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In-silico Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) significantly relies on cybernetic screening of Plant Based Natural Products (PBNPs) as a prime source of bioactive compounds/ drug leads due to their unique chemical structural scaffolds and distinct functional characteristic features amenable to drug design and development. In the Post-COVID-Era a large number of publications have focused on PBNPs. Moreover, PBNPs still remain as an ideal source of novel therapeutic agents of GRAS standard. However, a well-structured, in-depth ADME/Tox profile with deeper dimensions of PBNPs has been lacking for many of natural pharma lead molecules that hamper successful exploitation of PBNPs. In the present study, ADMET-informatics of Octadecanoic Acid (Stearic Acid - SA) from ethyl acetate fraction of Moringa oleifera leaves has been envisaged to predict ADMET and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) outcomes. This work contributes to the deeper understanding of SA as major source of drug lead from Moringa oleifera with immense therapeutic potential. The data generated herein could be useful for the development of SA as plant based natural product lead (PBNPL) for drug development programs.
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Purpose: Childhood obesity has become a social problem due to the social distancing necessitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This study aimed to identify the dietary problems of obese children through various dietary assessment methods and to confirm the usefulness of each method. Methods: The subjects were 88 students in the 4th to 6th grade of elementary school who participated in the nutrition camp organised by the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, 2020. To evaluate dietary problems and assess diet quality, 24-hour meal records, monthly food intake frequency, and Dietary Screening Test (DST) data were analyzed. Results: Of the subjects, 15.7%, 30.3%, and 53.9% were normal weight, overweight, and obese, respectively. The average age was 11.77 +or- 0.77 years and the average body mass index was 23.96 +or- 3.01 kg/m2. It was observed from the 24-hour meal record method that the overweight and obese subject groups consumed fewer green vegetables (p < 0.001) and white vegetables (p < 0.01) than the normal weight group. In the monthly food intake frequency method, the consumption of ramen (p < 0.01), snacks (p < 0.05), and sausages (p < 0.05) were high in the obese group, and that of anchovies, broccoli, and sweet pumpkin was high in the normal group (p < 0.05). The comparative data from the DST revealed that the overweight and obese groups had less vegetable intake than the normal weight group (p < 0.01) and had higher intakes of dairy products, fast food, and sweet snacks (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The usefulness of each method in the dietary evaluation of obese children was confirmed. To address the problem of obesity, it is necessary to evaluate the dietary problem and approach it with a customized solution tailor-made for the individual subject.
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Various kinds of field crops growing on two commercial farms in the Whitehorse area of the southern Yukon Territory were surveyed for diseases in summer 2020 by staff of the Agriculture Branch of the Government of Yukon. They included barley, wheat, canola, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and turnips. Fields were visited one or more times during July and August. The incidence and severity of diseases were visually assessed on a crop-by-crop basis and samples were collected for laboratory analysis of the pathogens present, if any. Both infectious and non-infectious diseases were present on most crops. The infectious diseases were caused by various species of plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi that were common on these crops growing in other areas of Canada. INTRODUCTION AND METHODS: The 2020 field crop disease survey is believed to be the first organized study of its kind on agricultural crops in the Territory. In his book, "An Annotated Index of Plant Diseases in Canada . . . ", I.L. Conners lists over 300 records of plant diseases on trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses in the Yukon that were published by individuals who were surveying forests and native vegetation mainly for federal government departments, universities and other agencies (Conners 1967). The objectives of the 2020 survey were: (1) to determine the kinds and levels of diseases on selected Yukon crops, (2) to identify the major pathogen species attacking Yukon crops, and (3) to use the results to plan future surveillance activities aimed at helping producers to improve their current disease management programs. All of the fields included in the 2020 survey were situated on two commercial farms, which were designated as Farm #1 and #2, in the Whitehorse area in the southern Yukon (Fig. 1). The crops surveyed included cereals (barley and wheat), oilseeds (canola) and vegetables (beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and turnips). Fields were visited one or more times in the mid- to late growing season (July/August) at a time when damage from diseases was most noticeable. Symptoms were visually assessed on a crop-by-crop basis by determining their incidence and severity. Incidence was represented by the percentage of plants, leaves, heads, kernels, etc., damaged in the