| 1. |
In vitro evaluation of antileishmanial activity of Boswellia serrata essential oil nanoliposome.
Babaei M, Youssefi MR, Nasrabadi NT
BACKGROUND: Leishmaniasis poses a significant health risk.
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Boswellia serrata (B. serrata) essential oil nanoliposomes on Leishmania tropica (L. tropica) in vitro.
METHODS: A mixture of B. serrata essential oil, phosphatidylcholine and Tween 80 were used to prepare B. serrata essential oil nanoliposomes, followed by drying, hydration and size characterisation. The promastigotes of L. tropica were cultured in Roswell Park Memorial Institute medium (RPMI-1640) containing streptomycin, penicillin and fetal bovine serum. Different concentrations of B. serrata essential and nanoliposomes were tested for their antileishmanial properties by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium Bromide tests (MTT).
RESULTS: Results of Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) for B. serrata nanoliposomes indicate that they are successful at producing nanoliposomes with dimensions of 74.8 nm. At 1 μg/mL dose, B. serrata essence caused 17 ± 1.73% mortality, while B. serrata nanoliposomes induced 26 ± 1.15% mortality. B. serrata essence achieved a mortality of 55 ± 2.88% at 10 μg/mL, whereas B. serrata nanoliposomes demonstrated a mortality of 63.66±0.88% at 10 μg/mL. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between similar concentrations of B. serrata and B. serrata nanoliposomes. The LC50 of B. serrata essential oil is 7.26 μg/mL in the 95% confidence interval (12.13-5.25). The LC90 value of B. serrata essential oil is 129.37 μg/mL in the 95% confidence interval (50.07-852.58). The LC50 value of B. serrata nanoliposome is 4.20 μg/mL in the 95% confidence interval (6.13-3.10). LC90 value for B. serrata nanoliposome is calculated as 91.89 μg/mL in the 95% confidence interval (37.09-583.29).
CONCLUSIONS: In vitro experiments have shown that B. serrata oil and the nanoliposome suppress the proliferation of L. tropica promastigotes, which suggests it may be a promising option for treating leishmaniasis.
Vet Med Sci. 2024 Mar;10(2):e1400.
PMID: 38379363 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 2. |
Identification of new pharmacophore against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein by multi-fold computational and biochemical techniques.
Ullah A, Ullah S, Halim SA, Waqas M, Ali B, Ataya FS, El-Sabbagh NM, Batiha GE, Avula SK, Csuk R, Khan A, Al-Harrasi A
COVID-19 appeared as a highly contagious disease after its outbreak in December 2019 by the virus, named SARS-CoV-2. The threat, which originated in Wuhan, China, swiftly became an international emergency. Among different genomic products, spike protein of virus plays a crucial role in the initiation of the infection by binding to the human lung cells, therefore, SARS-CoV-2's spike protein is a promising therapeutic target. Using a combination of a structure-based virtual screening and biochemical assay, this study seeks possible therapeutic candidates that specifically target the viral spike protein. A database of ~ 850 naturally derived compounds was screened against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to find natural inhibitors. Using virtual screening and inhibitory experiments, we identified acetyl 11-keto-boswellic acid (AKBA) as a promising molecule for spike protein, which encouraged us to scan the rest of AKBA derivatives in our in-house database via 2D-similarity searching. Later 19 compounds with > 85% similarity with AKBA were selected and docked with receptor binding domain (RBD) of spike protein. Those hits declared significant interactions at the RBD interface, best possess and excellent drug-likeness and pharmacokinetics properties with high gastrointestinal absorption (GIA) without toxicity and allergenicity. Our in-silico observations were eventually validated by in vitro bioassay, interestingly, 10 compounds (A3, A4, C3, C6A, C6B, C6C, C6E, C6H, C6I, and C6J) displayed significant inhibitory ability with good percent inhibition (range: > 72-90). The compounds C3 (90.00%), C6E (91.00%), C6C (87.20%), and C6D (86.23%) demonstrated excellent anti-SARS CoV-2 spike protein activities. The docking interaction of high percent inhibition of inhibitor compounds C3 and C6E was confirmed by MD Simulation. In the molecular dynamics simulation, we observed the stable dynamics of spike protein inhibitor complexes and the influence of inhibitor binding on the protein's conformational arrangements. The binding free energy ΔG of C3 (-38.0 ± 0.08 kcal/mol) and C6E (-41.98 ± 0.08 kcal/mol) respectively indicate a strong binding affinity to Spike protein active pocket. These findings demonstrate that these molecules particularly inhibit the function of spike protein and, therefore have the potential to be evaluated as drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2.
Sci Rep. 2024 Feb;14(1):3590.
PMID: 38351259 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 3. |
Improved antimicrobial activities of essential oils nanoencapsulated into hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrins.
Alabrahim OAA, Alwahibi S, Azzazy HME
Natural antimicrobials have recently gained increasing interest over synthetic antimicrobials to overcome foodborne pathogens and food microbial contamination. Essential oils (EOs) obtained from resins (BO) were utilized for respiratory disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, malignant tumors, and viral infections. Like other EOs, the therapeutic potential of BO is hindered by its low solubility and bioavailability, poor stability, and high volatility. Several studies have shown excellent physicochemical properties and outstanding therapeutic capabilities of EOs encapsulated into various nanocarriers. This study extracted BO from resins hydrodistillation and encapsulated it into hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrins (HPβCD) using the freeze-drying method. The developed inclusion complexes of BO (BO-ICs) had high encapsulation efficiency (96.79 ± 1.17%) and a polydispersity index of 0.1045 ± 0.0006. BO-ICs showed presumably spherical vesicles (38.5 to 59.9 nm) forming multiple agglomerations (136.9 to 336.8 nm), as determined by UHR-TEM. Also, the formation and stability of BO-ICs were investigated using DSC, FTIR, FE-SEM, UHR-TEM, H NMR, and 2D HNMR (NOESY). BO-ICs showed greater thermal stability (362.7 °C). Moreover, compared to free BO, a remarkable enhancement in the antimicrobial activities of BO-ICs was shown against three different bacteria: , , and . BO-ICs displayed significant antibacterial activity against with an MIC90 of 3.93 mg mL and an MIC50 of 0.57 mg mL. Also, BO-ICs showed an increase in BO activity against with an MIC95 of 3.97 mg mL, compared to free BO, which failed to show an MIC95. Additionally, BO-ICs showed a more significant activity against with an MIC95 of 3.92 mg mL. BO encapsulation showed significantly improved antimicrobial activities owing to the better stability, bioavailability, and penetration ability imparted by encapsulation into HPβCD.
Nanoscale Adv. 2024 Jan;6(3):910-924.
PMID: 38298595 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 4. |
Drug repurposing: insights into the antimicrobial effects of AKBA against MRSA.
Li Y, Ma H
Staphylococcus aureus is a major threat in infectious diseases due to its varied infection types and increased resistance. S. aureus could form persister cells under certain condition and could also attach on medical apparatus to form biofilms, which exhibited extremely high resistance to antibiotics. 3-Acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) is a well-studied anti-tumor and antioxidant drug. This study is aimed to determine the antimicrobial effects of AKBA against S. aureus and its persister cells and biofilms. The in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of AKBA was assessed by micro-dilution assay, disc diffusion assay and time-killing assay. Drug combination between AKBA and conventional antibiotics was detected by checkerboard assay. And the antibiofilm effects of AKBA against S. aureus were explored by crystal violet staining combined with SYTO/PI probes staining. Next, RBC lysis activity and CCK-8 kit were used to determine the cytotoxicity of AKBA. In addition, murine subcutaneous abscess model was used to assess the antimicrobial effects of AKBA in vivo. Our results revealed that AKBA was found to show effective antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) with the minimal inhibitory concentration of 4-8 µg/mL with undetectable cytotoxicity. And no resistant mutation was induced by AKBA after 20 days of consecutive passage. Further, we found that AKBA could be synergy with gentamycin or amikacin against S. aureus and its clinical isolates. By crystal violet and SYTO9/PI staining, AKBA exhibited strong biofilm inhibitory and eradication effects at the concentration of 1 ~ 4 µg/mL. In addition, the effective antimicrobial effect was verified in vivo in a mouse model. And no detectable in vivo toxicity was found. These results indicated that AKBA has great potential to development as an alternative treatment for the refractory S. aureus infections.
AMB Express. 2024 Jan;14(1):5.
PMID: 38184513 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 5. |
A natural product YSK-A blocks SARS-CoV-2 propagation by targeting multiple host genes.
Pham TX, Huynh TTX, Kim B, Lim YS, Hwang SB
Natural products and herbal medicine have been widely used in drug discovery for treating infectious diseases. Recent outbreak of COVID-19 requires various therapeutic strategies. Here, we used YSK-A, a mixture of three herbal components Boswellia serrata, Commiphora myrrha, and propolis, to evaluate potential antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. We showed that YSK-A inhibited SARS-CoV-2 propagation with an IC values of 12.5 µg/ml and 15.42 µg/ml in Vero E6 and Calu-3 cells, respectively. Using transcriptome analysis, we further demonstrated that YSK-A modulated various host gene expressions in Calu-3 cells. Among these, we selected 9 antiviral- or immune-related host genes for further study. By siRNA-mediated knockdown experiment, we verified that MUC5AC, LIF, CEACAM1, and GDF15 host genes were involved in antiviral activity of YSK-A. Therefore, silencing of these genes nullified YSK-A-mediated inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 propagation. These data indicate that YSK-A displays an anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity by targeting multiple antiviral genes. Although the exact antiviral mechanism of each constituent has not been verified yet, our data indicate that YSK-A has an immunomodulatory effect on SARS-CoV-2 and thus it may represent a novel natural product-derived therapeutic agent for treating COVID-19.
Sci Rep. 2023 Dec;13(1):21489.
PMID: 38057373 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 6. |
efficacy of resin extracts formulated as an emulsifiable concentrate against and phytopathogenic fungi.
Gnedy MMA, Hussien RAA, Sleem RA, Elkelish A, AlHarbi M, Alharbi BM, Sayed AAS
Contemporary agriculture heavily relies on pesticides for pest eradication and disease management. Consequently, current study was carried out to assess the acaricidal/antifungal efficacy of emulsifiable concentrate (10 % EC) derived from () against adult females of (), and five fungal pathogens. The meticulous examination of the chemical constitution of the crude extracts derived from the resin of was conducted through the employment of the venerable technique known as Gas-Liquid Chromatography (GLC). The formulated petroleum-ether extract (FPEE) and formulated ethyl-acetate extract (FEAE) of at a concentration of 10 mg ml exhibited notable antioxidant activity with rates of 62.0 % and 90.8 %, respectively. , the FEAE exhibited potent inhibition against all the tested phytopathogenic fungi at different concentrations, whereas FPEE showed comparatively less efficacy. Interestingly, at 4000 ppm concentration, FEAE completely ceased the mycelial growth compared with the control. Moreover, following a span of 72 h of intervention, FPEE exhibited a greater degree of toxicity towards mature females of the urticae. This was evidenced by the LC value of 422.52 parts per million (ppm) for FPEE, which surpassed the LC value of 539.50 ppm observed for FEAE. In summary, the present study indicates that resin formulated as an emulsifiable concentrate (10 % EC) can offer a natural and effective alternative for integrated pest management, thereby reducing reliance on synthetic pesticides and offering a more environmentally sustainable strategy for pest control.
Saudi J Biol Sci. 2023 Dec;30(12):103843.
PMID: 38020231 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 7. |
Potential role of dietary Boswellia serrata resin against mancozeb fungicide-induced immune-antioxidant suppression, histopathological alterations, and genotoxicity in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus.
Rahman ANA, Altohamy DE, Elshopakey GE, Abdelwarith AA, Younis EM, Elseddawy NM, Elgamal A, Bazeed SM, Khamis T, Davies SJ, Ibrahim RE
This study was established to look into the toxicological consequences of chronic exposure to a fungicide (mancozeb; MAZ) on the immune-antioxidant response, gene expressions, hepato-renal functions, and histological pictures of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Additionally, the effectiveness of Indian frankincense resin extract (IFRE) to mitigate their toxicity was taken into account. Fish (n =240; average body weight: 22.45 ± 2.21 g) were randomized into four groups for eight weeks in six replicates (control, IFRE, MAZ, and IFRE + MAZ), where ten fish were kept per replicate. The control and IFRE groups received basal diets that included 0.0 and 5 g/kg of IFRE without MAZ exposure. The MAZ and IFRE+MAZ groups received the same diets and were exposed to 1/10 of the 96-h of LC of MAZ (1.15 mg/L). The outcomes displayed that MAZ exposure resulted in a lower survival rate (56.67 %) and significantly decreased levels of immune-antioxidant variables (antiprotease, complement3, phagocytic activity, lysozyme, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and total antioxidant capacity) compared to the control group. The MAZ-exposed fish showed the greatest levels of lipid peroxide (malondialdehyde), alkaline phosphatase, alanine amino-transferase, and stress indicators (cortisol and glucose). Additionally, histopathological alterations, including vacuolation, severe necrosis, degeneration, and mononuclear cell infiltrations in the hepatic, renal, and splenic tissues resulted, besides a reduction in the melanomacrophage center in the spleen. A down-regulation of immune-antioxidant-associated genes [toll-like receptors (TLR-2 and TLR-7), nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-κβ), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), phosphoinositide-3-kinase regulatory subunit 3 gamma b (pik3r3b), interleukins (IL-1β and IL-8), glutathione synthetase (GSS), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and superoxide dismutase (SOD)] were the consequences of the MAZ exposure. Remarkably, the dietary inclusion of IFRE in MAZ-exposed fish augmented the immune-antioxidant parameters, including their associated genes, decreased stress response, and increased survival rate (85 %) compared with the MAZ-exposed fish. Moreover, dietary IFRE improved hepato-renal function indices by preserving the histological architecture of the hepatic, renal, and splenic tissues. The insights of this study advocate the use of an IFRE-dietary addition to protect Nile tilapia from MAZ toxicity, which provides perspectives for future implementations in enhancing fish health for sustainable aquaculture.
Aquat Toxicol. 2023 Dec;265():106738.
PMID: 37922777 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 8. |
In Situ Synthesis of Doped Bio-Graphenes as Effective Metal-Free Catalysts in Removal of Antibiotics: Effect of Natural Precursor on Doping, Morphology, and Catalytic Activity.
Afsharpour M, Radmanesh L, Yang C
Wastewater contaminated with antibiotics is a major environmental challenge. The oxidation process is one of the most common and effective ways to remove these pollutants. The use of metal-free, green, and inexpensive catalysts can be a good alternative to metal-containing photocatalysts in environmental applications. We developed here the green synthesis of bio-graphenes by using natural precursors (Xanthan, Chitosan, Boswellia, Tragacanth). The use of these precursors can act as templates to create 3D doped graphene structures with special morphology. Also, this method is a simple method for in situ synthesis of doped graphenes. The elements present in the natural biopolymers (N) and other elements in the natural composition (P, S) are easily placed in the graphene structure and improve the catalytic activity due to the structural defects, surface charges, increased electron transfers, and high absorption. The results have shown that the hollow cubic Chitosan-derived graphene has shown the best performance due to the doping of N, S, and P. The Boswellia-derived graphene shows the highest surface area but a lower catalytic performance, which indicates the more effective role of doping in the catalytic activity. In this mechanism, O dissolved in water absorbs onto the positively charged C adjacent to N dopants to create oxygenated radicals, which enables the degradation of antibiotic molecules. Light irradiation increases the amount of radicals and rate of antibiotic removal.
Molecules. 2023 Oct;28(20):.
PMID: 37894691 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 9. |
Essential Oil: Natural Antioxidant as an Effective Antimicrobial and Anti-Inflammatory Agent.
Obiștioiu D, Hulea A, Cocan I, Alexa E, Negrea M, Popescu I, Herman V, Imbrea IM, Heghedus-Mindru G, Suleiman MA, Radulov I, Imbrea F
The research aimed to determine the chemical composition, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity as well as the antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative and two fungal ATCC strains of a commercial essential oil (BEO) containing , , , and . Additionally, molecular docking was carried out to show the molecular dynamics of the compounds identified from the essential oil against three bacterial protein targets and one fungal protein target. The major components identified by GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) were represented by α-pinene, followed by limonene. Evaluation of antioxidant activity using the DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl) method showed high inhibition comparable to the synthetic antioxidant used as a control. Oxidative stability evaluation showed that BEO has the potential to inhibit primary and secondary oxidation products with almost the same efficacy as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). The use of BEO at a concentration of 500 ppm provided the best protection against secondary oxidation during 30 days of storage at room temperature, which was also evident in the peroxide value. Regarding the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity, the membrane lysis assay and the protein denaturation test revealed that even if the value of protection was lower than the value registered in the case of dexamethasone, the recommendation of using BEO as a protective agent stands, considering the lower side effects. Gram-positive bacteria proved more sensitive, while presented different sensitivity, with higher MICs (minimal inhibitory concentration). demonstrated a MIC at 2% but with consecutive inhibitory values in a negative correlation with the increase in concentration, in contrast to , which demonstrated low inhibitory rates at high concentrations of BEO. The computational tools employed revealed interesting binding energies with compounds having low abundance. The interaction of these compounds and the proteins (tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase, DNA gyrase, peptide deformylase, 1,3-β-glucan synthase) predicts hydrogen bonds with amino acid residues, which are reported in the active sites of the proteins. Even so, compounds with low abundance in BEO could render the desired bioactive properties to the overall function of the oil sustained by physical factors such as storage and temperature. Interestingly, the findings from this study demonstrated the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of essential oil against food-related pathogens, thus making the oil a good candidate for usage in food, feed or food-safety-related products.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Sep;12(10):.
PMID: 37891886 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 10. |
Repurposing of known drugs for COVID-19 using molecular docking and simulation analysis.
Bhanu P, Setlur AS, K C, Niranjan V, Hemandhar Kumar N, Buchke S, Kumar J, Rani A, Tiwari SM, Mishra V
We selected fifty one drugs already known for their potential disease treatment roles in various studies and subjected to docking and molecular docking simulation (MDS) analyses. Five of them showed promising features that are discussed and suggested as potential candidates for repurposing for COVID-19. These top five compounds were boswellic acid, pimecrolimus, GYY-4137, BMS-345541 and triamcinolone hexacetonide that interacted with the chosen receptors 1R42, 4G3D, 6VW1, 6VXX and 7MEQ, respectively with binding energies of -9.2 kcal/mol, -9.1 kcal/mol, -10.3 kcal/mol, -10.1 kcal/mol and -8.7 kcal/mol, respectively. The MDS studies for the top 5 best complexes revealed binding features for the chosen receptor, human NF-kappa B transcription factor as an important drug target in COVID-19-based drug development strategies.
Bioinformation. 2023;19(2):149-159.
PMID: 37814677 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 11. |
Biological properties of experimental dental alginate modified for self-disinfection using green nanotechnology.
Singer L, Karacic S, Szekat C, Bierbaum G, Bourauel C
OBJECTIVES: Disinfection of alginate impression materials is a mandatory step to prevent cross-infection in dental clinics. However, alginate disinfection methods are time-consuming and exert a negative impact on accuracy and mechanical properties. Thus, this study aimed to prepare disinfecting agents (CHX and AgNO) and silver nanoparticles reduced by a natural plant extract to produce a self-disinfecting dental alginate.
METHODS: Conventional alginate impression material was used in this study. Silver nitrate (0.2% AgNO group) and chlorohexidine (0.2% CHX group) solutions were prepared using distilled water, and these solutions were later employed for alginate preparation. Moreover, a 90% aqueous plant extract was prepared from Boswellia sacra (BS) oleoresin and used to reduce silver nitrate to form silver nanoparticles that were incorporated in the dental alginate preparation (BS+AgNPs group). The plant extract was characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis while green-synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were characterized by UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An agar disc diffusion assay was used to test the antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans, Streptococcus mutans, Escherichia coli, methicillin-resistant and susceptible Staphylococcus aureus strains, and Micrococcus luteus. Agar plates were incubated at 37 ± 1 °C for 24 h to allow microbial growth. Diameters of the circular inhibition zones formed around each specimen were measured digitally by using ImageJ software.
RESULTS: Chemical analysis of the plant extract revealed the presence of 41 volatile and semi-volatile active compounds. UV-Vis spectrophotometry, SEM, and EDX confirmed the formation of spherical silver nanoparticles using the BS extract. CHX, AgNO, and the BS+AgNPs modified groups showed significantly larger inhibition zones than the control group against all tested strains. BS+AgNPs and CHX groups showed comparable efficacy against all tested strains except for Staphylococcus aureus, where the CHX-modified alginate had a significantly higher effect.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: CHX, silver nitrate, and biosynthesized silver nanoparticles could be promising inexpensive potential candidates for the preparation of a self-disinfecting alginate impression material without affecting its performance. Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles using Boswellia sacra extract could be a very safe, efficient, and nontoxic way with the additional advantage of a synergistic action between metal ions and the phytotherapeutic agents of the plant extract.
Clin Oral Investig. 2023 Nov;27(11):6677-6688.
PMID: 37775587 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 12. |
Development, Analytical Characterization, and Bioactivity Evaluation of Extract-Layered Double Hydroxide Hybrid Composites.
Cometa S, Busto F, Castellaneta A, Cochis A, Najmi Z, Rizzi R, Losito I, De Giglio E
extract (BSE), rich in boswellic acids, is well known as a potent anti-inflammatory natural drug. However, due to its limited aqueous solubility, BSE inclusion into an appropriate carrier, capable of improving its release in the biological target, would be highly desirable. Starting with this requirement, new hybrid composites based on the inclusion of BSE in a lamellar solid layered double hydroxide (LDH), i.e., magnesium aluminum carbonate, were developed and characterized in the present work. The adopted LDH exhibited a layered crystal structure, comprising positively charged hydroxide layers and interlayers composed of carbonate anions and water molecules; thus, it was expected to embed negatively charged boswellic acids. In the present case, a calcination process was also adopted on the LDH to increase organic acid loading, based on the replacement of the original inorganic anions. An accurate investigation was carried out by TGA, PXRD, FT-IR/ATR, XPS, SEM, and LC-MS to ascertain the nature, interaction, and quantification of the active molecules of the vegetal extract loaded in the developed hybrid materials. As a result, the significant disruption of the original layered structure was observed in the LDH subjected to calcination (LDHc), and this material was able to include a higher amount of organic acids when its composite with BSE was prepared. However, in vitro tests on the composites' bioactivity, expressed in terms of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity, evidenced LDH-BSE as a better material compared to BSE and to LDHc-BSE, thus suggesting that, although the embedded organic acid amount was lower, they could be more available since they were not firmly bound to the clay. The composite was able to significantly decrease the number of viable pathogens such as and as well as the internalization of toxic active species into human cells imposing oxidative stress, in comparison to the BSE.
Molecules. 2023 Sep;28(18):.
PMID: 37764225 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 13. |
Antimicrobial Activity of Frankincense () Oil and Smoke against Pathogenic and Airborne Microbes.
