Ethnopharmacological Potential of Phytochemicals and Phytogenic Products against Human RNA Viral Diseases as Preventive Therapeutics.

RNA viruses have been the most destructive due to their transmissibility and lack of control measures. Developments of vaccines for RNA viruses are very tough or almost impossible as viruses are highly mutable. For the last few decades, most of the epidemic and pandemic viral diseases have wreaked huge devastation with innumerable fatalities. To combat this threat to mankind, plant-derived novel antiviral products may contribute as reliable alternatives. They are assumed to be nontoxic, less hazardous, and safe compounds that have been in uses in the beginning of human civilization. In this growing COVID-19 pandemic, the present review amalgamates and depicts the role of various plant products in curing viral diseases in humans.

Apoptotic Mechanisms of Quercetin in Liver Cancer: Recent Trends and Advancements.

Due to rising incidence rates of liver cancer and worries about the toxicity of current chemotherapeutic medicines, the hunt for further alternative methods to treat this malignancy has escalated. Compared to chemotherapy, quercetin, a flavonoid, is relatively less harmful to normal cells and is regarded as an excellent free-radical scavenger. Apoptotic cell death of cancer cells caused by quercetin has been demonstrated by many prior studies. It is present in many fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Quercetin targets apoptosis, by upregulating Bax, caspase-3, and p21 while downregulating Akt, PLK-1, cyclin-B1, cyclin-A, CDC-2, CDK-2, and Bcl-2. Additionally, it has been reported to increase STAT3 protein degradation in liver cancer cells while decreasing STAT3 activation. Quercetin has a potential future in chemoprevention, based on substantial research on its anticancer effects. The current review discusses quercetin's mechanisms of action, nanodelivery strategies, and other potential cellular effects in liver cancer.

Modulation of Insulin Resistance by Silybum marianum Leaves, and its Synergistic Efficacy with Gymnema sylvestre, Momordica charantia, Trigonella-foenum graecum Against Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B.

Prolonged insulin resistance is considered one of the reasons for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Upregulation of Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B), a negative regulator of insulin signalling, has been well studied as a key regulator in prognosis to insulin resistance. It has been widely studied as a desirable molecular therapeutic target. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of leaf extract of the medicinal plants Silybum marianum on the inhibition of PTP1B activity. It also explored the synergistic effect with extracts of Gymnema sylvestre (leaves), Momordica charantia (seeds), and Trigonella foenum graecum (seeds). The S. marianum leaves showed dose-dependent inhibition of PTP1B ranging from 9.48-47.95% (25-1000 µg mL-1). Assay with individual plant extracts showed comparatively lesser inhibition of PTP1B as compared to metformin as a control (38% inhibition). However, a synergistic effect showed nearly 45% PTP1B inhibition (higher than metformin) after the assay was done with selected four plant extracts in combination. The effect of leaf extracts of S. marianum was studied for glucose uptake efficiency in yeast cell lines which was found to be increased by 23% as compared to the control (without extract). Metformin improves glucose upake by yeast cells by ~15-31%. GC-MS analysis revealed 23 phytochemicals, some of which possessed anti-diabetic properties. A dose-dependent increase in antioxidant activity of S. marianum leaves extracts was observed (40-53%). The findings of the study highlighted the presence of various phytochemicals in leaves extracts that are effective against PTP1B inhibition and may help in reinvigorating drug development.

Exploring Microbial-Based Green Nanobiotechnology for Wastewater Remediation: A Sustainable Strategy.

Water scarcity due to contamination of water resources with different inorganic and organic contaminants is one of the foremost global concerns. It is due to rapid industrialization, fast urbanization, and the low efficiency of traditional wastewater treatment strategies. Conventional water treatment strategies, including chemical precipitation, membrane filtration, coagulation, ion exchange, solvent extraction, adsorption, and photolysis, are based on adopting various nanomaterials (NMs) with a high surface area, including carbon NMs, polymers, metals-based, and metal oxides. However, significant bottlenecks are toxicity, cost, secondary contamination, size and space constraints, energy efficiency, prolonged time consumption, output efficiency, and scalability. On the contrary, green NMs fabricated using microorganisms emerge as cost-effective, eco-friendly, sustainable, safe, and efficient substitutes for these traditional strategies. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art microbial-assisted green NMs and strategies including microbial cells, magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), bio-augmentation and integrated bioreactors for removing an extensive range of water contaminants addressing the challenges associated with traditional strategies. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the efficacies of microbe-assisted green NM-based water remediation strategy with the traditional practices in light of crucial factors like reusability, regeneration, removal efficiency, and adsorption capacity has been presented. The associated challenges, their alternate solutions, and the cutting-edge prospects of microbial-assisted green nanobiotechnology with the integration of advanced tools including internet-of-nano-things, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence have been discussed. This review opens a new window to assist future research dedicated to sustainable and green nanobiotechnology-based strategies for environmental remediation applications.

