Biochemistry Research International最新文献

{"title":"Physiochemical, Insecticidal, and Antidiabetic Activities of <i>Senna occidentalis</i> Linn Root.","authors":"Tahani Osman Issa,&nbsp;Ahmed Ibrahim Mohamed Ahmed,&nbsp;Yahya Sulieman Mohamed,&nbsp;Sakina Yagi,&nbsp;Abdelrafie Mohamed Makhawi,&nbsp;Tarig Osman Khider","doi":"10.1155/2020/8810744","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8810744","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The present study aimed to investigate the physiochemical activities of <i>Senna occidentalis</i> (Linn) roots and phytochemicals as insecticidal (ethyl acetate and methanol) and antidiabetic (ethanolic extract) activities. Physicochemical properties were carried out by using Association of Official Analytical Chemist methods; thin layer chromatography was carried out according to the Stahl method. Larvicidal activity and LD₅₀ were studied against the third instar of <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i> mosquito larvae to detect and extract toxicity. The ethanolic extracts of the roots were orally tested at the dose 200 mg/kg for the hypoglycemic effect on induced hyperglycemia in normal rats, assessed in the ethanol extract, and were compared with diabetic control and standards glibenclamide 10 mg/kg. Physiochemical parameters showed high rate in the nitrogen-free extract (69.6%), curd fiber (14.5%), crude proteins (8.15%), ether extract (3.75%), and both ash and moisture (2%), and high concentrations values were found in potassium (43 mg/l) followed by phosphorous (28.5 mg/l), calcium (15 mg/l), sodium (3.65 mg/l), and magnesium (0.145 mg/l). In this part, phytochemical compounds showed high amount of alkaloids, triterpene, flavonoids, tannins, sugars, and few amount of anthraquinone glycosides. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) studies different colored phytochemical constituted with different Rf values. All the spots are colored under UV light, but some are localized colorless after spaying. The ethyl acetate (EtAc) extract showed eight spots, and the methanol (MeOH) extract showed thirteen spots. The larvicidal activity showed that the ethyl acetate extract was safe against mosquito larvae with an LD₅₀ value 1412.54 (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and the methanol extract had moderate larvicidal activity against mosquito larvae with an LD₅₀ value 257.54 (<i>p</i> < 0.05), while the ethanolic extract of <i>Senna occidentalis</i> (L.) causes a favorable hypoglycemic activity when compared to control significant reduction by [53.15%, 32.87%, and 20.94%], respectively, as well as standard glibenclamide. Based on the various data of the physicochemical parameters, TLC spots, and phytochemical compounds of <i>Senna occidentalis</i> root, they could be used as references standards for manufacturing units of <i>Senna occidentalis</i> root larvicidal and antidiabetic drugs.</p>","PeriodicalId":8826,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"8810744"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2020-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/8810744","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38452349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison between Conventional Decalcification and a Microwave-Assisted Method in Bone Tissue Affected with Mycetoma.","authors":"Magdi Mansour Salih","doi":"10.1155/2020/6561980","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6561980","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mycetoma is a lifelong granulomatous disease of subcutaneous tissues and bones. Histopathology is a substantiated indicative method based on the assumption of a definitive diagnosis of mycetoma. It requires efficient processing of tissues including bone decalcification. The decalcification process must ensure complete removal of calcium and also a proper preservation of tissue and microorganisms' staining ability. <i>Objectives</i>. To compare the conventional method used in decalcification with the microwave method using different decalcification solutions. Different characteristics were tested, including the speed of decalcification and morphological and fungal preservation in bone tissue affected with mycetoma. <i>Materials and Methods</i>. Three decalcification solutions were employed to remove calcium from 50 bone tissue samples affected with mycetoma, including 10% neutral buffered EDTA (pH 7.4), 5% nitric acid, and 5% hydrochloric acid. Conventional and microwave methods were used. Haematoxylin-eosin (HE) stain, Gridley's stain, and Grocott hexamine-silver stain were employed to evaluate the bone and fungi morphologies. <i>Results</i>. The decalcification time of the conventional method compared with the microwave method with 10% EDTA (pH 7.4) took 120 hours and 29 hours, while 5% hydrochloric acid and 5% nitric acid took 8 hours and 3 hours, separately. Also, 10% EDTA is the best decalcifying agent for HE staining and fungal stains. 