Protective Efficacy of Spilanthes acmella Murr. Extracts and Bioactive Constituents in Neuronal Cell Death.

Spilanthes acmella Murr., a well-known Thai traditional medicine, has been used for treatment of toothache, rheumatism, and fever. Diverse pharmacological activities of S. acmella Murr. have been reported. In this study, antioxidative and neuroprotective effects of S. acmella Murr. extracts as well as bioactive scopoletin, vanillic acid, and trans-ferulic acid found in the aerial parts of this plant species have been described. Protective effect of S. acmella Murr. extracts and bioactive compounds on dexamethasone-induced neuronal cell death was investigated. Different plant crude ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and methanol (MeOH) extracts including pure compounds of S. acmella Murr. were evaluated in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Cytotoxic effects were performed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Mechanisms involved in the antioxidant effects of S. acmella Murr. regarding the activation of antioxidant marker proteins such as superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) and sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) were determined using 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay, Western blot analysis, and immunocytochemistry. Dexamethasone significantly caused the decrease of SH-SY5Y cell viability. Conversely, the increases in reactive oxygen species (ROS), autophagy, and apoptosis were observed in dexamethasone-treated cells. S. acmella Murr. MeOH and EtOAc extracts, as well as the bioactive compounds, reversed the toxic effect of dexamethasone by increasing the cell viability, SIRT3 protein expression but reducing the ROS, autophagy, and apoptosis. This study demonstrated that S. acmella Murr. may exert its protective effects against ROS through SOD2 and SIRT3 signaling pathways in dexamethasone-induced neurotoxicity. S. acmella Murr. may be a candidate therapy for neuroprotection.

High-fat diet-induced plasma protein and liver changes in obese rats can be attenuated by melatonin supplementation.

Obesity triggers changes in protein expression in various organs that might participate in the pathogenesis of obesity. Melatonin has been reported to prevent or attenuate such pathological protein changes in several chronic diseases. However, such melatonin effects on plasma proteins have not yet been studied in an obesity model. Using a proteomic approach, we investigated the effect of melatonin on plasma protein profiles after rats were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce obesity. We hypothesized that melatonin would attenuate abnormal protein expression in obese rats. After 10weeks of the HFD, animals displayed increased body weight and fat accumulation as well as increased glucose levels, indicating an obesity-induced prediabetes mellitus-like state. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry revealed 12 proteins whose expression was altered in response to the HFD and the melatonin treatment. The altered proteins are related to the development of liver pathology, such as cirrhosis (α1-antiproteinase), thrombosis (fibrinogen, plasminogen), and inflammation (mannose-binding protein A, complement C4, complement factor B), contributing to liver steatosis or hepatic cell death. Melatonin treatment most probably reduced the severity of the HFD-induced obesity by reducing the amplitude of HFD-induced plasma protein changes. In conclusion, we identified several potential biomarkers associated with the progression of obesity and its complications, such as liver damage. Furthermore, our findings reveal melatonin's beneficial effect of attenuating plasma protein changes and liver pathogenesis in obese rats.

Quercetin-imprinted polymer for anthocyanin extraction from mangosteen pericarp.

Molecular imprinting is a facilitative technology for the production of artificial receptors possessing great endurance with high specificity toward target molecules of interest. The polymers are commonly applied for separation or analysis of substances of interest. In this study, we prepared molecularly imprinted polymers for the purpose of binding specifically to quercetin and related compounds. Quercetin was used as the template molecule, 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP) as the functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as the cross-linking monomer, azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the polymerization initiator and ethanol as the porogenic solvent. Such 4-VP-based imprinted polymer was found to bind the template molecule greater than that of the control polymer with an approximate 2 folds higher binding using 20mg of polymer in the optimal solvent, ethanol:water (4:1v/v). Quercetin-imprinted polymer (QIP) was found to bind well against its template; approximately 1mg/g polymer. In addition, QIP was applied to bind anthocyanin from the crude extract of mangosteen pericarp. The binding capacity of quercetin-MIP toward anthocyanin was approximately 0.875mg per gram of polymer. This result indicated that quercetin-MIP showed its specific binding to quercetin and related compound particularly anthocyanin. In conclusion, we have demonstrated the successful preparation and utilization of molecularly imprinted polymer for the specific recognition of quercetin as well as structurally related anthocyanins from the mangosteen pericarp with enhanced and robust performance.

