A large number of Chinese herbal drugs (CHDs) exhibit antibacterial activities both in vivo and in vitro, but until now little is known regarding their inhibitory mechanisms. Bacterial DNA gyrase is a proven target fo...A large number of Chinese herbal drugs (CHDs) exhibit antibacterial activities both in vivo and in vitro, but until now little is known regarding their inhibitory mechanisms. Bacterial DNA gyrase is a proven target for antibacterial agents. Aim of this study was to investigate the in-vitro inhibitory effect of methanol extracts of CHDs against supercoiling activity of bacterial DNA gyrase. Fifteen CHDs were selected and extracted with methanol, respectively. Inhibitory effect of the extracts on DNA gyrase was tested using gel-based DNA supercoiling assay. Among fifteen CHDs tested, methanol extracts of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos (S2), Taraxaci Herba (S7), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata cum Melle (S8) demonstrated an obvious inhibitory effect against supercoiling activity of DNA gyrase, and the others were either less active or could not be determined with the present method. Moreover, it was likely that S7 and S8 inhibit gyrase in a concentration-dependent manner. In conclusion, DNA supercoiling assay is a promising method to study the inhibitory activity of CHDs on bacterial DNA gyrase. Some CHDs do have gyrase-inhibitory activity as proposed. Further investigations are needed to elucidate the inhibition mechanism of these CHDs on supercoiling activity of gyrase.展开更多
AIM: To identify the effect of Houttuynia cordata Thunb(HCT) on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced microglial activation and investigate its possible molecular mechanisms. METHODS: The primary retinal microglial cells we...AIM: To identify the effect of Houttuynia cordata Thunb(HCT) on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced microglial activation and investigate its possible molecular mechanisms. METHODS: The primary retinal microglial cells were cultured from the retinas of newborn Sprague-Dawley rats and exposed to LPS, and/or HCT with different concentrations. The survival ability of retinal microglia cells was tested by standard MTT method. BrdU cell proliferation assay was used to evaluate the proliferation of retinal microglia. Inflammatory factors in the culture supernatants, including TNF-α, iNOS and IL-1β, were measured using ELISA. Microglia cells’ migration was determined with Transwell migration assay. The total p38-MAPK and phosphorylation of p38-MAPK(p-p38-MAPK) were detected with Western blot.RESULTS: Primary retinal microglia in culture exposed to LPS to induce microglia activation. Pretreatment with HCT significantly inhibited the LPS-induced cell proliferation, but not the cell viability. LPS induced inflammatory reaction in microglia and cell migration. HCT significantly reduced LPS-stimulated release of pro-inflammatory factors and decreased the number of migrating cells substantially in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the protein levels of p-p38 MAPK were identified as the up regulation and co-treatment with HCT obviously inhibited the upregulation of p-p38 MAPK, but had no effect on the levels of total p38-MAPK.CONCLUSION: The data suggest that HCT inhibits LPSinduced retinal microglial activation via suppression of the p-p38-MAPK. HCT may be used for the treatment of ocular diseases characterized by over-activated microglia.展开更多
Rice Bowman-Birk inhibitors (RBBI), with one (8 kD) or two homologous domains (16 kD), were found to be effective trypsin inhibitors in vitro. In this study, we demonstrate that the 25-kD protein corresponding to the ...Rice Bowman-Birk inhibitors (RBBI), with one (8 kD) or two homologous domains (16 kD), were found to be effective trypsin inhibitors in vitro. In this study, we demonstrate that the 25-kD protein corresponding to the three-domain RBBI indeed ex- ists in rice in planta, and that the RBBIs are regulated by development and wounding. We also found by inhibitory activity assay that the 3:13 disulfide bond, but not the 4:5 disulfide bond, suppresses the tryp- sin-inhibitory activity, and the D3 domain of RBBI3-1 has no inhibitory activity against trypsin, chymotryp- sin, paparin or subtilisin. Mutation analyses showed that conversion from Lys to Leu or Tyr in the N-terminal P1 site in D1 domain did not create chy- motrypsin-inhibitory activity, suggesting that the structure of the reactive loop in D1 domain hinder the new inhibitory specificity at P1 site, and the chy- motrypsin-inhibitory activity might need the participa- tion of other structures, e.g. 3:13 disulfide bond.展开更多
