Marine natural pigments as potential sources for therapeutic applications

In recent years, marine natural pigments have emerged as a powerful alternative in the various fields of food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries because of their excellent biocompatibility, bioavailability, safety, and stability. Marine organisms are recognized as a rich source of natural pigments such as chlorophylls, carotenoids, and phycobiliproteins. Numerous studies have shown that marine natural pigments have considerable medicinal potential and promising applications in human health. In this review, we summarize the marine natural pigments as potential sources for therapeutic applications, including: antioxidant, anticancer, antiangiogenic, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory activities, drug delivery, photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), photoacoustic imaging (PAI), and wound healing. Marine natural pigments will offer a better platform for future theranostic applications.     

Recent advances in microbial production of malic acid from renewable byproducts

In the last few years, ecofriendly malic acid production has received a potential platform for the bio-based chemicals to replace the dependency of fossil based resources. The main goal of this paper is to explore the feasibility of efficient production of malic acid from cost effective alternative renewable byproducts as feedstock. To replace the traditional method of malic acid production from petroleum-based compounds such as maleic acid, the efficiency of fermentation technology for malic acid production using various microorganisms has been improved. To date, glucose is designated as the best substrate for malic acid production. However, few reviews concerning about malic acid production by employing various microbial strains were reported. The current knowledge on the biosynthesis of malic acid has assisted to improve malic acid production using various microbial strains. But, there is still need for the continuous production and replacement of low-cost substrates to increase the yield of malic acid. This review provides an overview about progress, achievements, merits, challenges and future perspectives in malic acid production from cost effective alternative substrates. Thus, malic acid production can be economical using renewable byproducts like crude glycerol by employing appropriate microorganism.

     

Assessment of bacterial community composition in response to uranium levels in sediment samples of sacred Cauvery River

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology - Global industrialization is a major cause of effluent discharge from industries up to alarming concentrations. Especially, uranium concentrations in water...     

Use of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) to study genetic diversity within a population of blackfly, Simulium gravelyi from Palni hills, peninsular India

The genetic variation of local subpopulations (Palni hills, India) of the blackfly Simulium gravelyi was surveyed at different altitudinal locations using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. By comparing the similarity of the bands produced by RAPDs, it may be concluded that there is variation within this population. These data suggest that the heterogeneity of band pattern of S. gravelyi steadily increased from low elevation to high elevation. Site 5 (1590 m altitude) was more polymorphic and it differed most from site 1 (290 m). This is established by the ecological diversity and statistical analyses (PCA) and predicting two major ecological factors of conductivity and current velocity. The speciation hypothesis is consistent with the molecular evidence, postulates a high elevational site 5 (1590 m) and a subsequent site 4 (1250 m).     

Reversal of P-glycoprotein-mediated multidrug resistance by natural N-alkylated indole alkaloid derivatives in KB-ChR-8-5 drug-resistant cancer cells

Multidrug resistance (MDR) remains a significant challenge in cancer chemotherapy due to the overexpression of ATP-binding cassette drug-efflux transporters, namely P-glycoprotein (P-gp)/ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1. In this study, derivatives of N-alkylated monoterpene indole alkaloids such as N-(para-bromobenzyl) (NBBT), N-(para-methylbenzyl) (NMBT), and N-(para-methoxyphenethyl) (NMPT) moieties were investigated for the reversal of P-gp-mediated MDR in drug-resistant KB colchicine-resistant 8-5 (KB-ChR-8-5) cells. Among the three indole alkaloid derivatives, the NBBT exhibited the highest P-gp inhibitory activity in a dose-dependent manner. Further, it significantly decreased P-gp overexpression by inactivating the nuclear translocation of the nuclear factor kappa B p-50 subunit. In the cell survival assay, doxorubicin showed 6.3-fold resistance (FR) in KB-ChR-8-5 cells compared with its parental KB-3-1 cells. However, NBBT significantly reduced doxorubicin FR to 1.7, 1.3, and 0.4 and showed strong synergism with doxorubicin for all the concentrations studied in the drug-resistant cells. Furthermore, NBBT and doxorubicin combination decreased the cellular migration and showed increased apoptotic incidence by downregulating Bcl-2, then activating BAX, caspase 3, and p53. The present findings suggest that NBBT could be a lead candidate for the reversal of P-gp- mediated multidrug resistance in cancer cells.