Bioassays activity and FT-IR analysis of clinacanthus nutans (Burm F.) lindau leaves extracts

Objectives: The present study was designed to investigate the antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of the different solvents extracts of Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. F) Lindau leaves through different bioassays as well as to identify the functional group(s) responsible for the particular bioactivity through Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Design and method: Mature leaves of C. nutans were collected, oven dried at 40 °C, powdered, and extracted in 80% hydro-methanol to obtain crude extract. This extract was then subjected to liquid to liquid partition to obtain hexane, ethyl acetate, butanol and aqueous extracts. All the extracts were then analysed for their bioactivity through various bioassays which include anti-oxidant (DPPH and FRAP) assay, xanthine oxidase and α-glucosidase inhibitory assays. FTIR analyses for the qualitative identification of bioactive compounds was then carried out to all the extracts. Results: Bioactivity analyses of the plant’s leaves extracts on anti-oxidant (DPPH and FRAP) assay, xanthine oxidase and α-glucosidase inhibitory assays revealed that the hexane extract was highly active against α-glucosidase. Meanwhile ethyl acetate exhibited average activity in DPPH scavenging and xanthine oxidase inhibitory assays. Highest FRAP value was exhibited by ethyl acetate extract compared to others. Interestingly, FT-IR spectra analyses of each extract confirmed the presence of different functional groups that may have contributed to the various biological activity. Conclusion: The results of the present study produced the FTIR spectrum profile for the vulnerable medicinally important plant C. nutans (Burm. F) Lindau that further confirms its medicinal values. Hence, C. nutans leaves extract is medicinally potent that may serve essentially in the development of new pharmaceuticals for natural plant-based medicine. Keywords: Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. F) Lindau, DPPH, FRAP, xanthine oxidase, α-glucosidase, FTIR, active principle

Evaluation of antioxidants activity of Momordica charantia using LC-MS metabolomics approach

Objectives: The present study was design to identify the significant biomarkers from M.charantia that possessing antioxidant activity using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based metabolomics approaches. Design and method: Initially, the fruit was extracted by soaking in different solvents with different concentrations of ethanol in water (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100%, v/v). Then, the extracts were tested for antioxidant activity using 1, 1-diphenyl-2 picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power assay. LC-MS based metabolomics approach correlated with multivariate data analysis was applied to profile the bioactive compounds present in the extract. Results The 80% ethanol extract showed a high inhibitory activity on 1, 1-diphenyl-2 picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and high ferric reducing antioxidant power, LC-MS based metabolomics approaches helped to identify several antioxidants in this extract such as ascorbic acid, margarolic acid, brevifolincarboxylic acid, quercetin 3-O-glycoside, kuguacin H, cucurbitacin E, 3-malonylmomordicin I, goyaglycoside G. Conclusion: The results of the present study shows possible antioxidants from M. charantia fruit can be identified Keywords: Momordica charantia, LCMS, Metabolomics, antioxidant, multivariate data analysis

Psychological impact of pornography exposure among university students in Kuantan

Pornography is a medium for sexual pleasure obtained from sources like pictures, videos, audios and written materials. Pornography can cause addiction to the users by stimulating the reward system that will cause significant brain changes similarly seen indrug addiction. Pornographic addiction has become a serious concern in the community worldwide which involves multiple age groups from children, teenagers until adults. This concern is becoming serious as the sources of the pornographic materials are easily available via the internet. Pornography addiction is also shown to give psychological impact to its users. This study was conducted to investigate the psychological impact of pornography usage among university students in Kuantan, Pahang and the comparisons between gender. A descriptive quantitative study was conducted involving 114 college students in Kuantan. An online questionnaire was administered to assess the psychological impact of pornography exposure on anxiety and depression among the respondents. The study showed that more men are significantly involved with pornography compared to women. The common age of first exposure to pornography was between 13 to 17 years old in both genders. Anxiety was higher among those involved with pornography with no differences between gender. Depression was higher among those who consume pornography with a slightly higher percentage of women having moderate to severe depression. This study provides evidence that college students particularly in Kuantan are exposedto pornographic materials. The findings of higher anxiety and depression amongst those who were exposed to pornography suggest that this behavior could negatively affect the wellbeing of students and potentially influence their academic performance

