Acid-Catalyzed Water Extraction of Two Polysaccharides from Artemisia argyi and Their Physicochemical Properties and Antioxidant Activities

In this study, two purified polysaccharide fractions, Artp1 and Artp2, were obtained using acid-catalyzed water extraction, and then purified by DEAE-52 cellulose and Sephadex G-200 column chromatography from the crude polysaccharides of Artemisia argyi. Their physicochemical properties were investigated by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), high-performance anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermal analysis, and methylation analysis. The average molecular weight (Mw) of Artp1 and Artp2 were estimated to be 42.17 kDa and 175.22 kDa, respectively. Monosaccharide composition analysis revealed that the Rha, Gal, and GalA occupied main proportion in Artp1 with the molar ratio of 25.1:24.7:40.4, while the Rha, Gal, Xly, and GalA occupied the main proportion in Artp2 with the molar ratio of 16.7:13.5:12.8:38.7. Due to the high yield and the relatively high carbohydrate content, the Artp1 was determined by the methylation analysis and NMR. The results of Artp1 indicated that 1,4-GalpA and 1,2,4-Rhap formed the backbone with some 1,2-Rhap, 1,3-Galp, and 1,6-Galp in the backbone or the side chains. Artp1 and Artp2 exhibited effective antioxidant activities by DPPH radical scavenging assay and hydroxyl radical scavenging assay in a dose-dependent manner. These investigations of the polysaccharides from A. argyi. provide a scientific basis for the uses of Artp1 and Artp2 as ingredients in functional foods and medicines.

An Investigation on Biological Efficacies of Fruits and Leaves of Ficus auriculata (Timilo) from Kanchanpur District, Nepal

Ficus auriculata is a native Asian plant found in the temperate, tropical and subtropical regions and has been commonly used in traditional medicine and as fodder in animal husbandry. The comparative antibacterial and antioxidant efficacies of leaves and fruits have been studied using their hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts. Phytochemical screening exhibited the presence of important secondary metabolites like alkaloids, carbohydrates, glycosides, flavonoids and tannins. Antibacterial activities of fruit and leaf extracts in different concentrations were studied against E. coli, S. aureus and S. typhi by agar well diffusion method. The highest inhibition was found to be in 1% methanol extracts of leaves and fruits with a zone of inhibition (ZOI) ± 16 mm against S. aureus followed by E. coli and S. typhi with ZOI ±14 mm. The crude and 50% extracts of various solvents of both fruits and leaves were found to be ineffective against bacteria. These results reveal that there is a significant antibacterial activity in methanol extract of both fruit and leaves, against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The antioxidant activities of methanol extracts of fruits and leaves were studied by DPPH radical scavenging assay. The IC50 values of methanol extract of leaves and fruit for DPPH radical scavenging assay were found to be 114.84 μg/mL and 78.28 μg/mL, respectively. These results reveal that methanol fruit extract exhibits better antioxidant activity as compared to the leaves. The result of this investigation has revealed the applicability of this plant as a potential source of several bioactive compounds for the discovery of new and efficacious drugs in days to come.