Candida species have been associated with the emergence of strains resistant to selected antifungal agents. Plant products have been used traditionally as alternative medicine to ease mucosal fungal infections. This s...Candida species have been associated with the emergence of strains resistant to selected antifungal agents. Plant products have been used traditionally as alternative medicine to ease mucosal fungal infections. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Piper betle extract on the growth profile and the ultrastructure of commonly isolated oral candidal cells. The major component of Po betle was identified using liquid chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (LC-MS/MS). Seven ATCC control strains of Candida species were cultured in yeast peptone dextrose broth under four different growth environments: (i) in the absence of P. betle extract; and in the presence of P. beUeextract at respective concentrations of (ii) 1 mg.mL-1; (iii) 3 mg.mL-1; and (iv) 6 mg.mL- 1 The growth inhibitory responses of the candidal cells were determined based on changes in the specific growth rates (μ). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe any ultrastructural alterations in the candida colonies. LC-MS/MS was performed to validate the presence of bioactive compounds in the extract. Following treatment, it was observed that the p-values of the treated cells were significantly different than those of the untreated cells (P〈0.05), indicating the fungistatic properties of the P. beUe extract. The candidal population was also reduced from an average of 13.44× 10^6 to 1.78×10^6 viable cell counts (CFU).mL-1, SEM examination exhibited physical damage and considerable morphological alterations of the treated cells. The compound profile from LC-MS/MS indicated the presence of hydroxybenzoic acid, chavibetol and hydroxychavicol in P. betle extract. The effects of P. betle on candida cells could potentiate its antifungal activity.展开更多
Objective: To investigate the antibacterial activities of green vegetables(pennywort,mint, garlic, parsley and celery) against four common enteric bacteria [Salmonella enterica(ATCC 25957)(S. enterica), Shigella flexn...Objective: To investigate the antibacterial activities of green vegetables(pennywort,mint, garlic, parsley and celery) against four common enteric bacteria [Salmonella enterica(ATCC 25957)(S. enterica), Shigella flexneri(ATCC 12022)(S. flexneri),Escherichia coli(ATCC 43889)(E. coli) and Enterobacter cloacae(ATCC 13047)(E. cloacae)] as an alternative medicine for controlling food borne diarrhea disease and the synergistic effect of green vegetables against those bacteria.Methods: Five common vegetables(pennywort, mint, garlic, parsley and celery) were purchased and extracted. The antimicrobial activities of these extracts were tested against four common enteric bacteria(S. enterica, S. flexneri, E. coli and E. cloacae). Ten different concentrations of the extracts(from 640 to 1.25 mg/m L) were prepared and used for the study. The minimal inhibitory concentration(MIC) was determined by the broth dilution method. The antimicrobial activities were assessed by using both well diffusion and disc diffusion methods.Results: Garlic extract showed excellent inhibitory effects on all enteric bacteria. Other plants(parsley, celery, mint and pennywort) were not effective against enteric bacteria.The MIC of garlic against S. flexneri and E. cloacae was 40 mg/m L. The MIC of S. enterica and E. coli were 20 and 10 mg/m L, respectively. The performance of the well diffusion method was better than that of the disc diffusion method with clear and sharp inhibition zones of tested bacteria against plant extracts.Conclusions: Garlic had excellent antimicrobial effects against enteric bacteria and was recommended to be given to patients with gastroenteritis. The other vegetables(pennywort, mint, parsley and celery) showed no inhibitory effects on enteric bacteria but still can be used for its richness in vitamins and fibers. The performance of the well diffusion method was better than that of the disc diffusion method in detecting the antibacterial effects of green vegetables.展开更多
Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide that is primarily extracted from brown seaweeds which has been broadly studied in recent years due to its numerous biological properties, including anticoagulant, antithrombotic, ...Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide that is primarily extracted from brown seaweeds which has been broadly studied in recent years due to its numerous biological properties, including anticoagulant, antithrombotic, antitumor, and antiviral activities. In this study, fucoidan was evaluated against clinic isolated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 1 - 20, either alone or with antibiotics, via broth dilution method and checkerboard and time kill assay. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs)/Minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) values for the fucoidan against all the tested bacteria ranged between 64 - 512/256 - 2048 microg/mL, for ampicillin 32 - 1024/64 - 1024 microg/mL and for oxacillin 8 - 64/16 - 256 microg/mL respectively. Furthermore, the MIC and MBC were reduced to one half-eighth as a result of the combination of the fucoidan with antibiotics. 2 - 6 hours of treatment with 1/2 MIC of fucoidan with 1/2 MIC of antibiotics resulted from an increase of the rate of killing in units of CFU/mL to a greater degree than was observed with alone. These results suggest that fucoidan could be employed as a natural antibacterial agent against multi-drug bacteria.展开更多
