Treatment Of Fever Research Articles

Identification of Important Herbs for Anti-fever Treatment: An Ethnobotanical Study of Sojas Rud, Northwest Iran

Introduction: Fever is a common symptom in several diseases. Medicinal plants have a long history in dealing with diseases. Hence, the objective of this ethnobotanical study was to identify herbs used for the management of fever in Sojas Rud district in Khodabandeh County, Zanjan province, Northwest Iran. Methods: This ethnobotanical study was carried out in Sojas Rud district in Khodabandeh County, Zanjan province, Northwest Iran. Collection of ethnobotanical information as done through interviews and questionnaires among 22 traditional healers. Demographic information was also collected. The data were analyzed by Excel. Results: Our findings revealed that 10 medicinal herbs including Anthemis nobilis L., Centaurea depressa L., Crataegus monogyna, Descurainia Sophia L., Elaeagnus angustifolia L, Gundelia tourneforti L., Nasturtium officinalis, Orchis latifolia L., Plantago lanceolata L., and Salix spp. from 7 families had a considerable effect in the management of fever. We have also observed that the medicinal herbs in Asteraceae, Rosaceae, Brassicaceae, Elaeagnaceae, Orchidaceae, Plantaginaceae, and Saliaceae families had the effect on controlling fever. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that the flower, stem, fruit, seed, leaf, aerial parts, tuber, root, and bark of these plants were the effective parts, respectively. In addition, most forms of preparation of these plants were decoction, fresh, infusion, cooked, and syrup, respectively. Conclusion: The presented study revealed the remarkable effect of some new medicinal plants against fever. Therefore, further studies in the field of investigating the effects of medicinal plants on fever with the approach of identifying the role of the phytochemical constituents of these plants and their effective mechanisms on fever treatment can be a way forward.

Analisis In Silico : Aktivitas Senyawa Antibakteri dalam Zingiber aromaticum terhadap Salmonella typhi

Typhoid fever is an acute infectious disease of the small intestine caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi. The prevalence of typhoid fever in the world is 27 million cases per year and causes 200,000 deaths. In Indonesia, it is estimated that the incidence of typhus is 148.7 per 100,000 people per year. Treatment of typhoid fever using ciprofloxacin antibiotics still causes bacterial resistance so that the discovery of herbal ingredients as an alternative to typhoid fever drugs is still being developed. This study aims to look at the potential of the active compound Zingiber aromaticum in terms of physicochemical prediction, pharmacokinetics, binding affinity, and level of toxicity. Previous studies have proven that Zingiber aromaticum has the potential to inhibit Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi bacteria. The method used is molecular docking between the active compounds Zingiber aromaticum to be compared with the control drug ciprofloxacin as a comparison. As a result, all active compounds of Zingiber aromaticum have potential as drug candidates because they fulfill the lipinski’s rule of five. Zerumbon has the best pharmacokinetic profile compared to ciprofloxacin. Compounds in class 4, 5 and 6 are relatively safer, not mutagenic and not toxic to the liver compared to ciprofloxacin. The compounds that have a better binding affinity value than ciprofloxacin are isokaempferide, (-)-beta-Sitosterol, afzelin, kaempferol 3-(3'-acetylrhamnoside), and 3-O-beta-D-Glucopyranosyl sequentially namely -8,1 kcal/mol, -9.0 kcal/mol, -9.4 kcal/mol, -9.3 kcal/mol and -9.3 kcal/mol. The most valid compounds compared to ciprofloxacin are (-)-beta-sitosterol with RMSD l.b 1.513 and RMSD u.b 2.169.

