Phytochemical, antimicrobial, antioxidant and antigenotoxic potentials of Cyperus rotundus extracts

AbstractThe aqueous, ethyl acetate, methanolic and Total Oligomer Flavonoids (TOF) enriched extracts, obtained from the aerial parts of Cyperus rotundus, were investigated for their contents in phenolic compounds. Antioxidative activity using the NBT/riboflavin assay system, antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial reference strains as well as antigenotoxic activity tested with the SOS chromotest assay were also studied. Significant antibacterial activity against reference strains; Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium, was detected in the presence of ethyl acetate and TOF enriched extracts. In addition to their antimicrobial activity, the same extracts showed a significant ability to inhibit nitroblue tetrazolium reduction by the superoxide radical in a non enzymatic O2.− generating system, and were also able to reduce significantly the genotoxicity induced by nifuroxazide and Aflatoxin B1. The antioxidant, antimicrobial and antigenotoxic activities exhibited by C. rotundus depend on the chemical composition of the tested extracts

Results of combined treatment of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is among the most aggressive human malignancies. It is associated with a high rate of local recurrence and with poor prognosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We retrospectively reviewed 44 consecutive patients treated between 1996 and 2010 at Leon Berard Cancer Centre, Lyon, France. The combined treatment strategy derived from the one developed at the Institut Gustave Roussy included total thyroidectomy and cervical lymph-node dissection, when feasible, combined with 2 cycles of doxorubicin (60 mg/m2) and cisplatin (100 mg/m2) Q3W, hyperfractionated (1.2 Gy twice daily) radiation to the neck and upper mediastinum (46-50 Gy), and then four cycles of doxorubicin-cisplatin.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-five patients received the three-phase combined treatment. Complete response after treatment was achieved in 14/44 patients (31.8%). Eight patients had a partial response (18.2%). Twenty-two (50%) had progressive disease. All patients with metastases at diagnosis died shortly afterwards. Thirteen patients are still alive. The median survival of the entire population was 8 months.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Despite the ultimately dismal prognosis of ATC, multimodality treatment significantly improves local control and appears to afford long-term survival in some patients. There is active ongoing research, and results obtained with new targeted systemic treatment appear encouraging.</p

Relationship correlation of antioxidant and antiproliferative capacity of Cyperus rotundus products towards K562 erythroleukemia cells

A Total Oligomers Flavonoids (TOFs) and ethyl acetate extracts of Cyperus rotundus were analyzed, in vitro, for their antioxidant activity using several biochemical assays: the xanthine (X)/xanthine oxidase (XO), the lipid peroxidation induced by H2O2 in K562 human chronic myelogenous leukemia cells and the DNA damage in pKS plasmid DNA assay induced by H2O2/UV-photolysis and for their apoptotic effect. TOF and ethyl acetate extracts were found to be efficient in inhibiting xanthine oxidase with IC50 values of 240 and 185 μg/ml and superoxide anion with IC50 values of 150 and 215 μg/ml, respectively. Also, all the extracts tested were effective in reducing the production of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and were able to protect against H2O2/UV-photolysis induced DNA damage. The highest activity, measured as equivalents of MDA concentration, was observed in the ethyl acetate extract (MDA = 2.04 nM). In addition, the data suggest that only TOF enriched extract exerts growth inhibition on K562 cells through apoptosis induction. Therefore, these extracts were subjected to further separation by chromatographic methods. Thus, three major compounds (catechin, afzelechin and galloyl quinic acid) were isolated from the TOF enriched extract and five major compounds (luteolin, ferulic acid, quercetin, 3-hydroxy, 4-methoxy-benzoic acid and 6,7-dimethoxycoumarin) from ethyl acetate extract. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic data analysis and comparison with the literature. In addition, we evaluate the biological activities of the catechin, ferulic acid and luteolin. This investigation has revealed that the luteolin was the most active in reducing the production of TBARS (MDA = 1.5 nM), inhibiting significantly the proliferation of K562 cells (IC50 = 25 μg/ml) and protecting against H2O2/UV-photolysis induced DNA damage. In conclusion, the study reveals that the ability of C. rotundus to inhibit the enzyme xanthine oxidase (XO), the lipid peroxidation and to exert apoptotic effect, may explain possible mechanisms by which C. rotundus exhibits its health benefits

Molecular and biochemical characterization of Tunisian patients with glycogen storage disease type III

Glycogen storage disease type III (GSD III) is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism caused by mutations in the glycogen debranching enzyme amylo-1,6-glucosidase gene, which is located on chromosome 1p21.2. GSD III is characterized by the storage of structurally abnormal glycogen, termed limit dextrin, in both skeletal and cardiac muscle and/or liver, with great variability in resultant organ dysfunction. The spectrum of AGL gene mutations in GSD III patients depends on ethnic group. The most prevalent mutations have been reported in the North African Jewish population and in an isolate such as the Faroe Islands. Here, we present the molecular and biochemical analyses of 22 Tunisian GSD III patients. Molecular analysis revealed three novel mutations: nonsense (Tyr1148X) and two deletions (3033_3036del AATT and 3216_3217del GA) and five known mutations: three nonsense (R864X, W1327X and W255X), a missense (R524H) and an acceptor splice-site mutation (IVS32-12A > G). Each mutation is associated to a specific haplotype

El Progreso : semanario independiente: Ano VIII Número 1272 - 1914 febreiro 5

Tools from metabolic engineering and synthetic biology are synergistically used in order to develop high-performance cell factories. However, the number of successful applications has been limited due to the complexity of exploring efficiently the metabolic space for the discovery of candidate heterologous pathways. To address this challenge, retrosynthetic biology provides an integrated framework to formalize and rationalize the problem of importing biosynthetic pathways into a chassis organism using methods at the interface from bottom-up and top-down strategies. Here, we describe step by step the process of implementing a retrosynthetic framework for the design of heterologous biosynthetic pathways in a chassis organism. The method consists of the following steps: choosing the chassis and the target, selection of an in silico model for the chassis, definition of the metabolic space, pathway enumeration, gene selection, estimation of yields, toxicity prediction of pathway metabolites, definition of an objective function to select the best pathway candidates, and pathway implementation and verification