Berberine as a Potential Anticancer Agent: A Comprehensive Review

Berberine (BBR), a potential bioactive agent, has remarkable health benefits. A substantial amount of research has been conducted to date to establish the anticancer potential of BBR. The present review consolidates salient information concerning the promising anticancer activity of this compound. The therapeutic efficacy of BBR has been reported in several studies regarding colon, breast, pancreatic, liver, oral, bone, cutaneous, prostate, intestine, and thyroid cancers. BBR prevents cancer cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis and controlling the cell cycle as well as autophagy. BBR also hinders tumor cell invasion and metastasis by down-regulating metastasis-related proteins. Moreover, BBR is also beneficial in the early stages of cancer development by lowering epithelial–mesenchymal transition protein expression. Despite its significance as a potentially promising drug candidate, there are currently no pure berberine preparations approved to treat specific ailments. Hence, this review highlights our current comprehensive knowledge of sources, extraction methods, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic profiles of berberine, as well as the proposed mechanisms of action associated with its anticancer potential. The information presented here will help provide a baseline for researchers, scientists, and drug developers regarding the use of berberine as a promising candidate in treating different types of cancers.     

MHD Double-Diffusive Carreau Fluid Flow through a Porous Medium with Variable Thermal Conductivity and Suction/Injection

In this article, we consider the effects of double diffusion on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) Carreau fluid flow through a porous medium along a stretching sheet. Variable thermal conductivity and suction/injection parameter effects are also taken into the consideration. Similarity transformations are utilized to transform the equations governing the Carreau fluid flow model to dimensionless non-linear ordinary differential equations. Maple software is utilized for the numerical solution. These solutions are then presented through graphs. The velocity, concentration, temperature profile, skin friction coefficient, and the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers under the impact of different parameters are studied. The fluid flow is analyzed for both suction and injection cases. From the analysis carried out, it is observed that the velocity profile reduces by increasing the porosity parameter while it enhances both the temperature and concentration profile. The temperature field enhances with increasing the variable thermal conductivity and the Nusselt number exhibits opposite behavior.     

Numerical investigation and ANN modeling of the effect of single-phase and two-phase analysis of convective heat transfer of nanofluid in a cavity

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The goal of this numerical investigation is to explore and compare the hydrothermal characteristics of free, mixed, and forced convection of...     

Numerical solutions of Schrödinger wave equation and Transport equation through Sinc collocation method

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper focuses on finding soliton solutions for an intrinsic fractional discrete nonlinear electrical transmission lattice. Our investigation is based on the fact that for...     

Tyrosinase inhibitory and antileishmanial constituents from the rhizomes of Paris polyphylla

The search for bioactive natural products from the rhizomes of Paris polyphylla (Trilliaceae) has resulted in the isolation of four known constituents, 1,5-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-3-methylanthraquinone (1), diosgenin-3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1 --> 3)-beta-D-glucopyranoside] (2), diosgenin-3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1(Rha) --> 2(Glu))-alpha-L-arabinofuranosyl-(1(Ara) --> 4(Glu))]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3), and diosgenin-3-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1(Rha) --> 2(Glu))-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1(Ara) --> 4(Glu))]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (4). Their structures were identified by spectral comparison with the reported data. Compound 1 was isolated for the first time from this genus. The chloroform, ethyl acetate, and butanol extracts of the plant were found to have mild to moderate inhibitory potentials against the enzyme tyrosinase. Compound 1 showed strong (IC(50) = 0.23 microM), while compounds 2-4 and hydrolyzed product 4a showed mild to moderate (IC(50) = 0.93-36.87 microM) activities against the tyrosinase. Similarly, compounds 2-4 and 4a showed mild to moderate (IC(50) = 1.59-83.72 microg mL(-1)) antileishmanial activities.     

Oxidation products of calcium and strontium bis(diphenylphosphanide)

The tetrahydrofuran adducts [(thf)(4)M(PPh(2))(2)] (M = Ca, Sr) are air sensitive and can easily be oxidized by chalcogens. Metalation of diphenylphosphane oxide, diphenylphosphinic acid, and diphenyldithiophosphinic acid as well as salt metathetical approaches of the potassium salts with MI(2) allow the synthesis of [(thf)(4)Ca(OPPh(2))(2)] (1), [(dmso)(2)Ca(O(2)PPh(2))(2)] (2), [(thf)(3)Ca(O(2)PPh(2))I](2) (3), [(thf)(3)Ca(S(2)PPh(2))(2)] (4), [(thf)(2)Ca(Se(2)PPh(2))(2)] (5), [(thf)(3)Sr(S(2)PPh(2))(2)] (6), [(thf)(3)Sr(Se(2)PPh(2))(2)] (7), and [(thf)(2)Ca(O(2)PPh(2))(S(2)PPh(2))](2) (8), respectively. The diphenylphosphinite anion in 1 contains a phosphorus atom in a trigonal pyramidal environment and binds terminally via the oxygen atom to calcium. The diphenylphosphinate anions act as bridging ligands leading to polymeric structures of calcium bis(diphenylphosphinates). Therefore strong Lewis bases such as dimethylsulfoxide (dmso) are required to recrystallize this complex yielding chain-like 2. The chain structure can also be cut into smaller units by ligands which avoid bridging positions such as iodide and diphenyldithiophosphinate (3 and 8, respectively). In general, diphenyldithio- and -diselenophosphinate anions act as terminal ligands and allow the isolation of mononuclear complexes 4 to 7. In these molecules the alkaline earth metals show coordination numbers of six (5) and seven (4, 6, and 7).     