A Novel Approaches to Feverfew (<i>Tanacetum Prthenium</i>): A Review

Tanacetum Parthenium is a herbal medicinal plant which is known as feverfew. Asterace is the family of feverfew. It is traditionally applicable in the treatment of stomach aches, fever, arthritis, infertility, migraine, insect bites, menstruation problems, and labour pain during childbirth. Dioscorides was the first Greek physician to which uses feverfew extract for treatment of inflammation. Particularly among Greek and early European herbalists, feverfew plant has ancient historyfor traditionally used as common medicine. This plant is also known as "featherfew" due to its feathery leaves. The leaves have been used in medicinal preparation in past two decades for treatment of arthritis and migraine by both the British and Canadian government. The herbal plant of feverfew cultivated in large area of world that show medicinal importance. Plant grow substantially and show important strongly report in support of therapeutic uses. This aromatic plant look like yellow green leave and give bitter odour and give therapeutic active chemical constituents include pinenes flavonoid and glycoside. It shows various pharmacological properties, like antispasmodic, cardiotonic, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and as an enema for worms. The colour of feverfew plant is yellow and bloom in October to July, which is also used in asthma, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Parthenolide may experience an acid-induced cyclisation in the presence of excessive moisture, resulting in a sesquiterpene lactone of the guaianolide class, which is frequently present in feverfew. If the composition satisfies pharmacopoeial microbiological quality standards, microbial degradations are unlikely to have a significant impact.

The Role of Endothelial Cell Dysfunction in Hemorrhagic Fevers

Endothelial cells (ECs) that line the inner surface of blood vessels play a crucial role in maintaining healthy blood vessels and regulating consistent blood flow. EC dysfunction (ECD) is the improper functioning of ECs as a result of any modification or damage. Numerous health issues such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, lightheadedness, exhaustion, diabetes, and the like could result from this. Both extrinsic and intrinsic factors may cause ECD. Many virus-induced hemorrhagic fevers, including dengue fever, Ebola, and Lassa fever, exhibit ECD. ECs maintain barrier functions by regulating immune cell interactions, homeostasis, and capillary permeability, and in viral infections, viral interaction alters these factors. These pathogens destroy ECs, leading to a loss of integrity in the blood vessels and increased permeability. Hemorrhagic fever can cause a wide range of symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, exhaustion, bruises, bleeding, shock, and occasionally even the emergence of additional issues such as organ failure. Hemorrhagic fevers can be life-threatening if not treated promptly and correctly. Considering that ECD can be a silent condition, consultation with physicians about individuals’ risk factors and regular screenings to detect and prevent this condition is highly important. There is no specific antiviral treatment for most hemorrhagic fevers, but research is ongoing to develop effective treatments. This review will discuss the ECD due to viral interactions to cause hemorrhagic fevers, available treatments, and challenges associated with such viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs).

Anti-malarial and Therapeutic Potential of Ethanolic Leaf and Root Extracts of Alstonia boonei Against Plasmodium berghei Infection in Mice

Introduction: The main objective of this research was to investigate the antimalarial therapeutic potential of the ethanolic extract of the leaves and roots of Alstonia boonei, a West African medicinal plant that is used for the traditional treatment of malaria, fever, and other parasitic diseases. There is a need to scientifically evaluate various plants utilized in the ancient treatment of diseases as they might be potential sources of new modern drugs; thus, the importance of this study is obvious. Methods: The extracts were subjected to in vivo antimalarial tests in mice in order to determine their efficacy against malaria infection. These materials exhibited dose–dependent antimalarial activity (P<0.05), as indicated by suppressive and curative effects on mice infected with doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weights of the Plasmodium berghei malaria parasite. Results: The suppressive test of the extracts revealed a significant dose–dependent early infection suppression at P<0.05. Conclusion: Based on the results, the plant should be further examined to analyze its bioactive compounds and position it as a potential source of new and novel molecules for antimalarial drug development.

Medicinal and toxicological investigation of some common NSAIDs; A computer-aided drug design approach

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used for the treatment of pain, fever, and inflammation. Their consumption rises some crucial side effects like gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and renal injury because of the non-selective reduction of prostaglandin synthesis, with differences in the extent of inhibition of the cyclooxygenase. Attempts have been taken for a comparative biochemical, medicinal, and toxicological investigation to raise awareness of the consumption of NSAIDs. In-silico methods were incorporated to investigate their physicochemical, spectral, medicinal, pharmacological, and toxicological properties. Molecular docking and non-bonding calculations were performed against the human prostaglandin synthase protein to reveal their binding affinity and interactions with the amino acid residues of the receptor protein. Further, molecular dynamics simulation was conducted to validate the binding mode and drug-protein stability at the inhibiting binding pocket. The physical and chemical analysis supports their geometries and spectral results confirming the presence of essential functional groups at the core structure. From ADMET and PASS prediction, all the drugs are non-carcinogenic (except IBP), and nonselective NSAIDs showed relatively higher adverse effects compared to selective agents. Based on the above studies, this report can be helpful to understand more deeply the medicinal, and toxicological effects of the reported NSAIDs.

