The aim of the present study focuses on the molecular docking approach to screen alternative drug that can regulate the hyperglycemia by down-regulating α-glucosidase and α-amylase activity using phenolic compounds: tannic acid (L1), catechin (L2), gallic acid (L3), quercetin (L5) and epicatechin (L6). L1 gives the best docking scores, its interaction with α-amylase and α-glucosidase has the lowest energy score compared to the other complexes and to the acarbose (L4). L1 forms strong five H-donor interactions with residues of active site of α-amylase and three H-donor interactions with α-glucosidase. The in silico evaluation of the unfavorable absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (ADME) properties and drug-likeness revealed that L5 has high absorption compared to tannic acid and to the other compounds. This study revealed for the first time that tannic acid is a functional inhibitor of α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities and can be used as alternative for the regulation of post-prandial hyperglycaemia. Communicated by Ramaswamy Sarma.

In silico evaluation of phenolic compounds as inhibitors of Α-amylase and Α-glucosidase

The objective of this study was to analyze human fecal Lactobacillus community and its relationship with rheumatoid arthritis. Samples taken from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and healthy individuals were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. Bacterial DNA was extracted from feces, and amplicons of the Lactobacillus-specific regions of 16S rRNA were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The richness, Shannon-Wiener index, and evenness of gut microbiota of both groups were analyzed to compare fecal Lactobacillus community structures. Results of this study demonstrated that fecal microbiota of RA patients contained significantly more Lactobacillus (10.62 ± 1.72 copies/g) than the control group (8.93 ± 1.60 copies/g). Significant increases were observed in RA patients in terms of the richness, Shannon-Wiener, and evenness measures, indicating more bacterial species, and increased bacterial diversity and abundance. These results suggest a potential relationship between Lactobacillus communities and the development and progression of rheumatoid arthritis.

analysis of fecal Lactobacillus community structure in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis : Aplar-0341

Propolis is a natural compound collected by honeybees from different parts of plants. Honeybees produce a sticky component besides honey by mixing the tree resin and other botanical sources with saliva called propolis or bee glue. Propolis was traditionally used as a wound healing substance, cosmetic, medicine, and many other conditions. Till now, there is no definite curable treatment for most cancers and chemotherapeutic drugs and drugs used for targeted therapies have serious side effects. According to a recent research, natural products are becoming increasingly essential in cancer prevention. Natural products are a great source of potential therapeutic agents, especially in the treatment of cancer. Previous studies have reported that the presence of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), artepillin C, and chrysin is responsible for the anticancer potential of propolis. Most of the previous studies suggested that propolis and its active compounds inhibit cancer progression by targeting multiple signaling pathways including phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3K)/Akt and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling molecules, and induce cell cycle arrest. Induction of apoptosis by propolis is mediated through extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. The aim of this review is to highlight and summarize the molecular targets and anticancer potential of propolis and its active compounds on cell survival, proliferation, metastasis, and apoptosis in cancer cells.

https://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2022/5901191.pdf

An Insight into Anticancer Effect of Propolis and Its Constituents: A Review of Molecular Mechanisms

In recent years, interest in natural products such as alternative sources of pharmaceuticals for numerous chronic diseases, including tumors, has been renewed. Propolis, a natural product collected by honeybees, and polyphenolic/flavonoid propolis-related components modulate all steps of the cancer progression process. Anticancer activity of propolis and its compounds relies on various mechanisms: cell-cycle arrest and attenuation of cancer cells proliferation, reduction in the number of cancer stem cells, induction of apoptosis, modulation of oncogene signaling pathways, inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases, prevention of metastasis, anti-angiogenesis, anti-inflammatory effects accompanied by the modulation of the tumor microenvironment (by modifying macrophage activation and polarization), epigenetic regulation, antiviral and bactericidal activities, modulation of gut microbiota, and attenuation of chemotherapy-induced deleterious side effects. Ingredients from propolis also ”sensitize“ cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents, likely by blocking the activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB). In this review, we summarize the current knowledge related to the the effects of flavonoids and other polyphenolic compounds from propolis on tumor growth and metastasizing ability, and discuss possible molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the modulation of inflammatory pathways and cellular processes that affect survival, proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis of the tumor.

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Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Propolis and Its Polyphenolic Compounds against Cancer

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1665/1/012022/pdf

Metabolomic Profiles of Curcuma longa L and Cosmos caudatus Extracts and Their In-Silico Anti-cancer Activity