Al-Kharousi ZS, Mothershaw AS, Nzeako B
As they continuously evolve, plants will remain a renewable source for antimicrobial compounds. Omani frankincense is produced by trees and is graded into Hojari, Nejdi, Shazri or Sha'bi. Air can be a source for pathogenic or food spoilage microbes; thus, inactivating airborne microbes is necessary in environments such as food and animal production areas. This study investigated the antimicrobial activity and the chemistry of steam-distilled oils of Hojari and Sha'bi grades. It also analyzed the antimicrobial activity of frankincense smoke and the size of its solid particles. Chemical analysis was performed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antimicrobial activity of the oils against (NCTC 6571), spp., (NCTC 10418), (NCTC 10662), , , , , , , and was determined using well diffusion and micro-well dilution methods. A microscopic technique was used to determine the size of frankincense smoke solid particles. Microbes were exposed to frankincense smoke to test their susceptibility to the smoke. Hojari and Sha'bi oils were similar in composition and contained monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. The Hojari and the Sha'bi oils possessed broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. The largest growth inhibition zones were obtained with and . An MIC of 1.56% (/) was found with , and . Frankincense smoke contained fine irregular solid particles with a diameter range of 0.8-2287.4 µm, and thus may pose a health risk to susceptible individuals. The smoke had potent antimicrobial activity against , , and airborne bacteria, yeast and mold, with a maximum inhibition of 100%. It was concluded that Hojari and Sha'bi frankincense oils and smoke had significant antimicrobial activity that can be exploited in controlling human, animal and plant pathogenic microbes.
Foods. 2023 Sep;12(18):.
PMID: 37761150 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 14. |
Efficacy and Safety of Add-On Plant-Based Drugs for COVID-19 Patients: A Review of the Randomized Control Trials.
Diantini A, Febriyanti RM, Levita J
COVID-19 caused by the infection of SARS-CoV-2 is still a global concern. WHO reported that from 13 March to 9 April 2023, there were 3 million new cases and approximately 23,000 deaths, mostly occurring in the South-East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions, which is predicted due to the new Omicron variant, Arcturus XBB.1.16. Many studies have reported the potency of medicinal plants in enhancing the function of the immune system to combat virus infection. The literature review aimed to describe the efficacy and safety of add-on plant-based drugs for COVID-19 patients. The articles were explored on the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases, and published during 2020-2023. Twenty-two varieties of plants were used as add-on therapy for COVID-19 patients. These plants were , and . The best efficacy of an add-on therapy for COVID-19 patients was found in herbs as a single component in pharmaceutical dosage form or in combination with other plants. The safety of the plant has been confirmed. does not show interaction with remdesivir or favipiravir, however, caution and therapy drug monitoring is needed if is used in combination with lopinavir or ritonavir because a strong noncompetitive inhibition of CYP3A4 may occur.
Infect Drug Resist. 2023;16():3879-3891.
PMID: 37361940 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 15. |
Mechanical and Physical Properties of an Experimental Chemically and Green-Nano Improved Dental Alginate after Proven Antimicrobial Potentials.
Singer L, Bourauel C
OBJECTIVES: Impression materials could be a source of cross-contamination due to the presence of microorganisms from blood and saliva inside the oral cavity. Nevertheless, routinely performed post-setting disinfection could compromise the dimensional accuracy and other mechanical properties of alginates. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate detail reproduction, dimensional accuracy, tear strength, and elastic recovery of new experimentally prepared self-disinfecting dental alginates.
METHODS: Two antimicrobial-modified dental alginate groups were prepared by mixing alginate powder with 0.2% silver nitrate (AgNO group) and a 0.2% chlorohexidine solution (CHX group) instead of pure water. Moreover, a third modified group was examined by the extraction of () oleoresin using water. The extract was used to reduce silver nitrate to form silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and the mixture was used as well in dental alginate preparation ( + AgNP group). Dimensional accuracy and detail reproduction were examined as per the ISO 1563 standard guidelines. Specimens were prepared using a metallic mold engraved with three parallel vertical lines 20, 50, and 75 µm wide. Detail reproduction was evaluated by checking the reproducibility of the 50 µm line using a light microscope. Dimensional accuracy was assessed by measuring the change in length between defined reference points. Elastic recovery was measured according to ISO 1563:1990, in which specimens were gradually loaded and then the load was released to allow for recovery from the deformation. Tear strength was evaluated using a material testing machine until failure at a crosshead speed of 500 mm/min.
RESULTS: The recorded dimensional changes between all tested groups were insignificantly different and within the reported acceptable values (between 0.037-0.067 mm). For tear strength, there were statistically significant differences between all tested groups. Groups modified with CHX (1.17 ± 0.26 N/mm) and + AgNPs (1.11 ± 0.24 N/mm) showed higher tear strength values compared to the control (0.86 ± 0.23 N/mm) but were insignificant from AgNO (0.94 ± 0.17 N/mm). All tested groups showed elastic recovery values that met both the ISO standard and ADA specifications for elastic impression materials and tear strength values within the acceptable documented ranges.
DISCUSSION: The CHX, silver nitrate, and green-synthesized silver nanoparticles could be promising, inexpensive alternatives for the preparation of a self-disinfecting alginate impression material without affecting its performance. Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles could be a very safe, efficient, and nontoxic method, with the advantage of having a synergistic effect between metal ions and active chemical constituents of plant extracts.
Gels. 2023 May;9(5):.
PMID: 37233020 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 16. |
The molecular interplay of known phytochemicals as and Rift Valley fever virus inhibitors through molecular docking.
Abutaha N, Al-Mekhlafi FA, Wadaan MA, Moustafa Rady A, Baabbad AAA, Al-Khalifa MS
Infectious diseases transmitted by vectors have claimed millions of lives. The mosquito is a main vector species of Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) transmission. RVFV is an arbovirus that infects both people and animals. No effective vaccine or drugs are available for RVFV. Therefore, it is vital to find effective therapies for this viral infection. Because of their critical roles in transmission and infection, acetylcholinesterase 1 (AChE1) of and RVFV glycoproteins, and nucleocapsid proteins are appealing protein targets. To understand intermolecular interactions, computational screening was carried out using molecular docking. More than 50 compounds were tested against different target proteins in the current study. Anabsinthin (-11.1 kcal/mol), zapoterin (-9.4 kcal/mol), porrigenin A (-9.4 kcal/mol), and 3-Acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) (-9.4 kcal/mol) were the top hit compounds for . Similarly, the top hit compounds for RVFV were zapoterin, porrigenin A, anabsinthin, and yamogenin. The toxicity of Rofficerone is predicted as fatal (Class II), whereas Yamogenin is safe (Class VI). Further investigations are needed to validate the selected promising candidates against and RVFV infection using in-vitro and in-vivo methods.
Saudi J Biol Sci. 2023 Apr;30(4):103611.
PMID: 36970253 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 17. |
Lantadene A and boswellic acid isolated from the leaves of L. have the potential to control phytopathogenic species.
Seepe HA, Raphoko L, Amoo SO, Nxumalo W
Phytopathogenic species are restricting factors causing diseases and yield loss in crop production. As part of exploration for pesticides from medicinal plants, this study aimed to isolate and characterize bioactive compounds from L. and evaluate their efficiency against phytopathogens. Phytochemical investigation of ethyl acetate leaf extract led to separation of lantadene A (22-angeloyloxy-9-hydroxy-3-oxo-olean-12-en-28-oic acid) and boswellic acid (11-keto-β-boswellic acid). The chemical structures of the aforementioned compounds were confirmed using physical properties, spectroscopic analysis, and published data. Lantadene A exhibited significant antifungal activity against , , , , and with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) less than or equal to 0.63 mg/mL. Boswellic acid exhibited strong activity (MIC = 0.63 mg/mL) against and . In terms of their toxicity towards Raw 264.7 cells, lantadene A and boswellic acid recorded half-maximal inhibitory concentration values of 84.2 μg/mL and 186.6 μg/mL, respectively. Both lantadene A and boswellic acid had no phytotoxic effect against seed germination and seedling root length. Lantadene A and boswellic acid have strong potential to be further investigated as lead natural fungicides (biopesticides) to control crop diseases.
Heliyon. 2022 Dec;8(12):e12216.
PMID: 36582687 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 18. |
Bioactive Compounds from Endophytic Bacteria Strain EP1 with Their Antibacterial Activities.
Numan M, Shah M, Asaf S, Ur Rehman N, Al-Harrasi A
Endophytic bacteria boost host plant defense and growth by producing vital compounds. In the current study, a bacterial strain was isolated from the plant and identified as strain EP1 (accession number: MT256301) through 16S RNA gene sequencing. From the identified bacteria, four compounds- (4-(4-cinnamoyloxy)phenyl)butanoic acid), (cyclo-(L-Pro-D-Tyr)), (cyclo-(L-Val-L-Phe)), and (cyclo-(L-Pro-L-Val))-were isolated and characterized by 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectroscopy. Moreover, antibacterial activity and beta-lactam-producing gene inhibition (δ-(l-α-aminoadipyl)-l-cysteinyl-d-valine synthetase (ACVS) and aminoadipate aminotransferase (AADAT)) assays were performed. Significant antibacterial activity was observed against the human pathogenic bacterial strains () by compound with a 13 ± 0.7 mm zone of inhibition (ZOI), followed by compound having an 11 ± 0.7 mm ZOI. In contrast, the least antibacterial activity among the tested samples was offered by compound with a 10 ± 0.9 mm ZOI compared to the standard (26 ± 1.2 mm). Similarly, the molecular analysis of beta-lactam inhibition determined that compounds and inhibited the two genes (2- to 4-fold) in the beta-lactam biosynthesis (ACVS and AADAT) pathway. From these results, it can be concluded that future research on these compounds could lead to the inhibition of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacterial strains.
Metabolites. 2022 Dec;12(12):.
PMID: 36557265 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 19. |
Antimicrobial and Toxic Effects of Roxb. and Linn. Essential Oils on Vaginal Inhabitants.
Bogavac MA, Perić TM, Mišković J, Karaman M
Commercial essential oils (EOs) of incense, Roxb, and mint, L., were investigated against vaginal bacterial and isolates for antimicrobial potential and safety use. The antimicrobial activity of EOs was investigated through a double-dilution micro-plate assay. A brine shrimp assay was used for the determination of toxicity, while the determination of the chemical composition of EOs was carried out using GS-MS. Obtained minimal inhibitory (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) point to the activity of mint essential oil (EO) against the multi-resistant isolate (MIC/MBC at 6.25 µL/mL), while MIC and MBC values for other isolates were reached at higher concentrations (25-50 µL/mL). According to the toxicity assay, the incense EO reached the LC value at 3.07 µL/mL, while mint EO showed higher toxicity at lower concentrations (0.5 µL/mL) and the LC could not be determined. The highest antimicrobial potential was obtained for incense against Although the toxicity assay showed high toxicity of mint EO to the eggs of aquatic crustaceans , further testing of EO toxicity is proposed, for example on healthy cell-lines. According to the GC/MS spectrometry, the most represented components of mint EO were the oxygenated hydrocarbons L-menthone (20.86%) and menthol (31.86%), and they could be proposed for further antimicrobial and toxicity investigation.
Medicines (Basel). 2022 Dec;9(12):.
PMID: 36547995 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 20. |
Antileishmanial Activities of Medicinal Herbs and Phytochemicals In Vitro and In Vivo: An Update for the Years 2015 to 2021.
Hassan AA, Khalid HE, Abdalla AH, Mukhtar MM, Osman WJ, Efferth T
Leishmaniasis is one of the most neglected tropical diseases that present areal public health problems worldwide. Chemotherapy has several limitations such as toxic side effects, high costs, frequent relapses, the development of resistance, and the requirement for long-term treatment. Effective vaccines or drugs to prevent or cure the disease are not available yet. Therefore, it is important to dissect antileishmanial molecules that present selective efficacy and tolerable safety. Several studies revealed the antileishmanial activity of medicinal plants. Several organic extracts/essential oils and isolated natural compounds have been tested for their antileishmanial activities. Therefore, the aim of this review is to update and summarize the investigations that have been undertaken on the antileishmanial activity of medicinal plants and natural compounds derived, rom plants from January 2015 to December 2021. In this review, 94 plant species distributed in 39 families have been identified with antileishmanial activities. The leaves were the most commonly used plant part (49.5%) followed by stem bark, root, and whole plant (21.9%, 6.6%, and 5.4%, respectively). Other plant parts contributed less (<5%). The activity was reported against amastigotes and/or promastigotes of different species (L. infantum, L. tropica, L. major, L. amazonensis, L. aethiopica, L. donovani, L. braziliensis, L. panamensis, L. guyanensis, and L. mexicana). Most studies (84.2%) were carried out in vitro, and the others (15.8%) were performed in vivo. The IC50 values of 103 plant extracts determined in vitro were in a range of 0.88 µg/mL (polar fraction of dichloromethane extract of Boswellia serrata) to 98 µg/mL (petroleum ether extract of Murraya koenigii). Among the 15 plant extracts studied in vivo, the hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Solanum havanense reduced parasites by 93.6% in cutaneous leishmaniasis. Voacamine extracted from Tabernaemontana divaricata reduced hepatic parasitism by ≈30 times and splenic parasitism by ≈15 times in visceral leishmaniasis. Regarding cytotoxicity, 32.4% of the tested plant extracts against various Leishmania species have a selectivity index higher than 10. For isolated compounds, 49 natural compounds have been reported with anti-Leishmania activities against amastigotes and/or promastigotes of different species (L. infantum, L. major, L. amazonensis, L. donovani and L. braziliensis). The IC50 values were in a range of 0.2 µg/mL (colchicoside against promastigotes of L. major) to 42.4 µg/mL (dehydrodieuginol against promastigotes of L. amazonensis). In conclusion, there are numerous medicinal plants and natural compounds with strong effects (IC50 < 100 µg/mL) against different Leishmania species under in vitro and in vivo conditions with good selectivity indices (SI > 10). These plants and compounds may be promising sources for the development of new drugs against leishmaniasis and should be investigated in randomized clinical trials.
Molecules. 2022 Nov;27(21):.
PMID: 36364404 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 21. |
and Antibacterial Effects of Frankincense Oil and Its Interaction with Some Antibiotics against Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens.
Almutairi MBF, Alrouji M, Almuhanna Y, Asad M, Joseph B
Frankincense ( oleo gum resin) is reported to possess antimicrobial activity against several pathogens in-vitro. The antimicrobial effects of frankincense oil and its interaction with imipenem and gentamicin against methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and multidrug-resistant were determined through in-vitro methods and an in-vivo study using a rat pneumonia model. Frankincense oil was subjected to GC-MS analysis to determine the different volatile components. Antibacterial effects against MRSA and MDR- was evaluated and its MIC and MBC were determined. For the rat pneumonia model (in-vivo), oil was administered at a dose of 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg followed by determination of CFU in lung tissue and histological studies. Frankincense oil did not show a very potent inhibitory effect against MRSA or MDR-; the oil did not affect the zone of inhibition or FIC when combined with imipenem or gentamicin indicating a lack of interaction between the oil and the antibiotics. Furthermore, there was no interaction between the antibiotics and the frankincense oil in the in-vivo model. The result of the study revealed that frankincense oil has a weak inhibitory effect against MRSA and MDR-, and it did not show any interaction with imipenem or gentamicin.
Antibiotics (Basel). 2022 Nov;11(11):.
PMID: 36358246 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 22. |
Antibacterial Activity of Aqueous Extract and Its Effect on Phagocytosis .
Shakir Abed Almjalawi B, Alhamed TA, Alhesnawi ASM
has been traditionally used for the treatment of several inflammatory diseases, and bacterial resistance to antibiotics has recently increased the use of bioproducts. The present study aimed to assess the antibacterial effect and phagocytic ability of the aqueous extract of the in bacteria isolated in nosocomial infections. plant was collected and prepared from the aqueous extract in different concentrations. A total of 125 samples were collected from various clinical sources, including urine, sputum, wounds, otitis, and blood, from patients of both genders in different age groups. The results demonstrated that out of the 59 infected samples, urine samples had the highest infection (68%), followed by wounds, sputum, and otitis reported as (60%), (44%), and (40%), respectively. On the other hand, blood samples had the lowest percentage of infection (28%). Microscopic diagnostic results, biochemical tests, API Staph System, API 20E System, and Vitek 2 Compact pointed out that the highest infection rates were related to (32.20%), (25.33%), and (22.03%), while the lowest infection rate was detected in (20.33%). The results indicated that aqueous extract of had an antibacterial activity for all bacterial isolates, 25 mg/ml of extract gave an inhibition zone of 10.8 mm,10.4 mm, 7mm, and 10mm for , , , and , respectively, while 200 mg/ml of extract gave 24 mm, 22 mm, 18.4 mm, and 20 mm, respectively. The results pointed to a significant increase in the phagocytosis rate, with the phagocytosis of blood samples treated with extract (79.7%), as compared to control samples (57.75%). As evidenced by the results of this study, the aqueous extract of the plant showed antibacterial effects and a positive impact on the phagocytic ratio; nonetheless, it is recommended that further studies be conducted to characterize the compounds of this herb.
Arch Razi Inst. 2022 Apr;77(2):545-552.
PMID: 36284973 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 23. |
Omani Frankincense nanoemulsion formulation efficacy and its latent effects on biological aspects of the spiny bollworm (Boisd.).
Metayi MH, Abd El-Naby SS, El-Habal NA, Fahmy HH, Abdou MS, Ali B, Abdel-Rheim KH, Abdel-Megeed A
Our research shed light on the perspective of formulation technology regarding its responsibility to provide phyto-insecticides that are worthy of research into potential novel applications. There has been an increase in interest in using nanoemulsion as a new formulation in a variety of sectors during the last several decades. essential oil (Fam: Burseraceae) from the resin of frankincense trees has been recently proposed as a promising ingredient in a new generation of botanical insecticides. Frankincense nanoemulsion was formulated in 5% ratios comprising frankincense oil, surfactants, and water. A frankincense nanoemulsion was prepared using a high-energy ultra-sonication process and characterized by dynamic light scattering transmission electron microscopy surface tension, viscosity, and zeta potential value. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to identify the chemical profiles of frankincense essential oil. Furthermore, insecticidal effects against second instar larvae of the spiny bollworm, , as well as their latent effects on the larvae were studied. In the present study, the formulation was a good nanoemulsion. The surface tension was 53.69, the viscosity was 4.76 cPs, the zeta potential was-10 mV, and the size distribution was 41.30 nm. The polydispersity index (PDI) of the nanoemulsion was found to be 0.26, and the morphology of the frankincense nanoemulsion was visualized in a spherical shape. The main constituents identified in frankincense oil were α-pinene (15.52%); monolinolenin (12.92%); and geranylgeranyl acetate (9.99%). The results showed significant insecticidal activity against the larval stage and considerably decreased the pupation percentage with increasing the volume of the frankincense nanoemulsion. On the other hand, the latent effects of the frankincense nanoemulsion on resulted in a higher prolongation of larval and pupal durations as well as a significant reduction in the weight of larvae and pupae of Additionally, frankincense nanoemulsion dramatically influenced the adult emergence percentage. It also caused a significantly lower hatchability percentage compared to the untreated control. The concentrations used and the types of mating combination have a significant effect on the fecundity of . This novel frankincense nanoemulsion formulation could be used in strategies to control the spiny bollworm on cotton plants.
Front Physiol. 2022;13():1001136.
PMID: 36277209 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 24. |
Effects of Boswellia species on viral infections with particular attention to SARS-CoV-2.
Jamshidi Z, Hashemi M, Yazdian-Robati R, Etemad L, Salmasi Z, Kesharwani P
The emergence of pathogenic viruses is a worldwide frequent cause of diseases and, therefore, the design of treatments for viral infections stands as a significant research topic. Despite many efforts, the production of vaccines is faced with many obstacles and the high rate of viral resistance caused a severe reduction in the efficacy of antiviral drugs. However, the attempt of developing novel natural drugs, as well as the exertion of medicinal plants, may be an applicable solution for the treatment of viral diseases. Boswellia species exhibited a wide range of pharmacological activities in various conditions such as bronchial asthma, rheumatism, and Crohn's illness. Additionally, pharmacological studies reported the observance of practical antiviral activities from different parts of this substance, especially the oleo-gum-resin. Therefore, this work provided an overview on the antiviral properties of Boswellia species and their potential therapeutic effects in the field of COVID-19 pandemic.
Inflammopharmacology. 2022 Oct;30(5):1541-1553.
PMID: 35882701 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 25. |
Boswellic acids, as novel inhibitor targeting peptidoglycan biosynthetic enzyme UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase (MurA) in Escherichia coli.
Raina D, Khan FG, Tiwari H, Sangwan PL, Nargotra A, Kumar V, Khan IA, Saran S
UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase (MurA) is an essential cytosolic enzyme in the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan. It becomes a potential bacterial target for screening promising antibacterial compounds as it is associated with the early phases of peptidoglycan production. MurA enzyme is conserved and necessary for bacterial viability with no mammalian homolog, which is a well-proven therapeutic research target. The present study reports the natural compounds from Boswellia serrata targeting the MurA enzyme. The identified inhibitors against MurA Escherichia coli (E. coli): β-boswellic acid (IC 33.65 µM), Acetyl-β-boswellic acid (IC 30.17 µM), and Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (IC 37.67 µM). Inhibitors showed a fourfold decrease in IC values on pre-incubation with substrate-UDP-N-acetyl-glucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc). Mode-of-inhibition studies revealed their uncompetitive nature with both the substrates. Although these boswellic acids have been explored for their pharmacological potential, this is the first study reporting these compounds' E. coli MurA inhibiting potential.
Arch Microbiol. 2022 Jul;204(8):472.
PMID: 35819545 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 26. |
Evaluation of antibacterial and wound-healing activities of alcoholic extract of Boswellia carterii, in vitro and in vivo study.
Hasson SO, Jasim AM, Salman SAK, Akrami S, Saki M, Hassan MA
BACKGROUND: Today, despite the existence of various chemical and physical treatments for wound healing, the use of traditional medicine including herbal medicine is still widely used in most developed and developing countries.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the antimicrobial and wound-healing activities of alcoholic extract of Boswellia carterii (BC) plant.
METHODS: The BC extract was prepared using alcohol 70%. The chemical groups and extract compounds were determined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, respectively. The antimicrobial and wound-healing activities of different concentrations of BC extract and its combination with penicillin-streptomycin were assessed by agar well diffusion and infected wound model in albino rabbits, respectively.
RESULTS: FTIR revealed the presence of hydroxyl, amide, carboxyl, alkyl C-H stretches, aromatic C=C bends, and aromatic C-H bends in the BC extract. The HPLC revealed 14 different compounds including thujene (48.0%) as the most abundant ingredient. All BC concentrations showed antibacterial and wound-healing activities. The 10% concentration of BC extract had the strongest antibacterial effect. Also, the combination of penicillin-streptomycin with BC extract showed synergistic antibacterial effect. The 5% concentration of BC was the best wound-healing compound which healed the wound in 6 days and decreased the wound size 10 mm each day.
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the potential abilities of BC as an antibacterial and wound-healing medicinal plant. Further studies are required to justify the in vivo use of this plant.
J Cosmet Dermatol. 2022 Nov;21(11):6199-6208.
PMID: 35778893 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 27. |
The Efficacy of Kundur (Boswellia serrata Roxb. Ex Colebr.) in Vulvovaginal Candidiasis: A Randomized Control Trial.
