RESUMO
BACKGTOUND: The interconnection between different fields of research has gained interest due to its cutting-edge perspectives in solving scientific problems. Terminalia arjuna is indigenously used in India for curing several diseases and its pharmacological activities are being revisited in recent drug-repurposing researches. OBJECTIVE: Efficient ultrasound-assisted extraction of phytochemicals from the bark of Terminalia arjuna is highlighted in this study. Following the optimization of the extraction process, the crude hydroethanolic extract is subjected to phytochemical profiling and an in-silico investigation on its anti-cancer property. METHODOLOGY: A three-level four-factor Box-Behnken design is exploited to optimize four operational parameters namely extraction time, ultrasonic power, ethanol concentration (as the extracting solvent) and solute (in g) : solvent (in mL) ratio. At the optimum parametric condition, the crude extract is obtained and its GC-MS analysis is done. An analysis of network pharmacology (by constructing and visualizing biological networks using Cytoscape) combined with molecular docking reveals the potential antineoplastic targets of the crude extract. RESULTS: The ANOVA table exhibits the significance, adequacy and reliability of the proposed second-order polynomial model with a R² value of 0.917 and adjusted R² of 0.865. Experimental results portray significant antioxidant potential of the prepared extract in its crude form. The GC-MS analysis of the crude extract predicts the extracted phytochemicals while the constructed biological networks highlight its multi-targeted activity in colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION: The study identifies three phytochemicals viz. luteolin, ß-sitosterol and arjunic acid as potent anti-cancer agents and can be extended with in-vitro and in-vivo experiments to validate the in-silico results, thus establishing lead phytochemicals in multi-targeted colorectal cancer therapies with minimal side effects.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Human papilloma virus (HPV) is one of the most common causes of sexually transmitted viral diseases worldwide. High-risk HPV types such as HPV16 and 18 are known to cause cervical dysplasia and carcinoma. In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individual, chance of HPV coinfection and risk of cervical dysplasia/carcinoma have been found to be significantly more than in HIV-negative individuals. AIM: In this institution-based, cross-sectional, observational study, we aim to find out the relationship of HPV infection of the uterine cervix with cervical dysplasia and neoplasia in HIV-infected/AIDS patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Conventional Pap smears were taken from HIV-infected individuals admitted in the department of gynecology and obstetrics and reported by the Bethesda system. A second sample was sent to the virology unit of ICMR for detection and typing of HPV. Control samples were taken from HIV-negative individuals. RESULTS: Fifty HIV-positive patients were included in this study. On cervical Pap smear examination, 32 cases were cytologically benign and 18 cases showed atypical cytomorphology. Twenty-four cases were HPV positive, among which 16 were cytologically atypical and 8 were benign. HPV 16 was the most common subtype (50%) followed by HPV 18 (37.5%) and others (12.5%) in HIV-positive patients. Chance of cervical dysplasia increased with age independent of HIV infection and with progressive lower CD4 count. Koilocytosis was a significant predictor of HPV infection. Majority of patients were asymptomatic. Peak incidence of HPV infection occurred in reproductive age group (20-40 years). The association between HIV and HPV coinfection (P = 0.002) and between HPV infection and cytology atypia (P < 0.0001) was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Present study highlights the necessity of routine cervical Pap smear screening in HIV infected reproductive age-group women. Early detection enables dysplasia to revert or be effectively managed.
