New aliphatic constituents from the aerial parts of Artemisia annua L.

Artemisia annua L. (Asteraceae) is an aromatic annual herb, up to 2 m in height, found in temperate Asia, especially China and naturalized in many countries of the world. The plant is prescribed against fever, malaria, skin diseases, jaundice, malignant ulcers and haemorrhoids. Phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of A. annua led to the isolation of alkyl alcohols, fatty acid esters, alkyl glucoside and fatty acids characterized as n-nonadecan-2β-ol (isononadecanol, 1), n-docosan-9β-ol (isodocosanol, 2), 1-octacosanol (n-octacosanyl alcohol, 3), n-heptadecanyl n-octadec-9,12-dienoate (n-heptadecanyl linoleate, 4), n-octadecanyl n-octadec-9,12,-dienoate (n-octadecanyl linoleate, 5), n-nonacosanyl n-octadec-9, 12-dienoate (n-nonacosanyl linoleate, 6), n-cos-(Z)-10-enoic acid (cis-cos-10-enoic acid, 7), n-cos-(Z)-9-enoic acid (cis-cos-9-enoic acid, 8) and n-heptadecanyl-ß-D-glucopyronoside (n-heptadecanyl glucoside, 9). The structures of all phytoconstituents, isolated for the first time from A. annua have been elucidated on the basis of spectral data analysis and chemical reaction

Phytochemical, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity screening of ethanol extract of Acacia ehrenbergiana Hayne grown in Jazan Region of Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To explore the phytoconstituents of Acacia ehrenbergiana Hayne as well as its biological effects. Methods: Determination of phytoconstituents of ethanol extract of the plant was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. Antibacterial screening was conducted against the isolates of Gram-positive and Gram-negative microbes while the anti-carcinogenic properties of the ethanol extract on cancerous cells were investigated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assay against breast MCF7, ovary cancer A2780 and colon cancer HT29 cells, respectively, in addition to normal MRC5 fibroblast cells. Results: GC-MS analysis identified 15 different phytochemicals in the ethanol extract. The extract exerted significant antimicrobial activity with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) in the range 1.56 - 6.25 and 3.12 – 12.5 mg/L, respectively, against all test bacterial strains. Cytotoxic activity, obtained by MTT assay, was 28.81 ± 0.99, 12.50 ± 2.50, 23.90 ± 0.74 and 50.58 ± 3.24 μg/mL, against the three cancer cell lines and normal fibroblast, respectively. MTT cytotoxicity results was further confirmed by clonogenic survival assay on MCF7 cells. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential interesting ethnopharmacological applications of Acacia ehrenbergiana Hayne to treat drug-resistant pathogens as standardized extract. Keywords: Acacia ehrenbergiana, Phytochemistry, Antimicrobial, Cytotoxicit

A New Sesquiterpene Derivative from the Fruit Peel of Citrus Limon (Linn.) Burm. f.

A new sesquiterpene derivative of phloroglucinol glycoside isolated from the fruit peels of Citrus limon (Linn.) Burm.f. has been characterized as phloroglucinolyl-D-glucuronosyl-6″-longifolan-1″-ol-2″-one on the basis of spectral analyses

Potential anticancer activity of chemically characterized extract of Olea europaea (Olive) leaves

Olea europaea Linn. (Olive) is considered as essential component of Mediterranean diets. Olive leaves, fruits, and oil are traditionally known for several health benefits including diabetes, cardiac complications, cancer, etc. The objective of the present study is to determine the anticancer potential of chemically characterized O. europaea extract in MTT assay and EB/AO double staining method using Human lung cancer cell lines (A549). The chemical constituents present in the ethyl acetate extract of O. europaea leaves were characterized by GC-MS and its cytotoxic activity was assessed by MTT assay and EB/AO double staining method. The GC-MS analysis identified 63 chemical constituents, and neophytadiene (21.80%), zingiberenol (12.36%), and allohimachalol (5.49%) was found as major chemical constituents in ethyl acetate extract of O. europaea leaves. O. europaea produces a time and dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation of A549 cell lines. The cell viability of A549 cell lines after 24 hrs treatment with O. europaea ranged from 97.96±3.44 to 18.95±2.14 % for a concentration range of 0.5-500 μg/mL, respectively, with IC50 value of 21.91±1.8 μg/mL. EB/AO double staining shows significant apoptosis in early and late apoptotic, and necrotic cells with increased volume and showed uneven orange-red fluorescence at their periphery. The study outcome shows that O. europaea extract significantly inhibited cell proliferation and apoptosis in human lung cancer (A549) cell lines, and it also explores the chemical composition of O. europaea leaves extract.Keywords: Apoptosis, A549 cell lines, Cancer, GC-MS, MTT assay, Olea europea, Olive. 

Potential anticancer activity of chemically characterized extract of Olea europaea (Olive) leaves

Olea europaea Linn. (Olive) is considered as essential component of Mediterranean diets. Olive leaves, fruits, and oil are traditionally known for several health benefits including diabetes, cardiac complications, cancer, etc. The objective of the present study is to determine the anticancer potential of chemically characterized O. europaea extract in MTT assay and EB/AO double staining method using Human lung cancer cell lines (A549). The chemical constituents present in the ethyl acetate extract of O. europaea leaves were characterized by GC-MS and its cytotoxic activity was assessed by MTT assay and EB/AO double staining method. The GC-MS analysis identified 63 chemical constituents, and neophytadiene (21.80%), zingiberenol (12.36%), and allohimachalol (5.49%) was found as major chemical constituents in ethyl acetate extract of O. europaea leaves. O. europaea produces a time and dose-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation of A549 cell lines. The cell viability of A549 cell lines after 24 hrs treatment with O. europaea ranged from 97.96±3.44 to 18.95±2.14 % for a concentration range of 0.5-500 μg/mL, respectively, with IC50 value of 21.91±1.8 μg/mL. EB/AO double staining shows significant apoptosis in early and late apoptotic, and necrotic cells with increased volume and showed uneven orange-red fluorescence at their periphery. The study outcome shows that O. europaea extract significantly inhibited cell proliferation and apoptosis in human lung cancer (A549) cell lines, and it also explores the chemical composition of O. europaea leaves extract.Keywords: Apoptosis, A549 cell lines, Cancer, GC-MS, MTT assay, Olea europea, Olive. 