在25℃,pH=6.8的Na2HPO4-NaH2PO4缓冲体系中,采用酶动力学方法研究了香草醛对酪氨酸酶单酚酶和二酚酶活性的抑制效应.实验结果表明:香草醛对酪氨酸酶单酚酶和二酚酶活性均有抑制作用,其半数抑制浓度(IC50)约分别为2.7和4.1mmol/L;香草...在25℃,pH=6.8的Na2HPO4-NaH2PO4缓冲体系中,采用酶动力学方法研究了香草醛对酪氨酸酶单酚酶和二酚酶活性的抑制效应.实验结果表明:香草醛对酪氨酸酶单酚酶和二酚酶活性均有抑制作用,其半数抑制浓度(IC50)约分别为2.7和4.1mmol/L;香草醛能明显延长单酚酶的迟滞时间,4 mmol/L香草醛能使迟滞时间由1.1 m in延长至3m in;Lineweaver-Burk图显示香草醛对二酚酶的抑制作用表现为混合性抑制,对游离酶的抑制常数和对酶-底物络合物的抑制常数分别为3.48和15.1mmol/L.展开更多
文摘A large number of Chinese herbal drugs (CHDs) exhibit antibacterial activities both in vivo and in vitro, but until now little is known regarding their inhibitory mechanisms. Bacterial DNA gyrase is a proven target for antibacterial agents. Aim of this study was to investigate the in-vitro inhibitory effect of methanol extracts of CHDs against supercoiling activity of bacterial DNA gyrase. Fifteen CHDs were selected and extracted with methanol, respectively. Inhibitory effect of the extracts on DNA gyrase was tested using gel-based DNA supercoiling assay. Among fifteen CHDs tested, methanol extracts of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos (S2), Taraxaci Herba (S7), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata cum Melle (S8) demonstrated an obvious inhibitory effect against supercoiling activity of DNA gyrase, and the others were either less active or could not be determined with the present method. Moreover, it was likely that S7 and S8 inhibit gyrase in a concentration-dependent manner. In conclusion, DNA supercoiling assay is a promising method to study the inhibitory activity of CHDs on bacterial DNA gyrase. Some CHDs do have gyrase-inhibitory activity as proposed. Further investigations are needed to elucidate the inhibition mechanism of these CHDs on supercoiling activity of gyrase.
文摘AIM: To identify the effect of Houttuynia cordata Thunb(HCT) on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced microglial activation and investigate its possible molecular mechanisms. METHODS: The primary retinal microglial cells were cultured from the retinas of newborn Sprague-Dawley rats and exposed to LPS, and/or HCT with different concentrations. The survival ability of retinal microglia cells was tested by standard MTT method. BrdU cell proliferation assay was used to evaluate the proliferation of retinal microglia. Inflammatory factors in the culture supernatants, including TNF-α, iNOS and IL-1β, were measured using ELISA. Microglia cells’ migration was determined with Transwell migration assay. The total p38-MAPK and phosphorylation of p38-MAPK(p-p38-MAPK) were detected with Western blot.RESULTS: Primary retinal microglia in culture exposed to LPS to induce microglia activation. Pretreatment with HCT significantly inhibited the LPS-induced cell proliferation, but not the cell viability. LPS induced inflammatory reaction in microglia and cell migration. HCT significantly reduced LPS-stimulated release of pro-inflammatory factors and decreased the number of migrating cells substantially in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the protein levels of p-p38 MAPK were identified as the up regulation and co-treatment with HCT obviously inhibited the upregulation of p-p38 MAPK, but had no effect on the levels of total p38-MAPK.CONCLUSION: The data suggest that HCT inhibits LPSinduced retinal microglial activation via suppression of the p-p38-MAPK. HCT may be used for the treatment of ocular diseases characterized by over-activated microglia.
文摘Rice Bowman-Birk inhibitors (RBBI), with one (8 kD) or two homologous domains (16 kD), were found to be effective trypsin inhibitors in vitro. In this study, we demonstrate that the 25-kD protein corresponding to the three-domain RBBI indeed ex- ists in rice in planta, and that the RBBIs are regulated by development and wounding. We also found by inhibitory activity assay that the 3:13 disulfide bond, but not the 4:5 disulfide bond, suppresses the tryp- sin-inhibitory activity, and the D3 domain of RBBI3-1 has no inhibitory activity against trypsin, chymotryp- sin, paparin or subtilisin. Mutation analyses showed that conversion from Lys to Leu or Tyr in the N-terminal P1 site in D1 domain did not create chy- motrypsin-inhibitory activity, suggesting that the structure of the reactive loop in D1 domain hinder the new inhibitory specificity at P1 site, and the chy- motrypsin-inhibitory activity might need the participa- tion of other structures, e.g. 3:13 disulfide bond.