5% hydrochloric acid and 5% nitric acid can be used for fungal staining. <i>Conclusion</i>. The current study investigated the effects of different decalcifying agents as well as two decalcification procedures on the preservation of the bone structure and fungal staining, which will help to develop suitable protocols for the analyses of the bone tissue affected with mycetoma infection.</p>","PeriodicalId":8826,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"6561980"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/6561980","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38300684","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimization of Liquid Culture Condition of a Novel Fungus <i>Hygrophoropsis</i> sp. and Antioxidant Activity of Extracts.","authors":"Liang Huang,&nbsp;Chunxia Li,&nbsp;Ning Sun,&nbsp;Yu Wang,&nbsp;Hongpeng Yang,&nbsp;Yiting Li,&nbsp;Litong Ban","doi":"10.1155/2020/7403257","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7403257","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To evaluate pharmacological activities of a novel fungus <i>Hygrophoropsis</i> sp., the influence of aeration rate on the production of mycelial biomass, exopolysaccharides (EPS), and intrapolysaccharides (IPS) in the fungus <i>Hygrophoropsis</i> sp. was investigated. And the water extracts of cultured <i>Hygrophoropsis</i> sp. mycelia and the fermentation broth were analyzed for their antioxidation activity by using four different assay methods such as hydroxyl radical scavenging, superoxide radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, and reducing power. The <i>Hygrophoropsis</i> sp. was cultivated under various aeration rates in a 7 l bioreactor. The highest mycelial biomass (3.98 mg/mL) and IPS production (19.63 mg/g) were obtained at aeration rate 4.5 v.v.m. The results showed that <i>Hygrophoropsis</i> sp., in general, possesses a strong antioxidation activity in all assays tested. The deproteinized extracts had stronger antioxidation activity as compared to the un-deproteinized extracts by using superoxide radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, and reducing power. Besides, the un-deproteinized extracts had stronger antioxidation activity as compared to the deproteinized extracts by using hydroxyl radical scavenging. Thus, the polysaccharide extractions from the <i>Hygrophoropsis</i> sp. studied have antioxidant activities <i>in vitro</i>, which may be a good source of natural antioxidants or further investigation as potential natural antioxidants.</p>","PeriodicalId":8826,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"7403257"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/7403257","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38300685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Construction and Investigation of MicroRNA-mRNA Regulatory Network of Gastric Cancer with <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> Infection.","authors":"Ping Yang,&nbsp;Junjie Liu,&nbsp;Tianci Yang,&nbsp;Lei Zhang,&nbsp;Peiyou Gong,&nbsp;Boqing Li,&nbsp;Xiuzhi Zhou","doi":"10.1155/2020/6285987","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6285987","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong><i>Helicobacter pylori</i> (<i>H. pylori</i>) is a common human pathogen, which is closely correlated with gastric cancer (GC). However, the mechanism of <i>H. pylori</i>-related GC has not been elucidated. This study aimed to explore the role of <i>H. pylori</i> infection in GC and find biomarkers for early diagnosis of <i>H. pylori</i>-related GC.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We identified differentially expressed microRNAs (DEMs) and genes (DEGs) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset, constructed microRNA-(miRNA-)mRNA expression networks, analyzed the function and signal pathway of cross-genes, analyzed the relations between cross-genes and GC prognosis with the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data, and verified the expression of cross-genes in patients with <i>H. pylor</i>i infection.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>22 DEMs and 68 DEGs were identified in GSE197694 and GSE27411 dataset. 16 miRNAs and 509 genes were involved in the expression network, while the cross-genes of the network were mainly enriched in MAP kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway and TGF-beta signaling pathway. Patients with higher expression of hsa-miR-196b-3p, CALML4, or SMAD6 or lower expression of PITX2 or TGFB2 had better outcomes than those with lower expression of hsa-miR-196b-3p, CALML4, or SMAD6 or higher expression of PITX2 or TGFB2 (<i>P</i> < 0.05). Patients with <i>H. pylori</i> infection had a higher expression of hsa-miR-196b-3p and CALML4 than those without <i>H. pylori</i> infection (<i>P</i> < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The study of miRNA-mRNA expression network would provide molecular support for early diagnosis and treatment of <i>H. pylori</i>-related GC.