Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Conventional cancer therapies cause serious side effects and, at best, merely extend the patient's lifespan by a few years. Cancer control may therefore benefit from the potential that resides in alternative therapies. The demand to utilize alternative concepts or approaches to the treatment of cancer is therefore escalating. There is compelling evidence from epidemiological and experimental studies that highlight the importance of compounds derived from plants "phytochemicals" to reduce the risk of colon cancer and inhibit the development and spread of tumors in experimental animals. More than 25% of drugs used during the last 20 years are directly derived from plants, while the other 25% are chemically altered natural products. Still, only 5-15% of the approximately 250,000 higher plants have ever been investigated for bioactive compounds. The advantage of using such compounds for cancer treatment is their relatively non-toxic nature and availability in an ingestive form. An ideal phytochemical is one that possesses anti-tumor properties with minimal toxicity and has a defined mechanism of action. As compounds that target specific signaling pathways are identified, researchers can envisage novel therapeutic approaches as well as a better understanding of the pathways involved in disease progression. Here, we focus on 4 classes of natural anticancer drugs: methyltransferase inhibitors, DNA damaging/pro-oxidant drugs, HDAC inhibitors (HDACi), and mitotic disrupters, and we will focus on the mode of action for one promising example per group.

Overview of major classes of plant-derived anticancer drugs

In this study, we evaluated the effect of different concentrations of chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles as edible coating in extending shelf life and maintaining the quality of banana fruits (Musa acuminata AAA group). The fruit treated with 1.15% chitosan, 1.25% chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles then store at ambient temperature (25±1°C). The shelf-life of banana, starch content, weight loss, pulp to peel ratio, total soluble solid, surface morpholgy of banana peel and sensory evaluation were analysed. Molecular analysis on the effect of chitosan was also conducted. Results showed that the application of chitosan nanoparticles and chitosan could extend shelf-life and maintain quality of banana fruits.

Effect of chitosan and chitosan-nanoparticles on post harvest quality of banana fruits

Rethinking organic wastes bioconversion: Evaluating the potential of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens (L.)) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) (BSF).

Rhizophora mucronata is an important ecosystem entity of the Malaysian mangrove forest. Since the species grows in a harsh environment, any organism that is isolated from this species would be of huge interest due to its potential in having novel bioactive compounds. In the present work, we isolated, identified and characterized, a total of 78 fungal isolates harboring inside the leaf tissues of R. mucronata. Molecular identification using the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribe spacer (ITS) sequences returned with high similarity matches to known sequences in the GenBank. Maximum likelihood analysis revealed the phylogenetic relationship of all isolates from this study. Most of the dominating fungal endophytes were from the genera Pestalotiopsis, followed by Alternaria and Cladosporium. Six isolates representing the genera Alternaria, Fusarium, Nigrospora, Pestalotiopsis, Phoma, and Xylaria, were further screened for their antagonism activities. Dual culture test assay revealed their inhibition percentages against the phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium solani between 45-66%, and 0.8-23% when using non-volatile test assay. Of the six isolates, only Fusarium lateritium and Xylaria sp. showed antibacterial activities against the pathogenic bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, with the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) ranging from 0.5 to 2 mg/mL. The DPPH radical scavenging assay recorded a high level of antioxidant activity in Xylaria sp., 3-fold above that of F. lateritium. We demonstrate for the first time, two members belonging to the endophytic fungal community in the tropical mangrove species that have potential use as antagonists and antibacterial agents for future biotechnological applications.

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Diversity and Characterization of Endophytic Fungi Isolated From the Tropical Mangrove Species, Rhizophora mucronata, and Identification of Potential Antagonists Against the Soil-Borne Fungus, Fusarium solani.

In recent years, nanotechnology has attracted attention in many fields because it has several up-and-coming novel uses. Many researchers have suggested that chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) and their derivatives are one of the best nanomaterials for delivering antibacterial activity. CS-NPs have a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity, but they manifest different inhibitory efficacy against gram-negative (G−) and gram-positive (G+) bacterial species. The mechanism of antibacterial action is an intricate process that varies between G− and G+ bacteria as a result of the differences in cell wall and cell membrane chemistry. In previous studies, greater antibacterial activity was more evident against G− bacteria than G+ bacteria, whereas in some studies G+ bacteria were more sensitive. Researchers predicted that the varied responses of bacteria are caused by the mixed hydrophilicity and negative charge distribution on the bacterial surface. Moreover, its activity depends on a number of variables including bacterial target (i.e., G− or G+ bacteria) and bacterial growth, as well as its concentration, pH, zeta-potential, molecular weight, and degree of acetylation. Therefore, this review examines current research on the mechanisms and factors affecting antibacterial activity, and application of CS-NPs specifically against animal and plant pathogenic bacteria.

