Effects of Artemisia macrocephala Jacquem on Memory Deficits and Brain Oxidative Stress in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice

Different species of Artemisia have been reported to have therapeutic potential in treating various health disorders, including diabetes and memory dysfunction. The present study was planned to evaluate the effects of Artemisia macrocephala Jacquem crude extract and its subfractions as antiamnesic agents in streptozotocin-induced (STZ) diabetic mice. The in vivo behavioral studies were performed using the Y Maze test and novel object recognition test (NORT) test at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg of crude extract and 75 and 150 mg/kg of fractions. The in vitro and ex vivo anticholinesterase activities, along with biochemical parameters (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione and lipid peroxidation) in the brain, were evaluated. Blood glucose levels were monitored with a glucometer; crude extract and fractions reduced the glucose level considerably, with some differences in the extent of their efficacies. The crude extract and fractions demonstrated significant inhibitory activity against cholinesterases (AChE and BuChE) in vitro. Crude, chloroform and ethyl acetate extract were found to be more potent than the other fractions, with IC₅₀ of Crd-Am = 116.36 ± 1.48 and 240.52 ± 1.35 µg/mL, Chl-Am = 52.68 ± 1.09 and 57.45 ± 1.39 µg/mL and Et-Am = 75.19 ± 1.02 and 116.58 ± 1.09 µg/mL, respectively. Oxidative stress biomarkers like superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione levels were elevated, whereas MDA levels were reduced by crude extract and all fractions with little difference in their respective values. The Y-maze test and novel object recognition test demonstrated declines in memory impairment in groups (n = 6) treated with crude extract and fractions as compared to STZ diabetic (amnesic) group. The most active fraction, Chl-Am, was also subjected to isolation of bioactive compounds; three compounds were obtained in pure state and designated as AB-I, AB-II and AB-III. Overall, the results of the study showed that Artemisia macrocephala Jacquem enhanced the memory impairment associated with diabetes, elevated acetylcholine levels and ameliorated oxidative stress. Further studies are needed to explore the beneficial role of the secondary metabolites isolated in the present study as memory enhancers. Toxicological aspects of the extracts are also important and need to be evaluated in other animal models.     

Static Properties of Potts Spin Chains

One-dimensional 2-state Potts spin glasses (SG) disordered ferromagnets (DFM) and ±J systems are studied. The energy minima (EM) and magnetization with their distributions are exactly calculated. The stable local EM of no more than 27-spin chains with periodic boundary conditions are analyzed. All these systems have an exponentially growing numbers of average energy minima versus number of spins. The frustration effect is also discussed for some particular samples. The investigation of metastable states shows that the energy minima distributions for all our systems approach the normal distribution. The SG and DFM have identical distributions of energy minima. The systems studied here differ merely by the properties of the magnetization. The absolute value of magnetization averaged over all the EM decreases logarithmically with the number of spins for the three systems.     

Salivary MMP-9 Levels in Chronic Periodontitis Patients with Type-II Diabetes Mellitus

Chronic periodontitis and diabetes mellitus share a two-way relationship, the common factor being the inflammatory-mediated pathway, and various cytokines are released during this inflammatory cascade, one of which being matrix metalloproteinase-9. The aim of this study was to identify whether the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 are increased due to type-II diabetes mellitus in chronic periodontitis patients. It was an observational, analytical, case-control study. Thirty subjects were recruited in the test group, who were suffering from type-II diabetes mellitus and chronic periodontitis, and 30 subjects in the control group, who were subjects with chronic periodontitis but systemically healthy. Periodontal parameters, including the plaque score, gingival bleeding index, probing pocket depth and clinical attachment level of the subjects, were measured, saliva samples of all of the subjects were collected and salivary matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels were analyzed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 24. Overall, the matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels of the diabetic patients with chronic periodontitis were increased almost twofold (156.95 ± 29.80 ng/mL) compared to the levels in the controls (74.96 ± 6.32 ng/mL) (p < 0.001). Similarly, the periodontal parameters were far worse in diabetics with chronic periodontitis compared to the controls. The average gingivitis score for the test subjects was 78.45 ± 8.93%), compared to 29.32 ± 12.96% in the controls (p < 0.001). The mean probing pocket depth for the test group was 5.39 ± 0.60 mm, and, for the control group, it was 4.35 ± 0.31 mm (p < 0.001). For the test subjects, the average clinical attachment level was 5.86 ± 0.58 mm, and it was 4.66 ± 0.32 mm for the controls (p < 0.001). It was ascertained that there is a two-fold increase in the levels of salivary matrix metalloproteinase-9 in the test group compared to the control group. In addition, the level of periodontal apparatus destruction was greater in the test group. This proved that type-II diabetes mellitus influences the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in humans and elevates them, causing further periodontal destruction.     

