Comparative study of antioxidant level and activity from leaf extracts of Annona muricata Linn obtained from different locations

Annona muricata Linn possesses an anti-tumorigenic effect towards cancer. Several of its bioactive components have already been assessed in previous findings. However, none of the previous studies actually addressed the important consideration of the association between cultivation area of this medicinal plant and its bioactive compounds/antioxidants. In this study, the antioxidant level and antioxidant activity of 19 Annona muricata collected from different locations were evaluated by phenolic and flavonoid assays together with Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma (FRAP) and 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) assays. M1 was found to have an attractive antioxidant profile as it had the highest content of phenolics (73.2 µg/mL GAE) and flavonoids (191.4 µg/mL CE) and also the highest antioxidant capacity in ORAC assay (254.7 µM). Additionally, it had a favourably high ferric ion reducing capacity (15.55 µM Fe2+/µg) and the best free DPPH-radical scavenging activity (IC50=143.5 µg/mL). On the contrary, R1 showed the lowest level of phenolics with a GAE value of 21.92 µg/mL, ranked second lowest in flavonoid content (65.42 µg/mL CE), and it had the least antioxidant capacity in ORAC (94.66 µM), FRAP (4.17 µM Fe2+/µg) and DPPH assays (1597 µg/mL), making it the least desirable antioxidant source. Based on this finding, it was concluded that Annona muricata Linn had varied antioxidant levels and activity regarding its cultivation area; hence, it would be a guide in the selection of potential candidates for natural antioxidants in phytopharmacy

Anti-cancer effect of Annona Muricata Linn Leaves Crude Extract (AMCE) on breast cancer cell line

Background: Annona muricata Linn which comes from Annonaceae family possesses many therapeutic benefits as reported in previous studies and to no surprise, it has been used in many cultures to treat various ailments including headaches, insomnia, and rheumatism to even treating cancer. However, Annona muricata Linn obtained from different cultivation area does not necessarily offer the same therapeutic effects towards breast cancer (in regards to its bioactive compound production). In this study, anti-proliferative and anti-cancer effects of Annona muricata crude extract (AMCE) on breast cancer cell lines were evaluated. Methods: A screening of nineteen samples of Annona muricata from different location was determined by MTT assay on breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and 4 T1) which revealed a varied potency (IC50) amongst them. Then, based on the IC50 profile from the anti-proliferative assay, further downward assays such as cell cycle analysis, Annexin V/FITC, AO/PI, migration, invasion, and wound healing assay were performed only with the most potent leaf aqueous extract (B1 AMCE) on 4 T1 breast cancer cell line to investigate its anti-cancer effect. Then, the in vivo anti-cancer study was conducted where mice were fed with extract after inducing the tumor. At the end of the experiment, histopathology of tumor section, tumor nitric oxide level, tumor malondialdehyde level, clonogenic assay, T cell immunophenotyping, and proteome profiler analysis were performed. Results: Annona muricata crude extract samples exhibited different level of cytotoxicity toward breast cancer cell lines. The selected B1 AMCE reduced the tumor’s size and weight, showed anti-metastatic features, and induced apoptosis in vitro and in vivo of the 4 T1 cells. Furthermore, it decreased the level of nitric oxide and malondialdehyde in tumor while also increased the level of white blood cell, T-cell, and natural killer cell population. Conclusion: The results suggest that, B1 AMCE is a promising candidate for cancer treatment especially in breast cancer and deserves further research as an alternative to conventional drugs while also stressed out the selection of soursop sample which plays a significant role in determining its potential therapeutic effect on cancer

Medicinal Plant Applications as Traditional and Complementary Medicine by Sabah Ethnicities and the Regulations and Economic View in Malaysia's Healthcare Industry: A Mini Review

