The Potential of ZICURMA Herbal Supplement in Inhibiting Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines as Therapeutic Agents in SARS-CoV2 Infection

nSARS-CoV2 causes pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome that involves exacerbated pro-inflammatory cytokines hyperproduction. ZICURMA, zing-curcuma is a tonic developed from ginger, turmeric, and curcuma that may be adequate to remedy nSARS-CoV2 infections. Therefore, this study aims to predict the effectiveness and possible inhibition of potentially bioactive compounds in ZICURMA against pro-inflammatory cytokines through a molecular docking approach. Three bioactive compounds were identified and extracted from KnapSackFamily, namely bisacumol, curcumin and desmetoxycurcumin;then, the 3D structures were generated from PubChem. The protein targets were prepared using an open babel program integrated into PyRx 0.8;there were TN-α, IL-6 / IL-6R, and IL-1 / IL-1R, respectively. The results showed that the ligands had moderate to solid binding affinity with values ranging from –5.0 kcal/mol to –9.0 kcal/mol. However, it offers a mismatch of bonds, including between curcumin compounds and IL-6, IL-6R, IL-1R and IL-1ß. In silico simulation proves that the bioactive compound in ZICURMA does not allow binding to IL-6, IL-6R, IL-1R and IL-1ß proteins. However, it cannot be used as a standard reference to determine the feasibility of bisacumol, desmethoxycurcumin, and curcumin as an anti-viral candidate. Further in-vitro researches should be conducted to validate the potency of ZICURMA as an anti-viral infection. © 2023, Walailak University. All rights reserved.

The skills of students following the microtechnic in making microscopic preparations for science learning in the Covid-19 pandemic period

The objectives of this study were (1) to analyze the skills of students who took the Microtechnical course in making microscopic preparations during the Covid-19 pandemic, and (2) to analyze the factors supporting the skills of students who took the Microtechnic course in making microscopic preparations. This type of survey research, a population of 134 students who took Microtechnic courses in the even semester of 2019/2020. Students’ skills in making microscopic preparations are measured by performance observation sheets which are then categorized. Factors supporting student skills in making microscopic preparations were measured by a questionnaire which was then presented. The results of the study, most of the students who took the microtechnic course were skilled at making cross-sectional preparations of leaves using the freehand slice method. The supporting factors for students’ skills in make microscopic preparations were obtained from reading microtechnic books and previous practical experiences on plant anatomy. All the students were skilled at making thin blood smears. Most of the supporting factors for students’ skills in make microscopic preparations were obtained from reading micro-technical books and viewing the YouTube online platform.