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Background: In Southeast Asia, Gynura procumbens has been utilized as a traditional medicinal herb for many diseases. The nontoxic effects of the leaves of G procumbens can be consumed safely for the treatment of many diseases, especially diabetes mellitus. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic effects of G procumbens leaves through different extracts. Methods: Cold extraction was employed for G procumbens leaves. Disc diffusion, bovine serum albumin denaturation, brine shrimp lethality assays, and microscopic examination of tissues (ie, liver, kidney, and heart) were performed to measure antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic activities, and histopathologic analysis, respectively. Results: The distinct concentrations of aqueous, ethanol, and n-hexane extracts showed prominent antibacterial activity against four pathogenic bacterial strains (Chromobacterium sp, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, and Escherichia coli 0157:H7:LT). The aqueous extract of G procumbens at a concentration of 200 µg/mL showed potential antibacterial activities against S aureus and E faecium, with mean (SD) zones of inhibition of 15 (1.0) mm and 10 (0.55) mm, respectively. At a concentration of 40 µg/mL, the aqueous extract of G procumbens exhibited significant (P < 0.01) anti-inflammatory activity compared with that of the other 2 extracts in the bovine serum albumin denaturation assay. The n-hexane extract showed moderate cytotoxic activity compared with that of vincristine sulfate. The median lethal concentration values of the aqueous, ethanol, and n-hexane extracts were 427.66, 218.56, and 114.51 μg/mL, respectively. The aqueous extract exhibited lower cytotoxicity than that exhibited by the ethanol and n-hexane extracts. The histopathologic analysis results showed that the aqueous extract of G procumbens had no harmful effects on the different organs of the experimental mice. Conclusions: The aqueous extract of G procumbens could be a potential source for treating various infectious and chronic diseases. (Curr Ther Res Clin Exp. 2021; 82:XXX–XXX)

Pumpkin seed is being used traditionally for curing and protecting various ailments. The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial activities of ethanol extract of pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Linn.) seed oil from hybrid and indigenous varieties. An anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-bacterial activities were assessed by BSA (bovine serum albumin) denaturation, in vitro DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging and disc diffusion methods, respectively. In this study, both varieties of pumpkin seed oil showed remarkable anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activities that were in a dose-dependent manner. At a concentration of 45 μg/mL, indigenous pumpkin seed oil (IPSO) showed highly significant (p

In this work, we reported the role of RNase on microbial community analysis from soil samples. The amounts of chemical components were measured from the adjoining soil of rice and wheat plants. The chemical properties of these soils were rich in surface level as compared to other soil layers. Total DNA was extracted from freshly collected soils. To obtain pure DNA, half of the sample was incubated with RNase and half was without RNase. A total of 16S rDNA fragments were amplified and analyzed by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE). RNase-treated DNA followed by PCR resulted in a PCR product of good yield and integrity. DGGE bands and cluster analysis indicated a significant difference between the patterns obtained from RNase-treated and RNase non-treated samples. The sequencing results of 16S rDNA fragments from DGGE profiles of soil samples indicated that the dominant bacteria are composed of different gene sequences. This is an interesting preliminary observation which indicates that the RNase treatment prior to amplification and DGGE analysis modifies the pattern obtained. Therefore, it is suitable for community analysis of agricultural plant soil samples as well as environmental samples.

Recent advances in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) expansion by growth factors including angiopoietin-like proteins (Angptls) have opened up the possibility to use HSCs in regenerative medicine. However, the unavailability of true in vitro HSCs expansion by these growth factors has limited the understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanism of HSCs expansion. Here, we report the functional role of mouse Angptls 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 and growth factors SCF, TPO, IGF-2 and FGF-1 on purified mouse bone-marrow (BM) Lineage(-)Sca-1(+)(Lin-Sca-1(+)) HSCs. The recombinant retroviral transduced-CHO-S cells that secrete Angptls in serum-free medium were used alone or in combination with growth factors (SCF, TPO, IGF-2 and FGF-1). None of the Angptls stimulated HSC proliferation, enhanced or inhibited HSCs colony formation, but they did support the survival of HSCs. By contrast, any of the six Angptls together with saturating levels of growth factors dramatically stimulated a 3- to 4.5-fold net expansion of HSCs compared to stimulation with a combination of those growth factors alone. These findings lead to an understanding of the basic function of Angptls on signaling pathways for the survival as well as expansion of HSCs in the bone marrow niche.