Potential Pharmaceutical Application of Endemic Plants: When will Sri Lanka Understand the Economic Value Chain?

Small molecules has been a main concern in the pharmaceutical industry for as long as they have existed. Enormous libraries of compounds have been collected and they in turn nurture drug discovery research. For example, big pharma, has in their compound libraries ranging from 500,000 to several million. Examining the drugs in the market, it is clear from where most are arriving: natural origin; out of the 1,328 new chemical entities approved as drugs between 1981 and 2016, only 359 were purely of synthetic origin. In the list of remaining ones, 326 were “biologics”, and 94 were vaccines. Importantly, 549 were from natural origin or arose motivated from natural compounds. Furthermore, anticancer compounds arising during the same period (1981–2014), only 23 were purely synthetic (Newman and Cragg, 2016). Natural origin can count for three categories: unaltered natural products; distinct mixture of natural products and natural product derivatives isolated from plants or other living organisms such as fungi, sponges, lichens, or microorganisms; and products modified through application of medicinal chemistry. There are many examples covering a wide spectrum of diseases: anticancer drugs such as docetaxel (Taxotere™), paclitaxel (Taxol™), vinblastine, podophyllotoxin (Condylin™), or etoposide; steroidal hormones such as progesterone, norgestrel, or cortisone; cardiac glycosides such as digitoxigenin; antibiotics like penicillin, streptomycin, and cephalosporins.

Turmeric and Ginger as Health Protective Food Sources - An Integrative Review

Most of the medicinal plants utilized in traditional medicine are spices. Majority of those spices are widely used for aroma, flavour and colour in cuisine though they behave as appetizers, digestives, preventives and aphrodisiacs. Their antimicrobial properties are in a broad spectrum that provides a considerable immunity development within the human body. This review summarizes the beneficial characteristics of major active constituents in turmeric and ginger and their presumed pharmacological potential to safeguard human health.Keywords: Turmeric, Ginger, Curcumin, Human health, Active Ingredients, Nanotechnology

Microwave-assisted one-pot multicomponent synthesis of indole derived fluorometric probe for detection of Co2+ ions

Cobalt (Co2+) is an essential constituent in the human body while excessive exposure leads to severe systemic toxic reactions which highlight the importance of developing effective methods to detect Co2+ ions. A simple and highly efficient fluorescence enhanced turn OFF-ON chemosensor was synthesized to detect the paramagnetic Co2+. The ligand, N-((1H-indol-3-yl)(phenyl)methyl)aniline (L), was synthesized in 92% yield by means of hydrated ferric chloride catalyzed one -pot multicomponent microwave irradiation in the presence of Indole, benzaldehyde, and aniline as reactants. The major green principles of waste prevention, high atom economy (94.3%), green solvent, higher energy efficiency, and catalysis were the highlights of the ligand synthesis. The ligand exhibited remarkable fluorescence enhancement with Co2+ and a turn ON ratio of over 160-fold in MeOH/H2O (at pH 3.5) solution at an excitation wavelength of 369 nm in the Ultra-Violet range. The detection limit of L- Co2+ was 2.2 μM. The excitation and the emission spectra indicated stoke’s shift of 93 nm which supports the fluorescence enhancement observed in L- Co2+ with respect to the free ligand. The Job’s plot indicated fluorometric sensing of Co2+ ascribed to the complex formation with a stoichiometric ratio of 2:1 (L- Co2+). Furthermore, the high linearity (r2 =0.992) observed in the Benesi Hildebrand plot in a wide concentration range of 0.5−80 μM confirmed the above stoichiometric ratio. The association constant (Ka) for the L-Co2+ was determined to be 8.382 ×1 04 M−1 ± 5.8 ×103M−1.The prepared Co2+ fluorometric probe indicated long-term stability in −18 ℃ up to 45 days. Furthermore, the presence of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in the medium with Co2+ exhibited an interference effect in the fluorescence intensities. Upon further concentration studies, it was evident that the interference of Fe2+ and Fe3+ starts around 10.00 μM and rises exponentially. Keywords: MCR, Green synthesis, Fluorescent Chemo-sensor, Turn OFF-ON, Cobalt (II), indole derivatives

Evaluation of salt content and effectiveness of excessive salt reduction methods in selected commercially available dried fish types in Sri Lanka

