Grandivittin as a natural minor groove binder extracted from Ferulago macrocarpa to ct-DNA, experimental and in silico analysis

A review of the ethnomedicinal, phytochemical, and pharmacological properties of the Ferulago genus based on Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) of coumarins

BACKGROUND

The Ferluago W.D.J. Koch genus includes 48 accepted perennial herbs that are distributed in the Mediterranean region, Southeast Europe, Central and Middle East of Asia. These plants are widely used in folk and conventional medicine due to their biological benefits such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and immunomodulatory properties. Conducting a comprehensive review based on the structure activity relationships (SARs) of the coumarins, which has not been previously documented, can lead to a better insight into the genus Ferulago and its beneficial therapeutic activities.

METHODS

This review covers literature from 1969 to 2023, were collected from various scientific electronic databases to review phytochemical, pharmacological, and ethnopharmacological data of Ferulago species, as well as latest information on the SAR of reported coumarins from this genus.

RESULTS

Phytochemical studies showed that the biological actions of this genus are mediated by the reported specialized metabolites, such as coumarins and flavonoids. Simple coumarins, prenylated coumarins, furanocoumarins, and pyranocoumarins are the largest subclasses of coumarins found in diverse Ferulago species, which have discussed the biological effects of them with a focus on the Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR). For example, prenylated coumarins have shown potential leishmanicidal and anti-neuropsychiatric effects when substituted with a prenyl group at the 7-hydroxy, as well as the C6 and C8 positions in their scaffold. Similarly, furanocoumarins exhibit varied biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and anti-convulsant effects. Modifying substitutions at the C5 and C6 positions in furanocoumarins can enhance these activities.

CONCLUSION

This study conducted a comprehensive review of all available information on the phytochemical and pharmacological characteristics of Ferulago species. Given the high occurrence of coumarins in this genus, which exhibit potential anti-Alzheimer and anti-microbial properties, it presents promising new therapeutic avenues for addressing these common issues. Further investigation is needed to understand the molecular-level mechanisms of action and to explore their clinical applications.

Revealing the interaction between alpha-chymotrypsin and eugenol: An integrated multi-spectral and dynamic simulation approach

The study aims to explore the effects of Eugenol (EUG) as an antioxidant on α-Chymotrypsin (α-Chy) and its interaction mechanism, with potential implications for new therapy development. The interaction between EUG and α-Chy was demonstrated through ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, which resulted in a shift in absorption with docking energies of -22.76 kJ/mol. An increase in fluorescence intensity indicated that the Trp residues moved to a less polar environment, which is consistent with the changes in accessible surface area (ASA) values. The presence of EUG led to a decrease in α-helix, β-turn, and random coil structures as shown by circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. Additionally, there was a slight increase in β-sheet structures, indicating a decrease in enzyme stability. However, tests for thermal stability showed a decrease in folding upon the introduction of EUG, which contradicted the results obtained from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The docking studies revealed that EUG forms hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces with the enzyme, indicating the interaction mechanism. Kinetic studies confirmed that EUG acts as a mixed inhibitor. However, further research involving live organisms is necessary to fully understand its potential.

Bioactivity and toxicity of coumarins from African medicinal plants

Introduction: Coumarins are naturally occuring metabolites from plants and a few micro-organisms. They have been widely used in the food and drug industry in their natural or synthetic forms. Numerous coumarins possess several biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcers, anti-tumour, anti-microbial, anti-coagulant. The aim of this study was to assess the bioactivity, and toxicity of coumarins from African medicinal plants. Methods: We searched online databases and search engines such as PubMed, Google Scholar and Web of Science for key terms such as coumarins, toxicity, bioavailability, bioactivity with appropriate Boolean operators. Only full-length research articles published in English between 1956 to 2023 were reviewed. Results: We recorded 22 coumarins from 15 plant species from Africa. Most of the plant species (33%) were from North Africa. These were followed by East Africa at 21%, then West, and Central Africa at 18.2% each. Most of the coumarins (21.3%) were isolated from the entire plant and the leaves (19.1%) and most of them (46.7%) had some antimicrobial activity. Five coumarins viz osthole, pseudocordatolide C & calanolide, chartreusin and esculetin had either antitumor or anticancer activity. Six coumarins had varying levels and types of toxicity ranging from inhibiting blood clotting as anticoagulants, to cytotoxic effects, causing hyperventilation, tremor, & photophobia, pulmonary haemorrhage, carcinogenic activity, severe neurotoxicity, hepato- and phototoxicity. Conclusion: Several African medicinal plants are sources of various coumarins that possess several biological activities as well as toxicities. This calls for more research into their safety and efficacy because of their wide spread applications as therapeutic agents.