The Activity of Several Medicinal Herbs such as Anti-inflammatories, Anti- Pyretic, Analgesics and Antioxidants

Background: People have been using different plants to treat a wide variety of illnesses ever since the dawn of human civilisation, medicinal plants have been employed. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 80% of people living in developing countries lack the financial means to purchase synthetic drugs. As a result, these individuals turn to traditional medicines, the majority of which are derived from plants, to satisfy their fundamental requirements for health care. Plants have been used as medicine from the beginning of time to cure a broad variety of ailments, including gastrointestinal disorders, genitourinary problems, hepatobiliary discomfort, as well as psychiatric and respiratory issues. Methods: In order to get the necessary data, the procedure involves scouring multiple search engines, such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Sci Finder, for citations that pertain to the topic at hand. Regarding anti-inflammatories, anti-pyretic, analgesics, and antioxidants. Results: For a considerable amount of time, many different plants have been used as a treatment for fever, and recent scientific research has demonstrated that these treatments reduce the temperature of the human body. The significance of medicinal plants as a kind of treatment for fever is brought into sharp focus by this analysis. Conclusion: This review can also assist researchers and scientists in locating new antioxidants, antipyretic compounds, and plants that have been utilized for a considerable amount of time.

Trend of Antimicrobial Resistance Among Salmonella Typhi Isolated from Pediatric Population Presenting at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Lahore

<p><strong>Background and Objective:</strong> Typhoid fever caused by Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The emergence of resistance against the first and second line of drugs has limited the range of drug choices for its treatment. Therefore, the present study was designed to assess the status of drug resistance in S. typhi isolated from the blood samples of pediatric patients reporting at a leading tertiary care hospital in Lahore.</p>
 <p><strong>Methods:</strong> This descriptive study was conducted at the Pathology Department of Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan, over a period of 2 years. A total of 1,306 blood samples were aseptically collected from the pediatric population of Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, after obtaining informed assent from the parents/guardians. The samples were transferred into a Bact/Alert blood culture bottle. After the detection of microbial growth by the Bact/Alert 3-D system, bacterial isolates were identified by standard microbiological procedures. VITEK 2 compact automated identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing instrument (bioMerieux) was used for the antimicrobial sensitivity testing. Data were entered and analyzed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 21.0.</p>
 <p><strong>Results:</strong> A total of 235 out of 1,306 (17.9%) blood culture samples yielded bacterial growth, among which 62.5% (n = 147) were S. typhi. Among 147 S. typhi isolates, 70.6% were multidrug resistant, while 63% were extensively drug resistant (XDR). Maximum resistance against first-line drugs observed was for ampicillin (79.4) and co-trimoxazole (67.2).</p>
 <p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The emergence and spread of XDR S. typhi with a high level of resistance are quite alarming, leaving limited treatment options for the pediatric population. Moreover, increasing resistance to antibiotics demonstrates the quick waning of the efficacy of available first and second-line drugs in the treatment of typhoid fever.</p>

Essential components of a definition for early antibiotic treatment failure: A scoping review.

