Phytochemical screening, anti-oxidant activity and in vitro anticancer potential of ethanolic and water leaves extracts of Annona muricata (Graviola)

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the phytochemical composition, antioxidant and anticancer activities of ethanolic and water leaves extracts of Annona muricata (A. muricata) from the Eastern Uganda.MethodsPhytochemical screening was conducted using standard qualitative methods and a Chi-square goodness of fit test was used to assign the relative abundance of the different phytochemicals. The antioxidant activity was determined using the 2, 2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and reducing power methods whereas the in vitro anticancer activity was determined using three different cell lines.ResultsPhytochemical screening of the extracts revealed that they were rich in secondary class metabolite compounds such as alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins and lactones, anthraquinones, tannins, cardiac glycosides, phenols and phytosterols. Total phenolics in the water extract were (683.69±0.09) μg/mL gallic acid equivalents (GAE) while it was (372.92±0.15) μg/mL GAE in the ethanolic extract. The reducing power was 216.41 μg/mL in the water extract and 470.51 μg/mL GAE in the ethanolic extract. In vitro antioxidant activity IC50 was 2.0456 mg/mL and 0.9077 mg/mL for ethanolic and water leaves extracts of A. muricata respectively. The ethanolic leaves extract was found to be selectively cytotoxic in vitro to tumor cell lines (EACC, MDA and SKBR3) with IC50 values of 335.85 μg/mL, 248.77 μg/mL, 202.33 μg/mL respectively, while it had no cytotoxic effect on normal spleen cells. The data also showed that water leaves extract of A. muricata had no anticancer effect at all tested concentrations.ConclusionsThe results showed that A. muricata was a promising new antioxidant and anticancer agent

66. King Faisal experience for cardiac surgery in adults with congenital heart disease: Outcome of primary and redo surgery

IntroductionAdult survivors with congenital heart diseases represent a growing population. Therefore, we aimed to review our experience in King Faisal Heart center for the outcome of adult patients with congenital heart disease who underwent either primary or redo surgery at our center.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent surgery either as the first surgery or as a reoperation for congenital heart disease aged greater than or equal to 16 years old at the time of cardiac surgery and in the period between 1st January 2008 and 1st January 2013. We looked for incidence of postoperative bleeding, arrhythmia, acute kidney injury, neurological complications, and duration of mechanical ventilation, hospital stay and ICU stay. Additionally, we assessed the mortality and 1year survival rates.Results98 patients were included in our study. Fifty-two (53%) females and 46 (47%) males, with mean age of 26±8.4years and mean weight of 62±22.8kg. Forty-nine patients (50%) required redo surgery. Ten patients (10%) suffered from postoperative bleeding. Eight patients (8%) had postoperative arrhythmias, of which 2 patients required permanent pacemaker insertion. Two patients (2%) had postoperative acute kidney injury, of which one required dialysis, and 7 (7%) patients suffered from neurological complications. The mean duration of ventilation was 1.3±2 days, with mean ICU and hospital stay of 3.7±3, and 10±7days, respectively. The overall mortality in our series was 4% with one year survival of 100%.ConclusionAdult patients with congenital heart disease are prone for immediate postoperative multiple system complications, yet the majority of it is reversible, and their one year survival rate is excellent. Further follow up studies are required

Phytotherapeutic effects of Echinacea purpurea in gamma-irradiated mice

Echinacea (E.) purpurea herb is commonly known as the purple coneflower, red sunflower and rudbeckia. In this paper, we report the curative efficacy of an Echinacea extract in γ-irradiated mice. E. purpurea was given to male mice that were divided into five groups (control, treated, irradiated, treated before irradiation & treated after irradiation) at a dose of 30 mg/kg body weight for 2 weeks before and after irradiation with 3 Gy of γ-rays. The results reflected the detrimental reduction effects of γ-rays on peripheral blood hemoglobin and the levels of red blood cells, differential white blood cells, and bone marrow cells. The thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARs) level, Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSPx) activities and DNA fragmentation were also investigated. FT-Raman spectroscopy was used to explore the structural changes in liver tissues. Significant changes were observed in the microenvironment of the major constituents, including tyrosine and protein secondary structures. E. purpurea administration significantly ameliorated all estimated parameters. The radio-protection effectiveness was similar to the radio-recovery curativeness in comparison to the control group in most of the tested parameters. The radio-protection efficiency was greater than the radio-recovery in hemoglobin level during the first two weeks, in lymphoid cell count and TBARs level at the fourth week and in SOD activity during the first two weeks, as compared to the levels of these parameters in the control group