In vitro and in silico binding studies of phytochemical isochroman with calf thymus DNA using multi-spectroscopic and computational modelling techniques

A wide range of therapeutic molecules uses deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as an intracellular target. The interaction of small molecules to DNA is a key feature in pharmacology and plays a vital role in the development of novel and more efficient drugs with increased selective activity and enhanced therapeutic effectiveness. Isochroman (IC) is a constituent of Olea europea plant, which has been shown to exhibit several beneficial pharmacological activities. At present, its interaction studies using calf thymus DNA (ct-DNA) have not been explained. A set of multi-spectroscopic techniques has been performed to determine the interaction mechanism of isochroman with ct-DNA. Absorption spectra and quenching in fluorescence studies show that isochroman and ct-DNA form a complex. The static mode of quenching was determined by the Stern-Volmer plot. The value of binding constant, Kb = 4.0 × 103 M-1 revealed moderate type of binding. Effects of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and ionic strength were studied to examine the isochroman binding to ct-DNA. Potassium iodide (KI) quenching effects and competitive binding studies clearly showed that isochroman binds in the minor groove of ct-DNA. Circular dichroic and DNA melting experiments also confirmed these results. The experimental outputs were further corroborated via in silico computational modelling studies. Lipinski's rule of 5 and SwissADME showed drug-likeness and oral bioavailability scores. Protox ІІ online software predicts oral and organ toxicity.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Effect of isolated grandivittin from Ferulago trifida Boiss. (Apiaceae) on the proliferation and apoptosis of human lung cancer A549 cells

Lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world. Introducing new promising agents can help the chemotherapeutic management of cancer. In the knowledge of oncology, plants are of special interest as a rich source of new antineoplastic and chemotherapeutic agents. Grandivittin (GRA) is one of the main constituents of Ferulago trifida Boiss. with established medicinal, phytochemical, and pharmacological properties. This study aimed to isolate and evaluate the antineoplastic potential of grandivittin and its underlying mechanisms in human lung cancer A549 cells. The viability of the A549 cells after being treated with 0.1, 0.4, 0.7, 1, and 1.3 mM of GRA for three following days was measured using the MTT method. The early apoptosis and late apoptosis were assessed by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis through annexin V/PI staining. The expression of apoptotic agents' genes (caspase 3, caspase 9, Bcl2, Bax, and P53) was evaluated by the RT-PCR method. GRA increased apoptotic cells and decreased cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner, in which only 50% of cells survived at a dose of 0.7 mM. The expression of Bax, P53, caspase 3, and caspase 9 genes in the A549 cells was significantly upregulated after GRA treatment compared to control cells (P < 0.05). On the other hand, Bcl2 was significantly downregulated after GRA treatment (P < 0.05). The results indicated that GRA can activate cell death in A549 lung carcinoma cells by inducing both DNA toxicity p53 and cascade-dependent pathways. Therefore, GRA may be a potential new therapeutic agent for the treatment of lung cancer.

