Plant-derived Bioactive Compounds Research Articles

Protective Effects of Dietary Supplement Spirulina (Spirulina platensis) against Toxically Impacts of Monosodium Glutamate in Blood and Behavior of Swiss mouse

(1) Background: Well-known monosodium glutamate (E-621, MSG), originally used as a food flavor enhancer, was approved approximately in all countries, but the toxicity versus the safety of (MSG) are still unclear due to variable scientific toxicological reports. Moreover, it was reported to trigger elevated frequencies of nausea and headaches in humans and provide deleterious effects on laboratory animals. The objectives of the present study were to (i) estimate the possible toxic effects of the food additive MSG (ii) and the ameliorating protective effects of the dietary supplement spirulina (Spirulina platensis) on the biochemical parameters of blood and the damage produced in organs of Swiss mice after applying a supplementary daily dose of MSG for 4 weeks. (2) Methods: The present study was conducted on 20 mature Swiss mice, which were randomly organized into four groups of five Swiss mice. The treatments were (I) the control group, in which Swiss mice were fed only animal feed and drinking water; group II MSG1, which received 1 mL of MSG; group III MSG0.5, which was treated with 0.5 mL of MSG; and (IV) the group MSGS, which was treated with 1 mL of monosodium glutamate and 1 mL of spirulina (aiming to reduce the MSG toxicity). (3) Results: At the end of the experiment, Swiss mice treated with MSG demonstrated a passiveness regarding behavioral aspects. As we hypothesized, the parameters of the spirulina group reached similar values to the control group, and no histopathological observations have been found. Altogether, our findings evidenced that monosodium glutamate leads to histopathological changes in Swiss mice kidneys and caused important modifications for all biochemical parameters of the blood serum. Noticeably, the potential protective effect of Spirulina platensis was proved and was described by using the FTIR spectroscopy technique. (4) Conclusions: A diet rich in antioxidants and other plant-derived bioactive compounds may provide healthy nutrition, alleviating the potential side effects of some food additives.

Inhibitory potential of plant-derived metabolites against Zika virus: a computational-aided approach

BackgroundThe Zika virus (ZIKV) has caused a heavy concern all over the world because of its high infectivity and mortality rate. Still, there's no specific drug or preventive medication to treat ZIKV infection despite comprehensive analysis by the researchers. PurposeThis study was designed to demonstrate the efficacy of some plant-derived bioactive compounds against ZIKV by using both structure and ligand-based virtual screening methods. MethodsA total of 35 plant metabolites were screened on the basis of their reported pharmacological activities against ZIKV NS2B-NS3 protease (5LC0), envelope protein (5JHM), capsid protein (5YGH) and NS5 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase protein (5U04) employing a molecular docking approach. Furthermore, the ADMET properties along with structural similar drug compounds as well as the probable drug targets were also predicted for our screened four metabolites i.e., chicoric acid, luteone, reserpine and rosmarinic acid. ResultsResults showed that our four screened metabolites i.e., chicoric acid, luteone, reserpine and rosmarinic acid provide the highest binding affinity to target ZIKV proteins. The Crucial binding sites, as well as drug surface hotspots were unraveled for viral targeted protein. The analysis of ADME properties exhibited that none of the compounds had side effects that would reduce their drug-like properties. As compared, the toxicity pattern analysis has unmasked the non-toxic essence of screened drug candidates. The root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) values of ligand-macromolecule complexes were 2 Å apart envelop protein-chicoric acid, although the root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF) values showed normal atomic fluctuations within the molecular dynamics analysis except envelop protein-chicoric acid. Most of the targets of the tested compounds lie in enzymes such as protease, hydrolase and phosphatase. Besides, the study of drug structural similarity showed several structural analogs from the drugbank such as isoformononetin (DB04202), deserpidine (DB01089) and rescinnamine (DB01180) etc. and these analogs could even be a choice to combat ZIKV. ConclusionThese results may lead to the development of effective anti-ZIKV natural medicines. Further in vivo trials are strongly recommended.

