Search

Growing mushrooms means meeting challenges while aiming for sustainability and circularity. Wherever the producer is located, commercial strains are the same originating from several producers. Customized strains adapted to local conditions are urgently needed. Before introducing new species to the strain development pipeline, the chemical characterization and biological activity of wild ones need to be assessed. Accordingly, the mycoceutical potential of five polypore mushroom species from Serbia was evaluated including: secondary metabolite composition, oxidative damage prevention, anti-tyrosinase, and anti-angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). The phenolic pattern was comparable in all samples, but the amounts of specific chemicals varied. Hydroxybenzoic acids were the primary components. All samples had varying quantities of ascorbic acid, carotene, and lycopene, and showed a pronounced inhibition of lipid peroxidation (LPx) and ability to scavenge HO•. Extracts were more potent tyrosinase inhibitors but unsuccessful when faced with ACE. Fomitopsis pinicola had the strongest anti-tumor efficacy while Ganoderma lucidum demonstrated strong selectivity in anti-tumor effect in comparison to normal cells. The evaluated species provided a solid foundation for commercial development while keeping local ecology in mind.

Growing mushrooms is meeting challenges while aiming for sustainability and circularity. Wherever the producer is located, commercial strains are the same originating from several producers. Following the harvest, enormous quantities of spent mushroom substrate containing spores are disposed presenting a type of foreign material pressure on the ecosystem in the form of the loss of genetic diversity in wild mushroom populations. This challenge can be mitigated by bioprospecting local strains and using them to generate commercial inoculum. Accordingly, the mycoceutical potential of five polypore mushroom species from Serbia was evaluated: secondary metabolite composition, oxidative damage prevention, anti-tyrosinase, and antiangiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) properties. The phenolic pattern was comparable in all samples, but the amounts of specific chemicals varied. Hydroxybenzoic acids were the primary components. All samples had varying quantities of ascorbic acid, carotene, and lycopene, and showed a pronounced inhibition of lipid peroxidation (LPx) and ability to scavenge HO•. Extracts were more potent tyrosinase inhibitors but unsuccessful when faced with ACE. Fomitopsis pinicola had the strongest anti-tumor efficacy while Ganoderma lucidum demonstrated strong selectivity in anti-tumor effect in comparison to healthy cells. The evaluated species provided a solid foundation for commercial development while keeping the local ecology in mind.

Growing mushrooms is meeting challenges while aiming for sustainability and circularity. Wherever the producer is located, commercial strains are the same originating from several producers. Following the harvest, enormous quantities of spent mushroom substrate containing spores are disposed presenting a type of foreign material pressure on the ecosystem in the form of the loss of genetic diversity in wild mushroom populations. This challenge can be mitigated by bioprospecting local strains and using them to generate commercial inoculum. Accordingly, the mycoceutical potential of five polypore mushroom species from Serbia was evaluated: secondary metabolite composition, oxidative damage prevention, anti-tyrosinase, and antiangiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) properties. The phenolic pattern was comparable in all samples, but the amounts of specific chemicals varied. Hydroxybenzoic acids were the primary components. All samples had varying quantities of ascorbic acid, carotene, and lycopene, and showed a pronounced inhibition of lipid peroxidation (LPx) and ability to scavenge HO•. Extracts were more potent tyrosinase inhibitors but unsuccessful when faced with ACE. Fomitopsis pinicola had the strongest anti-tumor efficacy while Ganoderma lucidum demonstrated strong selectivity in anti-tumor effect in comparison to healthy cells. The evaluated species provided a solid foundation for commercial development while keeping the local ecology in mind.

