Molecular docking and anti-ulcerative potential of Cucumis (L. Inodorous) on ibuprofen induced gastric ulceration in male wistar animals.

BACKGROUND: The use of NSAIDs have caused stomach injury by inhibiting endogenous mucosal prostaglandin production. Cucumis melo is reported to possess antiulcer potential. This study investigates the mechanism underlying the antiulcer potentials of Cucumis melo (CUM). METHODS: Thirty-five male Wistar rat were randomly assigned to each of seven groups; A(control given water and rat pellets), B(gastric ulcer induced with ibuprofen 400 mg/kg), C (Misoprotol 200 µg/kg), D to G (pretreated with different variation of CUM extract; 25 %, 50 %, 75 % and 100 % at a dose of 1 ml/kg for 3 weeks prior to gastric ulcer induction). Ulcer score, ulcer index and percentage inhibition, total gastric acidity was measured. Antioxidant activities, Malondialdehyde, H+/K+ ATPase, PGE2, TNF-α was done by spectrophotometry. Molecular docking investigation of Cucumis melo compounds against Prostaglandin E2 was carried out. Level of significance was tested at P ≤ 0.05 using Tukey post hoc. RESULT: Total gastric acidity, ulcer score, ulcer index, MDA, TNF-α significantly decreased after CUM treatment when compared to group B. The percentage inhibition, antioxidant activities, PGE2 concentration was significantly increased in all treatment groups compared to group B. Interactions of selected compounds of CUM with Prostaglandin E2 at various docking pockets showed folic acid has highest binding affinity followed by delta7-avenasterol and codisterol to PGE2 receptor. this study shows that one of the mechanisms by which CUM exhibits its antiulcer potential by enhancing Prostaglandin synthesis and antioxidant capacity. Therefore, Cucumis melo can therefore be explored as novel antiulcer agents.

Phytoextraction of weathered p,p'-DDE by zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus) under different cultivation conditions.

Previous studies have shown that zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus) under field conditions are good and poor accumulators, respectively, of persistent organic pollutants from soil. Here, each species was grown under three cultivation regimes: dense (five plants in 5 kg soil): nondense (one plant in 80 kg soil): and field conditions (two to three plants in approximately 789 kg soil). p,p'-DDE and inorganic element content in roots, stems, leaves, and fruit were determined. In addition. rhizosphere, near-root, and unvegetated soil fractions were analyzed for concentrations of 11 low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOA) and 14 water-extractable inorganic elements. Under field conditions, zucchini phytoextracted 1.3% of the weathered p,p'-DDE with 98% of the contaminant in the aerial tissues. Conversely, cucumber removed 0.09% of the p,p'-DDE under field conditions with 83% in the aerial tissues. Under dense cultivation, cucumber produced a fine and fibrous root system not observed in our previous experiments and phytoextracted 0.78% of the contaminant, whereas zucchini removed only 0.59% under similar conditions. However. cucumber roots translocated only 5.7% of the pollutant to the shoot system, while in zucchini 48% of the p,p'-DDE in the plant was present in the aerial tissue. For each species, the concentrations of LMWOA in soil increased with increasing impact by the root system both within a given cultivation regime (i.e., rhizosphere > near-root > unvegetated) and across cultivation regimes (i.e., dense > nondense > field conditions). Under dense cultivation, the rhizosphere concentrations of LMWOAs were significantly greater for cucumber than for zucchini; no species differences were evident in the other two cultivation regimes. To enable direct comparison across cultivation regimes, total in planta p,p'-DDE and inorganic elements were mass normalized or multiplied by the ratio of plant mass to soil mass. For cucumber, differences in total p,p'-DDE and inorganic element content among the cultivation regimes largely disappear upon mass normalization, indicating that greater uptake of both types of constituents in the dense condition is due to greater plant biomass per unit soil. Conversely, for zucchini the mass normalized content of p,p'-DDE and inorganic elements is up to two orders of magnitude greater under field conditions than under dense cultivation, indicating a unique physiological response of C. pepo in the field. The role of cultivation conditions and nutrient availability in controlling root morphology, organic acid exudation, and contaminant uptake is discussed.

Isolation and identification of a phosphate deficiency-induced C-glycosylflavonoid that stimulates arbuscular mycorrhiza formation in melon roots.

Melon (Cucumis melo) roots were inoculated with or without the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus caledonium under low phosphate conditions. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of the secondary metabolites in butanol extracts from roots revealed that the level of one compound in noninoculated roots showed a significant increase from 30 days postinoculation. No accumulation was observed in mycorrhizal roots and high-phosphate-supplemented roots, indicating that the accumulation of the compound was caused by a phosphate deficiency. The compound was isolated by column chromatography and identified by spectroscopic methods to be a C-glycosylflavone, isovitexin 2''-O-beta-glucoside. The effect of the compound on mycorrhizal colonization in melon roots was examined under low (0.05 mM) and high (2 mM) phosphate conditions. The degree of mycorrhizal colonization in control roots grown under high phosphate conditions (8.8%) was much lower than when grown under low phosphate conditions (22%). The treatment of roots with the compound at concentrations of 20 and 50 microM increased root colonization under both low and high phosphate conditions. In particular, the degrees of mycorrhizal colonization in treated roots grown under high phosphate conditions (25 and 22% at 20 and 50 microM, respectively) were comparable to that in untreated control roots grown under low phosphate conditions (22%). These findings suggest that the phosphate deficiency-induced C-glycosylflavonoid is involved in the regulation of AM fungal colonization in melon roots.