Nutritional values of tempe inoculated with different strains of Rhizopus: its γ-aminobutyric acid content and antioxidant property

The γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) content and antioxidant profile of fermented soybean inoculated with eight different strains of Rhizopus sp. were studied. The ability of these strains, which were obtained from the Centre of Functional Food Cultures (CFFC) collection at MARDI, to produce GABA were compared to wild strains obtained from commercial tempe. Results showed that tempe inoculated with Rhizopus strains of MARDI contained higher GABA, mostly above 0.060 g/100 g dry weight compared to commercial tempe. The highest GABA content was seen in the tempe inoculated with Rhizopus 5351 strain with a concentration of up to 0.154 g/100 g dry weight at 48 h fermentation. The amount of beneficial free and essential amino acids of this tempe were also more than 1.70 g and 0.50 g/100 g dry weight respectively. Tempe inoculated with Rhizopus 5351 strain had the highest sensory score in organoleptic acceptability as evaluated by 14 experienced panellists. In addition, the antioxidant content of this tempe was within the range of commercial tempe. Overall, tempe inoculated with Rhizopus 5351 strain had better nutritional value compared to current commercial tempe available in Malaysia. Obviously, Rhizopus 5351 strain can be introduced as a commercial starter culture for making tempe in Malaysia

Antistress and antioxidant effects of virgin coconut oil in vivo

Virgin coconut oil (VCO) has been consumed worldwide for various health-related reasons and some of its benefits have been scientifically evaluated. Medium-chain fatty acids were found to be a potential antidepressant functional food; however, this effect had not been evaluated in VCO, which is rich in polyphenols and medium-chain fatty acids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antistress and antioxidant effects of VCO in vivo, using mice with stress-induced injury. The antistress effect of VCO (administered per os, at a dose of 10 ml/kg body weight) was evaluated using the forced swim test and chronic cold restraint stress models. VCO was able to reduce immobility time and restore oxidative stress in mice post-swim test. Furthermore, mice treated with VCO were found to exhibit higher levels of brain antioxidants, lower levels of brain 5-hydroxytryptamine and reduced weight of the adrenal glands. Consequently, the serum cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose and corticosterone levels were also lower in VCO-treated mice. These results suggest the potential value of VCO as an antistress functional oil

Comparison of free amino acids, antioxidants, soluble phenolic acids, cytotoxicity and immunomodulation of fermented mung bean and soybean

BACKGROUND: Mung bean and soybean have been individually reported previously to have antioxidant, cytotoxic and immunomodulatory effects, while fermentation is a well-known process to enhance the bioactive compounds that contribute to higher antioxidant, cytotoxic and immunomodulation effects. In this study, the free amino acids profile, soluble phenolic acids content, antioxidants, cytotoxic and immunomodulatory effects of fermented and non-fermented mung bean and soybean were compared. RESULTS: Fermented mung bean was recorded to have the highest level of free amino acids, soluble phenolic acids (especially protocatechuic acid) and antioxidant activities among all the tested products. Both fermented mung bean and soybean possessed cytotoxicity activities against breast cancer MCF-7 cells by arresting the G0/G1 phase followed by apoptosis. Moreover, fermented mung bean and soybean also induced splenocyte proliferation and enhanced the levels of serum interleukin-2 and interferon-γ. CONCLUSION: Augmented amounts of free amino acids and phenolic acids content after fermentation enhanced the antioxidants, cytotoxicity and immunomodulation effects of mung bean and soybean. More specifically, fermented mung bean showed the best effects among all the tested products. This study revealed the potential of fermented mung bean and soybean as functional foods for maintenance of good health

Damnacanthal: a promising compound as a medicinal anthraquinone

The Noni fruit, or scientifically known as Morinda citrifolia can be found in various parts of the world, especially in the pacific region. It is a small evergreen bushy-like tree originated from the Rubiaceae family. The plant has been used by polynesians as a medicinal herb for more than 2000 years. A substantial amount of phytochemicals can be found in the roots of this plant. Among all, damnacanthal has been found to be the most interesting, versatile and potent compound. Damnacanthal or chemically known as, 3- hydroxy-1-methoxyanthraquinone-2-caboxaldehyde (C16H10O5), appears as pale yellow crystals with a melting point of 210-211 °C. This compound is of particular interest due to its striking pharmacological properties. Damnacanthal was shown to inhibit the oncogene Ras, p56lck tyrosine kinase, NF-KB pathway and induce apoptosis in vitro. This review aims to discuss the biological properties of damnacanthal, specifically on its anti-cancer activity that has been reported

