Nanoparticles-mediated entomotoxicology: lessons from biologica.

Nanotechnology has grown in importance in medicine, manufacturing, and consumer products. Nanoparticles (NPs) are also widely used in the field of insect pest management, where they show a variety of toxicological effects on insects. As a result, the primary goal of this review is to compile and evaluate available information on effects of NPs on insects, by use of a timely, bibliometric analysis. We also discussed the manufacturing capacity of NPs from insect tissues and the toxic effects of NPs on insects. To do so, we searched the Web of Science database for literature from 1995 to 2023 and ran bibliometric analyses with CiteSpace© and Bibliometrix©. The analyses covered 614 journals and identified 1763 relevant documents. We found that accumulation of NPs was one of the top trending topics. China, India, and USA had the most published papers. The most overall reported models of insects were those of Aedes aegypti (yellow fever mosquito), Culex quinquefasciatus (southern house mosquito), Bombyx mori (silk moth), and Anopheles stephensi (Asian malaria mosquito). The application and methods of fabrication of NPs using insect tissues, as well as the mechanism of toxicity of NPs on insects, were also reported. A uniform legal framework is required to allow nanotechnology to fully realize its potential while minimizing harm to living organisms and reducing the release of toxic metalloid nanoparticles into the environment.

Exploring the Chemical Constituents and Nutritive Potential of Bee Drone (Apilarnil): Emphasis on Antioxidant Properties.

A lesser-known bee product called drone brood homogenate (DBH, apilarnil) has recently attracted scientific interest for its chemical and biological properties. It contains pharmacologically active compounds that may have neuroprotective, antioxidant, fertility-enhancing, and antiviral effects. Unlike other bee products, the chemical composition of bee drone larva is poorly studied. This study analyzed the chemical compostion of apilarnil using several methods. These included liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and a combination of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry with solid phase micro-extraction (SPME/GC-MS). Additionally, antioxidant activity of the apilarnil was assessed using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. A chemical assessment of apilarnil showed that it has 6.3±0.00, 74.67±0.10 %, 3.65±0.32 %, 8.80±1.01 %, 13.16±0.94 %, and 8.79±0.49 % of pH, moisture, total lipids, proteins, flavonoids, and carbohydrates, respectively. LC-MS/MS analysis and molecular networking (GNPS) of apilarnil exhibited 44 compounds, including fatty acids, flavonoids, glycerophospholipids, alcohols, sugars, amino acids, and steroids. GC-MS detected 30 volatile compounds in apilarnil, mainly esters (24 %), ketones (23.84 %), ethers (15.05 %), alcohols (11.41 %), fatty acids (10.06), aldehydes (6.73 %), amines (5.46), and alkene (5.53 %). The antioxidant activity of apilarnil was measured using DPPH with an IC50 of 179.93±2.46 µg/ml.

Review of Marine Cyanobacteria and the Aspects Related to Their Roles: Chemical, Biological Properties, Nitrogen Fixation and Climate Change.

Marine cyanobacteria are an ancient group of photosynthetic microbes dating back to 3.5 million years ago. They are prolific producers of bioactive secondary metabolites. Over millions of years, natural selection has optimized their metabolites to possess activities impacting various biological targets. This paper discusses the historical and existential records of cyanobacteria, and their role in understanding the evolution of marine cyanobacteria through the ages. Recent advancements have focused on isolating and screening bioactive compounds and their respective medicinal properties, and we also discuss chemical property space and clinical trials, where compounds with potential pharmacological effects, such as cytotoxicity, anticancer, and antiparasitic properties, are highlighted. The data have shown that about 43% of the compounds investigated have cytotoxic effects, and around 8% have anti-trypanosome activity. We discussed the role of different marine cyanobacteria groups in fixing nitrogen percentages on Earth and their outcomes in fish productivity by entering food webs and enhancing productivity in different agricultural and ecological fields. The role of marine cyanobacteria in the carbon cycle and their outcomes in improving the efficiency of photosynthetic CO2 fixation in the chloroplasts of crop plants, thus enhancing the crop plant's yield, was highlighted. Ultimately, climate changes have a significant impact on marine cyanobacteria where the temperature rises, and CO2 improves the cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation.

