Association of Temperature and Rainfall with Aedes Mosquito Population in 17th College of Universiti Putra Malaysia

@#Introduction: Dengue is an arboviral disease affecting many tropical and subtropical regions. Statistics in Malaysia show that a cumulative of 57,627 number of DF cases with 94 cumulative number of deaths have occurred until July 8th 2020. Weather affects Aedes mosquito population and dengue incidence through the breeding behaviour of mosquitoes. This study aims to evaluate the association of temperature and rainfall with Aedes mosquito population in the 17th College, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and also to evaluate the accuracy of mobile ‘AedesTech’ automated counting application. Methods: Aedes Mosquito Home system (AMHS) were placed at each level of Block A, B, C and D of 17th College, UPM. The eggs laid by Aedes mosquito on the tissues inside the ovitrap were counted manually and via ‘AedesTech’ automated counting application. Monthly temperature and rainfall data from November 2018 until April 2019 were obtained from Malaysian Meteorological Department. Results: Temperature was inversely correlated to Aedes mosquito eggs count and ovitrap index. Rainfall was directly correlated to Aedes population as the number of mosquito eggs and ovitrap index were high in months recording high rainfall. The number of eggs count from ‘AedesTech’ Mobile App Version 5.9 (M=143) was significantly higher than the numbers from manual counting (M=35) indicating the ‘AedesTech’ auto-count is inaccurate. Conclusion: Temperature and rainfall have an influence on the Aedes mosquito population in the 17th College, UPM. The ‘AedesTech’ Mobile App Version 5.9 has low accuracy and therefore needs to be upgraded.

Acute Toxicity Study of Intravenous Administration of Thymoquinone-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carrier (TQ-NLC) in Sprague Dawley Rats

@#Introduction: Thymoquinone (TQ), a bioactive compound from Nigella sativa is known for its various medicinal properties. Due to the low solubility of TQ, nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) has been used as a delivery system to improve its efficacy. Nevertheless, the effect of TQ-NLC when administered intravenously is unclear. This study investigated the acute toxicity profile of intravenous administration of TQ-NLC in an in vivo model. Methods: Twelve female Sprague dawley rats were assigned randomly into two groups (n=6); a control and a treatment group that received normal saline and 25 mg/kg TQ-NLC, respectively, via intravenous injection. The rats were observed for 14 days for any alterations to their usual physical conditions such as behaviour and mortality, body weight, food intake, organ-to-body weight ratio, and haematological, biochemical and histopathological profile. Results: There were no significant changes (p>0.05) in the body weight, food intake, organ-to-body weight ratio, and haematological, biochemical and histopathological profile between TQ-NLC treatment and the control group. However, inflammation was observed at the site of injection on the rat’s tail. Conclusion: Intravenous administration of TQ-NLC (25 mg/kg) did not exert acute toxic effect in female Sprague dawley rats. The data can be used as a basis to further develop TQNLC as a potential therapeutic drug.

Dillenia suffruticosa Dichloromethane Root Extract Reduced Metastasis of 4T1 Cells to the Liver and Heart Without Causing Toxicity in Female BALB/C Mice

@#Introduction: Breast cancer is ranked first among other cancers in women. Ineffectiveness of current treatments and adverse effects such as multiple organ failure and nephrotoxicity are the common problems faced in cancer therapy. Therefore, alternatives to treat breast cancer metastasis with fewer toxic effects are actively sought-after. Dillenia suffruticosa (DS) commonly known as ‘Simpoh air’ has been a traditional remedy for cancer growth. Therefore, this study investigated the metastasis inhibiting properties of DS root dichloromethane extract (DCMDS) in tumour bearing female BALB/c mice and sub-acute multiple dose oral toxicity upon treatment with this extract. Methods: Forty-eight tumour bearing mice were given either oral treatment of DCMDS (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) or doxorubicin (2 mg/kg) for 28 days and the degree of metastasis was analysed in each group. Thirty other female BALB/c mice were treated with DCMDS (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) and the general behaviours, biochemical, haematological and histopathological changes were observed. Data were analysed with One-way ANOVA and Dunnet’s test where p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: All doses of DCMDS showed lowered metastatic cells in liver and DCMDS at (50 and 100 mg/kg) had less metastatic cells in the heart compared to doxorubicin (2 mg/kg). All DCMDS treated groups showed no abnormal behaviours and all tested physiological parameter values fall within the normal ranges. Conclusion: DCMDS reduced metastasis of 4T1 cells to the liver and heart better than doxorubicin without causing toxicity. This study highlights that DCMDS is a promising drug to be further developed for cancer therapy

Phenolics-saponins rich fraction of defatted kenaf seed meal exhibits cytotoxicity towards cancer cell lines

Objectives: To determine the cytotoxicity of crude ethanolic extract, n-butanol fraction and aqueous fraction on selected cancer cell lines, and to observe the morphological changes of the cancer cells treated with n-butanol fraction. Methods: The cytotoxic effect of n-butanol fraction, crude ethanolic extract and aqueous fraction on breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), colon cancer (HT29), lung cancer (A549), cervical cancer (HeLa) and normal mouse fibroblast (3T3) cell lines was determined using MTT assay. The morphological changes of the treated cells were observed under an inverted light microscope. Results: n-Butanol fraction was the most cytotoxic towards HT29 and MCF-7 cells in a dose-dependent manner compared to crude ethanolic extract and aqueous fraction (P < 0.05). The IC

Anti-breast cancer properties and toxicity of Dillenia suffruticosa root aqueous extract in BALB/c mice

Objective: To determine the anti-breast cancer activities and the safety oral consumption of Dillenia suffruticosa root aqueous extract (DRAE) in BALB/c mice. Methods: In the anti-breast cancer study, female BALB/c mice were divided into five groups (n = 12), which were (1) positive control (with breast cancer, untreated), (2) negative control (without breast cancer, untreated) and other three groups of mice with breast cancer treated with 1000, 500 and 250 mg/kg of DRAE, respectively, by oral gavage for 28 days. All mice except from the negative control group were injected into the mammary fat pad with 4T1 cells (1 × 10