Phenolic Compounds from the Aerial Parts of Adenophora triphylla (Thunb.) A. DC. var. triphylla and their Free Radical Scavenging Activity

Adenophora triphylla (Thunb.) A. DC. var. triphylla (Family: Campanulaceae) is distributed in Japan, Korea, and China. It is locally known as “Saiyousyajin” in Japan and the roots are used in traditional medicine to treat chronic bronchitis and whooping cough, and also as anti-inflammatory and anti-tussive agents. Till now, there is no report on the chemical constituents of aerial parts. Thus, the main aim of this study was to isolate and identify major chemical constituents of aerial parts of A. triphylla var. triphylla, and to evaluate their free radical scavenging activity. The 70% methanol extract of the aerial parts was subjected to repeated column chromatography using MCI gel CHP-20P, Sephadex LH-20, ODS and silica gel columns to isolate the five phenolic components (1-5). Free radical scavenging activity of the extract and compounds was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity method. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated as luteolin (1), luteolin 4’-O-b-glucopyranoside (2), luteolin 7-O-b-glucopyranoside (3), luteolin 7-O-neohesperidoside (4) and chlorogenic acid (5) based on their nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectral data and comparison with literature values. All these compounds were isolated for the first time from A. triphylla var. triphylla. Extract showed weak free radical scavenging activity. Among isolated compounds, luteolin (1), luteolin 7-O-b-glucopyranoside (3), luteolin 7-O-neohesperidoside (4) and chlorogenic acid (5) showed potent free radical scavenging activity. Results from this study suggest that the aerial parts of A. triphylla var. triphylla might be a potential plant source for the development of functional foods, however further detailed research is necessary

Amentoflavone and Kaempferol Glycosides from the Aerial Parts of Cissampelos pareira

Aerial parts of Cissampelos pareira L. (Family: Menispermaceae), commonly known as “Batulpate” in Nepal, are used for the treatment of fever, indigestion and to stop bleeding after child birth. In this study, a biflavonoid, amentoflavone; and two kaempferol glycosides, kaempferol 3-O-b-D-glucopyranoside and kaempferol 3-O-b-D-glucuronopyranoside were isolated from 70% MeOH extract of the aerial parts. Structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of 1H- and 13C-NMR spectral data. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report on the isolation of these compounds from a plant belonging to family Menispermaceae.Nepal Journal of Biotechnology. Dec. 2017 Vol. 5, No. 1:1-

Electronic and magnetic performance of MoS2 monolayer via Tc & Nb impurities defect and water adsorption

This study examined the effect of Tc & Nb impurity atoms on MoS2 (Tc-MoS2 & Nb-MoS2 ), and adsorption of water molecule on impurities defected MoS2 (Tc-W-MoS2 & Nb-W-MoS2) material from first-principles calculations. By the estimation of their ground state energy and binding energy, they are stable 2D materials. From band structure and density of states (DoS) calculations, Tc & Nb impurities affect the nature of pristine MoS2. It is found that Tc-MoS2 has n-type & Nb-MoS2 has p-type semiconducting nature. Water interaction on Tc-MoS2 & Nb-MoS2 slightly changes the electronic properties and impacts the bandgap, which enhanced the electronic performance of material than that of pristine MoS2. The magnetic properties of Tc-MoS2, Nb-MoS2, Tc-W-MoS2, and Nb-W-MoS2 are analyzed and found to exhibit an uneven distribution of up-spin and down-spin states of electrons in the orbital of atoms near the Fermi level. It reflects that they have magnetic  properties. The non-magnetic MoS2 material changes in to weak magnetic defected-MoS2 materials due to the presence of Tc, Nb and adsorbed water molecule. It means, impurity defects add to magnetic properties of pristine MoS2. Magnetic properties on defected MoS2 occurred due to the dominant contributions of spin states of 4d-orbital of Mo, Tc, Nb atoms, and 3p-orbital of S atoms in the structures. This study highlights the impact of Tc & Nb impurity atoms and adsorbed water molecule on impurities defected MoS2. The studied materials have potential applications in the fields of catalysis, nanoelectronics, biomedicine, and magnetic sensors on the basis of their electronic and magnetic properties