Effect of chicken manure on soil microbial community diversity in poultry keeping areas.

The poultry industry is generating a significant amount of waste from chicken droppings that are abundant in microbes as well as macro- and micronutrients suitable for manure. It has the potential to improve the microbial activity and nutrient dynamics in the soil, ultimately improving soil fertility. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of chicken droppings manure (CDM) on the diversity of the soil microbiome in the free walking chicken's area located in Stefanidar, Rostov Region, Russia. The data obtained were compared with 16 s rRNA from control samples located not far from the chicken's free-walking area, but not in direct contact with the droppings. Effect of CDM on the physicochemical characteristics of the soil and changes in its microbial diversity were assessed by employing the metagenomic approaches and 16 s rRNA-based taxonomic assessment. The alpha and beta diversity indices revealed that the application of the CDM significantly improved the soil microbial diversity. The 16S taxonomical analysis confirmed Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Planctomycetes as abundant bacterial phylum. It also revealed the increase in the total number of the individual operational taxonomic unit (OTU) species, a qualitative indicator of the rich microbial community. The alpha diversity confirmed that the significant species richness of the soil is associated with the CDM treatment. The increased OTUs represent the qualitative indicator of a community that has been studied up to the depth of 5-20 cm of the CDM treatment range. These findings suggested that CDM-mediated microbial richness are believed to confer the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, along with key soil enzymes such as dehydrogenases and catalase carbohydrate-active enzymes. Hence, the application of CDM could improve soil fertility by nutrient cycling caused by changes in soil microbial dynamics, and it could also be a cost-effective sustainable means of improving soil health.

A Bioengineered Quercetin-Loaded 3D Bio-Polymeric Graft for Tissue Regeneration and Repair.

Phytochemicals extracted from plant sources have potential remedial effects to cure a broad range of acute to severe illnesses and ailments. Quercetin is a flavonoid isolated from different dietary sources such as vegetables and fruits, exhibiting strong anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and non-toxic effects on the biological system. However, the direct uptake or administration of quercetin results in loss of functionality, poor activity, and reduced shelf-life of the bioactive component. In this regard, to improve the uptake, potential, and efficiency of natural components with prolonged storage in the host's body after administration, numerous polymer drug delivery systems have been created. In the current study, three-dimensional (3D) porous (porosity: 92%; pore size: 81 µm) bio-polymeric foaming gelatin-alginate (GA) beads were fabricated for the entrapment of quercetin as therapeutic drug molecules-gelatin-alginate-quercetin (GAQ). The GAQ beads showed a significant uptake of quercetin molecules resulting in a reduction of reduced porosity up to 64% and pore size 63 µm with a controlled release profile in the PBS medium, showing ~80% release within 24 h. Subsequently, the GAQ beads showed remarkable antioxidant effects, and 95% anti-inflammatory activities along with remarkable in vitro cell culture growth and the observed proliferation of seeded fibroblast cells. Thus, we can conclude that the consistent release of quercetin showed non-toxic effects on normal cell lines and the bioactive surface of the GAQ beads enhances cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation more effectively than control GA polymeric beads and tissue culture plates (TCP). In summary, these findings show that these GAQ beads act as a biocompatible 3D construct with enormous potential in medicinal administration and tissue regeneration for accelerated healing.

Fabrication and evaluation of herbal beads to slow cell ageing.

