Sidastrum paniculatum (L.) Fryxell (Malvaceae): A Promising Source of Bioactive Sulfated Flavonoids Against Aedes aegypti L

Aedes aegypti L. is known as the most relevant vector mosquito for viruses such as yellow fever, chikungunya, dengue, and Zika, especially in places with unplanned urbanization, and erratic water supply. Plants used in folk medicine have become a useful source of active compounds with the potential to control the dissemination of Ae. aegypti. Compounds isolated from Malvaceae sensu lato have been previously reported as larvicides, repellents, and insecticides. Recent studies have demonstrated the anti Ae. aegypti activity of sulfated flavonoids, an uncommon type of flavonoid derivatives. This research reports the phytochemical investigation of Sidastrum paniculatum (L.) Fryxell, a Malvaceae species with the potential against Ae. aegypti. Chromatographic procedures resulted in the isolation of the compounds: stearic acid (1), N-trans-feruloyltyramine (2), acacetin (3), apigenin (4), tiliroside (5), along with the sulfated flavonoids: wissadulin (6), 7,4′-di-O-methyl-8-O-sulfate flavone (7), yannin (8), beltraonin (9a), 7-O-sulfate isoscutellarein (paniculatumin) (9b), and condadin (10). This is the first report of compound 7-O-sulfate isoscutellarein (9b). The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis (NMR, LC-HRMS and FT-IR). The sulfated flavonoids identified were submitted to a ligand-based and structure-based virtual screening against two targets: 1YIY (from adult Ae. aegypti) and 1PZ4 (from Ae. aegypti larvae). The results indicated that when the O-sulfate group is bearing the position 7, the structures are potentially active in 1PZ4 protein. On the other hand, flavonoids with the O-sulfate group bearing position 8 were showed to be more likely to bind to the 1YIY protein. Our findings indicated that S. paniculatum is a promising source of sulfated flavonoids with potential against Ae. aegypti.

Oral Lactoferrin versus Ferrous Sulfate for the Treatment of Iron Deficiency Anemia during Second Trimester among Egyptian ladies

Background Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a major public health problem in Egypt, especially among pregnant women. The most commonly used treatment is oral administration of iron as ferrous sulfate which often fails to exert significant effects with many adverse effects. Lactoferrin is a glycoprotein which belongs to proteins capable of binding and transferring iron. This study was done to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and acceptability of lactoferrin in comparison to ferrous sulfate. Methods This randomized clinical trial was conducted in outpatient clinic under supervision of department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt from August 2019 to February 2020. 140 women with iron deficiency anemia in second trimester were recruited and randomly assigned to either group. First group received lactoferrin 200 mg sachets once daily and second group received 100 mg of dried ferrous sulfate capsules twice daily for 4 consecutive weeks. Hemoglobin, hematocrit levels, mean corpuscular volume, and serum ferritin were assessed before and after therapy. Results The increase in haemoglobin was significantly higher in lactoferrin group. Number of cases achieved Hb level ≥10.5 was significantly more frequent in lactoferrin group. Compliance was significantly more frequent in lactoferrin group than in ferrous sulfate group. Maternal side effects were significantly less frequent in lactoferrin group than in ferrous sulfate group. Conclusion Oral lactoferrin is well tolerated and effective as compared to traditional treatment by ferrous sulfate.

Microwave Assisted Extraction and Pressurized Liquid Extraction of Sulfated Polysaccharides from Fucus virsoides and Cystoseira barbata

Sulfated polysaccharide fucoidan isolated from brown algae shows a wide range of biological activities that are significantly dependent on its chemical composition, which is closely related to the applied technique and extraction parameters. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of microwave assisted extraction (MAE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) parameters (solvent, temperature, time, and number of cycles) on the Fucus virsoides and Cystoseira barbata polysaccharide yield (%PS) and chemical composition (total sugar, fucose, and sulfate group). The optimal MAE parameters that resulted in the highest polysaccharide extraction from F. virsoides and C. barbata were 0.1 M H2SO4 for 10 min at 80 °C, while the optimal PLE parameters were 0.1 M H2SO4, for two cycles of 15 min at 140 °C. Furthermore, the %PS, chemical structure, molecular properties, and antioxidant activity of the F. virsoides and C. barbata polysaccharide extracts obtained with MAE, PLE, and conventional extraction (CE) performed under previously determinate optimal conditions were compared. PLE resulted in a significantly higher %PS from F. virsoides, while for C. barbata, a similar yield was achieved with CE and PLE, as well as CE and MAE, for both algae. Furthermore, the polysaccharides obtained using PLE had the highest polydispersity index, fucose, and sulfate group content, and the lowest uronic acid content; however their antioxidant activity was lower.

