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Phosphorus (P) levels alter the allelopathic activity of rice seedlings against lettuce seeds. In this study, we investigated the effect of P deficiency on the allelopathic potential of non-pigmented and pigmented rice varieties. Rice seedlings of the white variety Khao Dawk Mali (KDML105, non-pigmented) and the black varieties Jao Hom Nin (JHN, pigmented) and Riceberry (RB, pigmented) were cultivated under high P (HP) and low P (LP) conditions. Morphological and metabolic responses to P deficiency were investigated. P deficiency inhibited shoot growth but promoted root growth of rice seedlings in all three varieties. Moreover, P deficiency led to decreased cytosolic phosphate (Pi) and total P concentrations in both shoot and root tissues. The subsequent reduction in internal P concentration enhanced the accumulation of phenolic compounds in both shoot and root tissues of the seedlings. Subsequently, allelopathy-based inter- and intra-specific interactions were assessed using water extracts from seedlings of the three varieties grown under HP and LP conditions. These extracts were tested on seeds of lettuce, the weed Dactyloctenium aegyptium, and the same rice variety. The shoot and root extracts from P-deficient seedlings reduced the germination of all recipient plants. Specifically, the shoot extract from P-deficient KDML105 seedlings reduced the germination index (GI) of lettuce seeds to 1%, while those from P-deficient RB and JHN seedlings produced GIs of 32% and 42%, respectively. However, when rice seeds were exposed to their own LP shoot and root extracts, their GIs increased up to 4-fold, compared with the HP extracts. Additionally, the shoot extracts from P-deficient plants also stimulated the germination of D. aegyptium by about 2–3-fold, whereas the root extracts did not have this effect. Therefore, P starvation led to the accumulation and exudation of phenolics in the shoots and roots of rice seedlings, altering their allelopathic activities. To adapt to P deficiency, rice seedlings potentially release signaling chemicals to suppress nearby competing species while simultaneously promoting their own germination and growth.

Exposure to cadmium (Cd) results in bioaccumulation and irreversible damage; this encourages an investigation of alternatives to address Cd toxicity, using natural compounds. Lysiphyllum strychnifolium, a well-known Thai medicinal plant, was investigated for its phytochemical compounds and corresponding bioactivities, including antioxidant and anti-cytogenotoxic effects against Cd toxicity in HEK293 renal and HDF dermal cell models. The crude extract of L. strychnifolium (LsCrude) was partitioned into four fractions, using sequential polarity solvents (hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and water, denoted as LsH, LsD, LsE, and LsW, respectively). The extraction yields were 1.79 %, 5.08 %, 8.53 %, and 70.25 % (w/w), respectively. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of tannins, alkaloids, and flavonoids in LsCrude and its fractions, except for LsH. LsE exhibited the highest concentrations of phenolics (286.83 ± 6.83 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoids (86.36 ± 1.29 mg QE/g extract). Subsequent 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging and ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) reducing powder assays demonstrated the high antioxidant capacity of LsCrude and its fractions. The lowest IC50 value (9.11 ± 0.43 μg/mL) in the DPPH assay corresponded to LsW, whereas the highest total FRAP value (6.06 ± 0.70 mg QE Eq./g dry mass) corresponded to LsE. MTT and alkaline comet assays revealed the lack of toxicity of the extracts, which were considered safe. Upon exposure to Cd at the CC50 level, HEK293 cells treated with LsE suppressed Cd-induced damage. HDF cells treated with LsCrude, LsD, or LsE attenuated Cd-induced damage. In the pre-treatment, LsD protected the HDF cells against Cd-mediated cytogenotoxicity. These anti-cytogenotoxic potentials are likely due to the antioxidant properties of the phytochemicals. Our findings highlight the cyto-geno-protective properties of L. strychnifolium stem extracts against Cd toxicity in HEK293 and HDF cells, and provide a novel approach for combating oxidative stress and DNA damage caused by environmental pollutants.

Medicinal plants have long been a source of lead compounds for drug discovery. Among these, the Annonaceae family has gained recognition for its potential to yield novel compounds, particularly those that can be used in the development of drugs targeting chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus (DM). We employed various chromatographic methods to isolate bioactive compounds from the roots, leaves, and twigs of Uvaria dulcis Dunal. We used spectroscopic methods to determine the chemical structures of these compounds. We successfully identified twelve known compounds from various parts of U. dulcis: patchoulenon, polygochalcone, 2′3′-dihydroxy-4′,6′-dimethoxydihydrochalcone, 2′,3′-dihydroxy-4′,6′-dimethoxychalcone, chrysin, techochrysin, 8-hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxyflavanone, pinocembrin, 3-farnesylindole, onysilin, cinchonain la, and cinchonain lb. Interestingly, cinchonain la and cinchonain lb exhibited more potent anti-α-glucosidase activity than acarbose (standard drug), with IC50 values of 11.88 ± 1.41 μg/mL and 15.18 ± 1.19 μg/mL, respectively. Cinchonain la inhibited the DPP-IV enzyme, with IC50 value lower than the standard compound (diprotin A) at 81.78 ± 1.42 μg/mL. While 2′,3′-dihydroxy-4′,6′-dimethoxychalcone show more potent inhibitory effect than standard drug with IC50 value of 8.62 ± 1.19 μg/mL. Additionally, at a concentration of 10 μg/mL, cinchonain lb and 2′,3′-dihydroxy-4′,6′-dimethoxychalcone promoted glucose uptake in L6 myotubes cells to the same extent as 100 nM insulin. These findings suggest that cinchonain la, cinchonain lb, and 2′,3′-dihydroxy-4′,6′-dimethoxychalcone are the U. dulcis-derived bioactive compounds that hold promise as potential structures to use in the development of anti-diabetic drugs.

