Bioactive phytochemicals in an aqueous extract of the leaves of Talinum triangulare

Biomonitoring and Biomathematical Modeling of Health Risks Associated with Dumpsite Grown Vegetables in Lagos State

Conversion of dumpsites to farm lands in several communities is a usual practice in Nigeria. Wastes accumulate heavy metals in a variety of forms. This study assessed the concentration, degrees of contamination, and attendant health risk of heavy metals (HMs), using two major indigenous vegetables (Amaranthus viridis and Talinum triangulare) grown on five major dumpsites in Lagos state. After wet digestion, the mean concentrations of the HMs in the vegetable samples were evaluated using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Daily intake of metals (DIM), target hazard quotient (THQ), and hazard index (HI) biomathematics were employed in the assessment of non-carcinogenic health risk. Incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) assessment was used to assess carcinogenicity. The obtained result shows that the concentrations of HMs fell within the following ranges: (0.37 to 0.59), (0.07 to 1.36), (0.30 to 1.92), (0.00 to 0.03), and (0.00 to 0.04) mg/kg; for zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), Iron (Fe), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr), respectively, with low to moderate variability. At Ikorodu dumping site, the Pb concentration was above the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible range and has the highest contamination factor. DIM for Pb was also above threshold values (> 1) in both adults and children, while the THQ values for Fe, Pb, and Cd were above 1 (> 1) in both adults and children. HI values for the vegetables exceeded WHO normal range (> 1), except Abule-Egba dumps' samples (70% HI greater than 1 in adults and 90% HI greater than 1 in children). Additionally, the ILCR values of above 50% of the samples were above the WHO (10-6) limits, with the highest value in children (Cd, 1.064 × 10-3) indicating high risk of carcinogenicity over a life time of exposure. Thus, the results revealed great health risk from consumption of vegetables from the four major dumping sites, with children being at greater risk.

Prebiotic effects of Talinum triangulare and Mangifera indica on slow growing broiler chickens (SASSO)

1

The study aim was to evaluate the prebiotic effects of Talinum triangulare and Mangifera indica used on slow growing broiler chickens.

2

Three hundred and sixty (360) slow-growing chicks of four weeks of age and similar weight were selected and divided into four (04) treatments (Positive Control, Negative Control, 2 % T. triangulare and 2 % M. indica) of 6 replicates with, fifteen (15) chicks per replicate, which made ninety (90) chicks per treatment.

3

At 12 week age, blood sample and cecal content were taken from 6 chickens per treatment to determine heamatological profile and fermentation parameters (Short Chain Fatty Acid). The data obtained were submitted to one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the software R version 3.6.2 (R Core Team, 2019).

4

Results showed that growth performance, haematological parameters, acetic, butyric, valeric and caproic acids were similar between broilers fed with the leave powders and the positive control treatment. However, broilers fed with Talinum triangulare and Mangifera indica powders showed a lower mortality rate, compared to the negative and positive control treatments. Moreover, broilers fed with the leave powders showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) formic acid concentration than the other treatments.

5

Talinum triangulare and Mangifera indica leaves could have prebiotic properties because they stimulated the production of short-chain fatty acids that keep animals healthy.

A Review on Bioactive Compounds, Ethnomedicinal Importance and Pharmacological Activities of Talinum triangulare (Jacq.) Willd

Talinum triangulare (Jacq.) Willd. is a traditional leafy vegetable used by tribal communities for ethnomedicinal and ethnoculinary preparations. This article reviews the current knowledge of its multiple uses, including pharmacological activities and nutritional composition. The literature survey shows that it has been traditionally useful in the treatment of several diseases, such as anaemia, diabetes, measles, and ulcers and the preparation of various traditional foods. Analysis of the literature on its phytochemicals shows its richness in bioactive compounds. Further, research also shows that this plant has antidiabetic, antiobesity, antitumor, antiulcer, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective activities besides anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Nutrient analysis of the plant reveals the presence of Ca, Zn, Fe, vitamins C and E, dietary fibre and protein in considerable quantities. The results of the pharmacological studies on the antidiabetic, antiulcer and anti-anaemic activities provide support in favour of its ethnomedicinal uses. The presence of bioactive compounds and pharmacological activities show the usefulness of this plant as a functional food.