Bioactive Compounds and Health Benefits ofArtemisiaSpecies

Artemisia L. is a genus of small herbs and shrubs found in northern temperate regions. It belongs to the important family Asteraceae, one of the most numerous plant groupings, which comprises about 1000 genera and over 20000 species. Artemisia has a broad spectrum of bioactivity, owing to the presence of several active ingredients or secondary metabolites, which work through various modes of action. It has widespread pharmacological activities and has been used as traditional medicine since ancient times as an anthelmintic, antispasmodic, antirheumatic, and antibacterial agent and for the treatment of malaria, hepatitis, cancer, inflammation, and menstrual-related disorders. This review comprises the updated information about the ethnomedical uses and health benefits of various Artemisia spp. and general information about bioactive compounds and free radicals

Major phenolic compounds, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities of Selinum carvifolia (L.) collected from different altitudes in India

Antibiotic resistance poses a serious threat to public health, raising the number of diseases in the community. Recent research has shown that plant-derived phenolic compounds have strong antimicrobial, antifungal, and cytotoxic properties against a variety of microorganisms and work as great antioxidants in such treatments. The goal of the current work is to evaluate the anticancerous, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity activities in the extracts of the different plant parts (leaves, stems, and roots) of S. carvifolia (L.) L. This is a medicinally important plant and has been used for different kinds of diseases and ailments such as hysteria and seizures. The phenolic compounds from the different plant parts were analyzed using HPLC and the following were found to be present: chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, rutin, syringic acid, vanillic acid, cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, and protocatechuic acid. Gallic acid was found to have the highest concentration (13.93 mg/g), while chlorogenic acid (0.25 mg/g) had the lowest. The maximum TPC value, which ranged from 33.79 to 57.95 mg GAE/g dry extract weight, was found in the stem. Root extract with 9.4 mg RE/g had the greatest TFC level. In the leaf and stem extracts, the RSC ranged from 0.747 mg/mL to 0.734 mg/1 mL GE/g dry extract weight, respectively. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was used to measure in vitro antioxidant activity. In a concentration-dependent way, promising antioxidant activity was reported. Moreover, 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNSA) and the Folin–Ciocalteu phenol reagent technique were used to determine reducing sugar content and total phenolic content, respectively. Antibacterial activity against eight strains (MIC: 250–1,000 μg/mL) was analyzed, and the stem extract exhibited maximum activity. Antifungal activity was also assessed, and potent activity was reported especially in the extract obtained from the stem. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using an MTT assay in the A549 cell line, where different doses (0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg/mL) of leaf, root, and stem extracts were used. Treatment with these extracts reduced the cell viability, indicating that S. carvifolia may possess anticancer potential, which can be of great therapeutic value

Targeting Apoptotic Pathway of Cancer Cells with Phytochemicals and Plant-Based Nanomaterials

Apoptosis is the elimination of functionally non-essential, neoplastic, and infected cells via the mitochondrial pathway or death receptor pathway. The process of apoptosis is highly regulated through membrane channels and apoptogenic proteins. Apoptosis maintains cellular balance within the human body through cell cycle progression. Loss of apoptosis control prolongs cancer cell survival and allows the accumulation of mutations that can promote angiogenesis, promote cell proliferation, disrupt differentiation, and increase invasiveness during tumor progression. The apoptotic pathway has been extensively studied as a potential drug target in cancer treatment. However, the off-target activities of drugs and negative implications have been a matter of concern over the years. Phytochemicals (PCs) have been studied for their efficacy in various cancer cell lines individually and synergistically. The development of nanoparticles (NPs) through green synthesis has added a new dimension to the advancement of plant-based nanomaterials for effective cancer treatment. This review provides a detailed insight into the fundamental molecular pathways of programmed cell death and highlights the role of PCs along with the existing drugs and plant-based NPs in treating cancer by targeting its programmed cell death (PCD) network

