Marine-Derived Indole Alkaloids and Their Biological and Pharmacological Activities

Novel secondary metabolites from marine macroorganisms and marine-derived microorganisms have been intensively investigated in the last few decades. Several classes of compounds, especially indole alkaloids, have been a target for evaluating biological and pharmacological activities. As one of the most promising classes of compounds, indole alkaloids possess not only intriguing structural features but also a wide range of biological/pharmacological activities including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antidiabetic, and antiparasitic activities. This review reports the indole alkaloids isolated during the period of 2016–2021 and their relevant biological/pharmacological activities. The marine-derived indole alkaloids reported from 2016 to 2021 were collected from various scientific databases. A total of 186 indole alkaloids from various marine organisms including fungi, bacteria, sponges, bryozoans, mangroves, and algae, are described. Despite the described bioactivities, further evaluation including their mechanisms of action and biological targets is needed to determine which of these indole alkaloids are worth studying to obtain lead compounds for the development of new drugs.

Twice as Nice: The Duff Formylation of Umbelliferone Revised

More efficient and preferably more convenient and greener synthetic solutions in coumarin scaffold functionalization are in steady demand. The Duff ortho-formylation of unsubstituted umbelliferone was revised in this study. The reaction conditions were optimized based upon data from the literature analysis and resulted in unexpectedly rapid ortho-formylation of umbelliferone, yielding a mixture of ortho-formyl position isomers. Thorough studies on the separation of ortho-formylated umbelliferones using chromatographic and recrystallization methods as well as the evaluation of their solubility in common organic solvents led to complete resolution of 8-formyl- and 6-formylumbelliferones. The precise protocol for simultaneous preparation, extraction, and purification of 8-formyl- and 6-formylumbelliferones is provided, and the prospective studies of biological and pharmacological activities of these compounds are synopsized.

Phytosterols: Potential Metabolic Modulators in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Phytosterols constitute a class of natural products that are an important component of diet and have vast applications in foods, cosmetics, and herbal medicines. With many and diverse isolated structures in nature, they exhibit a broad range of biological and pharmacological activities. Among over 200 types of phytosterols, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol were ubiquitous in many plant species, exhibiting important aspects of activities related to neurodegenerative diseases. Hence, this mini-review presented an overview of the reported studies on selected phytosterols related to neurodegenerative diseases. It covered the major phytosterols based on biosynthetic considerations, including other phytosterols with significant in vitro and in vivo biological activities.

A PROPOLIS AS A HEALING AGENT FOR PULP INJURIES

As one of the natural resin materials produced by bees, propolis has been used as a traditional medicine for various diseases because of its biological and pharmacological activities. The purpose of this study was to analyze the potential of propolis as a healing agent for pulp injuries. A total of 35 journals from PubMed, Ebsco, ResearchGate, Wiley Online Library, and other international journal databases were analyzed. Propolis is very rich in active components such as flavonoids that have biological functions such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant which can act as a potential healing agent

EVALUATION OF THE ANTIMICROBIAL EFFECT AND BIOACTIVE CONTENT OF MONODORA MYRISTICA SEED

For many decades, the area of alternative medicine has attracted considerable attention from researchers worldwide. Interestingly, evidence abounds that affirms the efficacy of alternative medicine in the various healthcare domain. Moreso, the plants properties have been well explored relating to its medicinal compositions. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the antimicrobial and bioactive contents of the M. Myristica seed. The samples were collected and soaked for 24 hrs with different solvents to extract the medicinal component. The qualitative analysis shows the positive result in saponin, glycoside, steroid, and alkaloid, while flavonoid and tannin are negative. The quantitative analysis for M. Myristica seed show 32% to saponins, alkaloid 8.35%, phenol 55.7%, flavonoid 0.0707 mg/ml, and glycoside 5.2% while-tannin is negative. The result shows that M. Myristica can be used to produce vaccines because of saponin, while flavonoids were found to play biological and pharmacological activities, including antioxidants.

The Bucherer–Bergs Multicomponent Synthesis of Hydantoins—Excellence in Simplicity

Hydantoins and their hybrids with other molecules represent a very important group of heterocycles because they exhibit diverse biological and pharmacological activities in medicinal and agrochemical applications. They also serve as key precursors in the chemical or enzymatic synthesis of significant nonnatural α-amino acids and their conjugates with medical potential. This review provides a comprehensive treatment of the synthesis of hydantoins via the Bucherer–Bergs reaction including the Hoyer modification but limited to free carbonyl compounds or carbonyl compounds protected as acetals (ketals) and cyanohydrins used as starting reaction components. In this respect, the Bucherer–Bergs reaction provides an efficient and simple method in the synthesis of important natural products as well as for the preparation of new organic compounds applicable as potential therapeutics. The scope and limitations, as well as a comparison with some other methods for preparing hydantoins, are also discussed.

Antifungal Activities of Propolis and its Main Components with an Emphasis Against Phytopathogenic Fungi

Propolis is produced by honey bees from a series of resinous, gummy and balsamic substances collected from the leaf buds of different tree species and mixed with their secretions. It is used as a sealant and antiseptic in the hive. Because of its antimicrobial properties, propolis has become a popular alternative medicine or food for health protection and disease prevention. The presence of a large number of flavonoids, aromatic acids and phenolic compounds has been suggested to be responsible for most biological and pharmacological activities of propolis. This review aims to provide a critical analysis of the different studies which evaluate the activity of propolis against fungi and to identify the chemical components responsible for such activity. The discussion of the methodological approaches used and the issued results is a key point of this review to highlight knowledge gaps. This review will first describe the chemical composition of the propolis and the factors of variability including geographical and botanical origins and then examine its antifungal activities with a focus against phytopathogenic fungi. Finally, it will discuss the main components responsible for such activities and their mechanism of action.

PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND MEDICINAL VALUE OF MONODURA MYRISTICA SEED

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the phytochemicals of M. myristica. The ground sample was soaked for 24 hrs with different solvents in other to extract the medicinal component. The qualitative analysis shows the positive result insaponin, glycoside, steroid, and alkaloid, while flavonoid and Tannin are negative. The quantitative analysis for M. myristicaseed show 32% to saponins, alkaloid 8.35%, phenol 55.7%, flavonoid 0.0707 mg/ml, and glycoside 5.2% while-tannin is negative. The result shows that M. myristicacan be used to produce vaccines because of saponin, while flavonoids were found to be the biological and pharmacological activities, including antioxidant.