Despite the broad global use of antibiotics, there is no established definition of early antibiotic treatment failure (EATF) to aid clinical evaluation of treatment, which leads to inconsistent assessments of drug effectiveness. This scoping review aims to identify common components of EATF definitions by synthesizing studies mentioning EATF and its relevant thesaurus matches. Scoping review. This scoping review was conducted following the PRISMA Scoping review guidelines. A systematic literature search was conducted using MEDLINE (PubMed), CENTRAL, CINAHL, and Web of Science, as well as a manual Google search. Search terms were EATF and its thesaurus matches. After removing duplications, candidate studies were screened by title and abstract prior to full text searches, and quality analysis was performed on eligible studies using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. From each eligible study, the timing of evaluation, basic components, and detailed information for each definition of EATF were collected. The components of each definition for EATF were then summarized and counted, and finally the most common essential components were identified. Our systematic literature search found 2,472 candidate studies. After title and abstract screening, full text search and quality assessment, 61 studies, including 56 original studies and five reviews, were eligible for our analysis. Of these 56 original studies, 43 mentioned the timing of EATF evaluation 72 hours after the start of treatment with antibiotics. From these 43 studies, the most common indicators of EATF were extracted, among which a set of essential components for a definition of EATF were identified: mortality, vital signs, fever, symptoms, and additional treatment. Our scoping review uncovered five essential factors for EATF. Further study is needed to evaluate the validity of our findings.

Discovery, traceability, formation mechanism, metal and organic components analysis of supramolecules from Maxing Shigan decoction

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction is a complex polydispersed phase system containing colloid solution, emulsion and suspension, which maybe induced by the supramolecular phenomenon in decoction. However, until now there is no systematic analysis of composition and formation mechanism of supramolecules in TCM decoction contained mineral drug and herb medicines. Maxing Shigan Decoction (MXSGT), one of the classic TCM recipes, has been widely used in the treatment of fever in clinic. In this study, we obtained the supramolecular part of MXSGT (MXSGT NPs). And its traceability, formation mechanism, metal and organic components were further analyzed. The morphology was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS); and the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced rats’ fever model was established to evaluate the antipyretic effect of MXSGT NPs. Furthermore, interaction of the disassembled groups was studied to explore the traceability and formation mechanism of MXSGT NPs by isothermal titration calorimeter (ITC). Due to the combination of mineral gypsum and herb medicines, both ICP-OES and UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS were used to analyze metal and organic components of MXSGT and MXSGT NPs, respectively. The results showed that MXSGT NPs was regular spherical nanoparticles and had the same antipyretic effect as MXSGT. Moreover, MXSGT NPs was formed by the interaction between metal and organic components, resulted in enriching the main active compounds of MXSGT. This study would provide a new idea of studying TCM decoction, especially clarifying the connotation with the participation of mineral gypsum.

Phytochemistry, Pharmacology and Unani traditional uses of Kasni (Cichorium intybus Linn.): A Review

Kasni (Cichorium intybus Linn.) is highly praised in many traditional systems of medicine for medicinal properties of its leaves, seeds and roots. It is grown in Punjab, Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In traditional medicine, all parts of the plant are used as diuretic, laxative, antibilious, antipyretic, blood purification, appetizer and strengthen of the stomach. It is also used in the treatment of hepatic failure, jaundice, intermittent fever and mild states of chronic skin diseases. It contains glycosides, flavonoids, saponins, caffeic acid derivatives, inulin, lactucin, sonchuside A, cichoriolide. The scientific analysis of kasni demonstrates many of the activities mentioned in Unani literature. Nevertheless, further research is needed to identify the mechanism, active constituent, and usefulness of kasni in clinical practice. Given the encouraging results against neurological disorders in the prefaces, this aspect should be thoroughly investigated to make it a standard medicine.
 Keyword: Kasni; Hepatoprotective; Unani medicine; esculatin

Post-cardiac arrest intensive care in Sweden: A survey of current clinical practice.

European guidelines recommend targeted temperature management (TTM) in post-cardiac arrest care. A large multicentre clinical trial, however, showed no difference in mortality and neurological outcome when comparing hypothermia to normothermia with early treatment of fever. The study results were valid given a strict protocol for the assessment of prognosis using defined neurological examinations. With the current range of recommended TTM temperatures, and applicable neurological examinations, procedures may differ between hospitals and the variation of clinical practice in Sweden is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate current practice in post-resuscitation care after cardiac arrest as to temperature targets and assessment of neurological prognosis in Swedish intensive care units (ICUs). A structured survey was conducted by telephone or e-mail in all Levels 2 and 3 (= 53) Swedish ICUs during the spring of 2022 with a secondary survey in April 2023. Five units were not providing post-cardiac arrest care and were excluded. The response rate was 43/48 (90%) of the eligible units. Among the responding ICUs, normothermia (36-37.7°C) was applied in all centres (2023). There was a detailed routine for the assessment of neurological prognosis in 38/43 (88%) ICUs. Neurological assessment was applied 72-96 h after return of spontaneous circulation in 32/38 (84%) units. Electroencephalogram and computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging were the most common technical methods available. Swedish ICUs use normothermia including early treatment of fever in post-resuscitation care after cardiac arrest and almost all apply a detailed routine for the assessment of neurological prognosis. However, available methods for prognostic evaluation varies between hospitals.

