ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Infectious bronchi-tis virus (IBV), for which no effective drugs are available, is among the most important causes of economic loss within the poultry industry. Apigenin is a flavonoid that can be isolated from plants. Apigenin has low toxicity with anti-viral activity. However, the effects of apigenin against IBV remain unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thus, here we investigate the anti-viral effect of apigenin on IBV using 10 day-old embryonated eggs by determining the virus titer by embryo infective doses50 (EID50/mL) and determining IBV genomes copy number (per mu L) of allantoic fluid. RESULTS: We found that apigenin protected embryonated eggs from IBV. Additionally, apigenin reduced the log titer of the IBV with a significant correlation of up to 9.4 times at 2 mu g/ egg. Also, apigenin appears to significantly re-duce IBV genomes copy number (per mu L) in the allantoic fluid. CONCLUSIONS: Apigenin may be a promising approach for the treatment of IBV, since it protects embryonated eggs from IBV in ovo and suppresses viral replication.
ABSTRACT
Vitamin D is one of the essential vitamins and has recently been demonstrated to be much more important for the appropriate functioning of the human body and well-being than initially believed. Although vitamin D is mainly known for its link with bone fractures and bone diseases, recent studies revealed that vitamin D and its analogues have revealed many pharmacological actions covering the regulation of cell growth, inhibition of inflammation, and improvement of neuromuscular function and immune function. Moreover, vitamin D and its analogues are reported to have role in different types of cancers, skin diseases, diabetes mellitus and infections caused by different bacterial and viral pathogens including SARS-CoV-2. The goal of this study is to evaluate the scientific literature on therapeutic uses of vitamin D and its analogues against different diseases and health condition. Special attention has been given to COVID-19 infection, cancer, skin diseases, and diabetes. The molecular mechanisms involved are also explored.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created a significant global challenge with respect to the search for specific and effective pharmacological agents with fewer adverse effects for treating this disease. To date, no effective therapy for COVID-19 has been established. Recent virological studies suggest an assortment of potential therapeutics, which could be good candidates for minimizing disease development. One of the most effective potential medications is Remdesivir, which has demonstrated in-vitro antiviral activity and is the first COVID-19 drug approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Adjunct medical care is used as an extra treatment method in addition to the essential treatment, for example, glucocorticoids, which cause a decline in the death rate in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients. More clinical preliminary studies should be conducted to explore the most effective pharmacological agent for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus causing COVID-19. Numerous possible drug-drug interactions (DDIs) that may take place with the COVID-19 repurposed drugs and other medications have been identified. These facts might be beneficial for physicians to screen and identify potential DDIs with adverse consequences, and accordingly styling preventive and management approaches for their avoidance. © RJPT All right reserved.
ABSTRACT
Due to the increasing cost of crude oil because of pandemic COVID-19 and global environmental threats, the exploitation of fossil fuels for power generation is discouraged. Further, the demand for electrical power is increasing drastically, and therefore, the exploitation of renewable energy resources, particularly solar photovoltaic-based technology for power generation is invigorated. However, the large-scale penetration of solar photovoltaic is becoming a major challenge in terms of stability, reliability of power when integrated with the grid. Thus, it becomes important to develop a novel approach or strategy which is useful to improve power quality, reliability, and grid stability. Solar photovoltaic power forecasting is a key tool for this new era and becoming the main component for a smart grid environment. Here, in this paper, the ensemble trees approach-based machine learning approach is utilized to forecast the solar photovoltaic power with the help of various meteorological parameters. The high-quality measured data for meteorological parameters for Qassim, Saudi Arabia is used in this research. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated with the help of statistical indices such as Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Square Error (MSE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), Training Time (TT) and found within the desired limits. To validate the obtained results a comparative analysis with other machine learning models is carried out. Moreover, the proposed research may provide the roadmap in achieving the vision 2030 of the government of Saudi Arabia.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has now been declared as a worldwide pandemic. Currently, no drugs have been endorsed for its treatment; in this manner, a pressing need has been developed for any antiviral drugs that will treat COVID-19. Coronaviruses require the SARS-CoV-2 3CL-Protease (3CL-protease) for cleavage of its polyprotein to yield a single useful protein and assume a basic role in the disease progression. In this study, we demonstrated that punicalagin, the fundamental active element of pomegranate in addition to the combination of punicalagin with zinc (Zn) II, appear to show powerful inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The 3CL protease assay kit was used to quantify 3CL protease action. The tetrazolium dye, MTS, was used to evaluate cytotoxicity. RESULTS: Punicalagin showed inhibitory action against the 3CL-protease in a dose-dependent manner, and IC50 was found to be 6.192 µg/ml for punicalagin. Punicalagin (10 µg/mL) demonstrated a significant inhibitory activity toward 3CL-protease activity (p < 0.001), yet when punicalagin is combined with zinc sulfate monohydrate (punicalagin/Zn-II) extremely strong 3CL-protease activity (p < 0.001) was obtained. The action of 3CL-protease with punicalagin/Zn-II was decreased by approximately 4.4-fold in contrast to only punicalagin (10 µg/mL). Likewise, we did not notice any significant cytotoxicity caused by punicalagin, Zn-II, or punicalagin/Zn-II. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that these compounds could be used as potential antiviral drugs against COVID-19.