Inamdar NK, Roqaiya M, Husain N, Ahmed K, Baig S
CONTEXT: Kundur, Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr., is prescribed by Unani (Greco-Arab) scholars clinically under conditions similar to vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and has been supported by recent pharmacological studies, but scientific evidence is scarce.
OBJECTIVES: The study intended to investigate the drug's scientific parameters and to compare its efficacy and safety to that of Miconazole nitrate (2% w/w) in treatment of VVC.
DESIGN: The research team designed a randomized controlled trial (RCT).
SETTING: The RCT was performed in the Department of Ilmul Qabalat wa Amraze Niswan at Luqman Unani Medical College Hospital and Research Center in Vijaypura, India, between November 2018 and March 2020.
PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 40 married women, aged 18 to 45 years, who had been clinically examined and diagnosed with VVC.
INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly allocated to the Boswellia serrata (Kundur) group, the intervention group (n = 20), or to the miconazole group, the control group (n = 20). The Kundur group took a one-gram tablet of Kundur as a vaginal insert every day at bedtime for 21 days, while the control group used vaginal suppositories with 100 mg of miconazole (2% w/w) every day at bedtime for seven days.
OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome measures were changes: (1) in vulval itching (pruritus), (2) in vaginal discharge, (3) in painful urination (dysuria), (4) in recurrent genital pain (dyspareunia), and (5) in quality of life (QoL). The secondary outcome measures were mycological clearing on a potassium hydroxide (KOH) test and a per-speculum pelvic examination for the presence or absence of curdy discharge, vulval erythema, and vulval swelling.
RESULTS: The response to the intervention was greater than that of the control in reducing pruritus vulvae and vaginal discharge. However, both drugs were equally effective in improving the rest of the parameters, including QoL.
CONCLUSION: The VVC symptoms were equally and significantly improved in both the intervention and the control groups, and Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr. was shown to be efficacious in the management of VVC. Further studies with a rigorous design and larger sample size are needed to reinforce scientific evidence.
Altern Ther Health Med. 2023 Oct;29(7):97-103.
PMID: 35751891 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 28. |
Boswellic Acids as Effective Antibacterial Antibiofilm Agents.
Jaroš P, Timkina E, Michailidu J, Maršík D, Kulišová M, Kolouchová I, Demnerová K
Boswellic acids are biologically active pentacyclic terpenoid compounds derived from sp. plants. Extracts containing these acids have a number of positive effects on human health, especially in the treatment of inflammation, arthritis, or asthma. With increasing resistance to common antibiotics, boswellic acid-containing extracts could serve as an alternative or work in synergy with commonly available preparations. This study aims to determine the effect of boswellic acids on suspension cells and biofilms of , , and The antimicrobial and antibiofilm effect found was compared with commonly available antibiotics to control these undesirable microorganisms. The synergistic effect of boswellic acids and common antibiotics on the growth of these microorganisms was also determined. All tested microorganisms showed a positive additive effect of antibiotics and boswellic acid extract. The most significant effect was found in ATCC 29212 in a combination of 0.2 × MIC80 erythromycin (0.2 mg/L) and 0.8 × MIC80 boswellic acid extract (16 mg/L).
Molecules. 2022 Jun;27(12):.
PMID: 35744925 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 29. |
Molecular and structural insights of β-boswellic acid and glycyrrhizic acid as potent SARS-CoV-2 Envelope protein inhibitors.
Fatima SW, Alam S, Khare SK
BACKGROUND: Over million people have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide, with around 3% reported deaths till date. A few conventional antiviral treatments have been tried to mitigate the coronavirus. However, many alternative therapeutics are being evaluated worldwide. In the present study, we investigated traditional Indian medicinal compounds antiviral potencies as an effective drug for targeting SARS-CoV-2E. SARS-CoV-2 E protein plays a key role in coronavirus life cycle and is an interesting target for the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 E drugs.
METHODS: Molecular docking studies of medicinal compounds possessing wide range of pharmacological and antiviral activities against enveloped viruses were evaluated with the computer-aided drug design screening software; PyRx. Twelve medicinal compounds isolated from plants were screened and visualized on Biovia Discovery-Studio. Moreover, SARS-CoV-2 E protein's secondary structural insights were deciphered using Swiss Model and ProFunc web server.
RESULTS: Glycyrrhizic acid, triterpene glycoside isolated from plants of (licorice) showed interactions with envelope protein at chain A: Arg 61, chain B: Phe 23, chain B: Tyr 57, and chain C: Val 25. β- boswellic acid, an ayurvedic herb (pentacyclic terpenoid are produced by ) represented direct interactions and indirect binding with chain C. Their pharmacological aspects and drug-likeness properties were deduced by DruLiTo. Toxicological assessment, along with their ADME profiling, was validated using vNNADMET. The findings showed that ligands, β-boswellic acid, and glycyrrhizic acid possessed the best bindings, with the target having binding affinity (-9.1 kcal/mol) amongst compounds tested against SARS-CoV-2 E. studies reveals the promising effect as potent SARS-CoV-2 E inhibitors. Functionality loss and structural disruptions with ∼90% were observed by UV-spectra and fluorescent based analyses.
CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated that β-boswellic acid, and glycyrrhizic acid are strong SARS-CoV-2 E protein inhibitors. In addition, the work linked GA antiviral activity to its effect on SARS-CoV- 2 E protein that can pave the way for designing antiviral therapeutics.
Phytomed Plus. 2022 May;2(2):100241.
PMID: 35403092 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 30. |
Aromatherapy blend of thyme, orange, clove bud, and frankincense boosts energy levels in post-COVID-19 female patients: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled clinical trial.
Hawkins J, Hires C, Keenan L, Dunne E
BACKGROUND: A large proportion of individuals who have recovered from an acute COVID-19 infection continue to experience symptoms months later. Post-acute COVID-19 (long-haul COVID-19) can range from serious complications to quality of life symptoms such as fatigue or insomnia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential for inhalation of essential oils to improve energy levels among otherwise healthy female survivors of acute COVID-19 who experience a lack of energy more than five months after recovery. This study was conducted in the United States in late 2021.
METHOD: This was a randomized double blind, placebo controlled trial to evaluate the potential for inhalation of Longevity™, a proprietary essential oil blend manufactured by Young Living Essential Oils (Lehi, Utah, USA), on energy levels among female survivors of COVID-19 who continue to experience fatigue more than 5 months recovery from the acute infection. Forty women were randomized to two groups: intervention and placebo. Both groups inhaled the assigned product twice daily for fourteen consecutive days. Fatigue scores were measured using the Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory (MFSI). Secondary outcomes included scores on each of the MFSI's ten subscales.
RESULTS: Individuals who inhaled the essential oil blend for 2 weeks had significantly lower fatigue scores after controlling for baseline scores, employment status, BMI, olfactory function, and time since diagnosis, with a large effect size (F (1,39) = 6.15, p = .020, partial eta squared = 0.198). Subscale analysis identified subscales of vigor, as well as global, behavioral, general, and mental fatigue as benefiting from the intervention. This study provides evidence that a proprietary aromatherapy blend can significantly improve energy levels among women who are experiencing fatigue after recovering from COVID-19.
Complement Ther Med. 2022 Aug;67():102823.
PMID: 35341944 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 31. |
Larvicidal and adulticidal effects of some Egyptian oils against Culex pipiens.
Baz MM, Selim A, Radwan IT, Alkhaibari AM, Khater HF
Mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases represent an increasing global challenge. Plant extract and/or oils could serve as alternatives to synthetic insecticides. The larvicidal effects of 32 oils (1000 ppm) were screened against the early 4th larvae of Culex pipiens and the best oils were evaluated against adults and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC mass) and HPLC. All oils had larvicidal activity (60.0-100%, 48 h Post-treatment, and their Lethal time 50 (LT) values ranged from 9.67 (Thymus vulgaris) to 37.64 h (Sesamum indicum). Oils were classified as a highly effective group (95-100% mortalities), including Allium sativum, Anethum graveolens, Camellia sinensis, Foeniculum vulgare, Nigella sativa, Salvia officinalis, T. vulgaris, and Viola odorata. The moderately effective group (81-92% mortalities) included Boswellia serrata, Cuminum cyminum, Curcuma aromatic, Allium sativum, Melaleuca alternifolia, Piper nigrum, and Simmondsia chinensis. The least effective ones were C. sativus and S. indicum. Viola odorata, Anethum graveolens, T. vulgaris, and N. sativa provide 100% adult mortalities PT with 10, 25, 20, and 25%. The mortality percentages of the adults subjected to 10% of oils (H group) were 48.89%, 88.39%, 63.94%, 51.54%, 92.96%, 44.44%, 72.22%, and 100% for A. sativum, An. graveolens, C. sinensis, F. vulgare, N. sativa, S. officinalis, T. vulgaris, and V. odorata, respectively. Camellia sinensis and F. vulgare were the most potent larvicides whereas V. odorata, T. vulgaris, An. graveolens and N. sativa were the best adulticides and they could be used for integrated mosquito control.
Sci Rep. 2022 Mar;12(1):4406.
PMID: 35292687 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 32. |
Molecular docking and in vitro analysis of phytoextracts from B. serrata for antibacterial activities.
Vakayil R, Anbazhagan M, Shanmugam G, Ramasamy S, Mathanmohun M
The bioactives of Boswellia serrata have a role in ulcer healing therapies. Eleven bioactive compounds were obtained by GC-MS among which Cholan-24-oic acid, 3,12-bis (acetyl oxy) has a high molecular weight of 490.6719 with a retention time of 26.729. Twenty wound samples were collected aseptically from the labs and hospitals in and around the Namakkal districts of Tamilnadu, India. The antibacterial potential of E.coli showed a maximum inhibition of 27 mm against Tetracycline at 30µg. The ethanolic extract of the B. serrata shows a susceptibility of 19mm towards E. coli at 60µg concentration in MIC. Molecular docking results show the binding energy of Cholan-24-oic acid, 3,12-bis(acetyloxy) -8.6 (kcal/mol) followed by Pyrene, hexadecahydro- -6.7 (kcal/mol), and 5(1H)- Azulenone, 2,4,6,7,8,8a-hexahydro-3,8-dimethyl-4-(1-methylethylidene)-, (8S-cis)- 6.4 (kcal/mol) for further consideration.
Bioinformation. 2021;17(7):667-672.
PMID: 35283584 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 33. |
Dietary Acid Alters the Gut Microbiome and Blood Metabolites in Experimental Models.
Suther C, Daddi L, Bokoliya S, Panier H, Liu Z, Lin Q, Han Y, Chen K, Moore MD, Zhou Y
, commonly known as frankincense, has been used for centuries as a natural anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial remedy for many illnesses. However, the effect of the bioactive ingredient of it, 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-b-boswellic acid (AKBA), on both the gut microbiome and blood metabolites, is not known. In this study, we observe the effect of this isolated active ingredient orally on both male and female mice. Gut microbiota and blood metabolites were determined at the beginning and end of a 14-day consumption period. AKBA significantly decreased gut bacterial richness in male mice, and had no effect on female mice. , associated with weight loss and anti-inflammation, was found to be significantly increased in both male and female mice, along with an increase in in female mice. and were plated on media containing varying levels of AKBA (0%, 0.001%, 0.01%, and 0.1%). All concentrations of AKBA completely inhibited growth of but had no effect on . Several blood metabolites differed with AKBA between both males and females. These results show the potential benefits of dietary on the modulation of gut microbiome composition, along with differences between sexes.
Nutrients. 2022 Feb;14(4):.
PMID: 35215464 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 34. |
Inflawell improves neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and shortens hospitalization in patients with moderate COVID-19, in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.
Barzin Tond S, Balenci L, Khajavirad N, Salehi M, Tafakhori A, Shahmohammadi MR, Ghiasvand F, Jafari S, Abolghasemi S, Mokhtari F, Mahmoodi Baram S, Zarei T, Kazemi D, Mohammadnejad E, Shah-Hosseini A, Haghbin Toutounchi A, Fallah S, Riazi A, Karima S
AIMS: COVID-19 is a significant global threat to public health. Despite the availability of vaccines and anti-viral drugs, there is an urgent need for alternative treatments to help prevent and/or manage COVID-19 symptoms and the underlying dysregulated immune response. We hypothesized that administration of Inflawell syrup, a Boswellia extract formulation enriched for boswellic acids (BAs), can reduce the excessive or persistent inflammation and thereby prevent disease progression. BAs are medicinally activated triterpenoids found in the resins of Boswellia spp., and possess an immense therapeutic potential due to their anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory activities. We investigated the effect of Inflawell syrup, on moderate COVID-19 patients along with the current standard of care treatment.
METHODS: A randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial was conducted, following definitive confirmation of COVID-19. Forty-seven hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19 were enrolled and received either the Inflawell syrup or placebo. Clinical symptoms and markers of inflammation were evaluated at baseline and completion of the trial.
RESULTS: Our clinical trial revealed an increase in the percentage of oxygen saturation level in patients that received the BAs compared to placebo (P < 0.0001). In addition, the average duration of hospitalization was significantly shorter in the BAs group compared with the placebo group (P < 0.04). Concomitantly, some improvement in the clinical symptoms including cough, dyspnea, myalgia, headache, and olfactory and gustatory dysfunction were detected in the BAs group. Hematologic findings showed a significant decrease in the percentage of neutrophils (P < 0.006) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) levels (P < 0.003), associated with a significant increase in the percentage of lymphocytes in the BAs group compared with the placebo (P < 0.002). Additionally, a significant decrease in CRP, LDH, IL - 6 and TNF - α levels was detected in the BAs group. Following the intervention, fewer patients in the BAs group were PCR-positive for COVID-19 compared to placebo, though not statistically significant.
CONCLUSION: Overall, the treatment with Inflawell resulted in shorter hospital stay, alleviation of COVID-19 clinical symptoms and decline in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial has been registered in https://www.irct.ir with unique identifier: IRCT20170315033086N10 ( https://en.irct.ir/trial/51631 ). IRCT is a primary registry in the WHO registry network ( https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform/network/primary-registries ).
Inflammopharmacology. 2022 Apr;30(2):465-475.
PMID: 35201518 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 35. |
Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of oleo-gum-resin essential oil extracted by superheated steam.
Ayub MA, Hanif MA, Blanchfield J, Zubair M, Abid MA, Saleh MT
Oleo-gum-resin is a complex mixture of essential oils, polysaccharides, and resin acids. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the variation in chemical components and antimicrobial activity of essential oils extracted by superheated steam at various temperatures. The optimum essential oil yield was obtained at the highest superheated steam temperature (210 °C). In total, twenty-one compounds were quantified by GC-MS with α-pinene as the major compound, followed by α-thujene, -verbenol, β-thujone, -cymene, -cymene, and sabinene. Antimicrobial activity was performed by disc diffusion, resazurin microtitre-plate and micro-dilution broth susceptibility assays in which essential oil extracted at 150 °C and 180 °C revealed the highest antibacterial and antifungal activity, respectively. It is concluded that superheated steam is an effective method for the isolation of essential oil from oleo-gum-resin that improves the recovery of essential oil as well as antimicrobial activity.
Nat Prod Res. 2023 Jul;37(14):2451-2456.
PMID: 35200079 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 36. |
Extract as an Antibiofilm Agent against spp.
Jaroš P, Vrublevskaya M, Lokočová K, Michailidu J, Kolouchová I, Demnerová K
The use of antibiotics or antifungals to control infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms is currently insufficiently effective because of their emerging resistance. Thanks to the ability of microorganisms to form a biofilm and thus increase their resistance to administered drugs even more, modern medicine faces the task of finding novel substances to combat infections caused by them. In this regard, the effects of essential oils or plant extracts are often studied. Among the relatively neglected plants is , which has a high content of biologically active boswellic acids. In this study, we focused on one of the most common nosocomial infections, which are caused by species. The most common representative is , although the number of infections caused by non-albicans species has recently been increasing. We focused on the antifungal activity of extract Bioswellix against planktonic and adhering cells of , and The antifungal activity against adhering cells was further explored by determining the metabolic activity of cells (MTT) and determining the total amount of biofilm using crystal violet. Boswellic acid-containing plant extract was shown to suppress the growth of a suspension population of all tested species. extract Bioswellix was most effective in inhibiting biofilm formation.
Microorganisms. 2022 Jan;10(1):.
PMID: 35056620 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 37. |
Evaluation of bioactive compounds from against SARS-CoV-2.
Roy A, Menon T
With the COVID-19 pandemic still wreaking havoc worldwide, new variants being discovered every month in some parts of the globe due to the mutating nature of the virus. There is no specific solution for this highly transmissible disease. In search of a lead molecule for the discovery and development of drug, extensive research is being conducted throughout the world. Many synthetic drugs are already in clinical trials and some are utilized for the treatment of this viral infection. Apart from synthetic drugs, phytocompounds from plants act as a potential drug candidate which can inhibit the growth of virus and thus able to prevent the viral infection. In this study, 26 ligands (bioactive compounds) from (an important medicinal plant) were tested against SARS-CoV-2 by using computational method. Selected ligands were shortlisted using Lipinski's rule and then subjected to molecular docking against one of the main proteins of SARS-CoV-2, i.e., Mpro. Out of these compounds, Euphane, Ursane, α-Amyrin, Phytosterols, and 2,3-Dihydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid were potential to inhibit the Mpro activity with binding energies of - 10.47 kcal/mol, - 10.41 kcal/mol, - 9.99 kcal/mol, - 9.94 kcal/mol and - 9.72 kcal/mol respectively. A comparative study was performed using the best five ligands against four possible drug targets of SARS-CoV-2. It was found that Euphane showed highest negative binding energy against all the four crucial targets of SARS-CoV-2. Further, in-vitro experimentation is required to validate the use of Euphane as a potent drug against SARS-CoV-2.
Vegetos. 2022;35(2):404-414.
PMID: 34803247 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 38. |
Antifungal Evaluation and Molecular Docking Studies of Leaf Extract, and Essential Oil as Prospective Fungal Inhibitor Candidates.
Omar HS, Abd El-Rahman SN, AlGhannam SM, Reyad NHA, Sedeek MS
The present study investigated the antifungal activity and mode of action of four leaf extracts, essential oil (EO), and EO against . was detected with the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. The chemical compositions of chloroform and dichloromethane extracts of leaves and EO were analyzed using GC-MS analysis. In addition, a molecular docking analysis was used to identify the expected ligands of these extracts against eleven proteins. The nucleotide sequence of the Lactucae isolate was deposited in GenBank with Accession No. MT249304.1. The EO, chloroform, dichloromethane and ethanol efficiently inhibited the growth at concentrations of 75.5 and 37.75 mg/mL, whereas ethyl acetate, and EO did not exhibit antifungal activity. The GC-MS analysis revealed that the major and most vital compounds of the EO, chloroform, and dichloromethane were thymol, carvacrol, tetratriacontane, and palmitic acid. Moreover, molecular modeling revealed the activity of these compounds against . Chloroform, dichloromethane and ethanol, olive leaf extract, and EO showed a strong effect against . Consequently, this represents an appropriate natural source of biological compounds for use in healthcare. In addition, homology modeling and docking analysis are the best analyses for clarifying the mechanisms of antifungal activity.
Molecules. 2021 Oct;26(20):.
PMID: 34684700 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 39. |
Inhibition of heme detoxification pathway in malaria parasite by 3-hydroxy-11-keto-β-boswellic acid isolated from Boswellia serrata.
Gupta M, Kumar S, Kumar R, Kumar A, Verma R, Darokar MP, Rout P, Pal A
Malaria eradication is still a major global health problem in developing countries, which has been of more concern ever since the malaria parasite has developed resistance against frontline antimalarial drugs. Historical evidence proves that the plants possess a major resource for the development of novel anti-malarial drugs. In the present study, the bioactivity guided fractionation of the oleogum-resin of Boswellia serrata Roxb. yielded the optimum activity in the ethyl acetate fraction with an IC of 22 ± 3.9 μg/mL and 26.5 ± 4.5 μg/mL against chloroquine sensitive (NF54) and resistant (K1) strains of Plasmodium falciparum respectively. Further, upon fractionation, the ethyl acetate fraction yielded four major compounds, of which 3-Hydroxy-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (KBA) was found to be the most potent with IC values 4.5 ± 0.60 µg/mL and 6.25 ± 1.02 μg/mL against sensitive and resistant strains respectively. KBA was found to inhibit heme detoxification pathways, one of the most common therapeutic targets, which probably lead to an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) detrimental to P. falciparum. Further, the induced intracellular oxidative stress affected the macromolecules in terms of DNA damage, increased lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation as well as loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. However, it did not exhibit any cytotoxic effect in VERO cells. Under in vivo conditions, KBA exhibited a significant reduction in parasitemia, retarding the development of anaemia, resulting in an enhancement of the mean survival time in Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis (chloroquine-resistant) infected mice. Further, KBA did not exhibit any abnormality in serum biochemistry of animals that underwent acute oral toxicity studies at 2000 mg/kg body weight.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2021 Dec;144():112302.
PMID: 34678731 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 40. |
Disease Burden and Current Therapeutical Status of Leprosy with Special Emphasis on Phytochemicals.
Swain SS, Sahoo G, Mahapatra PK, Panda SK
BACKGROUND: Leprosy (Hansen's disease) is a neglected tropical disease affecting millions of people globally. The combined formulations of dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine (multidrug therapy, MDT) is only supportive in the early stage of detection, while "reemergence" is a significant problem. Thus, there is still a need to develop newer antileprosy molecules either of natural or semi-synthetic origin.
OBJECTIVES: The review intends to present the latest developments in the disease prevalence, available therapeutic interventions and the possibility of identifying new molecules from phytoextracts.
METHODS: Literature on the use of plant extracts and their active components to treat leprosy was searched. Selected phytoconstituents were subjected to molecular docking study on both wild and mutant types of the Mycobacterium leprae. Since the M. leprae dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) is not available in the protein data bank (PDB), it was modelled by the homology model method and validated with the Ramachandran plot along with other bioinformatics approaches. Two mutations were introduced at codons 53 (Thr to Ile) and 55 (Pro to Leu) for docking against twenty-five selected phytoconstituents reported from eight plants that recorded effective anti-leprosy activity. The chemical structure of phytochemicals and the standard dapsone structure were retrieved from the PubChem database and prepared accordingly for docking study with the virtual-screening platform of PyRx-AutoDock 4.1.
RESULTS: Based on the docking score (kcal/mol), most of the phytochemicals exhibited a higher docking score than dapsone. Asiaticoside, an active saponin (-11.3, -11.2 and -11.2 kcal/mol), was proved to be the lead phytochemical against both wild and mutant types DHPS. Some other useful phytoconstituents include echinocystic acid (-9.6, -9.5 and -9.5 kcal/mol), neobavaisoflavone (-9.2, -9.0 and -9.0 kcal/mol), boswellic acid (-8.90, -8.90 and -8.90 kcal/mol), asiatic acid (-8.9, -8.8 and -8.9 kcal/mol), corylifol A (-8.8, 8.0, and -8.0), etc. Overall, the computational predictions support the previously reported active phytoextracts of Centella asiatica (L.) Urban, Albizia amara (Roxb.) Boivin, Boswellia serrata Roxb. and Psoralea corylifolia L. to be effective against leprosy.
