Screening of Malaysian Medicinal/Herbs and Aquatic Plants for Pancreatic Lipase Inhabitory Activities and Identification of Active Constituent

The compounds that help to slow down the digestion of triacylglycerols inside pancreatic and small intestine of human play an important role in the control of obesity. In this study the effects of 80% methanol extracts of different parts (seeds, fruits, leaves, flowers,roots) of some medicinal/herbals and aquatic plants for their anti-lipase activity was determined. The effect of each plant extract on porcine pancreatic lipase was measured based on titrimetric method. The results revealed of the one hundred (100) plant samples screened, eighty eight (88) of the extracts were observed to inhibit while twelve (12) were found to promote the activity and only two extracts did not show any activity on the enzyme. Four of the plant extracts Archidendron jiringa (Jack) I.C Nielsen, Averrhoe carambola L. Cynometra cauliflora and Alevrites moluccana (L.) Willd have shown the highest anti-lipase activity of 100%, and twenty one (21) extracts observed to have high activity above 70%. Eighteen (18) out of these twenty one (21) have anti-lipase activity of greater than 80%. Thirteen (13) have presented moderate inhibition with a high proportion of 62% exhibited lower inhibition. Twenty nine (29) extracts out of these (86)can be regarded as very poor inhibitors, as their percent inhibition was less than 20% and only 1.74% was shown to have no inhibitory activity. In the process of isolating the active compounds, liquid-liquid partitioning of the crude methanolic extract of Cynometra cauliflora leaves was carried out. Five different fractions hexane, DCM,EtOAc, n-BuOH and aqueous was obtained. All the fractions were tested for anti-lipase activity and the active components reside manily in ethyl acetate fraction. The isolation and identification of active compounds from the most active fraction (ethyl acetate) was further fractionated using silica gel column chromatography (normal phase). The active fraction was further purified by the use of Sephadex LH-20 chromatography. The structure of the active compound from ethyl acetate fraction of Cynometra cauliflora was found to be kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside. The structure of this active compound was identified from spectroscopic data analysis of IR, MS, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and 2D-NMR

Anti- and pro-lipase activity of selected medicinal, herbal and aquatic plants, and structure elucidation of an anti-lipase compound

Plants that help in slowing down the digestion of triacylglycerols (TAGs) in the pancreas and small intestine of humans play an important role in the reduction of obesity. On the other hand, there may be plants or plant parts that stimulate intestinal lipolytic activity, thus contributing to greater TAG assimilation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aqueous methanolic extracts of ninety eight (98) medicinal, herbal and aquatic plant materials from Malaysia for their effect on porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) activity and to identify the structure of an anti-lipase compound from one of the sources. The degree of inhibition was also quantified as relative to orlistat activity against PPL (orlistat equivalents). Results revealed that while 19.4% of the extracts were found to have anti-lipase activity ≥80%, 12% were actually found to promote PPL activity. Twenty two percent (22.4%) exhibited moderate inhibition (41%–80%) and 2% were neutral toward PPL activity. The ripe fruit of Averrhoa carambola and the leaves of Archidendron jiringa (Jack) I.C Nielsen L. (jering), Cynometra cauliflora (nam-nam) and Aleurites moluccana (L.) Willd (candle nut/buah keras) had the highest (100%) anti-lipase activity and are equivalent to 0.11 µg orlistat/mL. Plants that stimulated lipase activity included Pimpinella anisum L. (aniseed/jintan manis), activating the enzyme by 186.5%. Kaempferol 3-O-rhamnoside was isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of C. cauliflora leaves and found to be an active lipase inhibitor. The structure was elucidated using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and 2D-NMR analyses

Pharmacological Activities of Banana

Plants have been in use in traditional medicine since antiquity, and many active metabolic products with biological significance are obtained from them. Recently, pharmaceutical industries have developed great interest in utilizing these products as an alternative to the chemically synthesized drugs. This is due to the discovery of important new medicines from the plants, because of studies on how people of different background use plants as cure and treatment for many diseases, and side effects of the synthesized drugs. Banana, an eatable fruit produced by some herbaceous flowering plants of the genus Musa, is one of the valuable fruits with proven pharmacological potentials. Bananas are spread almost all over the world. Different chemical constituents like apigenin glycosides, myricetin-3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, dopamine, and serotonin have been reported in different parts and varieties of banana. The presence of carbohydrate, proteins as well as flavonoids, makes bananas useful in both nutrition and therapeutics. Pharmacologically, bananas have been shown to possess antiulcer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities. This chapter discusses the essential information on banana, including its varieties, distribution, pharmacological actions, and its relevance in pharmaceutical industries. This will be beneficial for researchers to further harness the robustness of this fruit in controlling many diseases and modification of drugs

Chemical constituents and biological activities of Callicarpa maingayi leaves

Plants have an extensive diversity of natural phytochemicals that are used as a source of medicine. In this study the methanolic leaf extract of Callicarpa maingayi together with its increasing polarity soluble fractions hexane (Hex), dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), n-butanol (n-BuOH), and aqueous (Aq) fractions were examined on antioxidant, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), tyrosinase, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. Liquid chromatography-diode array detection-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-DAD-ESIMS/MS) was used to analyze the most bioactive fractions (EtOAc and n-BuOH). A total of 20 compounds were tentatively identified in these two active fractions. Forsythoside B, acteoside, isoacteoside, isocampneoside II, apigenin 7-O-rutinoside and kaempferol 3-sulfate-7-arabinopyranoside were identified by comparing with the reference standard. Other compounds including cistanoside F, apigenin 6-C-glucoside-8-C-glucoside, β-OH-forsythoside B, campneoside II, rhamnazin 3-O-rutinoside, campneoside I, eukovoside, acacetin diglucoronide, acacetin 7-O-glucuronide, β-OH-poliumoside, poliumoside as well as 3 isomers of 2′-acetylacteoside were tentatively identified based on their UV spectra and MS/MS data. All of the compounds were reported from this species for the first time. The results have indicated the chemical constituents of C. maingayi that contributed to the biological activity and thus, it may have potential application toward the development of nutraceutical and medicinal preparations

Phytochemical, bioactivity and LC-DAD-MS/MS analyses of nam-nam (Cynometra cauliflora L.) and tampang besi (Callicarpa maingayi K. & G.) leaf extracts

Current research indicates that radical oxygen species (ROS) liberated along with some other components in the body are capable of destroying cellular constituents and act as secondary messengers for some chronic diseases, such as diabetes, Alzheimer`s disease (AD), coronary heart diseases, skin disease and inflammation. Because many researchers have demonstrated that most of the drugs and additives used in the treatments of AD, diabetes, or skin diseases may result in toxic effects and causes other serious diseases, chemical and biological studies on medicinal and edible plants have been investigated to discover new active compounds. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of methanol extract and different polarity fractions of two Malaysian medicinal plants Cynometra cauliflora (nam-nam) and Callicarpa maingayi (tampang besi) leaves for their antioxidant, cholinesterase, tyrosinase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. In addition, the identification of the bioactive compounds from the active fractions was performed using the LC-DAD-ESIMS/MS and spectroscopic techniques. The methanolic leaf extract of C. cauliflora exhibited potent inhibition against all three enzymes and high antioxidant activity. The bioactivity was found to be concentrated in the EtOAc and n-BuOH fractions. Applying LC-DAD-ESIMS/MS to the two active fractions led to the identification of total 18 metabolites. These compounds includes isomer of procyanidin; procyanidin tetramer (139), procyanidin trimer (141) and procyanidin hexamer (149), catechin (140), isomer of taxifolin pentoside (142), vitexin (143), isovitexin (144), kaempferol hexoside (145), isomer of quercetin pentoside (146), quercetin hexoside (147), apigenin 6-C-glucose-8-C-glucose (148), kaempferol– coumaroyl-hexoside (150) and isorhamnetin hexoside (151). The phytochemical investigation of the EtOAc and n-BuOH fractions of the plant led to the isolation of four different compounds. Through a combination of spectroscopy (1D and 2D NMR) and mass spectrometry, these compounds were identified as apigenin 8-C-glucoside (143), apigenin 6-C-glucoside (144), taxifolin 3-O-arabinofuranoside (142) and acacetin 7-O-β- glucoside (152). All the compounds exhibited good to weak DPPH radical scavenging and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities and relatively moderate to weak inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) when compared to positive control. Similarly for C. cauliflora, LC-DAD-ESIMS/MS was used to analyze the most bioactive fractions (EtOAc and n-BuOH) of Callicarpa maingayi. Cistanoside F (109), apigenin 6- C-glucoside-8-C-glucoside (148), β-OH-forsythoside B (132) and campneoside II (112), isocampneoside I (122), rhamnazin 3-O-rutinoside (153), forsythoside B (26), campneoside I (118), aceteoside (27), isoaceteoside (24), eukovoside (123), acacetin diglucuronide (126), apigenin 7-O-rutinoside (154), 2’-acetylacteoside (28), 2’- acetylacteoside isomer (28), acacetin 7-O-glucoronide (130), β-OH-poliumoside (114), kaempferol 3-sulfate-7-arabinopyranoside (155) and poliumoside (29), were tentatively identified based on their UV spectra and MS/MS data. All these compounds are reported in this species for the first time. Phytochemical investigations of the DCM and hexane fractions of C. maingayi were also carried out. Eight known compounds namely euscaphic acid (51), arjunic acid (156), ursolic acid (20), apigenin (131), acacetin (157), stigmasterol 3-O-β-glycopyranoside (158) and sitosterol 3-O-β-glycopyranoside (159) were isolated from the DCM fraction, while n-hexacosanoic acid (160) from the hexane fraction. Compounds 51, 156, 20, 131, 157 and 160 were isolated for the first time from the C. maingayi. Furthermore, the triterpenoid effects on AChE and α-glucosidase enzymes were also investigated. Ursolic acid (20) was found to display moderate inhibition against AChE, whereas euscaphic acid (51) and arjunic acid (156) demonstrated moderate α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The biological activities of the crude extracts of C. cauliflora and C. maingayi and the pure compounds were in alignment with their ethno pharmacological uses. In conclusion, this study have validated the use of these plants in traditional medicinal practice and suggested that they may have potential applications in the treatment of various free radical mediated diseases