Generalisability and Cost-Impact of Antibiotic-Impregnated Central Venous Catheters for Reducing Risk of Bloodstream Infection in Paediatric Intensive Care Units in England

Background: We determined the generalisability and cost-impact of adopting antibiotic-impregnated CVCs in all paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in England, based on results from a large randomised controlled trial (the CATCH trial; ISRCTN34884569). Methods: BSI rates using standard CVCs were estimated through linkage of national PICU audit data (PICANet) with laboratory surveillance data. We estimated the number of BSI averted if PICUs switched from standard to antibiotic-impregnated CVCs by applying the CATCH trial rate-ratio (0.40; 95% CI 0.17,0.97) to the BSI rate using standard CVCs. The value of healthcare resources made available by averting one BSI as estimated from the trial economic analysis was £10,975; 95% CI -£2,801,£24,751. Results: The BSI rate using standard CVCs was 4.58 (95% CI 4.42,4.74) per 1000 CVC-days in 2012. Applying the rate-ratio gave 232 BSI averted using antibiotic CVCs. The additional cost of purchasing antibiotic-impregnated compared with standard CVCs was £36 for each child, corresponding to additional costs of £317,916 for an estimated 8831 CVCs required in PICUs in 2012. Based on 2012 BSI rates, management of BSI in PICUs cost £2.5 million annually (95% uncertainty interval: -£160,986, £5,603,005). The additional cost of antibiotic CVCs would be less than the value of resources associated with managing BSI in PICUs with standard BSI rates >1.2 per 1000 CVC-days. Conclusions: The cost of introducing antibiotic-impregnated CVCs is less than the cost associated with managing BSIs occurring with standard CVCs. The long-term benefits of preventing BSI could mean that antibiotic CVCs are cost-effective even in PICUs with extremely low BSI rates

CATheter Infections in CHildren (CATCH): a randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation comparing impregnated and standard central venous catheters in children.

BACKGROUND: Impregnated central venous catheters (CVCs) are recommended for adults to reduce bloodstream infection (BSI) but not for children. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of impregnated compared with standard CVCs for reducing BSI in children admitted for intensive care. DESIGN: Multicentre randomised controlled trial, cost-effectiveness analysis from a NHS perspective and a generalisability analysis and cost impact analysis. SETTING: 14 English paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in England. PARTICIPANTS: Children aged  1.2 per 1000 CVC-days. CONCLUSIONS: The primary outcome did not differ between impregnated and standard CVCs. However, antibiotic-impregnated CVCs significantly reduced the risk of BSI compared with standard and heparin CVCs. Adoption of antibiotic-impregnated CVCs could be beneficial even for PICUs with low BSI rates, although uncertainty remains whether or not they represent value for money to the NHS. Limitations - inserting clinicians were not blinded to allocation and a lower than expected event rate meant that there was limited power for head-to-head comparisons of each type of impregnation. Future work - adoption of impregnated CVCs in PICUs should be considered and could be monitored through linkage of electronic health-care data and clinical data on CVC use with laboratory surveillance data on BSI. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01029717. FUNDING: This project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 20, No. 18. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information

Functional Interactions between Retinoblastoma and c-MYC in a Mouse Model of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Inactivation of the RB tumor suppressor and activation of the MYC family of oncogenes are frequent events in a large spectrum of human cancers. Loss of RB function and MYC activation are thought to control both overlapping and distinct cellular processes during cell cycle progression. However, how these two major cancer genes functionally interact during tumorigenesis is still unclear. Here, we sought to test whether loss of RB function would affect cancer development in a mouse model of c-MYC-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a deadly cancer type in which RB is frequently inactivated and c-MYC often activated. We found that RB inactivation has minimal effects on the cell cycle, cell death, and differentiation features of liver tumors driven by increased levels of c-MYC. However, combined loss of RB and activation of c-MYC led to an increase in polyploidy in mature hepatocytes before the development of tumors. There was a trend for decreased survival in double mutant animals compared to mice developing c-MYC-induced tumors. Thus, loss of RB function does not provide a proliferative advantage to c-MYC-expressing HCC cells but the RB and c-MYC pathways may cooperate to control the polyploidy of mature hepatocytes

