Antiviral activity of Aloe vera against herpes simplex virus type 2: An in vitro study

In this study we tested the antiviral activity of a crude hot glycerine extract of Aloe vera gel which was grown in Bushehr (Southwest of Iran) against HSV-2 replication in Vero cell line. The extract showedantiviral activity against HSV-2 not only before attachment and entry of virus to the Vero cells but also on post attachment stages of virus replication. The IC50 before attachment and entry of virus to the cellsis 428 ìg/ml and the CC50 value which is the cytotoxicity of the extract for Vero cells is 3238 ìg/ml, while the calculated selectivity index (SI) is 7.56. Also, IC50 of extract on post attachment stages of replicationis 536 ìg/ml and the SI value for inhibition of the post attachment stages of HSV-2 replication is 6.04. Therefore, compounds of Aloe vera from Bushehr could be a good candidate as a natural source for antiviral drug development against HSV-2

Anticancer activity of Sargassum oligocystum water extract against human cancer cell lines

Background and Objectives: Antitumor drug resistance and side effects of antitumor compounds are the most common problems in medicine. Therefore, finding new antitumor agents with low side effects could be interesting. This study was designed to assay antitumor activity of the extract from brown alga Sargassum oligocystum, gathered from Persian Gulf seashore, against K562 and Daudi human cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods: The research was performed as an in vitro study. The effect of the alga extract on proliferation of cell lines were measured by two methods: MTT assay and trypan blue exclusion test. Results and Conclusion: The most effective antitumor activity has been shown at concentrations 500 μg/ml and 400 μg/ml of the alga extract against Daudi and K562 cell lines, respectively. The results showed that the extracts of brown alga Sargassum oligocystum have remarkable antitumor activity against K562 and Daudi cell lines. It is justified to be suggested for further research such as algal extract fractionation and purification and in vivo studies in order to formulate natural compounds with antitumor activities

In vitro antitumor activity of Gracilaria corticata (a red alga) against Jurkat and molt-4 human cancer cell lines

Gracilaria corticata is a red alga which can be collected from many sea coasts around the world such as China, India, Persian Gulf, etc. The Persian Gulf is a unique marine habitat infested with diverse seaweeds. The aim of the present study is to explore anticancer potential of the crude extracts from G. corticata which was collected from the Bushehr coast (South west of Iran). Here, different concentration of the aqueous extract from G. corticata was tested for probable antitumoral activity on Jurkat and molt- 4 human lymphoblastic leukemic cell lines. The cells were treated by different concentration of algal extract and the number of viable cells was determined by trypan blue. Also, cytotoxicity of the extract was evaluated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The results showed that 9.336 and 9.726 μg/μl of algal extract were the most effective concentrations against Jurkat and molt-4 cells, respectively. The water crude extract of red alga G. corticata had significant anticancer activity and it might be a good candidate for further investigations in order to develop a natural compound as an anticancer agent which can be used for the production of potential anticancer drug and novel pharmaceutical leads.Key words: Gracilaria corticata, anticancer, Jurkat, molt-4

Type I Collagen from Jellyfish Catostylus mosaicus for Biomaterial Applications

Collagen is the predominant protein in animal connective tissues and is widely used in tissue regeneration and other industrial applications. Marine organisms have gained interest as alternative, nonmammalian collagen sources for biomaterial applications because of potential medical and economic advantages. In this work, we present physicochemical and biofunctionality studies of acid solubilized collagen (ASC) from jellyfish Catostylus mosaicus (JASC), harvested from the Persian Gulf, compared with ASC from rat tail tendon (RASC), the industry-standard collagen used for biomedical research. From the protein subunit (alpha chain) pattern of JASC, we identified it as a type I collagen, and extensive molecular spectroscopic analyses showed similar triple helical molecular signatures for JASC and RASC. Atomic force microscopy of fibrillized JASC showed clear fibril reassembly upon pH neutralization though with different temperature and concentration dependence compared with RASC. Molecular (natively folded, nonfibrillized) JASC was shown to functionalize rigid substrates and promote MC3T3 preosteoblast cell attachment and proliferation better than RASC over 6 days. On blended collagen-agarose scaffolds, both RASC and JASC fibrils supported cell attachment and proliferation, and scaffolds with RASC fibrils showed more cell growth after 6 days compared with those scaffolds with JASC fibrils. These results demonstrate the potential for this new type I collagen as a possible alternative to mammalian type I collagen for biomaterial applications. © 2018 American Chemical Society