Characterization of antioxidant activity of Momordica charantia fruit by infrared-based fingerprinting

Momordica charantia is widely consumed edible fruit. The food and pharmaceutical industries use it as a natural antioxidant. However, the quality control of M. charantia-based medicinal products is questionable due to the complexity of metabolites in this fruit. Hence, this study has developed a statistical model in predicting the antioxidant value through the 2, 2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power based on infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance. This technique was reliably used for quality control. Six ethanol extracts (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% in water) of this plant’s fruit were prepared. The radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant power activities were measured and the chemical profiling of the extracts was fingerprinted by infrared spectroscopy between 4,000 and 600 cm−1 at a resolution of 4 cm−1. Statistical analysis was developed by correlating the bioactivity and infrared spectra of each extract using orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis. The C–N, C˭O, C–O, C–H, and OH infrared signals were positively correlated with biological activity. The antioxidant activity of the fruit of M. charantia may be due to the presence of several antioxidants that work synergistically

Antidiabetic and antioxidants activities of Clinacanthus nutans (Burm F.) Lindau leaves extracts

Clinacanthus nutans (C. nutans) is a local plant belongs to the family Acanthaceae. It is consumed as ‘jamu’ (healthy drink) in Indonesia and as ‘ulam’ in Malaysia. This plant has been claimed for its ability to prevent many diseases including diabetes. However, its scientific proof on this claim is still lacking. Thus, this study was designed to evaluate the antidiabetic potential and antioxidant capacity of C. nutans leaves extracts using in vitro bioassay tests. The 80% methanolic crude extract of this plant was further partitioned using different polarity solvents viz., hexane, hexane: ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v), ethyl acetate, ethyl acetate: methanol (1:1, v/v) and methanol. All the sub-fractions were analysed for antioxidant effect via 2, 2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil (DPPH) scavenging activity, ferric reducing power (FRAP) and xanthine oxidase (XO) assays followed by antidiabetic evaluation via α-glucosidase and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) inhibitory assays and glucose uptake experiment. The ethyl acetate fraction showed a good antioxidant potential while hexane exhibit high α-glucosidase and DPP-IV enzyme inhibition. The hexane fraction also improved glucose uptake in a dose-dependent manner. The study provides an informative data on the potential of C. nutans to be developed as a functional food in preventing diabetes

Identification of α-glucosidase inhibitorsfrom Clinacanthus nutans leaf extract using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and protein-ligand interaction with molecular docking

The present study used in vitro and in silico techniques, as well as the metabolomics approach to characterise α-glucosidase inhibitors from different fractions of Clinacanthus nutans. C. nutans is a medicinal plant belonging to the Acanthaceae family, and is traditionally used to treat diabetes in Malaysia. n-Hexane, n-hexane: ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v), ethyl acetate, ethyl acetate: methanol (1:1, v/v), and methanol fractions were obtained via partitioning of the 80% methanolic crude extract. The in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity was analyzed using all the fractions collected, followed by profiling of the metabolites using liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry. The partial least square (PLS) statistical model was developed using the SIMCA P+14.0 software and the following four inhibitors were obtained: (1) 4,6,8-Megastigmatrien-3-one; (2) N-Isobutyl-2-nonen-6,8-diynamide; (3) 1′,2′-bis(acetyloxy)-3′,4′-didehydro-2′-hydro-β, ψ-carotene; and (4) 22-acetate-3-hydroxy-21-(6-methyl-2,4-octadienoate)-olean-12-en-28-oic acid. The in silico study performed via molecular docking with the crystal structure of yeast isomaltase (PDB code: 3A4A) involved a hydrogen bond and some hydrophobic interactions between the inhibitors and protein. The residues that interacted include ASN259, HID295, LYS156, ARG335, and GLY209 with a hydrogen bond, while TRP15, TYR158, VAL232, HIE280, ALA292, PRO312, LEU313, VAL313, PHE314, ARG315, TYR316, VAL319, and TRP343 with other forms of bonding

Toxicity and teratogenicity evaluation of ethanolic extract from Momordica charantia fruit using zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo model

