OCIMUM BASILICUM L. ESSENTIAL OIL COATED BIOMATERIAL SURFACES PREVENT BACTERIAL ADHESION AND BIOFILM GROWTH

Objective: Biomaterials associated infection is the most common issue associated with the biomaterial implants regardless of its form or function.Bacteria form colonies and this result in the formation of biofilm on the surface, making the infection unreceptive to antibiotics and host defensemechanisms. The implant is removed as an outcome. Medicinal plants have widespread usage for their active biomolecules, and the study of theirantimicrobial activities has gained widespread importance.Methods: In this study, the essential oil of Ocimum basilicum L. (OB) is coated on biomaterial surfaces to study their efficacy in preventing bacterialcolonization and biofilm formation. The essential oil is coated on polymethylmethacrylate and polystyrene substratum surfaces. Gram-positivebacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Pseudomonasaeruginosa, are allowed to adhere and grow for 1 hr, 3 hrs, and 24 hrs.Results: The number of bacteria adhering to the coated surfaces is significantly less (**p<0.01) compared to uncoated surfaces, at the measuredinstances of time. The zone of inhibition of the essential oil is observed for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Maximum inhibition wasobserved for S. aureus (30±1.2 mm diameter) compared to S. epidermidis (28±0.8 mm diameter), E. coli (25±1.1 mm diameter), and P. aeruginosa(21±0.6 mm diameter).Conclusion: The study reveals potent bacteriostatic effects of OB essential oil on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Thus, OB. essentialoil serves to be a promising coating on the implant surfaces for preventing bacterial adhesion and biofilm growth.Keywords: Biomaterials, Bacterial adhesion, Biofilm, Ocimum bacilicum L., Antibacterial coating

Cytotoxic and apoptotic potential of Myristica fragrans Houtt. (mace) extract on human oral epidermal carcinoma KB cell lines

Several studies have revealed that certain naturally occurring medicinal plants inhibit the growth of various cancers. The present study was conducted to evaluate cytotoxicity and apoptotic induction potential of Myristica fragrans Houtt mace extract. The cytotoxic activity of the Myristica fragrans Houtt mace acetone extract was assayed by MTT assay on human oral epidermal carcinoma KB cell lines. KB cells were incubated with different concentration of mace extract ranging from 25 to 125μg/mL for 24hrs. The apoptotic induction potential was also studied by the analysis of Bcl-2 protein and gene expression in mace extract incubated KB cell lines using western blotting technique and real-time polymerase chain reaction. The mace extract exhibited cytotoxicity and anticancer effect against KB cell lines and it also suppressed the growth of cancer cells, therefore growth inhibitory effect was noted in extract treated cell lines. The apoptotic potential of mace extract was accompanied by reduced gene expression of Bcl-2 compared to the untreated KB cells. The mace extract shows the cytotoxic activity and induced the apoptosis through the modulation of its target genes Bcl-2 in the KB cell lines, suggesting the potential of mace as a candidate for oral cancer chemoprevention. This can be further investigated in vivo for its anticancer potential

Full length Research Article - In vitro and In vivo evaluation of free radical scavenging potential of Cissus quadrangularis

The present study was performed to evaluate the effect of the methanolic extract of Cissus quadrangularis (CQE) against free radical damage. The test extract exhibited significant inhibition in DPPH free radical formation, superoxide radical production and lipid peroxide production in erythrocytes. The activities of liver marker enzymes and antioxidant defense enzymes in rat liver homogenate were assessed in control and experimental animals. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) caused a significant increase in aspartate aminotransaminase (AST) and alanine aminotransaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and reduced glutathione (GSH), which was reverted by CQE pretreatment. The results obtained suggest that CQE showed inhibition of lipid peroxidation, free radical production and increase in antioxidant enzymes activities, which reveal its antioxidant property. It can be concluded that the free radical scavenging activity of the plant extract may be responsible for the therapeutic action against tissue damage

ANTICANCER STUDY OF MYRISTICA FRAGRANS HOUTT. (MACE) EXTRACT ON 4-NITROQUINOLINE-1-OXIDE-INDUCED ORAL CANCER IN RATS

Objective: Oral cancer is the most common forms of malignancy diagnosed in men and women and the mortality rate is very high in the developing countries. Therefore, the study was conducted to evaluate the potential role of Myristica fragrans Houtt (mace) acetone extract (MAE) on experimentally induced oral cancer in rats.Methods: Oral cancer was experimentally induced to rats by administering 4NQO (carcinogenic agent) at a concentration of 30 ppm in drinking water and treated with three different doses of mace extract (100, 250, 500mg/kg body weight) dissolved in water and given orally as a single dose and another group treated with the standard 5-fluorouracil for 14 weeks.Results: All the experimental groups had an incremental weight gain, except NQO alone induced group showed body weight loss and also showed low survival rate denoting the NQO carcinogenic toxicity in them. The exophytic tumor volume showed gradual increase and reached 30 mm3 at the 14 weeks time point. Tumor incidence and tumor multiplicity values of mace extract treatment (100, 250, 500 mg/kg body weight) showed gradual reduction in the size of tumor significantly compared with that of the standard drug. The histopathological examination of oral tumor mucosal tissue illustrated well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in NQO induced group and also declining the risk of carcinoma changes in MAE treated groups.Conclusions: These experimental results unveil that MAE possesses effective role in curing oral cancer

Cytotoxic and apoptotic potential of Myristica fragrans Houtt. (mace) extract on human oral epidermal carcinoma KB cell lines

Several studies have revealed that certain naturally occurring medicinal plants inhibit the growth of various cancers. The present study was conducted to evaluate cytotoxicity and apoptotic induction potential of Myristica fragrans Houtt mace extract. The cytotoxic activity of the Myristica fragrans Houtt mace acetone extract was assayed by MTT assay on human oral epidermal carcinoma KB cell lines. KB cells were incubated with different concentration of mace extract ranging from 25 to 125 μg/mL for 24hrs. The apoptotic induction potential was also studied by the analysis of Bcl-2 protein and gene expression in mace extract incubated KB cell lines using western blotting technique and real-time polymerase chain reaction. The mace extract exhibited cytotoxicity and anticancer effect against KB cell lines and it also suppressed the growth of cancer cells, therefore growth inhibitory effect was noted in extract treated cell lines. The apoptotic potential of mace extract was accompanied by reduced gene expression of Bcl-2 compared to the untreated KB cells. The mace extract shows the cytotoxic activity and induced the apoptosis through the modulation of its target genes Bcl-2 in the KB cell lines, suggesting the potential of mace as a candidate for oral cancer chemoprevention. This can be further investigated in vivo for its anticancer potential

Cardioprotective effect of mangiferin on isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction in rats

209-215Isoproterenol (ISPH) induced myocardial infarction was confirmed by disturbances in serum and heart tissue marker enzymes such as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phospho kinase (CPK), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT), increased level of lipid peroxidation and histopathological changes in the heart of ISPH administered rats. Pretreatment with mangiferin (10 mg/100 g body weight) for 28 days was found to ameliorate the effect of ISPH-induced pathological changes, reduced the lipid peroxide formation and retained the myocardial marker enzyme activities at near normal level. The above results indicate the cardioprotective effect of mangiferin against ISPH-induced myocardial infarction in rats