target crop, while severity was estimated to be the proportion of the leaf, fruit, head, root/canopy area, etc., affected by a specific disease as follows: Proportion of the canopy affected based on a 0-4 rating scale, where: 0 = no disease symptoms, 1 = 1-10% of the crop canopy showing symptoms;2 = 11-25% showing symptoms, 3 = 26- 50% showing symptoms, and 4 = > 50% showing symptoms. Photographs of affected plants were taken and sent to plant pathologists across Western Canada for their opinions on causation. Where possible, representative samples of plants with disease symptoms were packaged and sent to the Alberta Plant Health Lab (APHL) in Edmonton, AB for diagnostic analyses. Background information, such as the general cultural practices and cropping history, was obtained from the producers wherever possible. GPS coordinates were obtained for each field to enable future mapping Cereals: Individual fields of barley (11 ha) and wheat (30 ha) located at Farm #1 were surveyed. The barley was a two-row forage cultivar 'CDC Maverick', while the wheat was an unspecified cultivar of Canada Prairie Spring (CPS) Wheat. Plant samples were taken along a W-shaped transect for a total of five sampling points for the barley field (< 20 ha) and ten sampling points for the wheat field (> 20 ha). The first visit, which occurred on July 30, involved visual inspection and destructive sampling wherein plants were collected and removed from the field for a detailed disease assessment at a lab space in Whitehorse. There, the roots were rinsed off and the plants were examined for disease symptoms. The second visit to these fields, which occurred on August 27, only involved visual examination of the standing crop. Oilseeds: A single 40 ha field of Polish canola (cv. 'Synergy') was examined o
ABSTRACT
In-silico Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) often comprehends virtual screening (VS) of datasets of natural pharmaco-active compounds for drug discovery protocols. Plant Based Natural Products (PBNPs) still, remains to be a prime source of pharmaco-active compounds due to their unique chemical structural scaffolds and functionalities with distinct chemical characteristic feature from natural source that are much acquiescent to drug metabolism and kinetics. In the Post-COVID-Era number of publications pertaining to PBNPs and publicly accessible plant based natural product databases (PBNPDBs) has significantly increased. Moreover, PBNPs are important sources of inspiration or starting points to develop novel therapeutic agents. However, a well-structured, indepth ADME/Tox profile of PBNPs has been limited or lacking for many of such compounds, this hampers the successful exploitation of PBNPs by pharma industries. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) properties play key roles in the discovery/ development of drugs, pesticides, food additives, consumer products, and industrial chemicals. In the present study, ADMET-informatics of Tetradecanoic Acid (Myristic Acid) from ethyl acetate fraction of Moringa oleifera leaves to predict drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) outcomes has been taken up. This work contributes to the deeper understanding of Myristic acid as major source of drug from commonly available medicinal plant - Moringa oleifera with immense therapeutic potential. The data generated herein could be useful for NP based lead generation programs.
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Edible vaccines are created from transgenic plants and animals and contain immunostimulant. Edible vaccines, to put it simply, are medications generated from plants or animals. In underdeveloped countries, oral vaccines are less expensive and more widely available. Researchers came up with the idea of edible vaccines, in which edible plant pieces are employed as a vaccine factory. To make edible vaccinations, scientists put desired genes into plants and then force the plants to generate the proteins expressed in the genes. Transgenic plants are the result of transformation, whereas transformation is the act of converting plants. The edible vaccination promotes mucosal immunity. Dendritic cells in the gut can assist native T cells activate and differentiate into follicular T-helpers (Tfh). T and B cells will respond precisely to a reliable, digestible immunization. Potato, tomato, banana, carrots, tobacco, papaya, algae, and a variety of other plants are utilised as alternative agents for standard vaccinations. Malaria, cholera, hepatitis, rabies, measles, rotavirus, diarrhoea cancer treatments and treatment of covid-19 are among the illnesses for which plant-based vaccines have been created. It takes time and dedication to develop and sell edible vaccinations. Many edible vaccines for animal and human ailments have been developed and have gone through various levels of clinical testing. The importance of plant-based vaccinations is emphasized in this article.
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Originally, the 17th Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP-17) was scheduled to take place in Leiden, The Netherlands, in July 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the symposium was postponed to July 2021 and held in an exclusively online format. This exceptional edition has resulted in four strong contributions to the journal. It is with great pleasure that we now present a themed issue including the proceedings of SIP-17, supplemented with eight regular articles within the subject of insect-plant relationships.
