Characterization of bacterial communities in prebiotics and probiotics treated shrimp farms from Kuantan

Aims: Prebiotics and probiotics profoundly enhance water quality and shrimp development to tackle infectious disease in shrimp farming. This study evaluated the impact of prebiotics and probiotics treatments in water by assessing the physicochemical properties and bacterial communities in local shrimp ponds. Methodology and results: Water was collected from shrimp pond 1 (SP1), treated with prebiotics and probiotics, and shrimp pond 2 (SP2), treated with only prebiotics. The physicochemical parameters of water from two shrimp ponds were measured, including pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), ammonia concentration and temperature. The total environmental DNA (eDNA) was extracted from the water samples and sequenced using amplicon sequencing targeting the full length of the 16S rRNA gene region via the Oxford Nanopore Technology Flongle. The water quality analysis indicated that SP1 had better water quality than SP2 for shrimp aquaculture. The dominant phyla in both shrimp ponds were Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota. SP1 samples had unique microbiota at the phylum level, including Bdellovibrionota, Firmicutes A, Patescibacteria and unclassified Rhizobiales, Saprospiraceae, Vulcanococcus and HIMB114 at the genus level. The alpha- and beta-diversity showed insignificant differences in microbiota composition between SP1 and SP2 (p-value>0.05). Conclusion, significance and impact of study: Research findings demonstrated that the probiotic-treated shrimp pond (SP1) had better water quality and more diverse microbial communities than the shrimp pond that was not treated with probiotics (SP2)

Glycoprotein isolated from eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali) is capable of boosting testosterone levels in leydig cells

Eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali) is renowned for its aphrodisiac potential, and its active constituent has been presumed to be a protein and more likely a glycosylated protein. In this study, the ability of the glycoprotein to increase testosterone hormone levels was investigated. The dried root powder of the plant was extracted using water under reflux. The protein fraction was separated using size-exclusion chromatography and subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis. Thereafter the protein fraction was isolated from its glycoprotein using a lectin column. Finally, TM-3 Leydig cells were treated with the isolated glycoprotein fraction (50 µg/mL). The extraction yielded 14.3% w/w protein and the SDS PAGE analysis showed a single band at approximately 20 kDa. Treatment of TM-3 Leydig cells with the glycoprotein fraction for 72 hours demonstrated an increase in testosterone levels by almost 100% (0.36 ± 0.03 nmol/L) in comparison to the untreated cells (0.18 ± 0.05 nmol/L). The findings suggested that the glycoprotein in E. longifolia root can be easily isolated because its sugar moiety can bind to a lectin affinity column. Moreover, this glycoprotein was shown to have testosterone-boosting activity. These findings identified the glycoprotein as the bioactive constituent associated with its aphrodisiac properties

Comparative Study of Onion (Allium cepa) and Leek (Allium ampeloprasum): Identification of Organosulphur Compounds by UPLC-QTOF/MS and Anticancer Effect on MCF-7 Cells

Onion (Allium cepa) and leek (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) are common herbs and vegetables found in our daily life. It belongs to the genus Allium, which is usually known for their high antioxidant and anticancer properties. Medical researchers highly recommend the exploitation of herbs and plants as alternative ways in the treatment of cancer. This research was designed to study the anticancer effects of onion and leek extracts on MCF-7 human breast cancer cell. Crude extracts of ethanol, methanol, and water of onion and leek were obtained by maceration. MCF-7 cells were cultured in complete media at 37 °C and subjected to different treatments that involved varying concentrations (10, 50, and 100 μg/mL) of onion and leek extracts for 24, 48, and 72 h of incubation. The percentage of cell viability and the concentration of extracts on MCF-7 cells were determined using MTT assay. The water leek extract proved to be the most effective extract at 50 μg/mL, whereby it showed a significant inhibition ability due to the presence of entadamide A-β-D-glucopyranoside as identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatographyquadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS). Further studies about the mechanism of both extracts in causing cell death and the determination of the presence of other bioactive compounds in the extracts are needed

Preliminary phytochemical screening, GC-MS profiling and in vitro evaluation of biological activities of garcinia atroviridis root extracts