Plants containing medicinal and therapeutical properties have been utilized by societies around the world as their primary healthcare needs. Numbers of plants with pharmacological/medicinal benefits such as anticancer, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and antiviral have been evaluated in research studies concerning the crude plant extracts and their phytochemical constituents. However, the traditional knowledge in Sabah, Malaysia is still under-documented despite the fact that it is the home for many different species of flora. Owing to the great biodiversity of different species of the medicinal plants in Sabah, a wide range of phytochemical compounds could be investigated and determined based on the traditional practices of the ethnicities there. The present review paper attempts to discuss the applications of these plants in Sabah in terms of Traditional and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (T&CAM) practices by five ethnicities namely, Kadazan/Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Lundayeh, and Rungus along with its advancements in scientific research to understand its effectiveness in treating intended illness or injuries with proper acknowledgement of the involved communities. Additionally, the economic aspects regarding the regulations and recognitions of medicinal plants and T&CAM practices in Malaysia will also be briefly discussed as natural products have now turned into a key issue in industrialized and developing nations

A Mini-review on Oncolytic Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV): From Highly Contagious Virus to a Biological Tool for Cancer Therapy

Newcastle disease virus is a highly contagious viral infection affecting a plethora of avian species with distinct levels of susceptibility. It exerts a significant economic impact in certain countries due to its pathogenic nature, causing high mortality and morbidity rates. It is well characterized that the Newcastle disease virus is among the avian paramyxovirus serotypes, which could be easily disseminated through contaminated feed, water, and others. In view of its capability to thrive in extreme conditions, the exploration of Newcastle disease virus, as an oncolytic agent, has been gaining interest over the last few years. It is widely utilized as a vector in vaccine development for both humans and animals. The versatility in transcription, low deoxyribonucleic acid phase during replication, as well as low recombinant frequency makes Newcastle disease virus a major reason in the development of cancer vaccines. This review highlights the current understanding of its biology, associated with advanced molecular biology tools as oncolytic agents. Given that Newcastle disease virus is still in the early stage of clinical trials as oncolytic agents, deeper exploration of preclinical studies is necessary to ensure its safety and efficacy

Synthesis and comparative study of thermal, electrochemical, and cytotoxicity properties of graphene flake and sheet

Two types of graphene, namely few-layer flake and multilayer sheet, were produced by chemical vapor deposition on nickel catalyst at high temperature (1050 °C) using different reaction times and cooling rates and their properties characterized and compared. The number of layers, morphology, structure, graphitization, composition, and surface area were studied using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron-dispersive X-ray analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area measurements, respectively. Further properties of these nanomaterials, including their thermal stability, electrochemical properties, and cytotoxicity, were also comprehensively investigated

Ulasan sistematik keatas pengaplikasian biopenderia berasaskan perencatan enzim sebagai kaedah saringan awal untuk pemantauan alam sekitar dan keselamatan makanan

Dalam artikel ini, penemuan terkini dalam pembangunan biopenderia berdasarkan perencatan enzim diulas. Oleh kerana kepilihan dan kepekaan yang sangat baik, ia mewakili kaedah alternatif penting kepada kaedah analisis konvensional; iaitu kaedah menganalisis yang hanya bergantung pada penjanaan data instrumentasi tanpa sebarang saringan awalan. Secara amnya biopenderia berkemampuan dalam menukar aktiviti biologi kepada isyarat yang boleh diukur. Biopenderia berasaskan perencatan enzim ini mempunyai pelbagai aplikasi dalam bidang keselamatan alam sekitar, keselamatan makanan, dan analisis klinikal kerana bahan – bahan toksik yang mengandungi logam berat dan racun perosak adalah perencat enzim yang paling berkesan. Kertas kerja ini bertujuan untuk meneroka kaedah yang digunakan dan kepekaan terhadap pelbagai perencat untuk biosensor berdasarkan perencatan enzim seperti glukosa oksidase, urease, tyrosinase, kolinesterase, dan enzim lain

Oncolytic effects of the recombinant newcastle disease virus, rAF-IL12, against colon cancer cells in vitro and in tumor-challenged NCr-foxn1nu nude mice