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The COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges for the LSU AgCenter 4-H program. To meet social distancing guidelines and ensure the safety of youth and agents, many of programming efforts transitioned to a virtual format. However, the need remained for hands-on learning opportunities. 4-H programming is driven by the motto "learn by doing", and it was paramount that agents provide purposeful and engaging activities. The 4-H Seed-of-the-Month Club is a project club that emerged to meet that need. Agents created a nine-month seed subscription made available to youth across the region beginning in August 2020. With this project, participating youth were provided seeds of various plants, including pine seedlings, rainbow carrots, easter egg radishes, lettuce, green beans, okra, squash and coneflowers. Agents used the LSU AgCenter Louisiana planting guide to select the seeds to offer each month. In the future, agents and youth alike have expressed an interest in continuing to provide horticulture opportunities through the delivery mode of the Seed-of-the-Month Club. Participants were asked to provide top choices for their gardens by receiving carrots, lettuce and green bean seeds for the future.
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to devastate the world's health and economy, affecting all aspects of life leading to widespread social disruption. Even as several vaccines have been developed, their availability in developing countries is limited and their efficacy against the variants of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2) needs to be continuously assessed. The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged that vaccines alone will not overcome the global challenges of COVID-19. Medicinal plants may provide the needed support. Herein, we identify Philippine medicinal plants that possess phytochemicals with potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity and/or immunomodulatory properties that may strengthen one's immune system against COVID-19. These plants were selected from 100 of the best-studied Philippine medicinal plants with antiviral and immunomodulatory properties. The general antiviral and specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities and immunomodulatory properties of the phytochemicals that these plants contained were searched. While many compounds assessed individually using in vitro and in silico techniques suggest potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 or immunomodulatory effects, this review sought to identify the medicinal plants which contain these compounds and which, based on literature, have the best potential application against COVID-19. These plants are Allium spp. bulbs (bawang), Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees leaves (sinta), Cocos nucifera L. oil (niyog), Euphorbia hirta L. leaves (tawa-tawa), Euphorbia neriifolia L. leaves (sorosoro), Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves (malunggay), Ocimum basilicum L. leaves (balanoy), Piper nigrum L. seeds (paminta), Vitex negundo L. leaves (lagundi), and Zingiber officinale Roscoe rhizome (luya). This review provides a shortlist that can guide research on possible solutions to COVID-19 using Philippine medicinal plants.
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SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, drawn attention to the need of virus culture. In vitro SARS-COV-2 culture was performed to carry out therapeutic, environmental and virus genome studies. Isolation of virus from nasopharyngeal swab was performed by inoculating virus positive samples in available cell lines. SARS-CoV-2 topography was observed by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Virus specificity was defined by serological confirmation through neutralization assay with COVID 19 convalescent sera. The SARS-COV -2 virus replicated successfully in Vero cell lines (both in E6 and CCL-81). The TCID50 and PFUs of isolated virus were defined as 107 TCID50/mL and 1.4 x 106 pfu/mL respectively. The virus particles with the SARS-CoV morphology was 150 engM size. Virus inhibition in presence of convalescent sera of COVID-19 patients was observed. Sisybrium irio (Khaksi) was found cytotoxic on Vero E6 cell line and its antiviral activity could not be established against SARS-COV-2 virus in vitro. Successful isolated and archived native SARS-COV-2 may be utilized further for therapeutic, environmental and virus genome sequencing studies.
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Plant Based Natural Products (PBNPs) have been subject of interest since ancient time due to their use in food, industrial and biomedical applications. Research attention has further augmented to explore their phytochemical composition, properties, and potential application in the post-COVID era. In the present study phytochemical screening has been carried out with Methanolic Leaf Extracts of Moringa oleifera (MLEMO) followed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) analysis. Phytochemical analysis of MLEMO revealed the presence of Alkaloids, Carbohydrates, Coumarins, Flavonoids, Glycosides, Phenol, Proteins, Quinones, Saponins, Steroids, Tannins and Terpenoids. Further, GCMS analysis revealed the presence of 41 compounds of which Dihydroxyacetone;Monomethyl malonate;4H-Pyran-4-one,2,3-dihydro- 3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl;1,3-Propanediol, 2-ethyl-2-(hydroxymethyl);Propanoic acid, 2- methyl-, octyl ester;3-Deoxy-d-mannoic lactone;Sorbitol;Inositol;Cyclohexanemethanol, alpha-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl), Hexadecanoic acid, Methyl palmitate;n-Hexadecanoic acid (Palmitic acid);9-Octadecenoic acid, methyl ester;Phytol;9,12,15-Octadecatrienoic acid;Octadecanoic acid;9-Octadecenamide were prominent. Most of the compounds in the list are bioactive and possess medicinal properties that are expected to serve as a baseline lead for the development of therapeutic agents.