CONCLUSION: A very small percentage of well-known plants have been evaluated scientifically for antileprosy activity. Further in vivo experiments are essential to confirm anti-leprosy properties of such useful phytochemicals.
Curr Top Med Chem. 2022;22(19):1611-1625.
PMID: 34503409 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 41. |
Binding of boswellic acids to functional proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus: Bioinformatic studies.
Caliebe RH, Scior T, Ammon HPT
Boswellic acids (BAs) have been shown to possess antiviral activity. Using bioinformatic methods, it was tested whether or not acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA), 11-keto-β-boswellic acid (KBA), β-boswellic acid (BBA), and the phosphorylated active metabolite of Remdesivir® (RGS-P3) bind to functional proteins of SARS-CoV-2, that is, the replicase polyprotein P0DTD1, the spike glycoprotein P0DTC2, and the nucleoprotein P0DTC9. Using P0DTD1, AKBA and KBA showed micromolar binding affinity to the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and to the main proteinase complex M . Phosphorylated BAs even bond in the nanomolar range. Due to their positive and negative charges, BAs and RGS-P3 bond to corresponding negative and positive areas of the protein. BAs and RGS-P3 docked in the tunnel-like cavity of RdRp. BAs also docked into the elongated surface rim of viral M . In both cases, binding occurred with active site amino acids in the lower micromolecular to upper nanomolar range. KBA, BBA, and RGS-P3 also bond to P0DTC2 and P0DTC9. The binding energies for BAs were in the range of -5.8 to -6.3 kcal/mol. RGS-P3 and BAs occluded the centrally located pore of the donut-like protein structure of P0DTC9 and, in the case of P0DTC2, RGS-P3 and BAs impacted the double-wing-like protein structure. The data of this bioinformatics study clearly show that BAs bind to three functional proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for adhesion and replication, as does RGS-P3, a drug on the market to treat this disease. The binding effectiveness of BAs can be increased through phosphate esterification. Whether or not BAs are druggable against the SARS-CoV-2 disease remains to be established.
Arch Pharm (Weinheim). 2021 Nov;354(11):e2100160.
PMID: 34427335 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 42. |
Visual Analysis and Inhibitor Screening of Leucine Aminopeptidase, a Key Virulence Factor for Pathogenic Bacteria-Associated Infection.
Zhang M, Tian Z, Wang J, Tian X, Wang C, Cui J, Huo X, Feng L, Yu Z, Ma X
Leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) is a hydrolase for the hydrolysis of peptides or proteins containing a leucine residue at the N-terminal. It is also known to be a key virulence factor for the pathogenic abilities of various pathogens causing infectious diseases, which indicated a new insight into the diagnosis and therapy of pathogenic infections. A new fluorescent probe ()-2-amino--(4-(((6,8-dichloro-9,9-dimethyl-7-oxo-7,9-dihydroacridin-2-yl)oxy)methyl)phenyl)-4-methylpentanamide (DDBL) containing DDAO as the fluorophore and leucine as the recognition group was developed for LAP. By real-time visual sensing of LAP, six bacteria with LAP expression were identified efficiently from human feces, as well as by sensitive visual analysis using native-PAGE specially stained with DDBL. Furthermore, a high throughput screening system established with DDBL was applied to identify a natural inhibitor (3-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid, AKBA), which could attenuate mouse sepsis induced by . Therefore, the visual sensing of LAP by DDBL suggested the application for target bacteria identification and LAP homolog analysis as well as potential inhibitor expounding for treatment of bacterial infections.
ACS Sens. 2021 Oct;6(10):3604-3610.
PMID: 34420297 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 43. |
Antibacterial Activity of Flueck. Oleoresin Extract against Periodontal Pathogen.
Attallah NGM, Negm WA, Elekhnawy E, Altwaijry N, Elmongy EI, El-Masry TA, Alturki EA, Yousef DA, Y Shoukheba M
Flueck. oleoresin extract (frankincense) has traditionally been used in the treatment of different diseases, but there are no sufficient studies on its potential activity against periodontal pathogens. Therefore, antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of frankincense extract against clinical isolates were studied. The phytochemical composition of the volatile components of the extract was identified by GC-MS analysis revealing 49 compounds as -nerolidyl formate, cycloartenol acetate, ursenoic acid 3-oxomethyl ester, bisabolene epoxide, and kaur-16-ene. It decreased the growth and increased the leakage of nucleotides in 58.3% and 33.3% of isolates, respectively. Additionally, it reduced the extracellular polysaccharide production and the cell surface hydrophobicity in 41.67% and 50% of the isolates, respectively. Crystal violet assay revealed inhibition of biofilm formation by the tested isolates. Light microscope and scanning electron microscope were used to examine the biofilms and they confirmed the reduction of biofilm formation by frankincense extract. Downregulation of the genes linked to biofilm formation (A, A, and B) was observed using qRT-PCR after treatment with the frankincense extract. This study suggested that the frankincense extract could exhibit antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against isolates. Thus, the frankincense extract could be used as a treatment approach for periodontitis.
Antibiotics (Basel). 2021 Jul;10(7):.
PMID: 34356781 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 44. |
Optimization for synthesis of silver nanoparticles through response surface methodology using leaf extract of Boswellia sacra and its application in antimicrobial activity.
Azmi SNH, Al-Jassasi BMH, Al-Sawafi HMS, Al-Shukaili SHG, Rahman N, Nasir M
In the present work, leaf extract of Boswellia sacra was used as reductant for synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The variables such as volume of Boswellia sacra leaf extract (1%), volume of silver nitrate (1 mM), and temperature were optimized by response surface methodology via Box-Behnken design for the synthesis of AgNPs. Design-Expert software generated the optimum conditions for the highest yield of silver nanoparticles as 8 mL of 1 mM AgNO, 8 mL of 1% Boswellia sacra leaf extract, and temperature = 55 °C. The formed AgNPs were isolated and purified by centrifugation process using ethanol/ distilled water. AgNPs were characterized using FTIR, SEM, TEM, EDX, and XRD. AgNPs showed surface plasmon resonance absorption band at 422 nm. XRD pattern indicated the crystalline nature of the particles (diameter 11.17 to 37.50 nm) with face-centered cubic structure. SEM and TEM images highlighted the formation of spherical AgNPs. The energy dispersive spectroscopic spectrum confirmed the presence of elemental silver. The microbial activity of AgNPs was evaluated against bacteria and fungi. Synthesized AgNPs were very effective against Gram-positive E. coli bacterial strains and fungal strains (Penicillium chrysogenum).
Environ Monit Assess. 2021 Jul;193(8):497.
PMID: 34286386 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 45. |
Boswellic acids/Boswellia serrata extract as a potential COVID-19 therapeutic agent in the elderly.
Gomaa AA, Mohamed HS, Abd-Ellatief RB, Gomaa MA
The most severe cases of COVID-19, and the highest rates of death, are among the elderly. There is an urgent need to search for an agent to treat the disease and control its progression. Boswellia serrata is traditionally used to treat chronic inflammatory diseases of the lung. This review aims to highlight currently published research that has shown evidence of potential therapeutic effects of boswellic acids (BA) and B. serrata extract against COVID-19 and associated conditions. We reviewed the published information up to March 2021. Studies were collected through a search of online electronic databases (academic libraries such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Egyptian Knowledge Bank). Several recent studies reported that BAs and B. serrata extract are safe agents and have multiple beneficial activities in treating similar symptoms experienced by patients with COVID-19. Because of the low oral bioavailability and improvement of buccal/oral cavity hygiene, traditional use by chewing B. serrata gum may be more beneficial than oral use. It is the cheapest option for a lot of poorer people. The promising effect of B. serrata and BA can be attributed to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, cardioprotective, anti-platelet aggregation, antibacterial, antifungal, and broad antiviral activity. B. serrata and BA act by multiple mechanisms. The most common mechanism may be through direct interaction with IκB kinases and inhibiting nuclear factor-κB-regulated gene expression. However, the most recent mechanism proposed that BA not only inhibited the formation of classical 5-lipoxygenase products but also produced anti-inflammatory LOX-isoform-selective modulators. In conclusion a small to moderate dose B. serrata extract may be useful in the enhancing adaptive immune response in mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19. However, large doses of BA may be beneficial in suppressing uncontrolled activation of the innate immune response. More clinical results are required to determine with certainty whether there is sufficient evidence of the benefits against COVID-19.
Inflammopharmacology. 2021 Aug;29(4):1033-1048.
PMID: 34224069 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 46. |
Boswellic Acids Show In Vitro Activity against .
Greve HL, Kaiser M, Mäser P, Schmidt TJ
In continuation of our search for leads from medicinal plants against protozoal pathogens, we detected antileishmanial activity in polar fractions of a dichloromethane extract from resin. 11-keto-β-boswellic acid (KBA) could be isolated from these fractions and was tested in vitro against axenic amastigotes along with five further boswellic acid derivatives. 3--acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) showed the strongest activity with an IC value of 0.88 µM against axenic amastigotes but was inactive against intracellular amastigotes in murine macrophages.
Molecules. 2021 Jun;26(12):.
PMID: 34203815 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 47. |
Chemical Composition, Antibacterial Activity, and Antibiotic Potentiation of Flueck. Oleoresin Extracts from the Dhofar Region of Oman.
Rashan L, White A, Haulet M, Favelin N, Das P, Cock IE
The emergence of MDR bacterial pathogens has directed antibiotic discovery research towards alternative therapies and traditional medicines. oleoresin (frankincense) was used to treat bacterial infections in traditional Arabian and Asian healing systems for at least 1000 years. Despite this, extracts have not been rigorously tested for inhibitory activity against gastrointestinal pathogens or bacterial triggers of autoimmune diseases. Solvent extracts were prepared from oleoresins obtained from three regions near Salalah, Oman. MIC values were quantified against gastrointestinal pathogens and bacterial triggers of selected autoimmune diseases by disc diffusion and broth dilution methods. The antibacterial activity was also evaluated in combination with conventional antibiotics, and the class of interaction was determined by ΣFIC analysis. Isobolograms were used to determine the optimal ratios for synergistic combinations. Toxicity was evaluated by ALA and HDF cell viability bioassays. The phytochemical composition of the volatile components of all extracts was identified by nontargeted GC-MS headspace analysis. All methanolic extracts inhibited the growth of all of the bacteria tested, although the extracts prepared using Najdi oleoresin were generally more potent than the Sahli and Houjari extracts. Combinations of the methanolic extracts and conventional antibiotics were significantly more effective in inhibiting the growth of several bacterial pathogens. In total, there were 38 synergistic and 166 additive combinations. Approximately half of the synergistic combinations contained tetracycline. All extracts were nontoxic in the ALA and HDF cell viability assays. Nonbiased GC-MS headspace analysis of the methanolic extracts putatively identified a high diversity of monoterpenoids, with particularly high abundances of -pinene. The antibacterial activity and lack of toxicity of the extracts indicate their potential in the treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal and autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, the extracts potentiated the activity of several conventional antibiotics, indicating that they may contain resistance-modifying compounds.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021;2021():9918935.
PMID: 34122610 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 48. |
Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 reproduction using Boswellia carterii: A theoretical study.
Kadhim MM, Washeel Salman A, Mrebee Zarzoor A, Kadhum WR
This study investigated the possibility of inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 virus using the compounds alpha-Boswellic acid (ABA) and beta-Boswellic acid (BBA) which are active components in the well-known natural product Boswellia carterii (BC). The SARS-CoV-2 virus reproduces in the body by linking its spike with the cell receptor. At the same time, a pH range (4.5-6) of the cell's lysosomes is considered as a perfect environment to release RNA in the cell cytoplasm. In view of these, docking studies were employed to study the interaction between the spikes of the virus and ABA or BBA using Molecular Graphic Laboratory (MGL) tools and AutoDock Vina application. The binding of the ABA and BBA with the spike of the virus could inhibit its reproduction or provide sufficient time for the immune system to recognize the virus and hence, produce suitable antibodies. In addition, the pKa of ABA, BBA and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) were calculated using HF/6-311G (d,p) method and then they were compared with the experimental pKa of HCQ. The Lethal Concentrations (LC50) of ABA and BBA were also calculated. In addition, molecular electrostatic potential is reported which indicates the active sites of ABA and BBA.
J Mol Liq. 2021 Sep;337():116440.
PMID: 33994607 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 49. |
Evaluation of oral phytogenic microbeaded Newcastle Disease vaccine delivery in indigenous chicken.
Ola O, Jarikre TA, Adeniran G, Odeniyi M, Emikpe B
This study describes the evaluation of microbeaded oral vaccine delivery for Newcastle Disease (ND) in village chicken. Microbeads containing vaccine were prepared by ionotropic-gelation technique using aluminum sulfate. Lasota Vaccine strain (2 g) was well mixed with gum extract at ratio 1:1. The wet beads were washed twice with distilled water and dried at 37℃ overnight. Microbeads without vaccine were prepared as control. A tablet dissolution machine was used to evaluate peak adhesion time (PAT). Sixty local chickens sourced from a recognized breeder were separated into four groups for in in-vivo evaluation. Group A was administered with the bead-loaded vaccine mixed with their feed, group B had vaccine alone administered in their drinking water, group C had the bead alone mixed with their feed, and group D, which served as negative control received no vaccination against ND nor gum beads.The PAT on both trachea and jejunum was 4 ± 10 hours. Post-vaccination antibody titer revealed higher response in group B than (6.6) in group A (5.3); the micro-beaded vaccine gave delayed but enhanced and prolonged immune response. This noninvasive and easy to administer method may be useful in the prevention of ND outbreaks in backyard poultry production.
J Immunoassay Immunochem. 2021 Jul;42(4):359-369.
PMID: 33560901 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 50. |
Botanical drugs and supplements affecting the immune response in the time of COVID-19: Implications for research and clinical practice.
Brendler T, Al-Harrasi A, Bauer R, Gafner S, Hardy ML, Heinrich M, Hosseinzadeh H, Izzo AA, Michaelis M, Nassiri-Asl M, Panossian A, Wasser SP, Williamson EM
In times of health crisis, including the current COVID-19 pandemic, the potential benefit of botanical drugs and supplements emerges as a focus of attention, although controversial efficacy claims are rightly a concern. Phytotherapy has an established role in everyday self-care and health care, but, since botanical preparations contain many chemical constituents rather than single compounds, challenges arise in demonstrating efficacy and safety. However, there is ample traditional, empirical, and clinical evidence that botanicals can offer some protection and alleviation of disease symptoms as well as promoting general well-being. Newly emerging viral infections, specifically COVID-19, represent a unique challenge in their novelty and absence of established antiviral treatment or immunization. We discuss here the roles and limitations of phytotherapy in helping to prevent and address viral infections, especially regarding their effects on immune response. Botanicals with a documented immunomodulatory, immunostimulatory, and antiinflammatory effects include adaptogens, Boswellia spp., Curcuma longa, Echinacea spp., Glycyrrhiza spp., medicinal fungi, Pelargonium sidoides, salicylate-yielding herbs, and Sambucus spp. We further provide a clinical perspective on applications and safety of these herbs in prevention, onset, progression, and convalescence from respiratory viral infections.
Phytother Res. 2021 Jun;35(6):3013-3031.
PMID: 33373071 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 51. |
Effect of some plant extracts from Egyptian herbal plants against Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites in vitro.
Elazab ST, Soliman AF, Nishikawa Y
Nowadays, herbal extracts are considered to be a potential source for developing new drugs that will overcome resistance to conventional chemotherapeutic agents. This study was aimed to explore the efficacy of several Egyptian plant extracts against Toxoplasma gondii infection in vitro for future development of a new, safe, and effective compound for T. gondii. Methanol extracts from Matricaria chamomilla (German chamomile), Laurus nobilis, Citrullus colocynthis, Cinnamum camphora, Boswellia scara, and Melissa officionalis plants and oil extracts (either essential or fixed oils) of some plants such as: lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), marjoram (Origanum majorana), watercress (Nasturtium officionale), wheat germ (Triticum aestivum), sesame (Sesamum indicum), rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), citronella (Cymbopogon nardus), clove (Syzygum aromaticum), jojoba (Simmondsia chinesis), and basil (Ocimum basilicum) were investigated for their anti-Toxoplasma activities. The methanol extracts from C. colocynthis and L. nobilis and the oil extracts from lemon grass and marjoram were active against T. gondii with half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC) of 22.86 µg/ml, 31.35 µg/ml, 4.6 µg/ml, and 26.24 µg/ml, respectively. Their selectivity index (SI) values were <10. Interestingly, the methanol extract from M. chamomilla and oil from citronella had the lowest IC values for T. gondii (3.56 µg/ml and 2.54 µg/ml, respectively) and the highest SI values (130.33 and 15.02, respectively). In conclusion, methanol extract from M. chamomilla and oil from citronella might be potential sources of novel therapies for treating toxoplasmosis.
J Vet Med Sci. 2021 Jan;83(1):100-107.
PMID: 33268605 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 52. |
Possible role of Unani Pharmacology in COVID-19 - a narrative review.
Alam MA, Gani MA, Shama G, Sofi G, Quamri MA
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), viral diseases continue to rise, and pose a significant public health problem. Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of COVID-19 is close to (epidemic diseases) which was described by Hippocrates, Galen, Aristotle, Razes, Haly Abbas, Avicenna, Jurjani etc. Presently, there is no specific or challenging treatment available for COVID-19. Renowned Unani Scholars recommended during epidemic situation to stay at home, and fumigate the shelters with aromatics herbs like Ood kham ( Roxb.), Kundur ( Roxb), Kafoor ( L.), Sandal ( L), Hing ( L.) etc. Use of specific Unani formulations are claimed effective for the management of such epidemic or pandemic situation like antidotes (), Herbal Decoction (), along with , and (vinegar). Such drugs are claimed for use as antioxidant, immunomodulatory, cardiotonic, and general tonic actions. The study enumerates the literature regarding management of epidemics in Unani medicine and attempts to look the same in the perspective of COVID-19 prevention and management.
Rev Environ Health. 2021 Sep;36(3):391-396.
PMID: 33155997 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 53. |
Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Selected Essential Oils against spp. Isolated from Human Semen.
Kačániová M, Terentjeva M, Štefániková J, Žiarovská J, Savitskaya T, Grinshpan D, Kowalczewski PŁ, Vukovic N, Tvrdá E
spp. is not only a commensal bacteria but also a major human pathogen that causes a wide range of clinical infections. Recent evidence suggests that has the ability to colonize the reproductive system and to affect its structure and functions. The objective of this study was to determine the chemical properties and antibacterial effects of select essential oils (EOs): L., Birdw., (Blume) A. Gray, (L.) J. Presl., var. Y. Fuita, L., L., (Lour.) Pers., Smith., L., (Blanco) Benth., (L.) Osbeck, L., and (L.) Roberty against 50 spp. cultures isolated from human semen, specifically , , , , and . The disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods were used to assess the antimicrobial potential and to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the selected EOs. The best anti- activities were found with both methods for the essential oils of (Blume) A. Gray, , , and .
Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Oct;9(11):.
PMID: 33142792 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 54. |
Erratum: Antibacterial Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of , and on .
[This corrects the article on p. 22 in vol. 8, PMID: 31016180.].
Adv Biomed Res. 2020;9():26.
PMID: 33072638 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 55. |
A review of medicinal plant of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as source in tuberculosis drug discovery.
Dehyab AS, Bakar MFA, AlOmar MK, Sabran SF
Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that affects one-third of the world's population. Although currently available TB drugs have many side effects, such as nausea, headache and gastrointestinal discomfort, no new anti-TB drugs have been produced in the past 30 years. Therefore, the discovery of a new anti-TB agent with minimal or no side effects is urgently needed. Many previous works have reported the effects of medicinal plants against (MTB). However, none have focused on medicinal plants from the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region. This review highlights the effects of medicinal plants from the MENA region on TB. Medicinal plants from the MENA region have been successfully used as traditional medicine and first aid against TB related problems. A total of 184 plants species representing 73 families were studied. Amongst these species, 93 species contained more active compounds with strong anti-MTB activity (crude extracts and/or bioactive compounds with activities of 0-100 µg/ml). The extract of and presented the strongest anti-MTB activity. In addition, (Del) Hochst olibanum, Dehnh leaves (river red gum), (black cumin) seeds and genus exhibited anti-TB activity. The most potent bioactive compounds included alantolactone, octyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, thymoquinone, piperitone, α- verbenol, citral b and α-pinene. These compounds affect the permeability of microbial plasma membranes, thus kill the mycobacterium spp. As a conclusion, plant species collected from the MENA region are potential sources of novel drugs against TB.
Saudi J Biol Sci. 2020 Sep;27(9):2457-2478.
PMID: 32884430 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 56. |
Bioguided chemical study of Hutch. (Burseraceae) for antibacterial agents and a new glucopyranoxylmethoxybenzyle.
Tegasne C, Kapche GDWF, Mawabo IK, Talla RM, Jouda JB, Happi GM, Lenta BN, Frese M, Abegaz BM, Sewald N
Stem barks of are used traditionally for the treatment of various bacterial infections. A bioassay guided fractionation of the MeOH-CHCl (1/1, v/v) stem barks extract led to the isolation of fourteen compounds , identified based on spectroscopic data. Dalzienoside ( is reported here for the first time. The broth microdilution method was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the crude extract, fractions and compounds against six bacterial strains. The crude extract exhibited moderate antibacterial activity with MIC of 250 μL/ml; two fractions showed significant activities with MICs ranging from 7.8 to 125 μg/ml, while -boswellic acid (), -boswellic acid (), acetyl-11-keto--boswellic acid () from these fractions exhibited strong activities with MIC value of 3.125 µg/mL against and . This study gives insight into the antibacterial constituents of the stem bark of and justifies its use in ethnomedicine.
Nat Prod Res. 2021 Dec;35(23):5199-5208.
PMID: 32729328 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 57. |
Development and characterization of bacterial nanocellulose loaded with Boswellia serrata extract containing nanoemulsions as natural dressing for skin diseases.
Karl B, Alkhatib Y, Beekmann U, Bellmann T, Blume G, Steiniger F, Thamm J, Werz O, Kralisch D, Fischer D
The combination of the anti-inflammatory lipophilic Boswellia serrata extract with the natural hydropolymer bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) for the treatment of skin diseases is counteracted by their different hydro/lipophilicity. To overcome the hydrophilicity of the BNC, the water in its network was exchanged by single and double nanoemulsions. Incorporation of the Boswellia serrata extract in the nanoemulsions formed particles of about 115 to 150 nm with negative zeta potential and storage stability over 30 days at temperatures between 4 and 32 °C. Their loading into the BNC did not change the preferential characteristics of the nanocellulose like water absorption and retention, softness, and pressure stability in a relevant way. Loaded BNC could be sterilized by an electron-beam procedure. A biphasic drug release profile of lead compounds was observed by Franz cell diffusion test. The biocompatibility of the loaded BNC was confirmed ex ovo by a shell-less hen's egg test. Tape stripping experiments using porcine skin determined a dependency of the drug penetration into skin on the type of nanoemulsion, single vs. repeated applications and the incubation time. In conclusion, the hydrophilicity of BNC could be overcome using nanoemulsions which offers the possibility for the anti-inflammatory skin treatment with Boswellia serrata extract.
