An Insight into the Combination of Probiotics and their Implications for Human Health.

Over 100-1000 microbial species reside in the human gut, where they predominantly influence the host's internal environment and, thus, have a significant impact on host health. Probiotics are best characterized as a microbe or a group of microbes that reside in the gut and support the body's internal microbiota. Probiotics are linked to increased health advantages, including better immune function, improved nutritional absorption, and protection against cancer and heart-related illnesses. Several studies have demonstrated that combining probiotics from different strains with complementary activities may have synergistic advantages and aid in re-establishing the equilibrium of how immunological niches and microorganisms interact. Another thing to remember is that even though a product contains more probiotic strains, that doesn't always guarantee that the health benefits will be more significant. For specific combinations to be justified, there must be clinical proof. The clinical results of a probiotic strain are specifically pertinent to the participants in the relevant research, such as studies on adults or newborn infants. Clinical outcomes of a probiotic strain are mainly connected to the investigated health area (such as gut health, immune health, oral health, etc.). As a result, picking the right probiotic is essential yet tricky because of several factors, including probiotic products with the disease and strain-specific effectiveness exists; however, various probiotic strains have diverse modes of action. The current review focuses on probiotic categorization, their function in enhancing human health, and any potential health benefits of probiotic combinations.

Validated High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Method and Stability Study of Linalool in the Volatile Oil of the Rhizomes of Homalomena aromatica Schott.

Homalomena aromatica is a herb of tremendous ethnomedicinal importance to various communities residing in northeast India. In this study, a high-performance thin-layer chromatography-based densitometric method was developed for identification, quantification and stability study of linalool. Mass spectrometry was hyphenated to HPTLC for streamlining the method. The stability of linalool was studied by analyzing the effect of acid, base, UV, sunlight, thermal stress and H2O2 on linalool. The chromatographic plates were developed to a height of 70 mm in toluene:ethyl acetate solvent system at a ratio of 9.5:0.5 and visualized with p-anisaldehyde reagent. The developed method was found to be precise, accurate and reproducible according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines, and compact bands of linalool were observed at Rf of 0.351 ± 0.001. The content of linalool in the volatile oil of H. aromatica was found to be 58% v/v. By application of the hyphenated MS technique, linalool was identified at m/z 137, (M + H)+. It was observed that acidic pH has the highest effect on linalool with a percentage degradation of 65. The developed method can be used in the analysis and quality control of herbal materials and volatile oils containing linalool and quality control of rhizomes of H. aromatica.

In vitro Evaluation and Molecular Dynamics, DFT Guided Investigation of Antimalarial Activity of Ethnomedicinally used Coptis teeta Wall.

BACKGROUND: Malaria is caused by different species of Plasmodium; among which P. falciparum is the most severe. Coptis teeta is an ethnomedicinal plant of enormous importance for tribes of northeast India. OBJECTIVE: In this study, the antimalarial activity of the methanol extracts of Coptis teeta was evaluated in vitro and lead identification was carried out via in silico study. METHODS: On the basis of the in vitro results, in silico analysis by application of different modules of Discovery Studio 2018 was performed on multiple targets of P. falciparum taking into consideration some of the compounds reported from C. teeta. RESULTS: The IC50 of the methanol extract of Coptis teeta was reported to be 0.08 µg/ml in 3D7 strain and 0.7 µg/ml in Dd2 strain of P. falciparum. From the docking study, noroxyhydrastatine was observed to have better binding affinity in comparison to chloroquine. The binding of noroxyhydrastinine with dihydroorotate dehydrogenase was further validated by molecular dynamics simulation and was observed to be significantly stable in comparison to the co-crystal inhibitor. During simulations, it was observed that noroxyhydrastinine retained the interactions, giving strong indications of its effectiveness against the P. falciparum proteins and stability in the binding pocket. From the Density-functional theory analysis, the bandgap energy of noroxyhydrastinine was found to be 0.186 Ha, indicating a favorable interaction. CONCLUSION: The in silico analysis as an addition to the in vitro results provides strong evidence of noroxyhydrastinine as an antimalarial agent.

