In vitro cytotoxicity of two subspecies of juniperus excelsa on cancer cells

The cytotoxic effects of crude ethanol extracts of some previously tested Iranian conifers on tumor cell lines have motivated us to screen different parts of two subspecies in these genus. Terminal branchlets and berries of Juniperus excelsa subsp. excelsa and J. excelsa subsp. polycarpos were collected, dried and extracted with ethanol/H2O [80/20 v/v] via percolation procedure. Extracts were dried, reconstituted in ethanol and cytotoxic effects of different concentrations were determined on cancer cells by ELISA, using MTT assay. MDA-MB-468, Hela and KB cells were used in this study. The extracts of the branchlets of male and female of J. excelsa subsp. polycarpos as well as berries extract of J. excelsa subsp. excelsa showed inhibitory activities against KB cells. Extracts of female branchlets and berries of J. excelsa subsp. polycarpos were cytotoxic against all 3 cell lines. In conclusion, obtained extracts from J. excelsa subsp. polycarpos showed cytotoxic effects against most tested cell lines which was comparable to doxorubicin; whereas, berries extracts of J. excelsa subsp. Excels showed inhibitory effects only against KB cells

Cytotoxic effects of essential oils of some Iranian citrus peels

There have been efforts to overcome the problem in treatment of cancer using medicinal plants. It has been shown that Citrus essential oil of contains different terpens with antitumor activities. In this study we sought to determine the cytotoxicity of essential oils of Iranian Citrus limon [L.], C. medica [L.], C. sinsensis [L.] peels on cancer cell lines. Essential oils were prepared by hydrodistilation and characterized by GC-MS. The effects of C. limon [5-40 micro g/ml], C. medica and C. sinensis [0.25-10 micro g/ml] on two human tumor cell lines [MCF-7 and Hela] were determined. Different concentrations of essential oils were added to cultured cells and incubated for 72 h. Cell survival was evaluated using the MTT-based cytotoxicity assay. While limonene comprise about 98.4% and 98.8% of content of C. limon and C. sinensis essential oils respectively, its' percentage in C. medica was only 56.6%. In C. medica there was a considerable amount of beta-pinene, gamma-terpinene, alpha-terpinolene and trans-alpha-bergamotene. IC[50] of essential oil for MCF-7 cell line was: C. limon almost equal to 10 micro g/ml, C. medica almost equal to 1 micro g/ml and C. sinensis almost equal to 0.5 micro g/ml. For Hela cell line IC50 was: C. limon almost equal to 17 micro g/ml, C. medica almost equal to 1 micro g/ml and C. sinensis almost equal to 3 micro g/ml. Our findings revealed that C. limon and C. sinensis had a greater cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 than that on Hela cells. Also, comparing IC50, our findings indicated that C. medica and C. sinensis were more cytotoxic than C. limon. Comparison of the essential oil component of C. limon with C. medica, shows the presence of beta-pinene [16.3%], alpha-terpineol [11.3%], gamma-terpinene [4.4%], and trans- alpha-bergamotene [3.4%], which were not found in C. limon. Hence, it could be concluded that these components may have greater cytotoxic effects or they may also have synergistic effects with limonene

Optimization of enzymatic synthesis of ampicillin using cross-linked aggregates of penicillin G acylase

Penicillin G acylase from E. coli TA1 was immobilized by Cross-Linked Enzyme Aggregates [CLEA], a new method for immobilization. This biocatalyst and commercial immobilized penicillin G acylase [PGA-450] were used to study the effect of pH, temperature and substrate concentration on the synthesis of ampicillin from phenyl glycine methyl ester [PGME] and 6-aminopenicillanic acid [6-APA]. Compared with PGA-450, this immobilized enzyme showed a high synthesis activity. The optimum conditions for synthetic activity was at pH 6, 25°C and 2:6 [6-APA:PGME] substrate ratio

Acute and chronic effects of nitrendipine on naloxone precipitated morphine withdrawal in mice

There is growing evidence indicating that neuronal calcium channels play an important role in the mechanism of morphine dependence. In this study, the effects of acute and chronic administration of nitrendipine on naloxone precipitated morphine withdrawal signs were investigated. Mice were rendered dependent to morphine by subcutaneous injection of morphine over a period of 5 days. In chronic studies, nitrendipine [25 and 50 mg/kg, i.p.], or vehicle injections were given once a day during the morphine treatment, and the last injection of nitrendipine was given 24 h before the morphine withdrawal. For acute studies, nitrendipine [25 and 50 mg/kg, i.p.] was given 1 h after the last dose of morphine [1 h before naloxone]. A single injection of nitrendipine at 25 mg/kg was ineffective in blocking most signs of morphine withdrawal, however, at 50 mg/kg nitrendipine blocked signs such as hair raising, sniffing, diarrhea and number of jumping. The concurrent injections of nitrendipine with morphine prevented most signs of morphine withdrawal. In agreement with previous findings, these results suggest that alterations in voltage-sensitive calcium channels play a role in the adaptations that occur on chronic treatment with morphine

Pharmacologic characteriztion of bronchospasm induced by substance P [SP] and SP fragments in guinea - pig

Using pharmacologic approach, neurokinin receptor-mediated bronchoconstrictor responses in anesthetized guinea-pigs was characterized. Thus, the bronchospastic effects of substance P [SP] and SP fragments [all administrated intravenously] before and after giving vehicle or selective neurokinin receptor antagonists were compared. Ranking order of potency of SP or SP fragments for induction of bronchoconstriction was: SP4-11 >> SP5-11 = SP3-11 = SP2-11 > SP = SP6-11 [the number of amino acid in the sequence of SP fragments are shown by superscript]. The neurokinin 1 [NK1] receptor antagonists [CP 96,345 or CP 99,994, 3 mg kg-1, iv] did not change baseline values of pulmonary flow resistance [RL] and dynamic pulmonary elastance [EL] and did not eliminate bronchopulmonary responses to these peptides but decreased changes in RL and EL in response to SP and SP fragments. The neurokinin 2 [NK2] receptor antagonist SR 48,968 [1 mg kg-1, iv] failed to induce a rightward shift in dose-response curves to SP or SP fragments except to SP4-11. Combinations of NK1 and NK2 receptor antagonists shifted dose-response curves to SP and SP fragments more than that of NK1 receptor antagonists alone. These findings reveal that SP-induced bronchoconstriction is mediated by its C-terminal sequence and this response is mainly via NK1 receptors. Moreover, bronchopulmonary responses to SP and its C-terminal fragments are complex and there may be interactions between NK1 and NK2 receptors in the lungs