Metal stopping reagents facilitate discontinuous activity assays of the de novo purine biosynthesis enzyme PurE.

The conversion of 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (AIR) to 4-carboxy-AIR (CAIR) represents an unusual divergence in purine biosynthesis: microbes and nonmetazoan eukaryotes use class I PurEs while animals use class II PurEs. Class I PurEs are therefore a potential antimicrobial target; however, no enzyme activity assay is suitable for high throughput screening (HTS). Here we report a simple chemical quench that fixes the PurE substrate/product ratio for 24h, as assessed by the Bratton-Marshall assay (BMA) for diazotizable amines.

Antiviral activity of phytochemicals: a comprehensive review.

Numerous numbers of biologically active agents have been identified for their diverse therapeutic functions. Detailed investigations of phytochemicals for antiviral activities have assumed greater importance in the last few decades. A wide variety of active phytochemicals, including the flavonoids, terpenoids, organosulfur compounds, limonoids, lignans, sulphides, polyphenolics, coumarins, saponins, chlorophyllins, furyl compounds, alkaloids, polyines, thiophenes, proteins and peptides have been found to have therapeutic applications against different genetically and functionally diverse viruses.

Comprehensive review of cancer chemopreventive agents evaluated in experimental carcinogenesis models and clinical trials.

Cancer chemoprevention refers to the use of pharmacological agents to inhibit, delay or reverse the multi-step process of carcinogenesis. The last two decades in particular have witnessed explosive growth in this emerging field of cancer chemoprevention. Extensive efforts to evaluate possible application of various chemopreventive agents, in individuals at high risk of neoplastic development have been carried out.