Therapeutic properties of the medicinal plant are due to the presence of phytochemical constituents. Garciniaatroviridis is locally known as ?asamgelugur? belongs to the Guttiferae family. Bioassay-guided solvent-solvent extraction method and yielded, hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, butanol, and methanolic extracts. These extracts were used to investigate the presence of phytochemicals. The preliminary phytochemical screening showed the existence of fixed oils and fats, carbohydrate, saponins, phenolic, flavonoids and anthraquinone glycosides in G. atroviridis roots. The chemical compositions were investigated by using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS). Major compound identified in hexane, DCM, EA, BuOH and methanolic extracts was (Z)-13-docosenoic acid methyl ester (24.32%), ethyl-9-hexadecenoate (6.36%),bis(1,3-diisopropylcyclopentadienyl) (12.09%), 2-methyl-2-phenyl- 1,3-dioxolane (2.34%) and furfural (33.55%) respectively. The antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the extracts were investigated. The methanolic crude extract exhibited resistance towards both bacteria tested; Bacillus subtilisand Escherichia coli, thus suggesting its antibacterial activity

UPLC-QTOF/MS-based phenolic profiling of Melastomaceae, their antioxidant activity and cytotoxic effects against human breast cancer cell MDA-MB-231

Eleven compounds were identified during profiling of polyphenols by UPLC-QTOF/MS. In abundance was quercetin-3-O-α-l-arabinofuranoside in M. malabathricum ethanolic leaves extract while 6-hydroxykaempferol-3-O-glucoside was present in the leaves extract of M. decenfidum (its rare variety). TPC and TFC were significantly higher in M. decemfidum extract than M. malabathricum extract. During DPPH, FRAF and β-carotene bleaching assays, M. decemfidum extract exhibited greater antioxidant activity compared to M. malabathricum extract. Effect of M. malabathricum and M. decemfidum extracts on viability of MDA-MB-231 cell at concentrations 6.25–100 μg/mL were evaluated for 24, 48 and 72 h. After 48 and 72 h treatment, M. malabathricum and M. decemfidum leaves extracts exhibited significant activity in inhibiting MDA-MB-231 cancer cell line with M. malabathricum extract being more cytotoxic. M. malabathricum and M. imbricatum serves as potential daily dietary source of natural phenolics and to improve chemotherapeutic effectiveness

Evaluating the Effect of Combined Plant Extracts on α-amylase and α-glucosidase Inhibition Activity as Antidiabetic Agents

Background and Objective: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the major health and economic problem through the world. The insufficiencies and severe adversarial special effects related with conventional medicines, led to a strong-minded search for alternative natural antidiabetic agents. The study was aimed to screen the in vitro antidiabetic activity of seven plant extracts. Materials and Methods: The bioactivity of the extracts was correlated through a Gas Chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based analysis, while extracts with 50% inhibition activity were reported. Results: The α-amylase inhibitory activities of the chloroform extracts of Averrhoa bilimbi, Andrographis paniculata, Eurycoma longifolia and Punica granatum exhibited more than 50% inhibition (50.55, 68.24, 82.42 and 69.73% respectively), while chloroform extracts of A. paniculata, Orthosiphon stamineus and P. granatum exhibited 90.48, 52.00 and 62.00% of α-glucosidase inhibitory effects, respectively. Only ethanolic and methanolic extracts of E. longifolia exhibited α-glucosidase inhibitory effects of 57.80 and 53.31%, respectively. A combination of the ethanolic fraction of E. longifolia with the chloroform fraction of P. granatum at a ratio of 2:1 exhibited the highest α-glucosidase inhibition rate of 148.06%, while a combination of the ethanolic fraction of E. longifolia with the chloroform fraction of O. stamineus at the same ratio exhibited α-glucosidase inhibition rate of 137.43%. A phytochemical analysis based on GC-MS revealed the presence of fatty acids, with palmitic acid recording the highest percentage (100%) in the O. stamineus extract. Conclusion: The observed α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of these plant extracts suggested their potential usage as an alternative sources of antidiabetic agents

Hypoglycemic Effect of Some Ethnomedicinal Plants and Its Applications on Pancreas Improvement

