Identification of Potential SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease and Spike Protein Inhibitors from the Genus Aloe: An In Silico Study for Drug Development

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease is a global rapidly spreading virus showing very high rates of complications and mortality. Till now, there is no effective specific treatment for the disease. Aloe is a rich source of isolated phytoconstituents that have an enormous range of biological activities. Since there are no available experimental techniques to examine these compounds for antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, we employed an in silico approach involving molecular docking, dynamics simulation, and binding free energy calculation using SARS-CoV-2 essential proteins as main protease and spike protein to identify lead compounds from Aloe that may help in novel drug discovery. Results retrieved from docking and molecular dynamics simulation suggested a number of promising inhibitors from Aloe. Root mean square deviation (RMSD) and root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) calculations indicated that compounds 132, 134, and 159 were the best scoring compounds against main protease, while compounds 115, 120, and 131 were the best scoring ones against spike glycoprotein. Compounds 120 and 131 were able to achieve significant stability and binding free energies during molecular dynamics simulation. In addition, the highest scoring compounds were investigated for their pharmacokinetic properties and drug-likeness. The Aloe compounds are promising active phytoconstituents for drug development for SARS-CoV-2.     

Aloe djiboutiensis: Antioxidant Activity,Molecular Networking-Based Approach and In Vivo Toxicity of This Endemic Species in Djibouti

For the first time, the study of the antioxidant activity, the characterization of the phytoconstituants, and the evaluation of in vitro and in vivo toxicity of A. djiboutiensis leave and latex are performed. The antioxidant activity of both latex (ADL) and the methanolic extract of leaves (ADM) is determined using 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) scavenging radical methods and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. The phytochemical study of latex is done using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and a molecular networking-based approach. The evaluation of in vivo toxicity is performed on mice by oral gavage with a suspension of ADL. Our results show that weak antioxidant activity of ADL and ADM in opposition to their high polyphenol, 83.01 mg and 46.4 mg expressed in gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g of dry weight (DW), respectively, and flavonoid contents 13.12 mg and 4.25 mg expressed in quercetin equivalent (QE)/g dry weight (DW), respectively. Using the Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS) website, nine (9) anthraquinones derivatives, ten (10) chromones derivatives, two (2) flavonols/ chromones isomers are annotated in the molecular network. The treated mice do not display abnormalities in their general physical appearance and biochemistry parameters, compared to the controls. Only glucose and calcium levels are slightly higher in male treated mice compared to the vehicles.     

蒽醌类亲脂性阳离子的合成及抗癌活性

合成了7个大黄素季铵盐、2个芦荟大黄素季铵盐、1个水溶性大黄素季铵盐和1个α-萘酚醌苯基甲烷季铵盐化合物,并测试了其抗癌活性.含有1条长碳链的大黄素季铵盐的抗癌活性很低,但是含有2条长碳链的大黄素和芦荟大黄素季铵盐的抗癌活性较好.用亲水性的长链替代季铵盐中亲脂性的长碳链会导致大黄素季铵盐失去抗癌活性.α-萘酚醌苯基甲烷季铵盐显示了中等的抗癌活性,表明在具有电子传递能力的分子中引入亲脂性的长碳链季铵盐可以增加其抗癌活性.     

芦荟大黄素锌配合物的抗氧化活性

对比研究了芦荟大黄素和芦荟大黄素锌配合物体外抗氧化活性。以Fenton反应产生羟自由基,邻苯三酚自氧化反应产生超氧阴离子自由基,二苯代苦味肼(DPPH.)自由基为实验模型,采用紫外可见分光光度法,首次测定芦荟大黄素锌配合物对超氧阴离子、羟自由基、DPPH.自由基的清除作用。结果表明,金属锌离子与芦荟大黄素具有协同抗氧化作用。     

Analysis of the Composition of Lyophilisates Obtained from Aloe arborescens Gel of Leaves of Different Ages from Controlled Crops

The aim of the study is to evaluate the composition of lyophilisates obtained from Aloe arborescens leaf gel at the age of one to four years. The leaves were obtained from controlled crops, which allowed to exclude environmental factors as variables. It was confirmed that the lyophilisates obtained from different years of Aloe arborescens leaf gel varied in chromatographic analyses in terms of aloin A and aloenin A content (high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection HPLC-DAD, high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric detection HPLC-MS/MS). Similarly, while testing the phenolic acids and the sum of polyphenols content, differences in their levels in leaf gel lyophilisates from plants of individual years were observed (spectrophotometric method UV-VIS). The lyophilisate composition analysis showed that the one-year-old leaves were characterized by the highest content of aloin A and aloenin A. While the content of polyphenols, including phenolic acids, was higher in the leaves of older plants. The antioxidant potential of the tested lyophilisates was assessed simultaneously. Regardless of the research model used (CUPRAC, DPPH, ABTS), an antioxidant effect was noted for Aloe arborescens leaves.     