Several coumarin derivatives with a directly attached azole substituent at C‐4 were synthesized and biologically studied for their anticancer properties. The cell lines used for this investigation (HeLa, K‐562, MDA‐MB‐53, and MCF‐7) demonstrated different sensitivities. The best response in the MTT (3‐(4,5‐dimethyl‐2‐thiazolyl)‐ 2,5‐diphenyl‐2H‐tetrazolium bromide) assay was shown by K‐562 cells, with compounds displaying activity (3c, IC50 3.06 μM; 4a, IC50 5.24 μM; 4c, IC50 4.7 μM) similar to that of cisplatin (IC50 ~6 μM), which was used as the standard. The studied azole‐substituted coumarins demonstrated weaker activity toward other cell lines, except for compound 4c, which was equally potent in the case of MCF‐7 cells. Additional biological evaluations supported interference with the cell cycle as a potential mechanism of action and confirmed the absence of toxicity in zebrafish embryos. On the basis of these initial results, 4‐azole coumarins should be explored further. Although their activity would need additional optimization, the fact that these compounds are fragment‐like structures with MW <300 and clog P <3 offers enough flexibility to fine‐tune their drug‐like properties.

Tetrahydropyrimidines are a class of azaheterocycles, also called Biginelli hybrids (obtained from the Biginelli reaction), that have attracted an enormous interest in the medicinal chemistry community in recent years, due to a broad biological activity, such as anticancer, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antituberculosis activities, etc. According to SciFinder®, more than 70 000 different Biginelli-like compounds have been covered in publications. However, although the Biginelli reaction can yield a large number of compounds with a broad range of activities, none of them have been captured in a carrier. In this study, chitosan-based (Ch) nanoparticles (NPs) containing three different molecules (Biginelli hybrids) were developed and tested for the first time as simple and promising vehicles for anticancer Biginelli-based drugs. The key features of NPs, such as size, surface morphology, drug encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro release were systematically investigated. Rather weak cell selectivity of pure Biginelli hybrids (A–C) to selected cancer cell lines has improved and this has been accompanied with two-to-four times stronger cytotoxic effect of A–C loaded Ch NPs, with a triple reduction in toxicity to healthy cells (MRC-5). It has been observed that the examined NPs induce apoptosis. The cell cycle analysis has confirmed the influence of A-loaded Ch (A-Ch), B-loaded Ch (B-Ch), and C-loaded Ch (C-Ch) on the cell cycle distribution, which was homogenously affected. This is the difference with regard to the effect of A, B, and C on the cell cycle. It has been established that the increased selectivity and antitumor activity of NPs are related to the presence of the carrier.

H and 13C NMR spectra

Two new complexes with the general formula [Cu2(L)tpmc](ClO4)3·nH2O (tpmc = N,N′,N′′,N′′′-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)- -1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane, L = N-methylglycine, n = 3; L = N,N- -dimethylglycine, n = 2) were isolated and their composition, some physical and chemical properties and geometries were proposed based on elemental analysis (C, H, N), conductometric and magnetic measurements and spectro-scopic data (UV–Vis, FTIR). It is evident that the complexes are binuclear and an exo coordination mode of the macrocyclic ligand in the boat conformation was proposed. The co-ligands are coordinated as a bridge using both oxygen atoms of the OCO- group. The cytotoxic activity of Cu(II) complexes as well as their Co(II) analogs, the starting ligands and the free salts were tested against human cervix adenocarcinoma cell line (HeLa), human chronic myelo-genous leukemia cells (K562), human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-453), and a non-cancerous cell line, human embryonic lung fibroblast (MRC-5). The IC50 values for the Cu(II) complexes were from 21.6±0.04 to 66.1±0.8, and for the Co(II) analogs were within the range from 8.8±0.74 to 15.40±1.52. All four complexes were tested for their antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and the yeast Candida albicans.

Gljive su izvor raznih farmakološki aktvinih komponenti zahvaljujući čemu su postale predmet ospežnih istraživanja u poslednjih nekoliko decenija. Lekovite gljive korsitili su mnogi narodi širom sveta, a naročito dalekog istoka, hiljadama godina, ali je tek s razvojem analitike bilo moguće okarakterisati njihovo dejstvo. Ipak, mnoge gljive i dalje su ostale relativno nepoznate u pogledu svog farmakološkog potencijala., Fungi are source of various pharmacologiacally active compounds and they have been a subject of extensive study in a past few decades. Medicinal mushrooms were used in traditional medicine in many parts of the world, especially in the far east, and such use goes back to few thousand years. Modern analytical technologies allowed the characterisation of the medicinal proteperties of mushrooms. Still, many fungi species remain unsufficiently studied...