Int J Pharm. 2020 Sep;587():119635.
PMID: 32693288 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 58. |
In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Frankincense Oils from Grown in Different Locations of the Dhofar Region (Oman).
Di Stefano V, Schillaci D, Cusimano MG, Rishan M, Rashan L
Frankincense essential oils from have been commonly used to treat microbial infections from as early as the 11th century. The main feature of the plant is its gum resin, from which it is possible to obtain essential oils. In the present study, we focused on the comparative study of the oils extracted from the resins of three different cultivars (Najdi, Sahli and Houjri). From each of frankincense resin three successive essential oil samples (Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3) were obtained. Houjri gum resin gave the lowest percentage (5%) of total essential oil content but showed the maximum number of volatile components in all three grades. Najdi Grade 2 essential oil showed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 52 mg/mL toward relevant pathogens and , and samples from Grade 2 of Sahily and Houjiri were particularly active against a dermatological strain , displaying MIC values of 0.264 and 0.66 mg/mL, respectively. Data obtained from in vitro studies showed that all essential oils had a significant antifungal effect against and , showing MIC values ranging from 54.56 to 0.246 mg/mL. This work aims to increase the number of substances available in the fight against pathogens and to combat the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance, encouraging the use of alternative resources, especially in non-clinical settings (farms, food processing, etc.).
Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Apr;9(4):.
PMID: 32325952 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 59. |
Influence of boswellic acid on multifunctional properties of chitosan/poly (vinyl alcohol) films for active food packaging.
Narasagoudr SS, Hegde VG, Chougale RB, Masti SP, Dixit S
Present work aimed to develop active packaging films based on chitosan (CS), poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and boswellic acid (BA), and to evaluate the effect of BA on multifunctional properties of CS/PVA (CPBA) active films. Different compositions of active packaging films were prepared by the solvent casting method. The results indicated that incorporation of BA enhanced the ultraviolet blocking, morphology, mechanical properties, water solubility and hydrophilicity of the CPBA active films. Significant improvement in the barriers properties of BA incorporated CPBA active films were observed. The microbiological screening has demonstrated the antimicrobial activity of the films against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. Furthermore, the prepared active films do not deteriorate the thermal properties after incorporation of BA. The overall migration values of the CPBA active films in contact with food simulants were within the permitted limits. The obtained results indicate that the CPBA active film may be a promising material for food packaging applications.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2020 Jul;154():48-61.
PMID: 32173434 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 60. |
Phenotypic Investigation of the Antimicrobial Effect of Organic and Hydro-Alcoholic Extracts of on Oral Microbiota.
Bakhtiari S, Nematzade F, Hakemi-Vala M, Talebi G
OBJECTIVES: Considering the emergence of resistant microbes and side effects of chemical drugs, in this study, the inhibitory effect of organic and hydro-alcoholic extracts of () on some oral microbiota was investigated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this experimental study, standard strains of (; PTCC 5027), (; PTCC 5295), (; PTCC 5297), and (; PTCC 1688) were collected from the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST). Then, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of organic and hydro-alcoholic extracts of was determined based on the CLSI protocol and using the micro-dilution method. The contents of each well were subcultured in Müller-Hinton agar ( species) and blood agar (). The lowest concentration with no growth was considered as the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) or bactericidal concentration (MBC). Statistical analyses were performed using Mann-Whitney test.
RESULTS: Hydro-alcoholic extract of at the concentration of 50 mg/ml inhibited the growth of and . It also inhibited the growth of and at the concentration of 100 mg/ml. Organic extract of at the concentration of 200 mg/ml only inhibited the growth of .
CONCLUSION: Hydro-alcoholic extract of had a greater inhibitory effect on and compared to the organic extract.
Front Dent. 2019;16(5):386-392.
PMID: 32123879 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 61. |
Evaluation of mucoadhesive property and the effect of gum on intranasal vaccination against small ruminant morbillivirus infection (PPR).
Mumin FI, Emikpe BO, Odeniyi MA
A study was conducted to evaluate mucoadhesive property and immunomodulatory effect of phytogenic gums from and on intranasal Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccination in goats and sheep in an ex-vivo and in-vivo situations. Plant gums were purified, dried and compressed into 500gm tablets. Modified shear stress measurement technique was used on freshly excised trachea and intestine tissues of goat to measure peak adhesion time. Forty eight animals (24 goats and 24 sheep) were divided into eight groups (of 3 goats and 3 sheep) and immunized intranasally with gum-vaccine combinations in two ratios (1:1, 1:2). Antibody against PPR virus was measured on day 14, 28, 42 and 56 post vaccination using H-based PPR bELISA. The peak adhesion time of the different gums was transient. PPR virus antibodies were detected in all immunized goats and sheep but not in unvaccinated control. The best percentage inhibition was recorded for Boswellia carteri-vaccine combination group at a ratio of 1:1. Administration of -PPR vaccine combination through intranasal or subcutaneous route, elicited similar antibody titre, implying that the intranasal route may be used as a non-invasive alternative delivery in PPR vaccination of small ruminants.
J Immunoassay Immunochem. 2020 May;41(3):311-321.
PMID: 32119592 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 62. |
Effect of Dietary Resin on Growth Performance, Blood Biochemistry, and Cecal Microbiota of Growing Rabbits.
Ismail IE, Abdelnour SA, Shehata SA, Abd El-Hack ME, El-Edel MA, Taha AE, Schiavitto M, Tufarelli V
The present study aimed to examine the impact of dietary supplementation of (BS) (frankincense) resin on growth and carcass traits, blood hematology, serum metabolites and cecal microbiota of growing rabbits. One hundred New Zealand White (NZW) growing male rabbits (6-weeks old) were divided randomly into five groups using different levels of BS (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 g/kg diet, respectively). When compared to the control diet, daily body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of rabbits fed BS enriched-diets were improved, while feed intake was significantly decreased. A gradual depression (P < 0.01) in serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoproteins (LDL) were observed with increasing BS level the in diet. Total bacteria count, and salmonella populations were lower ( < 0.05) in rabbit groups fed diet enriched with BS than that of the control group. Based on these findings, the dietary supplementation of enhanced growth, feed efficiency, anti-oxidant status, and minimize cecal pathogenic bacteria in rabbits.
Front Vet Sci. 2019;6():471.
PMID: 31921925 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 63. |
Development of Chitosan-Based Hydrogel Containing Antibiofilm Agents for the Treatment of Staphylococcus aureus-Infected Burn Wound in Mice.
Chhibber T, Gondil VS, Sinha VR
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is considered a common colonizer of burn wound and accounts for high morbidity and mortality all across the globe. Systemic antibiotic therapy which is generally prescribed for these patients has a number of limitations. These include high drug dose, toxicity, and chances of development of drug resistance. However, local delivery of drug not only addresses these limitations but also provides better efficacy at the site of infection. In the present study, hydrogel preparations were developed for the topical delivery of moxifloxacin for the treatment of S. aureus-infected burn wound. Moxifloxacin was characterized by UV, FTIR, DSC, hot-stage microscopy, NMR, and HPLC and loaded into conventional and Boswellia-containing novel gels. Gels were characterized by visual examination, pH, UV spectroscopy, and release assays. In vivo studies showed that both gels were effective in eradicating the bacteria completely from the wound site when treatment was started during the early stage of infection. On the contrary, delayed treatment of planktonic and biofilm cells with novel gel showed better efficacy as compared with conventional gel in S. aureus-infected burn wound. Histopathological analysis also showed better skin healing efficacy of novel gel than conventional gel. Our results show that moxifloxacin can be efficiently used topically in the management of burn wound infections along with other antibacterial agents. Since biofilm-mediated infections are on the rise especially in chronic bacterial disease, therefore, a preparation containing antibiofilm agent-like Boswellia as one of the excipients would be more meaningful.
AAPS PharmSciTech. 2020 Jan;21(2):43.
PMID: 31897806 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 64. |
Essential oils of and have effective antidermatophytic activities and that are antagonised by ketoconazole and potentiated in gold nanospheres.
Carmo PHF, Costa MC, Franco PHC, Lage ACP, Rocha CEV, Chaves CR, Faraco AAG, Ladeira LO, Aguilar JLL, César IC, Paixão TA, Resende-Stoianoff MA, Santos DA
The investigation of the effects of three essential oils (EOs) from (FRA), (TTO) and (IF), alone and combined with ketoconazole (KTZ), and their functionalised gold nanoparticles (AuNP) against both and indicated that EOs presented activity against . The combination of EOs and KTZ was antagonistic. FRA, TTO, gold nanoparticles capped with (AuNPFRA) and gold nanoparticles capped with (AuNPTTO) presented antidermatophytic activity , with the capacity to reduce fungal burden and to preserve tissue architecture; however, combination treatment with KTZ increased fungal burden and caused tissue damage. The combination of EO with KTZ exhibited antagonistic activity and was histologically harmful. In contrast, FRA, TTO, AuNPFRA and AuNPTTO are promising treatments for dermatophytosis.
Nat Prod Res. 2021 Nov;35(22):4694-4697.
PMID: 31894699 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 65. |
Toxicological studies and bioactivity-guided identification of antimicrobially active compounds from crude aqueous stem bark extract of .
Dandashire BS, Magashi AM, Abdulkadir B, Abbas MA, Goni MD, Yakubu A
OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study is to isolate, identify, and quantify the active antimicrobial compounds present in the crude aqueous stem bark extract of using some common pathogenic microorganisms as well as toxicological profile.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Crude aqueous stem bark extract of (CASEB) was partitioned by preparative thin layer chromatography (PTLC) using chloroform-methanol-water, 8:2:1 (v/v). The resulting bands were extracted using chloroform-methanol (50:50). The extract of each band was evaluated for antimicrobial activity on , , , , , , , , and by disc diffusion. Compounds in the most antimicrobially bioactive fraction (MAAF) were identified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FT-IR), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Toxicological profile of the CASEB was evaluated by studying its effect in albino Wister rats.
RESULTS: PTLC produced five bands/fractions of which the MAAF was identified as RF-fraction being active against all the isolates except and HPLC of the MAAF revealed seven components; FT-IR revealed 17 functional groups; GC-MS revealed five compounds of which 93.18% are Oleic acid (44.88%), Squalene (34.16%), and n-Hexadecanoic acid (14.14%). The acute toxicity showed LD > 3,000 mg/kg. Sub-chronic toxicity showed that higher doses of the CASEB caused significant changes in liver function indices and a fatty change with lymphocytic infiltration (sign of acute hepatitis) in the liver tissues, but none of these changes were observed in the kidneys.
CONCLUSION: The antimicrobially active compounds in CASEB were Oleic acid, Squalene, and n-Hexadecanoic acid. These can be further purified and used as precursors of new antimicrobial agents for treating infections especially those due to fungi and spp. that are known to resist wide array of antimicrobial agents. The LD of CASEB is >3,000 mg/kg in rats. However, long-term consumption of CASEB is associated with significant liver damage.
J Adv Vet Anim Res. 2019 Jun;6(2):183-192.
PMID: 31453189 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 66. |
Validation of environmental disinfection efficiency of traditional Ayurvedic fumigation practices.
Bhatwalkar SB, Shukla P, Srivastava RK, Mondal R, Anupam R
Environmental disinfection greatly reduces the occurrence of nosocomial or healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) which are the major healthcare problems worldwide. In India, Ayurvedic traditional fumigation with natural plant products is used to disinfect environment. In the present study, environmental disinfection efficiency of traditional fumigation practice has been evaluated by using natural plant products such as garlic (Allium sativum) peel, turmeric (Curcuma longa) powder, Carom (Trachyspermum ammi) seeds (Ajwain) and Loban (resin of Styrax benzoin and Boswellia species). The efficiency of traditional fumigation using these natural products to disinfect air and surface was evaluated. The effect of traditional fumigation on the microbiological quality of air was revealed by active air sampling. In addition, the ability of the traditional fumigation using garlic peel to disinfect inanimate surface was evaluated using three strains of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Glass slide was artificially contaminated with the bacteria and fumigated whereas non-fumigated slide served as control. The control and fumigated slides were analyzed for surviving bacteria and subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Traditional fumigation performed separately with three grams of garlic peel, turmeric, carom seeds and loban powder reduced the average air borne bacterial colony forming units (cfu)/m compared to non-fumigated control. The SEM analysis showed reduced number of bacteria in garlic peel fumigated surface samples. The results of the study strongly suggested that the traditional Ayurvedic fumigation with natural plant products is effective in reducing air-borne bacteria and in disinfecting inanimate surfaces. The traditional fumigation with herbal products has huge potential to address the problem of nosocomial infections.
J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2019;10(3):203-206.
PMID: 31427141 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 67. |
Antibacterial Effect of Hydroalcoholic Extract of , , and on .
Vahabi S, Hakemi-Vala M, Gholami S
BACKGROUND: Considering the increased rate of microbial resistance to antibiotics and chemical side effects of antibiotics and antiseptics used for the treatment of periodontal disease, there is a need for an alternative antimicrobial agent with fewer complications. Medicinal herbs have recently become popular as novel antimicrobial agents. This study aimed to assess the antibacterial effects of hydroalcoholic extracts of , and on .
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Hydroalcoholic extracts of the three medicinal plants were obtained by the maceration technique and was cultured. Antimicrobial efficacy of the three medicinal plants was compared with that of 0.2% chlorhexidine (CHX) according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute protocol using agar disc diffusion and broth microdilution techniques. All tests were repeated three times.
RESULTS: Hydroalcoholic extracts of all three plants had antimicrobial activity against . The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of , , and was 78.1, 156.2, and 1666 μg/mL with no significant difference between them. The MIC of CHX was 3.33 μg/mL, which was significantly higher than that of B. serrata extract.
CONCLUSION: Given that further studies confirm other properties of these extracts and their safety in terms of cytotoxicity and mutagenicity, hydroalcoholic extracts of and may be used in mouthwashes or local delivery systems to affect periodontal biofilm.
Adv Biomed Res. 2019;8():22.
PMID: 31016180 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 68. |
In-Vitro Evaluation of 52 Commercially-Available Essential Oils Against .
Monzote L, Herrera I, Satyal P, Setzer WN
Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by members of the genus of parasitic protozoa that cause different clinical manifestations of the disease. Current treatment options for the cutaneous disease are limited due to severe side effects, poor efficacy, limited availability or accessibility, and developing resistance. Essential oils may provide low cost and readily available treatment options for leishmaniasis. In-vitro screening of a collection of 52 commercially available essential oils has been carried out against promastigotes of . In addition, cytotoxicity has been determined for the essential oils against mouse peritoneal macrophages in order to determine selectivity. Promising essential oils were further screened against intracellular amastigotes. Three essential oils showed notable antileishmanial activities: frankincense ( spp.), coriander ( L.), and wintergreen ( Wall.) with IC values against the amastigotes of 22.1 ± 4.2, 19.1 ± 0.7, and 22.2 ± 3.5 μg/mL and a selectivity of 2, 7, and 6, respectively. These essential oils could be explored as topical treatment options for cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Molecules. 2019 Mar;24(7):.
PMID: 30934998 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 69. |
Combined antibacterial effect of essential oils from three most commonly used Ethiopian traditional medicinal plants on multidrug resistant bacteria.
Gadisa E, Weldearegay G, Desta K, Tsegaye G, Hailu S, Jote K, Takele A
BACKGROUND: An alarm increase the rate of emerging and re-emerging of multidrug resistant bacteria have been caused great public health concern in the worldwide. They have been resisting for most or majority of currently available and affordable antibiotics and imposed socioeconomic catastrophe at global scale. As a result, there is utmost important to discover new or modify currently available antibiotics. The aim of this study was to evaluate combined antibacterial effect of essential oils obtained from Blepharis cuspidata, Boswellia ogadensis and Thymus schimper against multidrug resistance (MDR) Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Methicillin resistant S. aureus.
METHODS: Essential oil (EO) was extracted from the aerial part of B. cuspidata, B.ogadensis and T. schimper by steam distillation and stored in brown bottles at 4 °C. There were mixed in 1:1 ratio and adsorbed to disc and placed on MHA and measured their minimum inhibitory zone seeded with E. coli, K. pneumoniae and MRAS after 18-24 H. minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were measured by broth micro-dilution method. The interaction between EOs was determined by fractional inhibitory concentration index.
RESULTS: The antibacterial potential of mixed oil depends on the doses and type of the EOs and bacteria species. The combined EOs of B.cuspidata and T.schimperi had inhibition zone (39 mm), its MIC and MBC value was 0.39 μl/ml against MRSA. It had inhibition zone (28-35 mm), MIC value 0.39-6.25 μl/ml and MBC (0.78-12.5 μl/ml) against MDR E. coli and K. pneumoniae. Whereas, combined effects of B. cuspidata and B. ogadensis had MIC values ranges from 0.78-6.25 μl/ml for E.coli and K. pneumoniae and 1.56 μl/ml for MRSA. There was strong synergistic effect between the combination of B.cuspidata and T.schimperi. This study revealed that gram negative bacteria were slightly less susceptible than gram positive.
CONCLUSIONS: This in vitro study of combined EOs has significant antibacterial effect than using each of them and even it was more potent antibacterial effect on MDR as compare to modern antibiotics. Hence, it can be applied to a pharmaceutical composition as modulator or adjuvant or precursor for synthesis of new antibiotic in future activities.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2019 Jan;19(1):24.
PMID: 30658640 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 70. |
Boswellia serrata oleo-gum-resin and β-boswellic acid inhibits HSV-1 infection in vitro through modulation of NF-кB and p38 MAP kinase signaling.
Goswami D, Mahapatra AD, Banerjee S, Kar A, Ojha D, Mukherjee PK, Chattopadhyay D
BACKGROUND: Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), a highly contagious pathogen, is responsible for causing lifelong oral to genital infection in human. Boswellia serrata oleo-gum-resin possesses a strong traditional background of treating diverse skin ailments including infection but its effect on HSV-1 has not been examined yet.
PURPOSE: To exploit its potential, we aimed to explore the antiviral activity of methanol extract of B. serrata oleo-gum-resin (BSE) and one of its major constituent β-boswellic acid (BA) against HSV-1 along with the underlying mechanism of action involved.
METHODS: BSE was subjected to RP-HPLC analysis to quantify the active constituent. Cytotoxicity (CC) and antiviral activity were evaluated by MTT and plaque reduction assay, followed by the determination of median effective concentration (EC). The mode of antiviral activity was assessed by time-of-addition assay and confirmed by reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR). Further, the expressions of various cytokines were measured by RT-PCR, while the proteins by Western blot.
RESULTS: BSE and BA potently inhibited wild-type and a clinical isolate of HSV-1 (EC 5.2-6.2 and 12.1-14.63 μg/ml), with nearly-complete inhibition (EC) at 10 and 30 μg/ml, respectively. The inhibitory effect was significant at 1 h post-infection and effective up to 4 h. Based on target analysis we examined the inhibition of NF-κB, essential for virus replication, and observed significant down-regulation of NF-κB, and p38 MAP-kinase activation, with reduced expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, Interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6, involved in scheming NF-κB signaling.
CONCLUSION: Thus, our results support the ethnomedicinal use of BSE in skin infection by inhibiting HSV-1 through the modulation of NF-κB and p38 MAPK pathway.
Phytomedicine. 2018 Dec;51():94-103.
PMID: 30466633 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 71. |
Interactions between Triterpenes and a P-I Type Snake Venom Metalloproteinase: Molecular Simulations and Experiments.
Preciado LM, Pereañez JA, Azhagiya Singam ER, Comer J
Small molecule inhibitors of snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) could provide a means to rapidly halt the progression of local tissue damage following viperid snake envenomations. In this study, we examine the ability of candidate compounds based on a pentacyclic triterpene skeleton to inhibit SVMPs. We leverage molecular dynamics simulations to estimate the free energies of the candidate compounds for binding to BaP1, a P-I type SVMP, and compare these results with experimental assays of proteolytic activity inhibition in a homologous enzyme (Batx-I). Both simulation and experiment suggest that betulinic acid is the most active candidate, with the simulations predicting a standard binding free energy of Δ G ∘ = - 11.0 ± 1.4 kcal/mol. The simulations also reveal the atomic interactions that underlie binding between the triterpenic acids and BaP1, most notably the electrostatic interaction between carboxylate groups of the compounds and the zinc cofactor of BaP1. Together, our simulations and experiments suggest that occlusion of the S1 ' subsite is essential for inhibition of proteolytic activity. While all active compounds make hydrophobic contacts in the S1 ' site, β -boswellic acid, with its distinct carboxylate position, does not occlude the S1 ' site in simulation and exhibits negligible activity in experiment.
Toxins (Basel). 2018 Sep;10(10):.
PMID: 30274214 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 72. |
Differentially Enhancing Effects of Long-term Treatment with Serrazyme, Boswellia and Pine on Seminal Bacterial Detection in Patients with Chronic Bacterial or Inflammatory Prostatitis, Probably Related to Several Degrees of Bacterial Adherence.
Vicari E, Malaguarnera G, Vicari BO, Salmeri M, Salemi M, Castiglione R
BACKGROUND: Prostatitis is a recurrent urinary infection in males and is often difficult to cure. The aim of the study was to examine whether anti-inflammatory effects of enhanced drainage of prostatic secretions, obtained through two months treatment with a proteolytic enzyme mucoactive (PEM) compound (Serrazyme and other constituents), influenced qualitative or quantitative expressions of bacterial growth in seminal cultures.
METHOD: 450 patients with prostatitis syndromes were randomized either to PEM therapy (intervention group) or to no treatment group. All patients were followed at the end of a 2-month PEM continuous treatment period (T2) and further two months after withdrawal (T4).
RESULTS: After treatment, 15 out of 107 (14.1%) patients with Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis (CBP) showed negative seminal cultures, while in patients with cat NIH-IIIA prostatitis seminal cultures became positive in 33.3% cases with low bacteriospermia. After two months from withdrawal, although among CBP patients the total number of isolates and colony forming units (CFU) counts showed not significant changes compared to matched-values observed at T2, microbial parameters varied significantly among inflammatory prostatitis patients.
CONCLUSION: The results of the present study showed that 2 months of treatment with PEM, decreasing bacterial adherence and inflammatory prostatitis, reveals a subgroup of apparent inflammation associated with infection that microbial biofilms likely mask in inflammatory prostatitis patients.
Curr Clin Pharmacol. 2018;13(3):183-189.
PMID: 30073929 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 73. |
L-Methionine associated with Hibiscus sabdariffa and Boswellia serrata extracts are not inferior to antibiotic treatment for symptoms relief in patients affected by recurrent uncomplicated urinary tract infections: Focus on antibiotic-sparing approach.
Cai T, Cocci A, Tiscione D, Puglisi M, Di Maida F, Malossini G, Verze P, Palmieri A, Mirone V, Bjerklund Johansen TE
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of a phytotherapic combination of L-Methionine associated with Hibiscus sabdariffa and Boswellia serrata for treatment of acute episodes of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI) in women affected by recurrent UTIs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this randomized phase III clinical trial, adult females with uncomplicated UTI were enrolled into one of the following treatment groups: Group A: phytotherapic combination 1 tablet in the morning and 1 tablet in the evening for 7 days; Group B: Short term antibiotic treatment according to international guidelines recommendations. At baseline, all patients were evaluated by a urologist and quality of life (QoL) questionnaires and mid-stream urine culture. Same clinical and laboratory investigations were repeated at each follow-up visit.
