Payas Arora, Nikita Bahuguna, Jigisha Anand, Prabhakar Semwal, Nishant Rai
{"title":"Ethnopharmacology and current conservational status of <i>Cordyceps sinensis</i>.","authors":"Payas Arora, Nikita Bahuguna, Jigisha Anand, Prabhakar Semwal, Nishant Rai","doi":"10.1515/znc-2024-0130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/znc-2024-0130","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Cordyceps sinensis</i>, known as the caterpillar fungus, constitutes an invaluable and irreplaceable part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is now gaining widespread global recognition and dedicated attention owing to both highly promising characteristics as well as grave dangers that are suggestive of an impending doom. <i>C. sinensis</i> possibly holds the key to the treatment of many human ailments with minimal side effects due to a wide array of biologically active chemical constituents. The powerful potential harbored by this fungus has led to a meteoric rise in its prices in the domestic and international markets which has caused the involvement of an increasing number of harvesters, traders, and buyers and unchecked overexploitation of this bioresource thus threatening its long-term survival in its natural habitat of the Himalayan region. This review focuses on the ethnopharmacology of <i>C. sinensis,</i> and various aspects related to its conservation, such as natural distribution, sale and revenue, decline in population density, and conservational practices prevalent in the current scenario of fungal depletion. The paper concludes with a comprehensive evaluation of the discrete therapeutic capabilities possessed by <i>C. sinensis</i>, the mechanistic insights into the remarkable treatment of chronic ailments using the fungus or its derivatives, and a suggested strategic roadmap that may be adopted for fruitful conservation of this natural miracle.</p>","PeriodicalId":49344,"journal":{"name":"Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung Section C-A Journal of Biosciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142330900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Georgi G Antov, Zlatina I Gospodinova, Miroslav Novakovic, Vele Tesevic, Natalia A Krasteva, Danail V Pavlov, Stefka V Valcheva-Kuzmanova
{"title":"Molecular mechanisms of the anticancer action of fustin isolated from <i>Cotinus coggygria</i> Scop. in MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer cell line.","authors":"Georgi G Antov, Zlatina I Gospodinova, Miroslav Novakovic, Vele Tesevic, Natalia A Krasteva, Danail V Pavlov, Stefka V Valcheva-Kuzmanova","doi":"10.1515/znc-2024-0140","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/znc-2024-0140","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of the present work was to investigate some of the molecular mechanisms and targets of the anticancer action of the bioflavonoid fustin isolated from the heartwood of <i>Cotinus coggygria</i> Scop. in the triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. For this purpose, we applied fluorescence microscopy analysis to evaluate apoptosis, necrosis, and mitochondrial integrity, wound healing assay to study fustin antimigratory potential and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to analyze the expression of genes associated with cell cycle control, programmed cell death, metastasis, and epigenetic alterations. A complex network-based bioinformatic analysis was also employed for protein-protein network construction, hub genes identification, and functional enrichment. The results revealed a significant induction of early and late apoptotic and necrotic events, a slight alteration of the mitochondria-related fluorescence, and marked antimotility effect after fustin treatment. Of 34 analyzed genes, seven fustin targets were identified, of which <i>CDKN1A</i>, <i>ATM</i>, and <i>MYC</i> were significantly enriched in pathways such as cell cycle, intrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway in response to DNA damage and generic transcription pathway. Our findings outline some molecular mechanisms of the anticancer action of fustin pointing it out as a potential oncotherapeutic agent and provide directions for future <i>in vivo</i> research.</p>","PeriodicalId":49344,"journal":{"name":"Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung Section C-A Journal of Biosciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142330913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohamed Mohany, Jamshed Ali, Abdul Wahab, Fozia Fozia, Syed Majid Shah, Rukhsana Gul, Ahmad Gul, Ijaz Ahmad, Marija Milošević, Salim S Al-Rejaie, Mourad A M Aboul-Soud