Several therapies and cosmetics are available commercially to prevent or delay cell ageing, which manifests as premature cell death and skin dullness. Use of herbal products such as Aloe vera, curcumin, vitamin C-enriched natural antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory biomolecules are potential ways to prevent or delay ageing. Eggshell membrane (ESM) is also a rich source of collagen; glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) also play an essential role in healing and preventing ageing. It is important to use an extended therapeutic process to prolong the effectiveness of these products, despite the fact that they all have significant anti-ageing properties and the ability to regenerate healthy cells. Encapsulated herbal components are therefore designed to overcome the challenge of ensuring continued treatment over time to prolong the effects of a bioactive component after in situ administration. To study their synergistic effects on a cellular level, alginate, Aloe vera, and orange peel extract were encapsulated in bio-polymeric foaming beads and modified with eggshell membrane protein (ESMP) at various concentrations (1 gm, 2 gm, and 5 gm): (A-Av-OP, A-Av-OP-ESMP1, ESMP2, and ESMP3). Analysis of the structural and functional properties of foaming beads showed interconnected 3D porous structure, a surface-functionalized group for entrapment of ESMP, and a significant reduction in pore size (51-35 m) and porosity (80%-60%). By performing DPPH assays, HRBC stabilization assays, and antibacterial tests, the beads were assessed as a natural anti-ageing product with sustained release of molecules effective against inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and microbial contamination. MTT assays were conducted using in vitro cell cultures to demonstrate cytocompatibility (in mouse 3T3 fibroblast cells) and cytotoxicity (in human carcinoma HeLa cells). Our study demonstrates that bio-polymeric ESMP beads up to 2 g (A-Av-OP-ESMP2) are practical and feasible natural remedies for suspending defective cell pathways, preventing cell ageing, and promoting healthy cell growth, resulting in a viable and practical natural remedy or therapeutic system.

Advances in characterization of probiotics and challenges in industrial application.

An unbalanced diet and poor lifestyle are common reasons for numerous health complications in humans. Probiotics are known to provide substantial benefits to human health by producing several bioactive compounds, vitamins, short-chain fatty acids and short peptides. Diets that contain probiotics are limited to curd, yoghurt, kefir, kimchi, etc. However, exploring the identification of more potential probiotics and enhancing their commercial application to improve the nutritional quality would be a significant step to utilizing the maximum benefits. The complex evolution patterns among the probiotics are the hurdles in their characterization and adequate application in the industries and dairy products. This article has mainly discussed the molecular methods of characterization that are based on the analysis of ribosomal RNA, whole genome, and protein markers and profiles. It also has critically emphasized the emerging challenges in industrial applications of probiotics.

A practical evaluation on integrated role of biochar and nanomaterials in soil remediation processes.

Soil decontamination and restoration continue to be a key environmental concern around the globe. The degradation of soil resources due to the presence of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) has a substantial influence on agricultural production, food security, and human well-being, and as a result, urgent action is required. PTEs pollution is not a threat to the agroecosystems but also a serious concern to human health; thereby, it needs to be addressed timely and effectively. Hence, the development of improved and cost-effective procedures to remove PTEs from polluted soils is imperative. With this context in mind, current review is designed to distinctly envisage the PTEs removal potential by the single and binary applications of biochar (BC) and nanomaterials (NMs).2 Recently, BC, a product of high-temperature biomass pyrolysis with high specific surface area, porosity, and distinctive physical and chemical properties has become one of the most used and economic adsorbent materials. Also, biochar's application has generated interest in a variety of fields and environments as a modern approach against the era of urbanization, industrialization, and climate change. Likewise, several NMs including metals and their oxides, carbon materials, zeolites, and bimetallic-based NMs have been documented as having the potential to remediate PTEs-polluted environments. However, both techniques have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, therefore combining them can be a more effective strategy to address the growing concern over the rapid accumulation and release of PTEs into the environment.

A comprehensive review on removal of pollutants from wastewater through microbial nanobiotechnology -based solutions.

Increasing wastewater pollution owing to the briskly rising human population, rapid industrialization, and fast urbanization has necessitated highly efficient wastewater treatment technologies. Although several methods of wastewater treatments are in practice, expensiveness, use of noxious chemicals, generation of unsafe by-products, and longer time consumption restrain their use to a great extent. Over the last few decades, nanotechnological wastewater treatment approaches have received widespread recognition globally. Microbially fabricated nanoparticles reduce the utilization of reducing, capping, and stabilizing agents, and exhibit higher adsorptive and catalytic efficiency than chemically synthesized nanomaterials. The present review comprehensively summarizes the applications of microbial nanotechnology in the removal of a wide range of noxious wastewater pollutants. Moreover, prospects and challenges associated with the integration of nanotechnology with other biological treatment technologies including algal-membrane bioreactor, aerobic digestion, microbial fuel cells, and microbial nanofiber webs have also been briefly discussed.

