Antagonistic effects of Satureja hortensis essential oil against AFB, on human lymphocytes in vitro

Enhanced antibacterial and genoprotective properties of nanoliposomal Satureja hortensis L. essential oil

Nanoliposomes are drug delivery systems that improve bioavailability by encapsulating therapeutic agents. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of nanoliposomal (NL) formulation on enhancing the bioavailability of essential oil. The essential oil of Satureja hortensis (SHO) was encapsulated in nanoliposomes (SHNLs). Physicochemical characterizations of NL formulations (size, charge, polydispersity index [PDI]) were evaluated by dynamic light scattering technique. The nanoliposome encapsulation efficiency (EE) was calculated as 89.90%. The prepared bionanosystems demonstrated significant antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli ATCC 10536, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC as determined by the agar diffusion method and microdilution tests. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for SHNLs were found to be 5.187 µg/µL for E. coli and 2.59 µg/µL for both P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. Importantly, despite the lower substance content, both SHNLs and SHO exhibited comparable antibacterial activity against all tested strains. Furthermore, in order to determine the toxicity profile and possible effects on DNA damage or repair both the genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects of SHNLs were assessed using the cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus (CBMN) method in human lymphocyte cultures. The experimental data collectively indicate that the NL formulation of the S. hortensis essential oil enhances antibacterial activities and provides genoprotective effects against DNA damage. This highlights the significance of liposomal formulations of antioxidants in augmenting their biological activity. The results indicate that SHNLs can be a safe antibacterial agent for the pharmaceutical industry.

Dimethylformamide Inhibits Fungal Growth and Aflatoxin B1 Biosynthesis in Aspergillus flavus by Down-Regulating Glucose Metabolism and Amino Acid Biosynthesis

Aflatoxins (AFs) are secondary metabolites produced by plant fungal pathogens infecting crops with strong carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. Dimethylformamide (DMF) is an excellent solvent widely used in biology, medicine and other fields. However, the effect and mechanism of DMF as a common organic solvent against fungal growth and AFs production are not clear. Here, we discovered that DMF had obvious inhibitory effect against A. flavus, as well as displayed complete strong capacity to combat AFs production. Hereafter, the inhibition mechanism of DMF act on AFs production was revealed by the transcriptional expression analysis of genes referred to AFs biosynthesis. With 1% DMF treatment, two positive regulatory genes of AFs biosynthetic pathway aflS and aflR were down-regulated, leading to the suppression of the structural genes in AFs cluster like aflW, aflP. These changes may be due to the suppression of VeA and the subsequent up-regulation of FluG. Exposure to DMF caused the damage of cell wall and the dysfunction of mitochondria. In particular, it is worth noting that most amino acid biosynthesis and glucose metabolism pathway were down-regulated by 1% DMF using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. Taken together, these RNA-Seq data strongly suggest that DMF inhibits fungal growth and aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) production by A. flavus via the synergistic interference of glucose metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis and oxidative phosphorylation.

The anti-aflatoxigenic mechanism of cinnamaldehyde in Aspergillus flavus

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), the predominant and most carcinogenic naturally polyketide, is mainly produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Cinnamaldehyde has been reported for inhibiting the growth and aflatoxin biosynthesis in A. flavus. But its molecular mechanism of action still remains largely ambiguous. Here, the anti-aflatoxigenic mechanism of cinnamaldehyde in A. flavus was investigated via a comparative transcriptomic analysis. The results indicated that twenty five of thirty genes in aflatoxin cluster showed down-regulation by cinnamaldehyde although the cluster regulators aflR and aflS were slightly up-regulated. This may be due to the up-regulation of the oxidative stress-related genes srrA, msnA and atfB being caused by the significant down-regulation of the diffusible factor FluG. Cinnamaldehyde also inhibited aflatoxin formation by perturbing GPCRs and oxylipins normal function, cell wall biosynthesis and redox equilibrium. In addition, accumulation of NADPH due to up-regulation of pentose phosphate pathway drove acetyl-CoA to lipids synthesis rather than polyketides. Both GO and KEGG analysis suggested that pyruvate and phenylalanine metabolism, post-transcriptional modification and key enzymes biosynthesis might be involved in the suppression of AFB1 production by cinnamaldehyde. This study served to decipher the anti-aflatoxigenic properties of cinnamaldehyde in A. flavus and provided powerful evidence for its use in practice.

Medicinal Plants of the Family Lamiaceae in Pain Therapy: A Review

Recently, numerous side effects of synthetic drugs have lead to using medicinal plants as a reliable source of new therapy. Pain is a global public health problem with a high impact on life quality and a huge economic implication, becoming one of the most important enemies in modern medicine. The medicinal use of plants as analgesic or antinociceptive drugs in traditional therapy is estimated to be about 80% of the world population. The Lamiaceae family, one of the most important herbal families, incorporates a wide variety of plants with biological and medical applications. In this study, the analgesic activity, possible active compounds of Lamiaceae genus, and also the possible mechanism of actions of these plants are presented. The data highlighted in this review paper provide valuable scientific information for the specific implications of Lamiaceae plants in pain modulation that might be used for isolation of potentially active compounds from some of these medicinal plants in future and formulation of commercial therapeutic agents.

Quantifying Aflatoxin B1 in peanut oil using fabricating fluorescence probes based on upconversion nanoparticles

Rare earth doped upconversion nanoparticles convert near-infrared excitation light into visible emission light. Compared to organic fluorophores and semiconducting nanoparticles, upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) offer high photochemical stability, sharp emission bandwidths, and large anti-Stokes shifts. Along with the significant light penetration depth and the absence of autofluorescence in biological samples under infrared excitation, these UCNPs have attracted more and more attention on toxin detection and biological labelling. Herein, the fluorescence probe based on UCNPs was developed for quantifying Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in peanut oil. Based on a specific immunity format, the detection limit for AFB1 under optimal conditions was obtained as low as 0.2ng·ml(-1), and in the effective detection range 0.2 to 100ng·ml(-1), good relationship between fluorescence intensity and AFB1 concentration was achieved under the linear ratios up to 0.90. Moreover, to check the feasibility of these probes on AFB1 measurements in peanut oil, recovery tests have been carried out. A good accuracy rating (93.8%) was obtained in this study. Results showed that the nanoparticles can be successfully applied for sensing AFB1 in peanut oil.