Momordica charantia Linn., commonly known as bitter gourd, has many protective roles due to its medicinal value as it contains bioactive components. However, this extract showed possible toxicity effect on zebrafish embryo. Thus this study was designed to differentiate the toxicity activities in two types of M. charantia sample which are Indian and Chinese M. charantia, as well as to compare between two different aqueous extraction methods, hot and cold aqueous method, using zebrafish embryo assay assessment. It was observed that the survival rate of zebrafish embryo decreased as the concentration of test extract increased for all samples of M. charantia. The LC50 values of hot aqueous Chinese M. charantia, hot aqueous Indian M. charantia, and cold aqueous Chinese M. charantia were 144.54 μg/ml, 199.53 μg/ml, and 251.19 μg/ml, respectively. However, cold aqueous Indian M. charantia has a higher LC50 which was not in the range of the tested concentration. Hatchability of Danio rerio embryo reduced as the concentration of M. charantia extract increased while no hatching was observed in the highest concentration (1000 μg/ml). Scoliosis of zebrafish larvae was only seen in higher concentrations (125-1000 μg/ml) of extract. The heartbeat of zebrafish larvae treated with M. charantia extract was within the normal range, 120-180 bpm, but at higher concentrations (125-1000 μg/ml) the heartbeat differed for all samples of test extract. Hence, although this plant extract was safe to be consumed due to its pharmaceutical effect, it still exhibited mild toxicity effect at higher concentration when it was evaluated on zebrafish embryo.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths worldwide with about 40% occurring in developing countries. The two varieties of Momordica charantia, which are Chinese and Indian bitter melon, have been subjected to antiproliferative activity in human non-small cell lung cells A549. The A549 cells were treated with hot and cold aqueous extraction for both the bitter melon varieties, and the antiproliferative activity was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The apoptotic mechanism of action on A549 human lung cancer cells was evaluated first morphologically using Hoechst 33358, and cytoskeleton staining using Filamentous-actin (F-actin) cytoskeleton FICT and DAPI followed by caspase-3/7, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and p53 activity. Chinese hot aqueous extraction (CHA) exhibited potent antiproliferative activity against A549 human lung cancer cells. The morphological analysis of mitochondria destruction and the derangement of cytoskeleton showed apoptosis-inducing activity. CHA increased the caspase-3/7 activity by 1.6-fold and the ROS activity by 5-fold. Flow cytometric analysis revealed 34.5% of apoptotic cells significantly (p<0.05) compared to cisplatin-treated A549 human cancer cells. CHA is suggested to induce apoptosis due to their rich bioactive chemical constituents. These findings suggest that the antiproliferative effect of CHA was due to apoptosis via ROS-mediated mitochondria injury.

The link between substance abuse and the development of schizophrenia remains elusive. In this study, we assessed the molecular and behavioural alterations associated with schizophrenia, opioid addiction, and opioid withdrawal using zebrafish as a biological model. Larvae of 2 days post fertilization (dpf) were exposed to domperidone (DMP), a dopamine-D2 dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, and morphine for 3 days and 10 days, respectively. MK801, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, served as a positive control to mimic schizophrenia-like behaviour. The withdrawal syndrome was assessed 5 days after the termination of morphine treatment. The expressions of schizophrenia susceptibility genes, i.e., pi3k, akt1, slc6a4, creb1 and adamts2, in brains were quantified, and the levels of whole-body cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), serotonin and cortisol were measured. The aggressiveness of larvae was observed using the mirror biting test. After the short-term treatment with DMP and morphine, all studied genes were not differentially expressed. As for the long-term exposure, akt1 was downregulated by DMP and morphine. Downregulation of pi3k and slc6a4 was observed in the morphine-treated larvae, whereas creb1 and adamts2 were upregulated by DMP. The levels of cAMP and cortisol were elevated after 3 days, whereas significant increases were observed in all of the biochemical tests after 10 days. Compared to controls, increased aggression was observed in the DMP-, but not morphine-, treated group. These two groups showed reduction in aggressiveness when drug exposure was prolonged. Both the short- and long-term morphine withdrawal groups showed downregulation in all genes examined except creb1, suggesting dysregulated reward circuitry function. These results suggest that biochemical and behavioural alterations in schizophrenia-like symptoms and opioid dependence could be controlled by common mechanisms.

Natural products derived from plants are used to treat cancer due to fewer side effects compared to standard treatments available for cancer. The second highest cancer that causes death worldwide is lung cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the cytotoxic activity of hot and cold aqueous extract of E. tapos seed and shell on human cancer cell line A549 as well as the apoptosis mechanism. The apoptosis mechanisms were evaluated by cell viability (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide tetrazolium reduction assay; MTT assay), Hoechst 33358 staining and detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity. The apoptosis inducing activity was analyzed in set of morphological and biochemical features. Hot aqueous shell extract (SHH) showed an anti-proliferative effect at the IC50 of 49.8 ± 0.06 µg/mL correlated with apoptosis induction by increasing the ROS activity by significant (p < 0.05) increase of 3.25 folds compared to control. Results suggest that SHH poses an anti-proliferative effect on account of apoptosis through ROS mediated mitochondria mutilation.

Purpose: To evaluate the anti-obesity effects of five compounds isolated from Calophyllum andersonnii and Calophyllum sclerophyllum, viz, friedelin (CP1), friedelinol (CP2), isodispar B (CP3),5,