Plant Pyranocoumarins: Description, Biosynthesis, Application

This overview article contains information about pyranocoumarins over the last 55 years. The article is based on the authors' phytochemical and physiological studies in vivo and in vitro as well as search and analysis of data in literature available on Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, and ScienceDirect before January 2022. Pyranocoumarins are synthesized in plants of the Apiaceae, Rutaceae families, and one species in each of the Cornaceae, Calophyllaceae, and Fabaceae families can synthesize this class of compounds. The physiological role of these compounds in plants is not clear. It has been proven that these substances have a wide range of biological activities: anti-cancer, anti-spasmatic, and anticoagulant, and they also inhibit erythrocyte lysis and accumulation of triacylglycerides. The overview generalizes the modern understanding of the classification, structure, and biological activity of natural pyranocoumarins, and summarizes dispersed data into a unified scheme of biosynthesis. The review analyzes data on the localization and productivity of these substances in individual organs and the whole plant. It discusses a link between the unique structure of these substances and their biological activity, as well as new opportunities for pyranocoumarins in pharmacology. The article evaluates the potential of different plant species as producers of pyranocoumarins and considers the possibilities of cell cultures to obtain the end product.

Decrypting the interaction pattern of Piperlongumine with calf thymus DNA and dodecamer d(CGCGAATTCGCG)2 B-DNA: Biophysical and molecular docking analysis

The mechanisms of interaction of DNA with pharmacological molecules are critical to understanding their therapeutic actions on physiological systems. Piperlongumine is widely studied for its anticancer potential. Multi-spectrometry, calorimetry and in silico studies were employed to study the interaction of piperlongumine and calf thymus DNA. UV-Vis spectroscopy illustrated a hyperchromic pattern in spectra of the calf thymus DNA-piperlongumine complex, while fluorescent quenching was observed in emission spectral studies. Competitive displacement assay demonstrated higher displacement and binding constant for DNA-rhodamine B complex by piperlongumine than DNA-methylene blue complex. Differential scanning calorimetry presented non-significant changes in melting temperature and molecular docking presented the precise interaction site of piperlongumine with calf thymus DNA at minor groove. Further, piperlongumine treatment did not result in pBluescript KS plasmid DNA cleavage as revealed from the DNA topology assay. All these experiments confirmed the binding of piperlongumine with DNA through minor groove binding mode.

Functionalization of Fe3O4/rGO magnetic nanoparticles with resveratrol and in vitro DNA interaction

Based on the previous research, we found that the magnetic nanocomposite Fe₃O₄/rGO (reduced graphene oxide) has a good drug loading effect. Therefore, in this paper, we studied the positive role of Fe₃O₄/rGO as a drug carrier in the interaction between resveratrol (RES) and calf-thymus DNA (ct-DNA). The fluorescence experiment is used to evaluate by the Stern-Volmer equation, the quenching constant of RES - ct-DNA system with and without Fe₃O₄/rGO decreases with the increasing temperature. It was found the quenching mode of RES - ct-DNA and Fe₃O₄/rGO - RES - ct-DNA systems were all static quenching, but the binding constant of RES -ct-DNA increased from 4.14 ± 0.21 × 10⁴ L mol^-1 to 10.12 ± 0.02 × 10⁴ L mol^-1. It was found that Fe₃O₄/rGO formed a ternary complex with RES and ct-DNA by ultraviolet spectrum (UV-vis), resonance light scattering experiments (RLS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Meanwhile, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and circular dichroism (CD) experiments show that Fe₃O₄/rGO and Fe₃O₄/rGO loaded with RES have effect on the secondary structure of ct-DNA and change the conformation of ct-DNA. On the cellular level, the comet assay shows that Fe₃O₄/rGO and Fe₃O₄/rGO - RES could not cause DNA strand break to the mouse hepatocytes after 24 co-incubation. These results confirm that Fe₃O₄/rGO nanocomposites have good application potential, which can be used as a good drug carrier in a wide range of therapeutic methods.

