Pharmacognostical evaluation and physiochemical analysis of Salsola Kali as medicinal plant.

One of the largest genera Salsola include halophytic plants with therapeutic potential. For the treatment of various ailments, plants of the genus are acclaimed. Salsola kali is an important medicinal plant exhibiting specific phytochemical and biological makeup that is frequently overlooked. The current study aimed at the pharmacognostical evaluation of leaves and stem of Salsola kali to ensure the purity, quality, and efficacy of this valuable medicinal species. For the identification, evaluation and standardization of diagnostic attributes of intact and powdered material of Salsola kali leaves and stem, various methods including organoleptic, macroscopic, microscopic, and physicochemical analysis were employed. The plant was identified to possess significant characteristics with a view to authenticate drug. Light Microscopy (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) of aerial parts of Salsola kali manifested specialized anatomical features essential for the adaptability in dry-saline environment. Upon quantitative pharmacognostic analysis of powder of leaves and stem, the moisture content of 1.3% and 11.1%, respectively was found. The total ash (%) in leaves and stem was computed to be 65.95 and 85.3, respectively. The water soluble and alcohol soluble extractive values (%) were computed to be 79.38 and 75.4 in leaves and 78.0 and 76.8 in stem, respectively. The swelling index (cm) in leaves and stem was enumerated to be 0.8 and 0.5. The current study will be helpful in the quality check and authentication of various parts of Salsola kali that can be used as principal component of herbal medicine formulation. Based on various microscopic analyses, that is, Light Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy, the detailed description and valuable information on Salsola kali, a medicinal plant, has been provided. The present study can make a significant contribution in the literature as the findings may contribute to the determination of purity of Salsola kali for future perspectives.

Fabrication of biogenic silver nanoparticles from Ficus religiosa bark extract and their application for chromium removal.

Ficus religiosa bark extract was chosen as a reducing agent to fabricate biogenic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), which were used to treat chromium in synthetic wastewater. The AgNPs formed were characterized using ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of AgNPs characterization showed that the UV-vis spectrophotometer gave an absorbance peak for AgNPs synthesized from bark extract at 448 nm. The peaks in the XRD pattern of AgNPs synthesized from the bark extract of Ficus religiosa are associated with that of the face-centered-cubic form of metallic silver. The SEM analysis showed clear spherical morphology of AgNPs. These synthesized AgNPs were applied for the removal of chromium from synthetic wastewater. It was seen from the treatment results that above 74.8% removal efficiency was achieved. HIGHLIGHTS: Green synthesis of nanoparticles using plant extracts and their successful application in various fields has been previously studied by various researchers. Ficus religiosa bark extract was used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles, which after characterization using ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction were used to treat chromium in synthetic wastewater prepared in lab. The use of silver nanoparticles for the treatment of heavy metals in wastewater can be considered a good replacement option for the conventional treatment techniques.

In vitro cytotoxic activity of Zaleya Pentandra L. Extracts against the breast cancer adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cytotoxicity of crude aqueous and ethanol extracts of Zaleya pentandra against oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cell line Michigan Cancer Foundation-7. METHODS: The study was conducted at the Institute of Chinese Medicine, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, from March to September 2017, and comprised Zaleya pentandra herbaceous perennial plant collected from Pakistani cities of Shakargarh, Lahore and Sialkot. Both aqueous and ethanol extracts were prepared in solvents following Soxhlet extraction technique. Rate of reduction in viability of cancer cell line was studied through MTT (dye compound 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)- 2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay on the basis of time of incubation and the dose of extract. Analysis was performed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detector in order to found the compounds responsible for the death of cancer cells. RESULTS: Cell viability was observed to be dose-dependent (range: 16.7-37.4%) for aqueous extracts. Minimum inhibition concentration was 16.65% at 200µg/ml after 24 hours of incubation, whereas maximum inhibition was 37.39% at 3200µg/ml. Ethanol extracts showed less inhibition, with maximum inhibition being 25.29% at 1000µg/ml and minimum 13.57% at 62.5µg/ml. Certain polar compounds, like Hydroxytrosol and Tyrosol, could be obtained from the aqueous extracts only. CONCLUSIONS: Zaleya pentandra aqueous extract was found to have potential benefit towards cytotoxicity of breast cancer cells.