RESULTS: Forty-six patients were enrolled in Group A and 47 in Group B. At the first follow-up (30 days), both groups showed a statistically significant improvement in quality of life scores as compared with baseline assessment [Group A: (QoL 94.3 VS 98.5 p < 0.001); Group B: (QoL 94.5 VS 98.7 p < 0.001)]. An improvement from baseline was also seen at the second followup evaluation after 3 months [Group A: (QoL 94.3 VS 99.1 p < 0.001); Group B: (QoL 94.5 VS 98.1 p < 0.001)]. At the second follow-up visit, a statistically significant difference in QoL was reported between the two groups (99.1 VS 98.1; p < 0.003) and a transition from UTI to asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) was observed 12 of 46 (26%) patients in Group A, while no patients in Group B demonstrated ABU (p = 0.007).
CONCLUSIONS: Here, we demonstrated that this phytotherapic combination is able, in comparison to antibiotic treatment, to improve patients quality of life, reducing symptoms in acute setting and preventing the recurrences. Interestingly, a significantly higher proportion of patients in the phytotherapy group had ABU after three months. Our findings are of great interest in an antibiotic stewardship perspective.
Arch Ital Urol Androl. 2018 Jun;90(2):97-100.
PMID: 29974725 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 74. |
Frankincense and myrrh essential oils and burn incense fume against micro-inhabitants of sacral ambients. Wisdom of the ancients?
Ljaljević Grbić M, Unković N, Dimkić I, Janaćković P, Gavrilović M, Stanojević O, Stupar M, Vujisić L, Jelikić A, Stanković S, Vukojević J
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Essential oils obtained from resins of Boswellia carteri Birdw. and Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Engl., commonly known as frankincense and true myrrh respectively, have been used extensively since 2800 BCE for the treatment of skin sores, wounds, teeth, inflammation, and urinary tract diseases in traditional medicine; for preparation of mummification balms and unguents; and also as incense and perfumes. Since ancient times, burning of frankincense and myrrh in places of worship for spiritual purposes and contemplation (a ubiquitous practice across various religions) had hygienic functions, to refine the smell and reduce contagion by purifying the indoor air.
AIM OF THE STUDY: The general purpose of the study was to assess the in vitro antimicrobial potential of the liquid and vapour phases of B. carteri and C. myrrha essential oils and burn incense, as well as to test the effectiveness of their in situ application to cleanse microbially-contaminated air within the ambient of an investigated 17th-century church.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The chemical composition of B. carteri and C. myrrha essential oils, obtained by hydrodistillation of frankincense and true myrrh oleo gum resins was determined using GC/MS, and antimicrobial properties of their liquid and vapour phases were assessed by the broth microdilution and microatmosphere diffusion methods. Chemical analysis of burn incense fume obtained using bottle gas washing with dichloromethane as a solvent was performed by GC/MS, while its antimicrobial activity was evaluated using a modified microatmosphere diffusion method to evaluate germination inhibition for fungi and CFU count reduction for bacteria. The in situ antimicrobial activity of B. carteri burn incense and essential oil vapour phase was assessed in the sealed nave and diaconicon of the church, respectively.
RESULTS: The dominant compounds of B. carteri EO were α-pinene (38.41%) and myrcene (15.21%), while C. myrrha EO was characterized by high content of furanoeudesma-1,3-diene (17.65%), followed by curzerene (12.97%), β-elemene (12.70%), and germacrene B (12.15%). Burn incense fume and soot had α-pinene (68.6%) and incensole (28.6%) as the most dominant compounds, respectively. In vitro antimicrobial assays demonstrated high bacterial and fungal sensitivity to the liquid and vapour phases of EOs, and burn incense fume. In situ application of B. carteri EO vapour and incense fume resulted in reduction of air-borne viable microbial counts by up to 45.39 ± 2.83% for fungi and 67.56 ± 3.12% for bacteria (EO); and by up to 80.43 ± 2.07% for fungi and 91.43 ± 1.26% for bacteria (incense fume).
CONCLUSIONS: The antimicrobial properties of essential oil derived from frankincense, a compound with well-known traditional use, showed that it possesses a clear potential as a natural antimicrobial agent. Moreover, the results suggest possible application of B. carteri EO vapour and incense fume as occasional air purifiers in sacral ambients, apart from daily church rituals.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2018 Jun;219():1-14.
PMID: 29530608 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 75. |
Evaluation of Antimycobacterial and Synergistic Activity of Plants Selected Based on Cheminformatic Parameters.
Rahgozar N, Bakhshi Khaniki G, Sardari S
BACKGROUND: Drug resistance is a major public health problem and a threat to progress made in bovine tuberculosis care and control worldwide. This study aimed at evaluating anti-mycobacterial and synergistic activity of some medicinal plants that were selected by cheminformatics studies against Mycobacterium bovis.
METHODS: Considering the strong synergistic antimycobacterial action of oleanolic acid in combination with tuberculosis drugs, NCBI database was explored to find the compounds with over 80% similarity to oleanolic acid, called S1. Plants containing S1-type compounds were traced to and resulted in five plants, including Datura stramonium, Boswellia serrata Lavandula stoechas, Rosmarinus officinalis, and Thymus vulgaris, as experimental samples. Crude extracts were prepared by percolation using 80% ethanol or as the product of a pharmaceutical company. The extracts were screened against Mycobacterium bovis using broth microdilution method and Alamar Blue Assay. Extracts from these plants were used in combination with isoniazid and ethambutol to investigate the possibility of synergy with respect to antimycobacterial activity.
RESULTS: The extracts from D. stramonium, B. serrata a, L. stoechas, R. officinalis, and T. Thymus vulgaris showed antimycobacterial activity of 375, 125, 250, 187.5, 500 µg/ml, respectively. The best synergistic results were for L. stoechas and D. stramonium in combination with ethambutol, the fractional inhibitory concentration index was 0.125 µg/ml for both.
CONCLUSION: The observed antimycobacterial and synergistic activities are completely novel and obtained from targeted screening designed according to cheminformatics strategy. As for the synergistic action of the extracts, they could be used as supplements in bTB treatment.
Iran Biomed J. 2018 Nov;22(6):401-7.
PMID: 29510602 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 76. |
Traditionally used herbal medicines with antibacterial effect on : and .
Maraghehpour B, Khayamzadeh M, Najafi S, Kharazifard M
BACKGROUND: Since bacterial strains developed resistance against commonly used antibiotics and side effects became more serious, other alternatives have been postulated. There is an answer for this issue in ancient medicine. Many plants have been proved to provide antibacterial effect. In this study, (BS) and (NS) were assessed to evaluate the antibacterial effect on (A.a) known as main pathogen of aggressive periodontitis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Broth microdilution method was used to obtain minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of crude extract of BS and NS. Furthermore, the logarithm of colony forming units grown in fresh brain heart infusion bacterial culture was assessed. Three groups including BS+ (containing only BS), NS+ (containing only NS), and BS-NS- (control group) were defined. For each group, the experiment was repeated 12 times.
RESULTS: MIC of BS and NS were 512 μg/mL and 128 μg/mL, respectively. No growth was observed in our negative control group. The mean ± standard deviation of logarithm of CFU/mL for BS, NS, and control group was 4.32 ± 0.36, 3.61 ± 0.3, and 5.57 ± 0.19, respectively. ANOVA test revealed significant difference ( values < 0.0001) of these groups which was later confirmed using the test of Tukey's honest significant difference (all < 0.0001).
CONCLUSIONS: Both BS and NS are effective against A.a which should be taken into account as appropriate ingredient for oral hygiene products.
J Indian Soc Periodontol. 2016;20(6):603-607.
PMID: 29238140 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 77. |
Insights into the functionality of endophytic actinobacteria with a focus on their biosynthetic potential and secondary metabolites production.
Passari AK, Mishra VK, Singh G, Singh P, Kumar B, Gupta VK, Sarma RK, Saikia R, Donovan AO, Singh BP
Endophytic actinobacteria play an important role in growth promotion and development of host plant by producing enormous quantities of novel bioactive natural products. In the present investigation, 169 endophytic actinobacteria were isolated from endospheric tissues of Rhynchotoechum ellipticum. Based on their antimicrobial potential, 81 strains were identified by 16rRNA gene analysis, which were taxonomically grouped into 15 genera. All identified strains were screened for their plant growth promoting attributes and, for the presence of modular polyketide synthases (PKSI, PKSII and nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) gene clusters to correlate the biosynthetic genes with their functional properties. Expression studies and antioxidant potential for four representative strains were evaluated using qRT-PCR and DPPH assay respectively. Additionally, six antibiotics (erythromycin, ketoconazole, fluconazole, chloramphenicol, rifampicin and miconazole) and nine phenolic compounds (catechin, kaempferol, chebulagic acid, chlorogenic acid, Asiatic acid, ferulic acid, arjunic acid, gallic acid and boswellic acid) were detected and quantified using UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS. Furthermore, three strains (BPSAC77, 121 and 101) showed the presence of the anticancerous compound paclitaxel which was reported for the first time from endophytic actinobacteria. This study provides a holistic picture, that endophytic actinobacteria are rich bacterial resource for bioactive natural products, which has a great prospective in agriculture and pharmaceutical industries.
Sci Rep. 2017 Sep;7(1):11809.
PMID: 28924162 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 78. |
Terpenoids from the Oleo-Gum-Resin of Boswellia serrata and Their Antiplasmodial Effects In Vitro.
Greve HL, Kaiser M, Brun R, Schmidt TJ
In the course of our ongoing search for new natural products as leads against protozoal diseases, the dichloromethane extract of Indian frankincense, the oleo-gum-resin obtained from , showed activity against . Bioactivity-guided fractionation led to the isolation of eight diterpenes: (1,3,7,11)-verticilla-3,7,12(18)-triene (), cembrene A (), serratol (), 1,3,7,811-7,8-epoxy-cembra-3,11-dien-1-ol (), incensole oxide (), (1,3,7,11,12)1,12-epoxy-4-methylenecembr-7-ene-3, 11-diol (), isoincensole oxide (), and isodecaryiol (). Furthermore, 10 triterpenes, namely, oleanolic acid (), 11-keto--boswellic acid (), 3-epi-neoilexonol (), uvaol (), -boswellic aldehyde (), 5-tirucalla-8,24-dien-3-ol (), isoflindissone lactone (), isoflindissol lactone (), (89,20)-tirucall-24-ene-3,20-diol (), and (320,24-epoxytirucalla-3,25-diol () as well as the sesquiterpene -bourbonene (), the monoterpene carvacrol () and the phenyl propanoids methyleugenol (), and p-methoxycinnamaldehyde () were isolated. All compounds were identified by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic measurements. Compounds , and - are described for the first time. Compounds are isolated as natural products for the first time, compound for the first time from a plant. Antiplasmodial IC values and cytotoxicity against L6 rat skeletal myoblasts were determined. Isoflindissone lactone () was the most active compound with an IC of 2.2 µM against and a selectivity index of 18.
Planta Med. 2017 Oct;83(14-15):1214-1226.
PMID: 28738439 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 79. |
Boswellia ovalifoliolata (Burseraceae) essential oil as an eco-friendly larvicide? Toxicity against six mosquito vectors of public health importance, non-target mosquito fishes, backswimmers, and water bugs.
Benelli G, Rajeswary M, Vijayan P, Senthilmurugan S, Alharbi NS, Kadaikunnan S, Khaled JM, Govindarajan M
The use of synthetic pesticides to control vector populations is detrimental to human health and the environment and may lead to the development of resistant strains. Plants can be alternative sources of safer compounds effective on mosquito vectors. In this study, the mosquito larvicidal activity of Boswellia ovalifoliolata leaf essential oil (EO) was evaluated against Anopheles stephensi, Anopheles subpictus, Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Culex tritaeniorhynchus. GC-MS revealed that the B. ovalifoliolata EO contained at least 20 compounds. The main constituents were β-pinene, α-terpineol, and caryophyllene. In acute toxicity assays, the EO was toxic to larvae of An. stephensi, Ae. aegypti, Cx. quinquefasciatus, An. subpictus, Ae. albopictus, and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus with LC values of 61.84, 66.24, 72.47, 82.26, 89.80, and 97.95 μg/ml, respectively. B. ovalifoliolata EO was scarcely toxic to mosquito fishes, backswimmers, and water bugs predating mosquito larvae with LC from 4186 to 14,783 μg/ml. Overall, these results contribute to develop effective and affordable instruments to magnify the reliability of Culicidae control programs.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2018 Apr;25(11):10264-10271.
PMID: 28332087 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 80. |
Enzyme inhibitory metabolites from endophytic Penicillium citrinum isolated from Boswellia sacra.
Ali S, Khan AL, Ali L, Rizvi TS, Khan SA, Hussain J, Hamayun M, Al-Harrasi A
Fungal endophytes establish an important niche within the host plant through the secretion of chemical constituents. Isolation of bioactive metabolites could be a vital source for inhibiting the function of enzymes such as α-glucosidase and urease. The present study aimed to elucidate the potential of endophytes associated with Boswellia sacra through bioassay-guided isolation and identification of secondary metabolites with enzyme inhibitory ability. Endophytic fungal strains viz. Penicillium citrinum, P. spinulosum, Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria alternata and Aspergillus caespitosus were identified through genomic DNA extraction, PCR amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The enzymes inhibition analysis of the ethyl acetate extract from pure cultures suggested that P. citrinum possess significantly higher enzyme inhibitory activities compared to other strains. The active strain was subjected to chromatographic isolation and nuclear magnetic resonance methods to identify bioactive compounds. The bioactive extracts resulted in the isolation of 11-oxoursonic acid benzyl ester (1), n-nonane (2), 3-decene-1-ol (3), 2-Hydroxyphenyl acetic acid (4), and Glochidacuminosides A (5). Among pure compound, 11-oxoursonic acid benzyl ester (1) showed significantly higher enzyme inhibition activity compared to other metabolites. Our results suggest that the endophytic microorganism associated with the arid-land tree can offer a rich source of biologically active chemical constituents that could help discover lead drugs for enzyme inhibition.
Arch Microbiol. 2017 Jul;199(5):691-700.
PMID: 28220202 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 81. |
effectiveness of triterpenoids and their synergistic effect with antibiotics against strains.
Hamza M, Nadir M, Mehmood N, Farooq A
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of four triterpenoids such as oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, cycloastragenol, and beta-boswellic acid alone and in combination with antibiotics against strains.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen clinical strains of from infected wounds were isolated. Eight were methicillin-sensitive (MSSA), and the other eight were methicillin-resistant (MRSA). The activity was also seen in reference American Type Culture Collection strains. The activity of all the triterpenoids and antibiotics against was evaluated by broth microdilution method. The effectiveness was judged by comparing the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the compounds with antibiotics. The combination of antibiotics with compounds was evaluated by their fractional inhibitory concentrations (FIC).
RESULTS: Against both clinical and reference MSSA strains, none of the compounds exhibited comparable activity to antibiotics vancomycin or cefradine except for ursolic acid (MIC 7.8 μg/ml). Against MRSA, all compounds (MIC 16-128 μg/ml) showed lesser activity than vancomycin (MIC 5.8 μg/ml). Among triterpenoid-antibiotic combinations, the most effective were ursolic acid and vancomycin against clinical strain MSSA (FIC 0.17). However, overall, different combinations between triterpenoids and antibiotics showed 95%-46% ( < 0.05) reduction in MICs of antibiotics compared to when antibiotics were used alone. Cefradine, a drug not suitable for treating MRSA (MIC = 45 μg/ml), showed a remarkable decrease in its MIC (87% P< 0.01) when it was used in combination with oleanolic acid or ursolic acid in both clinical and reference strains.
CONCLUSION: The tested triterpenoids are relatively weaker than antibiotics. However, when used in combination with antibiotics, they showed remarkable synergistic effect and thus can help in prolonging the viability of these antibiotics against infections. Furthermore, reduction in MIC of cefradine with oleanolic acid indicates their potential use against MRSA.
Indian J Pharmacol. 2016;48(6):710-714.
PMID: 28066112 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 82. |
Synergistic antimicrobial activity of Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr. (Burseraceae) essential oil with various azoles against pathogens associated with skin, scalp and nail infections.
Sadhasivam S, Palanivel S, Ghosh S
UNLABELLED: Antimicrobials from natural sources have gained immense importance in recent times to combat the global challenge of antibiotic resistance. Essential oils are implicated in antimicrobial action against several species. Here, we have screened nine commercially available essential oils for their antimicrobial activity against organisms associated with skin, scalp and nail infections mainly Propionibacterium acnes, Malassezia spp., Candida albicans and Trichophyton spp. Among nine essential oils, Boswellia serrata essential oil demonstrated superior antimicrobial activity against all the micro-organisms and surprisingly it showed maximum activity against Trichophyton spp. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of B. serrata oil indicates a major composition of α thujene, ρ cymene and sabinene. Additionally, B. serrata oil was found to inhibit Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm, and its combination with azoles has shown synergistic activity against azole-resistant strain of C. albicans. These broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities of B. serrata oil will make it an ideal candidate for topical use.
SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Eradication of skin and nail infections still remain a challenge and there are serious concerns regarding the recurrence of the diseases associated with these infections. Antimicrobials from plant sources are gaining importance in therapeutics because they encounter minimal challenges of emergence of resistance. We have demonstrated the antimicrobial activity of Boswellia serrata essential oil against micro-organisms involved in skin, scalp and nail infections, especially if it has shown favourable synergistic antifungal activity in combination with azoles against the azole-resistant Candida albicans strain. Thus, B. serrata oil can be one of the plausible therapeutic agents for management of skin, scalp and nail infections.
Lett Appl Microbiol. 2016 Dec;63(6):495-501.
PMID: 27730658 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 83. |
Chemical composition, antiproliferative, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of essential oils from aromatic plants growing in Sudan.
Yagi S, Babiker R, Tzanova T, Schohn H
OBJECTIVE: To explore the potential of essential oil, as therapeutic molecule source, from olibanum of Boswellia papyrifera (Burseraceae), leafy stems of Cymbopogon schoenanthus (Poaceae) and Croton zambesicus (Euphorbiaceae) and rhizome of Cyperus rotundus (Cyperaceae) found in Sudan. Respective essential oil was evaluated for anti-proliferative, antibacterial and antioxidant activity.
METHODS: Essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation and then analysed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Anti-proliferative activity was determined against human cell lines (MCF7 and MDA-MB231, HT29 and HCT116) by the thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) procedure. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by diphenyl 2 pycril hydrazil (DPPH) assay. Antibacterial activity was determined against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria by microdilution method.
RESULTS: The essential oil from olibanum of Boswellia papyrifera contained mainly alcohol and ester derivatives (46.82%) while monoterpenes (69.84%) dominated in Corton zambesicus oil. Sesquiterpenes were the most highly represented classes of terpene derivatives in Cyperus schoenanthus (71.59%) and Cyperus rotundus (44.26%). Oil of Cymbopogon schoenanthus revealed the best anti-proliferative activity against HCT116 cell line with IC50 value at (19.1 ± 2.0) μg/mL. Oil of Croton zambesicus showed the best antioxidant activity [EC50 (4.20 ± 0.19) mg/mL]. All oils showed good antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value ranged from 16 to 250 μg/mL.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the essential oils of these plants could be used as a source of natural anti-proliferative, antioxidant and antibacterial agents.
Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2016 Aug;9(8):763-70.
PMID: 27569885 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 84. |
Endophytic Fungi from Frankincense Tree Improves Host Growth and Produces Extracellular Enzymes and Indole Acetic Acid.
Khan AL, Al-Harrasi A, Al-Rawahi A, Al-Farsi Z, Al-Mamari A, Waqas M, Asaf S, Elyassi A, Mabood F, Shin JH, Lee IJ
Boswellia sacra, an economically important frankincense-producing tree found in the desert woodlands of Oman, is least known for its endophytic fungal diversity and the potential of these fungi to produce extracellular enzymes and auxins. We isolated various fungal endophytes belonging to Eurotiales (11.8%), Chaetomiaceae (17.6%), Incertae sadis (29.5%), Aureobasidiaceae (17.6%), Nectriaceae (5.9%) and Sporomiaceae (17.6%) from the phylloplane (leaf) and caulosphere (stem) of the tree. Endophytes were identified using genomic DNA extraction, PCR amplification and sequencing the internal transcribed spacer regions, whereas a detailed phylogenetic analysis of the same gene fragment was made with homologous sequences. The endophytic colonization rate was significantly higher in the leaf (5.33%) than the stem (0.262%). The Shannon-Weiner diversity index was H' 0.8729, while Simpson index was higher in the leaf (0.583) than in the stem (0.416). Regarding the endophytic fungi's potential for extracellular enzyme production, fluorogenic 4-methylumbelliferone standards and substrates were used to determine the presence of cellulases, phosphatases and glucosidases in the pure culture. Among fungal strains, Penicillum citrinum BSL17 showed significantly higher amounts of glucosidases (62.15±1.8 μM-1min-1mL) and cellulases (62.11±1.6 μM-1min-1mL), whereas Preussia sp. BSL10 showed significantly higher secretion of glucosidases (69.4±0.79 μM-1min-1mL) and phosphatases (3.46±0.31μM-1min-1mL) compared to other strains. Aureobasidium sp. BSS6 and Preussia sp. BSL10 showed significantly higher potential for indole acetic acid production (tryptophan-dependent and independent pathways). Preussia sp. BSL10 was applied to the host B. sacra tree saplings, which exhibited significant improvements in plant growth parameters and accumulation of photosynthetic pigments. The current study concluded that endophytic microbial resources producing extracellular enzymes and auxin could establish a unique niche for ecological adaptation during symbiosis with the host Frankincense tree.
PLoS One. 2016;11(6):e0158207.
PMID: 27359330 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 85. |
Sensitivity of clinical isolates of Candida to essential oils from Burseraceae family.
Nikolic M, Smiljkovic M, Markovic T, Cirica A, Glamoclija J, Markovic D, Sokovic M
The aim of this study was to investigate the chemical composition and antifungal activity of four commercial essential oils from the Burseraceae family - two Boswellia carterii Flueck oils, Canarium luzonicum (Blume) A. Gray oil, and Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Engl oil, against most common Candida spp. recovered from the human oral cavity. The essential oil samples were analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS. The analysis showed that major essential oils' components were α-pinene (23.04 % and 31.84 %), limonene (45.62 %) and curzerene (34.65 %), respectively. Minimum inhibitory (MIC) and minimum fungicidal (MFC) concentrations were determined using a microdilution standardized technique. All tested Candida spp. clinical isolates and ATCC strains showed susceptibility to tested essential oils in a dose dependent manner. The strongest antifungal activity was shown by essential oil of B. carterii, sample 2; the average MIC values ranged from 1.25 to 1.34 mg/ml, and MFC values ranged from 2.50 to 3.75 mg/ml, depending on the fungus. This study supports the possible use of essential oils from the Bursecaceae family in reduction and elimination of Candida spp. populations in patients with oral cavity fungal infections.
EXCLI J. 2016;15():280-9.
