KEYWORDSErythrina indica commonly known as Coral tree has been widely used in Indian traditional medicine for treating common ailments such as asthma, arthritis, diarrhoea, fever, inflammation and leprosy. Certain phytochemical constituents such as: alkaloids, aliphatic fatty acids, alkaloids have also been reported. A wide range of medicinal formulations have been developed from E. indica that exhibit analgesic, antiarthritic, anti-hypertriglyceridemia, anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxing effects. This review summarizes the phytochemical investigations and pharmacological activities of E. indica. Erythrina indica Alkaloids SteroidsAnti-inflammatory Anti-arthritic Anti-hypertriglyceridemia

The genus Nephthea is a member of the family Acyonaceae, subfamily Nephtheidae, and is distributed throughout the world mainly in the Indo-Pacific region. The genus Nephthea has been studied for its phytochemical constituents and these studies have resulted in the discovery of over a hundred compounds comprising amides, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes and steroids. Corresponding biological activities such as anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities have also been observed for some of the isolated constituents. Among the isolated constituents, steroids are the most abundant followed by diterpenes and sesqui biological activities reported for twelve species of the genus Nephthea, namely, N. albida, N. armata, N. bayeri, N. brassica, N. capnelliformis, N. crassica, N. elongata, N. erecta, N. hainansis, N. pacifica, N. chabrolii and N. sinulata

Purpose: To isolate some compounds from the leaves and bark of Mimusops elengi, and examine them for their antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.Experimental: The compounds were isolated from the leaf and bark chloroform extracts using column chromatography, and characterized using physical and spectroscopic methods. The isolated compounds and their respective extracts were tested for antibacterial activity by micro-dilution antibacterial assay, and for anti-inflammatory activity by cyclooxygenase inhibitory assay. Results: of the compounds isolated include spinasterol (1), ursolic acid (2) and 3β, 6β, 19α, 23-tetrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic

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The genus Subergorgia (coelenterata, Gorgonacea, Subergorgiidae) is distributed in the Indo-pacific region. Previous investigations on the various species of the genus have revealed the presence of a number of new compounds including alkaloids, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, and steroids. Certain biological activities particularly cytotoxic activity have been observed for the isolated constituents and compositions derived from the coral. This review covers the secondary metabolites reported from the genus Subergorgia and their biological properties.

Hydrogels that can respond to multiple external stimuli represent the next generation of advanced functional biomaterials. Here, a series of multimodal hydrogels were synthesized that can contract and expand reversibly over several cycles while changing their mechanical properties in response to blue and red light, as well as heat (~50 °C). The light-responsive behavior was achieved through a photoredox-based mechanism consisting of photoinduced electron transfer from a zinc porphyrin photocatalyst in its excited state to oligoviologen-based macrocrosslinkers, both of which were integrated into the hydrogel polymer network during gel formation. Orthogonal thermoresponsive properties were also realized by introducing <i>N</i>-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) monomer simultaneously with hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) in the pre-gel mixture to produce a statistical 60:40 HEA:NIPAM polymer network. The resultant hydrogel actuators – crosslinked with either a styrenated viologen dimer (2V⁴⁺-St) or hexamer (6V¹²⁺-St) – were exposed to red or blue light, or heat, for up to 5 h, and their rate of contraction, as well as the corresponding changes in their physical properties (i.e., stiffness, tensile strength, Young’s modulus, etc.), were measured. The combined application of blue light and heat to the 6V¹²⁺-St-based hydrogels was also demonstrated, resulting in hydrogels with more than two-fold faster contraction kinetics and dramatically enhanced mechanical robustness when fully contracted. We envision that the reported materials and the corresponding methods of remotely manipulating the dynamic hydrogels may serve as a useful blueprint for future adaptive materials used in biomedical applications.