Zederone Improves the Fecal Microbial Profile in Dementia Induced Rat Model: A First Report.

BACKGROUND: Dementia correlates with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal and cerebrovascular diseases. There are supporting shreds of evidence on the pharmacological activity of curcuma caesia (Zingiberaceae family) for its antioxidant, antidepressant, analgesic, anticonvulsant, and anti-acetylcholinesterase effect. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze the fecal microbial profile in Zederone treated demented rat model. METHODS: In our study, isolation and characterization of Zederone were carried out from curcuma caesia rhizomes, followed by estimation of its memory-enhancing effect on Aluminium-induced demented rat, which was evaluated by behavioural study on radial 8 arm maze. Moreover the detection of amyloid plaque formation was carried out using fluorescent microscopy of the congo red-stained rat brain tissues of the cerebral neocortex region. This study included eighteen female Wistar Albino rats that were divided into three groups that consisted of six rats in each group. The study of fecal microbial profile by metagenomic DNA extraction followed by next-generation sequencing was carried out to establish the correlation between gut microbes and amyloid plaques in dementia. RESULTS: Zederone could be characterized as pale yellow colored, needle-shaped crystals with 96.57% purity. This compound at 10 mg/kg body weight showed cognition improving capacity (p ≤ 0.0001) with a reduction of accumulated amyloid plaques that were detected in the demented group in fluorescence microscope and fecal microbiome study divulged an increased shift towards Lactobacillus genera in the treated group from Bacteroides in the demented group. CONCLUSION: This sesquiterpenoid compound would assist in the modulation of gut bacterial dysbiosis and act as a better therapeutic drug for dementia and other neurological disorders.

Analysing Curcuma caesia fractions and essential oil for neuroprotective potential against anxiety, depression, and amnesia.

Scientific pieces of evidence support the pharmacological activity of Curcuma caesia for its antidepressant, analgesic, anticonvulsant and antioxidant effect. Here, we evaluate the bioactivity of essential oil and the various polarity-based solvent partitioned fractions obtained from Curcuma caesia for anti-amnesia, anxiolytic and antidepressant activities using Elevated plus maze and Morris water maze models. The cold maceration technique using methanol was adopted for extraction from dried powdered rhizomes and essential oil was extracted by hydrodistillation method. Partitioning of the methanolic extract based on solvent polarity by hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol was continued, followed by column chromatography of the ethyl acetate fraction. Suspensions were prepared for fractions (dissolved in distilled water) and essential oil (dissolved in tween 20) at 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg after acute toxicity study and were orally administered to Wistar albino female rats after the orientation of hypoxia by sodium nitrite (50 mg/kg) and amnesia by scopolamine (1 mg/kg). Behavioural observations, biochemical and histopathological examinations were carried out for all the treated groups. Diazepam (12 mg/kg) and galantamine (3 mg/kg) were used as standard drugs for this study against hypoxia and amnesia. Data acquired from behavioural, biochemical (acetylcholinesterase, myeloperoxidase, superoxide dismutase, reduced glutathione, catalase) and histopathological studies have illustrated that fraction II acquires highly significant memory-enhancing, anxiolytic and antidepressant effects. Rest fractions (I and III) and essential oil showed moderate efficacy. In prospects, identification of active molecules from the most active fraction (fraction II) and further studies on a molecular basis would substantiate its specific mechanism of neuroprotective action.

Development and Validation of High-Performance Thin-layer Chromatographic Method for Quantification of Berberine in Rhizomes of Coptis teeta Wall, an Endangered Species Collected from Arunachal Pradesh, India.