What Should We Be Recommending for the Treatment of Enteric Fever?

Patients with suspected enteric (typhoid and paratyphoid) fever are predominantly managed as outpatients in endemic regions. Nonspecific clinical presentation, lack of accurate diagnostic tools, and widespread antimicrobial resistance makes management challenging. Resistance has been described for all antimicrobials including chloramphenicol, amoxycillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and azithromycin. No significant differences have been demonstrated between these antimicrobials in their ability to treat enteric fever in systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Antimicrobial choice should be guided by local resistance patterns and national guidance. Extensively drug-resistant typhoid isolates require treatment with azithromycin and/or meropenem. Combining antimicrobials that target intracellular and extracellular typhoid bacteria is a strategy being explored in the Azithromycin and Cefixime in Typhoid Fever (ACT-SA) RCT, in progress in South Asia. Alternative antimicrobials, such as the oral carbapenem, tebipenem, need clinical evaluation. There is a paucity of evidence to guide the antimicrobial management of chronic fecal carriers.

Mechanisms of desensitization with oral immunotherapy and epicutaneous immunotherapy.

Oral immunotherapy (OIT) and epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) are emerging therapies for food allergy. With several recently published exploratory trials and randomized controlled clinical trials that support these procedures, there is a clear progress and interest toward making these treatment options available for allergist/immunologists and patients with food allergies entrusted to their care. However, there still remain many questions and concerns to be addressed before these procedures can be fully understood. The purpose of the present report is to trace some of the important historical milestones in the development of OIT and EPIT that have contributed to their evolving clinical application to the treatment of food allergy, to describe some of the current understandings of the immunologic mechanisms by which these procedures elicit desensitization, and to provide some areas for future inquiry and research. An extensive research was conducted in the medical literature data bases by applying terms such as food allergy, desensitization, tolerance, unresponsiveness, Treg cells, allergen immunotherapy (AIT), oral immunotherapy (OIT), and epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT). OIT and EPIT take their origins from AIT (also called desensitization), a procedure first reported for the treatment of hay fever over a 100 years ago in which slowly increasing doses of a specifically relevant allergen were administered until a maintenance dosage was achieved when the patient was free of symptoms. OIT and EPIT differ from AIT in certain aspects including the route of administration of the allergen as well as their relative shorter period of sustained unresponsiveness. The origins and important historical landmarks that have been made in the field of food allergy immunotherapy are presented in the context of the immunologic mechanisms that contribute to the pathogenesis of these disorders. Although considerable progress has been made in recent years toward making these treatment options available for allergist/immunologists and patients with food allergies, there still remain many questions and concerns to be addressed before these procedures can be fully understood, which can be illuminated by future research.

Vitamin D modulates expression of antimicrobial peptides and proinflammatory cytokines to restrict Zika virus infection in macrophages

Although the impact of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection on human health has been well documented, we still have no vaccine or effective treatment. This fact highlights the importance of searching for alternative therapy for treating ZIKV. To search for ZIKV antivirals, we examined the effect of vitamin D in monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) differentiated in the presence of vitamin D (D3-MDM) and explored the molecular mechanisms by analyzing transcriptional profiles. Our data show the restriction of ZIKV infection in D3-MDMs as compared to MDMs. Transcriptional profiles show that vitamin D alters about 19% of Zika response genes (8.2% diminished and 10.8% potentiated). Among the genes with diminished expression levels, we found proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as IL6, TNF, IL1A, IL1B, and IL12B, CCL1, CCL4, CCL7, CXCL3, CXCL6, and CXCL8. On the other hand, genes with potentiated expression were related to degranulation such as Lysozyme, cathelicidin (CAMP), and Serglycin. Since the CAMP gene encodes the antimicrobial peptide LL-37, we treated MDMs with LL-37 and infected them with ZIKV. The results showed a decrease in the proportion of infected cells. Our data provide new insights into the role of vitamin D in restricting ZIKV infection in macrophages that are mediated by induction of cathelicidin/LL-37 expression and downregulation of proinflammatory genes. Results highlight the biological relevance of vitamin D-inducible peptides as an antiviral treatment for Zika fever.

