A total of 40 extract types of varying polarities from commonly occurring seagrasses were tested for their antibacterial efficiency against 14 clinically isolated human pathogens using agar well diffusion technique. The extracts from acetone of Cymodocea serrulata expressed moderate broad span of activity against a range of gram-positive and gram-negative isolates that were at least resistant to five of the commercially available antibiotics at a minimal concentration of 10 µg. The active extracts of C. serrulata that showed maximal inhibitions were purified using column chromatography that afforded six compounds (a-f). Compound f elicited pronounced inhibitions against Escherichia coli with minimal inhibitory concentration values of 1-3 µg concentration using micro-dilution method. The active compound was identified as phenyl thioketone using various spectral analyses. This is the first investigation that reveals thioketone functionality from this seagrass species possessing antibacterial actions. This study indicates that there are thiocarbonyl groups from marine floral sources too, which could be possibly used for therapeutic purposes.
Easy extraction methods of the active compound that has a definite target render this under-explored seagrass a good source of antibacterial compound against human pathogenic bacteria. This learning may favour more researches in this unexplored area to build up Pheo-based natural products as antibiotic therapies.
The spider conch, Lambis lambis is one of the important fishery resources in the Vellapatti Village, Tuticorin, Southeast Coast of India. These conches land as by catches from crab nets (a modified bottom set gill net). The meat of gastropods is considered as a delicacy, rich in protein and the fat content is very low. Only a small section of the fisher folk consume its flesh, as it is less popular among the coastal fisher folk. For the utilization of this meat, chutney powder (a side dish for Idli or Dhosai in South India) was prepared from the meat. Biochemical, microbiological and sensory analyses were made to assess the shelf life for a period of four months. The meat had a protein content of 5.2%, 0.5% of carbohydrate and lipid content of 1%. The shelf life assessment of the chutney powder for a period of four months was carried out and it was found out that the product was good until the end of the assessment period. Even the TMA and TVB levels were found to be within the limits (10.8 mg per 100g and 18.36 mg per 100g, respectively). The present work reveals that the chutney powder is microbiologically and organoleptically good until the end of the storage period and safe for human consumption.
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are pivotal for cancer cell migration and metastasis which are generally over-expressed in such cell types. Many drugs targeting MMPs do so by binding to the conserved catalytic domains and thus exhibit poor selectivity due to domain-similarities with other proteases. We report herein the binding of a novel compound [3-(E-3,4-dihydroxycinnamaoyloxyl)-2-hydroxypropyl 9Z, 12Z-octadeca-9, 12-dienoate; Mol. wt: 516.67 Da], (C1), isolated from a seagrass, Cymodocea serrulata to the unconserved hemopexin-like (PEX) domain of MMP2 (− 9.258 kcal/mol). MD simulations for 25 ns, suggest stable ligand-target binding. In addition, C1 killed an ovarian cancer cell line, PA1 at IC50: 5.8 μM (lesser than Doxorubicin: 8.6 µM) and formed micronuclei, apoptotic bodies and nucleoplasmic bridges whilst causing DNA laddering, S and G2/M phase dual arrests and MMP disturbance, suggesting intrinsic apoptosis. The molecule increased mRNA transcripts of BAX and BAD and down-regulated cell survival genes, Bcl-xL, Bcl-2, MMP2 and MMP9. The chemical and structural details of C1 were deduced through FT-IR, GC–MS, ESI–MS, 1H and 13C NMR [both 1D and 2D] spectra.
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