Nowadays, viral infection is considered a major cause of mortality all over the world such as covid-19 pandemic. In this context, searching for antiviral agents are major researchers interests. In this study, essential oils (EO) of Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) and Salvia officinalis (salvia) were subjected to combat avian influenza H5N1 virus. Laboratory trials were performed to identify Lavender and salvia EOs and evaluate their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activity against an avian influenza H5N1 virus. EOs were prepared by the hydrodistillation of air-dried plants and analyzed by GC-MS methods. The results revealed that salvia has the highest EOs yield 1.3% than lavender 1%. The dominant constituents of lavender EO were linalyl acetate and linalool while camphor and α-thujone were the dominant compounds of salvia. Both oils exhibited antioxidant activity in DPPH and ABTS and total antioxidant capacity assays. The results suggest the use of salvia and lavender EOs as effective natural anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiviral agents.

UNASSIGNED: Apoptosis is a common pathology in malaria and most antimalarial drugs induce apoptosis during chemotherapy. Globimetula braunii is an African mistletoe used for the treatment of malaria but its effect on mitochondria-mediated apoptosis is not known.
UNASSIGNED: Malarial infection was induced by the intraperitoneal injection of NK 65 strain Plasmodium berghei-infected erythrocytes into mice which were treated with graded doses (100-400 mg/kg) of methanol extract (ME), and fractions of n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethylacetate and methanol (HF, DF, EF and MF) for 9 days after the confirmation of parasitemia. Artequine (10 mg/kg) was used as control drug. The fraction with the highest antiplasmodial activity was used (same dose) to treat mice infected with chloroquine-resistant (ANKA) strain for 5 consecutive days after the confirmation of parasitemia. P-alaxin (10 mg/kg) was used as control drug. On the last day of the treatment, liver mitochondria were isolated and mitochondrial Permeability Transition (mPT) pore opening, mitochondrial F0F1 ATPase (mATPase) activity, lipid peroxidation (mLPO) and liver deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragmentation were assessed spectrophotometrically. Caspases 3 and 9 were determined by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique. Cytochrome c, P53, Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl2) were determined via immunohistochemistry. Phytochemical constituents of the crude methanol extract of Globimetula braunii were determined via the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis.
UNASSIGNED: There was large amplitude mPT induction by malaria parasites, extract and fractions of Globimetula braunii. At 400 mg/kg, HF significantly (p < 0.01) downregulated mATPase activity, and mLPO in both (susceptible and resistant) models, caused DNA fragmentation (P < 0.0001), induced caspases activation, P53, bax and cytochrome c release but downregulated Bcl2 in both models. The GC-MS analysis of methanol extract of Globimetula braunii showed that α-amyrin is the most abundant phytochemical.
UNASSIGNED: The n-hexane fraction of Globimetula braunii induced mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis through the opening of the mitochondrial pore, fragmentation of genomic DNA, increase in the levels of P53, bax, caspase 3 and 9 activation and cytochrome c release with concomitant decrease in the level of Bcl2. α-Amyrin is a triterpene with apoptotic effects.

In this study, the effects of different concentrations of pea protein concentrate (PPC) in the physical properties, porosity features, and oxidative stability of maltodextrin-based spray-dried microparticles containing orange essential oil (OEO, rich in limonene) were evaluated. The use of PPC resulted in spray-dried microparticles with encapsulation efficiencies of about 99 wt%, without visible pores, and relatively high glass transition temperature (66,4 °C) at Aw ∼ 0.3. The nitrogen adsorption and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy measurements showed that the increase of PPC concentration from 2.4 to 4.8 wt% (g of PPC/100 g of emulsion) did not affect the porosity features of the microparticles. These results were confirmed by the profiles of OEO retention and limonene oxide production, which were similar for both samples throughout four weeks of storage. Based on these results, we verified that the lower amount of PPC we tested can effectively protect the OEO during storage, showing that a relatively cheaper orange flavor powder can be produced using less protein.