Soil washing of total petroleum and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from crude oil-contaminated ultisol using aqueous extracts of waterleaf

Ultisols are acidic soils found in humid climates and are known for poor fertility. Crude oil impacted ultisols, therefore, require special treatment measures to account for nutrient loss during treatment. In this paper, we report the utilization of a food waste, aqueous extracts of waterleaf (Talinum triangulare), as a plant-derived surfactant to wash simulated crude oil-contaminated soils. The soils before and after washing were monitored for microbial loads, nutrient parameters, physicochemical characteristics, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Although higher amounts of PAHs (up to 100%) were removed compared to TPHs (up to 95.7%), the results revealed that the efficiency of the waterleaf extracts was comparable to that of a commercial surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate. However, soils washed with the waterleaf extracts retained some significant amounts of nutrients and favourable pH moderation. In both surfactants, soil microbial loads reduced significantly. Overall, the aqueous waterleaf extracts showed potential as ecofriendly surfactants and nutrients retainer during soil washing of contaminated ultisols.

Cultivation and conservation of underutilized medicinal and agricultural plants in India

In the current era, the increased demand of healthy food rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and those having therapeutic value has led to over-exploitation of major agricultural and medicinal plants. This overburden can be reduced by an efficient utilization of underutilized plants with nutritional and medicinal importance. These underutilized plants are neglected or undervalued ‘minor’ crops having low production and sale. These less documented and less studied group of underutilized plants are considered as a rich source of various phytochemicals and secondary metabolites having bioactive compounds. These underutilized wild herbs that have not gained much attention from commercial as well as scientific community were selected for the present study. The present review elucidates the significance of these plants and recent biotechnological methods to conserve them. The present study on such food and medically important herbs would contribute in a wide recognition of their benefits for our society.

GC-MS Analysis of Bioactive Compounds in Methanolic Extracts of Papaver decaisnei and Determination of Its Antioxidants and Anticancer Activities

The Papaver L. plant (Papaver decaisnei) has ethnobotanical records in many countries including Iraqi Kurdistan. The current study investigates the methanol (99.9%) extracts (10 μg/mL) of roots, leaves, and flowers of Papaver decaisnei in terms of phytochemistry by gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry GC-MS, in vitro antioxidant activity by radical scavenging and reducing power assays, and finally, the anticancer actions as IC50 (inhibitory concentration at 50%) against human colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2), mammary cancer cells (MCF-7), and human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cells. The results showed 22, 19, and 17 chemicals for roots, leaves, and flowers of P. decaisnei, respectively. The prevalent organic compounds of P. decaisnei were alkaloids (62.03%), phenolics (55.43%), fatty acids (42.51%), esters (32.08%), terpenoids (25.59%), and phytosterols (15.68%), namely, roemerine (70.44%), 9,12,15-octadecatrien-1-ol (37.45%), hexadecanoic acid (33.72%), decarbomethoxytabersonine (24.49%), and γ-sitosterol (11.22%). The antioxidant activity of plant organs was within 39.1–143.5 μg/mL for DPPH, 135.4–276.4 μg/mL for ABTS, 12.4–34.3 μg/mL for FRAP, and 42.6–75.8 μg/mL for CUPRAC assays. The anticancer of P. decaisnei was found as 125.3–388.4 μg/mL against all tested cell lines (Caco-2, MCF-7, and HeLa). The detected alkaloids and bioactivity of P. decaisnei encourage future isolation of those remarkable alkaloids (reomerine) for potential usage in the pharmaceutical industry.

Camptothecin shows better promise than Curcumin in the inhibition of the Human Telomerase: A computational study

OBJECTIVES

The Human Telomerase enzyme has become a drug target in the treatment of cancers and age-related disorders. This study aims to identify potential natural inhibitors of the Human Telomerase from compounds derived from edible African plants.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A library of 1,126 natural compounds was molecularly docked against the Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (PDB ID: 5ugw), the catalytic subunit of the target protein. Curcumin, a known Telomerase inhibitor was used as the standard. The front-runner compounds were screened for bioavailability, pharmacokinetic properties, and bioactivity using the SWISSADME, PKCSM, and Molinspiration webservers respectively. The molecular dynamic simulation and analyses of the apo and holo proteins were performed by the Galaxy supercomputing webserver.

RESULTS

The results of the molecular docking and virtual screening reveal Augustamine and Camptothecin as lead compounds. Augustamine has better drug-likeness and pharmacokinetic properties while Camptothecin showed better bioactivity and stronger binding affinity (-8.2 kcal/mol) with the target. The holo structure formed by Camptothecin showed greater inhibitory activity against the target with a total RMSF of 169.853, B-Factor of 20.164, and 108 anti-correlating residues.

