Assessment of anticancer potential of selected Holothuria species

272-280All pharmaceutical fields are concerned about increase in cancer incidence throughout the world. Therefore, the discovery of new substances from natural origin to produce the cytotoxic drugs is required. For this purpose, we evaluated the anticancer activity of three Holothuria sea cucumbers species (Holothuria scabra, H. parva and H. leucospilota) from the Persian Gulf, Iran, of their extract from different organs, such as gonads (G), body wall (BW), intestine tract (IT), respiratory tree (RT), coelomic fluid (CF) and cuvierian tubules (CT) using organic solvents of n-Hexane (n-Hex), ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and Methanol (MeOH). Then cytotoxicity potential of each fraction was estimated using MTT assay to comparison of cell viability of human cancer (Caco-2) vs normal cell lines (HeLa). The data illustrated that toxicity toward cell lines (Caco-2) was only noticed for EtOAc extracts of BW organs of H. parva (up to 92% at 250 µg/mL, IC50=16.78 μg/mL), followed by EtOAc extracts of CF organs of H. scabra (up to 88% at 250 µg/mL, IC50=24.36 μg/mL). While, the more effective extracts was noticed against HeLa cells was detected for EtOAc extracts of IT organs of H. Parva (up to 80% at 250 µg/mL, IC50=46.25 μg/mL). Significant cytotox potential were found in this study, which may be linked to the presence of possible anticancer compounds in chosen fractions and selective toxicity toward different cell lines

Fisheries impact on trophic levels: North of the Persian Gulf case study, 2002-2011

468-474There are few documented reports about the trophic structure and catch composition of trawl fishery in the Persian Gulf. In this study, the changes in the marine food webs in the North of Persian Gulf along the Bushehr province coastal water of Iran was determined based on the estimates of the two indicators, mean trophic level (MTI) and Fishing in Balanced (FiB) index for the last decade (2002-2011). The data indicated an increase in total landings (of 49 exploited species), and moderate increasing trend in both MTL and FiB-index was observed. Even though the Iranian coastal fishing has increased over time, it has a low impact on the trophic structure of marine communities in this region. The study suggested that it may be due to occurrence of ‘‘fishing up’’ phenomenon in this area and there is a need to expand fishing to offshore and deep waters for discovery of new and high-TL species

Phycosynthesis of Antimicrobial Ulva prolifera-Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticles

Background and Aims: The growing concern about bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics reveals the urgent need to discover and develop new types of bactericidal agents. Materials and Methods: In the present study, in a pioneering step to phycosynthesis of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 MNPs) with antimicrobial potency, the process was initially exploited using an aqueous extract of green marine algae Ulva prolifera, and further evaluated the antimicrobial activity of biosynthetic magnetite nanoparticles against eight bacterial strains and three strains of fungi. Results: In the present study, the U. prolifera/Fe3O4-MNPs showed a strong inhibitory effect on gram-positive bacteria and relatively modest antifungal activity than fungal pathogenic agents. The highest antibacterial activity compared to strain Staphylococcus epidermidis (19 ± 0.6 mm) and consequently in Bacillus subtilis (18 ± 0.03 mm) and Bacillus pumulis (18 ± 0.2 mm) were observed. However, the bactericidal effects of magnetite nanoparticles were more effective than gram-positive bacteria compared to gram-negative ones.  In the present study, we also observed a relatively modest antifungal activity in the anesthetized nanoparticles compared to Saccharomyces cervisiae (11 ± 0.4 mm), and this was the most sensitive fungal strain relative to the fungicidal activity of these nanoparticles. Conclusions: The results of this study indicated that biosynthetic magnetite nanoparticles can be introduced as a new antibacterial to the pharmaceutical field and medicine

<em>In vitro</em> biological activities of holothurians edible sea cucumbers in the Persian Gulf

1518-1526The biological activities of the n-Hexane (nH), ethyl acetate (E) and methanol (M) extract of body wall, intestine tract, gonads, and respiratory tree organs of edible Holothurian sea cucumbers (Holothuria scabra, H. parva, and H. leucospilota), were evaluated by three anti-oxidative systems and bacterial indicators (Bacillus pumulis, Enterococcus faecalis, and Escherichia coli). The highest antioxidant activity was recorded in different systems as DPPH scavenging for E extracts of body wall (EBW) of H. scabra (IC50 = 278.6 μg/ml), and M extracts of intestine tract (MIT) organs of H. parva (45.8 % at 60 µg/ml, IC50 = 369.64 μg/ml), iron-chelating (FRP) for EBW of H. leucospilota (0.66±0.01) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) for EBW of H. parva (0.69±0.05). This study supports, MIT of H. parva has potential antimicrobial activity against B. pumulis (IZ =29 mm). These promising results suggest that Holothurian seacucumbers may be a source of beneficial natural compounds

<em>In vitro</em> cytotoxic and apoptotic activities of <em>Allium paradoxum</em> (M. Bieb.) G. Don extract on human breast cancer cell line

247-254Researchers from all pharmaceutical fields are trying to find new drugs from natural origin with less toxicity. In northern Hyrcanian forests Iran, Allium paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don has traditionally used as food and vegetable. Previously studies reports, this plant has a medicinal potential for anti-oxidant and anti-hemolytic activities. In this regard, we evaluated the anti-tumor activity of hydroalcoholic extract of A. paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don in different concentrations on human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). MTT assay was performed with MCF-7 cancer cell line and also evaluation of apoptotic effect, Bax and Bcl-2 expression in MCF7 cells were analyzed by real time RT-PCR. The results showed that the A. paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don extracts decrease the viability of MCF-7 cell line in a dose-dependent manner and the most effective concentration of this extracts after 24 h treatment was 100 μM. Apoptosis induction was confirmed by fluorescence microscopy and plant extracts display a pro-apoptotic effect by down-regulated and up-regulated the expression of Bcl-2 and BAX in tumor cells, respectively. In conclusion, the study was confirmed pro-apoptotic and cytotoxicity effect of A. paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don extract against MCF-7 cell lines. Based on being natural, low cost, accessibility, and noteworthy advantages of this product, it seems that A. paradoxum (M. Bieb.) G. Don has a potential source for isolation of novel anticancer agents for a drug