The present study examined the protective effects of curcuminoid isolates from Curcuma longa against carbon tetrachloride (CCL 4 )-induced hepatic injury in rats. The hepatoprotective effect of the crude extract (150, 300 and 600 mg/kg bw) and curcuminoids (75, 150 and 300 mg bw) was evident by significant increases in the serum antioxidative defence capacities (super oxide dismutase, reduced glutathione, catalase) and reduction in biomarker enzymes of liver integrity (aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase and alkaline phosphatase) in comparison to the results obtained in the CCL 4 -untreated animals. Some of these parameters were completely restored by pre-treatments with curcuminoids. Similarly, the curcuminoids increases the concentrations of total proteins, albumins and ameliorated histological changes observed in CCL 4 injured rats. Therefore, curcuminoid could be considered a novel candidate for the development of new drug against liver diseases.

Despite the growing scientific interest in finding effective treatment, SARS-CoV-2 virus remains a global major health burden and public health emergency. SARS-CoV main protease (Mpro) also known as chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) is an important protein identified to be vital for SARS-CoV-2 survival. However, to date, there are no clinically approved drugs or antibodies specific for SARS-CoV-2. In the present study, we evaluated the interaction of 3CLpro with azadirachtin-A a bioactive compound from Azadiracta indica using in silico molecular docking study. Our results revealed that Azadiractin A docked well into the binding cavity of 3CLproSARS-CoV-2 with binding affinities ranges between -6.3 and -5.20 kcal/mol, and Pkd of 5.82~6.10 for the ten best binding modes. Azadiractin interacted with the active site of 3CLpro-SARS-CoV-2 by 2 conventional hydrogen bonding to HIS163 and GLU166, C-H interactions with HIS127, and alkyl interaction with PRO168 of the 3CLpro-SARS-CoV-2. We also found that the Azadiractin-A_3CLpro-SARS-CoV-2 complex is stabilized by various Vander wall forces with ASN142, LEU141, PHE140, MET165, GLN189, LEU167, THR190, and ALA191. In conclusion, our results suggested that Azadirachtin-A could be a potential inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease, thus worthy of further preclinical study.

There has been tremendous growth in field of herbal medicine as therapeutic agents. Dennettia tripetala, is known to possess ethnomedicinal properties and has been used for centuries in the Ayurvedic system of medicine for the treatments of various diseases. The present review provides detailed description on the distribution, ethno-medicinal use, phyto-constituents, and biological properties of the plant that justifies its use as a potential therapeutic agent in management of different diseases. The phyto chemical composition of Dennettia tripetala include alkaloids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids and cardiac glycosides while it biological activities include antioxidant, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antihypertensive, anticonvulsant, antitrypanosomal, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic properties among others. In conclusion, Dennettia tripetala contains various nutritional and phytochemicals compositions that make it valuable for pharmacological purposes.

Diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous metabolic syndrome characterized by chronic hyperglycemia with partial or total lack of insulin secretion and insulin resistance. The most common symptoms are polydipsia, polyuria, blurred vision, slow healing sore, nerve damage. Diabetes, being a metabolic, endocrine disorder is directly connected to carbohydrates, lipid, and protein metabolism. As a result, nutrition therapy forms an integral part of diabetes management. Daily caloric intake of 50% - 55% carbohydrates is recommended. Carbohydrate with low glycaemic index is preferred to those with high glycaemic index. Nonnutritive sweeteners are also encouraged for people with diabetes to add increased variety to their food choices. The protein requirement for persons with diabetes is not different from the general population, 15-20 % of total caloric intake. Both soluble and insoluble fibers are encouraged in amounts similar to the recommendations for the general population (20–35 g). Fibers are useful as they prolong gastric emptying, prevent constipation, lower serum cholesterol level, and reduce nutrients diffusion rates, thus reducing blood glucose response. A low-fat diet is advisable for diabetics in order to reach and maintain good weight and health. As part of a healthy diet, 30% of daily calories should come from fats, and of these less than 10% should be saturated fat, less than 10% polyunsaturated fat and 10- 15% monounsaturated fat. As the general population, people with diabetes have no need for vitamin and mineral supplementation when the dietary intake is adequate. Despite much research on nutritional factors in the etiology and management of diabetes, the risk associated with several individual nutrients is not entirely clear. In order to achieve maximum benefit from nutritional interventions in the management of diabetes changes in government policies and legislation will be needed in addition to individual and community-based programs.

Despite advancements in diagnostic and standard treatment modalities, cancer survival rate remains disappointing globally. It has however, been recognized that exploring the therapeutic properties of secondary metabolite from natural products may alleviate the problems of drug resistance and toxicity that besiege the conventional therapies, and hence improve the overall prognosis of cancer patient. To this end curcumin, a polyphenolic natural compound has been widely studied for it anticancer activities in in vitro and in vivo models. Computational technology has significantly improved the success rate of drug discovery and development, hence, it has become a widely explore tool in drug candidate identification. In this study we used computational approached to identify 12 genes that are potential druggable candidate for curcumin. The genes identified were found to be enriched in cancer and drug resistance associated signaling pathways. Interestingly, the top 3 identified genes; Microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT), Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) and Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (TDP1) were observed to be over expressed in multiple cancer cohorts and were associated with poor prognoses of the patients. Curcumin has good physicochemical, bioavailability and ADMET properties. Importantly, it met the Lipinski's Rule of 5 for drug likeness and thus worthy of further in vitro and in vivo confirmation studies.

In recent years Indonesia is struggling with their waste. Every day, Indonesia generates around 175,000 tons of waste. Some waste takes a lot of time to decompose normally and even though many people know this fact, there are still a lot of people still throwing their waste without giving a second thought. This problem has not been solved yet and it’s because people in Indonesia don’t know how to recycle their waste properly. In order to solve this problem, a platform is needed to provide information on how to recycle waste, for example Recycle Helper (a web application that provides guides on how to make useful items out of waste to reduce the amount of waste thrown and let users create and share their own guides with their own recycle idea). The questionnaire result that has been collected proves that people are still having a recycling motivation, hence Recycle Helper application is compatible with the current situation.

No abstract

No abstract