A Critical Review on Role of Available Synthetic Drugs and Phytochemicals in Insulin Resistance Treatment by Targeting PTP1B.

Insulin resistance (IR) is a condition of impaired response of cells towards insulin. It is marked by excessive blood glucose, dysregulated insulin signalling, altered pathways, damaged pancreatic ß-cells, metabolic disorders, etc. Chronic hyperglycemic conditions leads to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) which causes excess generation of highly reactive free radicals, causing oxidative stress, further leading to development and progression of complications like vascular dysfunction, damaged cellular proteins, and DNA. One of the causes for IR is dysregulation of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B). Advancements in drug therapeutics have helped people manage IR by regulating PTP1B, however have been reported to cause side effects. Therefore, there is a growing interest on usage of phytochemical constituents having IR therapeutic properties and aiding to minimize these complications. Medicinal plants have not been utilized to their full potential as a therapeutic drug due to lack of knowledge of their active and effective chemical constituents, mode of action, regulation of IR parameters, and dosage of administration. This review highlights phytochemical constituents present in medicinal plants or spices, their potential effectiveness on proteins (PTP1B) regulating IR, and reported possible mechanism of action studied on in vitro models. The study gives current knowledge and future recommendations on the above aspects and is expected to be beneficial in developing herbal drug using these phytochemical constituents, either alone or in combination, for medication of IR and diabetes.

Filamentous Thermosensitive Mutant Z: An Appealing Target for Emerging Pathogens and a Trek on Its Natural Inhibitors.

Antibiotic resistance is a major emerging issue in the health care sector, as highlighted by the WHO. Filamentous Thermosensitive mutant Z (Fts-Z) is gaining significant attention in the scientific community as a potential anti-bacterial target for fighting antibiotic resistance among several pathogenic bacteria. The Fts-Z plays a key role in bacterial cell division by allowing Z ring formation. Several in vitro and in silico experiments have demonstrated that inhibition of Fts-Z can lead to filamentous growth of the cells, and finally, cell death occurs. Many natural compounds that have successfully inhibited Fts-Z are also studied. This review article intended to highlight the structural-functional aspect of Fts-Z that leads to Z-ring formation and its contribution to the biochemistry and physiology of cells. The current trend of natural inhibitors of Fts-Z protein is also covered.

Surfactant pollution, an emerging threat to ecosystem: Approaches for effective bacterial degradation.

The use of surfactants in households and industries is inevitable and so is their discharge into the environment, especially into the water bodies as effluents. Being surface-active agents, their utilization is mostly seen in soaps, detergents, personal care products, emulsifiers, wetting agents, etc. Anionic surfactants are the most used class. These surfactants are responsible for the foam and froth in the water bodies and cause potential adverse effects to both biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem. Surfactants are capable of penetrating the cell membrane and thus cause toxicity to living organisms. Accumulation of these compounds has been known to cause significant gill damage and loss of sight in fish. Alteration of physiological and biochemical parameters of water decreases the amount of dissolved oxygen and thus affecting the entire ecosystem. Microbes utilizing surfactants as substrates for energy form the basis of the biodegradation of these compounds. The main organisms for surfactant biodegradation, both in sewage and natural waters, are bacteria. Several Pseudomonas and Bacillus spp. have shown efficient degradation of anionic surfactants namely: sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS), sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate (SDBS). Also, several microbial consortia constituting Alcaligenes spp., Citrobacter spp., etc. have shown efficacy in the degradation of surfactants. The biodegradation efficiency studies of these microbes/microbial consortia would be of immense help in formulating better solutions for the bioremediation of surfactants and help to reduce their potential environmental hazards.

Potential Therapeutic Target Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase-1B for Modulation of Insulin Resistance with Polyphenols and Its Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship.

The increase in the number of cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the complications associated with the side effects of chemical/synthetic drugs have raised concerns about the safety of the drugs. Hence, there is an urgent need to explore and identify natural bioactive compounds as alternative drugs. Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) functions as a negative regulator and is therefore considered as one of the key protein targets modulating insulin signaling and insulin resistance. This article deals with the screening of a database of polyphenols against PTP1B activity for the identification of a potential inhibitor. The research plan had two clear objectives. Under first objective, we conducted a quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis of flavonoids with PTP1B that revealed the strongest correlation (R2 = 93.25%) between the number of aromatic bonds (naro) and inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of PTP1B. The second objective emphasized the binding potential of the selected polyphenols against the activity of PTP1B using molecular docking, molecular dynamic (MD) simulation and free energy estimation. Among all the polyphenols, silydianin, a flavonolignan, was identified as a lead compound that possesses drug-likeness properties, has a higher negative binding energy of -7.235 kcal/mol and a pKd value of 5.2. The free energy-based binding affinity (ΔG) was estimated to be -7.02 kcal/mol. MD simulation revealed the stability of interacting residues (Gly183, Arg221, Thr263 and Asp265). The results demonstrated that the identified polyphenol, silydianin, could act as a promising natural PTP1B inhibitor that can modulate the insulin resistance.