Fungi are source of various pharmacologiacally active compounds and they have been a subject of extensive study in a past few decades. Medicinal mushrooms were used in traditional medicine in many parts of the world, especially in the far east, and such use goes back to few thousand years. Modern analytical technologies allowed the characterisation of the medicinal proteperties of mushrooms. Still, many fungi species remain unsufficiently studied..., Gljive su izvor raznih farmakološki aktvinih komponenti zahvaljujući čemu su postale predmet ospežnih istraživanja u poslednjih nekoliko decenija. Lekovite gljive korsitili su mnogi narodi širom sveta, a naročito dalekog istoka, hiljadama godina, ali je tek s razvojem analitike bilo moguće okarakterisati njihovo dejstvo. Ipak, mnoge gljive i dalje su ostale relativno nepoznate u pogledu svog farmakološkog potencijala.

Methanol extracts of mosaic puffball (Handkea utriformis, Bovistella utriformis, Lycoperdon utriforme, Calvatia utriformis - current name is a subject of debate), from three different stages - mycelium (HUMIC), immature (HUI) and mature fruiting bodies (HUM) were characterized and tested for antioxidant, antimicrobial and inhibitory activity on tyrosinase, acetyholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA-R). Immature, edible, fruiting bodies were shown to be a good source of antioxidants (11.5 mg/g of extract) and cholesterol-lowering agent, lovastatin (234 mu g/g of extract), and exhibited significant antimicrobial activity. In addition, HUI showed good and selective AChE (4.48 mg/mL) and non-lovastatin related HMG-CoA-R inhibition (1.16 mg/mL), which all together suggests that regular consumption of it may have health benefits. Mature fruiting bodies, inedible due to powdery consistence, have been used in traditional medicine for wound treatment; their extract was relatively rich in free ergosterol (31.65 mg/g of extract), N-acetylglucosamine (24 mg/g of extract), alpha-tocopherol (4 mg/g of extract) and had best overall antioxidant activity, which was in correlation with its highest phenolic content (19.4 mg GAE/mL). It also exhibited significant tyrosinase inhibitory activity (0.22 mg/mL) and thus could be used in medicinal and cosmetic products for wound healing and bleaching. Mycelium, which can be easily grown in laboratory conditions did not have the same properties as, neither immature or mature fruiting bodies, although it showed prominent antimicrobial activity, notably against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC = 0.0625 mg/mL) and could be a source of antimicrobial compounds.

The synthesis of a new endodontic mixture based on calcium aluminate cement is reported. Physico-chemical and mechanical properties of the mixture were investigated before and after various hydration periods. Phase analysis of the mixture was performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), while morphological analysis was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with EDS which revealed elemental composition of the mixture sample. Investigations of mechanical properties showed that this new endodontic mixture possessed good mechanical properties (compressive strength after 28 days aging was 94 MPa) and relatively short setting time (2 h). Additionally, cytotoxicity of the mixture was investigated by MTT assay, while genotoxicity was investigated by Comet assay, using MRC-5 cell line. The obtained results make this material very promising for potential application in dental practice. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.

A novel triphenyltin(IV) compound with 1-(4-carboxyphenyl)-3-ethyl-3-methylpyrrolidine-2,5-dione was synthesized and characterized by IR, NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. In vitro anticancer activity of ligand precursor and synthesized organotin(IV) compound was determined against tumor cell lines: human adenocarcinoma (HeLa), human myelogenous leukemia (K562), and human breast cancer (MDA-MB-453), using microculture tetrazolium test (MTT) assay. The results indicate that complex exhibited very high antiproliferative activity against all tested cell lines with IC 50 values in the range of 0.22 to 0.53 µ M. The highest activity organotin(IV) compound expressed against the HeLa cells (IC 50 = 0.22 ± 0.04 µ M). The ligand precursor did not show anticancer activity (IC 50 > 200 µ M). Furthermore, fluorescence microscopy analysis of HeLa cells reveal that organotin(IV) complex induced apoptosis as a mode of cell death, which is consistent with the increase of cells in the sub-G1 phase.