Drug discovery is a complex process, and the use of a comprehensive approach is deemed necessary to discover new chemical entities with novel mechanisms of action. This research was carried out to determine whether Drosophila melanogaster can serve as an appropriate model organism in the initial screening of drug candidates with immunomodulatory activities. To test this, we performed phenotypic assay and molecular analysis to investigate the immunomodulatory activities of aspirin, dexamethasone, curcumin, and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), that have been reported to yield such effects in the mammalian model system. In vivo survival analysis demonstrated that all drugs/compounds were relatively safe at the tested concentrations. In the infection assay, curcumin and EGCG showed a protective signature to bacterial infection in flies lacking Toll-mediated immune responses. Furthermore, dexamethasone and aspirin, drugs with immunosuppressive activity, could improve the survival of PGRP-LBΔ mutant flies with hyperactivated immune system. These phenotypes were supported by RT-qPCR-based molecular analysis, revealing that drugs/compounds used in this study could modulate the expression level of genes related to the immune system. In conclusion, while curcumin and EGCG could promote the improvement of fly survival against infection, aspirin and dexamethasone were able to suppress overactivation of immune responses in D. melanogaster. These results are in line with the ones observed in the mammalian model system, further emphasizing the notion that flies would serve as a prospective model organism in the initial screening of drug candidates for their immunomodulatory activities prior to further checking in the mammalian animal models. In the end, this will reduce the use of mammalian animal models for preliminary experiments in an effort to discover/repurpose drugs with immunomodulatory activity.
Context: Premature aging usually occurred due to free radicals reducing the skins’ physiological functions. Muntingia calabura, a plant containing rich antioxidants, has the potential to overcome this problem. Aims: To evaluate the antioxidant capacity of M. calabura in inhibiting the premature aging process, to be potentially developed into an antiaging active ingredient. Methods: The samples were extracted using ethanol 96%, and processed into n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol fractions, respectively. Total phenolic content was determined, followed by the evaluation of antioxidant capacity through DPPH, FRAP, and ABTS assay. Further, anti-elastase was conducted using human neutrophil elastase as a skin degradation enzyme, followed by an anti-collagenase test. Finally, normal cell proliferation was also evaluated via the MTT method measuring cell viability on HDFa cells. Results: As the results, ethanol extract, ethyl acetate fraction, and ethanol fraction showed a strong antioxidant effect, having great capacity reducing DPPH, ABTS radicals, and also iron reduction, in contrast to n-hexane fraction that exhibited only weak activity. The antioxidant trend capacities were found directly correlated to total phenolic contents. Furthermore, the ethyl acetate fraction was found to have optimum activity in inhibiting elastase and collagenase enzymes, showing a similar impact on cell viability. Conclusions: The ethyl acetate fraction from M. calabura exhibits the prospect for further development to support its effectiveness as an active ingredient in antiaging cosmetics.
Background. Periodontitis can be treated by regenerating periodontal tissue using a bone graft. Several natural materials such as chitosan and minerals such as hydroxyapatite can be developed to increase periodontal tissue regeneration. Chitosan has a high potential in healing wounds. Hydroxyapatite has excellent properties such as biocompatibility, osteoconductive, osteoinductive, and osteogenesis, making it an ideal material for soft and hard tissue regeneration. Chitosan and hydroxyapatite can be obtained from the shells of crustaceans, such as crabs shells (Portunus pelagicus). Objective. To assess the effectiveness of the combination of chitosan gel and hydroxyapatite powder as a bone graft on periodontal tissue regeneration in experimental animals. Periodontal tissue regeneration was assessed by expressing inflammatory cytokine gene indicators IL-1 and BMP-2. Methods. Experimental laboratory research and clinical trials with posttest only control group design. Twenty-seven Wistar rats were divided into three groups. Then the femoral bone defect was made, the positive control group was given placebo gel, the positive control group was given BATAN hydroxyapatite, and the test group was given a combination of chitosan gel and hydroxyapatite crab shells. Wistar rats were sacrificed on days 7, 14, and 21, and the femur bone was then taken for immunohistochemical analysis to determine the levels of IL-1 and BMP-2. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, Levene test, and one-way ANOVA analyzed the data. Results. On days 7, 14, and 21, the expression levels of IL-1 and BMP2 were significantly different between the three groups. The group added with chitosan gel and crab shell HA showed a faster decrease in IL-1 expression than the control group. BMP-2 expression increased in the test group compared to the control group. Conclusion. The combination of chitosan gel and hydroxyapatite inhibited the production of proinflammatory cytokines and increased the production of BMP-2.
ABSTRAKPenyakit degenerative disebabkan karena antioksidan yang ada didalam tubuh tidak mampu menetralisir peningkatan konsentrasi radikal bebas, sehingga perlu adanya antioksidan dari luar untuk menghancurkan radikal bebas yang dapat menyebabkan kerusakan sel. Kulit buah jeruk Bali merupakan salah satu tanaman yang diketahui memiliki kandungan senyawa flavonoid yang bersifat antioksidan. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui kandungan senyawa kimia dan aktivitas antioksidan ekstrak etanol kulit buah jeruk Bali. Identifikasi kandungan senyawa kimia dilakukan secara kualitatif dan kuantitatif, sedangkan uji aktivitas antioksidan dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode penangkapan radikal 2,2-difenil-1-pikrilhidrazil (DPPH) dengan asam askorbat sebagai pembanding. Hasil penelitian memperlihatkan esktrak etanol kulit buah jeruk Bali mengandung Flavanoid, Saponin, Alkaloid, Triterpenoid/Steroid, dan Tanin, sedangkan hasil uji kuantitatif fenolik total dan flavonoid total masing-masing diperoleh hasil 4,96% dan 0,34%. Hasil uji aktivitas antioksidan ekstrak kulit buah jeruk Bali dan asam askorbat masing-masing menunjukkan nilai IC50 574,02 bpj dan 4,63 bpj. Hasil ini memperlihatkan bahwa ekstrak kulit buah jeruk Bali memiliki aktivitas antioksidan yang lemah jika dibandingkan asam askorbat. Masuk
As one of vegetable plants in South Sulawesi, cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) crops has generated cellulose fibers biomass which is potentially modified into nano-crystalline cellulose, a valuable material in the pharmaceutical formula. Therefore, this study aims to manipulate the natural cellulose fibers of cabbage biomass through acid hydrolysis method within product preliminary evaluation through FT-IR and XRD. The fibers were modified through the bleaching process produce micro crystalline cellulose, which was then hydrolyzed with 65% sulfuric acid to obtain nanocrystalline cellulose. The products have yellow pale to brown colour, with a yield of 10.06% and 31.16% respectively. Based on FT-IR spectra, both products inherit cellulose characteristics, C-O (1232.16 cm-1); C = O (1743.65 cm-1); -OH (1625.99 cm-1); C-H (2920.23 cm-1); O-H (3414 cm-1). The increasing trend of crystallinity index during the process was also observed in XRD diffractogram. It is identifiable from 7.41% for natural fiber, 69.68% for crystalline microcrystalline, and 78.01% for nano crystalline cellulose. Through Match®, the estimated crystalline product size reaches 58.91 nm.
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