Recent progress in preparation of microcapsules with tailored structures for bio-medical applications

Nature is continuously giving us a wide variety of molecules with a great therapeutic potential that are able to fulfill protection, in humans, from anticancer and antibacterial to antioxidant or anti-inflammatory. Unfortunately, almost all plant-derived biomolecules have a low physiological stability, reduced bioavailability, a prolonged circulation time in the blood, or non-selectivity regarding the target tissue. Furthermore, the oral administration of plant-derived biomolecules proved not to be always efficient, only if high doses are applied. Lately, a lot of effort is given to find novel technologies to provide them protection till the target site is reached, by their entrapment inside a properly engineered system.Current review is focused on the existent microencapsulation technologies of plant-derived bioactive compounds, offering details about main steps of the fabrication processes used to obtain a high encapsulation efficiency. A special attention was offered to specific cellular uptake, intracellular localization and transport of micro delivery systems, but also to their therapeutic potential that could be a promising approach for the treatment of various chronic diseases. An outlook into future research on novel microcapsules for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications is also provided.

Fighting the Antibiotic Crisis: Flavonoids as Promising Antibacterial Drugs Against Helicobacter pylori Infection.

Over half of the world’s population is estimated to be infected with Helicobacter pylori. Chronic infection with this microbial class I carcinogen is considered the most important risk factor for developing gastric cancer. The increasing antimicrobial resistance to first-line antibiotics mainly causes the failure of current eradication therapies, inducing refractory infections. The alarming increase in multidrug resistance in H. pylori isolates worldwide is already beginning to limit the efficacy of existing treatments. Consequently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has included H. pylori in its list of “priority pathogens” for which new antibiotics are urgently needed. Novel strategies must be followed to fight this antibiotic crisis, including properly exploiting the proven therapeutic potential of medicinal plants and plant-derived phytochemicals. In this mini-review, we overview the impressive properties of naturally occurring flavonoids as effective antimicrobial agents against H. pylori, which support the use of these plant-derived bioactive compounds as promising drug candidates for inclusion in novel and personalized combinatory therapies against H. pylori infection.

Phytomedicines Targeting Cancer Stem Cells: Therapeutic Opportunities and Prospects for Pharmaceutical Development.

The presence of small subpopulations of cells within tumor cells are known as cancer stem cells (CSCs). These cells have been the reason for metastasis, resistance with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and tumor relapse in several types of cancers. CSCs underwent to epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and resulted in the development of aggressive tumors. CSCs have potential to modulate numerous signaling pathways including Wnt, Hh, and Notch, therefore increasing the stem-like characteristics of cancer cells. The raised expression of drug efflux pump and suppression of apoptosis has shown increased resistance with anti-cancer drugs. Among many agents which were shown to modulate these, the plant-derived bioactive agents appear to modulate these key regulators and were shown to remove CSCs. This review aims to comprehensively scrutinize the preclinical and clinical studies demonstrating the effects of phytocompounds on CSCs isolated from various tumors. Based on the available convincing literature from preclinical studies, with some clinical data, it is apparent that selective targeting of CSCs with plants, plant preparations, and plant-derived bioactive compounds, termed phytochemicals, may be a promising strategy for the treatment of relapsed cancers.

A Brief Overview of Potential Treatments for Viral Diseases Using Natural Plant Compounds: The Case of SARS-Cov.

The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the more general global increase in viral diseases, has led researchers to look to the plant kingdom as a potential source for antiviral compounds. Since ancient times, herbal medicines have been extensively applied in the treatment and prevention of various infectious diseases in different traditional systems. The purpose of this review is to highlight the potential antiviral activity of plant compounds as effective and reliable agents against viral infections, especially by viruses from the coronavirus group. Various antiviral mechanisms shown by crude plant extracts and plant-derived bioactive compounds are discussed. The understanding of the action mechanisms of complex plant extract and isolated plant-derived compounds will help pave the way towards the combat of this life-threatening disease. Further, molecular docking studies, in silico analyses of extracted compounds, and future prospects are included. The in vitro production of antiviral chemical compounds from plants using molecular pharming is also considered. Notably, hairy root cultures represent a promising and sustainable way to obtain a range of biologically active compounds that may be applied in the development of novel antiviral agents.

Innovative Delivery Systems Loaded with Plant Bioactive Ingredients: Formulation Approaches and Applications.

