Anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant potential of sterically tuned bis-N-heterocyclic salts.

The current study was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial, antioxidant, antileishmanial and cytotoxic potential of designed derivatives of 1,1'-(1,3-phenylenebis(methylene))bis(3-alkyl/aryl-1H-benzimidazol-3-ium) salts. The antibacterial potential of the test compounds was investigated against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and two methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains (MRSA10, MRSA11), where compound 6 showed the best results. For brine shrimp lethality bioassay (BSLB), compound 6 again showed up to 100% mortality at 200 µg/mL and 56.7% mortality at 6.25 µg/mL. Antileishmanial assay was performed against Leishmania tropica at 20 µg/mL dosage, where 6 showed the most promising activity with 16.26% survival (83.74% mortality; IC50=14.63 µg/mL). The anticancer potential of the selected benzimidazole derivatives was evaluated against two selected cell lines (human colorectal cancer, HCT-116 and breast adenocarcinoma, MCF-7) using sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Compound 6 was found to be the most effective cytotoxic compound with 75% inhibition of HCT-116 proliferation at 1 mg/mL concentration. Succinctly, 6 exhibited impressive pharmacological potential that might be attributed to its higher lipophilic character owing to the longer N-substituted alkyl chains when compared to the other test compounds.

Illegal product manufacturing and exportation from Pakistan: Revealing the factuality of highly processed wildlife skin samples via DNA mini-barcoding.

Illegal trade is a major threat to the biodiversity and the efforts initiated for the conservation of wildlife. The shortcomings of the traditional taxonomic identification methods have been coped by a revolutionary and emerging technique, the "DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) barcoding". Here we report a case of trader who was allegedly making footwear for a famous international celebrity from wild animal cutis. The samples confiscated during a raid on a footwear manufacturing industry by KP Wildlife department in August, 2016, were received by Bioresource Research Centre (BRC) for molecular identification on 1st September, 2016. The study costed about USD 88 from processing to the identification of the samples. The samples identified via DNA mini-barcoding by targeting cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene belong to Gazella bennettii and Bos taurus. Such studies are helpful for credible investigations that only lead to effective prosecution and control of illegal wildlife trade ultimately helping in conservation of wild animals.

DNA Mini-barcoding for wildlife trade control: a case study on identification of highly processed animal materials.

Although DNA barcoding is an efficient tool for species identification, however, its efficiency is uncertain for samples having degraded DNA and incomplete isolation/amplification of COI gene fragment (>500 bp). DNA mini-barcoding is a solution to this problem because small DNA fragment of COI genes is used for species identification. Twelve highly processed, chemically treated and finished animal skin (coats, tanned skins) and fur (mufflers) samples, received from the Sindh Wildlife Department, Pakistan, were subjected to DNA mini-barcoding. Eight mufflers belonged to Vulpes vulpes, one coat to Ursus thibetanus, one tanned skin to Lutra sumatrana, and one muffler to Vulpes sp. Origin of only one coat sample remained unidentified, success rate of 92% indicative of the fact that the mini barcoding technique can be used as a substitute of conventional barcoding where full length barcode (∼650 bp Folmer region) cannot be generated.