Zebra fish (Danio rerio), a freshwater fish, has become a favoured animal model to assess the teratogenicity effects of various compounds. Momordica charantia is a fruit traditionally used as a functional food to treat various ailments. In the present work, 80% ethanolic extract of M. charantia fruit was investigated for its teratogenicity effects on the zebrafish embryos. The embryos of 12 h post-fertilisation were immersed in the ethanolic extract at various concentrations of 250, 500, 750, 1,000, and 1,250 mg/L prepared in 2% DMSO. Microscopic observation was carried out every 24 h. Results showed an increased mortality rate, and a delayed hatching rate with increasing concentration. Some of the deformities observed included hyperactivity, crooked backbone, reduced pigmentation, awkward positioning, and coagulation at the highest concentration. Probit analysis resulted in 725.90 mg/L as the median lethal concentration (LC50). Chromatographic analysis revealed the presence of propanedioic acid, malic acid, contrunculin-A, glutamine, D-fructose, sorbopyranose, xylitol, galactonic acid, D-mannitol, and mannose. These compounds may contribute to the deformities observed in a concentration-dependent manner. Therefore, M. charantia fruit must be consumed with caution and within the recommended amount

Correlation of the GC-MS-based metabolite profile of Momordica charantia fruit and its antioxidant activity

Momordica charantia or bitter melon (Cucurbitaceae) is a widely consumed edible fruit with strong antioxidant properties. Due to these properties, it has been commercialised by the natural product industries as a coadjutant in the treatment of various ailments attributable to the deleterious effects of oxidants. The present work aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activity of M. charantia fruit extracts made with different compositions of ethanol:water, and to identify the metabolites that are responsible for this activity. To this end, the fruit samples were extracted using six different concentrations of ethanol in water (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100%). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and multivariate data analysis (MVDA) were used to identify significant antioxidants. The 80% ethanol:water extract showed the most significant (p < 0.05) antioxidant activity when tested with the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) antioxidant assays. The multivariate data analysis revealed that the metabolites related to this antioxidant activity were gentiobiose, glucose, galactonic acid, palmitic acid, galactose, mannose, and fructos

Rapid investigation of α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of Clinacanthus nutans leaf using infrared fingerprinting

The analytical method used in the quality control of Clinacanthus nutans leaves has not been well developed. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a simple analytical method to predict α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of this herb based on its infrared fingerprinting. The dried extracts obtained from maceration using solvents with different polarities were evaluated for the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and analysed through infrared spectroscopy. Multivariate data analysis was performed by correlating the bioactivity and infrared spectrum of each extract using partial least square method. The loading plot from multivariate data analysis revealed that C single bond H and Cdouble bond O infrared signals from terpenoids in the extract were positively correlated with the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The developed partial least square model was validated through a testing on the external samples. The result concludes that the developed model is valid and capable of predicting α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of the external samples

Antidiabetic and antioxidants activities of Clinacanthus nutans (Burm F.) Lindau leaves extracts

Clinacanthus nutans (Acanthaceae) is a local plant consumed as tisane in Indonesia and ‘ulam’ in Malaysia. This plant has been claimed for its ability to prevent many diseases including diabetes. However, the scientific proof on this claim is still lacking. Therefore, the present work study was designed to evaluate the antidiabetic potential and antioxidant capacity of C. nutans leaves extracts using in vitro bioassay tests. The 80% methanolic crude extract of this plant was further partitioned using different polarity solvents namely hexane, hexane:ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v), ethyl acetate, ethyl acetate:methanol (1:1, v/v), and methanol. All the sub-fractions were analysed for antioxidant effect via 2, 2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil (DPPH) scavenging activity, ferric reducing power (FRAP) and xanthine oxidase (XO) assays followed by antidiabetic evaluation via α-glucosidase and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) inhibitory assays and glucose uptake experiment. The ethyl acetate fraction showed a good antioxidant potential while the hexane fraction exhibited high α-glucosidase and DPP-IV enzyme inhibition. The hexane fraction also improved glucose uptake in a dose-dependent manner. The present work thus provides an informative data on the potential of C. nutans to be developed as a functional food in preventing diabetes