Leaves of Moringa oleifera Are Potential Source of Bioactive Compound ß-Carotene: Evidence from In Silico and Quantitative Gene Expression Analysis.

Moringa oleifera is rich in bioactive compounds such as beta-carotene, which have high nutritional values and antimicrobial applications. Several studies have confirmed that bioactive-compound-based herbal medicines extracted from the leaves, seeds, fruits and shoots of M. oleifera are vital to cure many diseases and infections, and for the healing of wounds. The ß-carotene is a naturally occurring bioactive compound encoded by zeta-carotene desaturase (ZDS) and phytoene synthase (PSY) genes. In the current study, computational analyses were performed to identify and characterize ZDS and PSY genes retrieved from Arabidopsis thaliana (as reference) and these were compared with the corresponding genes in M. oleifera, Brassica napus, Brassica rapa, Brassica oleracea and Bixa orellana. The BLAST results revealed that all the plant species considered in this study encode ß-carotene genes with 80-100% similarity. The Pfam analysis on ß-carotene genes of all the investigated plants confirmed that they belong to the same protein family and domain. Similarly, phylogenetic analysis revealed that ß-carotene genes of M. oleifera belong to the same ancestral class. Using the ZDS and PSY genes of Arabidopsis thaliana as a reference, we conducted qRT-PCR analysis on RNA extracted from the leaves of M. oleifera, Brassica napus, Brassica rapa and Bixa orellana. It was noted that the most significant gene expression occurred in the leaves of the studied medicinal plants. We concluded that not only are the leaves of M. oleifera an effective source of bioactive compounds including beta carotene, but also the leaves of Brassica napus, Brassica rapa and Bixa orellana can be employed as antibiotics and antioxidants against bacterial or microbial infections.

Cerium Oxide Nanorods Synthesized by Dalbergia sissoo Extract for Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity, and Photocatalytic Applications.

In this study, cerium oxide nanorods (CeO2-NRs) were synthesized by using the phytochemicals present in the Dalbergia sissoo extract. The physiochemical characteristics of the as-prepared CeO2-NRs were investigated by using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The SEM and UV-VIS analyses revealed that the acquired nanomaterials possessed a rod-like morphology while the XRD results further confirmed that the synthesized NRs exhibited a cubic crystal lattice system. The antioxidant capacity of the synthesized CeO2-NRs was investigated by using several in vitro biochemical assays. It was observed that the synthesized NRs exhibited better antioxidant potential in comparison to the industrial antioxidant of the butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The biochemical assays, including lipid peroxidation (LPO), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and catalase activity (CAT), were also performed in the human lymphocytes incubated with the CeO2-NRs to investigate the impact of the NRs on these oxidative biomarkers. Enhanced reductive capabilities were observed in all the assays, revealing that the NRs possess excellent antioxidant properties. Moreover, the cytotoxic potential of the CeO2-NRs was also investigated with the MTT assay. The CeO2-NRs were found to effectively kill off the cancerous cells (MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line), further indicating that the synthesized NRs exhibit anticancer potential as well. One of the major applications studied for the prepared CeO2-NRs was performing the statistical optimization of the photocatalytic degradation reaction of the methyl orange (MO) dye. The reaction was optimized by using the technique of response surface methodology (RSM). This advanced approach facilitates the development of the predictive model on the basis of central composite design (CCD) for this degradation reaction. The maximum degradation of 99.31% was achieved at the experimental optimized conditions, which corresponded rather well with the predicted percentage degradation values of 99.58%. These results indicate that the developed predictive model can effectively explain the performed experimental reaction. To conclude, the CeO2-NRs exhibited excellent results for multiple applications.

Curcumin and Its Derivatives Induce Apoptosis in Human Cancer Cells by Mobilizing and Redox Cycling Genomic Copper Ions.

Turmeric spice contains curcuminoids, which are polyphenolic compounds found in the Curcuma longa plant's rhizome. This class of molecules includes curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin. Using prostate cancer cell lines PC3, LNCaP, DU145, and C42B, we show that curcuminoids inhibit cell proliferation (measured by MTT assay) and induce apoptosis-like cell death (measured by DNA/histone ELISA). A copper chelator (neocuproine) and reactive oxygen species scavengers (thiourea for hydroxyl radical, superoxide dismutase for superoxide anion, and catalase for hydrogen peroxide) significantly inhibit this reaction, thus demonstrating that intracellular copper reacts with curcuminoids in cancer cells to cause DNA damage via ROS generation. We further show that copper-supplemented media sensitize normal breast epithelial cells (MCF-10A) to curcumin-mediated growth inhibition, as determined by decreased cell proliferation. Copper supplementation results in increased expression of copper transporters CTR1 and ATP7A in MCF-10A cells, which is attenuated by the addition of curcumin in the medium. We propose that the copper-mediated, ROS-induced mechanism of selective cell death of cancer cells may in part explain the anticancer effects of curcuminoids.

Extraction of Bioactive Compounds for Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and Antidiabetic Applications.