Colon cancer remains one of the main cancers causing death in men and women worldwide as certain colon cancer subtypes are resistant to conventional treatments and the development of new cancer therapies remains elusive. Alternative modalities such as the use of viral-based therapeutic cancer vaccine is still limited, with only the herpes simplex virus (HSV) expressing granulocyte-macrophage colony- stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or talimogene laherparepvec (T-Vec) being approved in the USA and Europe so far. Therefore, it is imperative to continue the search for a new treatment modality. This current study evaluates a combinatorial therapy between the oncolytic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) cytokine as a potential therapeutic vaccine to the current anti-cancer drugs. Several in vitro analyses such as MTT assay, Annexin V/FITC flow cytometry, and cell cycle assay were performed to evaluate the cytotoxicity effect of recombinant NDV, rAF-IL12. Meanwhile, serum cytokine, serum biochemical, histopathology of organs and TUNEL assay were carried out to assess the anti-tumoral effects of rAF-IL12 in HT29 tumor-challenged nude mice. The apoptosis mechanism underlying the effect of rAF-IL12 treatment was also investigated using NanoString Gene expression analysis. The recombinant NDV, rAF-IL12 replicated in HT29 colon cancer cells as did its parental virus, AF2240-i. The rAF-IL12 treatment had slightly better cytotoxicity effects towards HT29 cancer cells when compared to the AF2240-i as revealed by the MTT, Annexin V FITC and cell cycle assay. Meanwhile, the 28-day treatment with rAF-IL12 had significantly (p < 0.05) perturbed the growth and progression of HT29 tumor in NCr-Foxn1nu nude mice when compared to the untreated and parental wild-type NDV strain AF2240-i. The rAF-IL12 also modulated the immune system in nude mice by significantly (p < 0.05) increased the level of IL-2, IL-12, and IFN-γ cytokines. Treatment with rAF-IL12 had also significantly (p < 0.05) increased the expression level of apoptosis-related genes such as Fas, caspase-8, BID, BAX, Smad3 and granzyme B in vitro and in vivo. Besides, rAF-IL12 intra-tumoral delivery was considered safe and was not hazardous to the host as evidenced in pathophysiology of the normal tissues and organs of the mice as well as from the serum biochemistry profile of liver and kidney. Therefore, this study proves that rAF-IL12 had better cytotoxicity effects than its parental AF2240-i and could potentially be an ideal treatment for colon cancer in the near future

Emerging development of nanocellulose as an antimicrobial material: An overview

The prolonged survival of microbes on surfaces in high-traffic/high-contact environments drives the need for a more consistent and passive form of surface sterilization to minimize the risk of infection. Due to increasing tolerance to antibiotics among microorganisms, research focusing on the discovery of naturally-occurring biocides with low-risk cytotoxicity properties has become more pressing. The latest research has centred on nanocellulosic antimicrobial materials due to their low-cost and unique features, which are potentially useful as wound dressings, drug carriers, packaging materials, filtration/adsorbents, textiles, and paint. This review discusses the latest literature on the fabrication of nanocellulose-based antimicrobial materials against viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa by employing variable functional groups, including aldehyde groups, quaternary ammonium, metal, metal oxide nanoparticles as well as chitosan. The problems associated with industrial manufacturing and the prospects for the advancement of nanocellulose-based antimicrobial materials are also addressed

The growth inhibitory potential and antimetastatic effect of camel urine on breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo

Although it may sound unpleasant, camel urine has been consumed extensively for years in the Middle East as it is believed to be able to treat a wide range of diseases such as fever, cold, or even cancer. People usually take it by mixing small drops with camel milk or take it directly. The project aims to study the effects of camel urine in inhibiting the growth potential and metastatic ability of 4T1 cancer cell line in vitro and in vivo. Based on the MTT result, the cytotoxicity of camel urine against 4T1 cell was established, and it was dose-dependent. Additionally, the antimetastatic potential of camel urine was tested by running several assays such as scratch assay, migration and invasion assay, and mouse aortic ring assay with promising results in the ability of camel urine to inhibit metastatic process of the 4T1 cells. In order to fully establish camel urine’s potential, an in vivo study was carried out by treating mice inoculated with 4T1 cells with 2 different doses of camel urine. By the end of the treatment period, the tumor in both treated groups had reduced in size as compared to the control group. Additional assays such as the TUNEL assay, immunophenotyping, cytokine level detection assay, clonogenic assay, and proteome profiler demonstrated the capability of camel urine to reduce and inhibit the metastatic potential of 4T1 cells in vivo. To sum up, further study of anticancer properties of camel urine is justified, as evidenced through the in vitro and in vivo studies carried out. Better results were obtained at higher concentration of camel urine used in vivo. Apart from that, this project has laid out the mechanisms employed by the substance to inhibit the growth and the metastatic process of the 4T1 cell