The high polarity of the protoberberine alkaloids present in Coptis teeta has made it difficult to quantify the alkaloids. This study was designed to develop and validate a thin-layer chromatography (TLC) densitometric-based method using high-performance thin-layer chromatography for quantification of berberine. The separation was achieved in a solvent system consisting of butanol:ethyl acetate:formic acid:water by volume on TLC aluminum plate precoated with silica gel 60 F254. Determination and quantification were performed by densitometric scanning under mercury lamp at a wavelength 351 nm in absorbance mode. The validated method gave compact bands for berberine at an Rf of 0.70. The precision, accuracy and reproducibility of the method were validated by following International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Graphically, linear results were obtained for berberine with correlation coefficient of 0.997 ± 0.09% (R ± SD) in the concentration range of 90-210 ng/band. The limit of quantification and limit of detection from the analysis were found to be 70 and 30 ng/band, respectively. The berberine concentration in the methanol extract of C. teeta was found to be 30.97 ± 0.55 mg in 100 mg of the crude drug. The method developed here in can be implemented in the analysis and routine quality control of herbal materials and formulations containing C. teeta and berberine.

Study of the Effect of Dillenia indica Fruit Mucilage on the Properties of Metformin Hydrochloride Loaded Spray Dried Microspheres.

Natural materials are preferred over synthetic counterparts because of their biodegradable and biocompatible nature. The present work was proposed to utilize mucilage from natural source for the development of controlled release formulation of metformin hydrochloride. Natural mucilaginous substance extracted from Dillenia indica L. (DI) fruit was used in fabricating controlled release microspheres. The microspheres were prepared by spray drying method under different formulation parameters. The prepared microspheres were studied for particle size, drug excipient compatibility, particle shape and surface morphologies, drug entrapment efficiency, mucoadhesivity, and in vitro drug release properties. The prepared microspheres exhibited mucoadhesive properties and demonstrated controlled release of metformin hydrochloride. The study reveals that the natural materials can be used for formulation of controlled release microspheres and would provide ample opportunities for further study.

Formulation and in vitro evaluation of metformin hydrochloride loaded microspheres prepared with polysaccharide extracted from natural sources.

The present work envisages utilisation of biodegradable and biocompatible material from natural sources for the development of controlled release microspheres of metformin hydrochloride (MetH). Natural polysaccharides extracted from Dillenia indica L. (DI), Abelmoschus esculentus L. (AE) and Bora rice flour were used in fabricating controlled release microspheres. The microspheres were prepared by the emulsion solvent diffusion technique with different proportions of natural materials and were studied for entrapment efficiency, particle size, particle shape, surface morphology, drug excipient compatibility, mucoadhesivity and in vitro release properties. The prepared microspheres showed mucoadhesive properties and controlled release of metformin hydrochloride. The study has revealed that natural materials can be used for formulation of controlled release microspheres and will provide ample opportunities for further study.

Development and characterisation of metformin loaded spray dried Bora rice microspheres.

Bora rice, a glutinous rice, is grown in Assam (a north eastern state of India) and is used traditionally for various purposes. The rationale of this study was to prepare and to assess Metformin loaded mucoadhesive spray dried microspheres using locally grown Bora rice powder. Metformin loaded microspheres were prepared using Bora rice and sodium alginate by spray drying method. For the study of the consequence of parameters of spray drier on the properties of microspheres, parameters such as aspirator flow rate, temperature, feed flow rate and concentration of the spray solution were changed. The in-vitro release properties were also studied. Almost spherical microspheres were obtained with significant swelling and mucoadhesivity. Dissolution study was carried out in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) for 7 hrs. It was also noted to possess good mucoadhesive in such a way that about 90% of microspheres remained adherent on the surface of intestinal mucosa of pig skin. The total amount of drug released from microspheres after 7 hr. was 80%. The release of drug was not affected by the changes in parameters but was affected when sodium alginate concentration was changed. It was observed that microsphere properties changed as the parameters were changed. Smaller particles were obtained when the concentration of the spray solution, aspirator flow rate, the temperature difference between inlet and outlet and feed flow rate were lower.