Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Six Extracts Using Protein-Based Biomimetic Methods.

Medicinal plants are a valuable reservoir of novel pharmacologically active compounds. ROS and free radicals are primary contributors to oxidative stress, a condition associated with the onset of degenerative diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease, and vascular disease. In this study, we used different spectrophotometry methods to demonstrate the antioxidant properties of 6 extracts: ; ; : Arieș red cultivar of , and white variety of ; ; and subsp.

Pharmacological Potential of Three Berberine-Containing Plant Extracts Obtained from L., (Pursh) Nutt., and Rupr.

Three berberine-containing plant extracts were investigated for their pharmacological properties. The stems and leaves of , , and were characterized through scanning electron microscopy. The plant extracts obtained from fresh stem barks were further analyzed through high-performance liquid chromatography, revealing berberine concentrations, among berbamine and palmatine.

Redox Reactivity of Nonsymbiotic Phytoglobins towards Nitrite.

Nonsymbiotic phytoglobins (nsHbs) are a diverse superfamily of hemoproteins grouped into three different classes (1, 2, and 3) based on their sequences. Class 1 Hb are expressed under hypoxia, osmotic stress, and/or nitric oxide exposure, while class 2 Hb are induced by cold stress and cytokinins. Both are mainly six-coordinated.

Phytochemical Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity of Several Extracts.

Microbial infections affect both the human population and animals. The appearance of more and more microbial strains resistant to classical treatments led to the need to develop new treatments. plants are known for their antimicrobial properties due to their high content of thiosulfinates, especially allicin, polyphenols or flavonoids.

Selective Attachment of Polyethylene Glycol to Hemerythrin for Potential Use in Blood Substitutes.

Due to its ability to reversibly bind O, alongside a relatively low redox reactivity and a limited cytotoxicity, the oxygen-carrying protein hemerythrin has been considered as an alternative to hemoglobin in preparing blood substitutes. In order to increase the hydrodynamic volume and lower antigenicity, two site-directed variants, H82C and K92C, were engineered that contained a single cysteine residue on the surface of each hemerythrin octamer for the specific attachment of polyethylene glycol (PEG). A sulfhydryl-reactive PEGylation reagent with a 51.

Novel simultaneous determination of alliin and allicin in Allium sp. using digital subtraction HPTLC.

Allicin is a major thiosulfinate found in garlic and other Allium sp. and it is responsible for their pungent aroma. It is formed during the tissue lysis of garlic, by the initial action of alliinase upon alliin, the major cysteine sulfoxide.

Gadolinium Accumulation and Toxicity on In Vitro Grown A Case-Study on Gadobutrol.

Gadolinium-based contrast agents are molecular complexes which are extensively used for diagnostic purposes. Apart from their tremendous contribution to disease diagnostics, there are several issues related to their use. They are extremely stable complexes and potential contaminants of surface and ground waters, an issue which is documented worldwide.

Chromatographic Determination of Total Selenium in Biofortified following Piazselenol Formation and Micro-Solid-Phase Extraction.

Herein, a method based on selective piazselenol formation is applied for total selenium determination in biofortified species. Piazselenol is formed by reacting Se(IV) with an aromatic diamine, namely 4-nitro-1,2-phenylenediamine, in acidic medium. Samples were digested in a nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide open system, followed by selenate reduction in hydrochloric acid.

Remodeling tumor microenvironment by liposomal codelivery of DMXAA and simvastatin inhibits malignant melanoma progression.

Anti-angiogenic therapies for melanoma have not yet been translated into meaningful clinical benefit for patients, due to the development of drug-induced resistance in cancer cells, mainly caused by hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) overexpression and enhanced oxidative stress mediated by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Our previous study demonstrated synergistic antitumor actions of simvastatin (SIM) and 5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid (DMXAA) on an in vitro melanoma model via suppression of the aggressive phenotype of melanoma cells and inhibition of TAMs-mediated angiogenesis. Therefore, we took the advantage of long circulating liposomes (LCL) superior tumor targeting capacity to efficiently deliver SIM and DMXAA to B16.

The Phytochemical Analysis of L. Species Leaf Extracts Is Correlated with the Antioxidant, Antibacterial, and Antitumor Effects.

The phytochemical analysis of , , , and var. leaf extracts showed species-dependent antioxidant, antibacterial, and cytotoxic effects correlated with the identified phytoconstituents. Vincamine was present in , , and var.

Phytochemical Analysis and In Vitro Effects of L. and L. Extracts on Human Normal and Tumor Cell Lines: A Comparative Study.

L. (garlic bulbs) and L. (Welsh onion leaves) showed quantitative differences of identified compounds: allicin and alliin (380 µg/mL and 1410 µg/mL in garlic; 20 µg/mL and 145 µg/mL in Welsh onion), and the phenolic compounds (chlorogenic acid, -coumaric acid, ferulic acid, gentisic acid, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, kaempferol, isoquercitrin, quercitrin, quercetin, and rutin).

Finding specific peaks (markers) using fuzzy divisive hierarchical associative-clustering based on the chromatographic profiles of medicinal plant extracts obtained at various detection wavelengths.