{"title":"Green synthesized AgNPs of the <i>Anchusa arvensis</i> aqueous extract resulting in impressive protein kinase, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities.","authors":"Mohamed Mohany, Jamshed Ali, Abdul Wahab, Fozia Fozia, Syed Majid Shah, Rukhsana Gul, Ahmad Gul, Ijaz Ahmad, Marija Milošević, Salim S Al-Rejaie, Mourad A M Aboul-Soud","doi":"10.1515/znc-2024-0148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/znc-2024-0148","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study focused on analyzing the pharmacological activities of AgNPs synthesized from an aqueous plant extract of <i>Anchusa arvensis</i>. The effectiveness of AgNPs was evaluated for protein kinase inhibition, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal activities. The AgNPs and plant were used to regulate the protein kinase activity using the liquid TSB and ISP4 medium protein kinase inhibition study demonstrated that nanoparticles exhibited a larger zone of inhibition (9.1 ± 0.8) compared to the plant extract (8.1 ± 0.6). The antioxidant activity was assessed using DPPH reagent, and the results indicated that AgNPs displayed potent free radical scavenging properties. In terms of antibacterial activity, AgNPs showed higher efficacy against <i>Enterobacter aerogens</i> (20.1 ± 0.9), <i>Bordetella bronchiseptaca</i> (19.1 ± 0.9), and <i>Salmonella typhimurium</i> (17.2 ± 0.8) at 4 mg/mL. The antifungal activity of AgNPs was prominent against <i>Aspergillus fumagatus</i> (14.1 ± 0.9), <i>Mucor species</i> (19.2 ± 0.8), and <i>Fusarium solani</i> (11.2 ± 0.8) at 20 mg/mL. These findings suggest that AgNPs possess multiple beneficial properties, including bactericidal/fungicidal effects, protein kinase inhibition, and potential free radical scavenging abilities. Therefore, AgNPs have potential applications in various fields, such as biomedicine and industry, due to their ability to counteract the harmful effects of free radicals.</p>","PeriodicalId":49344,"journal":{"name":"Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung Section C-A Journal of Biosciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142330901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Characterization and antimicrobial activity of essential oils extracted from lemongrass (<i>Cymbopogon flexuosus</i>) using microwave-assisted hydro distillation.","authors":"Krishnendu Adhikary, Saurav Barman, Pradipta Banerjee, Pallav Mondal, Bomba Dam, Arijit Misra, Narayan Chandra Mandal, Debosmita Mukherjee, Bidyut Bandyopadhyay, Rajkumar Maiti","doi":"10.1515/znc-2024-0095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/znc-2024-0095","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lemongrass (<i>Cymbopogon flexuosus</i>) essential oil (LGEO) contains α-citral, β-citral and other phytochemicals extracted using various methods. This research extracted essential oils using steam distillation (SD) and microwave-assisted hydro distillation (MAHD) to maximize quantity and purity. LGEO was tested for antibacterial properties. LGEO was extracted using SD and compared to MAHD output based on oil production and chemical composition. We performed GCMS to characterize LGEO. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) used for quantum chemical analysis. Spectroscopic analysis showed that SD extracted secondary metabolites (ethyl-linalool, isogeranial, β-citral, α-citral, geranyl acetate, and caryophyllene) yielded 9.7 %, 11.5 %, 35.4 %, 13.4 %, 6.4 %, and 6.4 %, respectively, while MAHD yielded 10.2 %, 13.4 %, 43.2 %, 17.3 %, 6.9 %, and 7.3 %. MAHD extracted α and β citral content was better than SD extraction technique. FTIR spectroscopy and quantum chemistry analysis showed extracted oil chemical composition, electronic structure of α and β citral isomers. In the disc-diffusion experiment, both extracts were effective against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and harmful fungi. LGEO from SD and MAHD extraction (30 mg/mL) demonstrated disc diffusion assay antibacterial efficacy against microorganisms. The two extracts effectively inhibited microorganisms with MIC values of 3.75 and 7.5 μg/mL. It can be concluded that, LGEO have greater antimicrobial activity in MAHD extraction.</p>","PeriodicalId":49344,"journal":{"name":"Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung Section C-A Journal of Biosciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142330899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bhupendra G Prajapati, Jai Bharti Sharma, Ashutosh Pareek, Rahul Garg, Pushpendra Kumar Saini, Devesh U Kapoor
