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The aim of the study is to screen the morphological, anatomical, biological, and chemical profiles of the leave extracts of endemic Polyscias species namely P. dichroostachya (PD), P. gracilis (PG), and P. mauritiana (PM) from Mauritius. The morphology and anatomy of the leaves were studied using a microscope. Phytochemical screening of extracts using LC-MS/MS was carried out by ionization in both positive and negative modes. The leaves are pinnately compound, hypostomatic, dorsiventral, with a prominent mid vein with secretion cavities, and they can be distinguished by their midrib shape and anatomy. From the molecular mass and fragmentation data, 31 terpenoid saponins, 19 flavonoids, 17 acids, 7 terpenes, and 10 miscellaneous compounds including pyrrolidines and acetylenes in different extracts (hexane, ethanol, and aqueous) were identified. Extracts from the three species using DPPH radical scavenging activity exhibited good to moderate antioxidant activities with IC50 values in the range of 2.1-70.8 mg/ml and the ethanolic extract of PD showing the highest activity. Aqueous extracts of PG and PM potently inhibited alpha-glucosidase with IC50 values of 0.50 and 2.62 mg/ml. The different leaf extracts exhibited moderate activity against a panel of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. This is probably the first report on the extensive chemical profiling and morphology of these endemic Polysias spp. from Mauritius and the results indicate that these leaf extracts have beneficial health properties and are thus worth exploiting further.

As one of the world’s most abundant biomass, lignocellulosic materials such as rice husk (RH) has been recognized for its various potential usages. Electrospun nanofibrous mats have been fabri-cated from various natural and synthetic polymers and offers a wide range of promising criteria suitable for wound dressing applications. Natural polymers have grabbed considerable attention due to their desirable properties. Therefore, the application of cellulose-derived materials from agricultural waste becomes crucial as a green alternative to produce electrospun wound dressing with excellent wettability, porosity and tunability to promote wound healing at relatively low costs. Interestingly, a specific study on the utilization of cellulose extracted from RH to produce electrospun nanofibrous mat remains unreported. Therefore, this work aimed to investigate the feasibility of using RH as a source of raw materials to create nanofibrous mats for use as pro-spective wound dressing materials. In this paper, cellulose extracted from RH will be converted into its derivate, cellulose acetate (CA) and electrospun. The nanofiber will be characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Attenuated Total Reflectance- Fourier transform spectros-copy (ATR-FTIR), water contact angle to evaluate the main properties of the electrospun nano-fibrous mat.

Benefits of whole grains as dietary supplements and active ingredients in health products have been promoted. Despite being neglected as an agricultural byproduct of polished rice, pigmented rice bran has emerged as a promising source of natural anti-aging compounds. Indeed, the extract of red rice bran Hom Dang cultivar contained rich phenolic acids and flavonoids. It displayed high antioxidant activities in vitro and in vivo assays. Using yeast model, extract and bioactive compounds, quercetin and protocatechuic acid found in the rice bran pericarp, effectively reduced levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), restored plasma membrane damages and prolonged life-span of pre-treated wild-yeast cells. Importantly, these molecules modulated life span-extension through a mechanism of ROS reduction that resembles to that operated under the highly conserved Tor1- and Sir2-dependent signaling pathways, with the human homologs TORC1 and SIRT1, respectively. The key longevity factors Sch9 and Rim15 kinases, Msn2/4 regulators and a novel transcription factor Asg1, the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutases and glutathione peroxidases played important role in mediating longevity. Yeast clearly provides an instrumental platform for rapid screening of compounds with anti-aging efficacies and advances knowledge in the molecular study of ageing.

Solubility of solid compounds is one of the most widely used physicochemical properties in chemical engineering design and experiments. Experimental works for solubility are not always possible because of the small amount of yield available in the phytochemicals extraction. Thus, one interesting perspective is the used of thermodynamic models, which are usually employed for predicting the activity coefficients in the case of solid–liquid equilibria (SLE). Phytochemical compound used in this study is caffeic acid where a comparative study of the MPP-UNIFAC and Pharma Modified UNIFAC were used to predict the solubilities of this phytochemical. The performances of these two activity coefficient models were compared using the experimental solubilities data obtained from the literature in the temperature range of 288 to 323 K and were evaluated by analysing the absolute relative errors (ARE) between the experimental and the predicted values. Moreover, the model errors were also discussed according to the functional groups of the molecules and water as the solvent. In general, the MPP UNIFAC showed better accuracy as compared to the Pharma Modified UNIFAC in predicting the solubility of caffeic acid in water. Nevertheless, both models give very poor qualitative predictions.

Aims: This study was to investigate the cytotoxicity of both plant extracts from Ficus deltoidea (locally known as Mas Cotek), aqueous and ethanolic extracts on human ovarian carcinoma cells using standard colometric MTT assay. Study design: Cell based assay Place and Duration of Study: Institute of Bioproduct Development and Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malayisa between January 2007 and December 2009. Methodology: The biochemical responses of cells after plant sample treatment were observed and have been reported through several assays such as trypan blue exclusion assay for cell viability, analysis of glucose uptake and lactate release, cell survival evaluation and genomic assay through DNA fragmentation. Results: Both aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the plant sample gave IC50 value of 224.39 + 6.24 μg/ml and 143.03 ± 20.21 μg/ml, respectively. The detachment capability of the plant aqueous extract was observed in the cell viability assays. DNA fragmentation was not observed in the aqueous extract, but in ethanolic extract (1000 μg/ml). The DNA was fragmented around 200 Kbp. Morphological observation was carried out and apoptosis body was observed at 1000 μg/ml of both extract. Conclusion: A2780 cancer cells behaved differently on cell growth profile upon treating with different concentrations of the aquoues and ethanolic extracts of F. deltoidea. Even though both extracts could cause apoptosis at 1000 μg/ml, the aqueous extract prompted to promote cell detachment, and the ethanolic tried to inhibit cell proliferation through DNA fragmentation.