Interaction of eugenol with xanthine oxidase: Multi spectroscopic and in silico modelling approach

Eugenol, a major component in clove has various biological activities. The current study focused to the binding potential of eugenol with Xanthine oxidase (XO) were evaluated using multi spectroscopic techniques and in silico docking studies. Xanthine oxidase, a superoxide generating enzyme, catalyses hypoxanthine and xanthine to uric acid. An excessive uric acid and superoxide anion radical in our body causes many serious clinical complications. The activity and the structural alterations can be a significant method to reduce this kind of risk factors. The results obtained from the fluorescence titration exhibited the interactions initiated by a static quenching mechanism. The ultraviolet (UV), fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic analysis of eugenol bind with XO indicated the secondary structural alteration in XO. Docking studies showed molecular level interaction of eugenol with the amino acid residues of Thr 1010, Phe 914, Phe 1009, Leu 1014, Phe 1009, Val 1011, Arg 880, Ala 1078, Glu 802, Leu 648and Leu 873 which residing at the catalytic active site of the XO. These results inferred that the eugenol can interact with XO in a remarkable manner and these findings provide a supporting data for the XO inhibition studies to propose a new lead compound.

The ethnobotany, phytochemistry and biological properties of genus Ferulago - A review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The genus Ferulago, belonging to the Apiaceae family, is found mainly in the Mediterranean area, Southwest and Middle Asia, the Caucasus and North Africa. Since ancient times, species of this genus have been largely employed in traditional medicine for their biological properties such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, insecticidal, and anti-malaria, cholinesterase inhibition effects, etc. AIMS: The scope of this paper is to present a comprehensive respect review of this interesting genus including traditional uses, chemical composition of volatile and non-volatile metabolites, and in vitro and in vivo biological properties either utilizing the crude extracts or essential oils, or the single isolated compounds. Furthermore, critical considerations of the published data have been highlighted by comparing them with the results obtained from species of other genus belonging to the Apiaceae family.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The available information on these genera was collected from scientific databases and cover from 1967 up to 2020. The following electronic databases were used: PubMed, SciFinder, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. The search terms used for this review included Ferulago, all the botanical names of the species, both accepted names or synonyms, essential oils, volatile components, traditional uses, activity, pharmacology, and toxicity. No limitations were set for languages. A total of 230 articles were included in the present review.

RESULTS

Researches performed on either crude extracts, solvent fractions or isolated pure compounds from species of genus Ferulago showed several biological properties such as antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antidiabetic, enzymatic, cytotoxic, anticancer, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, antileishmanial, antimalarial, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal, etc. Activities. Phytochemical investigations of Ferulago species have revealed that coumarins are the main constituents of the genera. A large number of flavonoids, terpenoids and other metabolites were also identified. Furthermore, a complete review on the essential oil composition of all the taxa studied so far has been also included.

CONCLUSION

In the present study, we have provided scientific information and research developments on traditional uses, phytochemical profiles, biological activities and industrial practices on the Ferulago genus. The commercial use and the applications in agri-food sector of some of these species have been also considered. In fact, the various extracts and essential oils have been used as antioxidants and/or as antimicrobial agents, for the stabilization of sunflower and soybean oil, for food packagings, as antioxidants of mayonnaise and yogurt during their storage and, also, as economically valid source for obtaining single compounds, more expensive at a synthetic level.

The phytochemistry and biological diversity of Ferulago genus (Apiaceae): a systematic review

OBJECTIVES

The genus Ferulago belonging to the family Apiaceae is a flora widely distributed in Central Asia and the Mediterranean and used in folk medicine. It is administered as a sedative, tonic, digestive, aphrodisiac, also as a treatment for intestinal worms and haemorrhoids. Herein, we reported a review on phytochemistry and its biological activities reported from 1990 up to early 2020. All the information and reported studies concerning Ferulago plants were summarized from the library and digital databases (e.g. Scopus, Medline, Scielo, ScienceDirect, SciFinder and Google Scholar).

KEY FINDINGS

The phytochemical investigations of Ferulago species revealed the presence of coumarins as the main bioactive compounds, including daucane derivatives, sesquiterpenes aryl esters, phenol derivatives, flavonoids and essential oils. Moreover, the therapeutic potentials of the pure compounds isolated from the genus Ferulago possess promising properties namely anticholinesterase, antimicrobial, anticoagulant, antileishmanial, antioxidant, antibacterial and antiproliferative.