Nanobionics in Crop Production: An Emerging Approach to Modulate Plant Functionalities.

The "Zero Hunger" goal is one of the key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Therefore, improvements in crop production have always been a prime objective to meet the demands of an ever-growing population. In the last decade, studies have acknowledged the role of photosynthesis augmentation and enhancing nutrient use efficiency (NUE) in improving crop production. Recently, the applications of nanobionics in crop production have given hope with their lucrative properties to interact with the biological system. Nanobionics have significantly been effective in modulating the photosynthesis capacity of plants. It is documented that nanobionics could assist plants by acting as an artificial photosynthetic system to improve photosynthetic capacity, electron transfer in the photosystems, and pigment content, and enhance the absorption of light across the UV-visible spectrum. Smart nanocarriers, such as nanobionics, are capable of delivering the active ingredient nanocarrier upon receiving external stimuli. This can markedly improve NUE, reduce wastage, and improve cost effectiveness. Thus, this review emphasizes the application of nanobionics for improving crop yield by the two above-mentioned approaches. Major concerns and future prospects associated with the use of nanobionics are also deliberated concisely.

Inhibition of Filamentous Thermosensitive Mutant-Z Protein in Bacillus subtilis by Cyanobacterial Bioactive Compounds.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the major growing concerns for public health. Conventional antibiotics act on a few predefined targets and, with time, several bacteria have developed resistance against a large number of antibiotics. The WHO has suggested that antibiotic resistance is at a crisis stage and identification of new antibiotics and targets could be the only approach to bridge the gap. Filamentous Temperature Sensitive-Mutant Z (Fts-Z) is one of the promising and less explored antibiotic targets. It is a highly conserved protein and plays a key role in bacterial cell division by introducing a cytokinetic Z-ring formation. In the present article, the potential of over 165 cyanobacterial compounds with reported antibiotic activity against the catalytic core domain in the Fts-Z protein of the Bacillus subtilis was studied. The identified cyanobacterial compounds were screened using the GLIDE module of Maestro v-2019-2 followed by 100-ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Ranking of the potential compound was performed using dock score and MMGBSA based free energy. The study reported that the docking score of aphanorphine (-6.010 Kcalmol-1) and alpha-dimorphecolic acid (ADMA) (-6.574 Kcalmol-1) showed significant role with respect to the reported potential inhibitor PC190723 (-4.135 Kcalmol-1). A 100 ns MD simulation infers that Fts-Z ADMA complex has a stable conformation throughout the progress of the simulation. Both the compounds, i.e., ADMA and Aphanorphine, were further considered for In-vitro validation by performing anti-bacterial studies against B. subtilis by agar well diffusion method. The results obtained through In-vitro studies confirm that ADMA, a small molecule of cyanobacterial origin, is a potential compound with an antibacterial activity that may act by inhibiting the novel target Fts-Z and could be a great drug candidate for antibiotic development.

Nanotechnology in the Restoration of Polluted Soil.

The advancements in nanoparticles (NPs) may be lighting the sustainable and eco-friendly path to accelerate the removal of toxic compounds from contaminated soils. Many efforts have been made to increase the efficiency of phytoremediation, such as the inclusion of chemical additives, the application of rhizobacteria, genetic engineering, etc. In this context, the integration of nanotechnology with bioremediation has introduced new dimensions for revamping the remediation methods. Hence, advanced remediation approaches combine nanotechnological and biological remediation methods in which the nanoscale process regulation supports the adsorption and deterioration of pollutants. Nanoparticles absorb/adsorb a large variety of contaminants and also catalyze reactions by lowering the energy required to break them down, owing to their unique surface properties. As a result, this remediation process reduces the accumulation of pollutants while limiting their spread from one medium to another. Therefore, this review article deals with all possibilities for the application of NPs for the remediation of contaminated soils and associated environmental concerns.