This pilot-scale study of an innovative green extraction method shows increased biomarker content in plant extracts. Moreover, green extraction methods decrease the effects on the environment and human health and promote industrial growth. This study optimized the process conditions to obtain a pentacyclic triterpenoid-rich extract (PRE) from Centella asiatica (L.) Urb., which contains asiatic acid, madecassic acid, asiaticoside, and madecassoside, and evaluated its biological activities. PRE preparation was scaled up from laboratory to pilot scale. In the pilot scale, a combination of microwave-assisted extraction with an irradiation power of 4 kW and an ultrasonic-assisted extraction at 0.55 kW was used for C. asiatica extraction. The total pentacyclic triterpene content was 106.02 mg/g of crude extract. Then, the C. asiatica extract was fractionated by a macroporous resin (Diaion® HP-20). The PRE preparation method used 50% and 75% EtOH fractions. This PRE produced a high content of pentacyclic triterpenoids at 681.12 mg/g of crude extract. It presented a high anti-inflammatory effect with an IC50 value of 23.88 μg/mL for nitric oxide inhibition and induced wound healing processes (proliferation, migration, and collagen synthesis) in human dermal fibroblast cells. The information gained from this study can advance the industrial extraction of physiologically active substances from various plant sources for use as medicines or components of supplemental food and cosmeceutical products.

The crosslinked sodium alginate/mucilage/Aloe vera/glycerin was optimized by different ratios of each factor to be an absorption wound dressing base for infected wound healing. Mucilage was extracted from seeds of Ocimum americanum. The Box-Behnken design (BBD) in response surface methodology (RSM) was used to construct an optimal wound dressing base with the target ranges of mechanical and physical properties of each formulation. The independent variables selected were sodium alginate (X 1 : 0.25-0.75 g), mucilage (X 2 : 0.00-0.30 g), Aloe vera (X 3 : 0.00-0.30 g), and glycerin (X 4 : 0.00-1.00 g). The dependent variables were tensile strength (Y 1 : low value), elongation at break (Y 2 : high value), Young's modulus (Y 3 : high value), swelling ratio (Y 4 : high value), erosion (Y 5 : low value), and moisture uptake (Y 6 : high value). The results showed that the wound dressing base with the most desirable response consists of sodium alginate (59.90 % w/w), mucilage (23.96 % w/w), and glycerin (16.14 % w/w) without Aloe vera gel powder (0.00 % w/w)., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Paramphistomosis is a pathogenic disease that occurs frequently in tropical and subtropical countries including Thailand. This disease is affected in the parasites causing severe gastrointestinal disorders and death in infected animals. In the present study, we examined the anthelmintic efficacy of albendazole (ABZ) and crude plant extracts from barks of Bombax ceiba L., Diospyros rhodocalyx Kurz. and Vitex glabrata R.Br., and leaves of Terminalia catappa L. and Cassia alata L. against Gastrothylax crumenifer. The hightest anthelmintic activity on the parasites after 24 h incubation was observed in the n-butanol extract of T. catappa leaf. In this study, fractionation bioassay of n-butanol extract of T. catappa leaf was conducted to both separation and discrimination of rutin served as a new efficient compound (LC 50 = 28.96; LC 90 = 88.75 μg/mL) against G. crumenifer. This compound was confirmed by 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR), 13 C NMR, infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectra as well as mass spectra data. The rutin-treated parasites with all dosages showed swift decrease of the motility and the relative motility (RM) and survival index (SI) were decreased obviously from 3 h until flukes were killed after 12 h of incubation. When observed with light microscopy, the parasites showed the earliest change in a limited region of the tegument. When observed by scanning electron microscopy, the parasites' tegument exhibited similar sequences of surface changes after treatments with rutin and ABZ, but less severity in ABZ treatment. The sequences of changes comprised swelling of folds and ridges, formation of blebbing, rupturing of blebs, erosions, lesions and the tegument demolition. Hence, rutin could be considered as the potential anthelmintic agent for treatment of paramphistomosis., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background & Objective: Several randomized controlled trials have investigated Vernonia cinerea (L.) Less. for smoking cessation but there remains no critical summary of overall findings. This study uses systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the efficacy and safety of V. cinerea., Methods: Nine databases were searched through November 2017. Randomized controlled trials that reported the smoking cessation effect of V. cinerea were included. Data were extracted by two independent researchers. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias and JADAD score. The estimates of pooled effects were calculated as relative risk (RR) with 95% CI using a random-effects model., Results: Five trials with 347 smokers were included. V. cinerea treatment group was significantly associated with cessation rate higher than that in the control group with no evidence of heterogeneity for both continuous abstinence rate (CAR) at week 8 with risk ratio (RR): 1.69, 95% CI [1.00, 2.86]; week 12 RR: 2.18, 95% CI [1.17, 4.04]) and 7-day point prevalence abstinence rate (PAR) (week 8 RR: 1.51, 95% CI [1.01, 2.27]; week 12 RR: 1.93, 95% CI [1.24, 2.99]) at week 8 and 12, respectively. There was no significant difference of all adverse events between the treatment and the control groups., Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that V. cinerea has potential efficacy for smoking cessation. Further well-design RCTs of standardized V. cinerea compared with standard treatment should be conducted to strengthen this evidence., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)