基金financially supported by the High Impact Research Grants (H18001-00-C000017 and H-18001-00-C000015)the University of Malaya Grant (RG095/09HTM)the Postgraduate Research Fund (PS160/2010B)
文摘Candida species have been associated with the emergence of strains resistant to selected antifungal agents. Plant products have been used traditionally as alternative medicine to ease mucosal fungal infections. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Piper betle extract on the growth profile and the ultrastructure of commonly isolated oral candidal cells. The major component of Po betle was identified using liquid chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (LC-MS/MS). Seven ATCC control strains of Candida species were cultured in yeast peptone dextrose broth under four different growth environments: (i) in the absence of P. betle extract; and in the presence of P. beUeextract at respective concentrations of (ii) 1 mg.mL-1; (iii) 3 mg.mL-1; and (iv) 6 mg.mL- 1 The growth inhibitory responses of the candidal cells were determined based on changes in the specific growth rates (μ). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe any ultrastructural alterations in the candida colonies. LC-MS/MS was performed to validate the presence of bioactive compounds in the extract. Following treatment, it was observed that the p-values of the treated cells were significantly different than those of the untreated cells (P〈0.05), indicating the fungistatic properties of the P. beUe extract. The candidal population was also reduced from an average of 13.44× 10^6 to 1.78×10^6 viable cell counts (CFU).mL-1, SEM examination exhibited physical damage and considerable morphological alterations of the treated cells. The compound profile from LC-MS/MS indicated the presence of hydroxybenzoic acid, chavibetol and hydroxychavicol in P. betle extract. The effects of P. betle on candida cells could potentiate its antifungal activity.
基金Supported by Universiti Teknologi MARA(Ui TM)[Grant No.600-RMI/RAGS 5/3(63/204)]
文摘Objective: To investigate the antibacterial activities of green vegetables(pennywort,mint, garlic, parsley and celery) against four common enteric bacteria [Salmonella enterica(ATCC 25957)(S. enterica), Shigella flexneri(ATCC 12022)(S. flexneri),Escherichia coli(ATCC 43889)(E. coli) and Enterobacter cloacae(ATCC 13047)(E. cloacae)] as an alternative medicine for controlling food borne diarrhea disease and the synergistic effect of green vegetables against those bacteria.Methods: Five common vegetables(pennywort, mint, garlic, parsley and celery) were purchased and extracted. The antimicrobial activities of these extracts were tested against four common enteric bacteria(S. enterica, S. flexneri, E. coli and E. cloacae). Ten different concentrations of the extracts(from 640 to 1.25 mg/m L) were prepared and used for the study. The minimal inhibitory concentration(MIC) was determined by the broth dilution method. The antimicrobial activities were assessed by using both well diffusion and disc diffusion methods.Results: Garlic extract showed excellent inhibitory effects on all enteric bacteria. Other plants(parsley, celery, mint and pennywort) were not effective against enteric bacteria.The MIC of garlic against S. flexneri and E. cloacae was 40 mg/m L. The MIC of S. enterica and E. coli were 20 and 10 mg/m L, respectively. The performance of the well diffusion method was better than that of the disc diffusion method with clear and sharp inhibition zones of tested bacteria against plant extracts.Conclusions: Garlic had excellent antimicrobial effects against enteric bacteria and was recommended to be given to patients with gastroenteritis. The other vegetables(pennywort, mint, parsley and celery) showed no inhibitory effects on enteric bacteria but still can be used for its richness in vitamins and fibers. The performance of the well diffusion method was better than that of the disc diffusion method in detecting the antibacterial effects of green vegetables.
文摘Fucoidan is a sulfated polysaccharide that is primarily extracted from brown seaweeds which has been broadly studied in recent years due to its numerous biological properties, including anticoagulant, antithrombotic, antitumor, and antiviral activities. In this study, fucoidan was evaluated against clinic isolated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 1 - 20, either alone or with antibiotics, via broth dilution method and checkerboard and time kill assay. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs)/Minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) values for the fucoidan against all the tested bacteria ranged between 64 - 512/256 - 2048 microg/mL, for ampicillin 32 - 1024/64 - 1024 microg/mL and for oxacillin 8 - 64/16 - 256 microg/mL respectively. Furthermore, the MIC and MBC were reduced to one half-eighth as a result of the combination of the fucoidan with antibiotics. 2 - 6 hours of treatment with 1/2 MIC of fucoidan with 1/2 MIC of antibiotics resulted from an increase of the rate of killing in units of CFU/mL to a greater degree than was observed with alone. These results suggest that fucoidan could be employed as a natural antibacterial agent against multi-drug bacteria.
文摘在25℃,pH=6.8的Na2HPO4-NaH2PO4缓冲体系中,采用酶动力学方法研究了香草醛对酪氨酸酶单酚酶和二酚酶活性的抑制效应.实验结果表明:香草醛对酪氨酸酶单酚酶和二酚酶活性均有抑制作用,其半数抑制浓度(IC50)约分别为2.7和4.1mmol/L;香草醛能明显延长单酚酶的迟滞时间,4 mmol/L香草醛能使迟滞时间由1.1 m in延长至3m in;Lineweaver-Burk图显示香草醛对二酚酶的抑制作用表现为混合性抑制,对游离酶的抑制常数和对酶-底物络合物的抑制常数分别为3.48和15.1mmol/L.