Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -An updated review.

Misfolded proteins in the central nervous system can induce oxidative damage, which can contribute to neurodegenerative diseases in the mitochondria. Neurodegenerative patients face early mitochondrial dysfunction, impacting energy utilization. Amyloid-ß and tau problems both have an effect on mitochondria, which leads to mitochondrial malfunction and, ultimately, the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Cellular oxygen interaction yields reactive oxygen species within mitochondria, initiating oxidative damage to mitochondrial constituents. Parkinson's disease, linked to oxidative stress, α-synuclein aggregation, and inflammation, results from reduced brain mitochondria activity. Mitochondrial dynamics profoundly influence cellular apoptosis via distinct causative mechanisms. The condition known as Huntington's disease is characterized by an expansion of polyglutamine, primarily impactingthe cerebral cortex and striatum. Research has identified mitochondrial failure as an early pathogenic mechanism contributing to HD's selective neurodegeneration. The mitochondria are organelles that exhibit dynamism by undergoing fragmentation and fusion processes to attain optimal bioenergetic efficiency. They can also be transported along microtubules and regulateintracellular calcium homeostasis through their interaction with the endoplasmic reticulum. Additionally, the mitochondria produce free radicals. The functions of eukaryotic cells, particularly in neurons, have significantly deviated from the traditionally assigned role of cellular energy production. Most of them areimpaired in HD, which may lead to neuronal dysfunction before symptoms manifest. This article summarizes the most important changes in mitochondrial dynamics that come from neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Finally, we discussed about novel techniques that can potentially treat mitochondrial malfunction and oxidative stress in four most dominating neuro disorders.

Phytosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles: Characterization, Biocompatibility Studies, and Anticancer Activity.

Silver nanoparticles (SNPs), owing to their wide range of biomedical applications, have recently attracted remarkable interest for use in cancer nanomedicine. The present research work investigated the anticancer activity of phytosynthesized SNPs against human cancer cell lines. Phytosynthesis of SNPs was achieved by using an aqueous extract of Salacia chinensis (SC) bark as a green source to reduce silver nitrate to silver nanoparticles. Characterization of synthesized nanoparticles demonstrated a UV-visible peak at 443 nm, ζ-potential (zetasizer) of -25.6 ± 0.34 and particle size (transmission electron microscopy analysis) in the range of 40-80 nm, which validates formation of stable silver nanoparticles. The absence of cytotoxicity against normal human fibroblasts and blood erythrocytes confirms the biocompatible nature of green synthesized SNPs. In vitro anticancer assay demonstrated IC50 values of 6.31, 4.002, 5.228, 8.452, 14.37, 7.46, and 6.55 µg/mL against liver (Hep G2), lungs (L-132), pancreas (MIA-Pa-Ca-2), breast (MDA-MB-231), oral (KB cells), prostate (PC-3), and cervical (HeLa) cancer cell lines respectively, which confirms its potent anticancer action. The results of the present study give an experimental proof that the SC mediated green synthesized SNPs could serve as a promising anticancer agent to overcome limitations of existing conventional cancer chemotherapeutics.

Simultaneous Estimation of Four Antitussive Components from Herbal Cough Syrup by HPTLC.

A new simple, rapid, selective and precise high performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been developed for simultaneous estimation of vasicine, glycyrrhizin, eugenol, and cineole in herbal cough syrup. The retention factors of vasicine, glycyrrhizin, eugenol, and cineole are 0.53, 0.44, 0.75, and 0.77, respectively. Chromatography was performed on 60F254 percolated TLC plate using n-hexane : ethyl acetate : glacial acetic acid (8.5 : 1.0 : 0.5 v/v/v). Methods are validated according to ICH guidelines and can be adopted for the routine analysis of vasicine, glycyrrhizin, eugenol and cineole in herbal cough syrup.

Isolation and characterization of phytoconstituents from Chlorophytum borivilianum.

BACKGROUND: The present communication deals with the identification and characterization of bioactive principles from the roots of Chlorophytum borivilianum. METHOD: Methanolic extract and its fractions were used to isolate different phytoconstituents. The structures of isolated compounds were characterized and elucidated with chemical and spectroscopic techniques such as Infra Red, Nuclear Mass Resonace and Mass spectroscopy experiments. Fatty acids were characterized by GC-MS analysis. RESULT: Three Fatty acids were isolated and confirmed. One sterol stigmasterol was isolated. One new saponin named as Chlorophytoside-I (3ß, 5α, 22R, 25R)-26-(ß-D-glucopyranosyloxy)-22-hydroxy-furostan-12-one-3 yl O-ß-D-galactopyranosyl (1-4) glucopyranoside was isolated. CONCLUSION: The roots of Chlorophytum borivilianum contain three important fatty acids, common sterol stigmasterol and one furostanol saponins.