SUMMARY

Today, significant advances in phytochemical and biological activity studies of different Ferulago species have been revealed. The traditional uses and reported biological results could be correlated via the chemical characterization of these plants. All these data will support the biologists in the elucidation of the biological mechanisms of these plants.

Assessment of binding interaction dihydromyricetin and myricetin with bovine lactoferrin and effects on antioxidant activity

The binding interactions of bovine lactoferrin (BLF) with two flavonoids dihydromyricetin (DMY) and myricetin (MY) were investigated by the multi-spectroscopic, microscale thermophoresis (MST) techniques, molecular docking, and then their antioxidant activities were studied by detection of free radical scavenging activity against DPPH. Results of UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopies showed that DMY/MY and BLF formed the ground state complex through the static quenching mechanism. Moreover, MY with more planar stereochemical structure had higher affinity for BLF than DMY with twisted stereochemical structure, according to the binding constant (K_b), free energy change (ΔG°), dissociation constant (K_d) and donor-acceptor distance (r). Thermodynamic parameters revealed that hydrogen bond and van der Waals force were major forces in the formation of BLF-DMY complex, while hydrophobic interactions played major roles in the formation of BLF-DMY complex. The circular dichroism (CD) study indicated that MY induced more conformational change in BLF than DMY. Furthermore, molecular modeling provided insights into the difference of binding interactions between BLF and two flavonoids. Finally, the radical scavenging activity assays indicated the presence of BLF delayed the decrease in antioxidant capacities of two flavonoids. These results were helpful to understand the binding mechanism and biological effects of non-covalent BLF-flavonoid interaction.

Clinical effects of curcumin in enhancing cancer therapy: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Curcumin is herbal compound that has been shown to have anti-cancer effects in pre-clinical and clinical studies. The anti-cancer effects of curcumin include inhibiting the carcinogenesis, inhibiting angiogenesis, and inhibiting tumour growth. This study aims to determine the Clinical effects of curcumin in different types of cancers using systematic review approach.

METHODS

A systematic review methodology is adopted for undertaking detailed analysis of the effects of curcumin in cancer therapy. The results presented in this paper is an outcome of extracting the findings of the studies selected from the articles published in international databases including SID, MagIran, IranMedex, IranDoc, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science (ISI). These databases were thoroughly searched, and the relevant publications were selected based on the plausible keywords, in accordance with the study aims, as follows: prevalence, curcumin, clinical features, cancer.

RESULTS

The results are derived based on several clinical studies on curcumin consumption with chemotherapy drugs, highlighting that curcumin increases the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiotherapy which results in improving patient's survival time, and increasing the expression of anti-metastatic proteins along with reducing their side effects.

CONCLUSION

The comprehensive systematic review presented in this paper confirms that curcumin reduces the side effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, resulting in improving patients' quality of life. A number of studies reported that, curcumin has increased patient survival time and decreased tumor markers' level.

The Genoprotective Role of Naringin

Since ancient times, fruits and edible plants have played a special role in the human diet for enhancing health and maintaining youthfulness. The aim of our work was to determine the interactions between naringin, a natural ingredient of grapefruits, and DNA using an electrochemical biosensor. Electrochemical methods allow analyzing the damages occurring in the structure of nucleic acids and their interactions with xenobiotics. Our study showed that the changes in the location of electrochemical signals and their intensity resulted from the structural alterations in DNA. The signal of adenine was affected at lower concentrations of naringin, but the signal of guanine was unaffected in the same condition. The dynamics of changes occurring in the peak height and surface of adenine related to naringin concentration was also significantly lower. The complete binding of all adenine bases present in the tested double-stranded DNA solution was observed at naringin concentrations ranging from 8.5 to 10.0 µM. At larger concentrations, this active compound exerted an oxidizing effect on DNA. However, the critical concentrations of naringin were found to be more than twice as high as the dose absorbable in an average human (4 µM). The results of our work might be helpful in the construction of electrochemical sensors for testing the content of polyphenols and would allow determining their genoprotective functionality.

