Quality Control and Authentication of Black Betel Leaf Extract (Piper acre Blume) from East Kalimantan as an Antimicrobial Agent Using a Combination of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Chemometric Fourier Transform Infrared.

Black betel leaf from East Kalimantan contains various secondary metabolites such as alkaloid saponins, flavonoids, and tannins. A compound, piperenamide A, which has antimicrobial activity, is also found in black betel leaf. This study aims to identify and authenticate the compound piperenamide A found in black betel leaf extract in other types of betel plant using HPLC and FTIR-chemometrics. The extraction method used was maceration with 70% ethanol solvent. Determination of piperenamide A content in black betel leaf extract was via HPLC column C18, with a maximum wavelength of 259 nm and a mobile phase of water:acetonitrile at a flow rate of 1 mL/minute. From the results, piperenamide A was only found in black betel (Piper acre) and not in Piper betel and Piper crocatum. Piperenamide A levels obtained were 4.03, 6.84, 5.35, 13.85, and 2.15%, respectively, in the samples studied. The combination of FTIR spectra with chemometric methods such as PCA and PLS-DA was used to distinguish the three types of betel. Discriminant analysis can classify black betel (Piper acre), Piper betel, and Piper crocatum according to its type. These methods can be used for identification and authentication of black betel.

Neuraminidase Inhibitor of Garcinia atroviridis L. Fruits and Leaves Using Partial Purification and Molecular Characterization.

Neuraminidase (NA) is an enzyme that prevents virions from aggregating within the host cell and promotes cell-to-cell spread by cleaving glycosidic linkages to sialic acid. The best-known neuraminidase is the viral neuraminidase, which present in the influenza virus. Thus, the development of anti-influenza drugs that inhibit NA has emerged as an important and intriguing approach in the treatment of influenza. Garcinia atroviridis L. (GA) dried fruits (GAF) are used commercially as seasoning and in beverages. The main objective of this study was to identify a new potential neuraminidase inhibitor from GA. A bioassay-guided fractionation method was applied to obtain the bioactive compounds leading to the identification of garcinia acid and naringenin. In an enzyme inhibition study, garcinia acid demonstrated the highest activity when compared to naringenin. Garcinia acid had the highest activity, with an IC50 of 17.34-17.53 µg/mL or 91.22-92.21 µM against Clostridium perfringens-NA, and 56.71-57.85 µg/mL or 298.32-304.31 µM against H1N1-NA. Based on molecular docking results, garcinia acid interacted with the triad arginine residues (Arg118, Arg292, and Arg371) of the viral neuraminidase, implying that this compound has the potential to act as a NA enzyme inhibitor.

Safety assessment of the Polypodium feei root extract: Acute and subchronic studies.

This study was performed to assess the safety of the oral acute and subchronic administration of Polypodium feei root extract through acute and subchronic studies in mice and rats, respectively. In the acute toxicity treatment, mice were grouped according to the dose (1000, 2000, 4000 and 5000 mg/kg, b.w) and were observed for mortality and toxicity signs for 14 days. In the subchronic treatment, there were six groups of rats (female and male), a control group, three test groups (100, 400, and 800 mg/kg, b.w), and two satellite groups (control satellite and satellite 800 mg/kg groups). The three test groups received the extract orally once daily for 90 days. No animals in the acute and subchronic treatment groups showed mortality and any signs of toxicity, with no significant difference in the body weight and organ index compared to the control. The LD50 of the extract was estimated to be higher than 5000 mg/kg, therefore regarded as practically non-toxic. The haematological profiles did not significantly change on exposure to the extract for 90 days, except the platelet count in the female animals which significantly decreased in animals treated with 400 and 800 mg/kg, returning to normal after 28 days of recovery. The 800 mg/kg dose significantly increased the urea concentration and induced lesions in the stomachs of female animals. However, this undesirable effect on the kidney was not strong, as the creatinine concentration remained in the normal limits, and the histopathological observations showed no alteration in the kidney tissues. No significant morphological alterations in organs were observed, only minor lesions in the liver. These results indicate that the P. feei root extract is safe for use as herbal medicine and recommended at doses lower than 400 mg/kg.

Sub-chronic toxicity of Garcinia atroviridis Griff Fruit's ethanol extract on Wistar rats (Ratus norvegicus).

Garcinia atroviridis Griff. (GA) is a tropical fruit that commonly used as a traditional medicine to this day. This study was conducted to determine the sub-chronic toxicity effect of GA fruits ethanol extract on body weight, clinical hematology and biochemical parameters, and organ's histopathology. This study is an experimental research by oral treatments for 90 days with completely randomized design. The treatment group consists of five classes. Each class was given the treatment with a dosage of 50 mg/kg BW, 200 mg/kg BW, 800 mg/kg BW and satellite group with 2% PGA, or 800 mg/kgBW. Based on ANOVA and advanced Tukey test results using SPSS, the hematological parameters such as mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and white blood cell had significant differences with the control group. In the biochemical parameters, the serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase values and triglycerides (in male rats), serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase and creatinine (in female rats) had significant differences with the control group. In conclusion, GA fruits ethanol extract is safe and non toxic to body weight, clinical hematology and biochemical parameters, and histopathology of ten organs.

A virtual screening approach for identifying plants with anti H5N1 neuraminidase activity.

Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic and occasional drug-resistant influenza strains have highlighted the need to develop novel anti-influenza therapeutics. Here, we report computational and experimental efforts to identify influenza neuraminidase inhibitors from among the 3000 natural compounds in the Malaysian-Plants Natural-Product (NADI) database. These 3000 compounds were first docked into the neuraminidase active site. The five plants with the largest number of top predicted ligands were selected for experimental evaluation. Twelve specific compounds isolated from these five plants were shown to inhibit neuraminidase, including two compounds with IC50 values less than 92 µM. Furthermore, four of the 12 isolated compounds had also been identified in the top 100 compounds from the virtual screen. Together, these results suggest an effective new approach for identifying bioactive plant species that will further the identification of new pharmacologically active compounds from diverse natural-product resources.