Effect of dietary sesame oil as antioxidant on brain hippocampus of rat in focal cerebral ischemia

Oxidative stress may be regarded as an imbalance between free radical production and opposing antioxidant defenses. Free radical oxidative stress is implicated in rat cerebral ischemia and naturaceutical antioxidants are dietary supplements that have been reported to have neuroprotective activity. Many studies have reported dietary sesame oil (SO) as an effective antioxidant. In the present study the neuroprotective effect of dietary SO was evaluated against middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced cerebral ischemia injury in rats. Rats were fed on diet (20% SO) for 15 days. The middle cerebral artery of adult male Wistar rat was occluded for 2 h and reperfused for 22 h. The antioxidant properties of brain were measured as levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxide (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS). A decrease in the activity of all the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants was observed along with an increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) in MCAO group. The neurobehavioral activity of rats was also observed by using videopath analyzer. Dietary SO improved the antioxidant status in MCAO+SO group when compared with MCAO group. The results of neurobehavioral activity also support our biochemical data. The results obtained suggest protective effect of SO against cerebral ischemia in rat brain through their antioxidant properties.     

Lethal and Sublethal Effects of Insecticides on the Biological Attributes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zygogramma bicolorata</Emphasis> Pallister (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): a Biocontrol Agent of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Parthenium hysterophorus</Emphasis> L.

Acute toxicity and sublethal effects of six commonly used insecticides, i.e., malathion, carbaryl, imidacloprid, cypermethrin, dimethoate, and monocrotophos, were evaluated through biological and life table parameters of Zygogramma bicolorata Pallister in laboratory. Concentration of these insecticides was within the minimum ranges of recommended field rate. Among the insecticides tested for acute toxicity, monocrotophos and imidacloprid caused the highest mortality of third instars and prolonged the development time of treated larvae. Fecundity and egg viability were also reduced in monocrotophos-treated group. Sublethal toxicity (carryover effect) of insecticides was evaluated through life table analysis of F₁ progenies developed from surviving third instars treated for acute toxicity experiment. Survivorship was prolonged to 117 days in carbaryl treated group. Monocrotophos prolonged the overall immature development time compared to other insecticidal treatments and untreated control. Moreover, the lowest female survival, and the lowest value of life indices parameters, i.e., m _x , R ₀, r _m, and λ, was evident in monocrotophos-exposed groups compared to that in other tested insecticides. However, mean generation time (T _c) and doubling time (DT) were significantly prolonged in the insecticide-treated groups compared to those in the untreated group. A significantly greater number of females were produced in control groups than those in treated with malathion and sex ratio (proportion of male) was computed as 0.34 and 0.37, respectively. Based on the present study, it can be concluded that none of the tested insecticides can be classified as safe to Z. bicolorata. However, comparisons among the tested insecticides showed that malathion was less toxic compared to other insecticides tested.     

New phthalimide‐appended Schiff bases: Studies of DNA binding,molecular docking and antioxidant activities

Herein, we investigated new phthalimide‐based Schiff base molecules as promising DNA‐binding and free radical scavenging agents. Physicochemical properties of these molecules were demonstrated on the basis of elemental analysis, ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis), infra‐red (IR), ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. All spectral data are agreed well with the proposed Schiff base framework. The DNA‐binding potential of synthesized compounds were investigated by means of UV–visible, fluorescence, iodide quenching, circular dichroism, viscosity and thermal denaturation studies. The intrinsic binding constants (K _b) were calculated from absorption studies were found to be 1.1 × 10⁴ and 1.0 × 10⁴ M^?1 for compounds 2a and 2b suggesting that compound 2a binding abilities with DNA were stronger than the compound 2b. Our studies showed that the presented compounds interact with DNA through groove binding. Molecular docking studies were carried out to predict the binding between Ct‐DNA and test compounds. Interestingly, in silico predictions were corroborated with in vitro DNA‐binding conclusions. Furthermore, the title compounds displayed remarkable antioxidant activity compared with reference standard.     

