FLAVONOID DISTRIBUTION IN FOUR VARIETIES OF Ficus deltoidea (JACK)

We have previously reported the antioxidant and neuroprotective activities of the aqueous extract of four varieties of Ficus deltoidea (Fd) (Moraceae) namely var kunstleri (Fdvk), var angustifolia (Fdva), var deltoidea (Fdvd) and var intermedia (Fdvi). In this study, flavonoid constituents in aqueous leaf and fig extracts of the four varieties were analyzed and characterized using liquid chromatography mass spectrometer quadrupole-time of flight (LCMS-Q-TOF) via hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) technique. The HCA dendrogram revealed that the abundant flavonoids among the eight samples are epicatechin, quercetin-3-rutinoside, quercetin 5,4'-di-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, myricetin and naringenin. The study found that the distribution of the flavonoids differed between the four varieties and varied within the plant parts. To date, the flavonoid distribution of the different plant parts of the four varieties has not been documented. A positive correlation was observed between flavonoid constituents present and radical scavenging activities of the aqueous extracts.Â

Ethanol extract of Centella asiatica improved methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity on mouse model via stimulating superoxide dismutase II and microRNA-34A expression

Neurotoxicity induced by a psychostimulant drug, methamphetamine (METH) is associated with devastating and persistent neurotoxicity effects on the central nervous system (CNS). Centella asiatica (CA) is known as an antioxidant and neuroprotective agent. However, there is a limited study on natural-derived therapeutic to attenuate neurotoxicity induced by METH. We aimed to investigate the effects of METH and ethanol extract CA (CAE) on motor performance of animal model and the expression of manganese superoxide dismutase II (SOD2) and microRNA-34a (miR-34a) in the brain tissue. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered with METH (50 mg/kg per body weight) twice per day for 4 days, CAE (300 mg/kg & 500 mg/kg per body weight for 21 days and combination of METH and CAE for 21 day(s). Weight of rat was measured and motor performance was evaluated using vertical pole and narrow beam tests. Expression of SOD2 and miR-34a were measured using Quantitative Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). Group III (300 mg/kg CAE); p<0.001, Group IV (500 mg/kg CAE); p<0.001, Group V (METH+300 mg/kg CAE); p<0.01 and Group VI (METH+500 mg/kg CAE); p<0.01 significantly improved latency in the vertical pole test compared to METH group. Meanwhile, Group III (300 mg/kg CAE); p<0.001 and Group IV (500 mg/kg CAE); p<0.001 significantly decreased latency in the narrow beam test compared to METH. Post-treatment of CAE on METH-treated rats, Group V (METH+300 mg/kg CAE) and Group VI (METH+500 mg/kg CAE) nonsignificantly upregulated the SOD2 expression by 3.78±1.03 and 4.05±0.19 folds compared to METH, respectively. Post-treatment of CAE on METH-treated rats, Group V (METH+300 mg/kg CAE) and Group VI (METH+500 mg/kg CAE) non-significantly upregulated the miR-34a expression by (7.02±3.73) and (6.75±1.94) folds compared to METH, respectively. CAE could be suggested as a promising natural-derived therapeutic for METH-induced neurotoxicity to ameliorating motor performance and triggering SOD2 and miR-34a expression

Effects of the Absorption Behaviour of ZnO Nanoparticles on Cytotoxicity Measurements

ZnO absorbs certain wavelengths of light and this behavior is more pronounced for nanoparticles of ZnO. As many toxicity measurements rely on measuring light transmission in cell lines, it is essential to determine how far this light absorption influences experimental toxicity measurements. The main objective was to study the ZnO absorption and how this influenced the cytotoxicity measurements. The cytotoxicity of differently sized ZnO nanoparticles in normal and cancer cell lines derived from lung tissue (Hs888Lu), neuron-phenotypic cells (SH-SY5Y), neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y), human histiocytic lymphoma (U937), and lung cancer (A549) was investigated. Our results demonstrate that the presence of ZnO affected the cytotoxicity measurements due to the absorption characteristic of ZnO nanoparticles. The data revealed that the ZnO nanoparticles with an average particle size of around 85.7 nm and 190 nm showed cytotoxicity towards U937, SH-SY5Y, differentiated SH-SY5Y, and Hs888Lu cell lines. No effect on the A549 cells was observed. It was also found that the cytotoxicity of ZnO was particle size, concentration, and time dependent. These studies are the first to quantify the influence of ZnO nanoparticles on cytotoxicity assays. Corrections for absorption effects were carried out which gave an accurate estimation of the concentrations that produce the cytotoxic effects

Neurotoxicity and neuroprotective effects of Polyimides (PI) and Polyphenylenevinylene (PPV) against Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) / Norfaezah Mazalan ... [et al.]

Recently, research and development in the field of drug delivery systems (DDS) facilitating site-specific therapy has reached significant progression. DDS based on polymer micelles, coated micro- and nanoparticles, and various prodrug systems including water-soluble polymer have been prepared and extensively studied as novel drugs designed for cancer chemotherapy and brain delivery. Since polymers are going to be used in human, this study has the interest of testing two types of polymer, polyimides (PI) and polyphenylenevinylene (PPV) on neuronal cells. The objective of this study was to determine the possible neurotoxicity and potential neuroprotective effects of PI and PPV towards SH-SY5Y neuronal cells challenged by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as an oxidant. Cells were pretreated with either PI or PPV for 1 hour followed by incubation for 24 hour with 100 μM of H2O2. MTS assay was used to assess cell viability. Results show that PI and PPV are not harmful within the concentration up to 10 μM and 100 μM, respectively. However, PI and PPV do not protect neuronal cells against toxicity induced by H2O2 or further up the cell death

Evaluation of the Bioactivity of Novel Spiroisoxazoline TypeCompounds against Normal and Cancer Cell Lines

The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro cellular activity of novel spiroisoxazoline type compounds against normal and cancer cell lines from lung tissue (Hs888Lu), neuron-phenotypic cells (SH-SY5Y), neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y), human histiocytic lymphoma (U937), lung cancer (A549), and leukaemia (HL-60). Our bioassay program revealed that the spiroisoxazoline type compounds show cytotoxicity only in lymphoma cell lines, which is in contrast with the pyrrolidine precursor of these spiroisoxazoline compounds, where significant cytotoxicity is seen in all normal and cancer cell lines. These data suggest a tumour-specific mechanism of action. In addition these data also show that spiroisoxazoline compounds are non-toxic in the human neuronphenotypic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line, and furthermore that they might protect cells from neurodegenerative disease

Antioxidant, total phenolic content and cytotoxicity evaluation of selected Malaysian plants

Aqueous and ethanol extracts of different traditional Malaysian plants (Polygonum minus, Andrographis paniculata, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Momordica charantia and Strobilanthes crispus) were evaluated for their antioxidant properties, total phenolic content and cytotoxic activity. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The results showed that ethanol extracts contain high antioxidant activities compared to aqueous extracts. The findings exhibited a strong correlation between antioxidant activity and the total phenol contents. In addition, all the plant extracts showed non-toxic effects against a normal human lung fibroblast cell line (Hs888Lu). Although traditionally aqueous extracts are used, we determined that ethanol extracts usually achieved better activity in the assays