Bark extract of Chaetocarpus castanocarpus (Roxb.) exhibits potent sedative, anxiolytic, and antidepressant effects through an in vivo approach in Swiss albino mice.

OBJECTIVE: Standard phytochemical investigations were performed to identify the secondary metabolites in the methanol extract of Chaetocarpus castanocarpus bark (MECC) and investigate the neuropharmacological potential of MECC in Swiss albino mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Swiss albino mice were used in the forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) to evaluate the antidepressant effect of MECC. Also, the hole board test (HBT) and elevated plus maze (EPM) were conducted to examine anxiolytic activities. In contrast, the open field test (OFT) and hole cross test (HCT) were employed to evaluate sleeping disorders. RESULTS: Alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, terpenoids, coumarins, and tannins are only a few secondary metabolites identified in MECC by qualitative and quantitative phytochemical investigations. The oral administration of MECC considerably shortened the immobility duration during FST and TST. Encouraging dose-dependent anxiolytic effects were also observed in all relevant experiments compared to the control. Additionally, during the OFT and HCT assessment, a noteworthy decline in the locomotor activities of the experimental animals was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this investigation suggest that the Chaetocarpus castanocarpus bark is a possible source of therapeutic candidates for treating neurological disorders.

Pharmacological Effect of Caffeine on Drosophila melanogaster: A Proof-of-Concept in vivo Study for Nootropic Investigation.

A comprehensive investigation into drug candidates with nootropic activity using a proper and high throughput yet economical model organism is an important issue to consider. This proof-of-concept study was carried out to determine whether Drosophila melanogaster can be used as an in vivo screening platform to assess the nootropic activity of certain candidates for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. To test this, caffeine was used as a nootropic compound and a Drosophila mutant line lacking PGRP-LB with hyperactivation of NF-κB leading to early death with neurodegenerative phenotype was used as a model organism. Caffeine was orally administered via food to the PGRP-LB mutant of D. melanogaster at different concentrations (0.4 mM, 0.08 mM, 0.016 mM) prior to phenotypical observations of the survival and locomotor activity, as well as gene expression analysis, to assess the expression level of sod1, sod2, and cat genes. The results pointed out that the lifespan of D. melanogaster treated with 0.016 mM caffeine was dramatically increased; nonetheless, no changes were observed in the locomotor activity. Phenotypical analysis using a T-maze vial test demonstrated a good cognitive improvement in response to caffeine administration. Molecular analysis revealed that caffeine at a concentration of 0,016 mM induced the expression of the endogenous antioxidant genes sod1 and cat, but not sod2, signifying that the increased lifespan may be associated with a marked improvement in cytoplasmic antioxidant function. In general, the findings of the present study are in line with those previously observed in the mammalian model organism. Therefore, it can be concluded that D. melanogaster can be used as a model organism in preliminary investigation and screening of nootropic candidates prior to further testing in its mammalian counterparts.

Phylogenetic Variation of Chelonid Alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) in Populations of Green Turtles Chelonia mydas along the Queensland Coast, Australia.

Sea turtle fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a disease marked by the proliferation of benign but debilitating cutaneous and occasional visceral tumors, likely to be caused by chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5). This study presents a phylogeny of ChHV5 strains found on the east coast of Queensland, Australia, and a validation for previously unused primers. Two different primer sets (gB-1534 and gB-813) were designed to target a region including part of the UL27 glycoprotein B (gB) gene and part of UL28 of ChHV5. Sequences obtained from FP tumors found on juvenile green turtles Chelonia mydas (<65 cm curved carapace length) had substantial homology with published ChHV5 sequences, while a skin biopsy from a turtle without FP failed to react in the PCRs used in this study. The resulting sequences were used to generate a neighbor-joining tree from which three clusters of ChHV5 from Australian waters were identified: north Australian, north Queensland, and Queensland clusters. The clusters reflect the collection sites on the east coast of Queensland with a definitive north-south trend. Received October 22, 2016; accepted May 7, 2017.