Chemical Composition and Biological Evaluation of Typha domingensis Pers. to Ameliorate Health Pathologies: In Vitro and In Silico Approaches.

Human diseases are becoming more prevalent, necessitating the development of modalities to overcome the challenges of treating various disorders. In the current research, we analyzed the biomedicinal role of Typha domingensis which is an important medicinal plant. The species is traditionally used in the treatment of neurological disorders and skin malignancies. The chloroform (CFTD) and n-butanol fractions of T. domingensis (BFTD) were subjected to chemical profiling through the determination of total polyphenolic contents and GC-MS analysis. The oral toxicity test was applied to investigate the toxicity of the extracts. Antioxidant capacity was analyzed by four in vitro methods: DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and CUPRAC. The pharmacological potential was evaluated through clinically significant enzyme inhibition assays, thrombolytic, and antimicrobial activities. In silico molecular docking approach was applied to confirm the role of T. domingensis against the enzymes. The polyphenolic quantification revealed that the BFTD was comparatively rich in total phenolic and flavonoid contents (97.14 milligrams gallic acid equivalent (mg GAE/g) and 362.5 milligrams quercetin equivalent per gram of dry extract (mg QE/g DE), respectively), as compared to the CFTD. The GC-MS analysis of the CFTD and BFTD resulted in the tentative identification of 67 and 29 compounds, respectively, with the major components of fatty acids and essential oil. The oral toxicity test revealed the safety and biocompatibility of CFTD and BFTD. Both the fractions showed promising antioxidant activity. Tyrosinase was found as the major enzyme inhibited by BFTD (78.67%) and CFTD (68.09%), whereas the standard kojic acid showed 85.58% inhibition. The inhibition results of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase by BFTD (71.65 and 60.79%, respectively) are higher than CFTD. Both the fractions were found active against various strains of bacteria. Furthermore, the molecular docking studies of the compounds showed a good docking score against all the docked enzymes among which deoxycaesaldekarin C was found with the highest binding affinities in comparison to the standard. The current study suggests that T. domingensis is nontoxic and can be a potential source of phytoconstituents with promising pharmacological potential.

A scent of therapy: Synthetic polysulfanes with improved physico-chemical properties induce apoptosis in human cancer cells.

Diallyl sulfanes derived from edible plants are highly potent compounds which at sub-millimolar concentrations are able to induce the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a variety of different cells, where they often cause an altered redox status. The loss of cellular thiols and/or formation of ROS subsequently triggers a range of cellular responses, including the induction of apoptosis. A great disadvantage of natural diallyl mono- and polysulfanes, however, is their inherent insolubility in water and the extremely bad odour which limits their practical use in humans. Here, we present the synthesis and biological evaluation of two new, especially designed polysulfanes, namely the trisulfide 1-Allyl-3-(2-ethoxyethyl)trisulfide (ATSEE) and the tetrasulfide Allyl-4-benzyltetrasulfide (ATTSB), which are nearly odourless. Both compounds produce O2•- radicals in HCT116 cells and both induce an oxidative defence signalling. Cell viability is especially reduced by the tetrasulfane ATTSB, with an arrest of the cell cycle in the G2-phase. In contrast, the trisulfane ATSEE does not inhibit the cell cycle. In agreement with these findings, treatment of HCT116 cells with ATTSB ultimately results in apoptosis whereas only limited induction of apoptosis has been detected for cells treated with ATSEE. We further show that antioxidative defence mechanisms and death response signalling run in parallel and the dominant pathway decides the fate of the cell. Thus, our results not only illuminate the intricate mode of action of certain polysulfanes; they also demonstrate that the new odourless tri- and tetrasulfanes exhibit a similar activity compared to their natural counterparts, yet are easier to handle and also deprived of the offensive odour which so far has prevented most practical applications of such polysulfanes, at least in the context of medicine.