Antibacterial Activity of Chitosan Nanoparticles: A Review

Agarwood formation in
 Aquilaria malaccensis
 could be artificially stimulated by fungal infection. Furthermore, A. malaccensis
 adapts to this infection by developing typical included phloem boundary within xylem tissues.
 Naturally synthesized agarwood requires a lengthy process of up to 30 years, which impedes its continuous production. Therefore, recent effort has been allocated to the elucidation of agarwood formation to stimulate its process rapidly. In this study, we artificially induced agarwood formation by injection and inoculation of cultivated Aquilaria malaccensis with four strains of Fusarium solani isolated from different places in Indonesia. The results showed that A. malaccensis responded differently upon wounding and fungal inoculations compared to healthy trees. All wounded and inoculated samples resulted in the formation of typical discoloration zone surrounding injection sites. Further anatomical observation revealed that both samples also developed included phloem structures in which resinous agarwood compounds were accumulated. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of the inoculated samples yielded some important agarwood compounds such as tridecanoic acid, α-santalol, and spathulenol, which were not present in both healthy controls and only wounded samples. Notably, one of the tested F. solani, strain Gorontalo displayed promising results as a candidate for artificially induced agarwood formation in A. malaccensis in terms of color, odor, and chemical constituents.

Formation of agarwood from Aquilaria malaccensis in response to inoculation of local strains of Fusarium solani

In Indonesia, growing cassava based food production significant amount of cassava peel wastes which has huge potential to cause significant environmental and health problems. Studies had showed the ability of Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larva (Hermetia illucens) to live in various type organic wastes made them as one of potential biological agents for bioconversion of household, industrial, and agricultural organic wastes. wastes. In order to apply this insect as bioconverter of cassave peel wastes, some growth variabels of BSF fed on cassave peel wastes were measured. In this study, two hundreds 6-day-old larvae were fed on cassava peel with a variation of 12.5, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mg/larva/day, replicated three times, until pupation. Results showed negative relation betweenfeeding rate and proportion of substrat consumption while negative relation recorded between feeding rate with efficiency of feed conversion. Highest propotion of feed used for metabolism recorded at lowest feeding rate. Best waste reduction index (2.79 ± 0.15), development time to pupation, and feeding duration recorded on feeding rate of 100 mg/larvae/day. Based on this study, it could be concluded best feeding rate for growth of BSF larvae is 100 mg/larvae/day.

https://www.entomoljournal.com/archives/2016/vol4issue6/PartC/4-5-120-950.pdf

Growth of black soldier larvae fed on cassava peel wastes, An agriculture waste

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/1204/1/012109/pdf

Chitosan Nanoparticle-Based Coating as Post-harvest Technology in Banana

Antagonistic activity assessment of fungal endophytes from oil palm tissues against Ganoderma boninense Pat.

Phytophthora capsici is one of the primary pathogens causing a global problem of severe losses in chilli production. The use of conventional fertilisers and fungicides to improve chilli production had been shown to elevate environmental and health issues. Hence, the foliar application of chitosan, natural deacylated chitin, to enhance growth and resistance in chilli pepper plants was investigated. The chilli plants were grown for 14 days before receiving chitosan application and 33 days before Phytophthora infection, physiological parameters were recorded during the growth period, and expression of resistance related genes was quantified at 72 hours after infection. Our results showed that physiological parameters, such as increment of height and leaves number, and chlorophyll content indicated an improved growth process in chitosan treated plants compared to the control. Plant resistance to Phytophthora infection was also investigated following chitosan application to highly (CM334), moderately (LABA), weakly (LADO) resistant and susceptible (15080) cultivars. The disease incidence and severity indices were reduced in chitosantreated plants, except in highly and moderately resistant cultivars. Further, expression was also quantified for defence-related genes, including 9-lipoxygenase (CaLOX), Ca2+-bound calmodulin 1 (CaCaM1), receptor-like cytoplasmic protein kinase (CaPIK), Ptointeracting1 (CaPTI1) and resistance gene analogue 2 (CaRGA2). The results suggest that CaLOX, CaPTI1 and CaRGA2 genes were involved in defence mechanism to Phytophthora, with increased expression during infection. However, expression levels were reduced when Phytophthora infection was coupled with foliar chitosan application, indicating that chitosan may play a direct role in decreasing the pathogenicity of Phytophthora. In conclusion, this study suggests the promising role of chitosan as an alternative to conventional fertiliser and fungicide in chilli pepper plant.

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Rizkita Rachmi Esyanti

Papers

Formation of agarwood from Aquilaria malaccensis in response to inoculation of local strains of Fusarium solani

Growth of black soldier larvae fed on cassava peel wastes, An agriculture waste

Chitosan Nanoparticle-Based Coating as Post-harvest Technology in Banana

Antagonistic activity assessment of fungal endophytes from oil palm tissues against Ganoderma boninense Pat.

Foliar application of chitosan enhances growth and modulates expression of defense genes in chilli pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).