Application of a Two-Level Full Factorial Design for the Synthesis of Composite Bioplastics from Durian Seed Flour and Yellow Konjac Flour Incorporating Ethanolic Extract of Syzygium myrtifolium Leaves and its Characterization

Increasing environmental problems related to synthetic plastics for food packaging encourage the creation of more environmentally friendly plastics from Indonesia’s local natural resources, such as durian seed, yellow konjac, and Syzygium myrtifolium leaves, which are abundant in nature. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of the durian seed flour (DSF) mass, yellow konjac flour (YKF) mass, and the concentration of ethanolic extract of S. myrtifolium leaves (5-25%) on the tensile strength, elongation, and inhibition zone area of composite bioplastics. The two-level full factorial design was conducted for this experiment with 3 independent factors: DSF mass (0.5-1 g), YKF mass (0.5-1 g), and the concentration of ethanolic extract of S. myrtifolium leaves (5-25% b/v), and 3 responses were observed: tensile strength, elongation, and inhibition zone area. The physicomechanical characteristics were then used to further describe the best combination. The results showed that the DSF mass had only affected tensile strength, whereas the YKF mass had affected tensile strength and elongation of composite bioplastics. Meanwhile, the concentration of ethanolic extract of S. myrtifolium leaves only affects the inhibition zone area. The best combination was found in the DSF mass of 0.5 g, YKF mass of 1 g, and the concentration of ethanolic extract of S. myrtifolium leaves of 25%, with the tensile strength of 3.30 MPa, elongation of 50.00%, and inhibition zone area of 15.33 mm. Moreover, these combinations also had a thickness of 0.115 mm, modulus young of 0.066 MPa, density of 1.37 g.cm-3, moisture content of 17.14%, and water solubility of 76.91%.

A Potential Anticancer Mechanism of Finger Root (Boesenbergia rotunda) Extracts against a Breast Cancer Cell Line

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer women suffer from worldwide in 2020 and the 4th leading cause of cancer death. Boesenbergia rotunda is an herb with high potential as an anticancer agent. This study explores the potential bioactive compounds in B. rotunda as anti-breast cancer agents using in silico and in vitro approaches. The in silico study was used for active compound analysis, selection of anticancer compound candidates, prediction of target protein, functional annotation, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulation, respectively. The in vitro study was conducted by measurement toxicity, rhodamine 123, and apoptosis assays on T47D cells. Based on the KNApSAcK database, B. rotunda contained 20 metabolites, which are dominated by chalcone and flavonoid groups. Seven of them were predicted to have anticancer activity, namely, sakuranetin, cardamonin, alpinetin, 2S-pinocembrin, 7.4'-dihydroxy-5-methoxyflavanone, 5.6-dehydrokawain, and pinostrobin chalcone. These compounds targeted proteins related to cancer progression pathways such as the PI3K/Akt, FOXO, JAK/STAT, and estrogen signaling pathways. Therefore, these compounds are predicted to inhibit growth and induce apoptosis of cancer cells through their interactions with MMP12, MMP13, CDK4, JAK3, VEGFR1, VEGFR2, and KCNA3. Anticancer activity of B. rotunda through in vitro study confirmed that B. rotunda extract is strong cytotoxic and induces apoptosis of breast cancer cell lines. This study concludes that Boesenbergia rotunda has potency as an anticancer candidate.

Anticancer activity of Caesalpinia sappan by downregulating mitochondrial genes in A549 lung cancer cell line

Background: The standardization and mechanism of action of  Caesalpinia sappan as an anticancer agent are still lacking. This study aimed to understand the mechanism of action of  C,sappan extract as an anticancer agent.

Methods: This study was conducted using the A549 lung cancer cell line to understand the mechanism of action of  C. sappan extract as an anticancer agent. The cytotoxicity activity, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, protein-related apoptosis (i.e., BCL-2and BAX protein) assays, and RNA sequencing were performed level were measured. Moreover, the antioxidant activity, total flavonoids, and phenolics of C.sappan were also assessed.

Results:C.sappan has strong antioxidant activity (22.14 ± 0.93 ppm) total flavonoid content of (529.3 ± 4.56 mgQE/g), and phenolics content of (923.37 ± 5 mgGAE/g). The C.sappan ethanol extract inhibited cancer cell growth and arrested at G0/G1 phase of cell cycle, inducing apoptosis by increasing BAX/BCL-2 protein ratio in A549 lung cancer cell line. Furthermore, results from RNA sequencing analysis showed that C.sappan ethanol extract caused downregulation of genes acting on mitochondrial function including adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production and respiration.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that C.sappan has the ability to inhibit cancer cell growth by inducing apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction in A549 cells.

