Phytochemical investigations of Campsis radicans L.

Petroleum ether, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate soluble fractions were obtained through partitioning the crude methanolic extract of the leaves of Campsis radicans L. (Family. Bignoniaceae) followed by the chromatographic separation of secondary metabolites from them. A total of five triterpene compounds i.e., corosolic acid methyl ester (1), β-amyrin (2), arjunolic acid (3), maslinic acid (4) and 28-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-2α,3α,19α-trihydroxy-12-en-28-ursolic acid (5) were isolated from the dichloromethane fractions and their structures were characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy and compared the NMR data with published values

Evaluation of analgesic, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of ethanol extract of Clerodendrum viscosum Vent

Clerodendrum viscosum Vent. is a very common plant in Bangladesh which is locally familiar as “Bhat” or “Ghetu”. Here, the ethanol extract of whole plant part of C. viscosum and its various solvent (petroleum-ether, chloroform and ethyl acetate) fractions were subjected for the appraisal of analgesic, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. Analgesic activity was tested by acetic acid-induced writhing model in Swiss albino mice. All the plant samples at the oral doses of 100- and 200 mg/kg body weight were found to exhibit significant (p<0.05) pain reducing activity in test animals. Highest inhibition of writhing was 62.38% by the ethyl acetate soluble fraction at dose of 200 mg/kg body weight while the standard drug diclofenac sodium (50 mg/kg) produces 76.14% reduction of abdominal writhing. DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical quenching assay was employed to determine the antioxidant potential of the plant samples while cytotoxic activity was checked by brine shrimp lethality bioassay. In DPPH radical scavenging assay, the plant samples showed prominent antioxidant activity. Among all, the ethyl acetate fraction showed maximum antioxidant potential with IC50 value of 28.02±0.53 μg/ml. In cytotoxic assay, the petroleum-ether fraction demonstrated strong cytotoxicity with LC50 value of 1.42±1.12 μg/ml. In summary, C. viscosum extracts possess significant analgesic, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities which rationalize its traditional use in folk medicine

Stealth cranioplasty in symptomatic adult chiari 1 malformations: Experience at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University

Background: The surgical management of symptomatic adult Chiari malformation type 1 (CM1) with or without syringomyelia (SM) continues to be a dilemma considering the outcomes. Objectives: The study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes between stealth cranioplasty (SC) and one of the most commonly practiced standard procedures, posterior fossa decompression with duraplasty (PFDD). Clinical outcomes between SC and another procedure posterior fossa decompression (PFD) were also compared. Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study was carried out on 37 males and 16 females symptomatic adult CM1 patients, ranging from 18 to 47 years of age from June 2019 to May 2021. Clinical outcomes were assessed, compared, and analyzed in terms of changes in clinical symptoms and signs, chicago chiari outcome scale (CCOS) score, and occurrence of complications.  Results: Of the 53 patients, 23, 19 and 11 underwent SC, PFDD, and PFD, respectively. There were no significant post-operative changes in symptoms and signs among groups except changes in limb weakness between SC and PFDD (P=0.004). Considering average CCOS score, SC performed better only than PFDD (P=0.003), while category-wise SC was better than both PFDD (P=0.004) and PFD (P=0.010). Considering complications, the PFDD group had a significantly higher rate of complications than the SC group (P=0.001), while there was no significant difference in the rate of complications between the PFD and SC groups. Conclusion: SC was found to have better clinical outcomes than the PFDD and PFD groups as a technique. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Journal 2023;16(1): 08-1

Stealth cranioplasty in symptomatic adult chiari 1 malformations: Experience at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University

Background: The surgical management of symptomatic adult Chiari malformation type 1 (CM1) with or without syringomyelia (SM) continues to be a dilemma considering the outcomes. Objectives: The study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes between stealth cranioplasty (SC) and one of the most commonly practiced standard procedures, posterior fossa decompression with duraplasty (PFDD). Clinical outcomes between SC and another procedure posterior fossa decompression (PFD) were also compared. Methods: This comparative cross-sectional study was carried out on 37 males and 16 females symptomatic adult CM1 patients, ranging from 18 to 47 years of age from June 2019 to May 2021. Clinical outcomes were assessed, compared, and analyzed in terms of changes in clinical symptoms and signs, chicago chiari outcome scale (CCOS) score, and occurrence of complications.  Results: Of the 53 patients, 23, 19 and 11 underwent SC, PFDD, and PFD, respectively. There were no significant post-operative changes in symptoms and signs among groups except changes in limb weakness between SC and PFDD (P=0.004). Considering average CCOS score, SC performed better only than PFDD (P=0.003), while category-wise SC was better than both PFDD (P=0.004) and PFD (P=0.010). Considering complications, the PFDD group had a significantly higher rate of complications than the SC group (P=0.001), while there was no significant difference in the rate of complications between the PFD and SC groups. Conclusion: SC was found to have better clinical outcomes than the PFDD and PFD groups as a technique. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Journal 2023;16(1): 08-1

Enhanced expression of cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptide snakin-1 in Escherichia coli using an aggregation-prone protein coexpression system

Snakin-1 (SN-1) is a cysteine-rich plant antimicrobial peptide and the first purified member of the snakin family. SN-1 shows potent activity against a wide range of microorganisms, and thus has great biotechnological potential as an antimicrobial agent. Here, we produced recombinant SN-1 in Escherichia coli by a previously developed coexpression method using an aggregation-prone partner protein. Our goal was to increase the productivity of SN-1 via the enhanced formation of insoluble inclusion bodies in E. coli cells. The yield of SN-1 by the coexpression method was better than that by direct expression in E. coli cells. After refolding and purification, we obtained several milligrams of functionally active SN-1, the identity of which was verified by MALDI-TOF MS and NMR studies. The purified recombinant SN-1 showed effective antimicrobial activity against test organisms. Our studies indicate that the coexpression method using an aggregation-prone partner protein can serve as a suitable expression system for the efficient production of functionally active SN-1. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1520–1528, 201

Expression, purification and characterization of the recombinant cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptide snakin-1 in Pichia pastoris

Snakin-1 (SN-1) is a small cysteine-rich plant antimicrobial peptide with broad spectrum antimicrobial activity which was isolated from potato (Solanum tuberosum). Here, we carried out the expression of a recombinant SN-1 in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris, along with its purification and characterization. A DNA fragment encoding the mature SN-1 was cloned into pPIC9 vector and introduced into P. pastoris. A large amount of pure recombinant SN-1 (approximately 40 mg/1L culture) was obtained from a fed-batch fermentation culture after purification with a cation exchange column followed by RP-HPLC. The identity of the recombinant SN-1 was verified by MALDI-TOF MS, CD and H-1 NMR experiments. All these data strongly indicated that the recombinant SN-1 peptide had a folding with six disulfide bonds that was identical to the native SN-1. Our findings showed that SN-1 exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against test microorganisms and produced very weak hemolysis of mammalian erythrocytes. The mechanism of its antimicrobial action against Escherichia coli was investigated by both outer membrane permeability assay and cytoplasmic membrane depolarization assay. These assays demonstrated that SN-1 is a membrane-active antimicrobial peptide which can disrupt both outer and cytoplasmic membrane integrity. This is the first report on the recombinant expression and purification of a fully active SN-1 in P. pastoris. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved