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International Journal of Applied... 2020(Vatke) Verdc. (Verbenaceae) is a seasonal herb widely spread in the West African region. The whole plant is used for the treatment of wounds, infections, and...
(Vatke) Verdc. (Verbenaceae) is a seasonal herb widely spread in the West African region. The whole plant is used for the treatment of wounds, infections, and inflammatory pathologies. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the cytotoxicity and to analyze the probable pro-apototic, and cell cycle arrest effects of methylene chloride extract and its fractions against HCT-116 and HT-29 colorectal cancer cells using preliminary tests in order to highlight the interest of this plant in the search of new anticancer molecules. The dried powder of the whole plant was extracted by methylene chloride maceration for 24 hours and the extract was divided into five fractions. The cytotoxicity of the crude extract and fractions were evaluated by the MTS assay. The most active fractions were subjected to some preliminary assays including crystal violet, Hoechst staining, cell cycle arrest, and annexin V/PI assays on the cancer cells to highlight the probable mechanism of action of these fractions. The methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, and 1-butanol fractions of crude extract demonstrated significant antiproliferative effects on HCT-116 and HT-29 cell growth with IC values ranging between 2 to 15 μg/mL. 1-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions decreased the G1 phase by 20.53% and 28.47% and increased the G2/M by 23.47% and 25.90% respectively on HCT-116. Moreover, 1-butanol fraction increased the cumulative value of apoptotic cells by 49.77% on HCT-116 and ethyl acetate fraction increased this value by 53.37% at 15 μg/mL after 48 hours of exposure. The outcome of this study suggests the potential of 1-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions for the isolation of anticancer molecules against colorectal cancer.
PubMed: 32913383
DOI: No ID Found -
Clinical Hypertension 2014The present study was designed to examine whether methylene chloride (CH2Cl2) fraction extracted from Rubus coreanum affects the contractility of the isolated thoracic...
INTRODUCTION
The present study was designed to examine whether methylene chloride (CH2Cl2) fraction extracted from Rubus coreanum affects the contractility of the isolated thoracic aortic strips and blood pressure of normotensive rats.
METHODS
One of the common carotid arteries or of the femoral arteries was catheterized with a polyethylene tubing. The tubing was connected to a pressure transducer, and pulse of the mean arterial blood pressure was recorded on a biological polygraph continuously.
RESULTS
The CH2Cl2 fraction (range, 200 to 800 μg/mL) significantly depressed both phenylephrine (PE, 10 μM)- and high K(+) (56 mM)-induced contractile responses of the isolated thoracic aortic strips in a concentration-dependent fashion. In the simultaneous presence of N(ω)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) (an inhibitor of nitric oxide [NO] synthase, 300 μM) and the CH2Cl2 fraction (400 μg/mL), both PE- and high K(+)-induced contractile responses were recovered to the significant level of the corresponding control response in comparison with inhibition of CH2Cl2 fraction treatment alone. Moreover, in the simultaneous presence of the CH2Cl2 fraction after pretreatment with 0.4% CHAPS (3-[(3-cholamidopropyl) dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate), both PE- and high K(+)-induced contractile responses were recovered to the significant level of the corresponding control response compared to the inhibitory response of CH2Cl2 fraction treatment alone. Also, in anesthetized rats, the CH2Cl2 fraction (range, 0.3 to 3.0 mg/kg) injected into a femoral vein dose-dependently produced depressor responses. This hypotensive action of the CH2Cl2 fraction was greatly inhibited after treatment with phentolamine (1 mg/kg), chlorisondamine (1 mg/kg), L-NAME (3 mg/kg/30 min), or sodium nitroprusside (30 μg/kg/30 min). Intravenous infusion of the CH2Cl2 fraction (range, 1.0 to 10.0 mg/kg/30 min) markedly inhibited norepinephrine-induced pressor responses.
DISCUSSION
Taken together, these results demonstrate that the CH2Cl2 fraction causes vascular relaxation in the isolated rat thoracic aortic strips as well as hypotensive action in anesthetized rats. These vasorelaxation and hypotension of the CH2Cl2 fraction seem to be mediated at least by the increased NO production through the activation of NO synthase of the vascular endothelium and the inhibitory adrenergic modulation.
PubMed: 26893911
DOI: 10.1186/s40885-014-0006-1 -
Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery 2023The current work aims to investigate the effect of abiotic stresses (nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) [0.0 g/l, 1.5 g/l, 3 g/l, 6 g/l, and 12 g/l N and 0.0 g/l, 0.07 g/l,...
The current work aims to investigate the effect of abiotic stresses (nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) [0.0 g/l, 1.5 g/l, 3 g/l, 6 g/l, and 12 g/l N and 0.0 g/l, 0.07 g/l, 0.15 g/l, 0.3 g/l, and 0.6 g/l S] and their combination [0.3 g/l S + 6 g/l N]) of axenic culture of on the production of secondary metabolites which induce different biological activities. Growth rate was measured by dry weight (DW) and optical density (OD). Additionally, phytochemical compounds, defense enzymes as well as antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis(ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical assays of crude extracts (methylene chloride:methanol, 1:1) were evaluated. Based on antioxidant activity, four promising extracts were subjected to different biological activities such as anticancer, antimicrobial, and antiviral activities. The obtained results revealed that supplementation of external nitrogen source in the form of sodium nitrate was found to increase the total phycobiliprotein content by fivefold. Also, nitrogen depletion provoked significantly highest quantities of phenolic and flavonoid content and this has effects on biological activities of . Moreover, 0.3 g/l S was found to be the most effective extract exhibiting a significant increase in antioxidant activity based on DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively (88.18 ± 0.64% and 84.20 ± 1.01%). Furthermore, it recorded anticancer activity against HCT 116 cell line with IC of 155 μg/ml. Moreover, this extract possessed a noticeable antibacterial potency (21.0 ± 1.0 as mm inhibition zone against and 19.3 ± 0.6 against ). In addition, its antiviral activity against HN virus as a percentage of inhibition was 50% and 63.6% at a concentration of 7 μg/ml and 28 μg/ml, respectively, with cytotoxicity less than 7 μg/μl. GC-MS analysis recorded the presence of bioactive compounds exhibiting different biological activities. Therefore, the obtained results can represent valuable bioactive compounds with variable biological potencies.
PubMed: 33898157
DOI: 10.1007/s13399-021-01509-7 -
RSC Advances Jul 2023An antimony tri-sulfide SbS nanosphere photocatalyst was effectively deposited utilizing sodium thiosulfate and antimony chloride as the starting precursors in a...
An antimony tri-sulfide SbS nanosphere photocatalyst was effectively deposited utilizing sodium thiosulfate and antimony chloride as the starting precursors in a chemical bath deposition process. This approach is appropriate for the large-area depositions of SbS at low deposition temperatures without the sulfurization process since it is based on the hydrolytic decomposition of starting compounds in aqueous solution. X-ray diffraction patterns and Raman spectroscopy analysis revealed the formation of amorphous SbS layers. The scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the deposited SbS has integrated small nanospheres into sub-microspheres with a significant surface area, resulting in increased photocatalytic activity. The optical direct bandgap of the SbS layer was estimated to be about 2.53 eV, making amorphous SbS appropriate for the photodegradation of organic pollutants in the presence of solar light. The possibility of using the prepared SbS layer in the photodegradation of methylene blue aqueous solutions was investigated. The degradation of methylene blue dye was performed to evaluate the photocatalytic property of SbS under visible light. The amorphous SbS exhibited photocatalytic activity for the decolorization of methylene blue solution under visible light. The mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue has been proposed. Our results suggest that the amorphous SbS nanospheres are valuable material for addressing environmental remediation issues.
PubMed: 37483670
DOI: 10.1039/d3ra02062b -
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces... Sep 2022The DNA origami technique allows the precise synthesis of complex, biocompatible nanomaterials containing small molecules, biomolecules, and inorganic nanoparticles. The...
The DNA origami technique allows the precise synthesis of complex, biocompatible nanomaterials containing small molecules, biomolecules, and inorganic nanoparticles. The negatively charged phosphates in the backbone make DNA highly water-soluble and require salts to shield its electrostatic repulsion. DNA origamis are therefore not soluble in most organic solvents. While this is not problematic for applications in biochemistry, biophysics, or nanomedicine, other potential applications, processes, and substrates are incompatible with saline solutions, which include the synthesis of many nanomaterials, and reactions in templated synthesis, the operation of nanoelectronic devices, or semiconductor fabrication. To overcome this limitation, we coated DNA origami with amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol) polylysine block copolymers and transferred them into various organic solvents including chloroform, dichloromethane, acetone, or 1-propanol. Our approach maintains the shape of the nanostructures and protects functional elements bound to the structure, such as fluorophores, gold nanoparticles, or proteins. The DNA origami polyplex micellization (DOPM) strategy hence enables solubilization or a phase transfer of complex structures into various organic solvents, which significantly expands the use of DNA origami for a range of potential applications and technical processes.