Induction of apoptosis and regulation ofMicroRNA expression by (2E,6E)-2,6-bis-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)- cyclohexanone (BHMC) treatment on MCF-7 breast cancer cells

(2E,6E)-2,6-bis-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)-cyclohexanone (BHMC) is a synthetic curcumin analogue, which has been reported to possess anti-tumor, anti-metastatic, and anti-invasion properties on estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. However, the cytotoxic effects of BHMC on ER positive breast cancer cells were not widely reported. This study was aimed to investigate the cytotoxic potential of BHMC on MCF-7 cells using cell viability, cell cycle, and apoptotic assays. Besides, microarray and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were performed to identify the list of miRNAs and genes, which could be dysregulated following BHMC treatment. The current study discovered that BHMC exhibits selective cytotoxic effects on ER positive MCF-7 cells as compared to ER negative MDA-MB-231 cells and normal breast cells, MCF-10A. BHMC was shown to promote G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. Microarray and qPCR analysis demonstrated that BHMC treatment would upregulate several miRNAs like miR-3195 and miR-30a-3p and downregulate miRNAs such as miR-6813-5p and miR-6132 in MCF-7 cells. Besides, BHMC administration was also found to downregulate few tumor-promoting genes like VEGF and SNAIL in MCF-7. In conclusion, BHMC induced apoptosis in the MCF-7 cells by altering the expressions of apoptotic-regulating miRNAs and associated genes

Analysis of selected bioactive compounds and biological activities of untreated, germinated and fermented mung bean aqueous extracts

Mung bean (Vigna radiata), a legume plant with seed that is frequently consumed in Asia is gaining its popularity worldwide. Germination and fermentation processes are well documented to increase the concentration of various bioactive compounds as well as to enhance the organoleptic characteristics and nutritional values of various foods. The use of common treatments such as chemotherapy drugs, radiotherapy and surgery to treat various diseases have been reported to cause adverse side effects, induce drugs resistancy, which reduced their effectiveness and initiation of other diseases. Therefore, alternative therapy using natural active compounds from mung bean plant was employed. Although mung bean plant has been consumed traditionally, very limited scientific reviews have been reported regarding its benefits and efficacy. The purpose of this study was to examine the bioactive compounds and biological activities of mung bean (MB), germinated mung bean (GMB) and fermented mung bean (FMB) aqueous extracts. More specifically, the content of amino acids, y-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and total phenolic compound (TPC) were evaluated along with their effects as immumodulator, cytotoxic, hepatoprotectant, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive. Results showed that the content of total free amino acid and essential amino acids increased by 12-fold and 17-fold in GMB and 13-fold and 26-fold in FMB. On contrary, only fermentation was able to accumulate TPC with increment by 4-fold compared to untreated mung bean. To demonstrate the multiple biological properties of extracts, various Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)-related diseases were employed throughout the study for instance immune system dysfunction, cancer, alcoholic liver disease (ALD), inflammatory and pain-related inflammatory. In immunomodulatory study, immune cells (mice splenocytes) treated with FMB aqueous extract resulted in stimulation of cell proliferation and cytokines expression. Cytotoxicity study revealed that FMB was selective against breast cancer cells (MCF-7) with IC50 2.3 mg/mL and decreased cell viability by 50% after 72 h of incubation. Meanwhile, increased detection of phosphatidylserine (PS) and Sub-Gs/G, cells population with Sub-Gs/G, population increased significantly from 1.08 ± 0.06% to 21.5 ± 0.23% indicating the increase of cancer cell death via apoptosis. Hepatoprotective effect of GMB and FMB on alcoholinduced liver injury in mice was found to be higher than MB where the elevated level of liver function biomarkers (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), cholesterol, triglycerides (TG)) and antioxidant liver homogenate (Malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP» reverted close to normal. Treatment with FMB at high dose (1000 mg/kg) displayed the highest suppression percentage of all serum markers, 63.73% (ALT), 69.84% (AST) 38.4% (TG) and 23.42% (cholesterol). Also, FMB was able to reduce the level of MDA by 3.6 fold, nitric oxide (NO) by 1.6 fold, SOD by 2.3 fold and FRAP activity by 2.2 fold. Similarly, histopathological evaluation of extracts particularly GMB and FMB on alcohol treated liver tissues resulted in the reduction of sinusoidal and central vein dilations, ballooning and hepatocytes necrosis. In antiinflammation and anti-nociceptive study, all extracts showed no sign of toxicity on normal murine macrophages (RAW 264.7) cells meanwhile, merely GMB and FMB were able to inhibit the stimulation of pro-inflammatory mediator NO. Study on mice showed that both GMB and FMB exerted significant anti-inflammatory effect with earoedema inhibition by 18% and 35% respectively. Apart from that, in heat-induced central pain study, all extracts at certain interval time showed anti-nociceptive effect against pain stimulus. Germination and fermentation successfully enhanced the nutritional values of mung bean in term of bioactive compounds and biological properties. These findings indicated the novel approach of anaerobic germination and fermentation using Rhizopus sp. 5351 on mung bean and the potential of FMB and GMB extracts to improve the clinical symptoms of immune, cancer, liver and inflammation associated diseases

