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- Khalifa, Shaden A. M., et al.
(author)
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Beyond the Pandemic : COVID-19 Pandemic Changed the Face of Life
- 2021
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In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-7827 .- 1660-4601. ; 18:11
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious challenge for societies around the globe as entire populations have fallen victim to the infectious spread and have taken up social distancing. In many countries, people have had to self-isolate and to be confined to their homes for several weeks to months to prevent the spread of the virus. Social distancing measures have had both negative and positive impacts on various aspects of economies, lifestyles, education, transportation, food supply, health, social life, and mental wellbeing. On other hands, due to reduced population movements and the decline in human activities, gas emissions decreased and the ozone layer improved; this had a positive impact on Earth's weather and environment. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic has negative effects on human activities and positive impacts on nature. This study discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different life aspects including the economy, social life, health, education, and the environment.
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- Gadallah, Adel S., et al.
(author)
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Anti-Inflammatory Principles from Tamarix aphylla L. : A Bioassay-Guided Fractionation Study
- 2020
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In: Molecules. - : MDPI AG. - 1431-5157 .- 1420-3049. ; 25:13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Natural products have served as primary remedies since ancient times due to their cultural acceptance and outstanding biodiversity. To investigate whether Tamarix aphylla L. modulates an inflammatory process, we carried out bioassay-guided isolation where the extracts and isolated compounds were tested for their modulatory effects on several inflammatory indicators, such as nitric oxide (NO), reactive oxygen species (ROS), proinflammatory cytokine; tumour necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), as well as the proliferation of the lymphocyte T-cells. The aqueous ethanolic extract of the plant inhibited the intracellular ROS production, NO generation, and T-cell proliferation. The aqueous ethanolic crude extract was partitioned by liquid-liquid fractionation using n-hexane (n-C6H6), dichloromethane (DCM), ethyl acetate (EtOAc),n-butanol (n-BuOH), and water (H2O). The DCM and n-BuOH extracts showed the highest activity against most inflammatory indicators and were further purified to obtain compounds 1-4. The structures of 3,5-dihydroxy-4',7-dimethoxyflavone (1) and 3,5-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzoic acid methyl ester (2) from the DCM extracts; and kaempferol (3), and 3-hydroxy-4-methoxy-(E)-cinnamic acid (4) from then-BuOH extract were elucidated by different spectroscopic tools, including MS, NMR, UV, and IR. Compound 2 inhibited the production of ROS and TNF-alpha, whereas compound 3 showed inhibitory activity against all the tested mediators. A better understanding of the potential aspect of Tamarix aphylla L. derivatives as anti-inflammatory agents could open the door for the development of advanced anti-inflammatory entities.
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3. |
- Doorandishan, Mina, et al.
(author)
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Molecular docking and simulation studies of a novel labdane type-diterpene from Moluccella aucheri Scheen (Syn. Otostegia aucheri) as human-AChE inhibitor
- 2021
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In: Journal of Molecular Structure. - : Elsevier. - 0022-2860 .- 1872-8014. ; 1245
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Moluccella aucheri Scheen belongs to Lamiaceae family and is native to Iran and Pakistan. Different chromatographic and spectroscopic analyses of a dichloromethane extract of M. aucheri's aerial parts led to the isolation of five phytochemicals. They include an undescribed labdane typediterpene; 6 beta-acetoxy-9 alpha-hydroxy-7-oxa-labd-13-ene-15, 16-olide or moluccelactone (1), and four known compounds: stigmasterol and beta-sitosterol (2, 3), 5-hydroxy-7, 4'-dimethoxyflavone (4) and genkwanin (5). Their chemical structures were determined by spectroscopic data. As a best result, these compounds are firstly reported in this genus and plant. The alpha-glucosidase and acetylcholine esterase (AChE) inhibitory activity of 1 were evaluated by the protein-ligand docking and molecular dynamics studies. Compound 1 exhibited strong binding affinities towards the active site residues of human-AChE (hAChE) enzyme, while it was not potent against alpha-glucosidase enzyme. In conclusion, compound 1 is suggested as a potential natural inhibitor of hAChE enzyme in vitro and in vivo tests. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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