Study on the interactions between B-norcholesteryl benzimidazole compounds with ct-DNA

The study of molecule-DNA interaction is very important for designing an improved therapeutic agent. In previous studies, we synthesized some B-norcholesteryl benzimidazole compounds, and the tests on cancer cells showed that these compounds had good in vitro anti-cancer activities. In order to further investigate mechanism of their actions, three different B-norcholesteryl benzimidazole compounds were selected and interaction of these compounds with the calf thymus DNA (ct-DNA) was monitored by using various methods including UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopic techniques, viscosity measurement, and circular dichroism (CD). The results proved a hypochromic effect accompanied with a slight red-shift due to the interaction of the molecules with ct-DNA. According to the UV-Vis and fluorescence spectra, the mentioned compounds were bound to DNA, preferentially through partial intercalation into the DNA helix. Moreover, the ethidium bromide (EB) and Hoechst 33258 competitive binding experiments were also used to confirm the interaction mode of the compounds with ct-DNA. In the Hoechst 33258 displacement experiment, no significant change in the fluorescence intensity was observed. Additional assays such as iodide quenching, viscosity, and CD spectroscopy further confirmed that intercalation should be the major binding mode of the selected compounds with DNA. The cytotoxicity of these three compounds was also evaluated by MTT method, and the results confirmed that binding ability of these compounds to DNA was consistent with their cytotoxicity behavior. The experimental results indicated a higher binding affinity for compound 3 compared to the other compounds. This research provided a better understanding on the molecular mechanism of the interaction between B-norcholesteryl benzimidazole compounds and tumor cells, and offered a beneficial perspective to the designation of novel B-norsteroidal anticancer compounds.

An overview of recent advances in duplex DNA recognition by small molecules

As the carrier of genetic information, the DNA double helix interacts with many natural ligands during the cell cycle, and is amenable to such intervention in diseases such as cancer biogenesis. Proteins bind DNA in a site-specific manner, not only distinguishing between the geometry of the major and minor grooves, but also by making close contacts with individual bases within the local helix architecture. Over the last four decades, much research has been reported on the development of small non-natural ligands as therapeutics to either block, or in some cases, mimic a DNA–protein interaction of interest. This review presents the latest findings in the pursuit of novel synthetic DNA binders. This article provides recent coverage of major strategies (such as groove recognition, intercalation and cross-linking) adopted in the duplex DNA recognition by small molecules, with an emphasis on major works of the past few years.

Deciphering the mechanism of interaction of edifenphos with calf thymus DNA

Edifenphos is an important organophosphate pesticide with many antifungal and anti-insecticidal properties but it may cause potential hazards to human health. In this work, we have tried to explore the binding mode of action and mechanism of edifenphos to calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA). Several experiments such as ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra and emission spectroscopy showed complex formation between edifenphos and CT-DNA and low binding constant values supporting groove binding mode. These results were further confirmed by circular dichroism (CD), CT-DNA melting studies, viscosity measurements, density functional theory and molecular docking. CD study suggests that edifenphos does not alter native structure of CT-DNA. Isothermal calorimetry reveals that binding of edifenphos with CT-DNA is enthalpy driven process. Competitive binding assay and effect of ionic strength showed that edifenphos binds to CT-DNA via groove binding manner. Hence, edifenphos is a minor groove binder preferably interacting with A-T regions with docking score -6.84kJ/mol.