Antifungal Activity of Soft Tissue Extract from the Garden Snail Helix aspersa (Gastropoda, Mollusca).

Gastropods comprise approximately 80% of molluscans, of which land snails are used variably as food and traditional medicines due to their high protein content. Moreover, different components from land snails exhibit antimicrobial activities. In this study, we evaluated the antifungal activity of soft tissue extracts from Helix aspersa against Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus brasiliensis by identifying extract components using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). Two concentrations of three extracts (methanol, acetone, and acetic acid) showed antifungal activity. Both acetone (1 g/3 mL) and acetic acid extracts (1 g/mL) significantly inhibited C.albicans growth (p = 0.0001, 5.2 ± 0.2 mm and p = 0.02, 69.7 ± 0.6 mm, respectively). A. flavus and A. brasiliensis growth were inhibited by all extracts at 1 g/mL, while inhibition was observed for acetic acid extracts against A. brasiliensis (p = 0.02, 50.3 ± 3.5 mm). The highest growth inhibition was observed for A. flavus using acetic acid and acetone extracts (inhibition zones = 38 ± 1.7 mm and 3.1 ± 0.7 mm, respectively). LC-MS-MS studies on methanol and acetone extracts identified 11-α-acetoxyprogesterone with a parent mass of 372.50800 m/z and 287.43500 m/z for luteolin. Methanol extracts contained hesperidin with a parent mass of 611.25400 m/z, whereas linoleic acid and genistein (parent mass = 280.4 and 271.48900 m/z, respectively) were the main metabolites.

Designing Functionally Substituted Pyridine-Carbohydrazides for Potent Antibacterial and Devouring Antifungal Effect on Multidrug Resistant (MDR) Strains.

The emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens and the gradual depletion of available antibiotics have exacerbated the need for novel antimicrobial agents with minimal toxicity. Herein, we report functionally substituted pyridine carbohydrazide with remarkable antimicrobial effect on multi-drug resistant strains. In the series, compound 6 had potent activity against four MDR strains of Candida spp., with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values being in the range of 16-24 µg/mL and percentage inhibition up to 92.57%, which was exceptional when compared to broad-spectrum antifungal drug fluconazole (MIC = 20 µg/mL, 81.88% inhibition). Substitution of the octyl chain in 6 with a shorter butyl chain resulted in a significant anti-bacterial effect of 4 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), the MIC value being 2-fold superior to the standard combination of ampicillin/cloxacillin. Time-kill kinetics assays were used to discern the efficacy and pharmacodynamics of the potent compounds. Further, hemolysis tests confirmed that both compounds had better safety profiles than the standard drugs. Besides, molecular docking simulations were used to further explore their mode of interaction with target proteins. Overall results suggest that these compounds have the potential to become promising antimicrobial drugs against MDR strains.

Chemical Profiling and Nutritional Evaluation of Bee Pollen, Bee Bread, and Royal Jelly and Their Role in Functional Fermented Dairy Products.

Honeybee products, as multicomponent substances, have been a focus of great interest. The present work aimed to perform the nutritional and chemical profiling and biochemical characterization of bee pollen (BP), bee bread (BB), and royal jelly (RJ) and study their applications in the fortification of functional fermented dairy products. Their effects on starter cultures and the physicochemical and sensorial quality of products were monitored. A molecular networking analysis identified a total of 46 compounds in the three bee products that could be potential medicines, including flavonoids, fatty acids, and peptides. BB showed the highest protein and sugar contents (22.57 and 26.78 g/100 g), which cover 45.14 and 53.56% of their daily values (DVs), with considerable amounts of the essential amino acids threonine and lysine (59.50 and 42.03%). BP, BB, and RJ can be considered sources of iron, as 100 g can cover 141, 198.5, and 94.94% of DV%, respectively. BP was revealed to have the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents (105.68 and 43.91 µg/g) and showed a synergetic effect when mixed with RJ, resulting in increased antioxidant activity, while BB showed a synergetic effect when mixed with RJ in terms of both antioxidant and proteolytic powers (IC50 7.54, 11.55, 12.15, 12.50, and 12.65 cP compared to the control (10.55 cP)), reflecting their organoleptic properties and highlighting these health-oriented products as promising natural products for human health care.