{"title":"Exploring the functionality of fluorescent liposomes in cancer: diagnosis and therapy.","authors":"Bhupendra G Prajapati, Jai Bharti Sharma, Ashutosh Pareek, Rahul Garg, Pushpendra Kumar Saini, Devesh U Kapoor","doi":"10.1515/znc-2024-0144","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/znc-2024-0144","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fluorescent liposomes are pivotal in cancer research, serving as adaptable vehicles for imaging and therapeutics. These small lipid vesicles, capable of encapsulating fluorescent dyes, offer precise visualization and monitoring of their targeted delivery to cancer cells. This review delves into the critical role fluorescent liposomes play in enhancing both cancer diagnosis and treatment. It provides an in-depth analysis of their structural features, fluorescent labeling techniques, targeting strategies, and the challenges and opportunities they present. In the domain of cancer diagnosis, the article sheds light on various imaging modalities enabled by fluorescent liposomes, including fluorescence imaging and multimodal techniques. Emphasis is placed on early detection strategies, exhibiting the utility of targeted contrast agents and biomarker recognition for enhanced diagnostic precision. Moving on to cancer treatment, the review discusses the sophisticated drug delivery mechanisms facilitated by fluorescent liposomes, focusing on chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy. Moreover, the exploration extends to targeted therapy, explaining the applications of fluorescent liposomes in gene delivery and RNA interference. In a nutshell, his article comprehensively explores the multifaceted impact of fluorescent liposomes on advancing cancer diagnosis and treatment, combining existing knowledge with emerging trends.</p>","PeriodicalId":49344,"journal":{"name":"Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung Section C-A Journal of Biosciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142299406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tolessa Duguma, Yadessa Melaku, Daniel Rentsch, Akalu Terfa, Kebede Shenkute
{"title":"<i>In vitro</i> antibacterial activities, DPPH radical scavenging, and molecular simulation of isolated compounds from the leaves of <i>Rhus ruspolii</i>.","authors":"Tolessa Duguma, Yadessa Melaku, Daniel Rentsch, Akalu Terfa, Kebede Shenkute","doi":"10.1515/znc-2024-0127","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/znc-2024-0127","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Rhus ruspolii</i> Engl. plant is traditionally used in Ethiopia to treat various diseases. However, the biological and phytochemical properties of the leaves are not well documented. Hence, this study aimed to isolate phytochemicals from <i>R. ruspolii</i> leaves and evaluate their antibacterial and DPPH radical scavenging activities. GC-MS analysis identified 16 compounds from combined fractions 6-10. Chromatographic separation and NMR analysis resulted in the isolation and characterization of palmitic acid (<b>7</b>), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (<b>17</b>), cupressuflavone (<b>18)</b>, amentoflavone (<b>19</b>), shikimic acid (<b>20</b>), avicularin (<b>21</b>), and myricetin-3-O-5''-acetylarabinofuranoside (<b>22</b>). The inhibition zones of extracts (100 mg/mL) and isolated compounds (5 mg/mL) ranged from 8.33 ± 0.50 to 16.33 ± 0.47 mm against all evaluated bacteria. Of all isolated compounds, compounds <b>18</b> and <b>21</b> showed good activity against Gram-negative (supported by <i>in silico</i> molecular docking studies) and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively. The lowest (49.1 %) and the highest (91.3 %) DPPH radicals were inhibited by combined fractions 6-10 and compound <b>17</b>, respectively, at 62.5 μg/mL. The SwissADME online analysis showed compounds <b>17</b> and <b>20</b> have good solubility and permeability. The Pro Tox 3.0 online analysis revealed none of the isolated compounds are fatal if swallowed. Therefore, the findings of this study support the traditional use of the plant for treating bacteria diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":49344,"journal":{"name":"Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung Section C-A Journal of Biosciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142299404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nourishment beyond grains: unveiling the multifaceted contributions of millets to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.","authors":"Akash Kumar, Jhilam Pramanik, Aarzoo Jangra, Bhupendra Prajapati, Shiv Kumar, Rahul Mehra","doi":"10.1515/znc-2024-0096","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/znc-2024-0096","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>United Nations General Assembly declared that 2023 will be celebrated as the International Year of Millets. Millets are a group of coarse grains from the Poaceae family that offer numerous benefits that align with various United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). This review explores diverse contributions of millet cultivation, consumption, and value addition with UN SDGs. The millets help in combating hunger by providing economical sources of essential nutrients and diversifying diets, improving health through mitigating malnutrition and diet-related diseases. Millet's lower water demand and resilience to climatic stress help in sustainable water management. Millets reduce the risks associated with monoculture farming and promote sustainable agricultural practices. Similarly, millet plants need few chemical fertilizers, and the ecological damage associated with these plants is minimized. Millets can prevent soil degradation and conserve biodiversity. They can adapt to diverse cropping systems and support sustainable land practices. Millet cultivation reduces inequalities by empowering smallholder farmers and maintaining economic balance. The cultivation and trading of millets promote partnerships among governments, NGOs, and businesses for sustainable development. The ability of millet to contribute to poverty reduction, hunger alleviation, health improvement, environmental sustainability, and economic development makes millet a sustainable choice for a better world.