Structural Interactions of Curcumin Biotransformed Molecules with the N-Terminal Residues of Cytotoxic-Associated Gene A Protein Provide Insights into Suppression of Oncogenic Activities

Investigating the potential of 6-substituted 3-formyl chromone derivatives as anti-diabetic agents using in silico methods

In exploring nature's potential in addressing diabetes-related conditions, this study investigates the therapeutic capabilities of 3-formyl chromone derivatives. Utilizing in silico methodologies, we focus on 6-substituted 3-formyl chromone derivatives (1-16) to assess their therapeutic potential in treating diabetes. The research examined the formyl group at the chromone's C-3 position. ADMET, biological activities, were conducted along with B3LYP calculations using 3 different basis sets. The analogues were analyzed based on their parent structure obtained from PubChem. The HOMO-LUMO gap confirmed the bioactive nature of the derivatives, NBO analysis was performed to understand the charge transfer. PASS prediction revealed that 3-formyl chromone derivatives are potent aldehyde oxidase inhibitors, insulin inhibitors, HIF1A expression inhibitors, and histidine kinase. Molecular docking studies indicated that the compounds had a strong binding affinity with proteins, including CAD, BHK, IDE, HIF-α, p53, COX, and Mpro of SARS-CoV2. 6-isopropyl-3-formyl chromone (4) displayed the highest affinity for IDE, with a binding energy of - 8.5 kcal mol-1. This result outperformed the affinity of the reference standard dapagliflozin (- 7.9 kcal mol-1) as well as two other compounds that target human IDE, namely vitexin (- 8.3 kcal mol-1) and myricetin (- 8.4 kcal mol-1). MD simulations were revealed RMSD value between 0.2 and 0.5 nm, indicating the strength of the protein-ligand complex at the active site.

Synthesis of New Derivatives of Benzylidinemalononitrile and Ethyl 2-Cyano-3-phenylacrylate: In Silico Anticancer Evaluation

In this study, microwave-assisted Knoevenagel condensation was used to produce two novel series of derivatives (1-6) from benzylidenemalononitrile and ethyl 2-cyano-3-phenylacrylate. The synthesized compounds were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and ¹H NMR spectroscopies. The pharmacodynamics, toxicity profiles, and biological activities of the compounds were evaluated through an in silico study using prediction of activity spectra for substances (PASS) and Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity (ADMET) studies. According to the PASS prediction results, compounds 1-6 showed greater antineoplastic potency for breast cancer than other types of cancer. Molecular docking was employed to investigate the binding mode and interaction sites of the derivatives (1-6) with three human cancer targets (HER2, EGFR, and human FPPS), and the protein-ligand interactions of these derivatives were compared to those reference standards Tyrphostin 1 (AG9) and Tyrphostin 23 (A23). Compound 3 showed a stronger effect on two cell lines (HER2 and FPPS) than the reference drugs. A 20 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was also conducted to examine the ligand's behavior at the active binding site of the modeled protein, utilizing the lowest docking energy obtained from the molecular docking study. Enthalpies (ΔH), Gibbs free energies (ΔG), entropies (ΔS), and frontier molecular orbital parameters (highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) gap, hardness, and softness) were calculated to confirm the thermodynamic stability of all derivatives. The consistent results obtained from the in silico studies suggest that compound 3 has potential as a new anticancer and antiparasitic drug. Further research is required to validate its efficacy.

Polyphenol Mechanisms against Gastric Cancer and Their Interactions with Gut Microbiota: A Review

The lack of new drugs and resistance to existing drugs are serious problems in gastric cancer(GC) treatment. The research found polyphenols possess anti-Helicobacter pylori(Hp) and antitumor activities and may be used in the research and development of drugs for cancer prevention and treatment. However, polyphenols are affected by their chemical structures and physical properties, which leads to relatively low bioavailability and bioactivity in vivo. The intestinal flora can improve the absorption, utilization, and biological activity of polyphenols, whereas polyphenol compounds can increase the richness of the intestinal flora, reduce the activity of carcinogenic bacteria, stabilize the proportion of core flora, and maintain homeostasis of the intestinal microenvironment. Our review summarizes the gastrointestinal flora-mediated mechanisms of polyphenol against GC.

Pleiotropic nature of curcumin in targeting multiple apoptotic-mediated factors and related strategies to treat gastric cancer: A review

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the major reasons for cancer-associated death and exhibits the second-highest mortality rate worldwide. Several advanced approaches have been designed to treat GC; however, these strategies possess many innate complications. In view of this, the upcoming research relying on natural products could result in designing potential anticancer agents with fewer side effects. Curcumin, isolated from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa L. has several medicinal properties like antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antiapoptotic, antitumor, and antimetastatic. Such pleiotropic nature of curcumin impedes the invasion and proliferation of GC by targeting several oncogenic factors like p23, human epidermal factor receptor2 including Helicobacter pylori. The side effect of chemotherapy, that is, chemotherapeutic resistance and radiotherapy could be reduced combination therapy of curcumin. Moreover, the photodynamic therapy of curcumin destroys the cancer cells without affecting normal cells. However, further more potential studies are required to establish the potent efficacy of curcumin in the treatment of GC. The current review details the anticancer activities of curcumin and related strategies which could be employed to treat GC with additional focus on its inhibitory properties against viability, proliferation, and migration of GC cells through cell cycle arrest and stimulation by apoptosis-mediated factors.

