The dual impact of Jordanian Ephedra alte for inhibiting pepsin and treating microbial infections

Pepsin, Mucosal Injury, and Pathophysiology of Non-acid Reflux

The gastric enzyme pepsin is a critically under-addressed aggressor during reflux disease and is regarded by many as the most damaging element of laryngopharyngeal reflux. Research over the last 2 decades has elucidated mechanisms by which pepsin causes damage during weakly and nonacid reflux yielding information to exploit its diagnostic and therapeutic potential. These findings have driven advances that, while still in their infancy, harbor important clinical implications.

Novel Stable Protease Inhibitor from Phoenix dactylifera(L.) Flowers with Antimicrobial and Antitumoral Activities

A novel protease inhibitor isolated from date palm Phoenix dactylifera(L.) flowers (PIDF) was purified and characterized. A heat and acidic treatment step followed by ethanol precipitation and reverse-phase high-performance chromatography was applied to purify this natural protease inhibitor to homogeneity with a single band of about 19 kDa. The stability study depicted that PIDF was fully stable at 40 °C and retained 65% of its initial activity after heating at 50 °C for 24 h. Its thermal stability at 70 °C was markedly enhanced by adding calcium, bovine serum albumin, and sorbitol as well as by metal divalent cations, especially Mg2+ and Hg2+. This protease inhibitor showed high inhibitory activity against therapeutic proteases, including pepsin, trypsin, chymotrypsin, and collagenase, and acted as a potent inhibitor of some commercial microbial proteases from Aspergillus oryzae, Bacillus. sp, and Bacillus licheniformis. Moreover, a potent antibacterial spectrum against Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacterial strains and an efficient antifungal effect were observed. Its cytotoxicity toward human colorectal cancer cell LoVo and HCT-116 lines suggested that PIDF could serve as a new therapeutic target inhibiting human colorectal cancer.

Ephedra alte extracts' GC-MS profiles and antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens (MRSA)

The extracts of E. alte offer promising potential as renewable resources for various chemical derivative products aimed at addressing antibiotic resistance. These extracts exhibited significant activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a strain known for its resistance to multiple antibiotics. The extracts were found to be effective against several common antibiotics, including Imipenem, Ampicillin, Penicillin G, Oxacillin, and Amoxicillin-clavulanate. GC-MS analysis revealed that the phytoconstituents of E. alte extracts, obtained using both methanol and ethyl acetate, consist of a diverse range of 83 and 160 phytocompounds, respectively. These organic compounds serve as important biochemical precursors for the synthesis of vitamins E and K1, and exhibit antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties in both plants and microorganisms. Notable compounds identified include fatty acids (such as palmitic acid, dodecanoic acid, sebacic acid, pentadecanoic acid, myristic acid, stearic acid, behenic acid, and linoelaidic acid), phytosterols (Campesterol, β-sitosterol, Stigmast-5-ene), sugars (D-fructose, Fructofuranans), terpenoids (Phytol, citronellol), and phenolic acids (Protocatechoic acid, shikimic acid). The antimicrobial activity of all E. alte extracts was found to be superior to that of mupirocin and ciprofloxacin, as observed in susceptibility testing against MRSA ATCC 43300 and other pathogenic bacteria and fungi. It is likely that the combined action of the antimicrobial components within the E. alte extract bypasses the mechanisms employed by MRSA to protect itself from antibiotics. Further experiments are needed to investigate the individual effects of each pure compound and their potential synergistic interactions, which may enhance their overall performance.

Exploring the potential of a Ephedra alata leaf extract: Phytochemical analysis, antioxidant activity, antibacterial properties, and green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

Ephedra alata leaf extracts have therapeutic properties and contain various natural compounds known as phytochemicals. This study assessed the phytochemical content and antioxidant effects of a Ephedra alata leaf extract, as well as zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle production. The extract contained phenolic acids, including vanillic acid, chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, vanillin and rutin. Its total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were 48.7 ± 0.9 mg.g-1 and 1.7 ± 0.4 mg.g-1, respectively. The extract displayed a DPPH inhibition rate of 70.5%, total antioxidant activity of 49.5 ± 3.4 mg.g-1, and significant antimicrobial activity toward Gram-positive and negative bacteria. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles had spherical shape, crystallite size of 25 nm, particle size between 5 and 30 nm, and bandgap energy of 3.3 eV. In specific conditions (90 min contact time, pH 7, and 25°C), these nanoparticles efficiently photodegraded 87% of methylene blue, suggesting potential applications for sustainable water treatment and pollution control.

Digestion-Related Enzyme Inhibition Potential of Selected Mexican Medicinal Plants (Ludwigia octovalvis (Jacq.) P.H.Raven, Cnidoscolus aconitifolius and Crotalaria longirostrata)

Medicinal plants offer a valuable source of natural compounds with specific and selective bioactivity. These compounds have been isolated since the mid-nineteenth century and are now commonly used in modern medications. L. octovalvis (Jacq.) P.H.Raven, C. aconitifolius, and C. longirostrata are Mexican medicinal plants consumed regularly, and research has shown that they contain bioactive compounds capable of promoting the inhibition of digestive enzymes. This is noteworthy since enzyme inhibitors are bioactive substances that interact with enzymes, diminishing their activity and thereby contributing to the management of diseases and metabolic disturbances. To investigate the activity of these plants, individual analyses were conducted, assessing their proximal composition, bioactive compounds, and inhibition of α-Amylase, α-Glucosidase, lipase, and pepsin. The results revealed that all three plants exhibited enzymatic inhibition. When comparing the plants, it was determined that C. aconitifolius had the lowest concentration required for a 50% inhibition in α-Amylase, α-Glucosidase, and lipase, as indicated by the IC50 values. For pepsin, C. longirostrata demonstrated the lowest IC50 value. By understanding the bioactive compounds present in these plants, we can establish the relationship they have with enzymatic inhibition, which can be utilized for future investigations.

Inhibitory effects of Ephedra alte on IL-6, hybrid TLR4, TNF-α, IL-1β, and extracted TLR4 receptors: in silico molecular docking

Inflammation is a physiological reaction of the immune system required to remove the presence of pathogenic germs. Many herbal-derived extracts and phytoconstituents show anti-inflammatory effects. Among these natural phytoconstituents is Ephedra alte (E. alte), which shows pepsin enzyme inhibitory, antibacterial, and antioxidant activities. In this work, molecular docking study is conducted on five major human anti-inflammatory cytokines receptors (IL-6, hybrid TLR4, TNF-α, IL-1β, and extracted TLR4) to explore the molecular recognition process and complex ligand-receptor interactions of E. alte phytoconstituents. Human TLR4 receptor has been computationally extracted, for the first time, from the hybrid TLR4 human and VLRB inshore hagfish. Among E. alte phytoconstituents, only β-Sitosterol and Androstan-3-one have better LBE (Lowest Binding Energy) scores with inhibition constant (K i) values than those of other tested compounds. The β-Sitosterol and Androstan-3-one results indicate that these compounds could be efficient inhibitors of inflammation and reduce the oxidative stress by interfering with the activity of the five studied proteins.