Plants constitute a rich source of diverse classes of valuable phytochemicals (e.g., phenolic acids, flavonoids, carotenoids, alkaloids) with proven biological activity (e.g., antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, etc.). However, factors such as low stability, poor solubility and bioavailability limit their food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical applications. In this regard, a wide range of delivery systems have been developed to increase the stability of plant-derived bioactive compounds upon processing, storage or under gastrointestinal digestion conditions, to enhance their solubility, to mask undesirable flavors as well as to efficiently deliver them to the target tissues where they can exert their biological activity and promote human health. In the present review, the latest advances regarding the design of innovative delivery systems for pure plant bioactive compounds, extracts or essential oils, in order to overcome the above-mentioned challenges, are presented. Moreover, a broad spectrum of applications along with future trends are critically discussed.

Application of plant-derived bioactive compounds as seed treatments to manage the rice pathogen Fusarium fujikuroi

Plant essential oils (EO) possess antifungal properties due to the presence of terpenoids and phenolics capable of damaging microbial cell membranes. The compounds present in EO could represent a valid alternative to synthetic fungicides in rice crop protection, especially in Europe, where the available plant protection products are increasingly scarce, particularly for managing seed-borne fungal pathogens like Fusarium fujikuroi Nirenberg, the causal agent of bakanae disease. Bakanae is a major concern in Europe for seed producers, which often fail to comply with the strict regulatory limits on the presence of the pathogen in the field, resulting in the rejection of the seed crop from marketing and economic losses. The present work was aimed at studying 1) the in vitro effect of EO derived compounds against F. fujikuroi and 2) their efficacy in disease management under field conditions applied as seed treatments. Results confirmed the in vitro antifungal activity of tested compounds: specifically, thymol (0.025% vol/vol), terpinen-4-ol (0.1%), and eugenol (0.05%) showed strong antifungal activity against all the tested F. fujikuroi strains. Two-years, two-locations open field trials showed that seeds treated with thymol (20%) and eugenol (5%) significantly reduced bakanae incidence compared to untreated control, without any phytotoxicity effect on rice seed. The efficacy of these two compounds in managing the disease without affecting germination rates was comparable to the commercially available prochloraz and triticonazole formulation, considered as the positive control. Our results suggest that thymol and eugenol could be used as alternative fungicides in innovative formulations for seed dressing, with the advantage of being compliant with the European IPM framework and organic farming legislation.

Inhibition of γH2AX, COX-2 and regulation of antioxidant enzymes in MPP+-exposed SH-SY5Y cells pre-treated with rutin.

Many plant-derived bioactive compounds such as rutin are reportedly effective in attenuating neuronal death in most neurodegenerative disorders. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the gradual degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain, and has previously been modelled in-vitro through the specific neurotoxic activity of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) on dopaminergic neurons. Rutin is a bioflavonoid with multiple pharmacological effects, and this study investigated the neuroprotective effects of rutin in the human dopaminergic SH-SY5Y cell line using the neurotoxin MPP+. SH-SY5Y cells pretreated with rutin, were exposed to MPP+ and evaluated for cell viability, nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant enzymes activities. In addition, western blot techniques were used to determine the protein expression levels of γH2AX and COX-2. Rutin significantly attenuated MPP+-induced loss of cell viability, mitigated ROS and NO production and inhibited the disruption of antioxidant enzymes activity. It was also observed that rutin significantly reduced protein expression levels of γH2AX and COX-2 in SH-SY5Y cells treated with MPP+. Taken together, findings from this study tend to suggest that rutin is a promising neuroprotective compound for the treatment of PD through its effects on some of the mechanisms that characterize this neurodegenerative disease.

Plant-derived bioactive compounds produced by Streptomyces variabilis LCP18 associated with Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers as potential target to combat human pathogenic bacteria and human cancer cell lines.

To date, endophytic actinomycetes have been well-documented as great producers of novel antibiotics and important pharmaceutical leads. The present study aimed to evaluate potent bioactivities of metabolites synthesized by the strain LCP18 residing in the Vietnamese medicinal plant Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers towards human pathogenic bacteria and human cancer cell lines. Endophytic actinomycete strain LCP18 showed considerable inhibition against seven bacterial pathogens and three human tumor cell lines and was identified as species Streptomyces variabilis. Strain S. variabilis LCP18 was phenotypically resistant to fosfomycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, dalacin, cefoxitin, rifampicin, and fusidic acid and harbored the two antibiotic biosynthetic genes such as PKS-II and NRPS. Further purification and structural elucidation of metabolites from the LCP18 extract revealed five plant-derived bioactive compounds including isopcrunetin, genistein, daidzein, syringic acid, and daucosterol. Among those, isoprunetin, genistein, and daidzein exhibited antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14,028 and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 35,984 with the MIC values ranging from 16 to 128µg/ml. These plant-derived compounds also exhibited cytotoxic effects against human lung cancer cell line A549 with IC50 values of less than 46μM. These findings indicated that endophytic S. variabilis LCP18 can be an alternative producer of plant-derived compounds which significantly show potential applications in combating bacterial infections and inhibition against lung cancer cell lines.