Variations in cag pathogenicity island genes of Helicobacter pylori from Latin American groups may influence neoplastic progression to gastric cancer

Helicobacter pylori (HP) colonizes the human stomach and induces acute gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, atrophic gastritis, and gastric adenocarcinoma. Increased virulence in HP isolates derives from harboring the cag (cytotoxin-associated genes) pathogenicity island (cagPAI). We analyzed the microvariants in cagPAI genes with the hypothesis that they may play an important role in determining HP virulence. We tested DNAs from cagA positive patients HP isolates; a total of 74 patients with chronic gastritis (CG, N = 37), intestinal metaplasia (IM, N = 21) or gastric cancer (GC, N = 16) from Mexico and Colombia. We selected 520 non-synonymous variants with at least 7.5% frequency in the original sequence outputs or with a minimum of 5 isolates with minor allele. After adjustment for multiple comparisons, no variants were statistically significantly associated with IM or GC. However, 19 non-synonymous showed conventional P-values < 0.05 comparing the frequency of the alleles between the isolates from subjects with gastritis and isolates from subjects with IM or GC; 12 of these showed a significant correlation with the severity of the disease. The present study revealed that several cagPAI genes from Latin American Western HP strains contains a number of non-synonymous variants in relatively high frequencies which could influence on the clinical outcome. However, none of the associations remained statistically significant after adjustment for multiple comparison.

Assessment of malathion toxicity on cytophysiological activity, DNA damage and antioxidant enzymes in root of Allium cepa model

The current study was emphasized to assess the effect of malathion on root system (cell division and kinetics of the root elongation) and stress related parameters in Allium cepa L. The roots were exposed to different concentrations (0.05, 0.13, 0.26, 0.39 and 0.52 g/L) of malathion for different treatment periods (4, 8 and 18 h). The results revealed that malathion application affected the growth rate and cell division in root tips. The root elongation kinetics were impaired at 0.13 to 0.52 g/L concentrations. Reduction in tissue water content (TWC) indicated the limited osmotic adjustment due to membrane damage. Further, a decrease in sucrose content was observed in contrast to the accumulation of proline (upto 0.39 g/L). Moreover, malathion exposure elevated the levels of lipid peroxidation followed by changes in antioxidant enzymes status. The activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR) were down-regulated whereas the activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were up-regulated except in 0.52 g/L malathion. The molecular docking study of malathion with CAT, GST, SOD, APX and GR also supported of above results for their activity. All these physiological responses varied with increasing malathion concentration and duration of treatment. The single cell gel electrophoresis results showed that all concentrations of malathion induced DNA damage in root cells. The findings depicted that malathion application induces cytotoxic and phytotoxic effects mediated through oxidative stress and subsequent injuries.

Nanoencapsulated methyl salicylate as a biorational alternative of synthetic antifungal and aflatoxin B1 suppressive agents

In view of the suspected negative impact of synthetic fungicides to the human health, nutritional quality, and non-targeted organisms, the use of plant-based antifungal agents has gained considerable interest to the agri-food industries. The aim of this study was to explore the antifungal and aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) inhibitory activity of chitosan (low molecular weight) encapsulated methyl salicylate. The nanoencapsulation of methyl salicylate (Ne-MS) has been characterized by SEM, FTIR, and XRD analysis. The encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of Ne-MS ranged between 32-34% and 5-7% respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration of Ne-MS (1.00 μL/mL) against the growth and aflatoxin B₁ production by Aspergillus flavus was found to be lower than the free MS (1.50 μL/mL). Mode of action studies demonstrated that the Ne-MS cause a significant decrease in the ergosterol content, leakage of vital ions (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and K⁺), utilization of different carbon source by the A. flavus. Further, the docking result showed ver1 and omt A gene of AFB₁ biosynthesis are the possible molecular site of action of methyl salicylate. The in situ study revealed that Ne-MS had no significant negative impact on the organoleptic properties of the food system (maize) which strengthen its potential as a biorational alternative of synthetic fungicides.

Distribution of cyanobacteria and their interactions with pesticides in paddy field: A comprehensive review

Cyanobacteria, also known as blue green algae are one of the important ubiquitous oxygen evolving photosynthetic prokaryotes and ultimate source of nitrogen for paddy fields since decades. In past two decades, indiscriminated use of pesticides led to biomagnification that intensively harm the structure and soil functions of soil microbes including cyanobacteria. Cyanobacterial abundance biomass, short generation, water holding capacity, mineralizing capacity and more importantly nitrogen fixing have enormous potential to abate the negative effects of pesticides. Therefore, investigation of the ecotoxicological effects of pesticides on the structure and function of the tropical paddy field associated cyanobacteria is urgent and need to estimate the fate of interaction of pesticides over nitrogen fixations and other attributes. In this regard, comprehensive survey over cyanobacterial distribution patterns and their interaction with pesticides in Indian context has been deeply reviewed. In addition, the present paper also deals the molecular docking pattern of pesticides with the nitrogen fixing proteins, which helps in revealing the functional interpretation over nitrogen fixation process.