Anti-oxidative and anti-proliferative activities of extracted phytochemical compound thymoquinone.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the anti-oxidant and anti-proliferative potential of Thymoquinone extracted from the essential oil of indigenous herbs of Nigella sativa and Thymus vulgaris. METHODS: Extraction and quantification of Thymoquinone was carried out in July, 2017 in Department of Environmental Science, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), Lahore. Thymoquinone was extracted from seeds of Nigella Sativa and aerial parts of Thymus vulgaris by employing soxhlet extraction with 1:4 ratios of nhexane and methanol. High Performance Liquid Chromatography was used to quantify Thymoquinone from the methanolic extracted oil of sample by applying calibration curve method. Extracted Thymoquinone was identified by sample peaks obtained at retention time were compared with peak of standard Thymoquinone at respective time. The Thymoquinone obtained from both samples was then subjected to Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy for confirmation by identifying its functional groups. Anti-oxidant activities of both samples were measured using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay in Department of Environmental Science, LCWU. In-vitro anti-proliferative activities of extracted Thymoquinone were evaluated in HeLa cell cancer lines by cell proliferations Methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in Department of Microbiology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore. SPSS 18 and Graph pad prism 18 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Soxhlet extraction with solvents ratios yielded 48.92% oil from Nigella sativa and 23.2 % from Thymus vulgaris. High Performance Liquid Chromatography peak of standard Thymoquinone was measured at retention time of 5.5 min which was then compared with the peak obtained from both samples at the similar retention time. The extracted Thymoquinone from both samples were quantified by calibration curve method showing 614.25 mg/L from Nigella sativa and 548.86 mg/L from Thymus vulgaris. The two anti-oxidant assays of both samples compared with standard Thymoquinone showed significant scavenging activities in dose amount manner. Cell proliferation of HeLa cancer significantly decreased with dose response manner (p<0.01), showing highest cell death in high concentration of Thymoquinone. Inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) of cancer cell line treated with Nigella sativa oil was 0.5 µM and Thymus vulgaris was 18 µM compared to standard Thymoquinone, showing Inhibitory concentration50 (IC50) of 6 µM using Graph pad prism v.8.0. CONCLUSION: Both Nigella sativa and Thymus vulgaris were found to be the best source of Thymoquinone as chemotherapeutic drug expressed potent anti-oxidant and anti-proliferative activities.

Heavy metal bioremediation of coal-fired flue gas using microalgae under different CO2 concentrations.

Sustainability assessments have revealed that integration of CO2 from coal-fired flue gas with microalgae cultivation systems could reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The technical goal of this integration is to utilize exhaust from coal power plants to enhance microalgae cultivation processes by capturing and recycling of carbon dioxide from a more toxic to a less toxic form. However, heavy metals are also introduced along with CO2 to the cultivation system which could contaminate biomass and have deleterious effects on products derived from such systems. The present study aimed at shedding some light on capability of microalgae to sustain their diversity and propagate them under different CO2 concentrations from coal-fired flue gas. Mixed microalgal culture was grown in nutrient rich medium and heavy metals (Al, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) are expected to be introduced from flue gas. Three concentrations (1%, 3% and 5.5%) of CO2 were evaluated (reference concentrations from flue gas). Comparative studies were carried out by flue gas and control systems in photobioreactors. Under the 3% CO2 (30% flue gas), the highest fraction of B, Mn and Zn were found to be internalized by the cells (46.8 ±9.45 gL-1, 253.66 ± 40.62 gL-1 and 355.5 ±50.69 gL-1 respectively) during their cultivation period into biomass. Hence, microalgae may offer solution to two major challenges: providing potential biofuel feedstock for energy security and reducing heavy metal pollution to the air.

A review: Therapeutics potentials of phytochemical drugs and their loading in pH specific degradable Nano-drug carrier targeting colorectal cancer.

Increasing incidents of colorectal cancer have shifted researchers' attention to the production and improvement of anti-cancer drugs by the scientific investigation of vast pool of synthetic, biological and natural products. Thymoquinone and thymohydroquinone are considered the ideal compounds for the cancer therapy as they are economically and environmental friendly and have less toxicity level to the survival and diseased model up to increased dosage level. For colorectal cancer, researches are shifting towards the oral drug delivery instead of injection, as administering drugs through oral route shows maximum absorption of drugs, improves patient life quality and is cost-effective. Naturally occurring polysaccharides as oral drug carriers, such as pectin, have the ability to break down completely in colon, making it suitable for targeted drug delivery against cancer cells. Pectin with polymeric base is an efficient nano drug carrier. The current study reviews the delivery of thymoquinone/thymohydroquinone through pectin nano carriers to treat colorectal cancer.

Selection and adaptation of microalgae to growth in 100% unfiltered coal-fired flue gas.

Microalgae have been considered for biological carbon capture and sequestration to offset carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion. This study shows that mixed biodiverse microalgal communities can be selected for and adapted to tolerate growth in 100% flue gas from an unfiltered coal-fired power plant that contained 11% CO2. The high SOx and NOx emissions required slow adaptation of microalgae over many months, with step-wise increases from 10% to 100% flue gas supplementation and phosphate buffering at higher concentrations. After a rapid decline in biodiversity over the first few months, community profiling revealed Desmodesmus spp. as the dominant microalgae. To the authors' knowledge this work is the first to demonstrate that up 100% unfiltered flue gas from coal-fired power generation can be used for algae cultivation. Implementation of serial passages over a range of photobioreactors may contribute towards the development of microalgal-mediated carbon capture and sequestration processes.