Familial Mediterranean Fever-Related Amyloidosis in Turkey: A Need for a Familial Mediterranean Fever Registry.

Amyloidosis has been well known since Rudolph Virchow named the condition in the 19th century. Most physicians were aware of the association between amyloidosis to chronic suppurative conditions and multiple myeloma. However, familial Mediterranean fever, although probably as ancient as the Galenic era, was appropriately identified only in the 21st century. The nomenclature was variable throughout history, but the name "FMF" has been universally adopted since the report from Heller and colleagues in 1958. In 1967, Sokmen and Ozdemir of Ankara University published a report on 194 patients, of whom 64 had amyloidosis. Familial Mediterranean fever constituted the cause in half of the cases. Goldfinger and Ozkan demonstrated efficacy of colchicine for treatment of familial Mediterranean fever in 1972, and further studies revealed that colchicine is also efficient for prevention of amyloidosis. However, since then, several single-center and multicenter amyloid A amyloidosis studies from Turkey have been published. Almost invariably, familial Mediterranean fever is the most common cause of systemic amyloidosis. No downward trends in percentages have been observed. Recent studies have shown that cases of amyloidosis in patients with familial Mediterranean fever are decreasing. Also, cases of amyloidosis in conjunction with suppurative conditions are on the decrease worldwide. However, according to registry data from the Turkish Society of Nephrology, the percentage of incident hemodialysis patients with amyloidosis is not decreasing. The question arises: Why is a complication that is 98% preventable still causing end-stage renal disease? We believe the lack of a stable and comprehensive registry for familial Mediterranean fever, including associated cases of amyloidosis, is the reason we cannot properly answer this question. In this work, we use a historical approach to present why a familial Mediterranean fever registry is direly needed.

Supply-side and demand-side factors influencing uptake of malaria testing services in the community: lessons for scale-up from a post-hoc analysis of a cluster randomised, community-based trial in western Kenya

ObjectivesMaximising the impact of community-based programmes requires understanding how supply of, and demand for, the intervention interact at the point of delivery.DesignPost-hoc analysis from a large-scale community health worker (CHW)...

Ethyl palmitate, an anti-chikungunya virus principle from Sauropus androgynus, a medicinal plant used to alleviate fever in ethnomedicine.

Sauropus androgynus is a medicinal shrub used for the treatment of fever in ethnomedical traditions in various Southeast Asian countries. This study was aimed to identify antiviral principles from S. androgynus against Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a major mosquito-borne pathogen that re-emerged in the last decade, and to unravel their mechanism of action. Hydroalcoholic extract of S. androgynus leaves was screened for anti-CHIKV activity using cytopathic effect (CPE) reduction assay. The extract was subjected to activity guided isolation and the resultant pure molecule was characterized by GC-MS, Co-GC and Co-HPTLC. The isolated molecule was further evaluated for its effect by plaque reduction assay, western blot and immunofluorescence assays. In silico docking with CHIKV envelope proteins and molecular dynamics simulation (MD) analyses were used to elucidate its possible mechanism of action. S. androgynus hydroalcoholic extract showed promising anti-CHIKV activity and its active component, obtained by activity guided isolation, was identified as ethyl palmitate (EP), a fatty acid ester. At 1 μg/mL, EP led to 100% inhibition of CPE and a significant 3-log10 reduction in CHIKV replication in Vero cells at 48 h post-infection. EP was highly potent with an EC50 of 0.0019 μg/mL (0.0068 μM) and a very high selectivity index. EP treatment significantly reduced viral protein expression, and time of addition studies revealed that it acts at the stage of viral entry. A strong binding to the viral envelope protein E1 homotrimer during entry, thus preventing viral fusion, was identified as a possible mechanism by which EP imparts its antiviral effect. S. androgynus contains EP as a potent antiviral principle against CHIKV. This justifies the use of the plant against febrile infections, possibly caused by viruses, in various ethnomedical systems. Our results also prompt more studies on fatty acids and their derivatives against viral diseases.