In vitro study of parasite elimination and endothelial protection by curcumin: adjunctive therapy for cerebral malaria.

Plasmodium falciparum infection can abruptly progress to severe malaria and cerebral malaria. Despite the current efficiency of antimalarial drugs in killing parasites, no specific effective treatment has been found for cerebral malaria. Thus, a new strategy targeting both parasite elimination and endothelial cell protection is urgently needed in this field. In this study, we determined whether curcumin, which has blood-brain permeability, antioxidative activity and/or immunomodulation property, provided a potential effect on both parasite elimination and endothelial protection. Murine brain microvascular endothelial cells (bEnd.3; ATCC) were cocultured with Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells (Pf-IRBC), peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and platelets. Apoptosis of endothelial cells was demonstrated by annexin V staining. Interestingly, curcumin exhibited high efficiency of antimalarial activity (IC50 ~10 µM) and decreased bEnd.3 apoptosis down to 60.0 % and 79.6 % upon pre-treatment and co-treatment, respectively, with Pf-IRBC, platelets and PBMC. Our findings open up a high feasibility of applying curcumin as a potential adjunctive compound for cerebral malaria treatment in the future.

Polyacrylamide hydrogel encapsulated E. coli expressing metal-sensing green fluorescent protein as a potential tool for copper ion determination.

A simple, inexpensive and field applicable metal determination system would be a powerful tool for the efficient control of metal ion contamination in various sources e.g. drinking-water, water reservoir and waste discharges. In this study, we developed a cell-based metal sensor for specific and real-time detection of copper ions. E. coli expressing metal-sensing green fluorescent protein (designated as TG1/(CG)6GFP and TG1/H6CdBP4GFP) were constructed and served as a metal analytical system. Copper ions were found to exert a fluorescence quenching effect, while zinc and cadmium ions caused minor fluorescence enhancement in the engineered bacterial suspension. To construct a user-friendly and reagentless metal detection system, TG1/H6CdBP4GFP and TG1/(CG)6GFP were encapsulated in polyacrylamide hydrogels that were subsequently immobilized on an optical fiber equipped with a fluorescence detection module. The sensor could be applied to measure metal ions by simply dipping the encapsulated bacteria into a metal solution and monitoring fluorescence changes in real time as a function of the metal concentration in solution. The sensor system demonstrated high specificity toward copper ions. The fluorescence intensities of the encapsulated TG1/(CG)6GFP and TG1/H6CdBP4GFP were quenched by approximately 70 % and 80 % by a high-dose of copper ions (50 mM), respectively. The level of fluorescence quenching exhibited a direct correlation with the copper concentration, with a linear correlation coefficient (r) of 0.99. The cell-based metal sensor was able to efficiently monitor copper concentrations ranging between 5 M and 50 mM, encompassing the maximum allowed copper contamination in drinking water (31.15 M) established by the WHO. Furthermore, the cell-based metal sensor could undergo prolonged storage for at least 2 weeks without significantly influencing the copper sensitivity.

Fluorescent protein-based optical biosensor for copper ion quantitation.

In the present study, spectroscopic determinations of copper ions using chimeric metal-binding green fluorescent protein (His6GFP) as an active indicator have been explored. Supplementation of copper ions to the GFP solution led to a remarkable decrease of fluorescent intensity corresponding to metal concentrations. For circumstances, rapid declining of fluorescence up to 60% was detected in the presence of 500 microM copper. This is in contrast to those observed in the case of zinc and calcium ions, in which approximately 10-20% of fluorescence was affected. Recovery of its original fluorescence up to 80% was mediated by the addition of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid. More importantly, in the presence of metal ions, the emission wavelength maximum remains unchanged while reduction of the optical density of the absorption spectrum has been observed. This indicates that the chromophore's ground state was possibly affected by the static quenching process. Results from circular dichroism measurements revealed that the overall patterns of circular dichroism spectra after exposure to copper ions were not significantly different from that of the control, where the majority of sharp positive band around 195-196 nm in combination with a broad negative deflection around 215-216 nm was obtained. Taken together, it can be presumed that copper ions exerted their static quenching on the fluorescence rather than structural or conformational alteration. However, notification has to be made that some peptide rearrangements may also occur in the presence of metal ions. Further studies were conducted to investigate the feasibility of using the His6GFP as a sensing unit for copper ions. The His6GFP was encapsulated in Sol-gel and immobilized onto the optical fiber connected with a fluorescence detecting device. The Sol-gel was doped into the metal solution where the quenching of fluorescence could be monitored in real time. The sensing unit provided a high sensitivity of detection in the range of 0.5 microM to 50 mM with high selectivity for copper ions. All these findings open up a high potential to apply the fluorescent protein-based bioanalytical tool for copper determination in the future.

