Anticancer activity of acetogenins from Annona muricata fruit

Medicinal plants become very important in our days for their therapeutic benefits to humankind. It sustains human health, and it is commonly known as herbal medicines since ancient times. Annona muricata is a heart-shaped fruit that is consumed raw or as the fruit juice in the tropical area. A. muricata is used in traditional and alternative medicine to treat different ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, respiratory and skin illness, inflammation and cancer. A. muricata contains essential anticancer agents named acetogenins that play the significant role in various cancer types. Acetogenins are strong nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidase inhibitors of the cancer cell's mitochondrial membrane but showed neurotoxic effects in rats. Therefore, acetogenins need to be further investigated to determine the exact mechanisms of action, long-term safety, optimal dosage, and potential side effects. Given the extensive studies on A. muricata, this review focuses on the phytochemistry, medicinal uses, biological activities and the mechanisms of action for the fruit extracts and acetogenins, to stimulate further studies on the fruit pulp used for human consumption

Halal meats and frozen foods: the halal abattoir, packaging, storage and handling

In Malaysia we are 'loaded' by many halal meats and halal frozen foods. We take it for granted that we just simply pick any frozen meat or food stamped with the halallogo. Even young children know that if they wanted to buy any packed food, the item must have the familiar Malaysian halal logo

The observation on the inhibition of anti-inflammatory mediator of the tomato leaves extract

The leaves of tomato plant that contained several active compound including alkaloid, steroid and f1avanoid has been used for treatmcnt of varicty of diseases included ami-cancer, amioJ< idant and anti-gout. However, thcre arc no studies on the anti-inflammation from thc action of tomatO leav~. In this study, the inhibitory of inflammation of Solanum {ywpe,skum was investigated by observing the Prostaglandin El (rGE!) production with LPS-stimulated murine maffOphage cells RAW264.7. The leavcs CJ<traCI of So/anum ~I"CQpe'siclim were tested for antiinflammatory effcct against lipopolysalX'haride (LPS)- induced rGEl according to a instructions of the manufacturer providcd in commercially available PGE! enl}me immunometric assay kit (Cayman CO.. Ann Arbor, MI, USA). Then, the c,)Ocentrations of rGE! were determined using commercial ELISA kit and the inhibition of PGE! was calculated. Results showed that the tomato leaves extract inhibited the productions of inflammatory mcdiators (1'<.iE!) which plays a central role in the anti-inflammatory activity. At the high~t concentration (100 ~glml) of tomatO leaves extract tested, the PGE, production was reduced 37.41% compared to the untreated. Hence. these present study may suppon that the leaves of SolanwlI (l'cof'f'l"Sicli/ll extract potentially in treatment of inflammatory-related disease through the inhibition of PGE! releast':s

Extraction and characterization of astaxanthin from marine sources

A study has been conducted to extract and to characterizecarotenoid astaxanthin from tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon). one of most commercial marine sources in Malaysia. Astaxanthin is a red pigment belonging to the family of the xanthophylls, the oxygenated derivatives of carotenoids and is widely used as a pigmentation sources in aquaculture and poultry industries, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries. Results showed the carotenoid yield for all combinations of extraction condition ranged from 65-138 J.!g!g. The optimum solvent to waste ratio and the percentage of hexane in solvent mixtures were 1:5.553 and 32.105% which gave the highest yield of ]41.474 j.!g/g. The percentage purity of the astaxanthin (predicted as 13-cisastaxanthin monoester) was about 86.907%. Astaxanthin, astaxanthin monoester, astaxanthin diester,a-carotene are the major pigments in Penaeus monodon

Heavy metal contamination in vegetables and its detection: a review

The quality of marketed vegetables cannot be guaranteed as many of them has been contaminated with heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and arsenic. These heavy metals can act as either growth supporter or threat depending on their types and amount absorbed by the plants. The consumption of an excessive amount of heavy metals in vegetable may cause several diseases such as renal dysfunction and bone depletion. There are few methods used to detect heavy metal contamination such as Atomic Absorption Analysis (AAS), Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA), X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometry (ICPMS). This paper discusses all these methods to compare their efficiency, advantages and disadvantages to select the best method for heavy metal detection in vegetables

Screening anti-cancer compounds from medicinal Malaysian plants

In the fight against cancer. no,·el chemotherapeutic agems arc constanlly being sought to complement cxisting dTlJlls. In this study. 110-10 methanolic cxtracts prepared from seven tropical plants "'ith. eth.nomedical uses were tesled for th.eir c)'loto~ic ability in "itro against cancer cell lines. The plants studied were Carico papaya (papaya). Co/l'Ils bl"ml'i (ali·ati), Cosmos calldalll)· (uJam raja). "-'CIIS deltoidea (rna. OOlek), Pip"I" sm·WIIII/VSIIIll (kaduk), PIIle/'M indica (beluntas), and l'I"emlllu curdifloru (bcbuas). The c)'lolOxicity screening tesl, SRB (sulforhodamine B) was calTied out to detennine plants wilh potential amicancer properties. Results indicated that P. sonuentosllflI and P. cordijloru exlracis dcmonslr4[OO signifiean[ c)'101oxicily against MCn cell line where the IC", were 125 ilgfml and 113 ilgfmL. respectively, and a[ the same lime: showed less aclh-ilies against nonnal cells. Wilh re:spc:ct [0 Ihese results, P. sarmenflUum and P. r:ordif/oro eX!T1lCIS could be studied further fOJ [heir po[enlialto lTeal cance-r

Determination of optimal range of post-induction temperature for production of soluble recombinant bromelain in Escherichia coli using one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach

In this work, a one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) experiment for determining the optimal preliminary range of post-induction temperature (OC), before subsequent optimization of recombinant bromelain production using Response Surface Methodology (RSM), are discussed. Bromelain from Ananas comosus, in nature, being a eukaryotic plant-origin proteolytic enzyme, has been subjected to post-translational modification such as glycosylation and presence of native molecular chaperones for aiding the protein folding. However, attempts to express this enzyme in Escherichia coli might incur undesirable potential drawback, which is, high tendency of the recombinant bromelain to express in the form of inactive insoluble wasted fractions known as inclusion bodies. Induction temperature has been known to be one of the controllable factors which could minimize the formation of inclusion bodies. Here, post-induction temperatures between 21 - 41°C were studied and their effects on the recombinant bromelain specific activity (U/mg) were evaluated. We found that post-induction temperature around 26°C marked highest value of specific activity (~14 U/mg) and therefore, shall be used as a center-point for the next RSM analysis

Effect of curcumin dose, treatment duration and intervention type on tumor inhibition in animal models: a systematic literature review using meta-analysis techniques

Curcuma longa L. uses widely as a traditional medicine especially in India and China for the treatment of diabetic wounds, inflammatory, hepatic, and digestive disorders. These effects lead to the research of this plant for the treatment of chronic diseases. To assess the tumour inhibition effect of curcumin in animal models by integrating various studies into a systematic literature review (SLR) and meta-analysis. Studies of curcumin treatment in tumor-induced animal models were searched in electronic databases. The assessment of the quality of the studies included and the tumor inhibition effect used SYRCLE’s Risk of Bias tool and Review Manager (The Cochrane Collaboration) software. From the 732 articles identified, only 11 studies met the selection criteria and included in the analysis. Curcumin significantly inhibited the tumor volume in the animal models in overall, and the subgroup analyses revealed that high dose, long-duration curcumin treatment, and intervention by injection have a more significant effect compared to the opposite group. Curcumin was effective in inhibiting tumor volume in animal models. The study quality and heterogeneity of the meta-analysis can probably be improved if a larger-scale bases of animal models and a well-designed study were available