In Vitro Bioaccessibility and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of a Chemically Characterized Allium cepa L. Extract Rich in Quercetin Derivatives Optimized by the Design of Experiments.

Allium cepa L. is a highly consumed garden crop rich in biologically active phenolic and organosulfur compounds. This study aimed to assess the in vitro bioaccessibility and anti-inflammatory effect of a chemically characterized A. cepa extract rich in quercetin and its derivatives. Different varieties of A. cepa were studied; based on the highest total phenolic content, the "Golden" variety was selected. Its extracts, obtained from the tunicate bulb, tunic, and bulb, were subjected to determination of quercetin and its derivatives with LC-MS analysis and based on the highest total quercetin content, the tunic extract was utilized for further experiments. The extraction method was optimized through a design of experiment (DoE) method via full factorial design, which showed that 40% ethanol and 1 g tunic/20 mL solvent are the best extraction conditions. HPLC analysis of the optimized tunic extract identified 14 flavonols, including 10 quercetin derivatives. As far as in vitro bioaccessibility was concerned, the increases in some quercetin derivatives following the gastro-duodenal digestion process support the bioaccessibility of these bioactive compounds. Moreover, the extract significantly inhibited the production of PGE2 in stimulated J774 cell lines, while no effects of the tunic extract were observed against the release of IL-1ß, TNF-α, and nitrites. The study provided insights into the optimized extraction conditions to obtain an A. cepa tunic extract rich in bioavailable quercetin derivatives with significant anti-inflammatory effects against PGE2.

Curcumin-Injected Musca domestica Larval Hemolymph: Cecropin Upregulation and Potential Anticancer Effect.

Over recent decades, much attention has been given to imply the natural products in cancer therapy alone or in combination with other established procedures. Insects have a rich history in traditional medicine across the globe, which holds promise for the future of natural product drug discovery. Cecropins, peptides produced by insects, are components of a defense system against infections and are well known to exert antimicrobial and antitumor capabilities. The present study aimed to investigate, for the first time, the role of curcumin in enhancing the anticancer effect of Musca domestica larval hemolymph. Third larval instars of M. domestica were injected with curcumin and the hemolymph was picked at 4, 8, and 24 h post-curcumin injection. M. domestica cecropin A (MdCecA) was evaluated in control and injected larval hemolymphs. The cytotoxicity on breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7) and normal Vero cells was assessed to be comparable to control larval hemolymph. Curcumin-injected larval hemolymphs exhibited significant cytotoxicity with respect to the uninjected ones against MCF-7; however, Vero cells showed no cytotoxicity. The IC50 was 106 ± 2.9 and 388 ± 9.2 µg/mL for the hemolymphs of injected larvae at 4 and 8 h, respectively, while the control larval hemolymph revealed the IC50 of >500 µg/mL. For mechanistic anticancer evaluation, concentrations of 30, 60, and 100 µg/mL of curcumin-injected larval hemolymphs were examined. A significant G2/M cell cycle arrest was observed, confirming the anti-proliferative properties of hemolymphs over the tested concentrations. The MdCecA transcripts were significantly (p < 0.05) upregulated at 4 and 8 h post-injection, while a significant downregulation was observed after 24 h. Cecropin quantification by LC−MS revealed that MdCecA peptides have the highest expression in the hemolymph of the treated larvae at 8 h relative to the control group. The upregulation of cecropin expression at mRNA and protein levels may be attributed to the curcumin stimulation and linked to the increased cytotoxicity toward the cancer cell line. In conclusion, the results suggest that the apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects of M. domestica hemolymph on MCF-7 cells following the curcumin injection can be used as a natural candidate in future pharmaceutical industries.

Chemistry and the Potential Antiviral, Anticancer, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Cardiotonic Steroids Derived from Toads.

Cardiotonic steroids (CTS) were first documented by ancient Egyptians more than 3000 years ago. Cardiotonic steroids are a group of steroid hormones that circulate in the blood of amphibians and toads and can also be extracted from natural products such as plants, herbs, and marines. It is well known that cardiotonic steroids reveal effects against congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation; therefore, the term "cardiotonic" has been coined. Cardiotonic steroids are divided into two distinct groups: cardenolides (plant-derived) and bufadienolides (mainly of animal origin). Cardenolides have an unsaturated five-membered lactone ring attached to the steroid nucleus at position 17; bufadienolides have a doubly unsaturated six-membered lactone ring. Cancer is a leading cause of mortality in humans all over the world. In 2040, the global cancer load is expected to be 28.4 million cases, which would be a 47% increase from 2020. Moreover, viruses and inflammations also have a very nebative impact on human health and lead to mortality. In the current review, we focus on the chemistry, antiviral and anti-cancer activities of cardiotonic steroids from the naturally derived (toads) venom to combat these chronic devastating health problems. The databases of different research engines (Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, and Sci-Finder) were screened using different combinations of the following terms: "cardiotonic steroids", "anti-inflammatory", "antiviral", "anticancer", "toad venom", "bufadienolides", and "poison chemical composition". Various cardiotonic steroids were isolated from diverse toad species and exhibited superior anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antiviral activities in in vivo and in vitro models such as marinobufagenin, gammabufotalin, resibufogenin, and bufalin. These steroids are especially difficult to identify. However, several compounds and their bioactivities were identified by using different molecular and biotechnological techniques. Biotechnology is a new tool to fully or partially generate upscaled quantities of natural products, which are otherwise only available at trace amounts in organisms.

Cyanobacteria-From the Oceans to the Potential Biotechnological and Biomedical Applications.

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotic organisms which represent a significant source of novel, bioactive, secondary metabolites, and they are also considered an abundant source of bioactive compounds/drugs, such as dolastatin, cryptophycin 1, curacin toyocamycin, phytoalexin, cyanovirin-N and phycocyanin. Some of these compounds have displayed promising results in successful Phase I, II, III and IV clinical trials. Additionally, the cyanobacterial compounds applied to medical research have demonstrated an exciting future with great potential to be developed into new medicines. Most of these compounds have exhibited strong pharmacological activities, including neurotoxicity, cytotoxicity and antiviral activity against HCMV, HSV-1, HHV-6 and HIV-1, so these metabolites could be promising candidates for COVID-19 treatment. Therefore, the effective large-scale production of natural marine products through synthesis is important for resolving the existing issues associated with chemical isolation, including small yields, and may be necessary to better investigate their biological activities. Herein, we highlight the total synthesized and stereochemical determinations of the cyanobacterial bioactive compounds. Furthermore, this review primarily focuses on the biotechnological applications of cyanobacteria, including applications as cosmetics, food supplements, and the nanobiotechnological applications of cyanobacterial bioactive compounds in potential medicinal applications for various human diseases are discussed.