PRODUCTION OF LACTIC ACID WORT-BASED BEVERAGES WITH MINT ESSENTIAL OIL ADDITION

Lactic acid wort-based beverages are functional, non-alcoholic, with low pH value and produced by the fermentation of wort by lactic acid bacteria. They are not well accepted by consumers because of their poor sensory characteristics. Therefore, 0.025 and 0.05 % (v/v) mint (Mentha piperita) essential oil was used as a tool for improvement of lactic acid wort-based beverages organoleptic profile. Wort was produced by 60% Pilsen malt, 20% Vienna malt, and 20% Caramel Munich ІІ malt. It was inoculated with probiotic lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus casei ssp. rhamnosus LBRC11 at a concentration of 107 cells/ml and fermentation was carried out at constant temperature of 25°C. The dynamics of pH, concentration of viable cells, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were monitored and the beverages obtained were evaluated by a tasting panel. The results showed that addition of mint essential oil in concentration of 0.025 and 0.05 % (v/v) inhibited lactic acid fermentation but improved the sensory profile of the beverage obtained only when 0.025% mint essential oil was added. Mint essential oil addition led to an increase in the total phenolic compounds concentration, phenolic acids and flavonoid phenolic compounds, measured by Folin–Ciocalteu and modified Glories method but resulted in a decrease in the antioxidant activity, measured by the DPPH radical scavenging assay, cupric reducing antioxidant power (CUPRAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The antioxidant activity measured by the ABTS radical scavenging assay was almost equal for the beverages with and without mint essential oil addition. The results obtained will be used for modeling of lactic acids fermentation with addition of mint essential oil for the production of functional wort-based beverages. Keywords: lactic acid fermentation, wort, mint essential oil, phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity

PRODUCTION OF LACTIC ACID WORT-BASED BEVERAGES WITH MINT ESSENTIAL OIL ADDITION

Lactic acid wort-based beverages are functional, non-alcoholic, with low pH value and produced by the fermentation of wort by lactic acid bacteria. They are not well accepted by consumers because of their poor sensory characteristics. Therefore, 0.025 and 0.05 % (v/v) mint (Mentha piperita) essential oil was used as a tool for improvement of lactic acid wort-based beverages organoleptic profile. Wort was produced by 60% Pilsen malt, 20% Vienna malt, and 20% Caramel Munich ІІ malt. It was inoculated with probiotic lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus casei ssp. rhamnosus LBRC11 at a concentration of 107 cells/ml and fermentation was carried out at constant temperature of 25°C. The dynamics of pH, concentration of viable cells, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were monitored and the beverages obtained were evaluated by a tasting panel. The results showed that addition of mint essential oil in concentration of 0.025 and 0.05 % (v/v) inhibited lactic acid fermentation but improved the sensory profile of the beverage obtained only when 0.025% mint essential oil was added. Mint essential oil addition led to an increase in the total phenolic compounds concentration, phenolic acids and flavonoid phenolic compounds, measured by Folin–Ciocalteu and modified Glories method but resulted in a decrease in the antioxidant activity, measured by the DPPH radical scavenging assay, cupric reducing antioxidant power (CUPRAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The antioxidant activity measured by the ABTS radical scavenging assay was almost equal for the beverages with and without mint essential oil addition. The results obtained will be used for modeling of lactic acids fermentation with addition of mint essential oil for the production of functional wort-based beverages.

Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Essential Oils from the Leaves, Stems, and Roots of Kadsura coccinea

The chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oils from the leaves, stems, and roots of Kadsura coccinea (K. coccinea) were investigated. The essential oils were extracted by hydro distillation and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Antioxidant activities of the essential oils were examined with DPPH radical scavenging assay, ABTS cation radical scavenging assay, and ferric reducing antioxidant power assay. Antimicrobial activities were evaluated by determining minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum microbiocidal concentrations (MMC). Acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of the essential oils were also tested. A total of 46, 44, and 47 components were identified in the leaf, stem, and root oils, representing 95.66%, 97.35%, and 92.72% of total composition, respectively. The major compounds of three essential oils were α-pinene (16.60–42.02%), β-pinene (10.03–18.82%), camphene (1.56–10.95%), borneol (0.50–7.71%), δ-cadinene (1.52–7.06%), and β-elemene (1.86–4.45%). The essential oils were found to have weak antioxidant activities and cholinesterase inhibition activities. The essential oils showed more inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) than those of other strains. The highest antimicrobial activity was observed in the root oil against S. aureus, with MIC of 0.78 mg/mL. Therefore, K. coccinea essential oils might be considered as a natural antibacterial agent against S. aureus with potential application in food and pharmaceutical industries.

