Secondary Metabolites: Secondary Metabolic Products Consisting of C and H; C, H, and O; N, S, and P Elements; and O/N Heterocycles

Chromatography Scrutiny, Molecular Docking, Clarifying the Selectivities and the Mechanism of [3 + 2] Cycloloaddition Reaction between Linallol and Chlorobenzene-Nitrile-oxide

Employing the Molecular Electron Density Theory, [3 + 2] cycloaddition processes between 4-chlorobenzenenitrileoxide and linalool, have been applied using the DFT/B3LYP/6-311(d,p) method, activation, reaction energies and the reactivity indices are calculated. In an investigation of conceptual DFT indices, LIL-1 will contribute to this reaction as a nucleophile, whilst NOX-2 will participate as an electrophile. This cyclization is regio, chemo and stereospecific, as demonstrated by the reaction and activation energies, in clear agreement with the experiment's results, in addition, ELF analysis revealed that the mechanism for this cycloaddition occurs in two steps. Furthermore, a docking study was conducted on the products studied, and the interaction with the protein protease COVID-19 (PDB ID: 6LU7), our results indicate that the presence of the -OH group increases the affinity of these products, moreover, adsorption study by chromatography was made on silica gel as support; our outcome reveals that the -OH group creates an intramolecular hydrogen bond in the product P2, while in the product P3 will create a hydrogen bond with the silica gel which makes the two products P2 and P3 are very easy to separate by chromatography, this result is in excellent agreement with the Rf retention value. The study might provide a fundamental for developing natural anti-viral compound in promoting human health.

Chemical structures, biological activities, and medicinal potentials of amine compounds detected from Aloe species

Unrestricted interest in Aloe species has grown rapidly, and a lot of research is currently being done to learn more about the properties of the various Aloe constituents. Organic compounds containing amine as functional group are present in a vivid variety of compounds, namely, amino acids, hormones, neurotransmitters, DNA, alkaloids, dyes, etc. These compounds have amine functional groups that have various biological activities, which make them responsible for medicinal potential in the form of pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmeceutical applications. Consequently, the present review work provides an indication of the amines investigated in Aloe species and their therapeutic uses. Various amine compounds of the Aloe species have effective biological properties to treat diseases. Generally, the genus Aloe has various active amine-containing compounds to combat diseases when humans use them in various forms.

Advances in the greener synthesis of chromopyrimidine derivatives by a multicomponent tandem oxidation process

A hydrophilic cobalt/copper heterogeneous bimetallic catalyst named mTEG-CS-Co/Cu-Schiff-base/IL was successfully synthesized from chitosan polysaccharide. The new catalyst was investigated and confirmed using various techniques including FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDX-EDS, XRD, TEM, TGA, AFM, NMR and ICP. The catalyst exhibited powerful catalyst activity for the tandem one pot oxidative chromopyrimidine reaction from benzyl alcohols under mild conditions, utilizing air as a clean source in a green protocol. The catalyst was compatible with a wide range of benzyl alcohols, and aldehydes formed in situ, and bis-aldehydes synthesized were condensed with urea/4‑hydroxycumarin to provide favorable products in good yields for all derivatives (14 new derivatives). The presence of tri-ethylene glycol and imidazolium moieties with hydrophilic properties on the mTEG-CS-Co/Cu-Schiff-base/IL nanohybrid provides dispersion of the nanohybrid particles in water, leading to higher catalytic performance. Furthermore, the reaction exhibited several other notable features, including low catalyst loading, the ability to be recycled for up to 6 stages, high atom economy, a simple work procedure, short reaction time, utilization of an environmentally friendly nanohybrid, and the replacement of volatile and organic solvents with water solvent.

Exploring the potential of biologically active phenolic acids from marine natural products as anticancer agents targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) dimerizes upon ligand bindings to the extracellular domain that initiates the downstream signaling cascades and activates intracellular kinase domain. Thus, activation of autophosphorylation through kinase domain results in metastasis, cell proliferation, and angiogenesis. The main objective of this research is to discover more promising anti-cancer lead compound against EGRF from the phenolic acids of marine natural products using in-silico approaches. Phenolic compounds reported from marine sources are reviewed from previous literatures. Furthermore, molecular docking was carried out using the online tool CB-Dock. The molecules with good docking and binding energies scores were subjected to ADME, toxicity and drug-likeness analysis. Subsequently, molecules from the docking experiments were also evaluated using the acute toxicity and MD simulation studies. Fourteen phenolic compounds from the reported literatures were reviewed based on the findings, isolation, characterized and applications. Molecular docking studies proved that the phenolic acids have good binding fitting by forming hydrogen bonds with amino acid residues at the binding site of EGFR. Chlorogenic acid, Chicoric acid and Rosmarinic acid showed the best binding energies score and forming hydrogen bonds with amino acid residues compare to the reference drug Erlotinib. Among these compounds, Rosmarinic acid showed the good pharmacokinetics profiles as well as acute toxicity profile. The MD simulation study further revealed that the lead complex is stable and could be future drug to treat the cancer disease. Furthermore, in a wet lab environment, both in-vitro and in-vivo testing will be employed to validate the existing computational results.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Tomato seed oil enriched mayonnaise: structural, rheological, and biochemical characterization

