Effects of oil palm (elais guineensis) fruit extracts on glucose uptake activity of muscle, adipose and liver cells

The effect of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fruit aqueous extract (OPF) on glucose uptake activity of three different cell lines was investigated. The cell lines were incubated with different concentrations of OPF to evaluate the stimulatory effect of OPF towards glucose uptake activity of L6 myotubes, 3T3F442A adipocytes and Chang liver cell line. The glucose uptake activities of all tested cells were enhanced in the presence of OPF extract (basal condition). Nevertheless in combination of OPF extract and 100 nM insulin, the glucose uptake activity was only significantly enhanced in L6 myotubes and 3T3F442A adipocytes cell lines. The extracts enhanced the glucose uptake into cells through either insulin-mimetic or insulin-sensitizing property or combination of these two properties. It can be suggested that the OPF extract exerts its antihyperglycemic action partly by mediated glucose uptake into the glucose-responsive disposal cells, muscle, adipose and liver

Glucose uptake activity of Ganoderma lucidum QRS 5120 in L6 myotube cell

The increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus alongside the advancements in industry and technology underscores the urgency to eliminate this disease. Ganoderma lucidum, renowned for its anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory properties, is widely utilized as a therapeutic medication. The aim of this study was to investigate the glucose uptake activity of exopolysaccharides (EPS) derived from the identified Malaysian Ganoderma lucidum strain QRS 5120 on the L6 myoblast cell line. To achieve this, Ganoderma pellets were cultured using a bioreactor, and EPS were extracted from the pellet for testing its glucose uptake activity. EPS production peak at day 12 (83 g/L) of the cultivation. The extracted EPS underwent a sulfation process to enhance compound solubility and flexibility. This was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), where sulfation resulted in a sharp vibrational stretch at 1622 cm⁻¹, while unsulfated EPS exhibited a medium stretch at 1632 cm⁻¹. The glucose uptake activity assay revealed that a significantly lower concentration of residual glucose was observed at 500 μg/L (0.43 mg/mL) and 200 μg/L (0.45 mg/mL) when compared to the control group, indicating that EPS has a stimulatory effect on glucose uptake activity in L6 myotube cell lines. Consequently, from this preliminary study, it was shown that the EPS derived from the Malaysian strain Ganoderma lucidum QRS 5120 exhibits glucose uptake activity in skeletal muscle cells

Molecular Docking and Dynamics (MD) Simulation of 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol Against Human Estrogen Receptor Alpha (ERÉ‘)

Simulation and computational analysis of 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol is done to evaluate their binding affinity against ERα. Active site prediction was done using Computed Atlas of Surface Topography of Proteins (CASTp) to determine the binding pocket of ERα. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation were done to assess the binding affinity and stability of the ligand-ERα complexes formed. Results showed that Tamoxifen have lowest binding energy (-9.61 ± 0.39 kcal/mol) followed by 6-gingerol (-6.59 ± 0.29 kcal/mol) and 6-shogaol (-5.70 ± 0.36 kcal/mol). Inhibition constant (Ki) range of TMX-ERα was found to be drastically lower than both 6GN-ERα and 6SG-ERα. Based on the difference in the binding energy range and inhibition constant, 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol showed less potential in substituting tamoxifen for the inhibition of ERɑ. Docking complexes formed was supported with stability in root mean square deviation (RMSD) and total binding energy of the complexes. The study is concluded that 6-gingerol have high level of interactions with the ERα active site in terms of hydrogen bonding whereas hydrophobic interactions are observed with both 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol. However, both ginger bioactive compounds poses low potential as substitute in comparison with tamoxifen against ERα

Study of Glucose-6-Phosphate dehydrogenase activity assay in mangrove streptomyces for actinohordin and undercylprodigiosin production