Enteromorpha Compressa, Gelidium pulchrum, Macro algae from Egypt Exhibit Potent Anticancer, Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory Activities

Over the past several decades, algae and their extracts have generated an enormous amount of interest in the pharmaceutical industry as a fresh source of bioactive compounds. The aim of this work was to evaluate anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of absolute and aqueous (50%) methanol extracts of both Gelidium pulchrum and Enteromorpha compressa algae. In vitro cytotoxicity of the extracts was tested by MTT and trypan blue technique against two malignant cell lines (HeLa and EACC). The effect of methanol extracts on caspase-3 and Bax gene protein expression levels was evaluated as indicator of apoptosis induction in treated- Hela cells. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using three methods,(DPPH, Reducing power and ABTS) andanti-inflammatory activity measured by two systems (in vivo and in vitro). The obtained results showed that all studied extracts expressed significant in vitro cytotoxic activity toward HeLa, and EACC cell lines. The data revealed up regulation of both Bax and caspase-3 protein expressions levels in treated-HeLa cell line. In DPPH assay aqueous MeOH extracts of Gelidium pulchrum exhibit maximum inhibition (IC50= 51±2.3). The highest reducing power was 179.3±4.7µg/mL GAE in aqueous MeOH extract of Gelidium pulchrum. The data also showed that all tested extracts have anti-nflammatory activity against carrgeenan induced paw oedema. While absolute MeOH extract of Gelidium pulchrum has maximum protection (71.7±1.7 %) in membrane stabilization test. Data obtained indicate the potential of these algal extracts for the antitumor through induction of apoptosis in cancer cells in addition to, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. This biological action   is interesting for further isolation and identification of new  natural anticancer and antioxidant compounds

Enteromorpha Compressa, Gelidium pulchrum, Macro algae from Egypt Exhibit Potent Anticancer, Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory Activities

Over the past several decades, algae and their extracts have generated an enormous amount of interest in the pharmaceutical industry as a fresh source of bioactive compounds. The aim of this work was to evaluate anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of absolute and aqueous (50%) methanol extracts of both Gelidium pulchrum and Enteromorpha compressa algae. In vitro cytotoxicity of the extracts was tested by MTT and trypan blue technique against two malignant cell lines (HeLa and EACC). The effect of methanol extracts on caspase-3 and Bax gene protein expression levels was evaluated as indicator of apoptosis induction in treated- Hela cells. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using three methods,(DPPH, Reducing power and ABTS) andanti-inflammatory activity measured by two systems (in vivo and in vitro). The obtained results showed that all studied extracts expressed significant in vitro cytotoxic activity toward HeLa, and EACC cell lines. The data revealed up regulation of both Bax and caspase-3 protein expressions levels in treated-HeLa cell line. In DPPH assay aqueous MeOH extracts of Gelidium pulchrum exhibit maximum inhibition (IC50= 51±2.3). The highest reducing power was 179.3±4.7µg/mL GAE in aqueous MeOH extract of Gelidium pulchrum. The data also showed that all tested extracts have anti-nflammatory activity against carrgeenan induced paw oedema. While absolute MeOH extract of Gelidium pulchrum has maximum protection (71.7±1.7 %) in membrane stabilization test. Data obtained indicate the potential of these algal extracts for the antitumor through induction of apoptosis in cancer cells in addition to, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. This biological action   is interesting for further isolation and identification of new  natural anticancer and antioxidant compounds

Biology and life table analysis of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) on different common pea and bean cultivars

Abou-Elella, Gomaa M., Abdel-Khalek, Amira A. (2020): Biology and life table analysis of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) on different common pea and bean cultivars. Persian Journal of Acarology 9 (2): 181-192, DOI: 10.22073/pja.v9i2.53840, URL: https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/fd689a09-4b89-346f-b01b-216bc96ad929