PMID: 27330531 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 86. |
Toxicity of Boswellia dalzielii (Burseraceae) Leaf Fractions Against Immature Stages of Anopheles gambiae (Giles) and Culex quinquefasciatus (Say) (Diptera: Culicidae).
Younoussa L, Nukenine EN, Esimone CO
Mosquitoes are vectors of several human pathogens, and great attention has recently been placed on insecticides from plant-derived products, in search for mosquito control agents. This study, thus, investigated the potency of Boswellia dalzielii methanol leaf extract and its four fractions as mosquito ovicide, larvicide, and pupicide against Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus. The plant products were tested at the following concentrations: 125, 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 ppm on eggs and 312.5, 625, 1250, and 2500 ppm on the larvae and pupae of the mosquitoes. For results, hatchability of A. gambiae eggs was reduced to 5% with n-hexane fraction at 2000 ppm. Among the plant products tested, n-hexane fraction was most toxic against A. gambiae (LC50 = 385.9 ppm) and C. quinquefasciatus (LC50 = 3394.9 ppm). The n-hexane fraction of B. dalzielii might be used as a mosquitocidal agent in the breeding sites of A. gambiae and C. quinquefasciatus.
Int J Insect Sci. 2016;8():23-31.
PMID: 27279752 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 87. |
Ursane and tirucallane-type triterpenes of Boswellia rivae oleo-gum resin.
Manguro LO, Wagai SO
Two new ursane-type triterpenes characterized as 3-oxo-24-acetoxy-11α-hydroxy-urs-12-ene (1) and methyl 3α-acetoxy-11α-methoxy-urs-12-en-24-oate (2), together with known compounds 3-11, were isolated from Boswellia rivae oleo-gum resin exudate. Their structural elucidation was accomplished using physical, chemical, and spectroscopic methods. The compounds exhibited weak to moderate antibacterial activities against some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.
J Asian Nat Prod Res. 2016 Sep;18(9):854-64.
PMID: 27049028 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 88. |
In Vitro Activity of Twenty Commercially Available, Plant-Derived Essential Oils against Selected Dermatophyte Species.
Nardoni S, Giovanelli S, Pistelli L, Mugnaini L, Profili G, Pisseri F, Mancianti F
The in vitro activity of twenty chemically defined essential oils (EOs) obtained from Boswellia sacra, Citrus bergamia, C. limon, C. medica, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Eucalyptus globulus, Foeniculum vulgare, Helichrysum italicum, Illicium verum, Litsea cubeba, Mentha spicata, Myrtus communis, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum majorana, O. vulgare, Pelargonium graveolens, Rosmarinus officinalis, Santalum album, Satureja montana, and Thymus serpyllum was assayed against clinical animal isolates of Microsporum canis, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, T. erinacei, T. terrestre and Microsporum gypseum, main causative agents of zoonotic and/or environmental dermatophytoses in humans. Single main components present in high amounts in such EOs were also tested. Different dermatophyte species showed remarkable differences in sensitivity. In general, more effective EOs were T. serpyllum (MIC range 0.025%-0.25%), O. vulgare (MIC range 0.025%-0.5%) and L. cubeba (MIC range 0.025%-1.5%). F. vulgare showed a moderate efficacy against geophilic species such as M gypseum and T terrestre. Among single main components tested, neral was the most active (MIC and MFC values 5 0.25%). The results of the present study seem to be promising for an in vivo use of some assayed EOs.
Nat Prod Commun. 2015 Aug;10(8):1473-8.
PMID: 26434145 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 89. |
Boswellic acids target the human immune system-modulating antimicrobial peptide LL-37.
Henkel A, Tausch L, Pillong M, Jauch J, Karas M, Schneider G, Werz O
The antimicrobial peptide LL-37 is the sole member of the human cathelicidin family with immune system-modulating properties and roles in autoimmune disease development. Small molecules able to interact with LL-37 and to modulate its functions have not been described yet. Boswellic acids (BAs) are pentacyclic triterpene acids that are bioactive principles of frankincense extracts used as anti-inflammatory remedies. Although various anti-inflammatory modes of action have been proposed for BAs, the pharmacological profile of these compounds is still incompletely understood. Here, we describe the identification of human LL-37 as functional target of BAs. In unbiased target fishing experiments using immobilized BAs as bait and human neutrophils as target source, LL-37 was identified as binding partner assisted by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Thermal stability experiments using circular dichroism spectroscopy confirm direct interaction between BAs and LL-37. Of interest, this binding of BAs resulted in an inhibition of the functionality of LL-37. Thus, the LPS-neutralizing properties of isolated LL-37 were inhibited by 3-O-acetyl-β-BA (Aβ-BA) and 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-β-BA (AKβ-BA) in a cell-free limulus amoebocyte lysate assay with EC50=0.2 and 0.8 μM, respectively. Also, LL-37 activity was inhibited by these BAs in LL-37-enriched supernatants of stimulated neutrophils or human plasma derived from stimulated human whole blood. Together, we reveal BAs as inhibitors of LL-37, which might be a relevant mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory properties of BAs and suggests BAs as suitable chemical tools or potential agents for intervention with LL-37 and related disorders.
Pharmacol Res. 2015 Dec;102():53-60.
PMID: 26361729 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 90. |
The in vitro antifungal activity of sudanese medicinal plants against Madurella mycetomatis, the eumycetoma major causative agent.
Elfadil H, Fahal A, Kloezen W, Ahmed EM, van de Sande W
Eumycetoma is a debilitating chronic inflammatory fungal infection that exists worldwide but it is endemic in many tropical and subtropical regions. The major causative organism is the fungus Madurella mycetomatis. The current treatment of eumycetoma is suboptimal and characterized by low cure rate and high recurrence rates. Hence, an alternative therapy is needed to address this. Here we determined the antifungal activity of seven Sudanese medicinal plant species against Madurella mycetomatis. Of these, only three species; Boswellia papyrifera, Acacia nubica and Nigella sativa, showed some antifungal activity against M. mycetomatis and were further studied. Crude methanol, hexane and defatted methanol extracts of these species were tested for their antifungal activity. B. papyrifera had the highest antifungal activity (MIC50 of 1 ug/ml) and it was further fractionated. The crude methanol and the soluble ethyl acetate fractions of B. papyrifera showed some antifungal activity. The Gas-Liquid-Chromatography hybrid Mass-Spectrophotometer analysis of these two fractions showed the existence of beta-amyrin, beta-amyrone, beta-Sitosterol and stigmatriene. Stigmatriene had the best antifungal activity, compared to other three phytoconstituents, with an MIC-50 of 32 μg/ml. Although the antifungal activity of the identified phytoconstituents was only limited, the antifungal activity of the complete extracts is more promising, indicating synergism. Furthermore these plant extracts are also known to have anti-inflammatory activity and can stimulate wound-healing; characteristics which might also be of great value in the development of novel therapeutic drugs for this chronic inflammatory disease. Therefore further exploration of these plant species in the treatment of mycetoma is encouraging.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015 Mar;9(3):e0003488.
PMID: 25768115 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 91. |
Inhibitory effect of essential oils against Trichosporon ovoides causing Piedra Hair Infection.
Saxena S, Uniyal V, Bhatt RP
Piedra, is an asymptomatic fungal infection of the hair shaft, resulting in the formation of nodules of different hardness on the infected hair. The infection also known as Trichomycosis nodularis is a superficial fungal infection arising from the pathogen being restricted to the stratum corneum with little or no tissue reaction. The nodules are a concretion of hyphae and fruiting bodies of the fungus. Two varieties of Piedra may be seen, Black Piedra and White Piedra. The fungus Trichosporon ovoides is involved in the occurrence of both types of Piedras. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of selected essential oils for the control of growth of the fungus and to determine whether the antifungal effect was due to the major compounds of the oils. Two screening methods viz. Agar well diffusion assay and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration were adopted for the study. MIC and MFC were determined by tube dilution method. Essential oils from Eucalyptus, Ocimum basilicum, Mentha piperita, Cymbopogon flexuosus, Cymbopogon winterians, Trachyspermum ammi, Zingiber officinalis, Citrus limon, Cinnamomon zeylanicum, Salvia sclarea, Citrus aurantifolia, Melaleuca alternifolia, Citrus aurantium, Citrus bergamia, Pogostemon pathchouli, Cedrus atlantica, Jasminum officinale, Juniperus communis, Abelmoschus moschatus, Cyperus scariosus, Palargonium graveolens, Boswellia carterii, Rosa damascene, Veteveria zizanoides and Commiphora myrrha were evaluated. The essential oils of Cymbopogon winterians, Mentha piperita, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Melaleuca alternifolia and Eucalyptus globulus were proved to be most effective against the fungus Trichosporon ovoides.
Braz J Microbiol. 2012 Oct;43(4):1347-54.
PMID: 24031963 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 92. |
Microbial transformation of acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid and their inhibitory activity on LPS-induced NO production.
Sun Y, Liu D, Xi R, Wang X, Wang Y, Hou J, Zhang B, Wang C, Liu K, Ma X
The capabilities of 20 strains of fungi to transform acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic (AKBA) were screened. And biotransformation of AKBA by Cunninghamella blakesleana AS 3.970 afforded five metabolites (1-5), while two metabolites (6, 7) were isolated from biotransformation of Cunninghamella elegans AS 3.1207. The chemical structures of these metabolites were identified by spectral methods including 2D NMR and their structures were elucidated as 7β-hydroxy-3-acety-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (1), 21β-dihydroxy-3-acety-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (2), 7β,22α-dihydroxy-3-acety-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (3), 7β,16α-dihydroxy-3-acety-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (4), 7β,15α-dihydroxy-3-acety-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (5); 7β,15α,21β-trihydroxy-3-acety-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (6) and 15α,21β-dihydroxy-3-acety-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (7). All these products are previously unknown. Their primary structure-activity relationships (SAR) of inhibition activity on LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells were evaluated.
Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2013 Mar;23(5):1338-42.
PMID: 23391590 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 93. |
A boswellic acid-containing extract attenuates hepatic granuloma in C57BL/6 mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum.
Liu M, Chen P, Büchele B, Dong S, Huang D, Ren C, Zhang Y, Hou X, Simmet T, Shen J
Granuloma formation has been shown to be induced and elicited by schistosome egg antigens, and it finally develops into fibrosis in intestine and the liver. Hepatic fibrosis is the main cause of increased morbidity and mortality in humans infected with schistosomes. Boswellic acid (BA)-containing extracts such as extracts of the oleogum resin from Boswellia serrata (BSE) have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity. However, little is known about the role of such extracts in schistosome egg-induced granulomatous inflammation. In order to investigate the effect of a watersoluble cyclodextrin complex preparation of BSE (BSE-CD) on Schistosoma japonicum (S. japonicum) egg-induced liver granuloma, mice infected with S. japonicum cercariae were injected with BSE-CD during egg granuloma formation. The data showed that BSE-CD significantly reduced the size of liver granuloma and levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST); however, BSE-CD treatment had no effect on worm load and egg burden. The data also showed that BSE-CD significantly decreased the expression of leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)) and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), as well as the expression of matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) in liver both on the mRNA and protein level. Thus, BSE-CD can significantly attenuate S. japonicum egg-induced hepatic granuloma, which may be partly dependent on the downregulation of some biochemical mediators.
Parasitol Res. 2013 Mar;112(3):1105-11.
PMID: 23271565 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 94. |
Composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oils of four commercial grades of Omani luban, the oleo-gum resin of Boswellia sacra FLUECK.
Al-Saidi S, Rameshkumar KB, Hisham A, Sivakumar N, Al-Kindy S
The essential oil compositions of four botanically certified and commercially available samples of Omani lubans (oleo-gum resins of Boswellia sacra Flueck.), locally known as Hoojri, Najdi, Shathari, and Shaabi in Jibali Arabic, obtained from plants growing in four different geographic locations of the Dhofar region of Oman, were analyzed by GC-FID, GC/MS, and (13) C-NMR spectroscopy. The market price of these four grades of lubans differed considerably, according to their color, clump size, and texture. However, this study revealed that Hoojri, the first grade luban, and Shaabi, the fourth grade luban, which greatly differed in their price, closely resembled each other in their essential oil composition, yield, and physicochemical characteristics, except the color and texture. The composition, yield, and specific rotation of the oils of Najdi and Shathari, the second and the third grade lubans, respectively, were different from those of Hoojri and Shaabi, but they both had high limonene contents. Najdi oil was different from the other three oils in terms of its high myrcene content. α-Pinene was the principal component in all the oils and can be considered as a chemotaxonomical marker that confirms the botanical and geographical source of the resins. All the oils showed pronounced activity against a panel of bacteria, and the trend in their bioactivity and their mode of action are discussed.
Chem Biodivers. 2012 Mar;9(3):615-24.
PMID: 22422529 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 95. |
The additive and synergistic antimicrobial effects of select frankincense and myrrh oils--a combination from the pharaonic pharmacopoeia.
de Rapper S, Van Vuuren SF, Kamatou GP, Viljoen AM, Dagne E
AIMS: The in vitro antimicrobial activity of three essential oil samples of frankincense (Boswellia rivae, Boswellia neglecta and Boswellia papyrifera) and two essential oil samples of myrrh and sweet myrrh (Commiphora guidotti and Commiphora myrrha), collected from different regions of Ethiopia, was investigated independently and in combination to determine their anti-infective properties.
METHODS AND RESULTS: The microdilution minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay was performed, whereby it was noted that generally Cryptococcus neoformans (MIC values in the range of 0·8-1·4 mg ml(-1)) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC values in the range of 0·5-1·3 mg ml(-1)) often appeared to be the most susceptible micro-organisms against oils of both Boswellia and Commiphora spp. When assayed in various combinations, the frankincense and myrrh oils displayed synergistic, additive and noninteractive properties, with no antagonism noted. When investigating different ratio combinations against Bacillus cereus, the most favourable combination was between B. papyrifera and C. myrrha. The composition of the oils was determined by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to document the specific chemotypes used in the study, and the chemical profiles were found to be congruent with previously reported data.
CONCLUSIONS: The majority of interactions identified synergistic and additive effects, with strong synergism noted between B. papyrifera and C. myrrha.
SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Frankincense and myrrh essential oils have been used in combination since 1500 bc; however, no antimicrobial investigations have been undertaken to confirm their effect in combination. This study validates the enhanced efficacy when used in combination against a selection of pathogens.
Lett Appl Microbiol. 2012 Apr;54(4):352-8.
PMID: 22288378 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 96. |
Boswellic acids from frankincense inhibit lipopolysaccharide functionality through direct molecular interference.
Henkel A, Kather N, Mönch B, Northoff H, Jauch J, Werz O
Lipophilic extracts of gum resins of Boswellia species (BSE) are used in folk medicine to treat various inflammatory disorders and infections. The molecular background of the beneficial pharmacological effects of such extracts is still unclear. Various boswellic acids (BAs) have been identified as abundant bioactive ingredients of BSE. Here we report the identification of defined BAs as direct inhibitors of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) functionality and LPS-induced cellular responses. In pull-down experiments, LPS could be precipitated using an immobilized BA, implying direct molecular interactions. Binding of BAs to LPS leads to an inhibition of LPS activity which was observed in vitro using a modified limulus amoebocyte lysate assay. Analysis of different BAs revealed clear structure-activity relationships with the classical β-BA as most potent derivative (IC(50)=1.8 μM). In RAW264.7 cells, LPS-induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS, EC 1.14.13.39) was selectively inhibited by those BAs that interfered with LPS activity. In contrast, interferon-γ-induced iNOS induction was not affected by BAs. We conclude that structurally defined BAs are LPS inhibiting agents and we suggest that β-BA may contribute to the observed anti-inflammatory effects of BSE during infections by suppressing LPS activity.
Biochem Pharmacol. 2012 Jan;83(1):115-21.
PMID: 22001311 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 97. |
Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA); targeting oral cavity pathogens.
Raja AF, Ali F, Khan IA, Shawl AS, Arora DS
BACKGROUND: Boswellic acids mixture of triterpenic acids obtained from the oleo gum resin of Boswellia serrata and known for its effectiveness in the treatment of chronic inflammatory disease including peritumor edema. Boswellic acids have been extensively studied for a number of activities including anti inflammatory, antitumor, immunomodulatory, and inflammatory bowel diseases. The present study describes the antimicrobial activities of boswellic acid molecules against oral cavity pathogens. Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA), which exhibited the most potent antibacterial activity, was further evaluated in time kill studies, mutation prevention frequency, postantibiotic effect (PAE) and biofilm susceptibility assay against oral cavity pathogens.
FINDINGS: AKBA exhibited an inhibitory effect on all the oral cavity pathogens tested (MIC of 2-4 μg/ml). It exhibited concentration dependent killing of Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175 up to 8 × MIC and also prevented the emergence of mutants of S.mutans ATCC 25175 at 8× MIC. AKBA demonstrated postantibiotic effect (PAE) of 5.7 ± 0.1 h at 2 × MIC. Furthermore, AKBA inhibited the formation of biofilms generated by S.mutans and Actinomyces viscosus and also reduced the preformed biofilms by these bacteria.
CONCLUSIONS: AKBA can be useful compound for the development of antibacterial agent against oral pathogens and it has great potential for use in mouthwash for preventing and treating oral infections.
BMC Res Notes. 2011 Oct;4():406.
PMID: 21992439 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 98. |
Antibacterial activity and phytochemical study of six medicinal plants used in Benin.
Anago E, Lagnika L, Gbenou J, Loko F, Moudachirou M, Sanni A
The ethanol extracts obtained from Psidium guajava, Flacourtia flavescens Boswellia dalzielii, Ficus exasperata, Pavetta corymbosa and Hybanthus enneaspermus, six species traditionally used in Benin to treat several infectious diseases, were evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Enteroccocus feacalis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The minimum inhibitory concentration of extracts was determinate using the microplate dilution method. The presence of major phytoconstituents was detected qualitatively. The diphenylpicrylhydrazine radical scavenging activity was also performed. The extracts exhibited antibacterial activities against the tested bacteria. Boswellia dalzielii, Psidium guayava, Pavetta corymbosa and Flacourtia flavescens exibited the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration values (0.313-2.5 mg mL(-1)). Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the lest sensitive microorganism with MIC values higher than 10 mg mL(-1). In antioxidant assay the crude extracts of B. dalzielii and P. corymbosa appeared to be as potent as quercetol with an inhibition percentage of 83 and 75.3% at 10 microg mL(-1) which is comparable to 75.9% for quercetol at the same concentration.
Pak J Biol Sci. 2011 Apr;14(7):449-55.
PMID: 21902057 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 99. |
Antituberculosis cycloartane triterpenoids from Radermachera boniana.
Truong NB, Pham CV, Doan HT, Nguyen HV, Nguyen CM, Nguyen HT, Zhang HJ, Fong HH, Franzblau SG, Soejarto DD, Chau MV
Three new triterpenoids, bonianic acids A (1) and B (2) and 3-O-acetyluncaric acid (3), were isolated from the leaves and twigs of Radermachera boniana, together with six known compounds, ursolic acid (4), oleanolic acid (5), 3-epi-oleanolic acid (6), 3α-O-acetyl-α-boswellic acid (7), ergosterol peroxide (8), and β-sitostenone (9). Ergosterol peroxide (8) and bonianic acids A (1) and B (2) exhibited significant activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain.
J Nat Prod. 2011 May;74(5):1318-22.
PMID: 21469696 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 100. |
Antistaphylococcal and biofilm inhibitory activities of acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid from Boswellia serrata.
Raja AF, Ali F, Khan IA, Shawl AS, Arora DS, Shah BA, Taneja SC
BACKGROUND: Boswellic acids are pentacyclic triterpenes, which are produced in plants belonging to the genus Boswellia. Boswellic acids appear in the resin exudates of the plant and it makes up 25-35% of the resin. β-boswellic acid, 11-keto-β-boswellic acid and acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid have been implicated in apoptosis of cancer cells, particularly that of brain tumors and cells affected by leukemia or colon cancer. These molecules are also associated with potent antimicrobial activities. The present study describes the antimicrobial activities of boswellic acid molecules against 112 pathogenic bacterial isolates including ATCC strains. Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA), which exhibited the most potent antibacterial activity, was further evaluated in time kill studies, postantibiotic effect (PAE) and biofilm susceptibility assay. The mechanism of action of AKBA was investigated by propidium iodide uptake, leakage of 260 and 280 nm absorbing material assays.
RESULTS: AKBA was found to be the most active compound showing an MIC range of 2-8 μg/ml against the entire gram positive bacterial pathogens tested. It exhibited concentration dependent killing of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 up to 8 × MIC and also demonstrated postantibiotic effect (PAE) of 4.8 h at 2 × MIC. Furthermore, AKBA inhibited the formation of biofilms generated by S. aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis and also reduced the preformed biofilms by these bacteria. Increased uptake of propidium iodide and leakage of 260 and 280 nm absorbing material by AKBA treated cells of S aureus indicating that the antibacterial mode of action of AKBA probably occurred via disruption of microbial membrane structure.
CONCLUSIONS: This study supported the potential use of AKBA in treating S. aureus infections. AKBA can be further exploited to evolve potential lead compounds in the discovery of new anti-Gram-positive and anti-biofilm agents.
BMC Microbiol. 2011 Mar;11():54.
PMID: 21406118 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 101. |
Complete structural assignment of serratol, a cembrane-type diterpene from Boswellia serrata, and evaluation of its antiprotozoal activity.
Schmidt TJ, Kaiser M, Brun R
From the dichloromethane extract obtained from the gum resin of Boswellia serrata Roxb. (Burseraceae), a well-known medicinal plant resin ("Indian Olibanum"), the cembrane-type diterpene serratol was isolated in high yield. Its structure, previously reported without clear specification of double-bond geometry and without specification of stereochemistry, was reanalysed by means of spectroscopic measurements and unambiguously assigned as S(-)-cembra-3E,7E,11E‑triene-1-ol. Full assignment of all NMR data is reported for the first time. The compound was found to be identical with a cembrenol previously isolated from B. carteri. Serratolwas tested for in vitro activity against four protozoan human pathogens, namely, Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (East African Human Trypanosomiasis, sleeping sickness), T. cruzi (Chagas' disease), Leishmania donovani (Kala-Azar), and Plasmodium falciparum (Tropical Malaria). It was found active against T. brucei and P. falciparum. These activities were 10- to 15-fold higher than its cytotoxicity against rat skeletalmyoblasts. While some reports exist on potential anti-inflammatory activity of Boswellia diterpenes, this is the first report on antiprotozoal activity of such a compound.
Planta Med. 2011 May;77(8):849-50.
PMID: 21157686 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 102. |
Development and evaluation of vesicular system for curcumin delivery.