High salt intake elevates the risk of non-communicable diseases such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases and stroke worldwide. Sri Lanka has recorded in 2010 as the country with highest average fish & fish products consumption in South Asia. In the current study, salt in ten types of commonly available dried fish namely; sprats, prawns, smoothbelly sardinella, queen fish, cat fish, sail fish, shark, skipjack tuna, Bombay duck and trenched sardinella was analyzed and determined salt reduction methods with minimal protein loss. Four salt reduction methods were tested; Method 1: washed with water at Room Temperature (RT) for five times; Method 2: washed with water for five times at RT and kept in hot water for 5min; Method 3: washed with water for five times at RT and boiled for 5min; Method 4: washed with water for five times at RT and kept in coconut water for 5min. Using Volhard method, sodium chloride was analyzed while protein was determined using Kjeldahl method. All four methods showed significant reduction of salt level in tested dried fish (p < 0.05). Among the tested salt reduction methods, Method 3 showed the highest salt reduction for all types of dried fish except smoothbelly sardinella and cat fish.The highest salt mean value of 28.8% was recorded in queen fish and the lowest mean value of 12.8% was recorded in smoothbelly sardinella. The highest protein loss was recorded in Method 3. To reduce considerable amount of salt, the easiest and fairly effective method is method 1 except for prawns and Shark. Although higher salt reduction showed in method 2 and 3, they are not recommended due to high protein loss, high energy expenditure and reduction of freshness of dried fish. Method 4 can be applied for all dried fish types because it is economical and reduces considerable amount of salt, removes less amount of protein comparatively. The results revealed that all tested dried fish except smoothbelly sardinella contain significantly high amount of salt (p < 0.05) than the standard value specified (12%) by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI).Keywords: Dried fish, protein loss, salt-intake, salt reduction, non-communicable diseases

COVID-19 Pandemic: lessons learnt and the way forward

Although the scientific community had been predicting and preparing for a pandemic for the last 10 years, many policy makers did not envision that a virus could cause such devastation to human life, economies and to the social structure. COVID-19 has taught us many bitter lessons and while moving forward it is important to understand that this current pandemic is yet to end. However, COVID-19 is unlikely to be the last pandemic that we face, Due to certain human activities such as urbanization, deforestation, increased human and animal interactions and climate change, we will see more pandemics emerging in the coming years. Preparedness and anticipation of such an event is the only way forward.

Water barrier properties of carboxymethyl cellulose/halloysite nanotubes nanocomposite to be used in food packaging applications

In this research, novel carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) based nanocomposite film containing 5%wt of halloysite nanotubes (HNT) was fabricated via solvent casting method as a potential biodegradable packaging material. The performances of the nanocomposite packaging material was investigated by assessing the moisture content, moisture uptake, water solubility, water vapor barrier properties and opacity. The incorporation of 5%wt HNT into the film remarkably reduced the moisture uptake by ∼ 28.01% at 97% RH and 31.08% at 40% RH. Water permeability value of CMC/HNT film showed as 7.08 ± 0.26 × 10−11 gm/m2Pas at freezing, 3.37 ± 0.33 × 10−11 gm/m2Pas at refrigeration and 1.14 ± 0.00 × 10−11 gm/m2Pas at ambient environmental conditions respectively. Subsequent to the thermal annealing process, the water vapor permeation ability was drastically declined in the HNT added nanocomposite films at all three different conditions (freezing, refrigeration and ambient) due to enhancing the crystalline structure. Furthermore, the addition of nanofillers into the polymer matrix significantly induced the UV blocking property of the film. These findings disclosed that prepared CMC/5%HNT nanocomposite films can be a potential food packaging material.Keywords: barrier properties, carboxy methyl cellulose, halloysite nanotubes

Effect of Age and Gender on Voice Onset Time: Data from Sinhalese

Objective: To documenting the voice onset time in voiced and unvoiced stop consonants in Sinhala and to investigating the effects of age and gender on voice onset time values in Sinhalese speakers. Methods: Three groups of participants were employed. Group 1 included 20 children, Group 2 included 20 adults and Group 3 consisted of 20 elderly subjects. All the subjects spoke the dialect of central province of Sri Lanka. Words consisting of three Sinhala short vowels /a/, /i/ and /u/ in were recorded. Voice onset time values from two voiced and voiceless stop consonants were extracted. Results: Voiced stop consonants had significantly longer voice onset time values compared to voiceless stop consonants. Significant effect of age as well as gender on voice onset time values were also observed. Conclusion: Supplementary investigations on the normative aspects of voice onset time among the Sinhala population would provide additional insights and validated tools for indexing the articulatory and acoustic characteristics of stop consonants in Sinhalese. Keywords: Voice Onset Time, Sinhalese, Elderly, Sinhala, Acoustic analysis

Bioconversion of Single Cell Protein from Underutilised Seaweed Turbinaria sp. using Natural Palmyrah Toddy Yeast