</p>","PeriodicalId":8826,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"6285987"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/6285987","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38269456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association between Visceral Fat and Bone Mineral Density in Both Male and Female Patients with Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency.","authors":"Linman Li,&nbsp;Li Zhong,&nbsp;Xiaoya Zheng,&nbsp;Wenyi You,&nbsp;Yunting Wang,&nbsp;Jihui Yu,&nbsp;Xun Wu,&nbsp;Wei Ren,&nbsp;Gangyi Yang","doi":"10.1155/2020/5079625","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/5079625","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>Adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD) is associated with an increased risk of fractures. The interactions between various body composition and bone are known to be complex in nature. However, very few studies have examined this crosstalk in AGHD. In this study, we sought to investigate the relationship between various parameters of body composition and bone mineral density (BMD) as well as determine the role of visceral fat in determining the bone mass in patients with AGHD.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a cross-sectional study on 57 patients with AGHD. Anthropometry, biochemistry, and analysis of body composition and BMD were performed according to standard protocols. Male and female patients were classified into those with osteoporosis and those without osteoporosis (normal subjects and patients with osteopenia). Further, we analyzed the correlation between the BMD and measurements obtained for various body composition parameters in male and female AGHD patients.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our findings indicated that among female AGHD patients, those with osteoporosis had a significantly higher levels of fat mass (FM) and visceral adipose tissue mass (VATM) (both, <i>P</i> < 0.05) than those without osteoporosis. Further, Pearson correlation analysis showed that the values of age, body mass index (BMI), FM, and VATM correlated negatively with BMD in women with AGHD (all <i>P</i> < 0.05); however, this association was not noted in men. After adjusting for the other covariates, VATM was found to be independently correlated with the BMD in female patients with AGHD.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>A close correlation was noted between VATM and BMD in female patients with AGHD.</p>","PeriodicalId":8826,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"5079625"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/5079625","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38178373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of the Essential Oil of Moroccan <i>Tetraclinis articulata</i> (Vahl) Masters.","authors":"Halima Rabib,&nbsp;Chaimaa Elagdi,&nbsp;Mohammed Hsaine,&nbsp;Hassan Fougrach,&nbsp;Tayeb Koussa,&nbsp;Wadi Badri","doi":"10.1155/2020/9638548","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/9638548","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of essential oil isolated from <i>Tetraclinis articulata</i> (Vahl) leaves, Masters originating in Morocco (Benslimane Region, Atlantic-influenced plain). The analysis of the major compounds of essential oil was performed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, and this oil is dominated by bornyl acetate (35.05%), camphor (11.17%), and <i>α</i>-pinene (10.84%). The antioxidant properties were evaluated by the test of the radical trap 2,2-diphényl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and the antimicrobial activity of <i>T</i>. <i>articulata</i> essential oil was tested against clinical isolates of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, and <i>Escherichia coli</i> which have been inhibited from the 25 <i>μ</i>g/mL.</p>","PeriodicalId":8826,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"9638548"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/9638548","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38185264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Efficacy of Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin-Based Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Case-Control Study in Taiwan.","authors":"Chih-Chiang Hung,&nbsp;Youngsen Yang,&nbsp;I-Chen Tsai,&nbsp;Chiann-Yi Hsu,&nbsp;Chia-Hua Liu,&nbsp;Jie-Ru Yang","doi":"10.1155/2020/5729389","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/5729389","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Breast cancer is a global issue regarding women's health, and high incident rates remain in the Taiwanese female population. Chemotherapy, using anthracycline-based chemotherapeutic agents in neoadjuvant settings, has been introduced as a promising new therapeutic option for treatment of invasive breast cancer. Set apart from conventional anthracycline regimens such as epirubicin, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Lipo-Dox®, PLD) was introduced for providing a justifiable treatment effect, while offering a favorable toxicity profile for breast cancer patients in a metastatic setting. However, the efficacy of PLD in neoadjuvant settings for breast cancer patients has not yet been sufficiently reported. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of PLD-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients using a retrospective matched case-control study. A total of 183 PLD cases and 183 epirubicin-based controls were included after a 1 : 1 ratio case-control matching procedure was held, according to the matching criteria. These criteria included the patient's preoperative clinical stage, molecular subtype, chemotherapy regimen with taxanes prior to surgery, and histological grade. All data were collected according to an institutional review board approved protocol. The study results reported that the PLD and epirubicin groups both obtained similar outcomes in pathologic complete response (pCR), recurrence, and overall survival rate with no statistically significant differences. Overall, the study results demonstrate that PLD-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy offers a similar effect of treatment with a favorable toxicity profile within the study follow-up duration, when compared with conventional epirubicin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":8826,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"5729389"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/5729389","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37927098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Safety and Efficiency of Tirofiban in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Treated with Mechanical Thrombectomy: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.","authors":"Lili Zhao,&nbsp;Yating Jian,&nbsp;Tao Li,&nbsp;Heying Wang,&nbsp;Zhang Lei,&nbsp;Man Sun,&nbsp;Ye Li,&nbsp;Yiheng Zhang,&nbsp;Meijuan Dang,&nbsp;Wang Huqing,&nbsp;Sun Hong,&nbsp;Zhang Ru,&nbsp;Hongxing Zhang,&nbsp;Yi Jia,&nbsp;Luo Guogang,&nbsp;Zhang Guilian","doi":"10.1155/2020/5656173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/5656173","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Limited comparative studies have reported the safety and efficacy of tirofiban in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients after mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Additionally, the available studies are inconsistent with each other, which makes application of tirofiban unclear in neuro-intervention. Here, we performed a comparative retrospective study to investigate whether tirofiban combined with MT improves short- and long-term prognosis in AIS patients and whether its use is associated with complications.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Retrospective data were collected for AIS patients admitted between January 2013 and January 2019 at three stroke centers. According to whether tirofiban was used during the operation, patients were divided into tirofiban group and control group. Multivariate and COX regression analyses were performed to determine the association of tirofiban treatment with safety and efficiency in subjects treated with MT.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>A total of 174 patients were analyzed, of whom 89 (51.1%) were treated with tirofiban. There were no differences in the incidence of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (10.2% <i>vs.</i> 10.6%, <i>p</i>=0.918), parenchymal hemorrhage type 2 (18.0% <i>vs</i>. 16.5%, <i>p</i>=0.793), and reocclusion at 24 h (3.4% <i>vs</i>. 10.6%, <i>p</i>=0.060) between the tirofiban group and control group. Multivariate regression showed that tirofiban was not associated with intracerebral hemorrhage, early neurological deterioration, neurological improvement at 7 days, functional independence at 3-month and 9-month follow-up, or death at 9-month follow-up (adjusted <i>p</i> > 0.05 for all). However, AIS patients treated with MT + tirofiban showed a trend towards acquiring faster functional independence, with a median time to acquire functional independence of 4.0 months compared with 6.5 months in the control group (risk ratio = 1.49, 95% confidence interval 0.98-2.27; long rank <i>p</i>=0.066).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Tirofiban may help AIS patients given MT to gain functional independence faster, without increasing the risk of complications.</p>","PeriodicalId":8826,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"5656173"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/5656173","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37927097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of Tormentic Acid and the Extracts from <i>Callistemon citrinus</i> on the Production of Extracellular Proteases by <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>.","authors":"Rumbidzai Mashezha,&nbsp;Molly Mombeshora,&nbsp;Stanley Mukanganyama","doi":"10.1155/2020/6926320","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6926320","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> is among the common nosocomial pathogens. Antibiotics have been used to treat <i>S. aureus</i> infections. However, there has been increased mortality associated with drug-resistant strains of <i>S. aureus</i>. Extracellular proteases have been implicated to be responsible for the transition of <i>S. aureus</i> from an adhesive pathogen to an invasive pathogen. The development of resistant strains has necessitated the search for new sources of drugs. Plants have been traditionally used as sources of therapeutic molecules. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of tormentic acid and the extracts from <i>Callistemon citrinus</i> on the production of extracellular proteases by <i>S. aureus</i>. The broth microdilution antibacterial susceptibility assay was used to determine the antibacterial effects of tormentic acid and the extracts on <i>S. aureus</i>. Both extracts showed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 50 <i>μ</i>g/ml. The water : ethanol (50 : 50) and the dichloromethane : methanol (50 : 50) extracts were found to be bactericidal against S. <i>aureus</i> at a concentration of 100 <i>μ</i>g/ml and 50 <i>μ</i>g/ml, respectively. The effect of tormentic acid and extracts on extracellular protease production was investigated using the protease assay. A zone of proteolytic activity (Pr) was measured as the ratio of the diameter of the colony to the total diameter of colony plus zone of hydrolysis. The extracts reduced the production of extracellular proteases, while tormentic acid completely inhibited the production of extracellular proteases by <i>S. aureus</i>. The Pr value for tormentic acid was found to be 1. The Pr values of the dichloromethane : methanol extract and the water : ethanol extract were 0.92 and 0.84, respectively. In conclusion, tormentic acid was shown to inhibit extracellular protease production; therefore, there is need to explore its use in antivirulence therapy to combat <i>S. aureus</i> infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":8826,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"6926320"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/6926320","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37927099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Application of <i>Ficus carica</i> L. and <i>Solanum incanum</i> L. Extracts in Coagulation of Milk: The Case of Traditional Practice in Ab'ala Area, Afar Regional State, Ethiopia.","authors":"Welday Desta,&nbsp;Mohammed Shumbahri,&nbsp;Sibhatu Gebrehiwot","doi":"10.1155/2020/9874949","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/9874949","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>People living in and around Ab'ala area of the Afar Regional State, Ethiopia, have a traditional practice of applying <i>Ficus carica</i> leaf and <i>Solanum incanum</i> fruit extracts to milk in order to coagulate it as soon as possible. Thus, to investigate the role of the extracts in the coagulation of milk and their health threats, the milk-clotting activity, phytochemical screening tests, antimicrobial activities by the agar well diffusion method, and heavy metal content by ICP-OES technique were determined. Accordingly, both <i>Ficus carica</i> and <i>Solanum incanum</i> were found to possess phenolics, saponins, and tannins. Likewise, positive tests for flavonoid in <i>Ficus carica</i> and alkaloid in <i>Solanum incanum</i> were observed. However, no terpenoids, glycosides, and oxalates were detected in the plants. Moreover, the crude and concentrated enzyme extracts of the plants exhibited clotting activity. In this regard, the enzyme extracts of <i>Ficus carica</i> were superior with the highest clotting activity of 1.20 U. On the other hand, ethanol and chloroform extracts of the samples showed inhibition zones against all tested microorganisms except their chloroform extract which did not exhibit inhibition against <i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Aspergillus niger</i>. Likewise, the metals Cr, Cd, Mn, Cu, and Fe were detected in the plant samples, with the Mn content of 3.67 ± 0.10 mg per kg of dry weight of the plant in <i>Ficus carica</i> being the highest. Indeed, the level of the heavy metal contents is considerably lower than those maximum permissible limits set by international standards. On the other hand, no Pb and Zn were detected in the plant samples. Therefore, the higher clotting activity of the enzyme extracts was an indicator that enzymes, rather than other phytochemicals, are the most probable agents responsible for the milk-clotting ability of the plants, resulting in the formation of cheese. Furthermore, the growth inhibition to most of the test microbes is a manifestation that bacterial fermentation is not a means of clotting the milk as bacteria introduced to the milk would be killed by the sample extracts. Moreover, the use of the plants in the coagulation process would not pose health threats as far as oxalate and metal toxicity is concerned.</p>","PeriodicalId":8826,"journal":{"name":"Biochemistry Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"9874949"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/9874949","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"37861200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}