Evaluating legal age of 18 years through observation of third molars using Gambier et al. method in an orthopantomographic sample of subadults from South India.

In forensic practice, medicolegal physicians are often tasked with estimating age using dental evidence. This calls for an uncomplicated, reliable, and reproducible method for dental age estimation, enabling physicians to proceed without specific odontological expertise. Among various dental methods, third molar eruption analyses are less complicated and easier to perform. In our study, we explored the effectiveness of Gambier et al.'s scoring system, which examines the eruption of all third molars. We retrospectively analysed 1032 orthopantomograms (528 males and 504 females) of individuals aged between 15 and 24 years. The mean chronological age increased with the progression of stages (1 to 3) and phases (A to D) of the third molar eruption for both sexes. In terms of stages, none showed significant discrimination between minors (18 years), especially for males. However, Gambier's phase D displayed a relatively high likelihood of being 18 years or older, with an overall 85.9 % of males and 95.7 % of females having all third molars in stage 3 being 18 years or older. While the tested method could be helpful in indicating the completion of the 18th year of life, caution is advised (due to a high percentage of false positives), and it should be used alongside other age assessment methods by experts

Isolation of Endophytic Salt-Tolerant Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria From Oryza sativa and Evaluation of Their Plant Growth-Promoting Traits Under Salinity Stress Condition

<jats:p>The application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as vital components for plant growth promotion against biotic and abiotic stresses could be a promising strategy to improve crop production in areas vulnerable to increasing salinity. Here, we isolated Seventy-five endophytic bacteria from roots of healthy <jats:italic>Oryza sativa</jats:italic> grown in a saline environment of the southern coastal region of Bangladesh. The endophytes in a culture of ~10<jats:sup>8</jats:sup> CFU/ml showed arrays of plant growth-promoting (PGP) activities: phytohormone (Indole acetic acid) production (1.20–60.13 μg/ ml), nutrient (phosphate) solubilization (0.02–1.81 μg/ml) and nitrogen fixation (70.24–198.70 μg/ml). Four genomically diverse groups were identified namely, <jats:italic>Enterobacter, Achromobacter, Bacillus</jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Stenotrophomonas</jats:italic> using amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis followed by their respective 16S rDNA sequence analyses with that of the data available in NCBI GenBank. These four specific isolates showed tolerance to NaCl ranging from 1.37 to 2.57 mol/L in the nutrient agar medium. Under a 200 mmol/L salt stress <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic>, the bacteria in a culture of 10<jats:sup>8</jats:sup> CFU/ml exhibited competitive exopolysaccharide (EPS) production: <jats:italic>Stenotrophomonas</jats:italic> (65 μg/ml) and <jats:italic>Bacillus</jats:italic> (28 μg/ml), when compared to the positive control, <jats:italic>Pseudomonas</jats:italic> spp. (23.65 μg/ml), a phenomenon ably supported by their strong biofilm-producing abilities both in a microtiter plate assay, and <jats:italic>in soil</jats:italic> condition; and demonstrated by images of the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Overall, the isolated endophytic microorganisms revealed potential PGP activities that could be supported by their biofilm-forming ability under salinity stress, thereby building up a sustainable solution for ensuring food security in coastal agriculture under changing climate conditions.</jats:p&gt

GC-MS Analysis and Cytotoxicity Evaluation of Shammah (Smokeless Tobacco) Samples of Jazan Region of Saudi Arabia as Promoter of Cancer Cell Proliferation

Shammah is a locally manufactured form of smokeless tobacco (ST) which is traditionally used in Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen. Presence of a high concentration of nicotine, in addition to various other toxic and carcinogenic constituents, makes it a serious human health threat. It is an admixture containing powdered tobacco, along with several additives, such as lime, ash, black pepper, volatile oils, and flavoring agents. This study was conducted to investigate the constituents of eight different samples of widely used shammah varieties in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia using GC-MS and to evaluate their cytotoxic effect against three cancer cell lines representing most of the top malignancies in the region including MCF-7, A2780, and HT29 cancer cells, in addition to MRC5 cells (normal human fetal lung fibroblast) using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. GC-MS analysis showed the presence of nicotine or 3-(1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl)pyridine (2.1–91.9% of total constituents detected) in all ST samples, whereas its derivative (1s,2s)-nicotine-N-oxide (0.23–1.62%) was detected in four samples. In addition, several known carcinogenic constituents were also identified, and their carcinogenicity was confirmed by MTT results, in which, all the eight samples promoted the growth of MCF7, A2780, and HT29 cancer cells. The cytotoxic effects of samples against the normal cells MRC5 was proportional to the number of components detected by GC-MS. The ingestion of these constituents through saliva of shammah consumers could be the reason for many cancers including breast, ovary, and colon cancers. These results support the urgent local and international call to educate the users regarding the deleterious effects of shammah to avoid its use