Diabetes is a disease that causes the blood glucose level to rise and if left untreated, could yield in many complications such as amputations of body parts, muscle disorders and fatigue. The alarming increase in the number of patients suffering from diabetes requests for more studies to be conducted to find alternatives in producing a cure to this disease. Many chemical methods are adapted towards the treatment of diabetes, so it is crucial that studies on medicinal plants are carried out to produce a solution that does not rely on chemicals alone, and can inhibit the diabetic activity as much as the existing medications. This study was conducted to collect and extract ethnomedicinal plants from Malaysia using different solvents, to select the most potent ethnomedicinal plant extract using anti-diabetic screening assays and to screen for combination effects of the plant extracts on anti-diabetic activity. The plant extracts are then subjected to α- amylase and assays whereby detection of potent plants that result in more than 50% inhibition is selected. Selected plants are combined to one another in dual, triple and quadruple plant extract combinations and anti-diabetic assays are performed once again to find the most effective combination that gives the highest inhibition value. Once the combined inhibition values are obtained, these values determined and classified into synergistic and antagonistic groups depending on its relationship with one another, whether it enhances inhibition value or not. For alpha-amylase inhibition, the chloroform extract of E. longifolia gave the highest inhibition of α-amylase enzyme at 82.42%

Extracts of Hypsizygus tessellatus (white var.) caps inhibited MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines proliferation

Cancer management is associated with serious side-effects due to the harmful nature of radiation and chemotherapy on the body cells. These side-effects have necessitated the need for diversifying the alternative or complementary sources of cancer therapy. Natural products have been on the front line as alternative sources of anticancer agents and have attracted much attention in recent times. In this study, the anticancer activity of Hypsizygus tessellatus (white var.) caps (also known as Bunapi shimeji) extracted with acetone and ethyl acetate was evaluated in vitro against MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 (breast cancer cell lines) and MCF-10a (Vero or normal breast cells). Likewise, the free radical scavenging and metal reducing activities of the extract were evaluated through in vitro chemical-based methods. Furthermore, the phytochemical compositions of the extracts were determined through LC–MS-QTOF-assisted mass spectroscopy. The results of this study indicated that acetone fraction had better radical scavenging activity against DPPH (IC50 = 0.76 mg/mL) and H2O2 (IC50 = 0.84 mg/mL) than ethyl acetate fraction against DPPH (IC50 = 1.10 mg/mL) and H2O2 (IC50 = 1.26 mg/mL) (p < 0.05). Additionally, the acetone fraction was observed to have more antiproliferative effects against MCF-7 (IC50 = 0.051–0.055 mg/mL) and MDA-MB-231 (IC50 = 0.122–0.131 mg/mL) compared to the ethyl acetate fraction against MCF-7 (IC50 = 0.075–0.096 mg/mL) and MDA-MB-231 (IC50 = 0.161–0.164 mg/mL) (p < 0.05). Both extracts generally had less effect on MCF-10a cells. Thus, these results suggested that Bunapi shimeji caps is a potential good natural source of anticancer agents

Beefalin: meat tenderizer from non-edible parts of pineapple

Several strategies have been implemented to improve tenderness quality of meat. Meat tenderization using plant proteolytic enzymes are preferable. Pineappleby-products(nonedibleparts)–sourceofproteolytic enzyme(bromelain). Higher demand in pineapple processed items-huge pineapple by-products generations. Pineappleby-products are typically easily exposed to microbial spoilage OBJECTIVE: to find out the added value of the pineapple by products, stem, from the Malaysian variant of A.comosus to be used a same attenderizer

Cellulose Supported Pd(II) Complex Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon Bonds Formation

Corn-cobs are an agro-industrial waste and composed of cellulose mostly. In this study cellulose was isolated from the waste corn-cobs and modified to polymeric hydroxamic acid palladium complex 1 and characterized by using a variety of spectroscopic methods such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The complex 1 exhibited high catalytic activity towards Suzuki and Heck coupling reactions of activated and deactivated aryl halides to give the respective coupling products with high yield. Moreover, the complex 1 was recovered and recycled five times with no considerable loss of catalytic overall performance