This study evaluates the potential of using glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity assay for Actinohordin and Undecylprodigiosin productions from mangrove Streptomyces. Previously, there were several methods used to screen antimicrobial activities such as agar spot test and disc diffusion assay, but those are lengthy screening methods and time consuming. Thus, to overcome the limitations plate-based assay is suggested to enable rapid screening on secondary metabolite production of numerous samples at one time. The development of plate-based assay was performed by optimizing glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity assay. This coupled assay was based on the production of dihydronicotinamideadenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) whereby a right combination of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) and glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) were refined. The production of NADPH was measured at absorbance of 340 nm where reduced cofactor NADPH are absorbed readily at this wavelength. Sample with different concentrations of crude lysate was subjected to various substrates concentration to obtain the best activity curve. Even though elucidating clear patterns is speculative, it is believed that some improvements or optimizations of this study could offer promising knowledge which can serve as useful reference in futur

Molecular Docking Analysis of 6-paradol, Zingerone and Zerumbone Against Human Estrogen Receptor Alpha (ERÉ‘)

Molecular docking was done to assess the binding affinity of 6-paradol (6PRD), Zingerone (ZGR) and Zerumbone (ZRB) ligand-ERα complex in comparison to Hydroxytamoxifen (HTMX). Docking results showed that Glu353 and Arg394 active residues forms hydrogen bonding with 6PRD and ZGR. Glu353, Leu387 and Arg394 were the three identical residues found to formed hydrophobic interaction in HTMX-ERα, 6PRD-ERα and ZGR-ERα. HTMX showed lowest binding energy (-10.71 ± 0.43 kcal/mol) followed by ZRB (-8.66 ± 0.04 kcal/mol), 6PRD (-6.92 ± 0.14 kcal/mol) and ZGR (-5.93 ± 0.31 kcal/mol). Inhibition constant (Ki) range of 6PRD-ERα was found to be drastically lower than HTMX-ERα, ZGR-ERα and ZRB-ERα. Based on the docking analysis, the three bioactive compounds were showed to poses low potential as substitute towards tamoxifen. Future study is recommended for analysing 6PRD potential in substituting estradiol as Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for breast cancer

Investigation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of zingiber officinale roscoe oleosin on airborne pathogenic microorganisms / Mohd Faez Sharif... [et al.]

Zingiber Officinale Roscoe or ginger has been found to have characteristics that are beneficial to human beings for different purposes. In this study, oleoresins from both young and mature gingers were studied to evaluate their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity on common airborne pathogenic microorganisms. The total phenolic and antioxidant contents were tested using the Folin–Ciocalteu method and DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl) scavenging activity assay respectively. Meanwhile, antimicrobial activity was determined using the disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against two pathogenic bacteria and fungi; namely S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, C. albicans, and A. niger. Young ginger oleoresin exhibits higher total phenolic contents (129.5869 ± 14.27 GAE) and antioxidant activity (99.06 % ± 1.41) than matured ginger oleoresin. In the antimicrobial study, the result showed that both young and matured oleoresins were able to inhibit the growth of common airborne pathogenic bacteria. However, common airborne pathogenic fungi were resistant to both oleoresin of ginger extract. The oleoresin was able to suppress the growth of S. aureus at the low concentration of 1 mg/ml rather than P. aeruginosa at 10 mg/ml. Young ginger possess higher antioxidant and antibacterial activity than matured ginger

Water pollution and the assessment of water quality parameters: a review

The entry of pollutants into the water bodies has deteriorated the quality of freshwater which led to the occurrence of water pollution. The factors of water pollution due to natural processes are cli- mate change and natural disasters. The anthropogenic activities that affect water quality are urban- ization, development of infrastructures, industrial applications, agricultural activities, and sediment runoff. The severity of water pollution is measured using physical, chemical, and biological param- eters. For biological parameters, metagenomics analysis is associated with bioinformatics in detect- ing, identifying, and characterizing the microorganisms present in the environment. The methods carried out from the data analysis through the bioinformatics study are bacterial abundance, rar- efaction curve, core microbiome, clustering analysis and diversity analysis. Turbidity, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), and total dissolved solids (TDS) are the physical parameters whereas pH, nutrients (ammoniacal nitrogen and phosphorus), dissolved oxygen (DO), and heavy met- als are the chemical parameters. A thorough and detailed study needs to be done to correlate the sources of water pollution and the water quality of freshwater. Therefore, proper treatment can be carried out to improve the water quality of the freshwater according to the class in DOE-WQI