Preliminary Results of CitraVes™ Effects on Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Waist Circumference in Healthy Subjects after 12 Weeks: A Pilot Open-Label Study.

Appropriate monitoring and control of modifiable risk factors, such as the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and other types of dyslipidemia, have an important role in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Recently, various nutraceuticals with lipid-lowering effects have gained attention. In addition to the plant-derived bioactive compounds, recent studies suggested that plant cells are able to release small lipoproteic structures named extracellular vesicles (EVs). The interaction between EVs and mammalian cells could lead to beneficial effects through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. The present study aimed to assess the safety of the new patented plant-based product citraVes™, containing extracellular vesicles (EVs) from Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck juice, and to investigate its ability to modulate different CV risk factors in healthy subjects. A cohort of 20 healthy volunteers was recruited in a prospective open-label study. All participants received the supplement in a spray-dried formulation at a stable dose of 1000 mg/day for 3 months. Anthropometric and hematobiochemical parameters were analyzed at the baseline and after the follow-up period of 1 and 3 months. We observed that the supplement has an effect on two key factors of cardiometabolic risk in healthy subjects. A significant change in waist circumference was found in women after 4 (85.4 [79.9, 91.0] cm, p < 0.005) and 12 (85.0 [80.0, 90.0] cm, p < 0.0005) weeks, when compared to the baseline value (87.6 [81.7, 93.6] cm). No difference was found in men (baseline: 100.3 [95.4, 105.2] cm; 4 weeks: 102.0 [95.7, 108.3] cm; 12 weeks: 100.0 [95.3, 104.7] cm). The level of LDL-C was significantly lower at 12 weeks versus 4 weeks (p = 0.0064). Our study evaluated, for the first time, the effects of a natural product containing plant-derived EVs on modifiable risk factors in healthy volunteers. The results support the use of EV extracts to manage cardiometabolic risk factors successfully.

In vitro Elucidation of Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Effects of Thymol against Prostate Cancer LNCaP Cells

Recent research suggested the role of plant-derived bioactive compounds as potent anticancer agents. Thymol, a monoterpene phenol, possesses numerous pharmacological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor effects. However, the inhibitory potential of thymol on prostate cancer cells still elusive. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of thymol against prostate cancer LNCaP cells. Our results indicated dose-dependent growth inhibitory effects of thymol on prostate cancer LNCaP cells. Morphological analysis and DAPI staining revealed that thymol induces marked morphological and nuclear alterations in LNCaP cells. Moreover, thymol could induce significant apoptosis in LNCaP cells through caspase-3 activation and modulation of mRNA expression of apoptotic-related genes. Overall, these findings showed that thymol could offer a novel therapeutic approach against prostate cancer.

Antibacterial Activity and Flavonoids Content of Artemisia cina Berg. ex Poljakov Ethyl Acetate Extracts

The medicinal plant-derived bioactive compounds have a potential for many biological activities, including antimicrobial activity. Artemisia cina is a medicinal plant from the Compositae family with the potential of having antitumor, antifungal, and antibacterial activity. This study aimed to determine the antibacterial activity and the flavonoid content of A. Cina’s ethyl acetate extract. Plants samples were extracted by ethyl acetate maceration method. Antibacterial activity was tested against Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) by a disk diffusion method using 25, 50, and 100 mg/l extract concentrations. The flavonoid contents (quercetin and kaempferol) were measured using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. The extracts of diploid and polyploid A. cina displayed some antibacterial activity, with the Gram-negative bacteria being more resistant than the Gram-positive counterpart. However, no significant difference was observed between the diploid and polyploid extracts. As for the flavonoid content, the highest quercetin content (0.5501 mg/ml) was found in the polyploid A. cina (J), while the highest kaempferol content (0.5818 mg/ml) was observed in the diploid A. cina (KJT). Although A. cina is widely grown in Indonesia, compared to other Artemisia species, A. cina has not been widely studied, especially its antibacterial potential and in related to its flavonoid content and the use of ethyl acetate as the extraction solvent.  This study reveals the potential of A. cina as a natural antibacterial agent.Â