The purpose of this work was to investigate the protective effect of five essential oils (EOs); Rosmarinus officinalis, Thymus vulgaris, Origanum compactum Benth., Eucalyptus globulus Labill. and Ocimum basilicum L.; against oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The chemical composition of the EOs was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The in vitro antioxidant activity was evaluated and the protective effect of EOs was investigated. Yeast cells were pretreated with different concentrations of EOs (6.25-25 µg/ml) for an hour then incubated with H2O2 (2 mM) for an additional hour. Cell viability, antioxidants (Catalase, Superoxide dismutase and Glutathione reductase) and metabolic (Succinate dehydrogenase) enzymes, as well as the level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and protein carbonyl content (PCO) were evaluated. The chemical composition of EOs has shown the difference qualitatively and quantitatively. Indeed, O. compactum mainly contained Carvacrol, O. basilicum was mainly composed of Linalool, T. vulgaris was rich in thymol, R. officinalis had high α-Pinene amount and for E. globulus, eucalyptol was the major compound. The EOs of basil, oregano and thyme were found to possess the highest amount of total phenolic compounds. Moreover, they have shown the best protective effect on yeast cells against oxidative stress induced by H2O2. In addition, in a dose dependent manner of EOs in yeast medium, treated cells had lower levels of LPO, lower antioxidant and metabolic enzymes activity than cells exposed to H2O2 only. The cell viability was also improved. It seems that the studied EOs are efficient natural antioxidants, which can be exploited to protect against damages and serious diseases related to oxidative stress.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of a tea from the leaves and flowers of Crataegus oxyacantha in rats with colitis. Colitis was induced by administration of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid. Hawthorn tea (HT) (100 mg/kg) was given via gavage for 21 days and the mesalamine drug (100 mg/kg) was administrated during the period of disease onset. HT was rich in total phenolic compounds (16.5%), flavonoids (1.8%), and proanthocyanidins (1.5%); vitexin-2-O-rhamnoside was the main compound detected. Mesalamine and the HT diminished the length of the lesions formed in the colon, in addition to reducing the levels of myeloperoxidase and interleukin-1β. Mesalamine was able to significantly reverse the body weight loss, while HT improved the activity of glutathione reductase and catalase. Histological scoring was not changed by the interventions, but it was highly correlated with the necrotic area. HT given at 100 mg/kg can be effective against colitis.

Agar extraction from Gelidium and Gracilaria red seaweed species produces hundred thousand ton of carbohydrate-rich residues annually. Gelidium sesquipedale waste biomass obtained after agar extraction, still contained 44.2 % w/w total carbohydrates (dry-weight basis). These residues were biologically up-graded to poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB) after saccharification of their carbohydrate fraction to simple sugars. A combined hydrolysis treatment using sulfamic acid followed by enzymatic hydrolysis with cellulases produced a glucose-rich hydrolysate with a negligible content of inhibitors. With this treatment a sugar yield of circa 30 % (g glucose/g biomass) was attained. The algal hydrolysates were assessed as carbon source for the production of P3HB by the halotolerant bacteria Halomonas boliviensis. A cell concentration of 8.3 g L-1 containing 41 % (w/w) of polymer and a yield (YP/S ) of 0.16 gpolymer/gglucose were attained in shake flask assays. In this work, cellulose-rich seaweed waste was shown to be an upgradable, sustainable source of carbohydrates.

This study examined the effect of triterpenoid on the salt tolerance of lanosterol synthase deficient yeast mutant GIL77. The expression of the triterpenoid synthase gene under GAL1 promoter in GIL77 increased the triterpenoid concentration of both whole cell and plasma membrane fractions. Without the induction of the genes, the growth curve of BgbAS or RsM1 transformant depicted patterns similar to control cells in both the presence and absence of salt with growth inhibition at 500 mM NaCl. The induction of BgbAS and RsM1 gene expression slightly repressed growth compared with control cells in the absence of NaCl. The growth of GIL77 was significantly suppressed by the expression of BgbAS or RsM1 under salinity conditions. Of the triterpenoid synthase genes, BgbAS rather than RsM1 was found to strongly inhibit the growth of GIL77 cells under salt stressed conditions. The expression of the triterpenoid synthase gene in GIL77 also influenced their tolerance to other abiotic stresses. In contrast to the endogenous synthesis, the exogenous supply of triterpenoid in the culture medium appeared to occur in the plasma membrane fraction and enhanced the salt tolerance of GIL77. This study thus discussed the physiological significance of triterpenoid in relation to its possible role in modulating salt tolerance.