Gupta NK, Dixit VK
Creams and gels containing curcumin are popularized worldwide and marketed all over the world, but even after incorporation of high amount of curcumin in topical formulations, significant antioxidant and anti-aging effect could not be achieved. Objective of the present study was to develop vesicular system for delivery of curcumin to achieve enhanced topical bioavailability. Complex of curcumin with phosphatidyl choline (PC) was prepared and characterized on the basis of TLC, DSC, melting point and IR spectroscopic analysis. The complex was further converted into vesicles (phyto-vesicles). Liposomes and niosomes of curcumin were also prepared and all these vesicular formulations were incorporated into carbopol gel to make feasible for topical application on skin. Anti-aging effects of these formulations were compared with plain curcumin and physical mixture of curcumin with phosphatidyl choline in UV-induced oxidative stress in mice. Analytical reports along with spectroscopic data revealed the formation of the complex. In the present study, the phyto-vesicles were found to be most effective than all other formulations and plain curcumin in providing enhanced antioxidant and antiaging effect. This increase may be due to the amphiphilic nature of the complex, which greatly enhances the water and lipid miscibility of the curcumin. This study clearly indicates the superiority of CU-PC complex and the phyto-vesicles prepared from CU-PC complex over others in providing enhanced anti-aging, antioxidant and anti-wrinkle effect.
Arch Dermatol Res. 2011 Mar;303(2):89-101.
PMID: 21085975 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 103. |
[Treatment of atrophic and irritative vulvovaginal symptoms with an anhydrous lipogel and its complementary effect with vaginal estrogenic therapy: new evidences].
Del Pup L
It is sometimes difficult to treat vulvovaginal itching and dryness, which represent frustrating symptoms for both patients and doctors. In case that the etiological agent is Candida albicans, effective antimycotic therapies are available; however, itching is often caused by aspecific allergic-irritative factors, which are difficult to be defined. In these cases, patients are invited to limit local irritative factors; nevertheless, this advice is not always taken and sometimes it turns out to be insufficient. Besides behavioral suggestions, a therapeutic support would be useful; medical doctors habitually prescribe local symptomatic treatments which, however, do not target numerous causes of irritative vulvovaginal symptomatology, though they are formulated for vulvovaginal application. If there is estrogenic deficit, the best therapeutic approach is based on topical estrogenic therapy, which is sometimes ineffective on vulvar symptoms. Frequently, it is necessary to choose a complementary therapeutic tool for vaginal application in order to alleviate itching, burning, erythema, dryness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an innovative anhydrous lipogel containing vitamin E and boswellic acids. Results of this study, performed on 34-58-year-old patients, confirmed the efficacy of the lipogel on irritative vulvovaginal symptoms. In postmenopausal women, the lipogel is a useful synergistic complement to topical hormonal therapy.
Minerva Ginecol. 2010 Aug;62(4):287-91.
PMID: 20827246 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 104. |
Evaluation of 13 selected medicinal plants from Burkina Faso for their antiplasmodial properties.
Jansen O, Angenot L, Tits M, Nicolas JP, De Mol P, Nikiéma JB, Frédérich M
AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiplasmodial properties of 13 plants used against malaria in traditional medicine in Burkina Faso.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In vitro antiplasmodial activity of dichloromethane, methanol and aqueous crude extracts obtained from vegetal samples collected in Burkina Faso was first evaluated on the Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 chloroquine-sensitive strain using a colorimetric method.
RESULTS: Thirteen extracts obtained from 8 different species were found to exhibit antiplasmodial activity (IC(50)<50 microg/ml). Five species demonstrated a moderate activity (15 microg/ml
CONCLUSIONS: Dicoma tomentosa (Asteraceae) and Psorospermum senegalense (Clusiaceae) appeared to be the best candidates for further investigation of their antiplasmodial properties, reported for the first time by this study.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2010 Jul;130(1):143-50.
PMID: 20435124 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 105. |
Studies of the in vitro anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials of selected Yemeni medicinal plants from the island Soqotra.
Mothana RA, Lindequist U, Gruenert R, Bednarski PJ
BACKGROUND: Recent years have witnessed that there is a revival of interest in drug discovery from medicinal plants for the maintenance of health in all parts of the world. The aim of this work was to investigate 26 plants belonging to 17 families collected from a unique place in Yemen (Soqotra Island) for their in vitro anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.
METHODS: The 26 plants were extracted with methanol and hot water to yield 52 extracts. Evaluation for in vitro anticancer activity was done against three human cancer cell lines (A-427, 5637 and MCF-7) by using an established microtiter plate assay based on cellular staining with crystal violet. Antimicrobial activity was tested against three Gram-positive bacteria, two Gram-negative bacteria, one yeast species and three multiresistant Staphylococcus strains by using an agar diffusion method and the determination of MIC against three Gram-positive bacteria with the broth micro-dilution assay. Antioxidant activity was investigated by measuring the scavenging activity of the DPPH radical. Moreover, a phytochemical screening of the methanolic extracts was done.
RESULTS: Notable cancer cell growth inhibition was observed for extracts from Ballochia atro-virgata, Eureiandra balfourii and Hypoestes pubescens, with IC50 values ranging between 0.8 and 8.2 microg/ml. The methanol extracts of Acanthospermum hispidum, Boswellia dioscorides, Boswellia socotrana, Commiphora ornifolia and Euphorbia socotrana also showed noticeable antiproliferative potency with IC50 values < 50 microg/ml. The greatest antimicrobial activity was exhibited by extracts from Acacia pennivenia, Boswellia dioscorides, Boswellia socotrana, Commiphora ornifolia, Euclea divinorum, Euphorbia socotrana, Leucas samhaensis, Leucas virgata, Rhus thyrsiflora, and Teucrium sokotranum with inhibition zones > 15 mm and MIC values
CONCLUSION: Our results show once again that medicinal plants can be promising sources of natural products with potential anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidative activity. The results will guide the selection of some plant species for further pharmacological and phytochemical investigations.
BMC Complement Altern Med. 2009 Mar;9():7.
PMID: 19320966 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 106. |
In vitro anti-biofilm activity of Boswellia spp. oleogum resin essential oils.
Schillaci D, Arizza V, Dayton T, Camarda L, Di Stefano V
AIMS: To evaluate the anti-biofilm activity of the commercially available essential oils from two Boswellia species.
METHODS AND RESULTS: The susceptibility of staphylococcal and Candida albicans biofilms was determined by methyltiazotetrazolium (MTT) staining. At concentrations ranging from 217.3 microg ml(-1) (25% v/v) to 6.8 microg ml(-1) (0.75% v/v), the essential oil of Boswellia papyrifera showed considerable activity against both Staphylococcus epidermidis DSM 3269 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 biofilms. The anti-microbial efficacy of this oil against S. epidermidis RP62A biofilms was also tested using live/dead staining in combination with fluorescence microscopy, and we observed that the essential oil of B. papyrifera showed an evident anti-biofilm effect and a prevention of adhesion at sub-MIC concentrations. Boswellia rivae essential oil was very active against preformed C. albicans ATCC 10231 biofilms and inhibited the formation of C. albicans biofilms at a sub-MIC concentration.
CONCLUSIONS: Essential oils of Boswellia spp. could effectively inhibit the growth of biofilms of medical relevance.
SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Boswellia spp. essential oils represent an interesting source of anti-microbial agents in the development of new strategies to prevent and treat biofilms.
Lett Appl Microbiol. 2008 Nov;47(5):433-8.
PMID: 19146534 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 107. |
Assessment of antimalarial activity against Plasmodium falciparum and phytochemical screening of some Yemeni medicinal plants.
Alshawsh MA, Mothana RA, Al-Shamahy HA, Alsllami SF, Lindequist U
Developing countries, where malaria is one of the most prevalent diseases, still rely on traditional medicine as a source for the treatment of this disease. In the present study, six selected plants (Acalypha fruticosa, Azadirachta indica, Cissus rotundifolia, Echium rauwalfii, Dendrosicyos socotrana and Boswellia elongata) commonly used in Yemen by traditional healers for the treatment of malaria as well as other diseases, were collected from different localities of Yemen, dried and extracted with methanol and water successfully. The antiplasmodial activity of the extracts was evaluated against fresh clinical isolates of Plasmodium falciparum. The selectivity parameters to evaluate the efficacy of these medicinal plants were measured by in vitro micro test (Mark III) according to World Health Organization (WHO) 1996 & WHO 2001 protocols of antimalarial drug tests. Among the investigated 12 extracts, three were found to have significant antiplasmodial activity with IC(50) values less than 4 microg/ml, namely the water extracts of A. fruticosa, A. indica and D. socotrana. Six extracts showed moderate activity with IC(50) values ranging from 10 to 30 microg/ml and three appeared to be inactive with IC(50) values more than 30 microg/ml. In addition, preliminary phytochemical screening of the methanolic and aqueous extracts indicated the presence of saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, polysaccharides and peptides.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Dec;6(4):453-6.
PMID: 18955251 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 108. |
Potential of biologically active plant oils to control mosquito larvae (Culex pipiens, Diptera: Culicidae) from an Egyptian locality.
Khater HF, Shalaby AA
The insecticidal effect of six commercially available plant oils was tested against 4th larval instars of Culex pipiens. Larvae were originally collected from Meit El-Attar, Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt, and then reared in the laboratory until F1 generation. The LC50 values were 32.42, 47.17, 71.37, 83.36, 86.06, and 152.94 ppm for fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-grecum), earth almond (Cyperus esculentus), mustard (Brassica compestris), olibanum (Boswellia serrata), rocket (Eruca sativa), and parsley (Carum ptroselinum), respectively. The tested oils altered some biological aspects of C. pipiens, for instance, developmental periods, pupation rates, and adult emergences. The lowest concentrations of olibanum and fenugreek oils caused remarkable prolongation of larval and pupal durations. Data also showed that the increase of concentrations was directly proportional to reduction in pupation rates and adult emergences. Remarkable decrease in pupation rate was achieved by mustard oil at 1000 ppm. Adult emergence was suppressed by earth almond and fenugreek oils at 25 ppm. In addition, the tested plant oils exhibited various morphological abnormalities on larvae, pupae, and adult stages. Consequently, fenugreek was the most potent oil and the major cause of malformation of both larval and pupal stages. Potency of the applied plant oils provided an excellent potential for controlling C. pipiens.
Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2008;50(2):107-12.
PMID: 18488090 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 109. |
Antiinflammatory and antiatherogenic effects of the NF-kappaB inhibitor acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid in LPS-challenged ApoE-/- mice.
Cuaz-Pérolin C, Billiet L, Baugé E, Copin C, Scott-Algara D, Genze F, Büchele B, Syrovets T, Simmet T, Rouis M
OBJECTIVE: In this article, we studied the effect of acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKbetaBA), a natural inhibitor of the proinflammatory transcription factor NF-kappaB on the development of atherosclerotic lesions in apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE-/-) mice.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Atherosclerotic lesions were induced by weekly LPS injection in apoE-/- mice. LPS alone increased atherosclerotic lesion size by approximately 100%, and treatment with AKbetaBA significantly reduced it by approximately 50%. Moreover, the activity of NF-kappaB was also reduced in the atherosclerotic plaques of LPS-injected apoE-/- mice treated with AKbetaBA. As a consequence, AKbetaBA treatment led to a significant downregulation of several NF-kappaB-dependent genes such as MCP-1, MCP-3, IL-1alpha, MIP-2, VEGF, and TF. By contrast, AKbetaBA did not affect the plasma concentrations of triglycerides, total cholesterol, antioxidized LDL antibodies, and various subsets of lymphocyte-derived cytokines. Moreover, AKbetaBA potently inhibited the IkappaB kinase (IKK) activity immunoprecipitated from LPS-stimulated mouse macrophages and mononuclear cells leading to decreased phosphorylation of IkappaB alpha and inhibition of p65/NF-kappaB activation. Comparable AKbetaBA-mediated inhibition was also observed in LPS-stimulated human macrophages.
CONCLUSIONS: The inhibition of NF-kappaB activity by plant resins from species of the Boswellia family might represent an alternative for classical medicine treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis.
Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2008 Feb;28(2):272-7.
PMID: 18032778 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 110. |
Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of some oleogum resin essential oils from Boswellia spp. (Burseraceae).
Camarda L, Dayton T, Di Stefano V, Pitonzo R, Schillaci D
The chemical composition of Boswellia carteri (Somalia), B. papyrifera (Ethiopia), B. serrata (India) and B. rivae (Ethiopia) oleogum resin essential oils was investigated using GC-MS to identify chemotaxonomy marker components. Total ion current peak areas gave good approximations to relative concentrations based on GC-MS peak areas. B. carteri and B. serrata oleogum resin oils showed similar chemical profiles, with isoincensole and isoincensole acetate as the main diterpenic components. Both n-octanol and n-octyl acetate, along with the diterpenic components incensole and incensole acetate, were the characteristic compounds of B. papyrifera oleogum resin oil. Hydrocarbon and oxygenated monoterpenes were the most abundant classes of compounds identified in the B. rivae oleogum resin oil. The antimicrobial activities of the essential oils were individually evaluated against different microorganisms including fungi, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria strains. The essential oils with the best activity against fungal strains were those obtained from B. carteri and B. papyrifera with MIC values as low as 6.20 microg/ml. The essential oil of B. rivae resin showed the best activity against C. albicans with a MIC value of 2.65 microg/ml.
Ann Chim. 2007 Sep;97(9):837-44.
PMID: 17970299 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 111. |
Screening of plant extracts for antimicrobial activity against bacteria and yeasts with dermatological relevance.
Weckesser S, Engel K, Simon-Haarhaus B, Wittmer A, Pelz K, Schempp CM
There is cumulative resistance against antibiotics of many bacteria. Therefore, the development of new antiseptics and antimicrobial agents for the treatment of skin infections is of increasing interest. We have screened six plant extracts and isolated compounds for antimicrobial effects on bacteria and yeasts with dermatological relevance. The following plant extracts have been tested: Gentiana lutea, Harpagophytum procumbens, Boswellia serrata (dry extracts), Usnea barbata, Rosmarinus officinalis and Salvia officinalis (supercritical carbon dioxide [CO2] extracts). Additionally, the following characteristic plant substances were tested: usnic acid, carnosol, carnosic acid, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, harpagoside, boswellic acid and gentiopicroside. The extracts and compounds were tested against 29 aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and yeasts in the agar dilution test. U. barbata-extract and usnic acid were the most active compounds, especially in anaerobic bacteria. Usnea CO2-extract effectively inhibited the growth of several Gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant strains - MRSA), Propionibacterium acnes and Corynebacterium species. Growth of the dimorphic yeast Malassezia furfur was also inhibited by Usnea-extract. Besides the Usnea-extract, Rosmarinus-, Salvia-, Boswellia- and Harpagophytum-extracts proved to be effective against a panel of bacteria. It is concluded that due to their antimicrobial effects some of the plant extracts may be used for the topical treatment of skin disorders like acne vulgaris and seborrhoic eczema.
Phytomedicine. 2007 Aug;14(7-8):508-16.
PMID: 17291738 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 112. |
Phytochemical screening and antiviral activity of some medicinal plants from the island Soqotra.
Mothana RA, Mentel R, Reiss C, Lindequist U
Methanol and hot-aqueous extracts of 25 different plant species, used in Yemeni traditional medicine and growing, partly as endemic plants, on the island Soqotra have been investigated for their antiviral activity. In addition, the phytochemical identification of the main chemical constituents was performed. The extracts were assayed in two in vitro viral systems, which used influenza virus type A/MDCK cells and herpes simplex virus type 1/Vero cells, at non-cytotoxic concentrations. The herpes simplex virus type 1 showed more sensitivity than the influenza virus type A against the extracts investigated. The methanol extracts of Boswellia ameero, Boswellia elongata, Buxus hildebrandtii, Cissus hamaderohensis, Cleome socotrana, Dracaena cinnabari, Exacum affine, Jatropha unicostata and Kalanchoe farinacea showed anti-influenza virus type A activity with 50% inhibition (IC50) concentrations ranging from 0.7 to 12.5 microg/mL. In addition, 17 plants of the 25 investigated exhibited anti-HSV-1 activity. The antiviral activity of some active extracts was also observed on a molecular level.
Phytother Res. 2006 Apr;20(4):298-302.
PMID: 16557613 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 113. |
Antimicrobial activity of some medicinal plants of the island Soqotra.
Mothana RA, Lindequist U
Twenty-five selected plants belonging to 19 families were collected from different localities of the island Soqotra, dried and extracted with the solvents chloroform, methanol and hot water to yield 80 extracts. The extracts were tested for their antimicrobial activity against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and against one yeast species using agar diffusion method. Antibacterial activity was demonstrated especially against Gram-positive bacteria including multiresistant Staphylococcus strains. The greatest activity was exhibited by the methanolic extracts of Boswellia elongata, Boswellia ameero, Buxus hildebrandtii, Commiphora parvifolia, Jatropha unicostata, Kalanchoe farinacea, Pulicaria stephanocarpa, Punica protopunica, Withania adunensis and Withania riebeckii. Only the methanolic extract of Buxus hildebrandtii displayed significant antifungal activity.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Jan;96(1-2):177-81.
PMID: 15588668 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 114. |
Indigenous knowledge system for treatment of trypanosomiasis in Kaduna state of Nigeria.
Atawodi SE, Ameh DA, Ibrahim S, Andrew JN, Nzelibe HC, Onyike EO, Anigo KM, Abu EA, James DB, Njoku GC, Sallau AB
A survey was carried out in Kaduna State of Nigeria to establish the indigenous knowledge system for treating trypanosomiasis in domestic animals. Questionnaire and interviews were, respectively, administered to, or conducted with about 200 livestock farmers and traders spread around the state. Data obtained revealed the use of several plants either alone or in combination, for the treatment and management of trypasonomiasis. The most common plants encountered were Adansonia digitata, Terminalia avicennoides, Khaya senegalensis, Cissus populnea, Tamarindus indica, Lawsonia inermis, Boswellia dalzielli, Pseudocedrela kotschi, Syzyium quinensis, Sterculia setigera, Afzelia africana, Prosopis africana, Lancea kerstingii. The method of preparation and mode of administration of some of these plants in the treatment of trypanosomiasis are reviewed and discussed.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2002 Feb;79(2):279-82.
PMID: 11801393 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 115. |
Antimicrobial activity of Boswellia dalziellii stem bark.
Adelakun EA, Finbar EA, Agina SE, Makinde AA
The methanol and aqueous extracts of Boswellia dalziellii stem bark showed broad spectrum inhibiting activity against bacteria, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative, and fungi.
Fitoterapia. 2001 Nov;72(7):822-4.
PMID: 11677023 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 116. |
Inhibitory effects of sudanese medicinal plant extracts on hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease.
Hussein G, Miyashiro H, Nakamura N, Hattori M, Kakiuchi N, Shimotohno K
One hundred fifty-two methanol and water extracts of different parts of 71 plants commonly used in Sudanese traditional medicine were screened for their inhibitory effects on hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease (PR) using in vitro assay methods. Thirty-four extracts showed significant inhibitory activity (>/=60% inhibition at 100 microg/mL). Of these, eight extracts, methanol extracts of Acacia nilotica, Boswellia carterii, Embelia schimperi, Quercus infectoria, Trachyspermum ammi and water extracts of Piper cubeba, Q. infectoria and Syzygium aromaticum, were the most active (>/=90% inhibition at 100 microg/mL). From the E. schimperi extract, two benzoquinones, embelin (I) and 5-O-methylembelin (II), were isolated and found as potent HCV-PR inhibitors with IC(50) values of 21 and 46 microM, respectively. Inhibitory activities of derivatives of I against HCV-PR as well as their effects on other serine proteases were also investigated.
Phytother Res. 2000 Nov;14(7):510-6.
PMID: 11054840 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 117. |
Structure-activity relationships of the nonredox-type non-competitive leukotriene biosynthesis inhibitor acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid.
Sailer ER, Hoernlein RF, Ammon HP, Safayhi H
Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) from Boswellia serrata Roxb. and italics Boswellia carterii Birdw. is the first selective, direct, non-competitive and non-redox-type inhibitor of 5-lipoxygenase, the key enzyme for leukotriene biosynthesis (Safayhi et al., 1992). Previously, we showed that AKBA interacts with the 5-lipoxygenase via a pentacyclic triterpene selective effector site (Safayhi et al., 1995). In order to study the impact of AKBA's functional groups on enzyme inhibition, natural and synthetic analogues of this boswellic acid were tested for 5-lipoxygenase inhibition in intact rat neutrophils (Sailer et al., 1996 a). The results reveal that the carboxylic group of AKBA combined with the 11-keto-group is essential for enzyme inhibition, whereas the acetoxy-group on position C-3 α increases the affinity of AKBA to its effector site. Furthermore, other experiments demonstrated that minor structural modifications could cause a total loss of binding affinity and/or inhibitory activity of these compounds.
Phytomedicine. 1996 May;3(1):73-4.
PMID: 23194865 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 118. |
5-Lipoxygenase inhibition by acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) by a novel mechanism.
Safayhi H, Sailer ER, Ammon HP
Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKAB) from Boswellia serrata and B. carterii acts directly on purified 5-lipoxygenase of human blood leukocytes at a selective site for pentacyclic triterpenes that is different from the arachidonate substrate binding site. The pentacyclic triterpene ring is crucial for binding to the enzyme, whereas functional groups (11-keto function in addition to a hydrophilic group on C 4 of ring A) are essential for the 5-lipoxygenase activity.
Phytomedicine. 1996 May;3(1):71-2.
PMID: 23194864 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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| 119. |
Screening of some Nigerian plants for molluscicidal activity.
Kela SL, Ogunsusi RA, Ogbogu VC, Nwude N
Methanolic (MEOH), evaporated crude water (ECW) and unevaporated crude water (UECW) extracts of 25 Nigerian plants, used for different medicinal and domestic purposes were screened for molluscacidal activity on laboratory-reared Lymnaea natalensis Krauss. Seven of the plants were not active; extracts from 18 (72 per cent) of the plants, some of which are renowned fish poisons, had molluscicidal activity. These were Acacia nilotica, Aristolochia albida, Balanites aegyptiaca, Blighia sapida, Boswellia dalzielii, Detarium microcarpum, Gnidia kraussiana, Kigelia africana, Nauclea latifolia, Opilia celtidefolia, Parkia clappertoniana, Polygonum limbatum, Pseudocedrela kotschyi, Sclerocarya birrea, Securidaca longipedunculata, Ximenia americana, Vetiveria nigritana and Ziziphus abyssinica. The LC50 of these extracts were determined. It is strongly recommended that the toxic effects of these extracts against fish, cercariae, snail eggs and mammals be further investigated so as to determine the right concentration, especially for use in fish ponds.
Rev Elev Med Vet Pays Trop. 1989;42(2):195-202.
PMID: 2626572 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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| 120. |
Susceptibility of two-week old Lymnaea natalensis to some plant extracts.
Kela SL, Ogunsusi RA, Ogbogu VC, Nwude N
The molluscacidal potency of 17 Nigerian plants extracted by the unevaporated crude water (UECW) method was evaluated on two-week old Lymnaea natalensis Krauss. Five extracts were not active but extracts of Balanites aegytiaca, Blighia sapida, Boswellia dalzielii, Cissampelos mucronata, Detarium microcarpum, Kigelia africana, Opilia celtidifolia, Parkia clappertoniana, Polygonum limbatum, Pseudocedrela kotschyi, Nauclea latifolia and Securidaca longipedunculata were molluscacidal. There is potential for their future use in the integrated control of Lymnaea natalensis, as well as other snails. Mortality data for lethal concentration values for all extracts were analysed by use of probit transformation. The upper and lower fiducial limits of the LC50 (P = 0.05) were also determined.
Rev Elev Med Vet Pays Trop. 1989;42(2):189-92.
PMID: 2626571 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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