Potential Health Benefits of Plant Food-Derived Bioactive Components: An Overview

Plant foods are consumed worldwide due to their immense energy density and nutritive value. Their consumption has been following an increasing trend due to several metabolic disorders linked to non-vegetarian diets. In addition to their nutritive value, plant foods contain several bioactive constituents that have been shown to possess health-promoting properties. Plant-derived bioactive compounds, such as biologically active proteins, polyphenols, phytosterols, biogenic amines, carotenoids, etc., have been reported to be beneficial for human health, for instance in cases of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, as well as for people with gut, immune function, and neurodegenerative disorders. Previous studies have reported that bioactive components possess antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties, in addition to improving intestinal barrier functioning etc., which contribute to their ability to mitigate the pathological impact of various human diseases. This review describes the bioactive components derived from fruit, vegetables, cereals, and other plant sources with health promoting attributes, and the mechanisms responsible for the bioactive properties of some of these plant components. This review mainly compiles the potential of food derived bioactive compounds, providing information for researchers that may be valuable for devising future strategies such as choosing promising bioactive ingredients to make functional foods for various non-communicable disorders.

Bioactive compounds in functional food and their role as therapeutics

Bioactive food ingredients are non-essential substances found in foods that can modulate one or more metabolic processes, resulting in enhanced health. Functional diets have attracted more critical than ever as an alternative to conventional treatments of many diseases. The medicinal potential of functional foods and nutraceuticals is due to some unique functional groups produced due to food metabolism and their molecular variants. Phytochemicals are biologically active, naturally occurring chemical compounds in plants with various biological properties and therapeutic benefits. While functional foods and natural bioactive compounds have been used as conventional medicines to treat chronic diseases for decades, recent scientific findings identify functional foods' health advantages and present their behavior's basic mechanisms. Phytochemicals have essential bioactive roles in the prevention and treatment of oxidative and inflammatory diseases. Plant-derived bioactive compounds can help suppress inflammation by inhibiting oxidative damage and communicating with the immune system. Many bioactive components are capable of binding to intestinal tract toxins or carcinogens. These bioactive peptides control Diet-related medical conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and other metabolic diseases. Various bioactive compounds in common food and their therapeutic role is discussed in this review.Keywords: Functional food, phytochemicals, bioactive peptides, therapeutic effects.

Research Trends in Plant-Derived Oligomers for Health Applications

Objective: Epidemiological data illustrates that there is a strong relationship between dietary intake of natural bioactive compounds and their beneficial properties against various diseases, and this stimulates academic and industrial interest in using plant-derived compounds for health and making medicines. For this reason, recent health related studies in the literature have focused on a variety of many plant-derived bioactive compounds. Even though the bioactivities of such compounds have widely been investigated, there are few studies about oligomeric species and their activities. Methods: In this review, extraction and isolation methods of the plant-derived oligomers and the use of such oligomers in health applications are summarised. Results: In the literature, many studies state that oligomeric compounds have benefits to human health. To maximize these beneficial properties, various ways to use oligomeric compounds have been examined and summarised. Conclusion: A better understanding of the specific activities of distinct components of plantderived oligomers is expected to open new avenues for drug discovery. This review gives an overview of oligomers with health beneficial properties and their possible applications in healthcare.

Fungal Endophytes as Efficient Sources of Plant-Derived Bioactive Compounds and Their Prospective Applications in Natural Product Drug Discovery: Insights, Avenues, and Challenges

Fungal endophytes are well-established sources of biologically active natural compounds with many producing pharmacologically valuable specific plant-derived products. This review details typical plant-derived medicinal compounds of several classes, including alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, glycosides, lignans, phenylpropanoids, quinones, saponins, terpenoids, and xanthones that are produced by endophytic fungi. This review covers the studies carried out since the first report of taxol biosynthesis by endophytic Taxomyces andreanae in 1993 up to mid-2020. The article also highlights the prospects of endophyte-dependent biosynthesis of such plant-derived pharmacologically active compounds and the bottlenecks in the commercialization of this novel approach in the area of drug discovery. After recent updates in the field of ‘omics’ and ‘one strain many compounds’ (OSMAC) approach, fungal endophytes have emerged as strong unconventional source of such prized products.