Advanced chemometric methods, such as fuzzy c-means (FCM), a fuzzy divisive hierarchical clustering algorithm (FDHC), and fuzzy divisive hierarchical associative-clustering (FDHAC), which offer the excellent possibility to associate each fuzzy partition of samples with a fuzzy set of characteristics (features), have been successfully applied in this study. FDHAC, a method that utilizes specific regions of chromatographic fingerprints or specific peaks as a fuzzy set of characteristics, was effectively applied to the characterization and classification of medicinal plant extracts according to their antioxidant capacities, using their chromatographic profiles monitored at 242, 260, 280, 320, 340, and 380 nm via HPLC with a multistep isocratic and gradient elution system and diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). What is quite new is the partitioning of the chromatographic retention time ranges and peaks (markers) and their association with different plant extract samples with high, moderate or low antioxidant capacity.

Excess Ascorbate is a Chemical Stress Agent against Proteins and Cells.

Excess ascorbate (as expected in intravenous treatment proposed for COVID-19 management, for example) oxidizes and/or degrades hemoglobin and albumin, as evidenced by UV-vis spectroscopy, gel electrophoresis, and mass spectrometry. It also degrades hemoglobin in intact blood or in isolated erythrocytes. The survival rates and metabolic activities of several leukocyte subsets implicated in the antiviral cellular immune response are also affected.

Sugar matters: sugar moieties as reactivity-tuning factors in quercetin O-glycosides.

Quercetin, one of the most abundant flavonoids in plant-based foods, commonly occurs in nature in various glycosylated forms. There is still a less explored aspect regarding the cause of diversity of its glycosides, depending on the sugar moiety attached. This work focuses on four wide-spread quercetin glycosides-hyperoside, isoquercitrin, quercitrin and rutin-by testing the property-tuning capacity of different sugar moieties and thus explains and predicts some of their functions in plant-based foods.

The Synergistic Antitumor Effect of 5-Fluorouracil Combined with Allicin against Lung and Colorectal Carcinoma Cells.

5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is an anticancer drug used to inhibit the proliferation of many different tumor cells. Since severe events are associated with this compound, its combination with different anticancer drugs or adjuvants would allow the use of a significantly lower dose of 5-FU. In this study, we highlighted that the combination of allicin with 5-FU inhibited the cell migration and proliferation of colorectal and lung cancer cells.

Comprehensive evaluation of radical scavenging, reducing power and chelating capacity of free proteinogenic amino acids using spectroscopic assays and multivariate exploratory techniques.

Among others, amino acids can inhibit oxidative processes through multiple pathways including inactivation of reactive oxygen species, scavenging free radicals, chelation of pro-oxidative transition metals, as well as reduction of hydroperoxides. Moreover, they can be a major target for oxidants as a result of their abundance in biological systems. The purpose of the present study is to examine the radical scavenging, reducing power and chelating capacity of the free proteinogenic amino acids, using several analytical assays based on different mechanisms and monitored via molecular UV-vis absorption spectrophotometry.

Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Low-Power 915 MHz Unmodulated Radiation on Phaseolus vulgaris L.

The morphophysiological response of Phaseolus vulgaris L. to low-power electromagnetic radiation was investigated in order to assess the potential harmful effects of long-term continuous exposure. The plants were grown in two separate electromagnetic field (EMF) shielded rooms, in a controlled, greenhouse-like environment.

"Yellow" laccase from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a blue laccase that enhances its substrate affinity by forming a reversible tyrosyl-product adduct.

Yellow laccases lack the typical blue type 1 Cu absorption band around 600 nm; however, multi-copper oxidases with laccase properties have been reported. We provide the first evidence that the yellow laccase isolated from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is obtained from a blue form by covalent, but nevertheless reversible modification with a phenolic product. After separating the phenolics from the extracellular medium, a typical blue laccase is obtained.

The strange case of polyphenols inhibiting the Briggs-Rauscher reaction: pH-modulated reactivity of the superoxide radical.

Superoxide radical is one of the main players when it comes to oxidative stress. Even if in itself is moderately reactive and can cause the degradation of very few biologically relevant macromolecules, it can dismutate to hydrogen peroxide followed by a possible conversion to hydroxyl radical. In order to protect the internal environment against reactive oxygen species, plants have evolved a line of defence made from secondary metabolites with versatile redox properties, such as flavonoids and phenolic acids.

EPR detection of sulfanyl radical during sulfhemoglobin formation - Influence of catalase.

Hemoglobin in its ferryl form oxidizes hydrogen sulfide and is transformed to sulfhemoglobin, where the sulfur is inserted covalently at the heme edge. Shown here is evidence that-as previously proposed by others-this process involves oxidation of hydrogen sulfide to a sulfanyl radical detectable by spin-trapping in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The yields and rates of formation of sulfhemoglobin as well as of the sulfanyl radical are affected by the same factors that affect the reactivity of hemoglobin ferryl, in bovine hemoglobin and in phytoglobins as well.

Redox control and autoxidation of class 1, 2 and 3 phytoglobins from Arabidopsis thaliana.

Despite a recent increase in interest towards phytoglobins and their importance in plants, much is still unknown regarding their biochemical/biophysical properties and physiological roles. The present study presents data on three recombinant Arabidopsis phytoglobins in terms of their UV-vis and Raman spectroscopic characteristics, redox state control, redox potentials and autoxidation rates. The latter are strongly influenced by pH for all three hemoglobins - (with a fundamental involvement of the distal histidine), as well as by added anion concentrations - suggesting either a process dominated by nucleophilic displacement of superoxide for AtHb2 or an inhibitory effect for AtHb1 and AtHb3.

Phytochemical Analysis of Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Effects of Flower and Fruit Extracts.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are interlinked processes. The aim of the study was to perform a phytochemical analysis and to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of ethanolic flower (MF), green fruit (MGF), and ripe fruit (MRF) extracts. Plant extract chemical composition was evaluated by HLPC.