Artocarpus lakoocha Wall. ex Roxb. (family: Moraceae) has been used as a traditional Thai medicine for the treatment of various parasitic diseases. This species has been reported to be the source of phytochemicals, which show potent biological activities. The objective of this study was to investigate the phytochemical profile of the extracts of the heartwood of A. lakoocha and their pro-oxidant activity in vitro. The heartwood was ground, extracted, and then chromatographic and spectroscopic analyses were carried out; oxyresveratrol was identified as the major component in the extracts. The pro-oxidant activity was investigated using DNA-nick, reactive oxygen species and reducing assays. The results showed that oxyresveratrol induced DNA damage dose-dependently in the presence of copper (II) ions. It was also found to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a dose-dependent manner and reduce copper (II) to copper (I). It is concluded that oxyresveratrol is the most abundant stilbenoid in A. lakoocha heartwood. The compound exhibited pro-oxidant activity in the presence of copper (II) ions, which may be associated with its ability to act as an anticancer compound.
Scales of shed king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) skin from the dorsal portions, (SSS) and human breast epidermis (HE) were used as barrier membranes for comparison in an in vitro drug permeation study of nine active compounds (MW range 150-300 g mol -1 , pK a 3-10). Each compound, saturated in a donor solution at pH 4.0 or 5.6, permeated through the barrier membrane, fully hydrated. A receptor solution at pH 7.4 was sampled for quantification at its λ max by UV-Visible spectrophotometry and/or HPLC. The permeability coefficients of nine compounds were correlated to the n-octanol/water partition coefficients of these compounds. The permeability coefficient of these compounds using HE and SSS was correlated. Scales of shed skin from the dorsal portions of king cobras were shown to be well correlated to the human breast epidermis in this in vitro aqueous permeation study of these compounds.
An in vitro permeation of a hydroalcoholic extract of Phyllanthus amarus (PaE) was investigated using excised human epidermis and shed king cobra skin as the barrier membranes. Donor and receptor compartments of diffusion cells were pH−controlled to simulate the permeation environment of the human skin. The PaE was analyzed by using normal−phase densitometric TLC detected at λ 280 nm and toluene:ethyl acetate (17:3) as the mobile phase. There were four major components observed in the saturated solution of the donor at pH 5.5. Over 24 h, only one component, possibly phyllanthin, was found in the receptor solution after permeation across the human epidermis, while two components, possibly phyllanthin and an another unknown permeated, permeated through shed snake skin. When compared to the saturated donor concentration, phyllanthin gave permeation fluxes of 0.04±0.01 and 0.12±0.02 %⋅cm −2 ⋅h −1 through the human and shed snake skins, respectively. It seems that only certain component(s) of the P. amarus extract could permeate through the skins, and by comparison, at a slower rate across the human skin than shed snake skin.
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