Blue Biotechnology: Computational Screening of Sarcophyton Cembranoid Diterpenes for SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibition.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected more than 150 million people, while over 3.25 million people have died from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As there are no established therapies for COVID-19 treatment, drugs that inhibit viral replication are a promising target; specifically, the main protease (Mpro) that process CoV-encoded polyproteins serves as an Achilles heel for assembly of replication-transcription machinery as well as down-stream viral replication. In the search for potential antiviral drugs that target Mpro, a series of cembranoid diterpenes from the biologically active soft-coral genus Sarcophyton have been examined as SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors. Over 360 metabolites from the genus were screened using molecular docking calculations. Promising diterpenes were further characterized by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on molecular mechanics-generalized Born surface area (MM-GBSA) binding energy calculations. According to in silico calculations, five cembranoid diterpenes manifested adequate binding affinities as Mpro inhibitors with ΔGbinding < -33.0 kcal/mol. Binding energy and structural analyses of the most potent Sarcophyton inhibitor, bislatumlide A (340), was compared to darunavir, an HIV protease inhibitor that has been recently subjected to clinical-trial as an anti-COVID-19 drug. In silico analysis indicates that 340 has a higher binding affinity against Mpro than darunavir with ΔGbinding values of -43.8 and -34.8 kcal/mol, respectively throughout 100 ns MD simulations. Drug-likeness calculations revealed robust bioavailability and protein-protein interactions were identified for 340; biochemical signaling genes included ACE, MAPK14 and ESR1 as identified based on a STRING database. Pathway enrichment analysis combined with reactome mining revealed that 340 has the capability to re-modulate the p38 MAPK pathway hijacked by SARS-CoV-2 and antagonize injurious effects. These findings justify further in vivo and in vitro testing of 340 as an antiviral agent against SARS-CoV-2.

Ruta Essential Oils: Composition and Bioactivities.

Ruta L. is a typical genus of the citrus family, Rutaceae Juss. and comprises ca. 40 different species, mainly distributed in the Mediterranean region. Ruta species have long been used in traditional medicines as an abortifacient and emmenagogue and for the treatment of lung diseases and microbial infections. The genus Ruta is rich in essential oils, which predominantly contain aliphatic ketones, e.g., 2-undecanone and 2-nonanone, but lack any significant amounts of terpenes. Three Ruta species, Ruta chalepensis L., Ruta graveolens L., and Ruta montana L., have been extensively studied for the composition of their essential oils and several bioactivities, revealing their potential medicinal and agrochemical applications. This review provides a systematic evaluation and critical appraisal of publications available in the literature on the composition and bioactivities of the essential oils obtained from Ruta species and includes a brief outlook of the potential applications of nanotechnology and chitosan-based products of Ruta essential oils.

Anti-Inflammatory Principles from Tamarix aphylla L.: A Bioassay-Guided Fractionation Study.

Natural products have served as primary remedies since ancient times due to their cultural acceptance and outstanding biodiversity. To investigate whether Tamarix aphylla L. modulates an inflammatory process, we carried out bioassay-guided isolation where the extracts and isolated compounds were tested for their modulatory effects on several inflammatory indicators, such as nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), proinflammatory cytokine; tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α), as well as the proliferation of the lymphocyte T-cells. The aqueous ethanolic extract of the plant inhibited the intracellular ROS production, NO generation, and T-cell proliferation. The aqueous ethanolic crude extract was partitioned by liquid-liquid fractionation using n-hexane (n-C6H6), dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), n-butanol (n-BuOH), and water (H2O). The DCM and n-BuOH extracts showed the highest activity against most inflammatory indicators and were further purified to obtain compounds 1-4. The structures of 3,5-dihydroxy-4',7-dimethoxyflavone (1) and 3,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzoic acid methyl ester (2) from the DCM extracts; and kaempferol (3), and 3-hydroxy-4-methoxy-(E)-cinnamic acid (4) from the n-BuOH extract were elucidated by different spectroscopic tools, including MS, NMR, UV, and IR. Compound 2 inhibited the production of ROS and TNF-α, whereas compound 3 showed inhibitory activity against all the tested mediators. A better understanding of the potential aspect of Tamarix aphylla L. derivatives as anti-inflammatory agents could open the door for the development of advanced anti-inflammatory entities.

Alpha-Glucosidase Inhibitory Effect of Psychotria malayana Jack Leaf: A Rapid Analysis Using Infrared Fingerprinting.