Efficacy of recombinant Newcastle disease virus, RAF-IL12 as a potential therapeutic cancer vaccine in CT26 and HT29 cancer cell line and in mouse model

Colon cancer remains one of the main cancer-causing death in men and women worldwide given that certain colon cancer subtypes are resistant to the conventional treatments and the development of new cancer therapy remains elusive. Alternative modalities such as the use of viral-based therapeutic cancer vaccine is still limited as only herpes simplex virus (HSV) expressing granulocyte-macrophage colony- stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or talimogene laherparepvec (T-Vec) had been approved in the USA and Europe. Therefore, it is imperative to continue the search for a new treatment modality such as the use of combinatorial therapy between the oncolytic Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) cytokine as a potential therapeutic vaccine to the current anti-cancer drugs available in the market. Moreover, this combination between NDV and IL-12 against colon cancer is yet to be discovered and would probably lead to much better outcomes compared to their individual treatments. NDV is a paramyxovirus which infects and causes severe respiratory and central nervous disease in poultry and avian species leading to mortality, but it could also target and kill cancer cells. In light of the previous success of the wild-type NDV utilized against several cancer cell types, this project aims to study the anti-cancer effects of recombinant NDV, AF2240-i strain expressing IL-12 (rAF-IL12) in CT26 and HT29 colon cancer cells, which could potentially provide a better outcome in comparison to the wild-type strain, AF2240-i (i.e. used as a positive control in the in vitro and in vivo assays). In this study, rAF-IL12 was hypothesized to induce apoptosis in CT26 and HT29 in vitro and in vivo, modulate immune response in tumor-burden mice, and have no effects towards normal cells and tissues. MTT anti-proliferative assay revealed that the IC50 value of rAF-IL12 against CT26 and HT29 cell lines was 276 HA unit and 110 HA unit, respectively. These IC50 values were used as treatment dosage in the other in vitro assays such as AO/PI, Annexin V FITC, and cell cycle analysis. The rAF-IL12 treatment showed significant (p<0.05) cytotoxicity effects towards CT26 and HT29 cancer cells when compared to the AF2240-i as revealed by the MTT, AO/PI, and Annexin V FITC assay. Meanwhile, in the cell cycle analysis, the rAF-IL12 significantly (p<0.05) induced cell cycle arrest at G1 phase in CT26 cells and significantly (p<0.05) caused apoptosis at G0 phase in HT29 cells. Following the convincing results in vitro, further evaluation of rAF-IL12 against colon cancer were carried out in vivo by inducing the CT26 and HT29 cells in Balb/c and NCr Foxn1 nude mice, respectively. Treatment with rAF-IL-12 (dosage= 128 HA unit) significantly (p<0.05) decreased the weight and volume of tumor in both CT26 and HT29 tumor-bearing mice in comparison to the untreated and parental NDV, AF2240-i groups. Treatment with rAF-IL12 had also significantly (p<0.05) increased the number of apoptotic cells when compared to the other groups as revealed by TUNEL assay. Additionally, rAF-IL12 was also shown to significantly (p<0.05) modulate immune system by elevating the level of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells as well as interleukin-2, interleukin-12, and interferon-gamma. In addition, rAF-IL12 could significantly (p<0.05) modulate the expression level of several genes in the CT26 (KRAS, BRAF, MAPK1, NOTCH-1, BAX, p53, CCL2, and VEGF-A) and HT29 (Fas, caspase-8, BID, BAX, SMAD3, and granzyme B) tumor-bearing mice. Furthermore, the immunohistochemistry analysis of HT29 tumors revealed the anti-metastatic and anti-angiogenic potential of rAF-IL12 as it could significantly (p<0.05) decrease the expression level of Survivin and VEGF proteins. Taken together, rAF-IL12 is a promising candidate for colon cancer therapy concerning its good profile in treating colon cancer-challenged mice as well as in the in vitro assays