RESUMO
Boerhaavia diffusa Linn. has been shown to exhibit a wide range of medicinal properties for the treatment of diabetes, inflammation, stress, hepatotoxicity, jaundice and heart failure. The extraordinary antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antibiotic, antidiabetic and anticarcinogenic properties of B. diffusa have attracted pioneers in the field of science and medicine. Moreover, the therapeutic importance of this plant, which is due to presence of polyphenols and flavanoids, makes this plant medically more important to be exploited by clinicians and scientists to gain more insight into its biological and medicinal properties. The present review on B. diffusa focuses over the chemical compositions and its ethno-medicinal uses, linked from ancient times to the present with a scope of development in future. Furthermore, a recent update on mechanistic approaches of B. diffusa has also been discussed, which could be helpful for the researchers working in this field. Eventually, based on its antioxidant and antidiabetic characteristics, it is hypothesized that B. diffusa might exhibit antiglycating properties as well.
RESUMO
Methylglyoxal (MG) has been implicated in mutagenesis and cancer. Present study probes the antigenicity of MG damaged DNA in cancer patients. Purified calf thymus DNA was damaged by the synergistic action of MG, lysine (Lys) and CuSO4 for 24 h at 37oC. DNA modifications produced single-strand breaks, hyperchromicity in UV spectrum and increased fluorescence intensity. Binding characteristics of auto-antibodies in cancer patients were assessed by direct binding and inhibition ELISA. These antibodies exhibited enhanced binding with the modified DNA, as compared to the native form. The effect was more pronounced when affinity-purified IgG was used in place of the serum. In conclusion, MG-modified DNA presents unique epitopes which are recognized as non-self by the immune system and may, therefore, be one of the factors for the autoantibody induction in cancer patients.