Bone healing in critically sized defects in rat calvaria, transplanted with chitosan alone, or associated with collagen and / or chondroitin sulfate:histological and histomorphometric pilot study

Background: Chitosan is a natural biopolymer that has gained a special interest in bone regeneration in recent years. Objective: The objective of this study is to show the bone formation obtained following a transplantation of sponges of chitosan alone, chitosan combined with chondroitin sulfate or chitosan combined with chondroitin sulfate and collagen, in rat critical calvarial bone defects. Material and Methods: 12 Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups of 3 rats each. Critically sized bone defects were made in calvaria, and grafted by sponges of:collagen / chitosan / chondroitin (group 1), chitosan (group 2), chitosan / chondroitin sulfate (group3). Bone defects of group 4 remained empty for control. The animals were sacrificed 12 weeks after the surgery. Results: Histological analysis showed the formation of lamellar bone in the chitosan group. In the chitosan / chondroitin sulfate group, formation of a less mature bone than that of the chitosan group was also observed. However, the least bone formation was observed in the collagen / chitosan / chondroitin sulfate group. Histological sections showed the presence of fibrous tissue. The results for this group are similar to the control group. In groups 2 and 3, the materials appear completely resorbed while in group 1 the resorption of the matrix was incomplete. Conclusion: Despite the size of the sample, this study has shown that chitosan alone or in combination with chondroitin sulfate promotes bone formation. On the other hand, the combination chitosan / chondroitin sulfate / collagen showed a negative result.

Applications of a salt tolerant cation exchanger carrying sulfate groups

Difference between two strong cation-exchange resins, namely sulfonium type and sulfate type regarding both their salt tolerance and hydrophobicity were investigated. There is only tiny variation between sulfate and sulfonic group and at the first glance it seems unlikely that it could be the reason for changed selectivity and salt tolerance that was detected in our preliminary experiments. For that reason salt tolerance and hydrophobicity of both ligands was investigated by using two representative polymethacrylate-based ion exchangers as for the sulfonium type TOYOPEARL GigaCap S-650M and for the sulfate type TOYOPEARL Sulfate-650F. In addition some in-silico calculations were performed for model substances representing the sulfonium and sulfate group, and significant differences were calculated regarding their hydrophobicity. These experiments confirmed the working hypothesis that salt tolerance and higher affinity and selectivity for some human plasma derived vitamin K dependent clotting factors and inhibitors are interrelated and dependent from the presence of the sulfate group. The affinity for these proteins was experimentally verified by separation of clotting factor IX from the prothrombin complex concentrate. Presented results show that a simple and fast separation between clotting factor IX and other vitamin K dependent clotting factors II, VII and X is possible, only if the resin with the sulfate, and not with sulfonic acid ligand was applied. Consequently, an immediate application of undiluted feedstock or the eluate from previous isolation step to sulfate resin is possible, and a significant optimization of downstream process can be achieved.

Sterol sulfate alleviates atherosclerosis via mediating hepatic cholesterol metabolism in ApoE-/- mice

Compared with terrestrial organisms, the sterol in sea cucumber exhibit a sulfate group at C-3 position. Our previous study demonstrated that dietary sterol sulfate was superior to phytosterol in alleviating...

Effect Of Pre-Emptive Magnesium Sulfate In Pain Relief After Elective Cesarean Sections

One of the most important things concerning surgeries is pain and its consequences on the patient and his general condition. So, we have to decrease pain following surgeries as much as we can to achieve optimum pain relief for the patients passing surgeries. A lot of studies and researches have been focused on the usage of magnesium sulfate (MgSo4) preoperatively to assess its effect in decreasing pain postoperatively to elective cesarean sections. To assess the analgesic efficacy in decreasing pain post-operatively by a preoperative single dose of intravenous magnesium sulfate in patients undergoing elective cesarean sections by the usage of two pain scales. A sixty pregnant women who underwent elective cesarean section were randomly separated into two groups. Before the induction of the anesthesia, the magnesium sulfate group (group A) received magnesium sulfate 50 mg/kg intraveneously (i.v) in bolus dose in 100 ml isotonic saline. The control group(group B) received the same volume of isotonic saline 0.9%(100ml). The pain score was taken at rest and movement for up to 12 hours post-operatively. There were no statistical differences regarding patients characteristics. Magnesium sulfate was very effective(statistically highly significant) in decreasing pain according to visual analogue scale and overall the four readings that detected in this clinical research and also the numeric pain scale showed that magnesium sulfate group was very effective (statistically highly effective) in three readings and effective (in the last reading). Pre-operative magnesium sulfate causes a significant reduction in pain intensity elective cesarean section.