ANTIFUNGAL PROPERTIES OF SECONDARY METABOLITES OF AZADIRACHTA INDICA AND LAWSONIA INERMIS – AN IN SILICO STUDY

Objective: This study was aimed to inhibit the sulfite reductase using naturally obtained secondary metabolites of common plants Azadirachta indica and Lawsonia inermis.Methods: The active ingredients of neem and henna were selected and the.sdf files of these were downloaded from PubChem database. Converted the.sdf files to.pdb files with the help of OPENBABEL software which is prerequisite to dock. The three-dimensional structure was incurred from the template of homology of sulfite reductase using MODELLAR software version 9.0. Docking of sulfite reductase with the ligands was performed using iGEMDOCK and Autodock Vina softwares. The physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, drug-likeness, lead-likeness, and toxicological properties were obtained by SWISSADME and admetSAR online tools.Results: The active ingredients show an excellent affinity with the sulfite reductase which obtained was tabulated and the significant properties of a ligand were showing that these can be an investigational new drug entity.Conclusion: In this research, it can concluded that the secondary metabolites obtained from plants were inhibiting the induction of sulfite reductase thereby inhibiting Sulfite Assimilation Pathway leads to commove the amino acid metabolism of organism which shows unique in fungi

Parasitism of Locally Recruited Egg Parasitoids of the Fall Armyworm in Africa

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is an insect native to the tropical and subtropical Americas that has recently spread to Africa, where it predominately attacks maize, sorghum and other plant species. Biological control is an environmentally friendly way of combatting the pest and contributes to an integrated pest management approach. In Africa, several trichogrammatid parasitoids and Telenomus remus Nixon (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) have been found parasitizing eggs of the FAW. In Niger, the egg parasitoids encountered include Trichogrammatoidea sp. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and Telenomus remus Nixon. Parasitism of the FAW eggs by the two egg parasitoids was assessed in the laboratory, followed by field testing on sentinel eggs. In the laboratory, T. remus parasitized on average 78% of FAWeggs, compared to 25% for Trichogrammatoidea sp. Telenomus remus was able to parasitize egg masses that were fully covered with scales, while Trichogrammatoidea sp. parasitized only uncovered egg masses. On-farm releases of T. remus in sorghum fields caused up to 64% of FAW egg parasitism. Parasitized eggs yielded viable progeny, which can contribute to FAW egg parasitism build-up during the cropping season. Our findings lay the groundwork for the use of T. remus in augmentative releases against FAW in Africa

Influence of mangiferin on membrane bound phosphatases and lysosomal hydrolases in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats

The activities of membrane-bound ATPases and lysosomal hydrolases are altered in tissues of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes is stimulating the deterioration of membrane function and weakens the intracellular metabolism. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of mangiferin, isolated from Salacia chinensis on membrane bound phosphatases and lysosomal hydrolases in the liver and kidney of STZ-induced diabetic rats. In our investigation, the levels of blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin were significantly increased in the diabetic rats. Moreover, membrane bound phosphatases and lysosomal hydrolases activities were ominously altered in the liver and kidney of STZ-induced diabetic rats. The treatment of mangiferin (40 mg/kg body weight up to 30 days) significantly brought back the activities of enzymes to near normal, when compared to the experimentally induced diabetic rats. Based on this findings, mangiferin have a substantial outcome on membrane bound phosphatases and lysosomal hydrolases in diabetic condition.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Calpain Inhibition Attenuates Adipose Tissue Inflammation and Fibrosis in Diet-Induced Obese Mice