In-vitro Anti-Oxidant Property of Vallarai (Centella asiatica) cultivated by conventional and traditional Methods

In ancient times, Siddhars have been described and also used the traditional methods to cultivate the anti-oxidant herbs for rejuvenation purpose and also they are listed some plants as anti-oxidant herbs. They were used Semicarpus anacardium manure for cultivation of anti-oxidant plants. In Siddha, these anti-oxidant herbs are mentioned as Kayakarpam (Rejuvenation therapy). Most of the Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) are caused by oxidative stress. These anti-oxidant herbs are helps to reduce oxidative stress and prevent the incidence of NCDs. Centella asiatica (Vallarai) is one of the Kayakarpa medicinal plants. The traditional cultivation method for Kayakarpa herbs are also described in Siddha especially for Centella asiatica (Vallarai). Therefore, this study was aimed to validate the in-vitro anti-oxidant property of Vallarai cultivated by conventional (sample A) and traditional methods (sample B). The study samples were screened for anti-oxidant activity by DPPH assay, Nitric Oxide radical scavenging assay, ABTS assay and H2O2 radical scavenging assay and the IC50 value of the study drug, sample-A was 88.6 ± 8.536 (μg /ml), 183 ± 15.55 (μg/ml), 78.92 ± 8.43 (μg /ml) and 183 ± 11.64 (μg /ml) whereas sample- B was 57.06 ± 1.221 (μg /ml); 145.1 ± 13.12 (μg/ml); 96.45 ± 3.966 (μg /ml) and 132.3 ± 18.71 (μg /ml) respectively. This study results revealed that, both samples are possessing anti-oxidant property and sample B have greater scavenging activity compared to sample A. Hence, The Traditional method can be adopted for cultivation of anti-oxidant herbs, which helps to retain the active components and enhances the anti-oxidant potency of medicinal herbs.

1, 3-Thiazolidine-4-Ones: Copper Nickel Oxide Bimetallic Nanoparticle Catalyzed Synthesis, Anticancer Potential and Molecular Modeling Studies

Background: Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Inhibiting mitosis is the most effective clinical technique for cancer treatment. The most critical field of medicinal chemistry and drug development research is the discovery of innovative anticancer drugs. Thiazolidine is a multifunctional nucleus with anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic, and antiarthritic properties. Methods: In this investigation, copper-nickel oxide nanoparticles synthesized by electrochemical synthesis yielded a significant yield. The capping was done with cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), and the characterization was done with UV, FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDS, and TEM SAED. The biologically significant 2-(2-substituted-4-oxo-thiazolidine-3-yl)-1, 9-dihydro-purin-6-ones (GB-1 to GB-12) have been synthesized using copper-nickel oxide nanoparticles as a catalyst and by applying a microwave-assisted tool. It was characterized by melting point, IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and LC-HRMS/MS spectroscopy. Using Sulforhodamine B (SRB) test, all newly synthesized compounds were evaluated in vitro for anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and angiogenesis activities. Results: The compounds GB-6 (GI50: 30 μM), GB-8 (GI50: 10 μM) and GB-10 (GI50: 30 μM) exhibited significant cell growth inhibitory activity. The compounds GB-6, GB-8, GB-10 exhibited significant in vitro anti-inflammatory activity in the range of IC50:179.65-194.59 μg/ml as compared with aceclofenac (IC50:191.19μg/ml) and the antioxidant activity by DPPH radical scavenging assay the compounds GB-6 (IC50:11.96 µg/ml), GB-8 (IC50:10.67 µg/ml) and GB-10 (IC50: 9.08 µg/ml) exhibited excellent radical scavenging activities compared to ascorbic acid (IC50:13.04 µg/ml) and by the KMnO4 radical scavenging assay the compounds GB-2 (IC50:15.33 µg/ml), GB-4 (IC50:23.60 µg/ml), GB-8 (IC50:24.93 µg/ml), GB-10 (IC50:24.96 µg/ml) exhibited good radical scavenging activities compared to ascorbic acid (IC50: 26.55 µg/ml). The compounds GB-4, GB-8 and GB-10 at 10 nM test drug concentration and the GB-6 compounds at 100 nM test drug concentration show the maximum capillary growth inhibitory activity compared with thalidomide as a standard drug. Conclusion: Further development of anticancer drugs may be enabled by the discovery of related compounds to the anticancer agent, such as compound (GB-6), compound (GB-8), and compound (GB-10) as polo-like kinase 1 inhibitors.

Evaluation of the Leaf Extracts of Kalanchoe pinnata and Kalanchoe daigremontiana Chemistry, Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activity

The aim of this study was to analyze the chemical components and evaluate the biological activity of the extracts from the leaves Kalanchoe pinnata and Kalanchoe daigremontiana, which are cultivated in the province of Chiriqui, Republic of Panama. Phytochemicals components, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were studied. The composition of the obtained petroleum ether, ethanol and aqueous extracts was analyzed by phytochemical screening. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was studied using three in vitro model systems (DPPH radical scavenging assay, nitric oxide radical scavenging assay, and superoxide radical scavenging activity). The anti-inflammatory activity of these species was studied using an in vivo model (ʎ-carrageenan-induced paw edema in rats). Phytochemical analysis of the extracts showed the presence of alkaloids, steroids, triterpenes, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, saponins and glycosides. The greatest radical inhibitory effect was observed in the DPPH model where the ethanolic extracts of both species developed a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect, the K. pinnata extract reached a maximum inhibitory effect of 49.5 ± 5.6% (2000

Effect of Extraction Solvent on Total Phenol, Flavonoid Content, and Antioxidant Activity of Avicennia Officinalis

The mangrove plant - Avicennia officinalis L has been widely used for the treatment of various diseases such as anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant therapy. In this study, we optimize the extraction process using the easily obtainable solvents with different polarities toward obtaining high total phenolic- and flavonoid- contents from Avicennia officinalis L's leaves. The influences of solvents (i.e., methanol, ethanol, ethyl acetate, acetone, dichloromethane, and chloroform) in the extraction process on total phenolic-, flavonoid- contents and their antioxidant activity were investigated. Avicennia officinalis L was extracted using six solvents. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by the phytochemical screening method. The antioxidant activity of extracted phenolics and flavonoids was studied by using 2,2 diphenyl 1 picrylhydrazy (DPPH) radical scavenging assay and 2,2 azinobis (3 ethylbenzothiazoline 6 sulfonate) (ABTS+) radical scavenging assay. As a result, the highest extraction yield was obtained using methanol (10.56%). In addition, the extract obtained using acetone solvent exhibited the highest antioxidant activity in the DPPH assay. Meanwhile, the extract obtained using ethyl acetate solvent showed the highest antioxidant activity in the ABTS+ assay. The acetone- extract also exhibited high phenolic content (100.64 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid content (95.44 mg QCE/g). This study confirms that, besides commonly used solvents such as methanol, ethanol, etc., acetone is also a good solvent for extracting polyphenols from the mangrove plant - Avicennia officinalis L. for antioxidants.

2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil radical scavenging activity of extracts from roots and leaves of Searsia burchellii

Searsia burchellii finds therapeutic applications in traditional medicine. Methanolic extracts, hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol/water fractions of methanolic extracts and water extracts were obtained separately from the roots and leaves of Searsia burchellii by the combination of maceration, hot solvent extraction and solvent-solvent partition techniques. These extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant activity using 2,2- diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil radical scavenging assay (DPPH). The extracts from roots and their fractions showed radical scavenging activity ranging from 6.60±4.50 to 63.27±1.93% at various concentrations. Similarly, the extracts from leaves and their fractions showed radical scavenging activity ranging from 3.32±0.95 to 64.91±0.15% at various concentrations. Ascorbic acid served as positive control which showed radical scavenging activity ranging from 53.62±2.80 to 60.82±0.62% at various concentrations. The IC50 values of these extracts and fractions were found to be < 200 to > 3000 µg/mL. The IC50 value of ascorbic acid was found to be <200 µg/mL. From this study, we concluded that extracts and their fractions from S. burchellii showed promising radical scavenging activity.