The plant Psychotria malayana Jack belongs to the Rubiaceae family and is known in Malaysia as "meroyan sakat/salung". A rapid analytical technique to facilitate the evaluation of the P. malayana leaves' quality has not been well-established yet. This work aimed therefore to develop a validated analytical technique in order to predict the alpha-glucosidase inhibitory action (AGI) of P. malayana leaves, applying a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) fingerprint and utilizing an orthogonal partial least square (OPLS). The dried leaf extracts were prepared by sonication of different ratios of methanol-water solvent (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% v/v) prior to the assessment of alpha-glucosidase inhibition (AGI) and the following infrared spectroscopy. The correlation between the biological activity and the spectral data was evaluated using multivariate data analysis (MVDA). The 100% methanol extract possessed the highest inhibitory activity against the alpha-glucosidase (IC50 2.83 ± 0.32 µg/mL). Different bioactive functional groups, including hydroxyl (O-H), alkenyl (C=C), methylene (C-H), carbonyl (C=O), and secondary amine (N-H) groups, were detected by the multivariate analysis. These functional groups actively induced the alpha-glucosidase inhibition effect. This finding demonstrated the spectrum profile of the FTIR for the natural herb P. malayana Jack, further confirming its medicinal value. The developed validated model can be used to predict the AGI of P. malayana, which will be useful as a tool in the plant's quality control.

Cardenolides: Insights from chemical structure and pharmacological utility.

Cardiac glycosides (CGs) are a class of naturally occurring steroid-like compounds, and members of this class have been in clinical use for more than 1500 years. They have been used in folk medicine as arrow poisons, abortifacients, heart tonics, emetics, and diuretics as well as in other applications. The major use of CGs today is based on their ability to inhibit the membrane-bound Na+/K+-ATPase enzyme, and they are regarded as an effective treatment for congestive heart failure (CHF), cardiac arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation. Furthermore, increasing evidence has indicated the potential cytotoxic effects of CGs against various types of cancer. In this review, we highlight some of the structural features of this class of natural products that are crucial for their efficacy, some methods of isolating these compounds from natural resources, and the structural elucidation tools that have been used. We also describe their physicochemical properties and several modern biotechnological approaches for preparing CGs that do not require plant sources.

Marine Natural Products: A Source of Novel Anticancer Drugs.

Cancer remains one of the most lethal diseases worldwide. There is an urgent need for new drugs with novel modes of action and thus considerable research has been conducted for new anticancer drugs from natural sources, especially plants, microbes and marine organisms. Marine populations represent reservoirs of novel bioactive metabolites with diverse groups of chemical structures. This review highlights the impact of marine organisms, with particular emphasis on marine plants, algae, bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, sponges and soft corals. Anti-cancer effects of marine natural products in in vitro and in vivo studies were first introduced; their activity in the prevention of tumor formation and the related compound-induced apoptosis and cytotoxicities were tackled. The possible molecular mechanisms behind the biological effects are also presented. The review highlights the diversity of marine organisms, novel chemical structures, and chemical property space. Finally, therapeutic strategies and the present use of marine-derived components, its future direction and limitations are discussed.

Protective Effects of Flavone from Tamarix aphylla against CCl4-Induced Liver Injury in Mice Mediated by Suppression of Oxidative Stress, Apoptosis and Angiogenesis.

The current study aimed to investigate, for the first time, the beneficial effects of 3,5-dihydroxy-4',7-dimethoxyflavone isolated from Tamarix aphylla L. against liver injury in mice. Liver injury was induced by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) at a dose of 0.4 mL/kg mixed in olive oil at ratio (1:4) twice a week for 6 consecutive weeks. The administration of CCl4 caused significant histopathological changes in liver tissues while the pre-treatment with the flavone at dose of 10 and 25 mg/kg ameliorated the observed liver damages. Also, it markedly reduced hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) level as well as increased the activities of liver superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) compared with their recorded levels in CCl4 model group. Moreover, the immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated the enhancement in the protein level of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) while the protein levels of cysteine-aspartic acid protease-3 (caspase-3), Bcl-2-associated x protein (Bax), transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1) and CD31 were suppressed following the flavone treatement. These results suggest that the flavone can inhibit liver injury induced in mice owning to its impact on the oxidation, apoptotic and angiogenesis mechanisms. Further pharmacological investigations are essential to determine the effectiveness of the flavone in human.