This study was designed to check the potential of secondary metabolites of the selected plants; Citrullus colocynthis, Solanum nigrum, Solanum surattense, Calotropis procera, Agave americana, and Anagallis arvensis for antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and antidiabetic agents. Plant material was soaked in ethanol/methanol to get the crude extract, which was further partitioned via solvent extraction technique. GCMS and FTIR analytical techniques were applied to check the compounds responsible for causing antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic activities. It was concluded that about 80% of studied extracts/fractions were active against α-amylase, ranging from 43 to 96%. The highest activity (96.63%) was exhibited by butanol fractions of A. arvensis while the least response (43.65%) was shown by the aqueous fraction of C. colocynthis and the methanol fraction of fruit of S. surattense. The highest antioxidant activity was shown by the ethyl acetate fraction of Anagallis arvensis (78.1%), while aqueous as well as n-hexane fractions are the least active throughout the assay. Results showed that all tested plants can be an excellent source of natural products with potential antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antidiabetic potential. The biological response of these species is depicted as a good therapeutic agent, and, in the future, it can be encapsulated for drug discovery.

Pomegranate juice anthocyanidins induce cell death in human cancer cells by mobilizing intracellular copper ions and producing reactive oxygen species.

Anthocyanidins are the most abundant polyphenols in pomegranate juice. This class of molecules includes Delphinidin (Del), Cyanidin (Cya), and Pelargonidin (Pel). Using prostate, breast and pancreatic cancer cell lines PC3, MDA-MB-231, BxPC-3 and MiaPaCa-2, we show that anthocyanidins inhibit cell proliferation (measured by MTT assay) and induce apoptosis like cell death (measured by DNA/Histone ELISA). Copper chelator neocuproine and reactive oxygen species scavengers (thiourea for hydroxyl radical and superoxide dismutase for superoxide anion) significantly inhibit this reaction thus demonstrating that intracellular copper reacts with anthocyanidins in cancer cells to cause DNA damage via ROS generation. We further show that copper-supplemented media sensitizes normal breast epithelial cells (MCF-10A) to Del-mediated growth inhibition as determined by decreased cell proliferation. Copper supplementation results in increased expression of copper transporters Ctr1 and ATP7A in MCF-10A cells, which is attenuated by the addition of Del in the medium. We propose that the copper mediated, ROS-induced mechanism of selective cell death of cancer cells may in part explain the anticancer effects of anthocyanidins.

Electrochemical Methodologies for Investigating the Antioxidant Potential of Plant and Fruit Extracts: A Review.

In recent years, the growing research interests in the applications of plant and fruit extracts (synthetic/stabilization materials for the nanomaterials, medicinal applications, functional foods, and nutraceuticals) have led to the development of new analytical techniques to be utilized for identifying numerous properties of these extracts. One of the main properties essential for the applicability of these plant extracts is the antioxidant capacity (AOC) that is conventionally determined by spectrophotometric techniques. Nowadays, electrochemical methodologies are emerging as alternative tools for quantifying this particular property of the extract. These methodologies address numerous drawbacks of the conventional spectroscopic approach, such as the utilization of expensive and hazardous solvents, extensive sample pre-treatment requirements, long reaction times, low sensitivity, etc. The electrochemical methodologies discussed in this review include cyclic voltammetry (CV), square wave voltammetry (SWV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and chronoamperometry (CAP). This review presents a critical comparison between both the conventional and electrochemical approaches for the quantification of the parameter of AOC and discusses the numerous applications of the obtained bioextracts based on the AOC parameter.

Structure of Some Green Tea Catechins and the Availability of Intracellular Copper Influence Their Ability to Cause Selective Oxidative DNA Damage in Malignant Cells.

The possible roles of elevated endogenous copper levels in malignant cells are becoming increasingly understood at a greater depth. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated that tea catechins have the ability to mobilize endogenous copper and undergo a Fenton-like reaction that can selectively damage cancer cells. In this communication, by using a diverse panel of malignant cell lines, we demonstrate that the ability of the catechin family [(-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin (EC), and (+)-catechin (C)] to induce apoptosis is dependent on their structure. We further confirm that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are the terminal effectors causing copper-mediated DNA damage. Our studies demonstrate the role of cellular copper transporters CTR1 and ATP7A in the survival dynamics of malignant cells post-EGCG exposure. The results, when considered together with our previous studies, highlight the critical role that copper dynamics and mobilization plays in cancer cells and paves the way for a better understanding of catechins as nutraceutical supplements for malignancies.

Study to Investigate the Potential of Combined Extract of Leaves and Seeds of Moringa oleifera in Groundwater Purification.

Several parts of the Moringa oleifera plant have revealed incredible potential for water quality improvement. However, the purification potential of a combined leaf and seed extract of Moringa oleifera plants remains unexplored. To the best of our knowledge, this research would be the first to work towards exploiting the combined potential of a leaf and seed extract of the Moringa oleifera plant in the process of water purification. In this study, we investigated the combined effectiveness of the leaf and seed extract in the purification of groundwater. The jar test method was used to analyze the effectiveness of Moringa plant extract (in combination) on different quality parameters of groundwater. Treatment with the combined plant extract (seed and leaf) resulted in significant improvement of various physicochemical (hardness, pH, turbidity, Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), and metallic impurities) and biological parameters (E.coli count) over individual seed and leaf extracts in groundwater samples. Experimental findings have strongly shown the enhanced purification efficacy of the hexane extract of combined plant materials in comparison to the individual extracts, thereby providing us with a potent natural coagulant that could combat the side effects of chemical coagulants.