Bioactive azafluorenone alkaloids from Polyalthia debilis (Pierre) Finet & Gagnep.

This study investigated bioactive extracts of Polyalthia debilis (Annonaceae) with antimicrobial, antimalarial and cytotoxic activities. Extensive chromatographic isolations provided azafluorenone alkaloids; onychine (1) and 7-methoxyonychine (2) together with a mixture of beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol. The two alkaloids were isolated from the P. debilis for the first time. Isolated fractions containing a mixture of triterpenoids (C7, C8 and C9) exhibited the most potent antimicrobial activity against many bacterial strains with minimum inhibitory concentration of 64 microg/mL. Fractions with antimalarial and cytotoxic activities were also observed. The findings suggest the potential use of P. debilis in medicinal applications.

Antimicrobial and antioxidative activities of bioactive constituents from Hydnophytum formicarum Jack.

Hydnophytum formicarum Jack. (Rubiaceae) is a medicinal plant whose tubers possesses cardiovascular, anti-inflammatory and antiparasitic effects and have been used for the treatment of hepatitis, rheumatism and diarrhea. Herein we report the isolation of its active constituents and the testing of their antimicrobial activity against 27 strains of microorganisms using an agar dilution method and of their antioxidative activity using the DPPH and SOD assays. The results show that the crude hexane, dichloromethane, ethylacetate and methanol extracts exert such activities. Particularly, the crude ethyl acetate extract exhibits antigrowth activity against many Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with MIC 256 microg/mL. Shewanella putrefaciens ATCC 8671 is completely inhibited at a lower MIC (128 microg/mL). Interestingly, Corynebacterium diphtheriae NCTC10356 is inhibited by all the tested extracts. Significantly, the ethyl acetate extract is also the most potent antioxidant, showing 83.31% radical scavenging activity with IC50 8.40 microg/mL in the DPPH assay. The other extracts display weak to moderate antioxidative activities, ranging from 28.60-56.80% radical scavenging. The SOD assay shows that methanol extract exhibits the highest activity (74.19% inhibition of superoxide radical). The dichloromethane and ethyl acetate extracts display comparable SOD activity. The promising bioactivities of the crude ethyl acetate extract guided the first isolation of bioactive flavonoid and phenolic compounds: isoliquiritigenin (2), protocatechualdehyde(3), butin (4) and butein (5) from this species. Their structures have been fully established by 1D and 2D NMR. In addition, stigmasterol was isolated from the crude hexane and dichloromethane extracts. The antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of compounds 3-5 were evaluated. The tested compounds were inactive against HuCCA-1 and KB cell lines,showing ED50> 10 microg/mL. Protocatechualdehyde (3) completely inhibits the growth of Plesiomonas shigelloides with MIC

Cloning of active human manganese superoxide dismutase and its oxidative protection in Escherichia coli.

Superoxide radical (O2*-) is a toxic byproduct of oxidative metabolism that extensively damages cellular macromolecules and organelles. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalyzes the conversion of superoxide radical to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and molecular oxygen (O2) thus providing a biological defense against oxygen toxicity. The structural gene of human manganese superoxide dismutase (hMnSOD) was successfully cloned into the pET46Ek/LIC by using a Ligation Independent Cloning (LIC) technique. The recombinant human MnSOD was expressed in E. coli strain BL21(DE3)pLysS and purified to homogeneity by Ni2+ -NTA. Supplementation of Mn2+ in the bacterial growth media was proven to be crucial for production of enzymatically active hMnSOD. The recombinant enzyme revealed a specific activity up to 2,857 U mg(-1) as measured by inhibition of photoreduction of nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT). The molecular weight of each subunit was estimated to be 22 kDa by SDS-PAGE. More interestingly, E. coli expressing hMnSOD provides resistance against oxidative stress induced by the herbicide paraquat up to 1.2 mM. These findings gain insights into the biochemical characterization and significant roles of oxidative-protection of the hMnSOD in biological systems.