1,8-二羟基-3-甲基-苯并［d,e］蒽酮的2D NMR研究

从中药芦荟(Aloe vera)中分离得到一个蒽酮类新化合物. 通过UV、IR、HREI-M S、¹H NMR和¹³C NMR及2D NMR(¹H-¹H COSY、HMBC、HMQC和J -resolved)方法， 鉴定其结构为：1,8- 二羟基-3-甲基-苯并［d,e］蒽酮. 文章的侧重点在于讨论该化合物的¹H和¹³C NMR信号的全归属.     

In vitro and in silico study of Aloe vera leaf extract against human breast cancer

Abstract

Aloe vera leaf contains some bioactive compounds that have a strong binding affinity toward estrogen receptor as compared to standard drug tamoxifen. In this study, we have found that the IC₅₀ of Aloe vera leaf extract against breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) is 23?µg/mL which is much lower than the IC₅₀ (332?µg/mL) of Aloe vera leaf extract against non-cancerous cell line (NIH-3T3). We have also calculated the total concentration of phenolic acid (385.662?µg/mL), flavonoids (160.402?µg/mL) and alkaloids (276.754?µg/mL) in Aloe vera leaf extract. The free radical scavenging activity of Aloe vera leaf extract is 67% to 89% (at 50 to 300?µg/ml). Our virtual molecular docking study suggests that bioactive compounds like Aloe-emodin (?8.8?Kcal/mol), 7-hydroxy-2,5 dimethylchromone (?7.5?Kcal/mol), Beta-sitosterol (?7.3?Kcal/mol) etc. have a greater binding affinity toward estrogen alpha receptor as compared to standard drug Tamoxifen (?6.4?Kcal/mol).

     

芦荟中多糖的光度测定新方法

利用正交试验考察了芦荟多糖与刚果红显色反应的最佳条件；研究了麦芽糖糊精等多糖、蔗糖等低聚糖和葡萄糖等单糖对显色反应的影响；建立了简便快速、常见糖类基本无干扰的测定芦荟多糖含量的吸光光度法。对芦荟鲜叶和芦荟制品中的多糖进行分析，加标回收率在92％～96％范围内，相对标准偏差≤5％。     

二阶导数光谱-峰面积积分法同时测定芦荟中痕量铁(Ⅱ)和钴(Ⅱ)

在 1,10 -邻菲罗啉显色体系中 ,引入二阶导数光谱 -峰面积积分技术 ,建立了同时测定痕量铁 ( )和钴 ( )的新方法。该法可有效消除共存离子的干扰 ,提高了准确度和灵敏度。对铁和钴的表观摩尔吸光系数分别为 εFe5 .4 5× 10 6 L·mol-1·cm-1,εCo 1.1× 10 4 L· mol-1· cm-1;铁含量在 0 .0— 8.5 μg·m L-1,钴含量在 0 .0— 7.3μg· m L-1范围内遵守比耳定律。可用于芦荟中铁和钴的同时测定 ,结果令人满意     

Circadian variations in biologically closed electrochemical circuits in Aloe vera and Mimosa pudica

The circadian clock regulates a wide range of electrophysiological and developmental processes in plants. This paper presents, for the first time, the direct influence of a circadian clock on biologically closed electrochemical circuits in vivo. Here we show circadian variation of the plant responses to electrical stimulation. The biologically closed electrochemical circuits in the leaves of Aloe vera and Mimosa pudica, which regulate their physiology, were analyzed using the charge stimulation method. The electrostimulation was provided with different timing and different voltages. Resistance between Ag/AgCl electrodes in the leaf of Aloe vera was higher during the day than at night. Discharge of the capacitor in Aloe vera at night was faster than during the day. Discharge of the capacitor in a pulvinus of Mimosa pudica was faster during the day. The biologically closed electrical circuits with voltage gated ion channels in Mimosa pudica are also activated the next day, even in the darkness. These results show that the circadian clock can be maintained endogenously and has electrochemical oscillators, which can activate ion channels in biologically closed electrochemical circuits. We present the equivalent electrical circuits in both plants and their circadian variation to explain the experimental data.