Synergistic effects of Momordica charantia, Nigella sativa, and Anethum graveolens on metabolic syndrome targets: In vitro enzyme inhibition and in silico analyses.

Momordica charantia, Nigella sativa, and Anethum graveolens are established medicinal plants possessing noted anti-diabetic and anti-obesity properties. However, the molecular mechanisms underscoring their inhibitory effects on pancreatic lipase, α-glucosidase, and HMG-CoA reductase remain unexplored. This study aimed to elucidate the efficacy of various NS, MC, and AG blends in modulating the enzymatic activity of pancreatic lipase, HMG-CoA reductase, and a-glucosidase, utilizing an integrative approach combining in vitro assessments and molecular modeling techniques. A factorial design matrix generated eight distinct concentration combinations of NS, MC, and AG, subsequently subjected to in vitro enzyme inhibition assays. Molecular docking analyses using AutoDock Vina, molecular dynamics simulations, MMPBSA calculations, and principal component analysis, were executed with Gromacs to discern the interaction dynamics between the compounds and target enzymes. A formulation comprising NS:MC:AG at a 215:50:35 µg/mL ratio yielded significant inhibition of pancreatic lipase (IC50: 74.26 ± 4.27 µg/mL). Moreover, a concentration combination of 215:80:35 µg/mL effectively inhibited both α-glucosidase (IC50: 66.09 ± 3.98 µg/mL) and HMGCR (IC50: 129.03 µg/mL). Notably, MC-derived compounds exhibited superior binding affinity towards all three enzymes, compared to their reference molecules, with diosgenin, Momordicoside I, and diosgenin displaying binding affinities of -11.0, -8.8, and -7.9 kcal/mol with active site residues of pancreatic lipase, α-glucosidase, and HMGCR, respectively. Further, 100 ns molecular dynamics simulations revealed the formation and stabilization of non-bonded interactions between the compounds and the enzymes' active site residues. Through a synergistic application of in vitro and molecular modeling methodologies, this study substantiated the potent inhibitory activity of the NS:MC:AG blend (at a ratio of 215:80:35 µg/mL) and specific MC compounds against pancreatic lipase, α-glucosidase, and HMGCR. These findings provide invaluable insights into the molecular underpinnings of these medicinal plants' anti-diabetic and anti-obesity effects and may guide future therapeutic development.

Self-sustained non-equilibrium co-existence of fluid and solid states in a strongly coupled complex plasma system.

A complex (dusty) plasma system is well known as a paradigmatic model for studying the kinetics of solid-liquid phase transitions in inactive condensed matter. At the same time, under certain conditions a complex plasma system can also display characteristics of an active medium with the micron-sized particles converting energy of the ambient environment into motility and thereby becoming active. We present a detailed analysis of the experimental complex plasmas system that shows evidence of a non-equilibrium stationary coexistence between a cold crystalline and a hot fluid state in the structure due to the conversion of plasma energy into the motion energy of microparticles in the central region of the system. The plasma mediated non-reciprocal interaction between the dust particles is the underlying mechanism for the enormous heating of the central subsystem, and it acts as a micro-scale energy source that keeps the central subsystem in the molten state. Accurate multiscale simulations of the system based on combined molecular dynamics and particle-in-cell approaches show that strong structural nonuniformity of the system under the action of electostatic trap makes development of instabilities a local process. We present both experimental tests conducted with a complex plasmas system in a DC glow discharge plasma and a detailed theoretical analysis.

Experimental observation of pinned solitons in a flowing dusty plasma.

Pinned solitons are a special class of nonlinear solutions created by a supersonically moving object in a fluid. They move with the same velocity as the moving object and thereby remain pinned to the object. A well-known hydrodynamical phenomenon, they have been shown to exist in numerical simulation studies but to date have not been observed experimentally in a plasma. In this paper we report the first experimental excitation of pinned solitons in a dusty (complex) plasma flowing over a charged obstacle. The experiments are performed in a Π shaped dusty plasma experimental (DPEx) device in which a dusty plasma is created in the background of a DC glow discharge Ar plasma using micron sized kaolin dust particles. A biased copper wire creates a potential structure that acts as a stationary charged object over which the dust fluid is made to flow at a highly supersonic speed. Under appropriate conditions nonlinear stationary structures are observed in the laboratory frame that correspond to pinned structures moving with the speed of the obstacle in the frame of the moving fluid. A systematic study is made of the propagation characteristics of these solitons by carefully tuning the flow velocity of the dust fluid by changing the height of the potential structure. It is found that the nature of the pinned solitons changes from a single-humped one to a multihumped one and their amplitudes increase with an increase of the flow velocity of the dust fluid. The experimental findings are then qualitatively compared with the numerical solutions of a model forced Korteweg de Vries (fKdV) equation.

Experimental observation of a first-order phase transition in a complex plasma monolayer crystal.

The formation and melting of a monolayered charged dust particle crystal in a DC glow discharge argon plasma is studied. The nature of the melting or formation process is established as a first-order phase transition from the variations in the Coulomb coupling parameter, the dust temperature, the structural order parameter, and from the existence of a hysteresis behavior. Our experimental results are distinctly different from existing theoretical predictions for two dimensional crystals based on the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Halperin-Nelson-Young mechanism or the grain boundary induced melting and indicate a mechanism that is akin to a fluctuation induced first-order phase transition in complex plasmas.