Adipose tissue macrophages have been proposed as a link between obesity and insulin resistance. However, the mechanisms underlying these processes are not completely defined. Calpains are calcium-dependent neutral cysteine proteases that modulate cellular function and have been implicated in various inflammatory diseases. To define whether activated calpains influence diet-induced obesity and adipose tissue macrophage accumulation, mice that were either wild type (WT) or overexpressing calpastatin (CAST Tg), the endogenous inhibitor of calpains were fed with high (60% kcal) fat diet for 16 weeks. CAST overexpression did not influence high fat diet-induced body weight and fat mass gain throughout the study. Calpain inhibition showed a transient improvement in glucose tolerance at 5 weeks of HFD whereas it lost this effect on glucose and insulin tolerance at 16 weeks HFD in obese mice. However, CAST overexpression significantly reduced adipocyte apoptosis, adipose tissue collagen and macrophage accumulation as detected by TUNEL, Picro Sirius and F4/80 immunostaining, respectively. CAST overexpression significantly attenuated obesity-induced inflammatory responses in adipose tissue. Furthermore, calpain inhibition suppressed macrophage migration to adipose tissue in vitro. The present study demonstrates a pivotal role for calpains in mediating HFD-induced adipose tissue remodeling by influencing multiple functions including apoptosis, fibrosis and inflammation

Computational and network pharmacology analysis of bioflavonoids as possible natural antiviral compounds in COVID-19

Bioflavonoids are the largest group of plant-derived polyphenolic compounds with diverse biological potential and have also been proven efficacious in the treatment of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The present investigation validates molecular docking, simulation, and MM-PBSA studies of fifteen bioactive bioflavonoids derived from plants as a plausible potential antiviral in the treatment of COVID-19. Molecular docking studies for 15 flavonoids on the three SARS CoV-2 proteins, non-structural protein-15 Endoribonuclease (NSP15), the receptor-binding domain of spike protein (RBD of S protein), and main protease (Mpro/3CLpro) were performed and selected protein-ligand complexes were subjected to Molecular Dynamics simulations. The molecular dynamics trajectories were subjected to free energy calculation by the MM-PBSA method. All flavonoids were further assessed for their effectiveness as adjuvant therapy by network pharmacology analysis on the target proteins. The network pharmacology analysis suggests the involvement of selected bioflavonoids in the modulation of multiple signaling pathways like p53, FoxO, MAPK, Wnt, Rap1, TNF, adipocytokine, and leukocyte transendothelial migration which plays a significant role in immunomodulation, minimizing the oxidative stress and inflammation. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies illustrated the potential of glycyrrhizic acid, amentoflavone, and mulberroside in inhibiting key SARS-CoV-2 proteins and these results could be exploited further in designing future ligands from natural sources

Exploring the therapeutic mechanisms of Cassia glauca in diabetes mellitus through network pharmacology, molecular docking and molecular dynamics

Cassia glauca is reported as anti-diabetic medicinal plant and is also used as an ethnomedicine. However, its mode of action as an anti-diabetic agent has not been clearly elucidated. Hence, the present study investigated the probable mechanism of action of C. glauca to manage diabetes mellitus via network pharmacology and molecular docking and simulations studies. The reported bioactives from C. glauca were retrieved from an open-source database, i.e. ChEBI, and their targets were predicted using SwissTargetPrediction. The proteins involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes were identified from the therapeutic target database. The targets involved in diabetes were enriched in STRING, and the pathways involved in diabetes were identified concerning the KEGG. Cytoscape was used to construct the network among bioactives, proteins, and probably regulated pathways, which were analyzed based on edge count. Similarly, molecular docking was performed using the Glide module of the Schrodinger suite against majorly targeted proteins with their respective ligands. Additionally, the drug-likeness score and ADMET profile of the individual bioactives were predicted using MolSoft and admetSAR2.0 respectively. The stability of these complexes were further studied via molecular dynamics simulations and binding energy calculations. Twenty-three bio-actives were retrieved from the ChEBI database in which cassiarin B was predicted to modulate the highest number of proteins involved in diabetes mellitus. Similarly, GO analysis identified the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway to be primarily regulated by modulating the highest number of gene. Likewise, aldose reductase (AKR1B1) was majorly targeted via the bioactives of C. glauca. Similarly, docking study revealed methyl-3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinate (docking score −9.209) to possess the highest binding affinity with AKR1B1. Additionally, drug-likeness prediction identified cassiaoccidentalin B to possess the highest drug-likeness score, i.e. 0.84. The molecular dynamics simulations and the MMGBSA indicate high stability and greater binding energy for the methyl-3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinate (ΔGbind = −40.33 ± 6.69 kcal mol−1) with AKR1B1, thus complementing results from other experiments. The study identified cassiarin B, cassiaoccidentalin B, and cinnamtannin A2 as lead hits for the anti-diabetic activity of C. glauca. Further, the PI3K-Akt and AKR1B1 were traced as majorly modulated pathway and target, respectively