Animal versus human research reporting guidelines impacts: literature analysis reveals citation count bias

The present study evaluated for the first time citation-impacts of human research reporting guidelines in comparison to their animal version counterparts. Re-examined and extended also were previous findings indicating that a research reporting guideline would be cited more for its versions published in journals with higher Impact Factors, compared to its duplicate versions published in journals with lower Impact Factors. The two top-ranked reporting guidelines listed in the Equator Network website (http://www.equator-network.org/) were CONSORT 2010, for parallel-group randomized trials; and STROBE, for observational studies. These two guidelines had animal study versions, REFLECT and STROBE-Vet, respectively. Together with ARRIVE, these five guidelines were subsequently searched in the Web of Science Core Collection online database to record their journal metrics and citation data. Results found that association between citation rates and journal Impact Factors existed for CONSORT guideline set for human studies, but not for STROBE or their counterparts set for animal studies. If Impact Factor was expressed in terms of journal rank percentile, no association was found except for CONSORT. Guidelines for human studies were much more cited than animal research guidelines, with the CONSORT 2010 and STROBE guidelines being cited 27.1 and 241.0 times more frequently than their animal version counterparts, respectively. In conclusion, while the journal Impact Factor is of importance, other important publishing features also strongly affect scientific manuscript visibility, represented by citation rate. More effort should be invested to improve the visibility of animal research guidelines.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lycopene: total-scale literature landscape analysis of a valuable nutraceutical with numerous potential applications in the promotion of human and animal health

Lycopene intake from tomatoes and other food sources has multiple potential health benefits. This report aimed to evaluate the current research literature on lycopene concerning human and animal health. The electronic Web of Science Core Collection database was searched with (lycopene*) AND (health* OR illness* OR disease* OR medic* OR pharma* OR drug* OR therap*). The resulted 3972 papers were analyzed with the aid of bibliometric software. Besides the United States, the lycopene papers received global contributions, particularly from China, Italy, India, and Spain. Examples of frequently mentioned chemicals/chemical classes were carotenoid, beta carotene, alpha carotene, beta cryptoxanthin, and alpha tocopherol. Examples of frequently mentioned medical conditions were prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Published scientific articles reveal the diverse potential of lycopene in prompting human and animal health, and the knowledge on the bioactivities of this phytoche(undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Berberine, a popular dietary supplement for human and animal health: Quantitative research literature analysis a review

Berberine is an alkaloid with a wide range of reported beneficial health effects. The current work provides an extensive literature analysis on berberine. Bibliometric data were identified by means of the search string TOPIC=(berberin* OR umbellatine*), which yielded 5,547 publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection electronic database. The VOSviewer software generated bubble maps to visualize semantic terms with citation results. The ratio of original articles to reviews was 13.6:1. The literature has been growing more quickly since the 2010s. Major contributing countries were China, the United States, India, Japan, and South Korea. Most of the publications appeared in journals specialized in pharmacology pharmacy, biochemistry molecular biology, chemistry, and plant science. Some of the frequently mentioned chemicals/chemical classes were alkaloid, palmatine, jatrorrhizine, coptisine, isoquinoline, and sanguinarine. The prevalent medical conditions under investigation included Alzheimers disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.Acknowledge the support by the Polish KNOW (LeadingNational Research Centre) Scientific Consortium “Healthy Animal-Safe Food,” decision of Ministry of Science and Higher Education No. 05-1/KNOW2/2015 and the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund (Homing/2017-4/41). Antoni Sureda has been supported by the Institute of Health Carlos III (Project CIBEROBN CB12/03/30038). Joanna Feder-Kubis was financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education for the Faculty of Chemistry of Wrocław University of Science and Technology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio