Piracetam-induced neuroprotection in lipopolysaccharides-challenged EOC-20 cells and mouse brain via attenuating oxidative stress

herapeutically, piracetam has been used for decades as a cognitive enhancer for memory- related neuronal disorders. The present study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective potential of piracetam on lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced neuronal deficit using both in-vitro and in-vivo experimental models. For the in-vitro analysis, EOC-20 murine microglial cells were induced with a neuronal toxicity of 100 µg/ml of LPS, and the formation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) productions were determined. For in-vivo neuroprotective analysis, groups of mice were treated orally with two doses of piracetam (200 and 400 mg/kg) for 30 days. Neuronal toxicity was induced by four intraperitoneal injections of LPS (250 µg/kg/day). The malondialdehyde (MDA) level was measured for oxidative stress, and catalase reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione reductase (GRD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were determined as the antioxidant parameters. The result of the cell viability study was that pre-treatment with piracetam significantly protected the LPS-induced cell loss, and attenuated the ROS generation and NO production in LPS-induced EOC-20 cells. Moreover, the treatment of piracetam significantly reduced the MDA levels and improved catalase, GSH, GRD, and SOD activities in LPS-induced mice brains. The overall results from this study supported the neuroprotective effects of piracetam against LPS-induced neuronal toxicity

ANTICHOLINESTERASE ACTIVITY OF OCTA PEPTIDES RELATED TO HUMAN HISTATIN 8: IN-SILICO DRUG DESIGN AND IN-VITRO

Objective: To evaluate the octapeptides related to human histatin 8 by in-silico and in-vitro studies.Method: Schrodinger, LLC and Ellman's method.Results: The compound HH1 and HH2 was found to be potent docking score of −9.494 and −7.401 against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme. The IC50 value of HH1 and HH2 was found to be 0.39±0.28 and 0.78±0.15 μg/mL. However, these compounds are shown to be highly effective as compared with the control AChE inhibitor donepezil (0.065±0.0050 μg/mL).Conclusion: In-silico docking study was conducted for the designed octapeptides related to human histatin 8 against AChE enzyme shows significance binding affinity toward HH1 and HH2 peptides and the AChE inhibitory activity of octapeptides shown to be a highly potent inhibitor as compared with control donepezil

DROUGHT MITIGATION THROUGH HYDROGEL APPLICATION IN RICE (Oryza sativa L.) CULTIVATION

Sustainability in irrigation is an essential step towards responsible water consumption. In recent years, many studies have sketched climate-resilient agricultural practices to fight drought and uncertain rainfall patterns. Major rain-fed crops such as paddy and wheat require aid when there are abnormal dry spells. To mitigate the loss of crops from such events, superabsorbent polymers can be used. Soils amended with hydrogel or Superabsorbent polymer (SAP) retain moisture during drought to prevent loss of water through evaporation and percolation. This allows the crop to grow with less shock from drought. This study compares rice (Oryza sativa L.) growth rate under application (treatment groups) and non-application (control groups) of hydrogel, considering their high-water requirement. NDLR07 (recently developed) and BPT5204 (local variety) rice varieties were chosen for the current study. Randomized controlled trials were performed for each variety on a control group (NC & BC) and 3 treatment groups with 20% (NT20 & BT20), 40% (NT40 & BT40), and 60% (NT60 & BT60) deficit water supplies respectively. N, T, C refers to seed type, treatment group, control group respectively. Intermittent drought condition was imposed for 14 days to assess the resilience of crops. The water retention capacity of the sandy loam soil was better for treatment groups by 20% than control groups even at an average temperature of 40 ℃. Treatment groups continued growing through the drought phase and after, while control groups showed stagnation. Among the tested treatment groups, NT20 had the highest growth among all trials. The results of the study suggested that hydrogel application can help to combat droughts and thereby contribute to sustainable agricultural production by restricting the involvement of climate changes

Identification of Nephelium lappaceum leaves phenolic and flavonoid component with radical scavenging, antidiabetic and antibacterial potential

360-365Nephelium lappaceum Linn. (Rambutan) is traditionally claimed, as a source of natural antioxidants and for its use in the treatment of diabetes and bacterial infections. The present study investigates the in vitro effect of ethanolic Rambutan leaves extract (NL) for its antioxidant effect, α-glucosidase, α-amylase enzyme inhibition, and antibacterial potentials. The total phenolic, total flavonoid content of NL was quantified and were expressed in terms of gallic acid (19.6±0.04 mg GAE/g) and rutin equivalents (16.7±0.01 mg RUE/g) respectively. The antioxidant assay revealed that NL exhibited significant inhibition of DPPH (IC50±SEM: 1.52±0.03 μg/mL) and ABTS (IC50±SEM: 1.295±0.05 μg/mL) radicals. NL also inhibited both α-amylase (IC50±SEM: 2.624±0.07 μg/mL), α-glucosidase (IC50±SEM: 2.416±0.06 μg/mL) enzyme activities, supported by its antioxidant potential and its phenolic and flavonoid content. The antibacterial activity was screened against seven human pathogenic ATCC strains for which the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were recorded. The selected MIC dose was tested, confirmed by Kirby-Bauer agar well diffusion method. NL exhibited MIC and MBC of 62.5 μg/mL and 125 μg/mL against B.subtilis and E.coli respectively. The results support the scientific claim of NL for its antioxidant, antidiabetic and antibacterial potential

Synthesis, antimicrobial, anticancer evaluation and QSAR studies of 2/3-bromo-N′-(substituted benzylidene/3-phenylallylidene)benzohydrazides

AbstractIn the present study, a series of 2/3-bromo-N′-(substituted benzylidene/3-phenylallylidene)benzohydrazides was synthesized and evaluated in vitro for its antimicrobial and anticancer potentials. The results of antimicrobial and anticancer study indicated that compounds 3, 15 and 18 (pMICam=1.62μM/ml) were found to be most potent antimicrobial agents and compound 4 (IC50=1.88±0.03μM) was found to be the most potent anticancer agent. The results of QSAR analysis indicated the importance of topological parameters, Balaban index (J) and valence first and second order molecular connectivity indices (1χv and 2χv) in describing antimicrobial activity of the synthesized benzohydrazides