Chemical Composition and Antioxidant,Antimicrobial, and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Origanum compactum Benth Essential Oils from Two Regions: In Vitro and In Vivo Evidence and In Silico Molecular Investigations

The purposes of this investigatory study were to determine the chemical composition of the essential oils (EOs) of Origanum compactum from two Moroccan regions (Boulemane and Taounate), as well as the evaluation of their biological effects. Determining EOs’ chemical composition was performed by a gas chromatography–mass spectrophotometer (GC-MS). The antioxidant activity of EOs was evaluated using free radical scavenging ability (DPPH method), fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), and lipid peroxidation inhibition assays. The anti-inflammatory effect was assessed in vitro using the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) inhibition test and in vivo using the carrageenan-induced paw edema model. Finally, the antibacterial effect was evaluated against several strains using the disk-diffusion assay and the micro-dilution method. The chemical constituent of O. compactum EO (OCEO) from the Boulemane zone is dominated by carvacrol (45.80%), thymol (18.86%), and α-pinene (13.43%). However, OCEO from the Taounate zone is rich in 3-carene (19.56%), thymol (12.98%), and o-cymene (11.16%). OCEO from Taounate showed higher antioxidant activity than EO from Boulemane. Nevertheless, EO from Boulemane considerably inhibited 5-LOX (IC₅₀ = 0.68 ± 0.02 µg/mL) compared to EO from Taounate (IC₅₀ = 1.33 ± 0.01 µg/mL). A similar result was obtained for tyrosinase inhibition with Boulemane EO and Taounate EO, which gave IC_50s of 27.51 ± 0.03 μg/mL and 41.83 ± 0.01 μg/mL, respectively. The in vivo anti-inflammatory test showed promising effects; both EOs inhibit and reduce inflammation in mice. For antibacterial activity, both EOs were found to be significantly active against all strains tested in the disk-diffusion test, but O. compactum EO from the Boulemane region showed the highest activity. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) for O. compactum EO from the Boulemane region ranged from 0.06 to 0.25% (v/v) and from 0.15 to 0.21% (v/v) for O. compactum from the Taounate region. The MBC/MIC index revealed that both EOs exhibited remarkable bactericidal effects.     

Trends and Technological Advancements in the Possible Food Applications of Spirulina and Their Health Benefits: A Review

Spirulina is a kind of blue-green algae (BGA) that is multicellular, filamentous, and prokaryotic. It is also known as a cyanobacterium. It is classified within the phylum known as blue-green algae. Despite the fact that it includes a high concentration of nutrients, such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids—in particular, the necessary omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids—the percentage of total fat and cholesterol that can be found in these algae is substantially lower when compared to other food sources. This is the case even if the percentage of total fat that can be found in these algae is also significantly lower. In addition to this, spirulina has a high concentration of bioactive compounds, such as phenols, phycocyanin pigment, and polysaccharides, which all take part in a number of biological activities, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. As a result of this, spirulina has found its way into the formulation of a great number of medicinal foods, functional foods, and nutritional supplements. Therefore, this article makes an effort to shed light on spirulina, its nutritional value as a result of its chemical composition, and its applications to some food product formulations, such as dairy products, snacks, cookies, and pasta, that are necessary at an industrial level in the food industry all over the world. In addition, this article supports the idea of incorporating it into the food sector, both from a nutritional and health perspective, as it offers numerous advantages.     

Anti‐proliferative activity of newly synthesized Cd(II), Cu(II), Zn(II),Ni(II), Co(II), VO(II), and Mn(II) complexes of 2‐((4,9‐dimethoxy‐5‐oxo‐5H‐furo[3,2‐g]chromen‐6‐yl)methylene) hydrazinecarbothioamide on three human cancer cells

Thiosemicarbazone ligand, 2‐((4,9‐dimethoxy‐5‐oxo‐5H‐furo[3,2‐g]chromen‐6‐yl)methylene) hydrazinecarbothioamide and its Cd(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Ni(II), Co(II), VO(II), and Mn(II) complexes have been prepared and characterized by various spectroscopic and analytical techniques. Complexes molar conductance measurements displayed that all complexes (2–8) are non‐electrolyte. With general composition [M(H₃L)(CH₃COO)₂H₂O].nH₂O, where M = Cd(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Mn(II) while complex (8) has [VO(H₃L)(SO₄)H₂O].2H₂O formula. Based on analytical and spectral measurements, the octahedral or distorted octahedral geometries suggested for complexes. Ligand and complexes anti‐proliferative activities were assessed against three various human tumor cell lines including breast cancer (MCF‐7), liver cancer (HepG2) and lung cancer (A549) using SRB fluorometric assay and cis‐platin as positive control. The anti‐proliferative activity result indicated that the ligand and its complexes have considerable anti‐proliferative activity analogous to that of ordinarily utilized anti‐cancer drug (cis‐platin). They do their anti‐cancer activities by modifying free radical's generation via raising the superoxide dismutase activity and depletion of intracellular reduced glutathione level, catalase, glutathione peroxidase activities, escorted by highly generation of hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide and other free radicals leading to tumor cells death, as monitoring by decreasing the protein and nucleic acids synthesis.     

Measurement of temperature of a dusty plasma from its configuration

A new concept called “configurational temperature” is introduced in the context of dusty plasma, where the temperature of the dust particles submerged in the plasma can be measured directly from the positional information of the individual dust particles and the interaction potential between the dust grains. This method does not require the velocity information of individual particles, which is a key parameter to measure the dust temperature in the conventional method. The technique is initially tested using two-dimensional (2D) OpenMP parallel molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation and then compared with the temperature evaluated from experimental data. The experiment have been carried out in the Dusty Plasma Experimental (DPEx) device, where a 2D stationary plasma crystal of melamine formaldehyde particles is formed in the cathode sheath of a DC glow discharge argon plasma. The kinetic temperature of the dust is calculated using the standard particle image velocimetry technique at different pressures. An extended simulation result for the three-dimensional case is also presented, which can be employed for the temperature measurement of a three-dimensional dust crystal in laboratory devices.     

Uniform stabilization of the damped Cauchy-Ventcel problem with variable coefficients and dynamic boundary conditions

In this paper, the uniform stabilization of the Cauchy-Ventcel problem with variable coefficients is considered, and the uniform energy decay rate for the problem is established by Riemannian geometry methods.     

Crosstalk pattern penalty reduction at 2.5 Gb/s in an SOA employing an assist light around gain transparency wavelength

We evaluate the inter-channel crosstalk in a semiconductor optical amplifier when injecting a high optical power continuous wave, as assist light, inside its active region around the gain transparency wavelength. In this work, the crosstalk of signal₁ (1535 nm) modulated at 2.5 Gb/s, has been induced by signal₂ (1560 nm) modulated at 2.5 Gb/s as well and having an optical input power of −7.5 dBm to simulate a multi-channel transmission. By measuring the bit error rate of signal₁, we show that the pattern penalty induced by the cross-gain modulation can be significantly reduced or even in certain conditions suppressed by the assist light.