Two types of mayonnaise viz. eggless and egg based were prepared by substituting refined soybean oil by tomato seed oil (TSO) at varying concentrations (0-30%). Aim of the study was to utilise the potential of TSO in replaced of refined oil. With respect to oil particle distribution pattern in both types of mayonnaise, higher specific surface area (Dmean ~ 11.49 µm) and homogenous distribution of oil droplets was noted in egg-based mayonnaise. Rheological behavior depicted shear thinning properties in all types of mayonnaise with low viscosity (1.08 Pa s and 2.29 Pa s) being exhibited by tomato seed oil (TSO) incorporated mayonnaise. Nutritionally, significant increase of 65.5 and 26% in lycopene content while 29 and 34% increase in carotenoid content was noted upon incorporation of TSO in eggless and egg-based mayonnaise. Good storage and oxidative stability were demonstrated by TSO egg-based and eggless mayonnaise in terms of acid value and free fatty acids, also the peroxide value was also found lower than their respective control at the end of storage. Overall, tomato seed oil could be used as a non-conventional source of oil for such food applications owing to its close proximity with other vegetable oils and better nutritional profile like dominance of linoleic fatty acid i.e., 54.23% assayed via gas chromatography.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05771-7.

Production of secondary metabolites using tissue culture-based biotechnological applications

Plants are the sources of many bioactive secondary metabolites which are present in plant organs including leaves, stems, roots, and flowers. Although they provide advantages to the plants in many cases, they are not necessary for metabolisms related to growth, development, and reproduction. They are specific to plant species and are precursor substances, which can be modified for generations of various compounds in different plant species. Secondary metabolites are used in many industries, including dye, food processing and cosmetic industries, and in agricultural control as well as being used as pharmaceutical raw materials by humans. For this reason, the demand is high; therefore, they are needed to be obtained in large volumes and the large productions can be achieved using biotechnological methods in addition to production, being done with classical methods. For this, plant biotechnology can be put in action through using different methods. The most important of these methods include tissue culture and gene transfer. The genetically modified plants are agriculturally more productive and are commercially more effective and are valuable tools for industrial and medical purposes as well as being the sources of many secondary metabolites of therapeutic importance. With plant tissue culture applications, which are also the first step in obtaining transgenic plants with having desirable characteristics, it is possible to produce specific secondary metabolites in large-scale through using whole plants or using specific tissues of these plants in laboratory conditions. Currently, many studies are going on this subject, and some of them receiving attention are found to be taken place in plant biotechnology and having promising applications. In this work, particularly benefits of secondary metabolites, and their productions through tissue culture-based biotechnological applications are discussed using literature with presence of current studies.

Acute Toxicity and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Trattinnickia rhoifolia Willd (Sucuruba) Using the Zebrafish Model

The species Trattinnickia rhoifolia Willd, (T. rhoifolia), which belongs to the Burseraceae family, is widely used in ethnopharmacological cultural practices by traditional Amazonian people for anti-inflammatory purposes, sometimes as their only therapeutic resource. Although it is used in teas, infusions, macerations and in food, the species is still unexplored in regard to its pharmacophoric potential and chemical profile. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a phytochemical characterization of the hydroethanolic extract of T. rhoifolia leaves (HELTr) and to evaluate the acute toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity of this species using zebrafish (Danio rerio). The extract was analyzed by gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The evaluation of the acute toxicity of the HELTr in adult zebrafish was determined using the limit test (2000 mg/kg), with behavioral and histopathological evaluations, in addition to the analysis of the anti-inflammatory potential of HELTr in carrageenan-induced abdominal edema, followed by the use of the computational method of molecular docking. The phytochemical profile of the species is chemically diverse, suggesting the presence of the fatty acids, ester, alcohol and benzoic acid classes, including propanoic acid, ethyl ester and hexadecanoic acid. In the studies of zebrafish performed according to the index of histopathological changes (IHC), the HELTr did not demonstrate toxicity in the behavioral and histopathological assessments, since the vital organs remained unchanged. Carrageenan-induced abdominal edema was significantly reduced at all HELTr doses (100, 200 and 500 mg/kg) in relation to the negative control, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), while the 200 mg/kg dose showed significant anti-inflammatory activity in relation to the positive control (indomethacin). With these activities being confirmed by molecular docking studies, they showed a good profile for the inhibition of the enzyme Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), as the interactions established at the sites of the receptors used in the docking study were similar to the controls (RCX, IMN and CEL). Therefore, the HELTr has an acceptable degree of safety for acute toxicity, defined in the analysis of behavioral changes, mortality and histopathology, with a significant anti-inflammatory action in zebrafish at all doses, which demonstrates the high pharmacophoric potential of the species. These results may direct future applications and drug development but still require further elucidation.

The Potential of Flavonoids and Tannins from Medicinal Plants as Anticancer Agents

The tendency of using herbs extracts or natural compounds extracted from herbs for preventing or treating different illnesses, including cancer, continues to be an alternative to drug use. Many studies of plant compounds aimed at finding substances with selective cytotoxicity on abnormal cells. Phenolic compounds, as important secondary metabolites from plants, are one of them. In this review, the recent literature data from the past five years about anticancer/antitumor effect of flavonoids and tannins extracted from medicinal plants are surveyed. The cytostatic/antitumor effects of the individual compounds extracted from plants and/or of the plants' polyphenolic extracts are considered, in order to point out the most significant constituents or plants with anticancer potential. The most important results concerning these compounds and their derivatives in cancer prevention and treatment, the importance of their chemical structure, their mechanism of action in vitro and in vivo, and some bioavailability aspects are discussed.