Directed Study of Abietic Acid Reaction in Pine Rosin under Non-Precious-Metal Catalyst

Pine rosin of Pinus merkusii Jung at de Vriese is produced industrially from a distillation process of pine sap. The high total Indonesian production leads the primary derivatization strategy into several derivates to fulfill the market demand. Abietic acid (AA) is a major compound in pine rosin, used as the object of observation in this study. The general methodology for transformation reported involves using palladium (Pd) and platinum (Pt)-based catalysts. Both are precious metal catalysts to proceed with oxidative dehydrogenative-aromatization of the rosin. The synthesized product provides dehydroabietic acid (DHA) derivatives in high yield. This paper reports that non-precious metal-based catalysts such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), or copper (Cu) with iodine (I2) were applied to deliver the reaction by steam cracking without nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2) for economical, efficient, and greenway’s catalyst. It was found that a similar product was isolated, including several by-products. Under high temperatures with a various metal transitions and halogen by FeCl3-I2 and Cu(NO3)2.3H2O and ZnCl2 catalyst, four compounds were identified employing spectroscopic methods in the reaction product: 7-hydroxy-dehydroabietic acid (5), 1,7-dihydroxy-dehydroabietic acid (6), 7-isopropyl-1-methylphenanthren-9-ol (7) and polymer (8). This modified pine rosin was mainly used as an emulsifier for the synthetic rubber industry, varnish, ink, paper sizing, etc. The products are determined based on LC-MS/MS, UV-Vis, and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy.

In vitro and in vivo study: Ethanolic extract leaves of Azadirachta indica Juss. variant of Indonesia and Philippines suppresses tumor growth of hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting IL-6/STAT3 signaling

Background: Azadirachta indica Juss. has been shown to suppress cancer progression through a variety of mechanisms. In order to treat cancer progression, cancer immunotherapy is used to stimulate the immune system where immunosuppression is present in tumor microenvironments. Many cancer cells produce a lot of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and signal transducer activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). STAT3 plays a key role in suppressing the expression of critical immune activation regulators. IL-6-mediated STAT3 activation is common in the tumor microenvironment. Inhibiting the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway has become a therapeutic option for cancer progression. As vimentin is also expressed in hepatic stellate cells boosting cancer survival. We focused on the precise effect of extract from leaves of Azadirachta indica Juss, on inhibiting the IL-6/STAT3 signaling cascade on hepatocellular carcinoma by in vitro and in vivo study. Methods: In the in vitro study, the effect of Azadirachta indica Juss. variant Indonesia and Philippines against the expression of IL-6 and STAT3 was examined in liver cancer cell line. In the in vivo study, 24 male rats ( Rattus norvegicus) strain Wistar were induced by diethylnitrosamine and carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4). Based on the therapy given, the groups were divided into negative control, positive control, Indonesia extract, and Philippine extract. Expression of IL-6, STAT3, and vimentin were tested using immunohistochemistry staining. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance, which was then followed by the Tukey test. Results: Statistically significant difference in IL-6 and STAT3 was observed between the treatment groups and positive control group by in vitro study and in vivo study. Generally, there is no significant difference between treatment using Indonesian and Philippine leaves. Conclusion: Both therapy doses of Azadirachta indica variant in Indonesia and Philippines were able to reduce IL-6, STAT3 and vimentin expression of hepatocellular carcinoma cell by in vitro and in vivo experiment.

Anticancer activity of Caesalpinia sappan by downregulating mitochondrial genes in A549 lung cancer cell line

Background: The standardization and mechanism of action of Caesalpinia sappan as an anticancer agent are still lacking. This study aimed to understand the mechanism of action of  C,sappan extract as an anticancer agent. Methods: This study was conducted using the A549 lung cancer cell line to understand the mechanism of action of C. sappan extract as an anticancer agent. The cytotoxicity activity, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, protein-related apoptosis (i.e., BCL-2and BAX protein) assays, and RNA sequencing were performed level were measured. Moreover, the antioxidant activity, total flavonoids, and phenolics of C.sappan were also assessed. Results: C.sappan has strong antioxidant activity (22.14 ± 0.93 ppm) total flavonoid content of (529.3 ± 4.56 mgQE/g), and phenolics content of (923.37 ± 5 mgGAE/g). The C.sappan ethanol extract inhibited cancer cell growth and arrested at G0/G1 phase of cell cycle, inducing apoptosis by increasing BAX/BCL-2 protein ratio in A549 lung cancer cell line. Furthermore, results from RNA sequencing analysis showed that C.sappan ethanol extract caused downregulation of genes acting on mitochondrial function including adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production and respiration. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that C.sappan has the ability to inhibit cancer cell growth by inducing apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction in A549 cells.