Design, Synthesis and Docking Studies of Flavokawain B Type Chalcones and Their Cytotoxic Effects on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 Cell Lines

Flavokawain B (1) is a natural chalcone extracted from the roots of Piper methysticum, and has been proven to be a potential cytotoxic compound. Using the partial structure of flavokawain B (FKB), about 23 analogs have been synthesized. Among them, compounds 8, 13 and 23 were found in new FKB derivatives. All compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic properties against two breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, thus establishing the structure–activity relationship. The FKB derivatives 16 (IC50 = 6.50 ± 0.40 and 4.12 ± 0.20 μg/mL), 15 (IC50 = 5.50 ± 0.35 and 6.50 ± 1.40 μg/mL) and 13 (IC50 = 7.12 ± 0.80 and 4.04 ± 0.30 μg/mL) exhibited potential cytotoxic effects on the MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. However, the methoxy group substituted in position three and four in compound 2 (IC50 = 8.90 ± 0.60 and 6.80 ± 0.35 μg/mL) and 22 (IC50 = 8.80 ± 0.35 and 14.16 ± 1.10 μg/mL) exhibited good cytotoxicity. The lead compound FKB (1) showed potential cytotoxicity (IC50 = 7.70 ± 0.30 and 5.90 ± 0.30 μg/mL) against two proposed breast cancer cell lines. It is evident that the FKB skeleton is unique for anticancer agents, additionally, the presence of halogens (Cl and F) in position 2 and 3 also improved the cytotoxicity in FKB series. These findings could help to improve the future drug discovery process to treat breast cancer. A molecular dynamics study of active compounds revealed stable interactions within the active site of Janus kinase. The structures of all compounds were determined by 1H-NMR, EI-MS, IR and UV and X-ray crystallographic spectroscopy techniques

Regulation of Cellular and Cancer Stem Cell-Related Putative Gene Expression of Parental and CD44+CD24− Sorted MDA-MB-231 Cells by Cisplatin

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer subtype that promotes a higher risk of metastasis and cancer reoccurrence. Cisplatin is one of the potential anticancer drugs for treating TNBC. However, the occurrence of cisplatin resistance still remains one of the challenges in fully eradicating TNBC. The presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) has been proposed as one of the factors contributing to the development of cisplatin resistance. In this study, we aimed to characterize the cellular properties and reveal the corresponding putative target genes involved in cisplatin resistance associated with CSCs using the TNBC cell line (MDA-MB-231). CSC-like cells were isolated from parental cells and the therapeutic effect of cisplatin on CSC-like cells was compared to that of the parental cells via cell characterization bioassays. A PCR array was then conducted to study the expression of cellular mRNA for each subpopulation. As compared to treated parental cells, treated CSCs displayed lower events of late apoptosis/necrosis and G2/M phase cell arrest, with higher mammosphere formation capacity. Furthermore, a distinct set of putative target genes correlated to the Hedgehog pathway and angiogenesis were dysregulated solely in CSC-like cells after cisplatin treatment, which were closely related to the regulation of chemoresistance and self-renewability in breast cancer. In summary, both cellular and gene expression studies suggest the attenuated cytotoxicity of cisplatin in CSC-like cells as compared to parental cells. Understanding the role of dysregulated putative target genes induced by cisplatin in CSCs may aid in the potential development of therapeutic targets for cisplatin-resistant breast cancer