A comparative study of biological potentiality and EAC cell growth inhibition activity of Phyllanthus acidus (L.) fruit pulp and seed in Bangladesh.

Medicinal plant-derived bioactive compounds have recently gained more interest in biological research as an important source of novel drug candidates. Phyllanthus acidus (L.) is a widely distributed herbal medicinal plant naturally used in Ayurvedic medicine in Bangladesh. The present study focused on exploring the biological potential as well as the inhibitory effect of EAC cell growth with a comparative analysis between Phyllanthus acidus fruit pulp and seed. Crude methanol extract of P. acidus (MEPA) fruit pulp and seed was assessed as DPPH and NO free radical scavengers. While Brine Shrimp lethality bioassay, the standard protocol of phytochemical screening and hemagglutination assay were performed successively to determine the toxic effect on normal cells, the identification of some crucial phytochemicals, and the existence of lectin protein. EAC (Ehrlich's Ascites Carcinoma) cell growth inhibition was determined by hemocytometer and morphological changes of EAC cells were observed by a fluorescence microscope using Swiss albino mice. The IC50 value of MEPA fruit pulp and seed was obtained as 57.159µg/ml and 288.743µg/ml respectively where minimal toxic effects on Brine Shrimp nauplii demonstrates that it is a good source of natural antioxidant compounds. Again, MEPA fruit pulp and seed-mediated effective agglutination of mouse blood erythrocyte strongly support the presence of lectin protein. Furthermore, MEPA fruit pulp and seed extract-treated EAC cells showed 65.71% and 28.57% growth inhibition respectively. The fluorescent microscopic examination of EAC cells treated with MEPA fruit pulp has shown more remarkable structural changes in the nucleus than that of seed. Based on the above findings, the present study reveals that MEPA fruit pulp can be considered as a novel biological candidate for the treatment of fatal diseases shortly.

English

Canola is a moderately salt tolerant plant, high salinity inhibits germination of seeds, vegetative growth of young plantlets, and reduces biomass production. This study investigated the effects of priming with 1 mM S-methylmethionine (SMM) on germination, leaf gas exchange, induced chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthetic pigment content and membrane damage through lipid peroxidation by exposing canola (Brassica napus L. cv. Cindi) plants to moderate and severe salt stress (induced by 60 mM and 120 mM NaCl) for different periods. Priming with SMM alleviated the reduction of net photosynthetic rate, the effective quantum efficiency and efficiency of excitation energy capture by open photosystem II reaction centers, chlorophylls to carotenoids ratio, enhanced water use efficiency and contributed to reduction of oxidative membrane damage in fully developed young leaves. Delay and inhibition of seed germination by salt stress were significantly reduced by SMM, as well as the non-photochemical quenching of the singlet excited state of chlorophyll a, suggesting a more efficient protection against hyperosmotic stress, ionic toxicity and associated oxidative stress in primed plants exposed to high salinity. This first assay of SMM as a priming agent for canola plants under high salinity contributes to a better understanding of the mode of action of this natural, plant-derived bioactive compound and the optimization of canola cultivation under the adverse growth conditions caused by salt stress. © 2021 Friends Science Publishers

Leaf extract of ethnomedicinally important Bharangi (Clerodendrum serratum) may improve neuromodulatory activity in mice model

Ancient civilization to present-day cultural and technological development, human over the world has been using plants as a source of natural medicine for their basic needs. Clerodendrum serratum (Linn.) Moonis one such traditionally well-accepted plant used vigorously in Indian ayurvedic therapeutic purposes. Despite its ethnomedicinal significance, the neuroprotective prospects and relevance of Clerodendrum serratum (CSL) remain unaddressed. Therefore, in the present study, we explored several in-vivo antioxidant enzymatic assays followed by acetylcholinesterase enzyme (AChE) inhibitory activity against neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) in mice model and explore the beneficial impact of the plant extract. Furthermore, the in-silico molecular docking approach was employed to evaluate the inhibitory potential of the plant-derived bioactive compounds against the imperative proteins associated with neurodegenerative disorders. The plant extract showed promising results in all in-vivo enzymatic assays indicating its positive role over several neurodegenerative disseases namely, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The histological and in-silico investigation also reveled this plant extract is promising in elevating neurodegenerative disorders. Therefore, it seems likely that this plant can be used as an anti-cognitive agent for future drug development.