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Two new lactones, γ-butyrolactone and δ-valerolactone were isolated from the methanolic extract of Solanum nigrum . Structure elucidation was carried out by exhaustive 2D NMR analysis. The structures of the lactones depict the outcome of their isolation as a situation that involve the formation of artifacts.

The methanolic extract of Amorphophallus paeoniifolius was peracetylated to obtain an unusual peracetylated γ-lactone backbone. Structure elucidation revealed that this compound is an outcome of the chemical transformation of heptonic acid γ-lactone.

Peracetylation of the methanolic extract of Benincasa hispida led to the isolation of a compound with a peracetylated hex-4-en-3-one backbone. Mechanistic insights revealed that the isolated compound is an outcome of the chemical transformation of a α-dicarbonyl compound.

The ethnomedicinal plant from the Cucurbitaceae family, Corallocarpus epigaeus , or its bioactive derivatives have been widely utilized in traditional medicine owing to their distinct applications against various human ailments and have lured the interest of ethnobotanists and biochemists. Here, we report for the first time, the anti-cancer potential of a bio-active fraction isolated from the dried rhizome of C. epigaeus , and the bioactive principle identified as cucurbitacin B (Cu-B). The purification processes involving the utilization of multiple organic extracts of C. epigaeus rhizome powder, yielded Cu-B from the Ethyl acetate Cytotoxic Fraction (ECF), obtained by the chromatographic separation of the ethyl acetate extract. Amongst the various cancer lines tested, melanoma cells exhibit maximal sensitivity towards the Cu-B-containing ECF fraction. Cu-B induces an apoptotic mode of cell death initiated intrinsically as well as extrinsically in A375 melanoma cells whilst remaining comparatively less toxic to normal skin fibroblasts. In vivo studies involving a NOD-SCID murine model of human melanoma demonstrate the ability of Cu-B to attenuate tumor growth, while being pharmacologically safe in vivo , as assessed in Swiss albino mice. Furthermore, Cu-B inhibits MEK 1/2 as well as the constitutive and EGF-induced ERK 1/2 activation, indicating a definitive involvement of MAPK signal transducers in regulating Cu-B-mediated anti-melanoma activity. Together, our study demonstrates the anti-melanoma potential of C. epigaeus -derived Cu-B, which indicates the Cucurbitaceae succulent as a prospective source for deriving potent and pharmacologically safe anti-cancer compounds., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Aiswarya, Vikas, Haritha, Liju, Shabna, Swetha, Rayginia, Keerthana, Nath, Reshma, Sundaram, Anto, Lankalapalli, Anto and Bava.)

The first report on isolation and characterization of 2,3,4-trihydroxy-5-methylacetophenone (1), nicotinamide (2), and uracil (3) from palmyra palm syrup is described. Total phenolic content (TPC) and Total flavonoid content (TFC) of palm syrup were 244.70±5.77(mggallic acid/kg of syrup) and 658.45±27.86(mg quercetin/kg of syrup), respectively. Compound 1 exhibited DPPH radical scavenging activity with an IC 50 value of 20.02±0.14μM which was better than ascorbic acid (IC 50 =22.59±0.30μM). Compound 1 also showed broad spectrum antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Mycobacterium smegmatis, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus simulans., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Palm stearin (PS) and rice bran oil (RBO) blends of varying proportions were subjected to enzymatic interesterification (EIE) using a 1,3 specific immobilized lipase. The interesterified blends were evaluated for their physicochemical characteristics and bioactive phytochemical contents using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), gas chromatography (GC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The blends of PS and RBO in different proportions (40:60, 50:50, 60:40 and 70:30) had saturated fatty acid content and unsaturated fatty acid content in the range of 37.6-52.0% and 48.0-62.4%, respectively. The blends 40:60, 50:50 and 60:40 showed a considerable reduction in their highest melt peak temperature (TP) and solid fat content (SFC) on EIE. The interesterified blends retained bioactive phytochemicals like tocols (839-1172 ppm), sterols (4318-9647 ppm), oryzanols (3000-6800ppm) and carotene (121-180 ppm). XRD studies demonstrated that the interesterified blends contained beta and beta' polymorphic forms.