Evaluation of Heavy Metals Content, Mutagenicity, and Sterility of Indonesian Coral Goniopora sp. as Bone Graft Candidate

It has been reported that Goniopora sp. coral originating from sea water can induce osteogenesis and regeneration of bone. However, biocompatibility and safety aspects of this material have not been reported yet. We have evaluated the mutagenicity of the raw material and the sterility of processed material of Indonesian coral Goniopora sp. as a potential candidate for osteogenic bone graft. In addition, heavy metals were also identified and determined. A mutagenicity test was conducted using the Ames test, while a sterility test was carried out based on the direct inoculation method. The heavy metals tested "“ including arsenic, lead, cadmium, chrome, cobalt, silver, and mercury "“ were analyzed by neutron activation analysis or atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results showed that the Indonesian coral did not display mutagenic properties and proved sterile after irradiation. Arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, chrome, cobalt, and silver were identified at a concentration level of ≤ 2.65, ≤3.60, 25.23, 1.72, 34.67, 0.51, and 44.01 ppm, respectively. Taking into account arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury contents and their provisional tolerable daily intake (PTDI) values, the maximum daily safe exposure level of Indonesian coral Goniopora sp. was predicted to be 1 g/person. It was concluded that the coral can be developed as a potential osteogenic bone graft

Stability Analysis of the Asiatic Acid-COX-2 Complex Using 100 ns Molecular Dynamic Simulations and Its Selectivity against COX-2 as a Potential Anti-Inflammatory Candidate

Asiatic acid, a triterpenoid compound, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory activity through the inhibition of the formation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in vitro and in vivo. This study was conducted to determine the binding stability and the inhibitory potential of asiatic acid as an anti-inflammatory candidate. The study involved in vitro testing utilizing a colorimetric kit as well as in silico testing for the pharmacophore modeling and molecular dynamic (MD) simulation of asiatic acid against COX-2 (PDB ID: 3NT1). The MD simulations showed a stable binding of asiatic acid to COX-2 and an RMSD range of 1–1.5 Å with fluctuations at the residues of Phe41, Leu42, Ile45, Arg44, Asp367, Val550, Glu366, His246, and Gly227. The total binding energy of the asiatic acid–COX-2 complex is −7.371 kcal/mol. The anti-inflammatory activity of the asiatic acid inhibition of COX-2 was detected at IC50 values of 120.17 µM. Based on pharmacophore modeling, we discovered that carboxylate and hydroxyl are the two main functional groups that act as hydrogen bond donors and acceptors interacting with the COX-2 enzyme. From the results, it is evident that asiatic acid is a potential anti-inflammatory candidate with high inhibitory activity in relation to the COX-2 enzyme