Phytochemical analysis and evaluation of antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts of Maytenus emarginata

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a metabolic side product of oxidative stress process, which causes several diseases like atherosclerosis, cancer, etc. In defense of ROS, antioxidants play a key role in combating them. As the process of aging increases, the level of antioxidants in our body decreases and thereby needs utmost attention for its repair process, which is generally administered externally. Plant products serve a best source for controlling these activities by its own metabolic pathway. Studies on the antioxidant activities of Maytenus emarginata leaf extracts are lacking. Antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of Maytenus emarginata was determined by DPPH free radical nitric oxide scavenging assays, superoxide ion scavenging assays, ABTS, and iron chelating methods. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed that the extract of Maytenus emarginata leaves possesses phenols, flavonoids, steroids, glycosides, saponins, tannins, and triterpenoids. The extract showed significant activities in all antioxidant assays compared to the standard antioxidant (ascorbic acid) in a dose-dependent manner, and remarkable activities to scavenge ROS may be attributed by the presence of the above active compounds in the leaves. The amount of total phenolics and flavonoid contents were also estimated. The DPPH, ABTS, Nitric oxide, superoxide, and iron chelating IC(50) values of the methanolic extracts were 12.44, 24.27, 22.41, 5.85, and 2.74?μg/mL, respectively. The total phenolic content of the methanolic extract was 10.69?mg CA/g, whereas the total flavonoid was 1.56?mg CAE/g. The antioxidant activities were correlated with the total phenolic content. This result suggests that the relatively high antioxidant activity of the methanolic extract compared to standard could be possibly be due to its high phenolic content.     

Authentication of Angelica anomala Avé-Lall cultivars through DNA barcodes

Angelica anomala Avé-Lall (Chuanbaizhi in Chinese) is an important medicinal plant which can be used in traditional Chinese medicines; however, there are no authentic and universal methods to differentiate this Sichuan famous-region drug of A. anomala from a large number of non-famous-region and false drugs. It has been demonstrated that DNA barcoding is a molecular diagnostic method for species identification, which uses a single standardized DNA fragment. In this study, we tested five DNA barcoding candidates (matK, ITS, ITS2, rbcL, and psbA-trnH), and we found that ITS was the best candidate to authenticate the famous-region drug of A. anomala. Moreover, through comparative analysis of these five DNA barcodes between A. anomala and Angelica dahurica, we found that ITS had the most and ITS2 had more variable regions, but the psbA-trnH, rbcL, and matK regions were identical. Hence, we suggest ITS as the DNA barcoding to identify A. anomala and A. dahurica. Moreover, we are determined to adopt the A. anomala as the accurate Latin name of Chuanbaizhi.     

Expression enhancement of bubaline somatotropin in E. coli through gene modifications in the 5'-end coding region

This study addresses the problem of poor expression of somatotropin (ST) gene in E. coli and describes expression enhancement through silent and non-silent gene modifications. A series of constructs with codon optimization, substitution, deletion or addition in the 5'-region of the sequence encoding bubaline ST (BbST) were prepared. In the native form, the BbST expression was barely discernible on SDS-gel of the total E. coli cellular proteins (TCP). Introduction of silent and non-silent mutations in +2 to +8 codons, however, raised the expression levels to varying extents. In some constructs, a single base variation, i.e., G-->A or G-->C led to a remarkable increase in BbST expression (up to 28% of the TCP) whereas in the case of G-->T substitution the expression dropped to undetectable levels. Deletion of native GCC codon and addition of CAUCAC repeat thrice at +2 position enhanced the expression up to 48%, while insertion of NGG codons at the same position caused just a modest increase in expression. Differences in expression appeared as if related to the nature of early downstream codons (especially +2) and the stability of mRNA secondary structure although the levels of intracellular mRNA pools, as analyzed by real-time RT-PCR were quite similar. Overall, the study highlights the importance of 5'-end codon adaptations in solving the problems encountered in expressing the eukaryotic genes in E. coli.     

Ghrelin modulates brain activity in areas that control appetitive behavior

Feeding behavior is often separated into homeostatic and hedonic components. Hedonic feeding, which can be triggered by visual or olfactory food cues, involves brain regions that play a role in reward and motivation, while homeostatic feeding is thought to be under the control of circulating hormones acting primarily on the hypothalamus. Ghrelin is a peptide hormone secreted by the gut that causes hunger and food consumption. Here, we show that ghrelin administered intravenously to healthy volunteers during functional magnetic resonance imaging increased the neural response to food pictures in regions of the brain, including the amygdala, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior insula, and striatum, implicated in encoding the incentive value of food cues. The effects of ghrelin on the amygdala and OFC response were correlated with self-rated hunger ratings. This demonstrates that metabolic signals such as ghrelin may favor food consumption by enhancing the hedonic and incentive responses to food-related cues.     

Coinfection with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lichtheimia corymbifera</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus flavus</Emphasis> in an Immune-Competent Patient Mimicking as Pulmonary-Renal Syndrome

Lichtheimia corymbifera and Aspergillus flavus pulmonary coinfection has been rarely reported in immune-competent patients. We report case of a young male who presented with clinical features of pulmonary-renal syndrome and was later diagnosed to have bilateral polymicrobial fungal lung infection.     

Antidepressant-like deliverables from the sea: evidence on the efficacy of three different brown seaweeds via involvement of monoaminergic system

Brown seaweeds exhibit several health benefits in treating and managing wide array of ailments. In this study, the antidepressant-like effect of methaolic extracts from Sargassum swartzii (SS), Stoechospermum marginatum (SM), and Nizamuddinia zanardinii (NZ) was examined in forced swimming test (FST), in rats. Oral administration of SS, SM, and NZ extract (30–60 mg/kg) exhibited antidepressant-like activity in FST by reducing immobility time as compared to control group, without inducing significant change in ambulatory behavior in open field test. In order to evaluate the involvement of monoaminergic system, rats were pretreated with the inhibitor of brain serotonin stores p-chlorophenylalanin (PCPA), dopamine (SCH23390 and sulpiride), and adrenoceptor (prazosin and propranolol) antagonists. Rats receiving treatment for 28 days were decapitated and brains were analyzed for monoamine levels. It may be concluded that the extracts of SS, SM, and NZ produces antidepressant-like activity via modulation of brain monoaminergic system in a rat model.     

Assessment of toxicity of volatile fatty acids to Photobacterium phosphoreum

The toxicity of four volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as anaerobic digestion (AD) intermediates was investigated at pH 7. Photobacterium phosphoreum T3 was used as an indicator organism. Binary, ternary and mixtures of AD intermediates were designated by letters A (acetic acid + propionic acid), B (acetic acid + butyric acid), C (acetic acid + ethanol), D (propionic acid + butyric acid), E (propionic acid + ethanol), F (butyric acid + ethanol), G (acetic acid + propionic acid + butyric acid), H (acetic acid + propionic acid + ethanol), I (acetic acid + butyric acid+ ethanol), J (propionic acid + butyric acid + ethanol) and K (acetic acid + propionic acid + butyric acid + ethanol) to assess the toxicity through equitoxic mixing ratio method. The IC₅₀ values of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid and ethanol were 9.812, 7.76, 6.717 and 17.33 g/L respectively, displaying toxicity order of: butyric acid > propionic acid > acetic acid > ethanol being additive in nature. The toxic effects of four VFAs could be designated as synergistic and one additive in nature.     

Rapid plant regeneration from various explants of Jatropha integerrima

A simple, rapid and reproducible protocol for direct shoot regeneration from different explants of Jatropha integerrima was developed. Prolific adventitious shoot bud initiation was obtained using a combination of 2.2 or 4.4 M benzyladenine and 4.9 M indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Reduction of IBA concentration (2.5 M) promoted further development of shoots. Regenerated shoots rooted readily on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium lacking growth regulators. Plantlets were acclimatized and successfully transferred to pots.     

Mammalian tight junctions in the regulation of epithelial differentiation and proliferation

Tight junctions are important for the permeability properties of epithelial and endothelial barriers as they restrict diffusion along the paracellular space. Recent observations have revealed that tight junctions also function in the regulation of epithelial proliferation and differentiation. They harbour evolutionarily conserved protein complexes that regulate polarisation and junction assembly. Tight junctions also recruit signalling proteins that participate in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. These signalling proteins include components that affect established signalling cascades and dual localisation proteins that can associate with junctions as well as travel to the nucleus where they regulate gene expression.