Simple Summary Cancer therapy suffers from its high cost and high rate of adverse effects and relapse of the disease. Hence, the new (preferably natural), economic and safer therapeutic as well preventive measures have been on demand and have been subject of priority research. We have, earlier, demonstrated anticancer activity in the extracts of Ashwagandha leaves and propolis. A combination of Wi-A (an active anticancer ingredient in Ashwagandha extract) and CAPE (an active anticancer ingredient in propolis) was earlier shown to offer higher and cancer cell-selective cytotoxicity. In the present study, we report an anti-metastasis activity in the low dose combination of Wi-A and CAPE along with its mechanism of action and propose its use in cancer metastasis treatment. Abstract Withaferin A (Wi-A) and Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE) are the bioactive ingredients of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) and propolis, respectively. Both of these natural compounds have been shown to possess anticancer activity. In the present study, we recruited a low dose of each of these compounds and developed a combination that exhibited remarkably potent anti-migratory and anti-angiogenic activities. Extensive molecular analyses including a cDNA array and expression analyses of the specific gene targets demonstrated that such activities are mediated through their effect on cell adhesion/tight junction proteins (Claudins, E-cadherin), inhibition of canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways and the consequent downregulation of EMT-signaling proteins (Vimentin, MMPs, VEGF and VEGFR) that play a critical role in cancer metastasis. The data supported that this novel combination of Wi-A and CAPE (Wi-ACAPE, containing 0.5 µM of Wi-A and 10 µM of CAPE) may be recruited for the treatment of metastatic and aggressive cancers and, hence, warrant further evaluation by recruiting a variety of experimental and clinical metastatic models.

/pdf/a-low-dose-combination-of-withaferin-a-and-caffeic-acid-2lbpxxu6.pdf

A Low Dose Combination of Withaferin A and Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Possesses Anti-Metastatic Potential In Vitro: Molecular Targets and Mechanisms

The study of natural compound as α-amylase inhibitor has been a concern since the synthetic drugs for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus have several side effects. The present study was carried out to predict the ability of rosmarinic acid and sinensetin as human α-amylase inhibitor by in silico study. All of the prepared 3D structures were used in the molecular docking by using Hex 8.0.0. The visualization of the molecular interactions of those compounds with human salivary α-amylase or human pancreatic α-amylase was established in the Discovery Studio Client 4.1 software. The result of this study determined that rosmarinic acid and sinensetin bound to the A domain of human pancreatic α-amylase and human salivary α-amylase. Rosmarinic acid-human salivary α-amylase complex was observed to possess high number of hydrogen bonds compared to sinensetin-human salivary α-amylase complex. The similar result was observed in the comparison of rosmarinic acid-human pancreatic α-amylase complex and sinensetin-human pancreatic α-amylase complex. The rosmarinic acid was able to bind the Glu233 of human pancreatic α-amylase. These data suggest rosmarinic acid as a potential inhibitor of human salivary α-amylase and human pancreatic α-amylase. Further experimental evidence is needed to confirm this observation.

https://jpacr.ub.ac.id/index.php/jpacr/article/download/460/pdf

The Potential Role of Rosmarinic Acid and Sinensetin as α-Amylase Inhibitor: In Silico Study

The cyanidin-3-O-glucoside of Black Rice inhibits the interaction of HMG-CoA and HMG-CoA Reductase: three-and two-dimension structure

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that can cause progressive damage to the joints of patients. The number of patients is expected to increase, along with the exact cause of this disease remains unknown. However, there are several risk factors associated with RA, including dysbiosis. The purpose of this study was to characterize the composition of intestinal microbiota in the RA and control groups through fecal analysis and reveal the association of microbiota composition with RA disease in Indonesia, especially Malang. Fecal samples were obtained from RA patients and controls. Fecal analysis was carried out through several stages, namely the calculation of total bacterial colonies, isolation and characterization of anaerobic bacteria, calculation of the Simpson diversity index, and DNA isolation. Analysis of bacterial composition profiles in fecal was carried out using 6 specific primer sets through PCR analysis. The results of the 16S rRNA PCR analysis showed different microbiota compositions between RA patients and controls. The number of Entero coccus bacterial group was lower in the control patients than the RA group, whereas the Lactobacillus bacteria decreased in RA patients. In addition, our study found that the existence of bacterial isolate 11 changed the composition of microbiota in RA patients, and the DNA band only appeared in Universal primers. The diversity of bacterial species can provide symbiotic and pathogenetic effects in RA patients. Keywords: Dysbiosis , intestinal microbiota, PCR, rheumatoid arthritis.

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Differential Intestinal Microbiota Composition Inhibits the Lactobacillus Growth in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients in Malang, Indonesia.

Appendix S1. Supporting Information Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. 

Computational and experimental evidence of the anti-COVID-19 potential of honeybee propolis ingredients, caffeic acid phenethyl ester and artepillin c.

Hazna Noor Meidinna

Papers

A Low Dose Combination of Withaferin A and Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Possesses Anti-Metastatic Potential In Vitro: Molecular Targets and Mechanisms

The Potential Role of Rosmarinic Acid and Sinensetin as α-Amylase Inhibitor: In Silico Study

The cyanidin-3-O-glucoside of Black Rice inhibits the interaction of HMG-CoA and HMG-CoA Reductase: three-and two-dimension structure

Differential Intestinal Microbiota Composition Inhibits the Lactobacillus Growth in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients in Malang, Indonesia.

Computational and experimental evidence of the anti-COVID-19 potential of honeybee propolis ingredients, caffeic acid phenethyl ester and artepillin c.