This study was aimed to produce Single Cell Protein (SCP) from underutilied, abundantly found marine seaweed Turbinaria sp. using natural yeast from palmyrah (Borassus flabellifer) toddy. Turbinaria sp. were collected, sun-dried, ground to powder form and Turbinaria solution was made by mixing distilled water and this was used as a growth medium throughout the experiment without adding any supplements. The experiments were performed in a shaking incubator with the fermentation medium of Turbinaria sp. 100 g/L (10%) inoculated with 10 mL natural palmyrah toddy. Fermentation was carried out at 29o C for 72 h and the crude protein content was determined using Kjeldahl apparatus (38.46%). When the growth temperature was optimised at 35o C, crude protein yield obtaine was significantly increased by 1.36 times than the initial non-optimised condition with temperature 27oC. When fermentation time was optimised as 48 h (44.33%), crude protein yield was significantly increased by 1.14 times than the initial fermentation time (24 h-38.55%). When different combinations of Turbinaria sp. media and inoculum ratio (55:05, 50:10, 40:20, 30:30 and 20:40) were used as medium, crude protein yield was significantly increased by 1.44 times (50:10-43.72%) than the initial media inoculum ratio (55:05-30.21%). When initial pH of the media was changed (5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0), significantly higher relative crude protein yield was obtained with the initial pH value 6.0 (Turbinaria medium-90.97%). Amino acid analysis revealed that the SCP produced from the Turbinaria medium had all the essential amino acids with comparatively higher amount of methionine (3.9%) and lower amount of threonine (0.2%). Vitamin B analysis revealed that SCP yield from Turbinaria medium contained thiamin (0.85 mg/100 g) and riboflavin (3.2 mg/100 g). After the optimisation of culture growing conditions and media composition, SCP production from the excessively grown, underutilised seaweed Turbinaria, was significantly increased by 1.13 times (from 38.46 to 43.72%) with palmyrah toddy mix. Key words: crude protein, palmyrah toddy mix, single cell protein (SCP), Turbinaria sp.

Short Communication Flour Properties of Whole and Dehulled Mung Beans (Vigna radiata) and Development of Food Gels Incorporated with Kithul (Caryota urenus) Flour

In the present study, proximate and flour properties including thermogravimetric (TGA/DSC) and X-ray defraction (XRD) analysis of whole and dehulled mung bean (Vigna radiata) flours were studied. Moreover, food gels were developed from whole and dehulled mung bean flours with incorporating Kithul palm (Caryota urenus) flour without adding sugar and artificial food additives. According to the proximate analysis, whole Mung bean flour contains (%, dry weight basis); carbohydrates 62.67±0.23, and proteins 29.39±1.52 while hulled mung bean contains (%); carbohydrate 66.27±0.75, and proteins 28.0±4.61 proteins. The TGA/DSC and XRD resulted similar pattern for both whole and hulled mung bean flours. The food gels developed from hulled mung bean flour resulted higher syneresis (18%) than gels from whole mung beans (7%). However, food gels from hulled mung bean flour with incorporated Kithul flour were ranked the highest organoleptic acceptance according to the sensory evaluation. Collectively, the results of the current study suggested that local mung bean flour could be a potential ingredient to develop food gels with incorporating Kithul flour as novel functional foods. The compositional analysis of developed mung bean food gels is in progress. Keywords: food gels, mung bean flour, value-addition, Vigna radiata

Mineral Content of Selected Seaweed Varieties in Southern and North Western Sea of Sri Lanka

Seaweeds are a rich source of health beneficial bioactive nutraceuticals and currently, they are under-utilised in Sri Lanka. Thus, this study is to get an idea about the possibility of utilising seaweed in Sri Lankan food industry. In the present study, elemental composition analysis of Ulva fasciata obtained from 3 locations Mirissa (5°56/40.5// N: 80°27/20.2// E), Point Dondra (5°55/45.7//N: 80°35/02.5// E) and Galle (6°02/01.1// N: 80°12/52.2// E) and red algae varieties Gracilaria edulis and Gracilaria sp. obtained from Kalpitiya (8°15/40.8// N: 79°46/33.9// E and 8°13/35.0// N: 79°43/34.8// E) respectively. The elemental analysis was carried using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. The results revealed that the predominant mineral of U. fasciata obtained from the 3 locations and Gracilaria sp. as calcium. While the predominant mineral in G. edulis was potassium. All the 5 varieties have various concentrations of elements such as K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn. Significantly high lead content was observed in U. fasciata obtained from Point Dondra. The elemental compositions showed variations among the same species obtained from different locations. The results also revealed that seaweed is a good source of certain essential and trace minerals. Keywords: Ulva fasciata, Gracilaria edulis, Gracilaria sp., minerals, seaweeds