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To effectively cope with the shock of COVID-19 and its subsequent impact, and to promote stable and healthy development of rape industry, this paper systematically analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on China's rape industry. It includes perspectives of farmer's life, rape production and rapeseed processing enterprises, based on micro survey data provided by the National Rapeseed Industrial Technology System. The results showed that in terms of farmers' life, only 0.98% of the respondents were in a shortage of edible vegetable oil and 76.06% of them reflected no impact or a little impact on total household income. However, rural tourism decreased by 10.24 percentage points, and honey collecting behavior of bee farmers decreased by 4.6 points. On field production, 85.47% of the respondents reported "no change" and "small reduction" in field management workload, 90.38% reflected "no impact" and "a littlel impact" on rapeseed production employment, 79.06% considered "overall stability" in the price of agricultural materials, and 98.48% believed that it had a little impact on final output. However, the pest reporting rate increased by 4.99 points than last season. On rapeseed processing, it varied from region to region on the rapeseed processing enterprises' resumption rate, starting-up rate, specific difficulties faced by enterprises and government policies. Based on these results, future strategies should be taken to ensure improving development of rape industry. The strategies should include perfect construction of China's oil reserve system, more attention to diversification of imports, more innovation and technology promotion, optimization on marketing system and construction of information platform, and a"package"subsidy plan for the industry.
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Functional foods and nutraceuticals demand during the Covid-19 pandemic are increasing tremendously. This is showed that there is a shifting food consumption pattern into healthier food rather than only to satisfy hunger. Functional foods are foods that offer health benefits beyond their nutritional value, whereas nutraceuticals are commodities derived from foods, but are used in the medicinal form of pills, capsules, or liquids that demonstrated physiological benefits. Nutraceutical products consist of isolated bioactive substances such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids as well as dietary supplements such as probiotics, prebiotics, antioxidants, and enzymes. As the second-largest country with the highest biodiversity, Indonesia has some natural resources that could be developed as functional food or nutraceutical ingredients such as ginger, cinnamon, lemongrass, honey, Moringa oleifera leaves, etc. Indonesian society has indigenous knowledge of the health effect of any plants and spices such as the health effect of "jamu", a functional drink made from several parts of plants. However, the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals in Indonesia has so many challenges concerning regulation. The National Agency for Drug and Food Control of Indonesia did not regulate functional foods and nutraceuticals. However, they have some regulations about processed food with the claim, supplements, natural herbal, and food for medicinal uses. Hence, functional foods and nutraceuticals producers must adjust to the existing regulation. The research and development of functional foods and nutraceuticals consist of several steps namely identification of bioactive compounds, assessment of physiological effect, product formulation and processing, and clinical trial to meet the regulatory demand. The research activities will provide scientific evidence to prove food and nutraceutical functionality. Market demands are also important to obtain an innovative product that meets the consumer's demand. Recent methods to develop functional foods and nutraceutical are "design thinking" methods, a method that focuses problem solving on human rather than on technology or organization. The typical design thinking protocol consists of 3 steps namely observation and synthesis, visualization and rapid prototyping, as well as revising and refining. In the first step, nutraceutical developers must understand the characteristic of targeted consumers. In the second step, models or sketches as well as the early version prototypes need to be created. Gathering feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the product will lead to the necessary corrections before product commercialization. In the third step, a team from many different backgrounds and specializations can be involved to revise and refine the new product. A Penta helix collaboration between academia, industry, citizen, public authorities, and non-government organization (NGO) can be used as a model of networking in functional foods and nutraceuticals development. The use of "design thinking" methods will minimize the risk of product failure in the market. One of our experiences in functional food development is the exploration of glucomannan from Porang tubers (Amorphophalus oncophylus) as a functional ingredient. Glucomannan, a water-soluble fiber that can be fermented, is extracted from Konjac (Amorphophallus konjac) tuber or root. However, in Indonesia glucomannan can be extracted from Porang tuber that can be found in many areas. In the beginning, we collaborate with the local farmer, NGO, and governments to optimize the production of Porang tubers. After we found the method to extract the glucomannan, we develop several food products namely jelly, noodle, rice analog, etc and analyze the physical, chemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics. The jelly product containing glucomannan was tested for the clinical trial. We found that this jelly could lower the body weight and body mass index of the overweight and obese subjects as well as maintain the level