Neuroprotective effects of Ocimum basilicum L. var. thyrsiflora on scopolamine- induced non-spatial memory deficits in rats

Pharmacological studies indicated that Ocimum basilicum L. var. thyrsiflora has numerous therapeutic potentials. The aim of this study was to investigate the neuroprotective action of O. basilicum leaf extract against scopolamine-induced non-spatial memory deficits in rats and to determine the changes in mRNA expressions of genes implicated in cognition and neuroprotection. O. basilicum leaves were extracted with 80% ethanol and verified for the presence of rosmarinic acid using high performance liquid chromatography method. Male Wistar rats were treated orally with eitherO. basilicum or the positive control piracetam for 14 days prior to the injection of 0.5 mg/kg scopolamine on the day of the novel object discrimination (NOD) test. Hippocampi were collected at the end of the test. mRNA expression of nicotinic acetylcholine α7 subunit (NA7), muscarinic M1 receptor (M1), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 3A (HTR3A) genes in the hippocampi were analyzed using qPCR method. The presence of rosmarinic acid in the plant extract was detected at chromatogram peak of Rt=16.891. NOD test results indicated that the lower dose of O. basilicum (200 mg/kg) significantly (p<0.05) reversed scopolamine-induced memory deficits in rats similar to the effects of piracetam. In addition, O. basilicum at the same dose alleviated the increase in mRNA expressions of the NA7, M1, nNOS, and HTR3A genes induced by scopolamine. The present findings suggest that O. basilicum is potentially neuroprotective in preventing memory impairment through alleviation of scopolamine-induced changes in hippocampal mRNA expression implicated in cognition and neuroprotection

Biofuel from microalgae: a review on the current status and future trends

The constant reliance on fossil fuel energy resources is unsustainable, due to both depleting world reserves and increasing green house gas emissions associated with their use and thus there are dynamic research at the global level envisioned at developing alternative renewable and potentially carbon neutral solid, liquid and gaseous biofuels as alternative energy resources. The contemporary knowledge and technology predictions have proved that among the third generation biofuels especially those derived from microalgae are considered the best reasonable alternative energy resource compared to undeniable drawbacks of first and second generation biofuels. Moreover, its efficiency to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and industrial gases which can efficiently utilize the nutrients present in wastewater and industrial effluents. Therefore, culturing algae provide several benefits such as providing biomass for the production of biofuels to sequester the atmospheric carbon, removing the nutrients from the wastewater and is not competing with agricultural land, water resources and food crops. This study reviewed the technologies underneath the microalgae-to-biofuels processes, focusing on the biomass production, harvesting, conversion technologies, and the lipid extraction methods. The genetics and molecular biotechnology aspects have also been briefly discussed. Though the economical assessment of algal biofuels is not attractive, it suggests them to be environmentally better than the fossil fuels

A chemical biology approach reveals a dependency of glioblastoma on biotin distribution

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a uniformly lethal disease driven by glioma stem cells (GSCs). Here, we use a chemical biology approach to unveil previously unknown GBM dependencies. By studying sulconazole (SN) with anti-GSC properties, we find that SN disrupts biotin distribution to the carboxylases and histones. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of SN-treated GSCs reveal metabolic alterations that are characteristic of biotin-deficient cells, including intracellular cholesterol depletion, impairment of oxidative phosphorylation, and energetic crisis. Furthermore, SN treatment reduces histone biotinylation, histone acetylation, and expression of superenhancer-associated GSC critical genes, which are also observed when biotin distribution is genetically disrupted by holocarboxylase synthetase (HLCS) depletion. HLCS silencing impaired GSC tumorigenicity in an orthotopic xenograft brain tumor model. In GBM, high HLCS expression robustly indicates a poor prognosis. Thus, the dependency of GBM on biotin distribution suggests that the rational cotargeting of biotin-dependent metabolism and epigenetic pathways may be explored for GSC eradication.National Research Foundation (NRF)National University of Singapore (NUS), Temasek LaboratoriesPublished versionThis work was supported by the National Research Foundation Fellowship NRF-NRFF2017-01 (D.S.T.O.), National University of Singapore (NUS) start-up grant (D.S.T.O. and M.J.K.), NUS President’s Assistant Professorship (D.S.T.O.), and NUS Research Scholarships (M.J.Y.A., B.W.L.L., Y.H.C., and R.T.M.). S.K. and C.S.V. thank A*STAR and NSCC for support