Alkaloids and Colon Cancer: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Implications for Cell Cycle Arrest

Cancer is the second most fatal disease worldwide, with colon cancer being the third most prevalent and fatal form of cancer in several Western countries. The risk of acquisition of resistance to chemotherapy remains a significant hurdle in the management of various types of cancer, especially colon cancer. Therefore, it is essential to develop alternative treatment modalities. Naturally occurring alkaloids have been shown to regulate various mechanistic pathways linked to cell proliferation, cell cycle, and metastasis. This review aims to shed light on the potential of alkaloids as anti-colon-cancer chemotherapy agents that can modulate or arrest the cell cycle. Preclinical investigated alkaloids have shown anti-colon cancer activities and inhibition of cancer cell proliferation via cell cycle arrest at different stages, suggesting that alkaloids may have the potential to act as anticancer molecules.     

Piceatannol Protects Brain Endothelial Cell Line (bEnd.3) against Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation and Oxidative Stress

Dysfunction of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is involved in the pathogenesis of many cerebral diseases. Oxidative stress and inflammation are contributing factors for BBB injury. Piceatannol, a natural ingredient found in various plants, such as grapes, white tea, and passion fruit, plays an important role in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses. In this study, we examined the protective effects of piceatannol on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) insult in mouse brain endothelial cell line (bEnd.3) cells and the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that piceatannol mitigated the upregulated expression of adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1) and iNOS in LPS-treated bEnd.3 cells. Moreover, piceatannol prevented the generation of reactive oxygen species in bEnd.3 cells stimulated with LPS. Mechanism investigations suggested that piceatannol inhibited NF-κB and MAPK activation. Taken together, these observations suggest that piceatannol reduces inflammation and oxidative stress through inactivating the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways on cerebral endothelial cells in vitro.     

Tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine‐based ferrocene‐terminated dendrimers as burning rate catalysts for ammonium perchlorate‐based propellant decomposition

Ferrocene‐based derivatives show potential application as burning rate catalysts (BRCs) for solid composite propellants. However, migration problems of simple ferrocene‐based derivatives limit their application as BRCs in solid composite propellants. To overcome the migration problems of ferrocene‐based BRCs and to enhance the burning rate of ammonium perchlorate (AP)‐based propellants, zero‐ to second‐generation tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine‐based ferrocene‐terminated dendrimers (G0, G1 and G2) were synthesized. The structures of G0, G1 and G2 were confirmed using ¹H NMR, Fourier transform infrared and UV–visible spectroscopies. The electrochemical behavior of G0, G1 and G2 was investigated using cyclic voltammetry. It was found that G0, G1 and G2 showed redox behavior due to the presence of ferrocene and this redox behavior was diffusion controlled over the investigated scan range. The burning rate catalytic effect of G0, G1 and G2 on thermal decomposition of AP was investigated using thermogravimetry and differential thermogravimetry. G0, G1 and G2 showed good catalytic effect on the thermal decomposition of AP. Anti‐migration studies showed that migration of G0, G1 and G2 was much slower than that of 2,2‐bis(ethylferrocenyl)propane (catocene) and ferrocene.     

Synthesis and characterization of A2 + B3 type hyperbranched aromatic-aliphatic polyester with carboxyl end groups

New types of carboxyl-terminated hyperbranched polyesters (HBPEs) with aromatic-aliphatic structure were synthesized by single step-melt polycondensation of adipic acid (as A2 monomer) and phloroglucinol (as B3 monomer) as a core via A₂ + B₃ approach, at three different monomer mole ratios (A₂/B₃ = 1: 1, 1.5: 1, 2: 1, respectively). FTIR spectroscopy indicated that the polymers contained hydroxyl groups, ester bonds, benzene ring, methyl and methylene groups, which were in agreement with the expected HBPEs. The HBPEs have inherent viscosities about 0.24 to 0.27 dL/g. The degree of branching of the HBPEs was estimated to be 0.45–0.49% by ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR measurements. The melting temperature of HBPE-1, HBPE-2 and HBPE-3 were 154, 155 and 160°C respectively measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The synthesized polymers were thermally stable; the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurement revealed that HBPEs had 10% weight loss at 310°C in nitrogen.     

Medicinal plants with anti-inflammatory activities

Medicinal plants have been the main remedy to treat various ailments for a long time and nowadays, many drugs have been developed from traditional medicine. This paper reviews some medicinal plants and their main constituents which possess anti-inflammatory activities useful for curing joint inflammation, inflammatory skin disorders, cardiovascular inflammation and other inflammatory diseases. Here, we provide a brief overview of quick and easy reading on the role of medicinal plants and their main constituents in these inflammatory diseases. We hope that this overview will shed some light on the function of these natural anti-inflammatory compounds and attract the interest of investigators aiming at the design of novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of various inflammatory conditions.     