An uncertainty budget for the determination of the purity of glyphosate by quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (QNMR) spectroscopy

An uncertainty budget is presented for the results of measurements of purity of the agrochemical glyphosate using ¹H and ³¹P quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (QNMR) spectroscopy. The budget combines intralaboratory precision from repeated independent measurements of a batch, and other Type A and Type B effects. Consideration of correlation of uncertainties in ratios of mass determinations has been included. Expanded uncertainties of the purity for single determinations of purity by ¹H and ³¹P QNMR are 0.66% and 0.82% (95% confidence interval, k=2), respectively.     

Substituted 2,2′‐Bis(2‐oxidobenzylideneamino)‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐1,1′‐biphenyl Complexes of Zinc

The condensation reaction of 2,2′‐diamino‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐6,6'‐dibromo‐1,1′‐biphenyl with 2‐hydroxybenzaldehyde as well as 5‐methoxy‐, 4‐methoxy‐, and 3‐methoxy‐2‐hydroxybenzaldehyde yields 2,2′‐bis(salicylideneamino)‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐6,6′‐dibromo‐1,1′‐biphenyl ( 1a ) as well as the 5‐, 4‐, and 3‐methoxy‐substituted derivatives 1b , 1c , and 1d , respectively. Deprotonation of substituted 2,2′‐bis(salicylideneamino)‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐1,1′‐biphenyls with diethylzinc yields the corresponding substituted zinc 2,2′‐bis(2‐oxidobenzylideneamino)‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐1,1′‐biphenyls ( 2 ) or zinc 2,2′‐bis(2‐oxidobenzylideneamino)‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐6,6′‐dibromo‐1,1′‐biphenyls ( 3 ). Recrystallization from a mixture of CH₂Cl₂ and methanol can lead to the formation of methanol adducts. The methanol ligands can either bind as Lewis base to the central zinc atom or as Lewis acid via a weak O–H ··· O hydrogen bridge to a phenoxide moiety. Methanol‐free complexes precipitate as dimers with central Zn₂O₂ rings.     

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic Investigation of the Binary and Ternary Cyanide Adducts of the Oxidized Horseradish Peroxidase: Identification of a Second Stretching Mode for the Carbon-Nitrogen Bond of the Bound Cyanide Ion

The binary and ternary cyanide adducts of the ferric horseradish peroxidase were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The carbon-nitrogen bond of the bound cyanide ion in the binary ferric cyanohorseradish peroxidase exhibits two stretching vibrations at 2130 cm^?1 and 2127 cm^?1 with the latter mode being observed in this work for the first time. This finding supports the results of the resonance Raman study of cyanohorseradish peroxidase, which identified two iron-carbon-nitrogen bending vibrations and two iron-carbon stretching vibrations, proving the existence of two conformational states. The identification of the latter carbon-nitrogen stretching frequency allowed the assignment of all of the vibrational modes of the iron-carbon-nitrogen groups of the two conformational states of the ferric cyanohorseradish peroxidase. The first conformer is characterized by a carbon-nitrogen stretch at 2130 cm^?1, an iron-carbon stretch at 453 cm^?1, and an iron-carbon-nitrogen bending mode at 405 cm^?1. The second state has a carbon-nitrogen stretch at 2127 cm^?1, an iron-carbon stretch at 360 cm^?1, and an iron-carbon-nitrogen bending mode at 422 cm^?1. The iron-carbon stretching band is weakly sensitive to pH changes, but it is sensitive to H₂O/D₂O substitution, indicating that the bound cyanide ion in cyanohorseradish peroxidase is hydrogen bonded to the surrounding protein. The two states were attributed to variation in the extent of hydrogen bonding of the iron-carbon-nitrogen groups in the two states. The carbon-nitrogen stretching vibrations of the ternary complexes of cyanohorseradish peroxidase with ferulic acid, benzamide, and benzhydroxamic acid have been investigated for the first time. The binding of the substrate to cyanohorseradish peroxidase does not always lead to the vanishing of one of the conformational states as in the carbon monoxide adducts of the ferrous horseradish peroxidase, but can cause shifts in the νC-N frequency and in the relative population of both conformational states.