Tamarindus indica Linn (tamarind, F. Leguminosae) is one of the most widely consumed edible fruits in the world. Phytochemical investigation of tamarind pulp n-butanol fraction yielded one new (+)-pinitol glycoside compound 1 (25% w/w), and 1D, 2D NMR, and HRESIMS investigation were used to confirm the new compound\'s structure. (+)-Pinitol glycoside showed anti-Alzheimer potential that was confirmed in prophylactic and treatment groups by decreasing time for the T-maze test; decreased TAO, brain and serum AChE, MDA, tau protein levels, and β amyloid peptide protein levels; and increasing GPX, SOD levels, and in vivo regression of the neurodegenerative features of Alzheimer\'s dementia in an aluminum-intoxicated rat model. The reported molecular targets for human Alzheimer\'s disease were then used in a network pharmacology investigation to examine their complex interactions and identify the key targets in the disease pathogenesis. An in silico-based analysis (molecular docking, binding free energy calculation (ΔGBinding), and molecular dynamics simulation) was performed to identify the potential targets for compound 1. The findings of this study may lead to the development of dietary supplements for the treatment of Alzheimer\'s disease.

Climate change and increased pollution caused by traditional petrochemical plastics made the biodegradable environment-friendly plastic (bioplastic) research more popular. Bioplastics can be manufactured from natural renewable ingredients and used as food packaging material without harming the environment. This research work focuses on developing bioplastic films from natural ingredients such as starch of tamarind seeds, and berry seeds, with licorice root. Attention has been paid to characterizing the material by biodegradability, mechanical testing, Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), antimicrobial analysis tests. Phenolic compounds present in the berry seeds starch increased the soil biodegradability as well as the mechanical and thermal properties of the bioplastic films. The FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of various bio-molecules. Improved antimicrobial performance is also obtained. The results of this research confirm that the prepared bioplastic samples can be used in packaging applications.

UNASSIGNED: The pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel diseases remains poorly understood and treatment remains suboptimal for many patients. We hypothesize that the inflammatory milieu secondarily prolongs the injury and attenuates healing. We propose primary or adjuvant therapy with biocompatible adhesives to restore a barrier to protect submucosal structures, particularly stem cells.
UNASSIGNED: We used the well-described mouse dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) model of colitis resembling human ulcerative colitis to test the therapeutic efficacy of intrarectal administration of the tamarind plant-derived xyloglucan (TXG) polymer adhesive which underwent extensive analytic characterization. Mice in control, DSS-only, TXG-only, and DSS + TXG groups were studied for gross (weight, blood in stool, length of colon) and multiple histologic parameters.
UNASSIGNED: Compared to DSS-only mice, TXG prevented the weight loss, occurrence of blood in the stool and colon shortening, with all those parameters not being statistically different from treatment naïve animals. Histologically, there was dramatic and highly statistically significant reduction in the total inflammatory index and protection from goblet cell loss, cellular infiltration, crypt abscess formation, epithelial erosion, granulation tissue, epithelial hyperplasia crypt irregularity and crypt loss. The TXG purity and characterization were established by nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and texture analysis.
UNASSIGNED: The striking attenuation of disease severity by intrarectal TXG use warrants future investigations of natural bioadhesives with well-established high safety profiles, and which could potentially be derivatized to include therapeutically active moieties for local drug delivery.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was intended to fabricate chitosan (Ch)-tamarind gum polysaccharide (TGP) polyelectrolyte complex stabilized cubic nanoparticles of simvastatin and evaluate their potential against human breast cancer cell lines.
METHODS: The antisolvent precipitation method was used for formulation of nanoparticles. Factorial design (32) was utilized as a tool to analyze the effect of Ch and TGP concentration on particle size and entrapment efficiency of nanoparticles.
RESULTS: Formulated nanoparticles showed high entrapment efficiency (67.19±0.42-83.36±0.23%) and small size (53.3-383.1 nm). The present investigation involved utilization of two biological membranes (egg and tomato) as biological barriers for drug release. The study revealed that drug release from tomato membranes was retarded (as compared to egg membranes) but the release pattern matched that of egg membranes. All formulations followed the Baker-Lansdale model of drug release irrespective of the two different biological barriers. Stability studies were carried out for 45 days and exhibited less variation in particle size as well as a reduction in entrapment efficiency. Simvastatin loaded PEC stabilized nanoparticles exhibited better control on growth of human breast cancer cell lines than simple simvastatin. An unusual anticancer effect of simvastatin nanoparticles is also supported by several other research studies.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study involves first-time synthesis of Ch-TGP polyelectrolyte complex stabilized nanoparticles of simvastatin against MCF-7 cells. It recommends that, in future, theoretical modeling and IVIVC should be carried out for perfect designing of delivery systems.

Trypsin inhibitors from tamarind seed have been studied in vitro and in preclinical studies for the treatment of obesity, its complications and associated comorbidities. It is still necessary to fully understand the structure and behaviour of these molecules. We purifed this inhibitor, sequenced de novo by MALDI-TOF/TOF, performed its homology modelling, and assessed the interaction with the trypsin enzyme through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation under physiological conditions. We identified additional 75 amino acid residues, reaching approximately 72% of total coverage. The four best conformations of the best homology modelling were submitted to the MD. The conformation n°287 was selected considering the RMSD analysis and interaction energy (-301.0128 kcal.mol-1). Residues Ile (54), Pro (57), Arg (59), Arg (63), and Glu (78) of pTTI presented the highest interactions with trypsin, and arginine residues were mainly involved in its binding mechanism. The results favour bioprospecting of this protein for pharmaceutical health applications.

