Three New Acrylic Acid Derivatives from Achillea mellifolium as Potential Inhibitors of Urease from Jack Bean and α-Glucosidase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

(1) Background: Achillea mellifolium belongs to a highly reputed family of medicinal plants, with plant extract being used as medicine in indigenous system. However, limited data is available regarding the exploitation of the medicinal potential of isolated pure compounds from this family; (2) Methods: A whole plant extract was partitioned into fractions and on the basis of biological activity, an ethyl acetate fraction was selected for isolation of pure compounds. Isolated compounds were characterized using different spectroscopic techniques. The compounds isolated from this study were tested for their medicinal potential using in-vitro enzyme assay, coupled with in-silico studies; (3) Results: Three new acrylic acid derivatives (1–3) have been isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of Achillea mellifolium. The characterization of these compounds (1–3) was carried out using UV/Vis, FT-IR, 1D and 2D-NMR spectroscopy (¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, HMBC, NOESY) and mass spectrometry. These acrylic acid derivatives were further evaluated for their enzyme inhibition potential against urease from jack bean and α glucosidase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, using both in-silico and in-vitro approaches. In-vitro studies showed that compound 3 has the highest inhibition against urease enzyme (IC₅₀ =10.46 ± 0.03 μΜ), followed by compound 1 and compound 2 with percent inhibition and IC₅₀ value of 16.87 ± 0.02 c and 13.71 ± 0.07 μΜ, respectively, compared to the standard (thiourea-IC₅₀ = 21.5 ± 0.01 μΜ). The investigated IC₅₀ value of compound 3 against the urease enzyme is two times lower compared to thiourea, suggesting that this compound is twice as active compared to the standard drug. On the other hand, all three compounds (1–3) revealed mild inhibition potential against α-glucosidase. In-silico molecular docking studies, in combination with MD simulations and free energy, calculations were also performed to rationalize their time evolved mode of interaction inside the active pocket. Binding energies were computed using a MMPBSA approach, and the role of individual residues to overall binding of the inhibitors inside the active pockets were also computed; (4) Conclusions: Together, these studies confirm the inhibitory potential of isolated acrylic acid derivatives against both urease and α-glucosidase enzymes; however, their inhibition potential is better for urease enzyme even when compared to the standard.     

Novel antifungal janthinopolyenemycins A and B from a co-culture of marine-associated Janthinobacterium spp. ZZ145 and ZZ148

Two rare polyketides, named as janthinopolyenemycins A (1) and B (2), were isolated from a co-culture of two marine-sourced bacteria Janthinobacterium spp. ZZ145 and ZZ148. Their structures were established by a combination of extensive NMR spectroscopic analyses, HRESIMS data, and ECD calculation. Both janthinopolyenemycins A and B showed activity in inhibiting the growth of Candida albicans with a MIC value of 15.6?μg/mL and a MBC value of 31. 25?μg/mL.     

Antiglioma pseurotin A from marine Bacillus sp. FS8D regulating tumour metabolic enzymes

Pseurotin A was isolated from a culture of marine Bacillus sp. FS8D and showed to be active against the proliferation of four different glioma cells with IC₅₀ values of 0.51–29.3 μM. It has been found that pseurotin A downregulated the expression of tumour glycolytic enzymes pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) and lactate dehydrogenase 5 (LDH5) and upregulated the expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase beta (PDHB), adenosine triphosphate synthase beta (ATPB) and cytochrome C (Cyto-C), the important regulators for tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. The data suggested that targeting multiple metabolic enzymes might be one of the antiglioma mechanisms of pseurotin A.     

Absolute configuration of 1β,10β-epoxydesacetoxymatricarin isolated from Carthamus oxycantha by means of TDDFT CD calculations

The absolute configuration of 1β,10β-epoxydesacetoxymatricarin 1, a sesquiterpenoid isolated from Carthamus oxycantha, was established by TDDFT CD calculations in combination with single crystal X-ray analysis. Since the solid-state CD spectrum shows contributions from intermolecular interactions in the crystal, 1 represents a test case for our solid-state CD/TDDFT approach.     

Synthesis of silica nanoparticles doped with [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and decorated with silver nanoclusters for the ratiometric photoluminescent determination and intracellular imaging of Cu(II) ions

Microchimica Acta - A sensitive and selective luminescent nanoprobe (referred to as DEPN) is designed for the determination of Cu(II) ions. DEPN shows two emission peaks, one at 602 nm and...     

Investigation on the effect of cottonseed oil blended with different percentages of octanol and suspended MWCNT nanoparticles on diesel engine characteristics

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the present work, a series of experiments were designed and conducted to prepare biodiesel from cottonseed oil and to blend it with octanol. The...     

Correction to: Investigation on the effect of cottonseed oil blended with different percentages of octanol and suspended MWCNT nanoparticles on diesel engine characteristics

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the original publication of the article, the affiliations of the third, fourth and fifth authors were incorrectly published.     

On exact solutions of Stokes second problem for a Burgers’ fluid, I. The case γ < λ2/4

In the present work, the exact solutions of Stokes second problem for a Burgers’ fluid are investigated. The expressions for the velocity field and the corresponding tangential stress are obtained when the relaxation times satisfy the condition γ < λ²/4. The solutions have been determined by means of Laplace transform. Only one initial condition is necessary for velocity and these solutions presented in the forms of simple or multiple integrals in terms of Bessel functions. The corresponding solutions for a Newtonian fluid as well as Oldroyd-B fluid appear as the limiting cases of the presented results. The obtained solutions are graphically analyzed for the variations of interesting flow parameters. Moreover, a comparison for velocity is made with Oldroyd-B and Newtonian fluids.