Potential Anticancer Properties of Osthol: A Comprehensive Mechanistic Review

Cancer is caused by uncontrolled cell proliferation which has the potential to occur in different tissues and spread into surrounding and distant tissues. Despite the current advances in the field of anticancer agents, rapidly developing resistance against different chemotherapeutic drugs and significantly higher off-target effects cause millions of deaths every year. Osthol is a natural coumarin isolated from Apiaceaous plants which has demonstrated several pharmacological effects, such as antineoplastic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. We have attempted to summarize up-to-date information related to pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms of osthol as a lead compound in managing malignancies. Electronic databases, including PubMed, Cochrane library, ScienceDirect and Scopus were searched for in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies on anticancer effects of osthol. Osthol exerts remarkable anticancer properties by suppressing cancer cell growth and induction of apoptosis. Osthol's protective and therapeutic effects have been observed in different cancers, including ovarian, cervical, colon and prostate cancers as well as chronic myeloid leukemia, lung adenocarcinoma, glioma, hepatocellular, glioblastoma, renal and invasive mammary carcinoma. A large body of evidence demonstrates that osthol regulates apoptosis, proliferation and invasion in different types of malignant cells which are mediated by multiple signal transduction cascades. In this review, we set spotlights on various pathways which are targeted by osthol in different cancers to inhibit cancer development and progression.

Synthesis, structural elucidation, antioxidant, CT-DNA binding and molecular docking studies of novel chloroquinoline derivatives: Promising antioxidant and anti-diabetic agents

The synthesized novel chloroquinoline derivatives 1-(2-chloro-4-phenylquinolin-3-yl)ethanone (CPQE), 1-(2,6-dichloro-4-phenylquinolin-3-yl)ethanone (DCPQE), methyl 2,6-dichloro-4-phenylquinoline-3-carboxylate (MDCPQC),methyl 2-chloro-4-methylquinoline-3-carboxylate (MCMQC) were subjected to the elementary analysis like FT-IR, NMR and Mass spectra using GCMS. Also, single crystal X-ray diffraction study was executed for the compound MDCPQC. The crystal packing is stabilized by C-H…π and π-π interactions and also Chlorine-Chlorine short intermolecular contacts generating a three-dimensional supramolecular network. The antioxidant activity reduces high glucose level in the human body and hence the synthesized compounds were subjected for the estimation of antioxidant activity using DPPH method which exhibited good percentage of inhibition in comparison with ascorbic acid, a well-known anti-oxidant. The binding interaction of the chloroquinoline derivatives with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) has been explored by fluorescence quenching studies and molecular docking analysis has been employed to confirm the nature of binding. The prediction of pharmacological properties such as drug-likeness, molecular properties like absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADMET) was carried out by computational studies to compare chloroquinoline derivatives with standard drug. Owing to the various potential biological activities of the quinoline compounds, molecular docking studies were also further carried out for the chloroquinoline derivatives, showing that they may act as effective anti-diabetic agents by inhibiting Glycogen Phosphorylase a protein.

Proposed binding mechanism of galbanic acid extracted from Ferula assa-foetida to DNA

Recently, galbanic acid (GA), a sesquiterpenoid coumarin, has been introduced as an apoptotic and geno/cytotoxicity agent. In the present study, GA has been extracted from Ferula assa-foetida, a native medicinal plant in Iran, and characterized by ¹H NMR, mass spectroscopy. Additionally, spectroscopic studies have been performed in order to investigate its DNA-interaction mode. The electrochemical behavior of GA has been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in various scan rates. In neutral media (pH=7.3) one irreversible cathodic peak was obtained at -1.46 V, while in higher scan rates an irreversible one was determined at -1.67 V. According to the voltametric data GA can be easily reduced by 2e^-/2H⁺ mechanism at hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE). The interaction of GA with ct-DNA was evaluated by CV, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), enhancement fluorescence, UV-Vis, FT-IR spectroscopy and molecular docking. The molecular docking study shows that the GA interacts to DNA on partial intercalation mode via DNA groove binding and forms a complex by van der Waals and electroastatic interactions. In addition, the thermodynamic parameters of GA-DNA complex were investigated with ΔH°, ΔS° and ΔG° values of 15.81KJmol^-1, 133.95Jmol^-1 and -23.10KJmol^-1, respectively. All data revealed that the GA is binding to DNA by van der Waals and electrostatic interactions through the partial intercalations from the DNA's grooves.