Methanolic Extract of Piper sarmentosum Attenuates Obesity and Hyperlipidemia in Fructose-Induced Metabolic Syndrome Rats

Obesity and hyperlipidemia are metabolic dysregulations that arise from poor lifestyle and unhealthy dietary intakes. These co-morbidity conditions are risk factors for vascular diseases. Piper sarmentosum (PS) is a nutritious plant that has been shown to pose various phytochemicals and pharmacological actions. This study aimed to investigate the effect of PS on obesity and hyperlipidemia in an animal model. Forty male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five experimental groups. The groups were as follows: UG—Untreated group; CTRL—control; FDW—olive oil + 20% fructose; FDW-PS—PS (125 mg/kg) + 20% fructose; FDW-NGN—naringin (100 mg/kg) + 20% fructose. Fructose drinking water was administered daily for 12 weeks ad libitum to induce metabolic abnormality. Treatment was administered at week 8 for four weeks via oral gavage. The rats were sacrificed with anesthesia at the end of the experimental period. Blood, liver, and visceral fat were collected for further analysis. The consumption of 20% fructose water by Wistar rats for eight weeks displayed a tremendous increment in body weight, fat mass, percentage fat, LDL, TG, TC, HMG-CoA reductase, leptin, and reduced the levels of HDL and adiponectin as well as adipocyte hypertrophy. Following the treatment period, FDW-PS and FDW-NGN showed a significant reduction in body weight, fat mass, percentage fat, LDL, TG, TC, HMG-CoA reductase, and leptin with an increment in the levels of HDL and adiponectin compared to the FDW group. FDW-PS and FDW-NGN also showed adipocyte hypotrophy compared to the FDW group. In conclusion, oral administration of 125 mg/kg PS methanolic extract to fructose-induced obese rats led to significant amelioration of obesity and hyperlipidemia through suppressing the adipocytes and inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase. PS has the potential to be used as an alternative or adjunct therapy for obesity and hyperlipidemia.     

Antifungal activity of compounds isolated from Aspergillus niger and their molecular docking studies with tomatinase

Abstract

Using a dual culture antagonism assay, Aspergillus niger exhibited 51.5?±?1.1% growth inhibition against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici, the wilt pathogen of tomato. For enhanced production of antifungal metabolites, nutrient optimization was performed and in vitro well-diffusion antifungal assays demonstrated that crude extract obtained from GPYB culture showed a maximum zone of inhibition (8.8?±?0.4?mm) against the wilt pathogen, which is corroborated by the comparative LCMS profiles of the extracts from all three media i.e. GPYB, YEB and PDB. Two known compounds, Asperazine (m/z 665 [M?+?H]⁺) and Nigerone (m/z 571 [M?+?H]⁺), were isolated from A. niger and their antifungal activity is reported here for the first time. In MIC experiments, Asperazine and Nigerone inhibited the pathogen at 60 and 80?µg·mL^?1 respectively. Molecular docking studies of Nigerone and Asperazine with F. oxysporum tomatinase showed five and six binding interactions respectively.     

Photo-switchable azobenzene-functionalized block copolymers from atom transfer radical polymerizations

Diblock copolymers composed of monomers of tert-butyl acrylate and a side-chain azobenzenecontaining monomer, 4-[(E)-(4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl]phenyl prop-2-enoate were synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization technique. Experimental strategy involved synthesis of block of tert-butyl acrylate macroinitiator followed by addition of second block of azobenzene-containing monomer to prepare desired block-copolymer. GPC analysis indicated narrow molecular weight distributions with degree of polymerization found in good agreement with targeted value. Prepared block copolymers of varying chain lengths can potentially be used to obtain morphologies that can find useful applications for biomedical applications including intriguing photo-switchable drug delivery systems.     

Imidazol-1-yl-acetic acid as a novel green bifunctional organocatalyst for the synthesis of 1, 8-dioxooctahydroxanthenes under solvent-free conditions

Imidazol-1-yl-acetic acid is introduced as a new, efficient and recyclable green bifunctional organocatalyst for the synthesis of 1,8-dioxooctahydroxanthenes under solvent-free conditions. This catalyst is water soluble and can be separated from the products by simple filtration. The filtrate can be evaporated to dryness and recrystallized from cool methanol to give the recovered catalyst. This organocatalyst was used for the synthesis of 1,8-dioxooctahydroxanthenes under solvent-flee conditions and recycled up to 8 consecutive runs without any losing of its efficiency.     

Efficient synthesis of ethyl 3-alkyl-4-oxo-2-thioxo-1,3-thiazolane-5-carboxylates from the reaction of carbon disulfide and primary amines in the presence of diethyl 2-chloromalonate

An efficient synthesis of ethyl 3-alkyl-4-oxo-2-thioxo-1,3-thiazolane-5-carboxylates via reaction of primary amines with CS₂ in the presence of diethyl 2-chloromalonate is described. Correspondence: Issa Yavari, Chemistry Department, Tarbiat Modares University, PO Box 14115-175, Tehran, Iran.     

