There is great need for stand-alone luminescence-based chemosensors that exemplify selectivity, sensitivity, and applicability and that overcome the challenges that arise from complex, real-world media. Discussed herein are recent developments toward these goals in the field of supramolecular luminescent chemosensors, including macrocycles, polymers, and nanomaterials. Specific focus is placed on the development of new macrocycle hosts since 2010, coupled with considerations of the underlying principles of supramolecular chemistry as well as analytes of interest and common luminophores. State-of-the-art developments in the fields of polymer and nanomaterial sensors are also examined, and some remaining unsolved challenges in the area of chemosensors are discussed.

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Supramolecular Luminescent Sensors

Moringa oleifera is an interesting plant for its use in bioactive compounds. In this manuscript, we review studies concerning the cultivation and production of moringa along with genetic diversity among different accessions and populations. Different methods of propagation, establishment and cultivation are discussed. Moringa oleifera shows diversity in many characters and extensive morphological variability, which may provide a resource for its improvement. Great genetic variability is present in the natural and cultivated accessions, but no collection of cultivated and wild accessions currently exists. A germplasm bank encompassing the genetic variability present in Moringa is needed to perform breeding programmes and develop elite varieties adapted to local conditions. Alimentary and medicinal uses of moringa are reviewed, alongside the production of biodiesel. Finally, being that the leaves are the most used part of the plant, their contents in terms of bioactive compounds and their pharmacological properties are discussed. Many studies conducted on cell lines and animals seem concordant in their support for these properties. However, there are still too few studies on humans to recommend Moringa leaves as medication in the prevention or treatment of diseases. Therefore, further studies on humans are recommended.

https://blog.baca-villa.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Moringa-Oleifera-Leaves-an-Overview.pdf

Cultivation, Genetic, Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Moringa oleifera Leaves: An Overview

Microbial resistance to classical antibiotics and its rapid progression have raised serious concern in the treatment of infectious diseases. Recently, many studies have been directed towards finding promising solutions to overcome these problems. Phytochemicals have exerted potential antibacterial activities against sensitive and resistant pathogens via different mechanisms of action. In this review, we have summarized the main antibiotic resistance mechanisms of bacteria and also discussed how phytochemicals belonging to different chemical classes could reverse the antibiotic resistance. Next to containing direct antimicrobial activities, some of them have exerted in vitro synergistic effects when being combined with conventional antibiotics. Considering these facts, it could be stated that phytochemicals represent a valuable source of bioactive compounds with potent antimicrobial activities.

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Review on plant antimicrobials: a mechanistic viewpoint

Transition-metal catalyzed reactions that are able to construct complex aliphatic amines from simple, readily available feedstocks have become a cornerstone of modern synthetic organic chemistry. I...

New Strategies for the Transition-Metal Catalyzed Synthesis of Aliphatic Amines.

Diabetes mellitus is one of the major health problems in the world, the incidence and associated mortality are increasing. Inadequate regulation of the blood sugar imposes serious consequences for health. Conventional antidiabetic drugs are effective, however, also with unavoidable side effects. On the other hand, medicinal plants may act as an alternative source of antidiabetic agents. Examples of medicinal plants with antidiabetic potential are described, with focuses on preclinical and clinical studies. The beneficial potential of each plant matrix is given by the combined and concerted action of their profile of biologically active compounds.

https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/9/10/551/pdf

Antidiabetic Potential of Medicinal Plants and Their Active Components.

https://zenodo.org/record/1004771/files/Cushnie%20et%20al%20%282014%29%20post-peer%20reviewed%20version.pdf

Alkaloids: an overview of their antibacterial, antibiotic-enhancing and antivirulence activities.

Bioprospecting is the exploration, extraction and screening of biological material and sometimes indigenous knowledge to discover and develop new drugs and other products. Most antibiotics in current clinical use (eg. β-lactams, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, macrolides) were discovered using this approach, and there are strong arguments to reprioritize bioprospecting over other strategies in the search for new antibacterial drugs. Academic institutions should be well positioned to lead the early stages of these efforts given their many thousands of locations globally and because they are not constrained by the same commercial considerations as industry. University groups can lack the full complement of knowledge and skills needed though (eg. how to tailor screening strategy to biological source material). In this article, we review three key aspects of the bioprospecting literature (source material and in vitro antibacterial and toxicity testing) and present an integrated multidisciplinary perspective on (a) source material selection, (b) legal, taxonomic and other issues related to source material, (c) cultivation methods, (d) bioassay selection, (e) technical standards available, (f) extract/compound dissolution, (g) use of minimum inhibitory concentration and selectivity index values to identify progressible extracts and compounds, and (h) avoidable pitfalls. The review closes with recommendations for future study design and information on subsequent steps in the bioprospecting process.

/pdf/bioprospecting-for-antibacterial-drugs-a-multidisciplinary-3qolp3uzd9.pdf

Bioprospecting for Antibacterial Drugs: a Multidisciplinary Perspective on Natural Product Source Material, Bioassay Selection and Avoidable Pitfalls

Chemical Constituents and in vitro anticancer activity of Tiliacora triandra leaves

In vitro α-amylase and α-glucosidase Inhibitory Activities of Coccinia grandis Aqueous Leaf and Stem Extracts

Pseuderanthemum palatiferum (Nees) Radlk. has been used extensively as a medicinal plant for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in various parts of Southeast Asia. However, the mechanism of its anti-diabetic action has not been fully characterized yet. The objectives of this study were to investigate the in vitro effects of P. palatiferum leaf ethanolic extract (PPE extract) on adipocyte lipolysis, α-amylase enzyme activity and antioxidant activity. The PPE extract at every concentration tested (10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500 µg/ml) caused a significant inhibition on basal lipolysis in adipocytes of the high fat diet-fed rats. The PPE extract also produced a concentration-dependent anti-lipolytic action against isoprenaline (0.1 µM)-induced lipolysis in the normal pellet diet-fed rat derived adipocytes. Inhibition of α-amylase was detected using the 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid assay, the PPE extract having an IC50 of 4.99 mg/ml. An antioxidant activity, as evaluated by the DPPH assay (IC50), was 58.13 µg/ml. In the ferric reducing power assay, the extract exerted antioxidant activity with a vitamin C equivalent antioxidant capacity (VCEAC) and a trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) of 2.33 and 2.04 g/100 g extract, respectively. The anti-lipolytic, α-amylase inhibitory and antioxidant activities of PPE extract detected here help justify the traditional use of this plant in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

	 

	Key words: Pseuderanthemum palatiferum, diabetes mellitus, adipocyte lipolysis, α-amylase, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, ferric reducing power assay.

/pdf/anti-lipolytic-amylase-inhibitory-and-antioxidant-activities-kvrk09v5bw.pdf

Benjamart Cushnie

Papers

Alkaloids: an overview of their antibacterial, antibiotic-enhancing and antivirulence activities.

Bioprospecting for Antibacterial Drugs: a Multidisciplinary Perspective on Natural Product Source Material, Bioassay Selection and Avoidable Pitfalls

Chemical Constituents and in vitro anticancer activity of Tiliacora triandra leaves

In vitro α-amylase and α-glucosidase Inhibitory Activities of Coccinia grandis Aqueous Leaf and Stem Extracts

Anti-lipolytic, -amylase inhibitory and antioxidant activities of Pseuderanthemum palatiferum (Nees) Radlk. leaf ethanolic extract