Pterygota alata (Roxb.) R.Br. Bark Fraction Induced Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway in 4T1 Cells by Decreasing Bcl-2 and Inducing Bax Expression

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Pterygota alata (Roxb.) R.Br. bark extract has been studied to have cytotoxic activity on 4T1 cells. This study was conducted to determine the cytotoxic activity of several fractions of Pterygota alata (Roxb.) R.Br. bark against 4T1 breast cancer cells and to investigate the most active fractions on Bcl-2 and Bax expressions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The bark of Pterygota alata (Roxb.) R.Br. was extracted using 80% methanol and was fractionated into fractions of n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and insoluble n-butanol with liquid-liquid partition. Cytotoxic tests were performed using the MTT method and expressions of Bax and Bcl-2 on 4T1 breast cancer cells were detected with immunocytochemical staining. Identification of compounds in the most active fraction using GC-MS.

RESULTS

The results showed that the most active fraction was the insoluble fraction of n-butanol (IFB) with an IC50 of 15.14 μg mL-1. IFB also decreases the expression of Bcl-2 and increases the expression of Bax.

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded that Pterygota alata (Roxb.) R.Br. bark has the potential to be developed for medical use, especially for breast cancer therapy.

Green synthesis and characterization of copper nanoparticles using Piper retrofractum Vahl extract as bioreductor and capping agent

The copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) have attracted much attention due to their application in diverse fields. The applications of CuNPs depend on their physical and chemical properties. This study presents the first report for the use of medicinal fruit extract of Piper retrofractum Vahl as an eco-friendly reagent in the synthesis of CuNPs using copper sulfate as a starting material. Piper retrofractum Vahl extract was employed as a bioreductor as well as a capping agent in the formation of CuNPs. The reaction process was assisted by sonication and stirring. The influences of extract concentration, pH, temperature, and reaction time on the size of CuNPs were studied in detail. The morphology and structure of synthesized CuNPs were characterized by UV-Vis, FT-IR, SEM-EDS, TEM, and XRD. The UV-Vis measurement showed the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 234-255 nm, whereas FTIR characteristic peaks of metal-oxygen (Cu-O) were confirmed in the range 550-570 cm-1 and Cu-O-H bonds led to bending absorptions in the region 870-880 cm-1. The synthesized CuNPs possess the spherical shapes and high content of copper (70.3%) as confirmed by SEM-EDS. From the TEM micrograph, it can be seen that the particle size distribution of CuNPs has a high uniformity with a size of 2-10 nm under the optimum condition. The crystalline nature of CuNPs as confirmed by XRD showed the crystallinity phase of 26.4%. The synthesized CuNPs have relatively good stability and could inhibit Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results proved that Piper retrofractum Vahl fruit extract could be applied for a greener synthesis of CuNPs with high uniformity of particle sizes.

Optimization of extrusion-assisted extraction parameters and characterization of alginate from brown algae (Sargassum cristaefolium)

The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of brown algae to solution ratio, feed rate, and pH on the multiple responses of Sargassum cristaefolium alginate extracted using twin screw extruder. Box-Behnken design was used to find out the optimum extrusion-assisted extraction parameters based on the responses of residence time distribution (RTD), yield, intrinsic viscosity, and molecular weight. The result showed that alginate extrusion-assisted extraction parameters affected on the movement of algae in the screw channel and physicochemical properties of S. cristaefolium alginate. The alginate extrusion-assisted extraction parameters have quadratic effect on the responses of RTD, yield, intrinsic viscosity and molecular weight. The predicted values at the optimum extrusion parameters as independent variables are the use of brown algae to solution ratio (3.11), feed rate (2.95 rpm), and pH 10.3. The M/G ratio of S. cristaefolium alginate based on fractions analysis is 0.29 (M/G ratio < 1), indicating that S. cristaefolium alginate contains guluronate fraction of 77.10% and manuronate fraction of 22.90%. Intrinsic viscosity of S. cristaefolium alginate in aqueous solution was determined and shown shear-thinning pseudoplastic.

Thermally resilient Tm-doped large mode area photonic crystal fiber with symmetry-free cladding

The design of a Tm-doped photonic crystal fiber with ∼ 80 μm core diameter and robust single-mode guiding is proposed. State-of-art modal discrimination is obtained through the suppression of the inner cladding C(6ν) symmetry, which fosters the delocalization of the LP(11)-like mode. The effects of thermally-induced refractive index change are investigated by means of a computationally-efficient thermal model, and the possibility to obtain wide-band single-mode propagation and effective area exceeding 2500 μm(2) under a heat load of over 300 W/m is demonstrated.