Validation of SPE‐HPLC determination of 1,4‐benzodiazepines and metabolites in blood plasma,urine, and saliva

A simple, sensitive, selective, and reproducible RP‐HPLC method with DAD detection at 240 nm was developed for the determination of six 1,4‐benzodiazepines: bromazepam (BRZ), clonazepam (CLZ), diazepam (DZP), flunitrazepam (FNZ), lorazepam (LRZ), alprazolam (APZ); and two metabolites: α‐hydroxyalprazolam (HALZ) and α‐hydroxytriazolam (HTZL) in human plasma, urine, and saliva, using colchicine as internal standard, after SPE using Nexus Varian cartridges. Separation was performed on a Kromasil C₈ (250 mm×5 mm, 5 μm) analytical column with a gradient mobile phase containing methanol, ACN and 0.05 M ammonium acetate. Linearity was held within the range 0.3–20.0 ng/μL, with coefficients of determination (r²) better than 0.997. The within‐ and between‐day assay RSD at 2, 4, 8 ng/μL ranged from 0.03 to 4.7% and 0.5 to 7.0%, respectively in standards, from 1.3 to 7.9% and 3.3 to 7.3%, respectively in plasma, from 2.1 to 6.0% and 2.1 to 7.8%, respectively in urine and at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 ng/μL ranged from 2.22 to 5.8% and 2.2 to 8.1%, respectively, in saliva. The mean relative recoveries were 96.3–108.6, 96.0–108.2, 94.3–107.1, 97.0–107.0% in within‐day assay and 96.8–107.7, 94.6–107.6, 93.2–105.8, 96.0–108.6 in between‐day assay for standard, plasma, urine, and saliva, respectively. The LOD and LOQ were 0.02–0.47 and 0.07–1.57 ng/μL, respectively.     

Box–Behnken Design (BBD)-Based Optimization of Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Parthenolide from the Stems of Tarconanthus camphoratus and Cytotoxic Analysis

Parthenolide, a strong cytotoxic compound found in different parts of Tarchonanthus camphoratus which motivated the authors to develop an optimized microwave-assisted extraction (MEA) method using Box–Behnken design (BBD) for efficient extraction of parthenolide from the stem of T. camphoratus and its validation by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) and cytotoxic analysis. The optimized parameters for microwave extraction were determined as: 51.5 °C extraction temperature, 50.8 min extraction time, and 211 W microwave power. A quadratic polynomial model was found the most suitable model with R² of 0.9989 and coefficient of variation (CV) of 0.2898%. The high values of adjusted R² (0.9974), predicted R² (0.9945), and signal-to-noise ratio (74.23) indicated a good correlation and adequate signal, respectively. HPTLC analyzed the parthenolide (R_f = 0.16) content in T. camphoratus methanol extract (TCME) at λ_max = 575 nm and found it as 0.9273% ± 0.0487% w/w, which was a higher than expected yield (0.9157% w/w). The TCME exhibited good cytotoxicity against HepG2 and MCF-7 cell lines (IC₅₀ = 30.87 and 35.41 µg/mL, respectively), which further supported our findings of high parthenolide content in TCME. This optimized MAE method can be further applied to efficiently extract parthenolide from marketed herbal supplements containing different Tarconanthus species.     

Algae-Derived Bioactive Molecules for the Potential Treatment of SARS-CoV-2

The recently emerged COVID-19 disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has adversely affected the whole world. As a significant public health threat, it has spread worldwide. Scientists and global health experts are collaborating to find and execute speedy diagnostics, robust and highly effective vaccines, and therapeutic techniques to tackle COVID-19. The ocean is an immense source of biologically active molecules and/or compounds with antiviral-associated biopharmaceutical and immunostimulatory attributes. Some specific algae-derived molecules can be used to produce antibodies and vaccines to treat the COVID-19 disease. Algae have successfully synthesized several metabolites as natural defense compounds that enable them to survive under extreme environments. Several algae-derived bioactive molecules and/or compounds can be used against many diseases, including microbial and viral infections. Moreover, some algae species can also improve immunity and suppress human viral activity. Therefore, they may be recommended for use as a preventive remedy against COVID-19. Considering the above critiques and unique attributes, herein, we aimed to systematically assess algae-derived, biologically active molecules that could be used against this disease by looking at their natural sources, mechanisms of action, and prior pharmacological uses. This review also serves as a starting point for this research area to accelerate the establishment of anti-SARS-CoV-2 bioproducts.     

Kinetics of pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse: effect of catalyst on activation energy and yield of pyrolysis products

Cellulose - In this work we have attempted to use biomass as energy source which is abundantly available throughout the world. The work is focused on pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse in a...     

Synthesis,characterization and DNA-intercalation studies of two ferrocene-based Fe-Sn heterobimetallic compounds,and crystal structure of trimethyltin (p-ferrocenyl)benzoate

In this article, we report the synthesis of two (A3 and A4) new ferrocene-based heterobimetallic compounds of Fe and Sn. Both compounds are structural isomers with formula (C₅H₅)Fe(C₅H₄C₆H₄COO)Sn(CH₃)₃ and have been characterized by elemental analysis, cyclic voltammetry, FTIR, UV–Vis and NMR spectroscopy. Additionally, the structure of A3 was confirmed by single-crystal XRD studies. XRD studies confirmed that in the solid phase A3 exists as a unidirectional polymeric material. DNA-binding potential of these compounds was evaluated by UV–Vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and viscosity measurements. These interaction assays conclude that A3 (binding constant ~10⁴ M^?1) and A4 have good attraction toward DNA and bind with DNA in intercalative manner.