Melittin Exerts Beneficial Effects on Paraquat-Induced Lung Injuries In Mice by Modifying Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis.

Melittin (MEL) is a 26-amino acid peptide with numerous biological activities. Paraquat (PQ) is one of the most widely used herbicides, although it is extremely toxic to humans. To date, PQ poisoning has no effective treatment, and therefore the current study aimed to assess for the first time the possible effects of MEL on PQ-induced lung injuries in mice. Mice received a single intraperitoneal (IP) injection of PQ (30 mg/kg), followed by IP treatment with MEL (0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg) twice per week for four consecutive weeks. Histological alterations, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in the lungs were studied. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining indicated that MEL markedly reduced lung injuries induced by PQ. Furthermore, treatment with MEL increased superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, and decreased malonaldehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels in lung tissue homogenates. Moreover, immunohistochemical staining showed that B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) and survivin expressions were upregulated after MEL treatment, while Ki-67 expression was downregulated. The high dose of MEL was more effective than the low dose in all experiments. In summary, MEL efficiently reduced PQ-induced lung injuries in mice. Specific pharmacological examinations are required to determine the effectiveness of MEL in cases of human PQ poisoning.

Synthesis, Characterization, and In Vivo Anti-Cancer Activity of New Metal Complexes Derived from Isatin-N(4)antipyrinethiosemicarbazone Ligand Against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma Cells.

The current study aimed to synthesize new metal coordination complexes with potential biomedical applications. Metal complexes were prepared via the reaction of isatin-N(4)anti- pyrinethiosemicarbazone ligand 1 with Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Zn(II), and Fe(III) ions. The obtained metal complexes 2-12 were characterized using elemental, spectral (1H-NMR, EPR, Mass, IR, UV-Vis) and thermal (TGA) techniques, as well as magnetic moment and molar conductance measurements. In addition, their geometries were studied using EPR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. To evaluate the in vivo anti-cancer activities of these complexes, the ligand 1 and its metal complexes 2, 7 and 9 were tested against solid tumors. The solid tumors were induced by subcutaneous (SC) injection of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells in mice. The impact of the selected complexes on the reduction of tumor volume was determined. Also, the expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and cysteine aspartyl-specific protease-7 (caspase-7) in tumor and liver tissues of mice bearing EAC tumor were determined. Moreover, their effects on alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), albumin, and glucose levels were measured. The results revealed that the tested compounds, especially complex 9, reduced tumor volume, inhibited the expression of VEGF, and induced the expression of caspase-7. Additionally, they restored the levels of ALT, AST, albumin, and glucose close to their normal levels. Taken together, our newly synthesized metal complexes are promising anti-cancer agents against solid tumors induced by EAC cells as supported by the inhibition of VEGF and induction of caspase-7.

Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.): Food and Medicinal Plant with Potential In Vitro and In Vivo Anti-Cancer Activities.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Plants play an important role in anti-cancer drug discovery, therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate the biological activity of Alpinia zerumbet (A. zerumbet) flowers. METHODS: The phytochemical and biological criteria of A. zerumbet were in vitro investigated as well as in mouse xenograft model. RESULTS: A. zerumbet extracts, specially CH2Cl2 and MeOH extracts, exhibited the highest potent anti-tumor activity against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells. The most active CH2Cl2 extract was subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation leading to isolatation of the naturally occurring 5,6-dehydrokawain (DK) which was characterized by IR, MS, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR. A. zerumbet extracts, specially MeOH and CH2Cl2 extracts, exhibited significant inhibitory activity towards tumor volume (TV). Furthermore, A. zerumbet extracts declined the high level of malonaldehyde (MDA) as well as elevated the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in liver tissue homogenate. Moreover, DK showed anti-proliferative action on different human cancer cell lines. The recorded IC50 values against breast carcinoma (MCF-7), liver carcinoma (Hep-G2) and larynx carcinoma cells (HEP-2) were 3.08, 6.8, and 8.7 µg/mL, respectively. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these findings open the door for further investigations in order to explore the potential medicinal properties of A. zerumbet.