl)-1h-indole. Heterocyclic moiety serve as perfect framework on which pharmacophores can be effectively attached to produce novel drugs. New compounds were obtained on the basis of derivatives including 1H-indole-2,3-dione derivatives. Acid-catalyzed, three-component reaction (Belinelli synthesis) between 5-bromo-2,3-di(furan-2-yl)1H-indole, acetylacetone and semi carbazide, thiosemicarbazone, urea, thiourea, guanidine constitutes a rapid and facile synthesis of corresponding tetrahydro pyrimidines, which are interesting compounds with a potential for pharmaceutical application. Antimicrobial tests revealed high antibacterial activity of obtained derivatives. The synthesized compounds have been screened for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against various strains of bacteria and fungi. Keywords: Vitro; Heterocyclic Compounds; Antimicrobial

Phenotype-Based HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS Coupled With Zebrafish Behavior Trajectory Analysis System for the Identification of the Antidepressant Components in Methanol Extract of Anshen Buxin Six Pills

Phenotype screening has become an important tool for the discovery of active components in traditional Chinese medicine. Anshen Buxin Six Pills (ASBX) are a traditional Mongolian medicine used for the treatment of neurosis in clinical settings. However, its antidepressant components have not been explicitly identified and studied. Here, the antidepressant effect of ASBX was evaluated in adult zebrafish. High performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) was combined with zebrafish behavior trajectory analysis to screen and identify the antidepressant-active extract fraction and active components of ASBX. Finally, the antidepressant effect of the active ingredients were verified by the behavior, pathology, biochemical indices and protein level of adult fish. The novel tank driving test (NTDT) showed that ASBX can effectively improve the depressive effect of reserpine on zebrafish. Petroleum ether and dichloromethane extracts of ASBX were screened as antidepressant active extracts. Costunolide (COS) and dehydrocostus lactone (DHE) were screened as the active components of ASBX. COS had been shown to significantly improve the depressive behavior, nerve injury and neurotransmitter levels (5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE)) of zebrafish by inhibiting the high expression of serotonin transporter and norepinephrine transporter induced by reserpine suggesting the antidepressant effect of COS may be related to its effect on 5-HT and NE pathways. This study provided a phenotype based screening method for antidepressant components of traditional Chinese medicines, so as to realize the separation, identification and activity screening of components at the same time.

Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles–Chitosan Composite Particles Spheres and Their Antimicrobial Activities

Synthesis of silver nanoparticles–chitosan composite particles sphere (AgNPs-chi-spheres) has been completed and its characterization was fulfilled by UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and zetasizer nano. UV–vis spectroscopy characterization showed that AgNPs-chi-spheres gave optimum absorption at a wavelength of 410 nm. The XRD spectra showed that the structure of AgNPs-chi-spheres were crystalline and spherical. Characterization by SEM showed that AgNPs-chi-spheres, with the addition of 20% of NaOH, resulted in the lowest average particle sizes of 46.91 nm. EDX analysis also showed that AgNPs-chi-spheres, with the addition of a 20% NaOH concentration, produced particles with regular spheres, a smooth and relatively nonporous structure. The analysis using zetasizer nano showed that the zeta potential value and the polydispersity index value of the AgNPs-chi-sphere tended to increase with an increased NaOH concentration. The results of the microbial activity screening showed that the AgNP-chi-Spheres with highest concentration of NaOH, produced the highest inhibition zone diameters against S. aureus, E. coli, and C. albicans, with inhibition zone diameters of 19.5, 18.56, and 12.25 nm, respectively.

ACTIVITY SCREENING AND STRUCTURE MODIFICATION OF ARTOCARPIN AGAINST ACE2 AND MAIN PROTEASE THROUGH IN SILICO METHOD

Objective: SARS-CoV-2 is a type of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease. Currently, the right and effective drug for the treatment of COVID-19 has not been found. Artocarpin in the breadfruit plant (Artocarpus altilis), which was tested, has been shown to have antiviral activity. However, artocarpin has a hydroxyl group that can undergo oxidation within a certain time, thereby reducing the stability of the compound and non-specific antiviral activity. Methods: In this study, the structural modification of artocarpin was carried out to obtain compounds with anticoronavirus activity with good physicochemical properties. This research was conducted in silico, including molecular docking simulation, bioavailability prediction, and preADMET. Results: The top 20 modified compounds were selected from each target's top 3 compounds, which had better bond energies compared to the positive control. These 3 compounds have the potential to inhibit ACE2 and Mpro receptors and 1 compound are better at inhibiting both. Conclusion: From the results of the research conducted, we conclude that the 3 best compounds can be potential candidates that can be developed as COVID-19 therapy.