Antiplasmodial activity of aqueous extract of Berberis aristata roots against Plasmodium berghei-infected BALB/c mice.

CONTEXT: The rising problem of resistance to present antimalarial drugs stresses the need to look for newer antiplasmodial components with effective modes of action. The roots of Berberis aristata DC. (Berberidaceae) are used in the traditional medicine for malaria in various parts of India. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate antiplasmodial activity of B. aristata roots extract for the validation of its traditional medicinal use. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Aqueous root extract of Berberis aristata (AREBA) was screened for its in vitro as well as in vivo antiplasmodial activity against lethal rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei NK65. In vitro activity was evaluated against schizont maturation of P. berghei using various concentrations ranging from 1 to 100 µg/mL. For in vivo studies, AREBA at the doses of 150, 250, 350, and 650 mg/kg/d was administered to P. berghei infected BALB/c mice orally for 4 consecutive days (D0-D3). RESULTS: AREBA showed in vitro antiplasmodial activity with an IC50 value of 40 µg/mL. In vivo studies demonstrated a variable dose-dependent chemosuppression with higher efficacy at lower doses. At a dose of 350 mg/kg/d, the suppressive and preventive activities were found to be 67.1% and 53.9%, respectively, followed by enhancing mean survival period up to 12.8 d for the curative assay versus 7.5 d for the untreated mice. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: These results provide relevant scientific evidences for the traditional medicinal use of this plant as malaria remedy and further advocates the isolation and characterization of active antiplasmodial principle from this plant.

Global Emergence of SARS-CoV2 Infection and Scientific Interventions to Contain its Spread.

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 posed a significant challenge to public health, necessitating rapid scientific interventions to tackle the spread of infection. The review discusses the key areas of research on COVID-19 including viral genomics, epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The genome sequencing of the virus facilitated the tracking of its evolution, transmission dynamics, and identification of variants. Epidemiological studies have provided insights into disease spread, risk factors, and the impact of public health infrastructure and social distancing measures. Investigations of the viral pathogenesis have elucidated the mechanisms underlying immune responses and severe manifestations including the long-term effects of COVID-19. Overall, the article provides an updated overview of the diagnostic methods developed for SARS-CoV-2 and discusses their strengths, limitations, and appropriate utilization in different clinical and public health settings. Furthermore, therapeutic approaches including antiviral drugs, immunomodulatory therapies, and repurposed medications have been investigated to alleviate disease severity and improve patient outcomes. Through a comprehensive analysis of these scientific efforts, the review provides an overview of the advancements made in understanding and tackling SARS-CoV-2, while underscoring the need for continued research to address the evolving challenges posed by this global health crisis.

Protein Engineering, a Robust Tool to Engineer Novel Functions in Protein.

Designing effective diagnostics, biotherapeutics, and biocatalysts are a few interesting potential outcomes of protein engineering. Despite being just a few decades old, the discipline of de novo protein designing has provided a foundation for remarkable outcomes in the pharmaceuticals and enzyme industries. The technologies that will have the biggest impact on current protein therapeutics include engineered natural protein variants, Fc fusion protein, and antibody engineering. Furthermore, designing protein scaffolds can be used in developing next-generation antibodies and in transplanting active sites in the enzyme. The article highlights the important tools and techniques used in protein engineering and their application in the engineering of enzymes and therapeutic proteins. This review further sheds light on the engineering of superoxide dismutase, an enzyme responsible for catalyzing the conversion of superoxide radicals to oxygen and hydrogen peroxide by catalyzing a redox reaction at the metal center while concurrently oxidizing and reducing superoxide free radicals.

Laccase mediated delignification of wasted and non-food agricultural biomass: Recent developments and challenges.

Utilization of microbial laccases is considered as the cleaner and target specific biocatalytic mechanism for the recovery of cellulose and hemicelluloses from nonfood and wasted agricultural, lignocellulosic biomass (LCB). The extent of lignin removal by laccase depends on the biochemical composition of biomass and the redox potential (E0) of the biocatalyst. Intensive research efforts are going on all over the world for the recognition of appropriate and easily available agricultural lignocellulosic feedstocks to exploit maximally for the production of value-added bioproducts and biofuels. In such circumstances, laccase can play a major role as a leading biocatalyst and potent substitute for chemical based deconstruction of the lignocellulosic materials. The limited commercialization of laccase at an industrial scale has been feasible due to its full working efficiency mostly expressed in the presence of cost intensive redox mediators only. Although, recently there are some reports that came on the mediator free biocatalysis of enzyme but still not considerably explored and neither understood in depth. The present review will address the various research gaps and shortcomings that acted as the big hurdles before the complete exploitation of laccases at an industrial scale. Further, this article also reveals insights on different microbial laccases and their diverse functional environmental conditions that affect the deconstruction process of LCB.

Antiplasmodial activity of Xanthium strumarium against Plasmodium berghei-infected BALB/c mice.

The present work was undertaken to evaluate the antiplasmodial activity of ethanolic leaves extract of traditional medicinal plant Xanthium strumarium in Plasmodium berghei-infected BALB/c mice along with phytochemical screening and acute toxicity test to support its traditional medicinal use as a malaria remedy. The ethanolic leaves extract of X. strumarium (ELEXS) 150, 250, 350 and 500 mg/kg/day demonstrated dose-dependent chemosuppression during early and established infection long with significant (p < 0.001) repository activity. The oral administration of 500 mg/kg/day concentration showed a maximum of 88.6% chemosuppression during early infection, which was more than that of the standard drug chloroquine (5 mg/kg/day) with 88.3% chemosuppression. However, 60% mortality has been found in this group. The LD(50) of ELEXS was found to be 1.5 g/kg/mouse. The administration of 350 mg/kg/day concentration of extract have been found to exert 90.40% chemosuppression during repository infection, which was well comparable to standard drug pyrimethamine (1.2 mg/kg/day) exerting 92.91% chemosuppression. The extract has been found to enhance mean survival time of mice from 21 to 26 days with 250 and 350 mg/kg/day concentrations, while 150 mg/kg/day concentration has been found to sustain all the mice up to 29 days which was similar to the employed standard drug chloroquine (5 mg/kg/day). All these findings support the ethanopharmacological use of X. strumarium as malarial remedy and indicate the potential of plant for active antiplasmodial components.

Screening of antiplasmodial efficacy of Ajuga bracteosa Wall ex. Benth.

The rising problem of Plasmodium resistance to the classical antimalarial drugs stresses the need to look for newer antiplasmodial components with effective and new mode of action. In the present study, the traditional medicinal plant Ajuga bracteosa has been screened for its antiplasmodial efficacy. The extract was found to possess significant in vitro antiplasmodial efficacy with an IC(50) of 10.0 µg/ml. Thus, the extract was further evaluated for its in vivo schizontocidal activity and efficacy in terms of survival time in Plasmodium berghei infected BALB/c mice. The extract at 250, 500, and 750 mg/kg/day exhibited significant (p<0.0001) blood schizontocidal activity during established infection with enhanced mean survival time comparable to that of standard drug chloroquine, 5 mg/kg/day. The significant schizontocidal activity and enhanced mean survival time of mice stress the need to identify and characterize active antiplasmodial principle from this plant.