In silico screening, ADMET analysis and MD simulations of phytochemicals of Onosma bracteata Wall. as SARS CoV-2 inhibitors.

Being attracted with their cardiotonic, antidiabetic, cough relieving activity, treatment of fever, absorbent, anti-asthmatic, etc. activities reported in ancient Ayurvedic literature, phytochemicals of Onosma bracteata wall should be evaluated for their activity against SARS-CoV-2 virus. The main objective of this study is to identify a hit molecule for the inhibition of entry, replication, and protein synthesis of SARS CoV-2 virus into the host. To achieve given objective, computational virtual screening of phytochemicals of Onosma bracteata wall has been performed against three main viral targets: spike, RdRp, and Mpro. Further, the analysis of Lipinski's Ro5 and their estimation of ADMET profiles were performed using computational tools. The MD simulations studies of top hits against each viral target have also been performed for 20ns to ensure their stability. The analysis of results revealed that Pulmonarioside C (9) and other plant compounds showed better binding affinity towards targets than existing antiviral compounds, making them probable lead compounds against SARS-CoV-2. Structural modifications and studies through in silico analysis provided the founding stone for the establishment of SARS CoV-2 inhibitory potential of phytoconstitutents of Onosma bracteata wall.

The Inhibitory Effects and Cytotoxic Activities of the Stem Extract of Nepenthes miranda against Single-Stranded DNA-Binding Protein and Oral Carcinoma Cells.

The carnivorous pitcher plants of the genus Nepenthes exhibit many ethnobotanical uses, including treatments of stomachache and fever. In this study, we prepared different extracts from the pitcher, stem, and leaf extracts of Nepenthes miranda obtained using 100% methanol and analyzed their inhibitory effects on recombinant single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSB) from Klebsiella pneumoniae (KpSSB). SSB is essential for DNA replication and cell survival and thus an attractive target for potential antipathogen chemotherapy. Different extracts prepared from Sinningia bullata, a tuberous member of the flowering plant family Gesneriaceae, were also used to investigate anti-KpSSB properties. Among these extracts, the stem extract of N. miranda exhibited the highest anti-KpSSB activity with an IC50 value of 15.0 ± 1.8 μg/mL. The cytotoxic effects of the stem extract of N. miranda on the survival and apoptosis of the cancer cell lines Ca9-22 gingival carcinoma, CAL27 oral adenosquamous carcinoma, PC-9 pulmonary adenocarcinoma, B16F10 melanoma, and 4T1 mammary carcinoma cells were also demonstrated and compared. Based on collective data, the cytotoxic activities of the stem extract at a concentration of 20 μg/mL followed the order Ca9-22 > CAL27 > PC9 > 4T1 > B16F10 cells. The stem extract of N. miranda at a concentration of 40 μg/mL completely inhibited Ca9-22 cell migration and proliferation. In addition, incubation with this extract at a concentration of 20 μg/mL boosted the distribution of the G2 phase from 7.9% to 29.2% in the Ca9-22 cells; in other words, the stem extract might suppress Ca9-22 cell proliferation by inducing G2 cell cycle arrest. Through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the 16 most abundant compounds in the stem extract of N. miranda were tentatively identified. The 10 most abundant compounds in the stem extract of N. miranda were used for docking analysis, and their docking scores were compared. The binding capacity of these compounds was in the order sitosterol > hexadecanoic acid > oleic acid > plumbagin > 2-ethyl-3-methylnaphtho[2,3-b]thiophene-4,9-dione > methyl α-d-galactopyranoside > 3-methoxycatechol > catechol > pyrogallol > hydroxyhydroquinone; thus, sitosterol might exhibit the greatest inhibitory capacity against KpSSB among the selected compounds. Overall, these results may indicate the pharmacological potential of N. miranda for further therapeutic applications.