Microplastic Pollution: An Emerging Threat to Terrestrial Plants and Insights into Its Remediation Strategies.

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous and constitute a global hazard to the environment because of their robustness, resilience, and long-term presence in the ecosystem. For now, the majority of research has primarily focused on marine and freshwater ecosystems, with just a small amount of attention towards the terrestrial ecosystems. Although terrestrial ecosystems are recognized as the origins and routes for MPs to reach the sea, there is a paucity of knowledge about these ecological compartments, which is necessary for conducting effective ecological risk assessments. Moreover, because of their high persistence and widespread usage in agriculture, agribusiness, and allied sectors, the presence of MPs in arable soils is undoubtedly an undeniable and severe concern. Consequently, in the recent decade, the potential risk of MPs in food production, as well as their impact on plant growth and development, has received a great deal of interest. Thus, a thorough understanding of the fate and risks MPs, as well as prospective removal procedures for safe and viable agricultural operations in real-world circumstances, are urgently needed. Therefore, the current review is proposed to highlight the potential sources and interactions of MPs with agroecosystems and plants, along with their remediation strategies.

Cucurbitacins as Potent Chemo-Preventive Agents: Mechanistic Insight and Recent Trends.

Cucurbitacins constitute a group of cucumber-derived dietary lipids, highly oxidized tetracyclic triterpenoids, with potential medical uses. These compounds are known to interact with a variety of recognized cellular targets to impede the growth of cancer cells. Accumulating evidence has suggested that inhibition of tumor cell growth via induction of apoptosis, cell-cycle arrest, anti-metastasis and anti-angiogenesis are major promising chemo-preventive actions of cucurbitacins. Cucurbitacins may be a potential choice for investigations of synergism with other drugs to reverse cancer cells' treatment resistance. The detailed molecular mechanisms underlying these effects include interactions between cucurbitacins and numerous cellular targets (Bcl-2/Bax, caspases, STAT3, cyclins, NF-κB, COX-2, MMP-9, VEGF/R, etc.) as well as control of a variety of intracellular signal transduction pathways. The current study is focused on the efforts undertaken to find possible molecular targets for cucurbitacins in suppressing diverse malignant processes. The review is distinctive since it presents all potential molecular targets of cucurbitacins in cancer on one common podium.

Phyllanthus emblica fruit extract attenuates lipid metabolism in 3T3-L1 adipocytes via activating apoptosis mediated cell death.

BACKGROUND: Phyllanthus emblica L. (Indian gooseberry) is widely used in the Ayurveda for thousands of years to treat health complications including disorders of the immune system, diabetes, and obesity. PURPOSE: For the first time, our study aims to demonstrate the molecular mechanisms of the fruit extract of Phyllanthus emblica (PEFE) involved in the promotion of fat cell apoptosis and alleviation of adipogenesis. METHODS: The active constituents from PEFE were identified using high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). We carried out the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of PEFE using 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes. The colonogenic assay was carried out to determine the inhibitory effect of 3T3-L1 adipocytes after PEFE treatment. In addition, inhibition of pancreatic lipase activity was performed and the lipolytic activity of PEFE and digallic acid was compared with the well-known standard drug orlistat. Besides, the molecular interaction and ligand optimization between digallic and adipogenesis/apoptosis markers were also carried out. Furthermore, to confirm fat cell apoptosis we have used several detection methods that includes Hoechst staining, PI staining, Oil staining and qPCR respectively. RESULTS: Digallic acid was identified as a major component in the PEFE. The IC50 values of digallic acid and PEFE were found to be 3.82 µg/ml and 21.85 µg/ml respectively. PEFE and digallic acid showed significant anti-lipolytic activity compared to the standard drug orlistat. In the mature adipocytes, PEFE significantly decreased triglyceride accumulation by downregulating adiponectin, PPARγ, cEBPα, and FABP4 respectively. We further analyzed the expression of apoptosis related genes upon PEFE treatment. Apoptotic process initiated through upregulation of BAX and downregulation of BCL2 resulting in an increased caspase-3 activity. In addition, we have also confirmed the apoptosis and DNA fragmentation in 3T3-L1 cells using Hoechst, PI and TUNEL assays. CONCLUSION: PEFE negatively regulates adipogenesis by initiating fat cell apoptosis and therefore it can be considered as a potential herbal medicinal product for treating obesity.