Natural Polyphenols for the Preservation of Meat and Dairy Products

Food spoilage makes foods undesirable and unacceptable for human use. The preservation of food is essential for human survival, and different techniques were initially used to limit the growth of spoiling microbes, e.g., drying, heating, salting, or fermentation. Water activity, temperature, redox potential, preservatives, and competitive microorganisms are the most important approaches used in the preservation of food products. Preservative agents are generally classified into antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-browning agents. On the other hand, artificial preservatives (sorbate, sulfite, or nitrite) may cause serious health hazards such as hypersensitivity, asthma, neurological damage, hyperactivity, and cancer. Thus, consumers prefer natural food preservatives to synthetic ones, as they are considered safer. Polyphenols have potential uses as biopreservatives in the food industry, because their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities can increase the storage life of food products. The antioxidant capacity of polyphenols is mainly due to the inhibition of free radical formation. Moreover, the antimicrobial activity of plants and herbs is mainly attributed to the presence of phenolic compounds. Thus, incorporation of botanical extracts rich in polyphenols in perishable foods can be considered since no pure polyphenolic compounds are authorized as food preservatives. However, individual polyphenols can be screened in this regard. In conclusion, this review highlights the use of phenolic compounds or botanical extracts rich in polyphenols as preservative agents with special reference to meat and dairy products.     

Vegetable Extracts and Nutrients Useful in the Recovery from Helicobacter pylori Infection: A Systematic Review on Clinical Trials

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections affect almost half of the world’s population, with gradually increasing incidence in developed countries. Eradication of H. pylori may provide significant benefits to the affected individual by healing a number of gastrointestinal and extra-digestive disorders. But due to increased microbial resistance and lack of patient adherence to the therapy, the eradication rate of H. pylori is below 80% with current pharmacological therapies. The usage of botanicals for their therapeutic purposes and medicinal properties have been increased in last decades. They can be use as alternative H. pylori treatments, especially against drug-resistant strains. Epidemiological studies have revealed that people with lower vegetable and micronutrient intake may be at increased risk of H. pylori infection. We have undertaken a review of clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of vegetable extracts and micronutrients in patients with H. pylori. Various databases, such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library, were searched for the articles published in English. A total of 24 clinical studies (15 for vegetable extracts and 9 for micronutrients) were selected to be reviewed and summarized in this article. Vegetable extracts (Broccoli sprouts, curcumin, Burdock complex, and Nigella sativa) and micronutrients (vitamin C and E) were not found to be as effective as single agents in H. pylori eradication, rather their efficacy synergized with conventional pharmacological therapies. Conversely, GutGard was found to be significantly effective as a single agent when compared to placebo control.     

High Na+ Mobility in rGO Wrapped High Aspect Ratio 1D SbSe Nano Structure Renders Better Electrochemical Na+ Battery Performance

We chose to understand the cyclic instability and rate instability issues in the promising class of Na⁺ conversion and alloying anodes with Sb₂Se₃ as a typical example. We employ a synthetic strategy that ensures efficient rGO (reduced graphene oxide) wrapping over Sb₂Se₃ material. By utilization of the minimum weight of additive (5 wt.% of rGO), we achieved a commendable performance with a reversible capacity of 550 mAh g⁻¹ at a specific current of 100 mA g⁻¹ and an impressive rate performance with 100 % capacity retention after high current cycling involving a 2 Ag⁻¹ intermediate current step. The electrochemical galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) has been employed for the first time to draw a rationale between the enhanced performance and the increased mobility in the rGO wrapped composite (Sb₂Se₃-rGO) compared to bare Sb₂Se₃. GITT analysis reveals higher Na⁺ diffusion coefficients (approx. 30 fold higher) in the case of Sb₂Se₃-rGO as compared to bare Sb₂Se₃ throughout the operating voltage window. For Sb₂Se₃-rGO the diffusion coefficients in the range of 8.0×10⁻¹⁵ cm² s⁻¹ to 2.2×10⁻¹² cm² s⁻¹ were observed, while in case of bare Sb₂Se₃ the diffusion coefficients in the range of 1.6×10⁻¹⁵ cm² s⁻¹ to 9.4×10⁻¹⁵ cm² s⁻¹ were observed.     

Facile one-pot synthesis,butyrylcholinesterase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities,structure–activity relationship,molecular docking and DNA–drug binding analysis of Meldrum’s acid derivatives

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Meldrum’s acid derivatives were facile synthesized by one-pot condensation process and characterized by NMR (1H, 13C, DEPT-90 and DEPT-135) and EI-MS. The...     

Nonlinear closure modeling in reduced order models for turbulent flows: a dynamical system approach

Nonlinear Dynamics - Reduced-order models (ROM) of structurally dominated fluid flows have significant applications in science and engineering, such as design, control, and optimization....