Biological activities of in vitro liverwort Marchantia polymorpha L. extracts

To overcome the problems in liverwort collecting such as small size and easily mixed with other species in the wild, we have successfully cultivated Marchantia polymorpha L. under in vitro conditions in the previous study. The aim of this study is to evaluate the biological activities of this in vitro biomass as a confirmation of the sufficient protocol in cultivation this species. Cultured biomass was dried at a temperature of 45-50 oC to constant weight and ground into a fine powder. The coarse powder was extracted with organic solvents of increasing polarization including n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and ethanol using the maceration technique. Four extracts were investigated antioxidant (iron reduction power, DPPH), antibacterial (agar diffusion), tyrosinase inhibitory activity, anti-proliferation on MCF-7 cells. Additionally, the presence of natural metabolite groups of the extracts was detected by using specific reagents. For antioxidant activity, ethyl acetate fraction extract had the highest iron reducing power and DPPH free radical scavenging ability with IC50 = 439.31 µg ml-1. All three n-hexane, chloroform, and ethyl acetate extracts possessed resistance to the bacterial strain tested. At a concentration of 2 mg ml-1, n-hexane and chloroform extracts had the highest percentage of tyrosinase inhibition (69.54 and 69.10%, respectively). The n-hexane extract is a potent extract that inhibits the proliferation of MCF-7 cells with the lowest IC50 of 38.15 µg ml-1. A preliminary chemical composition survey showed that the cultured biomass liverwort contains many bioactive compounds, particularly the compounds of range of non- and less-polarized fractions

Comparative study of the analgesic effects of Bungarus fasciatus snake venom from Vinh Phuc and Tien Giang Provinces of Vietnam

Purpose: To determine the analgesic activity of Bungarus fasciatus venoms and their fractions from two Vietnamese Provinces. Methods: Male Swiss Albino mice were randomly divided into three groups containing 8 to 10 mice each. Control group was injected subcutaneously with normal saline, standard group received aspirin solution (50 mg/kg) perorally, and study group received a solution of crude venom or isolated fractions in physiological saline. To determine analgesic activity, acetic acid writhing and tail immersion tests were used. The venoms were separated by liquid chromatography and the analgesic activity of the fractions was analyzed. Results: Both venoms showed analgesic effect in the acetic acid writhing test, but only the venom from Tien Giang showed analgesic effect in the tail immersion test. The bioactive fractions of Vinh Phuc and Tien Giang venoms were significantly different, with most of Vinh Phuc venom fractions being more active (p < 0.05). Thus, 35 min after the injection, the number of writhings decreased from 15 - 16 in the control to 0.85 ± 0.34 for the BF-4VS (Vinh Phuc) fraction compared to 2.67 ± 1.20 (p < 0.05) for the BF-4DT (Thien Giang) fraction. Two proteins with analgesic activity were isolated from Vinh Phuc venom, and one with greater activity matched the known B. fasciatus phospholipase A2. Conclusion: The analgesic activity of two samples of B. fasciatus venom from two different provinces in Vietnam reveal that their pharmacological profiles differ. The isolates can be explored as leads in the development of new analgesic agents

The Higgs Sector of the Minimal 3 3 1 Model Revisited

The mass spectrum and the eigenstates of the Higgs sector of the minimal 3 3 1 model are revisited in detail. There are discrepancies between our results and previous results by another author.Comment: 20 pages, latex, two figures. One note and one reference are adde

Increase on the Initial Soluble Heme Levels in Acidic Conditions Is an Important Mechanism for Spontaneous Heme Crystallization In Vitro

BACKGROUND: Hemozoin (Hz) is a heme crystal that represents a vital pathway for heme disposal in several blood-feeding organisms. Recent evidence demonstrated that β-hematin (βH) (the synthetic counterpart of Hz) formation occurs under physiological conditions near synthetic or biological hydrophilic-hydrophobic interfaces. This seems to require a heme dimer acting as a precursor of Hz crystals that would be formed spontaneously in the absence of the competing water molecules bound to the heme iron. Here, we aimed to investigate the role of medium polarity on spontaneous βH formation in vitro. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We assessed the effect of water content on spontaneous βH formation by using the aprotic solvent dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and a series of polyethyleneglycols (PEGs). We observed that both DMSO and PEGs (3.350, 6.000, 8.000, and 22.000) increased the levels of soluble heme under acidic conditions. These compounds were able to stimulate the production of βH crystals in the absence of any biological sample. Interestingly, the effects of DMSO and PEGs on βH formation were positively correlated with their capacity to promote previous heme solubilization in acidic conditions. Curiously, a short chain polyethyleneglycol (PEG 300) caused a significant reduction in both soluble heme levels and βH formation. Finally, both heme solubilization and βH formation strongly correlated with reduced medium water activity provided by increased DMSO concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: The data presented here support the notion that reduction of the water activity is an important mechanism to support spontaneous heme crystallization, which depends on the previous increase of soluble heme levels

Relativistic dynamical polarizability of hydrogen-like atoms

Using the operator representation of the Dirac Coulomb Green function the analytical method in perturbation theory is employed in obtaining solutions of the Dirac equation for a hydrogen-like atom in a time-dependent electric field. The relativistic dynamical polarizability of hydrogen-like atoms is calculated and analysed.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures (not included, but hard copies are available upon request

Retinal Alpha-Synuclein Accumulation Correlates with Retinal Dysfunction and Structural Thinning in the A53T Mouse Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Abnormal alpha-synuclein (α-SYN) protein deposition has long been recognized as one of the pathological hallmarks of Parkinson\u27s disease\u27s (PD). This study considers the potential utility of PD retinal biomarkers by investigating retinal changes in a well characterized PD model of α-SYN overexpression and how these correspond to the presence of retinal α-SYN. Transgenic A53T homozygous (HOM) mice overexpressing human α-SYN and wildtype (WT) control littermates were assessed at 4, 6, and 14  months of age (male and female

Novel Bradykinin-Potentiating Peptides and Three-Finger Toxins from Viper Venom: Combined NGS Venom Gland Transcriptomics and Quantitative Venom Proteomics of the Azemiops feae Viper

Feae’s viper Azemipos feae belongs to the Azemiopinae subfamily of the Viperidae family. The effects of Viperidae venoms are mostly coagulopathic with limited neurotoxicity manifested by phospholipases A2. From A. feae venom, we have earlier isolated azemiopsin, a novel neurotoxin inhibiting the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. To characterize other A. feae toxins, we applied label-free quantitative proteomics, which revealed 120 unique proteins, the most abundant being serine proteinases and phospholipases A2. In total, toxins representing 14 families were identified, among which bradykinin-potentiating peptides with unique amino acid sequences possessed biological activity in vivo. The proteomic analysis revealed also basal (commonly known as non-conventional) three-finger toxins belonging to the group of those possessing neurotoxic activity. This is the first indication of the presence of three-finger neurotoxins in viper venom. In parallel, the transcriptomic analysis of venom gland performed by Illumina next-generation sequencing further revealed 206 putative venom transcripts. Together, the study unveiled the venom proteome and venom gland transciptome of A. feae, which in general resemble those of other snakes from the Viperidae family. However, new toxins not found earlier in viper venom and including three-finger toxins and unusual bradykinin-potentiating peptides were discovered