EVALUATION OF QUANTITATIVE ELEMENTAL COMPOSITIONS AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIALS OF SPONDIAS MOMBIN EXTRACTS (LINN), A PRECURSOR AGAINST INFECTIOUS DISEASES

The purpose of this research work is to investigate the elemental composition and antioxidant potentials of Spondias mombin (leaf, root and stem bark) at concentration of 10, 20 and 5mg/ml. using different conventional laboratory methods, also to determine the antioxidant potentials of Spondias mombin. The element present are Sodium (Na), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Lead (Pb), Copper(Cu), Manganese (Mn), Potasium (K) and Phosphorus (P).it was observed that all elements were present at appreciable quantity. It was observed that the highest and lowest quantity were found in Zinc (20.34) and Cu (1.22) for the leaf extract, Potasium (24.98) and (2.14) for stem bark, Calcium (29.35) and Pb (2.91) for the root extract. Pb has minimal quantity in all parts of Spondias mombin extract. P value< 0.0001, Significantly different standard deviations. The antioxidant composition are FRAP, DPPH, Fe2+,ABTS, H2O2 and superoxide. The percentage composition of FRAP, DPPH, Fe2+,ABTS, SO and H2O2, superoxide phenol and flavonoid were elucidated, it was observed that ABTS has the highest composition in the stem bark and superoxide (SO) has the lowest content in the aqueous root extract of Spondias mombin.it can be deduced that Spondias mombin is a very important medicinal plant which should not go into extinction, its uses, efficacy and importance should not be over emphasis for the fact that it is rich in both elemental and antioxidants potential, therefore, its cultivation and day to day usage of Spondias mombin should be therefore be encouraged

Antibacterial and Antifungal Efficacy of Partially Partitioned Fractions of Spondias mombin (Linn) Extracts (Root, Leaf and Stem Bark) against Clinical and Environmental Isolates

The purpose this research work is to determine the antibacterial and antifungal assay of partitioned fractions of S. mombin (Linn) extracts against clinical and environmental isolates. The root, leaf and stem-bark of S. mombin were harvested and air-dried. The dried S. mombin was milled into powdered form using manual grinder. Powdered S. mombin (1 kg) each of the different S. mombin parts was extracted with 3 L of 70% (v/v) ethanol, ethyl acetate and distilled water for 72 h at room temperature. The SMRE and SMREA were used to code for root part; SMLE and SMLEA for the leaf part; and SMSBE and SMSBEA for the stem-bark part, each was fractionated on column chromatography with silica as the stationary phase using n-hexane, ethyl acetate and ethanol as the eluting solvent to obtain n-hexane, ethyl acetate and ethanol fractions. Antimicrobial and antifungal screened was observed using agar well diffusion test. The result obtained showed that in partially purified ethyl acetate leaf extracts, Fraction (F1 SMLEAH) showed significant inhibitory effect (p ≤ 0.05) on all the test bacteria, except Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhi at concentrations of 20.0-2.5 mg/ml, Fraction (F2 SMLEAEA) was not effective against Salmonella cholleraesuis, B. substilis, Citrobacter koseri and Salmonella typhi. Fraction (F3 SMLEAE) showed little or no inhibitory effect on most of the bacteria at all the concentration used. It can be deduced that in partially purified ethanolic leaf extracts, Fraction (F1 SMLEH) showed inhibitory effect on Burkholderia cepacia. All the organisms were not susceptible to all the fractions except F1 which had diameter of zones of growth inhibition ranging between 4.0-1.0 mm at 5 mg/ml-0.625 mg/ml on Mycobacterium abscessus. Partially purified ethanolic stem bark extracts, antifungal activity of the partially purified ethanolic extracts of S. mombin, Fractions (F1 SMLEH, F2 SMLEEA) and F3 SMLEE), significant antifungal activity (p ≤ 0.05) was observed at 20.0 mg/ml with most test fungi. Trichoderma horizionum was not susceptible to all the three fractions, while Aspergillus niger and Syncephala strumracemosum were susceptible to only fraction (F2 SMLEEA). Fractions (F1 SMSBEH, F2 SMSBEEA), F3 SMSBEE) on the test as the eluting solvent. Significant inhibitory effect (p ≤ 0.05) was observed in all the fractions at 20 mg/ml against most of the test bacteria. While, zones of growth inhibition of the various fractions varied with the test bacteria with the highest diameter zone of 8.0 mm recorded in fraction F1 against Salmonella typhi. Fractions (F2 SMSBEEA and F3 SMSBEE) possessed significant inhibitory effect (p ≤ 0.05) at 20.0-5.0 mg/ml on the test fungi, except Candida kruise and Rhizopus stonifer. The plant part by solvent interactive effect was significant (p<0.05), suggesting that the MICs and MBCs of test bacteria were observed at 0.3125 and 0.1562 mg/ml and MICs and MFCs test fungal were observed at 0.3125 and 0.1562 mg/ml respectively, The various plants differ significantly according to extraction solvent, These findings demonstrate the possible effectiveness of the S. mombin plant, especially its stem bark extracts, in treating microbial infections

Investigation of the pigment use in the Tomb of the Reliefs and other tombs in the Etruscan Banditaccia Necropolis

The pigment use in the Tomb of the Reliefs (4th century BC) and four other tombs (7th-4th century BC) in the Etruscan Banditaccia Necropolis near Cerveteri, Italy, has been investigated. We made use of XRF and Raman spot analysis, XRF imaging, IR luminescence and photography supported by Dstretch contrast enhancement. We identified the use of haematite, goethite, calcite, carbon black, manganese oxide, Tyrian purple and Egyptian blue, with the last three only found under the central burial place of the Tomb of the Reliefs. The tuff in which these tombs were cut proved to be a significant challenge for XRF analysis as the signals of Ca, Mn and Fe vary strongly due to the heterogeneity of the stone, so that it is difficult to distinguish between signals from the tuff and the pigments. Finally, we show that lightweight instruments transported in check-in luggage may not answer all questions on pigment use, but do provide additional insights

Bio-guided Isolation, Purification and Chemical Characterization of Epigallocatechin; Epicatechin, Stigmasterol, Phytosterol from of Ethyl Acetate Stem Bark Fraction of Spondias mombin (Linn.)

Spondias mombin (Linn.) is a widely cultivated edible plant used in folkloric medicine for the treatment of severe infection and health disorders. This research work was carried out to isolation, purification and chemical characterization the bioactive constituents of the ethyl acetate stem bark fraction of Spondias mombin (Linn.), a medicinally important plant of the Anacardiaceae family. This study revealed the presence of flavonoid and steroids, which have been found to be important hormone regulators which possess antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties. The chemical investigation resulted in the isolation of (C15H14O6.) 5, 7, 3', 4'-pentahydroxy flavanol (Epicatechin), (C15H14O7.) Epigallocatechin (C29H48O.), Stigmasterol phytosterol. It is here reported isolated from Spondias mombin for the first time, this makes the Spondias mombin very important medicinal plant in Nigeria and west Africa. EGC and EC arts as a strong inhibitor of HIV replication in cultured peripheral blood cells and inhibition of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase in vitro. EGC binds directly to CD4 molecules with consequent inhibition of Gp 120 binding and inactivate viruses in-vitro by deformation of phospholipids. Stigmasterol phytosterol have been shown to lower/reduce blood cholesterol and this lowering may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. The structure was elucidated using two dimensional NMR spectroscopy, NMR (1H, 13 C) spectroscopy in combination with Infra-red (IR) and Mass spectrometer (MS) spectra data

Presence of endogenous prednisolone in human urine

The possibility of an endogenous presence of the glucocorticoid prednisolone has already been demonstrated in bovine and horse urine, with the aim of clarifying its origin in this matrix, which is used by official agencies for the control of illicit treatments. From this point of view, the endogenous nature of prednisolone could be a major topic in doping control of both amateur and professional human athletes. A study was therefore made on 34 human volunteers (13 males and 21 females; aged 22–62) to detect the presence of prednisolone in their urine by HPLC–MS3. One of the volunteers underwent vernal allergy treatment with betamethasone for two subsequent years. An investigation was carried out with the aim of verifying if the suppression, and the circadian rhythm, of cortisol urinary levels could also apply to prednisolone. The results of the study show that prednisolone was present in the urine of all 34 volunteers, with a concentration very close to 100-times lower that of cortisol, with no dependence on gender. The same ratio (1/100) was observed in the prednisolone and cortisol levels detected during the 24 h together with the suppression of prednisolone by betamethasone treatment. These data demonstrate the endogenous nature of low concentrations of prednisolone in human urine, and motivate further studies about the biosynthetic pathways of this corticosteroid and its relationship with stress in humans, as already described in cows

Investigating Novel Syntheses of a Series of Unique Hybrid PLGA-Chitosan Polymers for Potential Therapeutic Delivery Applications

Discovering new materials to aid in the therapeutic delivery of drugs is in high demand. PLGA, a FDA approved polymer, is well known in the literature to form films or nanoparticles that can load, protect, and deliver drug molecules; however, its incompatibility with certain drugs (due to hydrophilicity or charge repulsion interactions) limits its use. Combining PLGA or other polymers such as polycaprolactone with other safe and positively-charged molecules, such as chitosan, has been sought after to make hybrid systems that are more flexible in terms of loading ability, but often the reactions for polymer coupling use harsh conditions, films, unpurified products, or create a single unoptimized product. In this work, we aimed to investigate possible innovative improvements regarding two synthetic procedures. Two methods were attempted and analytically compared using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and dynamic scanning calorimetry (DSC) to furnish pure, homogenous, and tunable PLGA-chitosan hybrid polymers. These were fully characterized by analytical methods. A series of hybrids was produced that could be used to increase the suitability of PLGA with previously non-compatible drug molecule

An Aγ-globin G->A gene polymorphism associated with β(0)39 thalassemia globin gene and high fetal hemoglobin production

Increase of the expression of γ-globin gene and high production of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) in β-thalassemia patients is widely accepted as associated with a milder or even asymptomatic disease. The search for HbF-associated polymorphisms (such as the XmnI, BCL11A and MYB polymorphisms) has recently gained great attention, in order to stratify β-thalassemia patients with respect to expectancy of the first transfusion, need for annual intake of blood, response to HbF inducers (the most studied of which is hydroxyurea)

A validated cellular biobank for β-thalassemia

Background: Cellular biobanking is a key resource for collaborative networks planning to use same cells in studies aimed at solving a variety of biological and biomedical issues. This approach is of great importance in studies on β-thalassemia, since the recruitment of patients and collection of specimens can represent a crucial and often limiting factor in the experimental planning. Methods: Erythroid precursor cells were obtained from 72 patients, mostly β-thalassemic, expanded and cryopreserved. Expression of globin genes was analyzed by real time RT-qPCR. Hemoglobin production was studied by HPLC. Results: In this paper we describe the production and validation of a Thal-Biobank constituted by expanded erythroid precursor cells from β-thalassemia patients. The biobanked samples were validated for maintenance of their phenotype after (a) cell isolation from same patients during independent phlebotomies, (b) freezing step in different biobanked cryovials, (c) thawing step and analysis at different time points. Reproducibility was confirmed by shipping the frozen biobanked cells to different laboratories, where the cells were thawed, cultured and analyzed using the same standardized procedures. The biobanked cells were stratified on the basis of their baseline level of fetal hemoglobin production and exposed to fetal hemoglobin inducers. Conclusion: The use of biobanked cells allows stratification of the patients with respect to fetal hemoglobin production and can be used for determining the response to the fetal hemoglobin inducer hydroxyurea and to gene therapy protocols with reproducible results

Expression of γ-globin genes in β-thalassemia patients treated with sirolimus: results from a pilot clinical trial (Sirthalaclin)

Introduction: β-thalassemia is caused by autosomal mutations in the β-globin gene, which induce the absence or low-level synthesis of β-globin in erythroid cells. It is widely accepted that a high production of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is beneficial for patients with β-thalassemia. Sirolimus, also known as rapamycin, is a lipophilic macrolide isolated from a strain of Streptomyces hygroscopicus that serves as a strong HbF inducer in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we report biochemical, molecular, and clinical results of a sirolimus-based NCT03877809 clinical trial (a personalized medicine approach for β-thalassemia transfusion-dependent patients: testing sirolimus in a first pilot clinical trial, Sirthalaclin). Methods: Accumulation of γ-globin mRNA was analyzed using reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), while the hemoglobin pattern was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The immunophenotype was analyzed using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS), with antibodies against CD3, CD4, CD8, CD14, CD19, CD25 (for analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells), or CD71 and CD235a (for analysis of in vitro cultured erythroid precursors). Results: The results were obtained in eight patients with the β+/β+ and β+/β0 genotypes, who were treated with a starting dosage of 1 mg/day sirolimus for 24–48 weeks. The first finding of this study was that the expression of γ-globin mRNA increased in the blood and erythroid precursor cells isolated from β-thalassemia patients treated with low-dose sirolimus. This trial also led to the important finding that sirolimus influences erythropoiesis and reduces biochemical markers associated with ineffective erythropoiesis (excess free α-globin chains, bilirubin, soluble transferrin receptor, and ferritin). A decrease in the transfusion demand index was observed in most (7/8) of the patients. The drug was well tolerated, with minor effects on the immunophenotype, and an only side effect of frequently occurring stomatitis. Conclusion: The data obtained indicate that low doses of sirolimus modify hematopoiesis and induce increased expression of γ-globin genes in a subset of patients with β-thalassemia. Further clinical trials are warranted, possibly including testing of the drug in patients with less severe forms of the disease and exploring combination therapies. © The Author(s), 2022