Therapeutic Potential of Genus Pongamia and Derris: Phytochemical and Bioactivity

A multitier virtual screening study of phytoconstituents as Myeloid Cell Leukemias 1 inhibitors

Myeloid Cell Leukemia 1 (MCL1) is an anti-apoptotic protein that plays a critical role in regulating cell survival, particularly in cancer cells. It is a member of the BCL-2 family of proteins, which control the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis. MCL1 has emerged as a promising target for cancer therapy because it is overexpressed in a wide range of cancers, including breast, lung, prostate, and hematologic malignancies. Due to its remarkable role in cancer progression, it has been reflected as a promising drug target for cancer therapy. A few MCL1 inhibitors have been identified previously, but further research is needed to develop novel, effective and safe MCL1 inhibitors that can overcome resistance mechanisms and minimize toxicity in normal cells. In this study, we aim to search for compounds that target the critical binding site of MCL1 from phytoconstituent library from the IMPPAT database. To accomplish this, a multitier virtual screening approach involving molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) were used to evaluate their suitability for the receptor. Notably, certain screened phytoconstituents have appreciable docking scores and stable interactions toward the binding pocket of MCL1. The screened compounds underwent ADMET and bioactivity analysis to establish their anticancer properties. One phytoconstituent, Isopongaflavone, was identified that exhibiting higher docking and drug-likeness than the already reported MCL1 inhibitor, Tapotoclax. Isopongaflavone and and Tapotoclax, along with MCL1, were subjected to 100 nanoseconds (ns) MDS study to verify their stability inside the binding site of MCL1. The MDS findings demonstrated a strong binding affinity between Isopongaflavone and the MCL1 binding pocket, resulting in reduced conformational fluctuations. This investigation proposes Isopongaflavone as a promising candidate for the development of innovative anticancer therapeutics, pending the necessary validation procedures. Also, the findings provide valuable information for designing MCL1 inhibitors based on the protein's structure.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Psoriasis and neurodegenerative diseases—a review

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease with underlying genetic, inflammatory and immunological background, which is a great medical problem, currently regarded as a systemic condition. Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are characterized by a progressive loss of nervous tissue, which affects elderly people more frequently; therefore, it is suspected that, due to society's aging, morbidity is going to increase. We performed a thorough review in order to investigate for the first time whether psoriasis may predispose to different particular neurodegenerative diseases—Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). PubMed search resulted in the retrieval of 833 records, of which 77 eligible were included in the review. Our thorough analysis revealed there are some potential links between psoriasis and NDs (inflammation, oxidative stress, genetics, cardiometabolic disorders), but there is no strong evidence that psoriasis may predispose to NDs. Based on the evidence, it seems that the risk of PD in psoriatics is not increased, and the evidence for increased risk of AD slightly prevails the data that state the opposite. ALS risk does not seem to be increased in psoriatics. The paucity of original studies does not allow for the formulation of definitive conclusions but encourages to perform further investigations.

Synergism antibacterial activity for novel synthesized Schiff base ligands and semi-thiosemicarbazones with ß-diketones and 4-aminoantipyrine

Schiff base ligands were synthesised in this work, the first is (Z)-2-((Z)-3-((1,5-dimethyl-3-oxo-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)imino)-1,3-diphenylpropylidene) hydrazine-1-carboxamide, the second is (Z)-2-((1E,5Z,6E)-5-((1,5-dimethyl-3-oxo-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)imino)-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)hepta-1,6-dien-3-ylidene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide. The Schiff base ligands both were synthesised using the same method (the single pot reaction), using EtOH as the reaction medium and GAA as the catalyst in fixed temperature at 70 0C and reflux for 6 hrs. The starting materials of HL1 were semicarbazide,4-aminoantipyrine and dibenzoyl methane, while the starting materials of HL2 were TSC, 4-AAP and Curcumin. The ligands proved to be bi-dentate ligands that coordinate from the azomethane groups. FT-IR, U.V-Visible, 1H and 13C- NMR, molar conductivity, and magnetic susceptibility were used to identify all the compounds produced. The metal ions used in preparing the complexes in this work were Co(II), Cu(II) and Cr(III). Schiff base and its complexes were evaluated for antibacterial activity against four bacterial strains of Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus Subtilis) and two types of fungi (Candida albicans and Rhizopus Sporium), the results were positive for all compounds tested. Keywords: Schiff base, Curcumin, 4-aminoantipyrine

Effect of Yakae-Prajamduen-Jamod Traditional Thai Remedy on Cognitive Impairment in an Ovariectomized Mouse Model and Its Mechanism of Action

Cognitive impairment is a neurological symptom caused by reduced estrogen levels in menopausal women. The Thai traditional medicine, Yakae-Prajamduen-Jamod (YPJ), is a formula consisting of 23 medicinal herbs and has long been used to treat menopausal symptoms in Thailand. In the present study, we investigated the effects of YPJ on cognitive deficits and its underlying mechanisms of action in ovariectomized (OVX) mice, an animal model of menopause. OVX mice showed cognitive deficits in the Y-maze, the novel object recognition test, and the Morris water maze. The serum corticosterone (CORT) level was significantly increased in OVX mice. Superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were reduced, while the mRNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α inflammatory cytokines were up-regulated in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of OVX mice. These alterations were attenuated by daily treatment with either YPJ or 17β-estradiol. HPLC analysis revealed that YPJ contained antioxidant and phytoestrogen constituents including gallic acid, myricetin, quercetin, luteolin, genistein, and coumestrol. These results suggest that YPJ exerts its ameliorative effects on OVX-induced cognitive deficits in part by mitigating HPA axis overactivation, neuroinflammation, and oxidative brain damage. Therefore, YPJ may be a novel alternative therapeutic medicine suitable for the treatment of cognitive deficits during the menopausal transition.

Asymmetric Synthesis of Sakuranetin-Relevant Flavanones for the Identification of New Chiral Antifungal Leads

Discovery and efficient synthesis of new promising leads have a central role in agrochemical science. Reported herein is the sakuranetin-directed synergistic exploration of an asymmetric synthesis and an antifungal evaluation of chiral flavanones. A new palladium catalytic system with CarOx-type ligands was successfully identified for the highly enantioselective addition of arylboronic acids to chromones. This enabled the facile and programmable construction of a constellation of chiral flavanones (up to 98% yield and 97% ee), in which (R)-pinostrobin was efficiently constructed without laborious protecting/deprotecting operations. Its good performance in asymmetric induction and functional tolerance expanded the chemical space of pharmaceutically important flavanones. The chiral differentiation of flavanones based on antifungal activity and a concise structure-activity relationship model was disclosed and summarized. This synergistic project culminated with acquisition of the naturally unprecedented flavanones with better antifungal potentials than sakuranetin, in which the R-enantiomer of flavanone 54 (EC₅₀ = 0.8 μM) demonstrated better performance than boscalid against Rhizoctonia solani. The novel scaffold and predicted new target compared with the commercial fungicides in the FRAC reinforce the value of further exploration.