Entrepreneurial intention (EI) among undergraduate students in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM): empirical evidence

Recently, entrepreneurship receives most attention than ever before. The importance of inculcating entrepreneurship education among young and fresh graduates cannot be over stressed. Similarly, studies show that student who participates in entrepreneurship program is more willing to start his own business than a student who does not undergo any of these programs. The recent financial crisis serves as lessons for employees and potential graduates that should no longer rely on big companies. The objective of this paper is to investigate the factors that determine entrepreneurship intentions among University students. The paper employed Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), to examine the students` intentions to start up small scale businesses. Based on the sample size of 222, it was found that power of behavioral control and personal attitude are the major determinants to start up. Other interesting findings revealed in the study were the mediating roles of personal attitude and power of behavioral control. The research utilizes Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in the analysis and Amos software version 18 to test the hypotheses

Nigeria at sixty: An analysis of user participation in an online national competition amidst the Covid-19 pandemic

Activities across the world were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020. Events such as sports, national celebrations, international exhibitions and conferences were cancelled or postponed due to the restrictions posed by governments to mitigate the pandemic. The Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector being loosely constrained by the restrictions, was mandated to facilitate some of these events. In this research, we made computational analysis, by leveraging an Information Technology (IT) platform (Website) to conduct pre-anniversary competitions in celebration of Nigeria’s 60th Anniversary. The aim of using the website was to gather Information regarding the pre-anniversary competitions to determine user participation in online events across Nigeria. Initially, information about the site was propagated via various media outlet to call for participation. Activities performed by participants across all states of the nation (Nigeria) were recorded, as well as the site activities for a designated period of time. An extensive analysis was conducted using the Google analytics tool. Performance show that much needed to be done to improve and engage citizens in participating in national events, which employ IT platforms as an alternative to the main event during the COVID-19 pandemic

Mobile Cloud Computing: Taxonomy and Challenges

Mobile cloud computing (MCC) holds a new dawn of computing, where the cloud users are attracted to multiple services through the Internet. MCC has a qualitative, flexible, and cost-effective delivery platform for providing services to mobile cloud users with the aid of the Internet. Due to the advantage of the delivery platform, several studies have been conducted on how to address different issues in MCC. The issues include energy efficiency in MCC, secured MCC, user-satisfied applications and Quality of Service-aware MCC (QoS). In this context, this paper qualitatively reviews different proposed MCC solutions. Therefore, taxonomy for MCC is presented considering major themes of research including energy-aware, security, applications, and QoS-aware developments. Each of these themes is critically investigated with comparative assessments considering recent advancements. Analysis of metrics and implementation environments used for evaluating the performance of existing techniques are presented. Finally, some open research issues and future challenges are identified based on the critical and qualitative assessment of literature for researchers in this field