TBP is a natural product from Tamarindus indica L. seeds used as a natural remedy in India. This product is an antioxidant and may have beneficial effects on endocrine and metabolic functions. However, the regulatory mechanisms involved remain to be elucidated. In males, testosterone is synthesized by Leydig cells from the testis. With aging and obesity, testis function declines, leading to decreased testosterone synthesis. The aim of the current research is to determine how TBP improves testosterone production in male mice under a high fat diet leading to hypoandrogenic condition. Using C2C12 myoblast cells, we have found that TBP increased mitochondrial mass and oxygen respiration, as well as the production of the IGF-1 hormone. In addition, treatment of TM3 Leydig cells with TBP resulted in increased testosterone production. In mice under a high fat diet, TBP lowered blood glucose level and corticosterone production and improved total testosterone production after five weeks of treatment. In addition, testicular expressions of genes encoding the mitochondrial transporter of cholesterol (Star) and steroidogenic enzymes (Cyp11a1, Hsd3b1, Cyp17a1 and Hsd17b3) were increased by TBP. Hence, TBP may prevent the detrimental effects of long-term consumption of a high fat diet and may have health benefits on the endocrine function.

The hard carbon (HC) has been emerging as one of the most promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Incorporation of cations into the HC lattice proved to be effective to regulate their d-interlayer spacing with a modified SIB performance. However, the complexity and high cost of current synthetic processes limited its large-scale application in SIBs. Through the natural hyperaccumulation process, a cost-effective and scale-up-driven procedure to produce Ca-ion self-incorporated HC materials was proposed by applying tamarind fruits as the precursor with the enrichment of Ca ions. In virtue of one-step pyrolysis, the self-incorporated and well-distributed Ca ions in tamarind fruits had successfully served as the buffer layer to expand the d-interlayer spacing of HC materials. Furthermore, the natural porosity hierarchy could be largely preserved by the optimization of calcination temperature. As a result, the Ca-rich HC material had exhibited the optimized cycling performance (326.7 mA h g-1 at 50 mA g-1 and capacity retention rate of 89.40% after 250 cycles) with a high initial Coulombic efficiency of 70.39%. This work provided insight into applying the hyperaccumulation effect of biomass precursors to produce doped HC materials with ion self-incorporation and the optimized d-interlayer spacing, navigating its large-scale application for high-performance SIBs.

The modern-day review article is an exquisite attempt to demonstrate the extreme therapeutic potential of tamarind fruit (Tamarindus indica), particularly its pulp, seed, and leaf extract, against lifestyle-related chronic disorders. The rapid transition in the diet patterns and also the varying lifestyle of the people has made its way forth, a momentous upsurge in a number of chronic as well as degenerative diseases. An excess of foods having functional and nutraceutical significance has come into view recently. These foods have emerged as effective therapeutical remedies against these disorders owing to their natural phytochemical constituents present in them, in abundance. Tamarindus indica serves as a proverbial herbal medicine in each and every part of the world that is known to mankind. Also, the tamarind kernel powder (TKP) is of immense commercial significance in some of the major, leading industries of the World. The derivation of an important gel-forming substance (polysaccharide), named as \"jellose,\" from the decorticated seed kernels of tamarind fruit has led to the manufacture of pectin. It is used in industrial scale in the preparation of various products like jams, jellies, and most important in the preparation of cheese. It plays an evident role as a stabilizer of commercial significance, and it has also been greatly recommend by the scientists to be used as a potent ingredient in a range of pharmaceutical products. The leaves of tamarind plant are also used as part of the daily diet in several countries where they are readily consumed in fresh form and especially during drought season.

Several plant-based traditional ingredients in Asia are anecdotally used for preventing and/or treating type 2 diabetes. We investigated three such widely consumed ingredients, namely corn silk (CS), cumin (CU), and tamarind (TA). The aim of the study was to determine the effects of aqueous extracts of these ingredients consumed either as a drink (D) with high-glycemic-index rice or added to the same amount of rice during cooking (R) on postprandial glycemia (PPG), insulinemia (PPI), and blood pressure (BP), over a 3 h measurement period. Eighteen healthy Chinese men (aged 37.5 ± 12.5 years, BMI 21.8 ± 1.67 kg/m2) took part in a randomized crossover trial, each completing up to nine sessions. Compared to the control meal (plain rice + plain water), the addition of test extracts in either form did not modulate PPG, PPI, or BP. However, the extracts when added within rice while cooking gave rise to significantly lower PPI than when consumed as a drink (p < 0.01). Therefore, the form of consumption of phytochemical-rich ingredients can differentially modulate glucose homeostasis. This study also highlights the need for undertaking randomized controlled clinical trials with traditional foods/components before claims are made on their specific health effects.

The relationships between the physicochemical composition of Tamarindus indica pulp and seeds, and agro-ecological zones and land use types were assessed in Uganda. The objective was to determine the relationship between the physicochemical composition, agro-ecological zones, and land use types. The samples were processed by manually depulping the T. indica pods, sun-drying the pulp and seeds, and grinding into powder. The powdered samples were analyzed for β-carotenoids, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), calorific value, crude oil, acid, and peroxide values. Data were analyzed using ANOVA in the general linear model (GLM). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to relate the physicochemical properties to the agro-ecological zones and land use types. There were significant differences (p ≤ .05) in the physicochemical composition variables between agro-ecological zones and land use types. Land use types showed strong correlations with physicochemical properties while agro-ecological zones did not show correlations. The results show that in terms of general properties, T. indica pods provide a valuable, rich, and exceptional source of vitamin C, compared to many widely consumed indigenous and conventional fruits and vegetables. The pods from land use types characterized by natural habitats had relatively more nutrient levels than the land use types influenced by anthropogenic activities.