Response Surface Methodology-Based Optimized Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction and Characterization of Selected High-Value Components from Gemlik Olive Fruit.

This article presents an optimized ultrasound-assisted ethanolic extraction (UAEE) and characterization of selected high-value components from Gemlik olive fruit (GOF) harvested from Potohar region of Pakistan. Response surface methodology (RSM), involving central composite design (CCD), was applied to optimize the extraction variables i. e., temperature (25-65 °C), extraction time (15-45 min) and aqueous ethanol concentration (60-90 %) for optimal recovery of bioactives extract, total phenolic contents (TPC) and DPPH free radical scavengers. Under the optimized set of conditions such as 43 °C temperature, 32 min extraction time and 80 % aqueous ethanol, the best extract yield (218.82 mg/g), TPC (19.87 mg GAE/g) and DPPH scavenging activity (63.04 %) were recorded. A quadratic polynomial model was found to be reasonably fitted to the observed results for extract yield (p<0.0001 and R2 =0.9941), TPC (p<0.0001 and R2 =0.9891), and DPPH radical scavenging activity (p<0.0001 and R2 =0.9692). Potent phenolic compounds were identified by GC/MS in GOF extract and considerable amount of essential fatty acids were also detected. The current findings support the use of UAEE as an effective green route for optimized recovery of high-value components from GOF and hence its applications can be extended to functional food and nutra-pharmaceutical developments.

Comparative study of hypoglycaemic and antioxidant potential of methanolic seed extract and oil of Nigella sativa on alloxanized diabetic rabbits.

The present study was aimed to investigate the comparative antidiabetic potential of Nigella sativa seed extract and oil in an in vivo trial using rat animal model. The levels of antioxidants analysed in this study included catalase, vitamin C and bilirubin. NS methanolic extract and its oil were tested for their hypoglycemic effect against alloxanized diabetic rabbits (120mg/kg). The crude methanolic extract and the oil (2.5ml/kg/day) were given orally for 24 days that resulted in a significant reduction in glycaemia, particularly during the first 12 days of treatment (reductions of 58.09% and 73.27%, respectively), whereas the oil treated group normalised the levels of catalase (-69.23%), vitamin C (27.30%) and bilirubin (-51.48%) and the extract treated group normalised the levels of catalase (-65.38), vitamin C (24.15%) and bilirubin (-26.19%) at the end of the trial. The results have shown that the seed oil more significantly normalized the levels of serum catalase, serum ascorbic acid and total serum bilirubin as compared to the methanolic extract of Nigella sativa, so Nigella sativa seed oil (NSO) may be used as part of antidiabetic remedies against diabetes and utilized as a nutraceutical.

Evaluation of antidiabetic, antioxidant, and cytotoxic potential of maize (zea mays l.) husk leaf extracts.

In current study, Maize (Zea mays L.) husk leave extracts were appraised for biological activities such as cytotoxicity, antidiabetic, antioxidant and antimicrobial. Maceration was performed to collect various fractions of husk leave extracts using a pool of solvents i.e., n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and methanol. Antioxidant potential was measured by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging, reducing power and linoleic acid oxidation assay, using butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) as a positive control. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were found to be 18.47-425.11 mg/100 g GAE and 5.83-16.72 mg/100 g CE, respectively. The DPPH scavenging assay was exhibited in the range of 76.36 to 88.53%. The percentage inhibition in linoleic acid oxidation was found from 10.16 to 79.51%. Significant antimicrobial activity was demonstrated by husk leaf extracts against bacterial strains and fungal strains using disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. Amylase alpha assay was employed to analyze the antidiabetic activity which ranged between 9.52-24.81%. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by % age lysis (0.35-9.54%), while thrombolytic activity ranged between 7.67 to 31.27%. The results presented in this study revealed that maize (Zea mays L.) husk leaf extracts can be a valuable source of biologically active compounds and may be consumed as a source of potent herbal medicine in pharmaceuticals.

Phytochemical investigation and effective therapeutic potential of plants extracts against breast and ovarian cancer cell lines: compounds from zizyphus mauritiana and triticum aestivum.

ancer is the leading cause of death, accounting for approximately one out of six people dying with this disease worldwide. Among all, the breast and ovarian cancers are top-ranked causes of women mortalities compared to other disorders. Although, there is advancement in technologies, but still, there are unresolved concerns to overcome the global disease burden. Currently, plants are being explored as a natural remedy to cure disorders. This research was planned to explore phytochemicals in methanolic extracts of Zizyphus mauritiana and Triticum aestivum, and their pharmacological activities were studied through Agrobacterium tumefaciens bacteria, in vitro breast cancer cell line and ovarian cancer cell line to find out novel candidates in disease control and prevention. Eleven different types of bioactive compounds were analysed in the tested extracts. The highest crude extracts percentage (75±0.02) was observed with Z. mauritiana. The extracts showed promising cell growth inhibition and tumor initiation inhibition in potato disc assay. MTT assay and Incucytes imaging analysis revealed that Z. mauritiana extract had a higher anticancer potential with 40 ± 0.92 cell viability against breast cancer cells (SKBR3) and 45 ±0.29 against ovarian cancer cells (SKOV3). In conclusion, these extracts could be used as chemotherapeutics owing to their cheapness, and easy availability. While detailed study is required for further purification and characterization of bioactives/target compounds and in-vivo activity confirmations.