Metabolomic Approach for Rapid Identification of Antioxidants in Clinacanthus nutans Leaves with Liver Protective Potential

Antioxidants are currently utilized to prevent the occurrence of liver cancer in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. Clinacanthus nutans possesses anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties that could be an ideal therapy for liver problems. The objective of this study is to determine the potential antioxidative compounds from the C. nutans leaves (CNL) and stems (CNS). Chemical- and cell-based antioxidative assays were utilized to evaluate the bioactivities of CNS and CNL. The NMR metabolomics approach assisted in the identification of contributing phytocompounds. Based on DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities, CNL demonstrated stronger radical scavenging potential as compared to CNS. The leaf extract also recorded slightly higher reducing power properties. A HepG2 cell model system was used to investigate the ROS reduction potential of these extracts. It was shown that cells treated with CNL and CNS reduced innate ROS levels as compared to untreated controls. Interestingly, cells pre-treated with both extracts were also able to decrease ROS levels in cells induced with oxidative stress. CNL was again the better antioxidant. According to multivariate data analysis of the ¹H NMR results, the main metabolites postulated to contribute to the antioxidant and hepatoprotective abilities of leaves were clinacoside B, clinacoside C and isoschaftoside, which warrants further investigation.     

Lattice Paths and Positive Trigonometric Sums

A trigonometric polynomial generalization to the positivity of an alternating sum of binomial coefficients is given. The proof uses lattice paths, and identifies the trigonometric sum as a polynomial with positive integer coefficients. Some special cases of the q -analogue conjectured by Bressoud are established, and new conjectures are given. January 22, 1997. Date revised: July 9, 1997.     

Synthesis and characterization of N-substituted 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine containing functional polymers as SO2 and CO2 sorbents

Novel vinyl monomers containing 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine were prepared by the reaction of N-substituted-1,3-diaminopropane with N,N-dimethyl-formamide dimethylacetal, which gave 1-alkyl or aryl substituted 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidines, Alkylation of the tetrahydropyrimidine derivatives by chloromethylstyrene produces the N-methyl-N′-vinyl benzyl-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidinium chloride in high yields. These monomers were readily polymerized in dimethylformamide by AIBN at 80°C. Homopolymers and soluble linear copolymers were prepared and copolymerization parameters were rationalized. Further, insoluble terpolymers prepared from these monomers, styrene and divinylbenzene were tested for the sorption of the weakly acidic gases gave excellent results. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35 : 2411–2420, 1997     

Bioactive Compounds from Ephedra fragilis: Extraction Optimization,Chemical Characterization,Antioxidant and AntiGlycation Activities

Response surface methodology (RSM) with a Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used to optimize the extraction of bioactive compounds from Ephedra fragilis. The results suggested that extraction with 61.93% ethanol at 44.43 °C for 15.84 h was the best solution for this combination of variables. The crude ethanol extract (CEE) obtained under optimum extraction conditions was sequentially fractionated with solvents of increasing polarity. The content of total phenolic (TP) and total flavonoid (TF) as well as the antioxidant and antiglycation activities were measured. The phytochemical fingerprint profile of the fraction with the highest activity was characterized by using RP-HPLC. The ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) had the highest TP and TF contents and exhibited the most potent antioxidant and antiglycation activities. The Pearson correlation analysis results showed that TP and TF contents were highly significantly correlated with the antioxidant and antiglycation activities. Totally, six compounds were identified in the EAF of E. fragilis, including four phenolic acids and two flavonoids. Additionally, molecular docking analysis also showed the possible connection between identified bioactive compounds and their mechanisms of action. Our results suggest new evidence on the antioxidant and antiglycation activities of E. fragilis bioactive compounds that may be applied in the treatment and prevention of aging and glycation-associated complications.     

Experimental and theoretical studies on some new pyrrol-2,3-diones formation

4-Benzoyl-5-phenyl-2,3-furandione ( 1 ) reacts with asymmetric disubstituted urea derivatives like 1,1-dimethylurea ( 2a ) and 1,1-diethylurea ( 2b ) by the elimination of a H₂O molecule to give the 4-benzoyl-1-(N,N-dialkylcarbamyl)-5-phenyl-2,3-pyrroldiones 3a and 3b . The structures of 3a,b were determined by the ¹³C NMR, ¹H NMR, IR spectroscopic data and elemental analyses. The electronic structures of the reactants, their transition states, intermediate states, and final products of the reactions were investigated on the basis of AM1 and ab initio (DFT) methods. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 15:9–14, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/hc.10204     

Novel Nano‐sized bis‐indoline Derivatives as Antitumor Agents

A facile access to novel bis‐(indoline‐2,3‐dione) was achieved via reactions of isatin with 1,3‐dibromopropane. The utility of the versatile bis‐(indoline‐2,3‐dione) in the design of new multifunctional building blocks using condensation with hydrazine derivatives was demonstrated. Moreover, a new series of bis‐thiazoles and bis‐thiazol‐4(5H)‐ones were synthesized by the reaction of bis‐thiosemicarbazone derivative with various derivatives of hydrazonoyl halides. The calculations derived from X‐ray diffraction patterns indicated the nanosize of the newly designed compounds. The spectral data of the formed compounds were established their structures. Also, the cytotoxic activity of the produced derivatives was screened against line MCF‐7 (breast cancer cell). It was found that four derivatives from nine investigated compounds showed activity more potent than the standard drug used by 20 times in some cases.