MANGO SEEDS: A POTENTIAL SOURCE FOR THE ISOLATION OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS WITH ANTI-CANCER ACTIVITY

Objective: The mango (Mangifera indica L.), is a fruit with high levels of phytochemicals and the seeds have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity effects. This study aims at the extraction of metabolites from mango seeds and evaluation of the antiproliferative properties on cancer cell lines.Methods: The antiproliferative effects of the ethanol extract of mango seeds were evaluated on the cancer cell line HeLa, CHO cell lines and also on normal human lymphocytes by MTT assay. The extract was purified by TLC and characterized by LC-MS methods.Results: The ethanol extract had significant cytotoxicity to HeLa cells and the bioactive fraction from the crude extract had antiproliferative effects with an IC50 value of<10µg/ml. Fluorescence microscopy, caspase and LDH activity assays were confirming the anticancer potential of fraction 6. This fraction had arrested the HeLa cells in G2/M phase and decrease in the percentage of cells in S phase. By LC-MS analysis, it was found to have an m/z value of 701.8 indicating it to be a novel one.Conclusions: Here mango seeds have shown promising potential as a novel source for the isolation of a bioactive compound with anticancer activity.Â

In vitro cytotoxic and antibacterial potentials of extracts from three marine isolates of Actinomycetes isolated from coastal ecosystems of Tanur, Kerala, India

Three Actinomyctes with potential bioactivity are successfully isolated from the marine water samples and identified as Prauserella marina, Streptomyces sindenensis and S. spiroverticillatus. The ethyl acetate extracts from the three Actinomycetes are found to have significant bioactivity. The highest anti-bacterial activity was given by the extract from P. marina on B. cereus showing 28 mm of zone of inhibition. Cytotoxicity screening of the crude extracts using 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability assay revealed that extract from P. marina noticeably effected the viability of the human cervical cancer cell grown in vitro. Thin layer chromatography of the crude extract with methanol and chloroform (8:2) as solvent system yielded three distinct fractions, of which fraction with Rf value 0.8 resulted in 77, 68, 54 and 40% growth inhibition of HeLa cells at 15, 10, 5, 2.5 µg/mL, respectively with the IC50 value as 3.3 µg/mL. HPLC analysis of the fraction resulted in single major peak at 3.7 min

Anti-cancer potential of banana flower extract: An in vitro study

Banana (Musa paradisiaca) flower is rich in phytochemicals (vitamins, flavonoids, proteins) and has antioxidant properties. The anti-cancer activity of banana flower extract has been evaluated on the cervical cancer cell line HeLa. The antiproliferative effects were evaluated by MTT assay. The extract was further purified by TLC and characterized by LC-MS method. The ethanol extract had significant cytotoxicity to HeLa cells with an IC50 of 20 µg/mL. By thin layer chromatography we could isolate three fractions out of which fraction 2 had exhibited maximum anti-proliferative effects with an IC50 value of <10 µg/mL. By LC-MS analysis, bioactive fraction was found to have an m/z value of 224.2 indicating it as a novel one

JACKFRUIT SEED AS A NOVEL SUBSTRATE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF AN ACIDOPHILIC AND ACID-STABLE α-AMYLASE FROM BACILLUS SP.4

Objective: The objective of the current study is to do a comparative analysis of the ability of a strain of Bacillus to grow and produce α-amylase on various agro-residues under solid state fermentation (SSF), as amylases comprise one of the most important enzymes in industries. Methods: Bacteria were isolated from various soil samples by serial dilution method, screened for amylase production by rapid screening method on starch agar plates and the best amylase producer was chosen. The best isolate was cultured on different agro-residues such as wheat bran, watermelon outer rind, Avarekai seed coat (Dolichos lablab), coconut endosperm, and jackfruit seeds for maximum amylase production. The pH and temperature optima of the enzyme were determined by culturing the bacteria under different pH and temperatures. The crude enzyme was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by ion-exchange chromatography methods. Results: The best isolate chosen was Bacillus sp.4, which produced an acidophilic and acid-stable α-amylase with maximum enzyme production at the acidic pH of 5.5 and 6.5 (21.11 and 21.62 U/mg protein, respectively) and maximum stability at pH 5.5. Jackfruit seed was found to be the most suitable agro waste for α-amylase production by our isolate. Purification of the enzyme by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by ion-exchange chromatography resulted in 23.17-fold increase in its activity (86.67 U/mg protein). Conclusion: Considering its acid-stable and highly promising enzyme activities, the enzyme from this bacterial isolate can be further characterized for future applications in starch and other food industries

<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: HI" lang="EN-GB">Evaluation of the anticancer potential of coffee<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Mangal;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB; mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:HI" lang="EN-GB"> <span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Mangal;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:HI" lang="EN-GB">beans: An <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">in vitro</i> study</span></span></span>

266-271The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anticancer activity of the ethanol extract of raw coffee beans and identification of its active component. It was found that coffee bean ethanol extract, at concentration of 0.1µg/ml, has potent anti-proliferative effect against HeLa and PA-1 cell lines with decrease in percentage viability to less than 30% after 72 hrs of incubation. Partially purified green TLC fraction was also found to be cytotoxic to HeLa and PA-1 cell lines with reduction in percentage viability to 26.8 % and 13.6%, respectively, after 72 hrs of incubation. The extract and the fraction were able to induce apoptosis and nuclear fragmentation in the cells as evidenced by DNA fragmentation assay and fluorescence microscopy. Flow cytometry analyses confirmed the ability of the green fraction to arrest the cells at G0/G1- phase. Its non-cytotoxicity to human peripheral lymphocytes indicates its safety towards humans

Modulation of Bax and Bcl-2 genes by secondary metabolites produced by Penicillium rubens JGIPR9 causes the apoptosis of cancer cell lines

Search for an efficient anti-cancer compound of natural origin with well-defined mechanisms of action is an important scientific pursuit today, due to cancer being the second leading cause for the death of affected people. The members of the genus Penicillium are one of the important sources of bioactive compounds. In the present study, Penicillium rubens, isolated from a garden soil in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, was found to produce a highly promising anti-cancer metabolite. The percentage viabilities of HepG2, HeLa and MCF-7 cancer cells treated with the bioactive fraction (P5) isolated from P. rubens, ranged between 40-50% after 96 h. Apoptosis induction was found to be the major reason for the observed reduction in cancer cell proliferation and cell count which was confirmed by caspase activity, DNA fragmentation, clonogenic assay, cell cycle analysis and LDH assays. The upregulation of proapoptotic Bax, coupled with the downregulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expressions were confirmed by RT-qPCR and flow cytometry methods. The current study also indicated an upregulation of p53 which further strengthened the apoptogenic property of P5 fraction. Non-toxicity of P5 was demonstrated on normal peripheral lymphocytes. The analysis of P5 fraction through GC-MS indicated the presence of indole-2, 3-(4,4-dimethyl-3-thiosemicarbazone) as one of the major compounds