Design and characterisation of piperazine-benzofuran integrated dinitrobenzenesulfonamide as Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain inhibitors

Molecular hybridisation of four bioactive fragments piperazine, substituted-benzofuran, amino acids, and 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfonamide as single molecular architecture was designed. A series of new hybrids were synthesised and subjected to evaluation for their inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) H37Rv. 4d–f and 4o found to exhibit MIC as 1.56 µg/mL, equally active as ethambutol whereas 4a, 4c, 4j displayed MIC 0.78 µg/mL were superior to ethambutol. Tested compounds demonstrated an excellent safety profile with very low toxicity, good selectivity index, and antioxidant properties. All the newly synthesised compounds were thoroughly characterised by analytical methods. The result was further supported by molecular modelling studies on the crystal structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis enoyl reductase.     

First evidence of putrescine involvement in mitigating the floral malformation in mangoes: A scanning electron microscope study

Floral malformation is the most destructive disease in mangoes. To date, the etiology of this disease has not been resolved. There are indications that stress-stimulated ethylene production might be responsible for the disease. Putrescine mediates various physiological processes for normal functioning and cellular metabolism. Here, the effect of putrescine in concentration ranging from 10^?1 to 10^?3 M was evaluated on disease incidence during mango flowering seasons of 2012 and 2013. In a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study, putrescine (10^?2 M)-treated malformed floral buds bloomed into opened flowers with separated sepals and/or petals like healthy, whereas the untreated (control) malformed buds remained deformed. Further, malformed flowers recovered upon putrescine treatment, displaying clearly bilobed anthers, enclosing a large number of normal pollen grains and functional ovary with broad stigmatic surface as compared to control. The present findings provide the first report to demonstrate the role of putrescine in reducing various adverse effects of stress ethylene via decelerating the higher pace of its biosynthesis. It stabilizes the normal morphology, development, and functions of malformed reproductive organs to facilitate successful pollination, fertilization, and, thereby, fruit set in mango flowers. However, putrescine–ethylene-mediated cell signaling network, involving various genes to trigger the response, which regulates a wide range of developmental and physiological processes leading to normal cell physiology, needs to be investigated further.     

Immobilization of Aspergillus oryzae β galactosidase on zinc oxide nanoparticles via simple adsorption mechanism

The present study demonstrates the immobilization of Aspergillus oryzae β galactosidase on native zinc oxide (ZnO) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NP) by simple adsorption mechanism. The binding of enzyme on ZnO-NP was confirmed by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Native ZnO and ZnO-NP showed 60% and 85% immobilization yield, respectively. Soluble and immobilized enzyme preparations exhibited similar pH-optima at pH 4.5. ZnO-NP bound β galactosidase retained 73% activity at pH 7.0 while soluble and ZnO adsorbed enzyme lost 68% and 53% activity under similar experimental conditions, respectively. There was a marked broadening in temperature-activity profile for ZnO-NP adsorbed β galactosidase; it showed no difference in temperature-optima between 50 °C and 60 °C. Moreover, ZnO-NP adsorbed β galactosidase retained 53% activity after 1 h incubation with 5% galactose while the native ZnO- and soluble β galactosidase exhibited 35% and 28% activity under similar exposure, respectively. Native ZnO and ZnO-NP adsorbed β galactosidase retained 61% and 75% of the initial activity after seventh repeated use, respectively. It was noticed that 54%, 63% and 71% milk lactose was hydrolyzed by soluble, ZnO adsorbed and ZnO-NP adsorbed β galactosidase in batch process after 9 h while whey lactose was hydrolyzed to 61%, 68% and 81% under similar experimental conditions, respectively. In view of its easy production, improved stability against various denaturants and excellent reusability, ZnO-NP bound β galactosidase may find its applications in constructing enzyme-based analytical devices for clinical, environmental and food technology.