Trends in Phytochemical Research
Volume:6 Issue: 2, Spring 2022

We have investigated the interaction of the steroidal alkaloid tomatidine (TD) and its glycosylated derivative -tomatine (αTM) with the 3C-like protease (3CLpro) of PEDV and with the main protease (Mpro) from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) responsible forWe have investigated the interaction of the steroidal alkaloid tomatidine (TD) and its glycosylated derivative α-tomatine (αTM) with the 3C-like protease (3CLpro) of PEDV and with the main protease (Mpro) from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) responsible for COVID-19, using molecular modeling. αTM can generate more stable complexes with both proteases than TD. The lycotetraosyl moiety of αTM largely occupies the binding cavity, pushing the steroid moiety outside of the groove, whereas with the aglycone TD fits into the site. The specific contribution of the tetrasaccharide was further investigated via the modeling of the unsubstituted lycotetraose molecule, and the glycoalkaloid demissine (DEM) bearing a lycotetraose unit and a different steroidal skeleton demissidine. The binding of DEM to the proteases is essentially driven by the carbohydrate moiety, projecting the aglycone outside of the binding cavity. This study shed light on the protein-binding capacity of the lycotetraose unit. COVID-19, using molecular modeling. TM can generate more stable complexes with both proteases than TD. The lycotetraosyl moiety of TM largely occupies the binding cavity, pushing the steroid moiety outside of the groove, whereas with the aglycone TD fits into the site. The specific contribution of the tetrasaccharide was further investigated via the modeling of the unsubstituted lycotetraose molecule, and the glycoalkaloid demissine (DEM) bearing a lycotetraose unit and a different steroidal skeleton demissidine. The binding of DEM to the proteases is essentially driven by the carbohydrate moiety, projecting the aglycone outside of the binding cavity.

One of the main objectives of (SDGs) is to prevent the environment and public health by substantially reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, and recycling by 2030. Another issue of concern is the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials which are main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens. The green waste was segregated and consisted of the flora of various families, extracted with three solvents, and the antibacterial activities through the disc diffusion method were observed on three most common pathogenic strains. Plant materials extracted with solvents manifest various degrees of antibacterial activities; ethyl acetate extracts draw the most promising results against the selected bacterial strains. The preliminary antimicrobial investigation concludes, given a scope of considerable research for green waste, the phytochemicals present can probably set off as one of the potential alternatives to the synthetic drugs and multidrug-resistant pathogens, and a way to reduce waste generation in the environment.

Acute traumatic wounds create a serious impact on pathology and impede recovery management. This work emphasis on the wound healing potential of Ocimum americanum extract by caudal regeneration studies in zebrafish model. Molecular docking studies exhibited high binding energy (-8.8 kcal/mol) and an inhibitory effect was conferred between the plant’s standard compound rosmarinic acid against gelatinase. To evaluate its efficacy the plant extract is queried for the presence of phenolic components analogous to rosmarinic acid. The FTIR studies showed similar functional groups with the incidence of phenolic contents and the HPLC assay validated its presence by depicting a communal peak at 4.19 min. In vivo studies authenticated the LC50 value at an optimum concentration of 135.51 ± 0.01 mg/L. The caudal fins were excised to assay regeneration capacity and histopathology sections augmented restoration. Together these results conclude the wound healing capability O. americanam with the probability to regenerate caudal fins and reparation.

Dengue fever has caused serious health problems around the world. Continents affected include Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa. Dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, and dengue shock syndrome are diseases caused by DENV. Promising antiviral activity of medicinal plants against DENV has been reported in several experimental studies. These plants are rich in bioactive constituents that have antiviral activity. This review extensively discussed the antiviral activity of these plants against DENV and the phytoconstituents responsible for the observed effects. The review discussed possible targets of these plant extracts or phytochemicals on the biological process of the virus as a potential mechanism for the observed inhibitory effects. Harnessing plants' chemical constituents can lead to the development of an antiviral against DENV.

The essential oils (EOs) of the air-dried stem bark and leaves of Celtis zenkeri Engl. were extracted by hydrodistillation and characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Twenty-three and nine compounds were respectively identified in the leaf and the stem bark EOs. Phytol (46.1%) was the most abundant compound in the leaf EO, while the major compounds in the stem bark EO were cycloeicosane (34.3%) and phytol (27.0%). The antioxidant activities of the obtained EOs were tested using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The percentage inhibition of the leaf EO (89.0%) was comparable to that of ascorbic acid (90.0%) and butylated hydroxy anisole (90.0%) at 250 µg/mL and higher than α-tocopherol (59.0%) at the same concentration. The EO of the stem bark of Celtis zenkeri Engl displayed good antioxidant activities when compared to the standard antioxidant drugs. The presence of these major constituents and the antioxidant activities of the EOs justify the ethnomedicinal uses of the Celtis zenkeri Engl. organs.

Petasites hybridus (L.) G.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Scherb. has been used as a medicine for different illnesses. A phytochemical study on hexane extract has been carried out using normal phase silica gel column and RP-HPLC chromatography. Five sesquiterpenoids were isolated, purified, and identified from hexane extract. The structures were elucidated by applying extensive 1D and 2D NMR and HRESI-TOFMS spectroscopy. In addition, circular dichroism (CD) spectra were applied to determine absolute configurations of constituents. Two never described benzofuran nor-sesquiterpenes (2S,3S)-5'-acetyl-(Z)-3-(acetoxymethyl) but-2-enoate tremetone) (4) and (2R,3R)-5'-acetyl-(Z)-3-(acetoxymethyl) but-2-enoate-7-hydroxytremetone (5) as well as euparin (1), (2S,3R)-3,6-dihydroxytremetone (2), and (2S,3S)-3,6-dihydroxytremetone (3) were isolated from the rhizome of Petasites hybridus, a species in Flora of Iran. Also, the euparin content of the MeOH extracts of seven populations of Iran was measured by HPLC-PDA. Notably, isolated euparin was the main constituent of Iranian P. hybridus varying between 2.7 and 9.7 µg/mg among samples.