</p>","PeriodicalId":49344,"journal":{"name":"Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung Section C-A Journal of Biosciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141908155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial: Chitin structures and pathways as targets for biopesticides and drugs.","authors":"Klaus H Hoffmann","doi":"10.1515/znc-2024-2001","DOIUrl":"10.1515/znc-2024-2001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49344,"journal":{"name":"Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung Section C-A Journal of Biosciences","volume":" ","pages":"93-94"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141421598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing microbial fuel cell performance through microbial immobilization.","authors":"Yana Mersinkova, Hyusein Yemendzhiev","doi":"10.1515/znc-2023-0175","DOIUrl":"10.1515/znc-2023-0175","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bio-electrochemical Systems (BES), particularly Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC), have emerged as promising technologies in environmental biotechnology. This study focused on optimizing the anode bacterial culture immobilization process to enhance BES performance. The investigation combines and modifies two key immobilization methods: covalent bonding with glutaraldehyde and inclusion in a chitosan gel in order to meet the criteria and requirements of the bio-anodes in MFC. The performance of MFCs with immobilized and suspended cultures was compared in parallel experiments. Both types showed similar substrate utilization dynamics with slight advantage of the immobilized bio-anode considering the lower concentration of biomass. The immobilized MFC exhibited higher power generation and metabolic activity, as well. Probably, this is due to improved anodic respiration and higher coulombic efficiency of the reactor. Analysis of organic acids content supported this conclusion showing significant inhibition of the fermentation products production in the MFC reactor with immobilized anode culture.</p>","PeriodicalId":49344,"journal":{"name":"Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung Section C-A Journal of Biosciences","volume":" ","pages":"149-153"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141312112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Controlled delivery of nikkomycin by PEG coated PLGA nanoparticles inhibits chitin synthase to prevent growth of <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> and <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i>.","authors":"Kamal Mayattu, Vandana Ghormade","doi":"10.1515/znc-2023-0185","DOIUrl":"10.1515/znc-2023-0185","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Aspergillosis is one of the most common fungal infections that can threaten individuals with immune compromised condition. Due to the increasing resistance of pathogens to the existing antifungal drugs, it is difficult to tackle such disease conditions. Whereas, nikkomycin is an emerging safe and effective antifungal drug which causes fungal cell wall disruption by inhibiting chitin synthase. Hence, the study aims at the development of nikkomycin loaded PEG coated PLGA nanoparticles for its increased antifungal efficiency and inhibiting <i>Aspergillus</i> infections. The P-PLGA-Nik NPs were synthesized by w/o/w double emulsification method which resulted in a particle size of 208.3 ± 15 nm with a drug loading of 52.97 %. The NPs showed first order diffusion-controlled drug release which was sustained for 24 h. These nanoparticle's antifungal efficacy was tested using the CLSI - M61 guidelines and the MIC<sub>50</sub> defined against <i>Aspergillus flavus</i> and <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i> was found to be >32 μg/ml which was similar to the nikkomycin MIC. The hyphal tip bursting showed the fungal cell wall disruption. The non-cytotoxic and non-haemolytic nature highlights the drug safety profile.</p>","PeriodicalId":49344,"journal":{"name":"Zeitschrift Fur Naturforschung Section C-A Journal of Biosciences","volume":" ","pages":"155-162"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141263308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}