A Battle Lost? Report on Two Centuries of Invasion and Management of Lantana camara L. in Australia, India and South Africa

Recent discussion on invasive species has invigorated the debate on strategies to manage these species. Lantana camara L., a shrub native to the American tropics, has become one of the worst weeds in recorded history. In Australia, India and South Africa, Lantana has become very widespread occupying millions of hectares of land. Here, we examine historical records to reconstruct invasion and management of Lantana over two centuries and ask: Can we fight the spread of invasive species or do we need to develop strategies for their adaptive management? We carried out extensive research of historical records constituting over 75% of records on invasion and management of this species in the three countries. The records indicate that governments in Australia, India and South Africa have taken aggressive measures to eradicate Lantana over the last two centuries, but these efforts have been largely unsuccessful. We found that despite control measures, the invasion trajectory of Lantana has continued upwards and that post-war land-use change might have been a possible trigger for this spread. A large majority of studies on invasive species address timescales of less than one year; and even fewer address timescales of >10 years. An understanding of species invasions over long time-scales is of paramount importance. While archival records may give only a partial picture of the spread and management of invasive species, in the absence of any other long-term dataset on the ecology of Lantana, our study provides an important insight into its invasion, spread and management over two centuries and across three continents. While the established paradigm is to expend available resources on attempting to eradicate invasive species, our findings suggest that in the future, conservationists will need to develop strategies for their adaptive management rather than fighting a losing battle

Impact of ethyl methane sulphonate on M1 attributes of Groundnut with special emphasis of amino acid profiling

The present investigation was undertaken  to know the effect of EMS on  groundnut cultivar TMV-7 particularly for M1 generation with special reference to amino acids. The healthy and viable seeds of groundnut cultivar TMV-7 were exposed to different concentrations of EMS. The chemical mutagens were screened against groundnut  ranged from 10 to 50mM and sown in the field along with control. The various growth, morphological parameters like percentage of seed germination, survival percentage plant height, number of branches, days taken for flower initiation , total height at time of harvest, root length,  number of lateral roots, number of pods per plant and 100 seeds  weight were decreased with increasing concentrations of EMS. The amino acid analysis also carried out in control, EMS derived M1 plants grown in field. The amino acid contents were  recorded in  both positive and negative tendency.&nbsp

In vitro Shoot multiplication of Physalis minima L. - an important Medicinal Herb

The present study was to develop an efficient protocol for shoot multiplication of Physalis minima L. Shoots were cultured using nodal segments from 20 days old field grown young plant. The nodal explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of BAP and KIN. The two cytokinins tested, KIN was found to respond well in shoot multiplication and number of shoots from the nodal explants when compared to BAP. Large number of shoots was induced from all the concentrations of both BAP and KIN. BAP was found to develop in shoot multiplication and higher number of shoots from the nodal explants when compared to KIN. The highest frequency of 100% shoot induction was observed on MS basal medium supplemented with 8μM BAP and 10 μM KIN. Matured shoots are isolated and then transferred to the MS basal medium supplemented with  different concentration of NAA and IBA for root induction. The higher number of roots were produced in 30 days on MS basal medium supplemented with 10 μM IBA and 6 μM NAA. The well rooted plantlets were isolated and transplanted to the paper cup for hardening and the well established plants were transferred to the field for acclimatization