Topics: 1-Propanol; Acetone; Chloroform; DNA; Gold; Metal Nanoparticles; Methylene Chloride; Nanostructures; Phosphates; Polyethylene Glycols; Polylysine; Polymers; Salts; Solubility; Solvents; Water
PubMed: 36103620
DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c01508 -
PeerJ 2019Noninvasive and safe cell viability assay is required in many fields such as regenerative medicine, genetic engineering, single-cell analysis, and microbial food...
Noninvasive and safe cell viability assay is required in many fields such as regenerative medicine, genetic engineering, single-cell analysis, and microbial food culture. In this case, a safe and inexpensive method which is a small load on cells and the environment is preferable without requiring expensive and space-consuming equipment and a technician to operate. We examined eight typical natural food pigments to find pigment (MP) or anthocyanin pigment (AP) works as a good viability indicator of dye exclusion test (DET) for which is an edible photosynthetic green microalga. This is the first report using natural food pigments as cell viability assay. stained by MP or AP can be visually judged with a bright field microscope. This was spectrally confirmed by scan-free, non-invasive absorbance spectral imaging (, ) microscopy of single live cells and principal component analysis (PCA). To confirm the ability of staining dead cells and examine the load on the cells, these two natural pigments were compared with trypan blue (TB) and methylene blue (MP), which are synthetic dyes conventionally used for DET. As a result, MP and AP had as good ability of staining dead cells treated with microwave as TB and MB and showed faster and more uniform staining for dead cells in benzalkonium chloride than them. The growth curve and the ratio of dead cells in the culture showed that the synthetic dyes inhibit the growth of , but the natural pigments do not. As the cell density increased, however, AP increased the ratio of stained cells, which was prevented by the addition of glucose. MP can stain dead cells in a shorter time than AP, while AP is more stable in color against long-term irradiation of intense light than MP. Due to the low toxicity of these pigments, viability of cells in culture can be monitored with them over a long period.
PubMed: 30976462
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6636 -
Toxicology Feb 2020Organophosphates (OPs) are valuable as pesticides in agriculture and for controlling deadly vector-borne illnesses; however, they are highly toxic and associated with...
Organophosphates (OPs) are valuable as pesticides in agriculture and for controlling deadly vector-borne illnesses; however, they are highly toxic and associated with many deleterious health effects in humans including long-term neurological impairments. Antidotal treatment regimens are available to combat the symptoms of acute OP toxicity, which result from the irreversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). However, there are no established treatments for the long-term neurological consequences of OP exposure. In addition to AChE, OPs can negatively affect multiple protein targets as well as biological processes such as axonal transport. Given the fundamental nature of axonal transport to neuronal health, we rationalized that this process might serve as a general focus area for novel therapeutic strategies against OP toxicity. In the studies described here, we employed a multi-target, phenotypic screening, and drug repurposing strategy for the evaluations of potential novel OP-treatments using a primary neuronal culture model and time-lapse live imaging microscopy. Two multi-target compounds, lithium chloride (LiCl) and methylene blue (MB), which are FDA-approved for other indications, were evaluated for their ability to prevent the negative effects of the OP, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) on axonal transport. The results indicated that both LiCl and MB prevented DFP-induced impairments in anterograde and retrograde axonal transport velocities in a concentration dependent manner. While in vivo studies will be required to confirm our in vitro findings, these experiments support the potential of LiCl and MB as repurposed drugs for the treatment of the long-term neurological deficits associated with OP exposure (currently an unmet medical need).
Topics: Animals; Axonal Transport; Cerebral Cortex; Cholinesterase Inhibitors; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Repositioning; Isoflurophate; Lithium Chloride; Male; Methylene Blue; Neurons; Phosphorylation; Primary Cell Culture; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley
PubMed: 31962143
DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2020.152379 -
International Journal of Molecular... Oct 2022Since the formation of organic salts can improve the solubility, bioavailability, and stability of active pharmaceutical ingredients, the aim of this work was to prepare...