Preclinical orofacial pain assays and measures and chronic primary orofacial pain research: where we are and where we need to go

Chronic primary orofacial pain (OFP) conditions such as painful temporomandibular disorders (pTMDs; i.e., myofascial pain and arthralgia), idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (TN), and burning mouth syndrome (BMS) are seemingly idiopathic, but evidence support complex and multifactorial etiology and pathophysiology. Important fragments of this complex array of factors have been identified over the years largely with the help of preclinical studies. However, findings have yet to translate into better pain care for chronic OFP patients. The need to develop preclinical assays that better simulate the etiology, pathophysiology, and clinical symptoms of OFP patients and to assess OFP measures consistent with their clinical symptoms is a challenge that needs to be overcome to support this translation process. In this review, we describe rodent assays and OFP pain measures that can be used in support of chronic primary OFP research, in specific pTMDs, TN, and BMS. We discuss their suitability and limitations considering the current knowledge of the etiology and pathophysiology of these conditions and suggest possible future directions. Our goal is to foster the development of innovative animal models with greater translatability and potential to lead to better care for patients living with chronic primary OFP

Screening of biodegradation potential for n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon among isolates from the north-western tip of Pahang

This study has successfully screened for a few selected enzyme activities and hydrocarbon-degrading capability of 18 bacterial isolates from the north-western tip of Pahang. The bacterial isolates were known belong to genus Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Acinetobacter, Serratia, Bacillus and Exiguobacterium. Among them there are more than 80% were lactase and amylase producers, while only 44% were protease and lipase producers. Gravimetric analysis was performed to test the capa- bility of degrading n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A statistical analysis, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for hydrocarbon utilization analysis. The overall degradation of n-alkanes was revealed to be not significant. On the other hand, based on the statistical analysis PAHs utilization was significant. Isolate A3i was chosen as the best utilizer of n-alkanes, while isolate A2 was chosen for the best PAHs degrader

Composting of food waste and its product performance on ipomoea aquatica

Food wastage is a serious problem reported currently, and their disposal at landfills caused environmental problems such as leachate and odour. Apart from being disposed, FW is biodegradable, and hence it can be treated through composting. Composting involves the activity of microbes to convert the FW into compost which can be used as organic fertiliser. While most of the previous studies focused on one type of composting method, the comparison between two methods to determine the efficient one in producing good quality compost is scarce. Hence, this study aimed to compare the physicochemical parameters of FW in conventional and spinning barrel composting method. Physicochemical parameters (temperature, pH, moisture content except for C/N ratio) were measured every three days interval throughout 30 composting days and analysed using SPSS. For the results, only moisture content differed significantly between both methods in which spinning barrel reach an optimum range of 54.61% in the end. The FW compost from both composting methods was then combined for application on I. aquatica. Four fertilisation treatments; control, NPK fertiliser, FW compost and combination of NPK fertiliser + FW compost were used to measure and compare the growth of I. aquatica in determining the best fertilisation treatment by looking at growth parameters (height, number of leaves and leaf width). The growth parameters were measured weekly for five weeks, and data were analysed using SASS. It was found that the best fertilisation treatment was the combination of NPK fertiliser + FW compost that recorded a better growth of I. aquatica (significant tallest height, the highest number of leaves and largest leaf width) most probably due to the synergetic effect of nutrients released from both fertilisers. To conclude, apart from reducing the FW disposed at landfills, composting also produce a valuable end product known as compost which can be used in combined with NPK fertiliser to promote the planting of I. aquatica