Neuroprotective effects of ethyl acetate extract of Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Smith against oxidative stress on paraquat-induced parkinsonism in rats

Zingiber zerumbet has been traditionally used as an anti-inflammation and antioxidant agent. The present study investigates the neuroprotective effects of ethyl acetate extract of Z. zerumbet against oxidative stress on paraquat (PQ)-induced Parkinsonism in rats. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: Negative control (normal saline), positive control (N-acetylcysteine, NAC 20 mg/kg + PQ 10 mg/kg), PQ only, 200 mg/kg Z. zerumbet + PQ and 400 mg/kg Z. zerumbet + PQ. The extract was given orally for 19 consecutive days and PQ was administered intraperitoneally on day 8-12th of the treatment regime. Both serum and fresh brains containing substantia nigra (SN) region were taken for biochemical and histological analysis. Administration of both 200 and 400 mg/kg ethyl acetate Z. zerumbet extracts to the PQ-treated groups have resulted in: Decreased levels of MDA and PC in the SN homogenates; and increased SOD, GPx; and CAT activities in the SN and serum. Overall, ethyl acetate extract of Z. zerumbet reduced oxidative stress in the SN of PQ-induced neuronal damages, therefore, has the potential to be developed as a preventive agent for neurodegenerative disorders caused by environmental toxins

The effects of genetic inheritance E-game to undergraduate students

The COVID-19 outbreak that is occurring worldwide has affected the education system, as the closure of education institutions has halted teaching and learning activities. Nevertheless, online education is being widely applied to complete the curriculum. As learning activities are limited by the prohibition of face-to-face classes, an E-game on genetic disease inheritance was designed and introduced to undergraduate Biomedical Science students of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). In this approach, the students were divided into small groups of 5-7 students and they were required to grasp the basic knowledge of genetic disease inheritance including drawing a pedigree tree in order to understand genetic-based diseases, develop three case studies, four case studies-related questions and also provide the answer scheme beforehand. During the E-game, the Microsoft Teams online learning platform was used. Each of the groups took turns to present case studies on the topic of genetic disease inheritance and answered questions. Marks were given for each of the answers. The students’ feedback was collected to evaluate the outcome of this approach. Their understanding on pedigree drawing topics, ability to draw pedigree diagram and analysing genetic inheritance case studies were significantly (p<0.001) increased after the e-game implementation. In addition, the e-game helped them to develop several skills such as teamwork and strategizing. Overall, the students were benefited with the approach, even though some limitations in internet accessibility and devices problems were encountered during the e-game. As conclusion, the e-game was successfully tailored to deliver the genetic inheritance topic previously outlined for face to face session

Chromolaena odorata layered-nitrile rubber polymer transdermal patch enhanced wound healing in vivo.

The objective is to investigate the healing efficacy of a Chromolaena odorata layered-nitrile rubber transdermal patch on excision wound healing in rats. Wounds were induced in Sprague-Dawley rats and were later treated as follows: wound A, the negative control, received no treatment (NC); wound B, the negative control with an empty nitrile rubber patch (NC-ERP); wound C, treated with a C. odorata layered-nitrile rubber patch (CO-NRP); and wound D, the positive control with Solcoseryl gel with a nitrile rubber patch (PC-SG-NRP). After 1, 3, 6, 10, and 14 days, the rats were sacrificed and analyzed for wound contraction, protein content, hexosamine, and uronic acid levels. Macroscopic observation showed enhanced wound healing in wounds treated with CO-NRP with a wound contraction percentage significantly higher (p<0.05) on days 6 and 10 compared to those treated with NC-ERP. Similarly, protein, hexosamine, and uronic acid contents were also significantly higher (p<0.05) in CO-NRP-treated wounds when compared with wounds treated with NC-ERP. Histological findings showed denser collagen deposition and faster granulation tissue formation in wounds treated with CO-NRP. From the results obtained, it is concluded that the C. odorata layered-nitrile rubber transdermal patch was effective in healing skin wounds