Since the formation of organic salts can improve the solubility, bioavailability, and stability of active pharmaceutical ingredients, the aim of this work was to prepare an organic salt of chlordiazepoxide with saccharin. To achieve this goal, the saccharin salt of chlordiazepoxide was obtained from a physical mixture of both components by grinding them with a small volume of solvent and by crystallizing them with complete evaporation of the solvent. The resulting salt was examined by methods such as Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Single Crystal X-ray Diffraction (SCXRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), and Raman spectroscopy. The results of the studies proved that saccharin salt of chlordiazepoxide crystallizes in the orthorhombic bca space group with one chlordiazepoxide cation and one saccharin anion in the asymmetric unit. In the crystal of the title compound, the chlordiazepoxide cation and the saccharin anion interact through strong N-H···O hydrogen bonds and weak C-H···O hydrogen bonds. The disappearance of the N-H band in the FT-IR spectrum of saccharin may indicate a shift of this proton towards chlordiazepoxide, while the disappearance of the aromatic bond band in the chlordiazepoxide ring in the Raman spectrum may suggest the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between chlordiazepoxide molecules. The melting point of the salts differs from that of the starting compounds. Thermal decomposition of the salt begins above 200 °C and shows at least two overlapping stages of mass loss. In summary, the results of the research showed that the crystalline salt of the saccharin and chlordiazepoxide can be obtained by various methods: grinding with the addition of acetonitrile and crystallization from acetonitrile or a mixture of methanol with methylene chloride.
Topics: Acetonitriles; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; Chlordiazepoxide; Methanol; Methylene Chloride; Powders; Protons; Saccharin; Salts; Solubility; Solvents; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; X-Ray Diffraction
PubMed: 36233346
DOI: 10.3390/ijms231912050 -
Scientific Reports Feb 2023The members of the genus Phyllanthus have long been used in the treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases. They exhibited antiproliferative activity against various...
The members of the genus Phyllanthus have long been used in the treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases. They exhibited antiproliferative activity against various human cancer cell lines. Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer and a leading cause of cancer death among women. Doxorubicin (DOX) is an anticancer agent used to treat breast cancer despite its significant cardiotoxicity along with resistance development. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the potential cytotoxicity of P. niruri extracts (and fractions) alone and in combination with DOX against naïve (MCF-7) and doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7). The methylene chloride fraction (CHCl) showed the most cytotoxic activity among all tested fractions. Interestingly, the CHCl-fraction was more cytotoxic against MCF-7 than MCF-7 at 100 µg/mL. At sub-cytotoxic concentrations, this fraction enhanced the cytotoxic effect of DOX against the both cell lines under investigation (IC values of 0.054 µg/mL and 0.14 µg/mL vs. 0.2 µg/mL for DOX alone against MCF-7) and (1.2 µg/mL and 0.23 µg/mL vs. 9.9 µg/mL for DOX alone against MCF-7), respectively. Further, TLC fractionation showed that B2 subfraction in equitoxic combination with DOX exerted a powerful synergism (IC values of 0.03 µg/mL vs. 9.9 µg/mL for DOX alone) within MCF-7. Untargeted metabolite profiling of the crude methanolic extract (MeOH) and CHCl fraction exhibiting potential cytotoxicity was conducted using liquid chromatography diode array detector-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-DAD-QTOF). Further studies are needed to separate the active compounds from the CHCl fraction and elucidate their mechanism(s) of action.
Topics: Female; Humans; Breast Neoplasms; MCF-7 Cells; Phyllanthus; Antineoplastic Agents; Doxorubicin; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
PubMed: 36792619
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29566-0 -
The ISME Journal Jun 2021Dichloromethane (DCM; CHCl) is a toxic groundwater pollutant that also has a detrimental effect on atmospheric ozone levels. As a dense non-aqueous phase liquid, DCM...
Dichloromethane (DCM; CHCl) is a toxic groundwater pollutant that also has a detrimental effect on atmospheric ozone levels. As a dense non-aqueous phase liquid, DCM migrates vertically through groundwater to low redox zones, yet information on anaerobic microbial DCM transformation remains scarce due to a lack of cultured organisms. We report here the characterisation of DCMF, the dominant organism in an anaerobic enrichment culture (DFE) capable of fermenting DCM to the environmentally benign product acetate. Stable carbon isotope experiments demonstrated that the organism assimilated carbon from DCM and bicarbonate via the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. DCMF is the first anaerobic DCM-degrading population also shown to metabolise non-chlorinated substrates. It appears to be a methylotroph utilising the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway for metabolism of methyl groups from methanol, choline, and glycine betaine. The flux of these substrates from subsurface environments may either directly (DCM, methanol) or indirectly (choline, glycine betaine) affect the climate. Community profiling and cultivation of cohabiting taxa in culture DFE without DCMF suggest that DCMF is the sole organism in this culture responsible for substrate metabolism, while the cohabitants persist via necromass recycling. Genomic and physiological evidence support placement of DCMF in a novel genus within the Peptococcaceae family, 'Candidatus Formimonas warabiya'.
Topics: Biodegradation, Environmental; Carbon; Carbon Isotopes; Methylene Chloride; Peptococcaceae
PubMed: 33452483
DOI: 10.1038/s41396-020-00881-y