CONCLUSION

Though they both act at the same binding site, Camptothecin induces greater Telomerase inhibition and better molecular stability than the standard, Curcumin. Further tests are required to investigate the inhibitory activities of the lead compounds.

Purification and Characterization of Fractions Containing Polysaccharides from Talinum triangulare and Their Immunomodulatory Effects

Previous studies identified that extracts of Talinum triangulare rich in flavonoids and phenolic acids showed antioxidative and immunomodulatory activities. In this study, the L9 orthogonal array was used to determine the optimal extraction conditions for water-extracted polysaccharides of T. triangulare (TTP) by hot reflux extraction and ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE) methods. Results showed that while both extraction methods obtained a maximum polysaccharide yield of 3.1%, the optimal conditions for obtaining TTP was by UAE method. TTP was separated into large (LTTP) and small (STTP) molecular weights by dialysis. Since LTTP showed better effects than STTP in inducing macrophages to produce nitric oxide (NO) and indirectly inhibiting human cervical cancer HeLa cells, six different LTTP fractions were separated using anion-exchange chromatography. Contents of polysaccharides, triterpenoids, polyphenols, and proteins and molecular weights of major polysaccharide in each fraction were analyzed. The F1 fraction of LTTP, which showed the highest inducing ability of mouse RAW264.7 macrophages to secrete NO and tumor necrosis factor-α, showed the most significant indirect inhibitory effect of human colon cancer SW620 cells. These results suggest that LTTP, especially the F1 fraction, of T. triangulare may be used in health foods or Chinese medicine for its immunomodulatory potential.

Natural and synthetic drugs used for the treatment of the dementia

This review is devoted to comparative pharmacological analysis of synthetic drugs such as memantine and its isomers, as well as tacrine, velnacrine, rivastigmine, and donepezil, with natural alkaloids, terpenoids, and triterpenoid peroxides, which are used to treat dementia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, myasthenia gravis and other neurodegenerative diseases. Recently discovered by French scientists from Marseille triterpenoid hydroperoxides demonstrate high activity as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of dementia. The information presented in this review is of great interest to pharmacologists, medical chemists, physiologists, neurologists and doctors, as well as for the pharmaceutical industry.

Lycopene reduces in utero bisphenol A exposure-induced mortality, benefits hormones, and development of reproductive organs in offspring mice

This study was conducted to investigate the protective effect of lycopene on reproductive toxicity induced by in utero exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) in offspring mice. Pregnant mice in the BPA model group were given orally 500 mg/kg/day BPA from pregnant day (PD)8 to PD14. Mice of lycopene group were gavaged with 20 mg/kg/day lycopene from PD1 to PD7 and then given 500 mg/kg/day BPA from PD8 to PD14. Results showed that lycopene reduced the elevated mortality in offspring mice of the mother exposed to BPA. BPA lowered the levels of testosterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone while lycopene treatment increased the levels significantly. BPA elevated estradiol while lycopene lowered estradiol in the offspring. BPA caused testicular damage as shown by less Leydig cells and ovarian injury as shown by less corpus granules in adult offspring, while lycopene decreased the damages. Maternal exposure to BPA increased Bax and decreased Bcl-2 in testicular and ovary tissues in the offspring mice. Lycopene decreased Bax in testis and ovary and increased Bcl-2 in ovary tissues in the offspring mice. These findings suggest lycopene has protective effects on in utero BPA exposure-induced reproductive toxicity in offspring mice.

Bioactive phytochemicals in an aqueous extract of the leaves of Talinum triangulare

An aqueous leaf extract of Talinum triangulare was screened for the presence of bioactive molecules, using gas chromatography coupled with pulse and flame ionization detectors. It had high carotenoids; moderate benzoic acid derivatives, hydroxycinnamates and flavonoids; and low terpenes, alkaloids, phytosterols, allicins, glycosides, saponins, and lignans contents. Ten known carotenoids (mainly 50.42% carotene and 33.30% lycopene), nine benzoic acid derivatives (mainly 84.63% ferulic acid and 11.92% vanillic acid), and six hydroxycinnamates (55.44% p-coumaric acid and 44.46% caffeic acid) were detected. Also detected were eight lignans (88.02% retusin) and thirty flavonoids (50.35% quercetin and 39.36% kaempferol). The medicinal properties of the major components of these phytochemical families that were detected in the aqueous extract of the leaves were discussed herein and proposed to be explored for their potential health benefits. The great number of potentially active biomolecules and their multifunctional properties make Talinum triangulare a ready source of health-promoting substances.