A Review on Antistaphylococcal Secondary Metabolites from Basidiomycetes

Fungi are a rich source of secondary metabolites with several pharmacological activities such as antifungal, antioxidant, antibacterial and anticancer to name a few. Due to the large number of diverse structured chemical compounds they produce, fungi from the phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Muccoromycota have been intensively studied for isolation of bioactive compounds. Basidiomycetes-derived secondary metabolites are known as a promising source of antibacterial compounds with activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The continued emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a major challenge to patient health as it leads to higher morbidity and mortality, higher hospital-stay duration and substantial economic burden in global healthcare sector. One of the key culprits for AMR crisis is Staphylococcus aureus causing community-acquired infections as the pathogen develops resistance towards multiple antibiotics. The recent emergence of community strains of S. aureus harbouring methicillin-resistant (MRSA), vancomycin-intermediate (VISA) and vancomycin-resistant (VRSA) genes associated with increased virulence is challenging. Despite the few significant developments in antibiotic research, successful MRSA therapeutic options are still needed to reduce the use of scanty and expensive second-line treatments. This paper provides an overview of findings from various studies on antibacterial secondary metabolites from basidiomycetes, with a special focus on antistaphylococcal activity

Excisional wound closures in rats as a function of wound treatment and time.

Excisional wound closures in rats as a function of wound treatment and time.</p

Optimization of Claudin-5 and ICAM-1 protein detection by using capillary-based immunoassay method in human brain endothelial cells

Background: Human brain endothelial cells (HBECs) are part of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). BBB acts as a barrier to control the passage of molecules or materials from the blood into the brain.  Identification of specific proteins changes in their expressions that are related to disease state is important in order to understand the disease mechanism involving brain vasculature. To achieve that, the techniques involve in identifying the proteins of interest must be optimized prior to further investigation. Methodology: In this study, identification of Claudin-5 in HBEC lysates was tested using different sample preparation techniques such as; 1) reducing with Dithiothreitol (DTT) and non-reducing conditions; 2) denaturing by heating at 95°C for 5 minutes or 70°C for 20 minutes and 3) protein loading at 3 and 4 µg. The samples were then subjected to an automated capillary-based immunoassay, Jess. Results and Discussion: The results showed that HBEC samples loaded at 4 µg and heated for 5 minutes at 95°C with DTT produced clearer and intense bands for Claudin-5 identification compared to the other set ups. As reducing condition and denaturing by heated at 95°C for 5 minutes conditions demonstrated good results, the conditions were used to identify ICAM-1 expression at different protein loading (3 and 4 µg). The result demonstrated that HBEC samples heated for 5 minutes at 95°C with DTT and loaded at 4 µg produced a good detection for ICAM-1. Conclusion: These optimized conditions could be served as a standard procedure for further identification of Claudin-5 and ICAM-1 proteins in HBEC using a capillary immunoassay instrument

Images of skin tissue sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin show histological changes during the wound healing in untreated and treated wounds as a function of time.

Magnification:100x. Note: Ad = adipose tissue, Bc = blood clot, Ca = capillaries, E = epithelium, Ex = exudates, F = hair follicle, Fi = fibroblasts, G = granulation tissue, I = acute inflammatory cells, M = muscles layers, N = necrotic slough, RBC = red blood cells.</p

Images of skin tissue sections stained with Masson’s Trichrome showing histopathological changes during the wound healing process in untreated and treated wounds as a function of time.

Magnification: 100x. Note: Ad = adipose tissue, Bc = blood clot, Ca = capillaries, E = epithelium, Ex = exudates, F = hair follicle, Fi = fibroblasts, Ko = collagen, Ko I = type-I collagen, Ko III = type-III collagen, I = acute inflammatory cells, M = muscles layers, N = necrotic slough.</p

Effect of different treatments on the uronic acid content of excision wounds as a function of time.

n = 6 rats in each group; values are mean ± SEM, *Significant at p < 0.05 when wound C was compared with wound B.</p