In vitro evaluation of p-coumaric acid and naringin combination in human epidermoid carcinoma cell line (A431).

Cancer is considered most detrimental due to high mortality worldwide. Among them, skin cancers play a major part by affecting one in three cancer patients globally. About 2-3 million cancer cases were reported to be non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancers, respectively. Although chemotherapeutic drugs act on cancer cells but results in long-lasting morbidities which affects one's quality of life and also works only in the initial stage of the cancer. Hence, an idea of traditional medicine to cure the disease efficiently with less side effects was pursued by the researchers. We have assessed the combination effect of p-coumaric acid and naringin in exerting anticancer activity using A431 (epidermoid carcinoma) cells. The MTT analysis of the combination on A431 cells showed the least IC50 concentration of 41 µg/ml which is effective than the standard drug imiquimod with IC50 concentration of 52 µg/ml. Further, flow cytometric analysis was carried out to identify the molecular mechanism behind the anticancer effects of the combination. The results revealed that the combination arrested the A431 cell cycle at S phase, induced apoptosis as indicated by more early and late apoptotic cells when compared with the control, and further altered reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential in A431 cells. Hence, the results suggest the potential anticancer effects of p-coumaric acid and naringin combination against the skin cancer (A431) cell line. The observed effects may be additive or synergistic effects in inducing ROS generation and apoptosis, and reducing the viability of A431 cells.

Isolation, Identification, and Antibacterial Properties of Prodigiosin, a Bioactive Product Produced by a New Serratia marcescens JSSCPM1 Strain: Exploring the Biosynthetic Gene Clusters of Serratia Species for Biological Applications.

Prodigiosin pigment has high medicinal value, so exploring this compound is a top priority. This report presents a prodigiosin bioactive compound isolated from Serratia marcescens JSSCPM1, a new strain. The purification process of this compound involves the application of different chromatographic methods, including UV-visible spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Subsequent analysis was performed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to achieve a deeper understanding of the compound's structure. Finally, through a comprehensive review of the existing literature, the structural composition of the isolated bioactive compound was found to correspond to that of the well-known compound prodigiosin. The isolated prodigiosin compound was screened for antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The compound inhibited the growth of Gram-negative bacterial strains compared with Gram-positive bacterial strains. It showed a maximum minimum inhibitory concentration against Escherichia coli NCIM 2065 at a 15.9 ± 0.31 µg/mL concentration. The potential binding capabilities between prodigiosin and the OmpF porin proteins (4GCS, 4GCP, and 4GCQ) were determined using in silico studies, which are generally the primary targets of different antibiotics. Comparative molecular docking analysis indicated that prodigiosin exhibits a good binding affinity toward these selected drug targets.

Neuroprotective effect of chrysin on hyperammonemia mediated neuroinflammatory responses and altered expression of astrocytic protein in the hippocampus.

Neuroinflammation is an innate immune response in the central nervous system (CNS) against metabolic and pathogenic toxic wastes. The main hypothesis implies that a state of hyperammonemia which is accountable for both direct and indirect modification in ammonia metabolism with an elevated production of inflammatory cytokines. This study was constructed to explore the modulating effect of chrysin on rudimentary pathophysiologic mechanisms of ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) mediated neuroinflammation in the experimental hyperammonemic rats. NH4Cl was injected intraperitonally (i.p) in male albino wistar rats for a time period of thrice a week for eight consecutive weeks. Initially, the levels of brain ammonia and water content were assessed. Immunohistochemical, RT-PCR and western blotting analysis revealed that the expression of glutamine synthetase (GS) activity and glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP) were down-regulated, whereas the expression of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, p65 NF-κB, iNOS and COX-2 were up-regulated in brain tissue of hyperammonemic rats. Oral supplementation of chrysin (100mg/kg b.w) to hyperammonemic rats considerably restored the levels of brain ammonia, water content, and the expressions of GS, GFAP, TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6, p65 NF-κB, iNOS and COX-2. Our findings provided substantial evidence that the chrysin synergistically attenuating the neuroinflammatory mechanism by repressing the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and up-regulating the astrocytic protein expressions via ammonia-reducing strategies. This data suggests that chrysin effectively acts as a therapeutic agent to treat hyperammonemia mediated neuroinflammation.

Clinical aspects of urea cycle dysfunction and altered brain energy metabolism on modulation of glutamate receptors and transporters in acute and chronic hyperammonemia.

In living organisms, nitrogen arise primarily as ammonia (NH3) and ammonium (NH4(+)), which is a main component of the nucleic acid pool and proteins. Although nitrogen is essential for growth and maintenance in animals, but when the nitrogenous compounds exceeds the normal range which can quickly lead to toxicity and death. Urea cycle is the common pathway for the disposal of excess nitrogen through urea biosynthesis. Hyperammonemia is a consistent finding in many neurological disorders including congenital urea cycle disorders, reye's syndrome and acute liver failure leads to deleterious effects. Hyperammonemia and liver failure results in glutamatergic neurotransmission which contributes to the alteration in the function of the glutamate-nitric oxide-cGMP pathway, modulates the important cerebral process. Even though ammonia is essential for normal functioning of the central nervous system (CNS), in particular high concentrations of ammonia exposure to the brain leads to the alterations of glutamate transport by the transporters. Several glutamate transporters have been recognized in the central nervous system and each has a unique physiological property and distribution. The loss of glutamate transporter activity in brain during acute liver failure and hyperammonemia is allied with increased extracellular brain glutamate concentrations which may be conscientious for the cerebral edema and ultimately cell death.