Enzyme-based green synthesis, characterisation, and toxicity studies of cellulose nanocrystals/fibres produced from the Vetiveria zizanioides roots agro-waste.

Vetiver zizanioides roots are considered the most useful part of the plant. It is widely used to extract oil. The aromatic oil is used in perfumery, food-flavouring and cosmetic industries. However, presently, there are no reports available for the usage of vetiver roots agro-waste after oil extraction in nano-based products. Considering the concept of value-added products and green-chemistry approaches, synthesising cellulose nanoparticles (CNPs) using enzymatic treatment from agro-waste has emerged as a viable option. CNP's non-toxicity, biodegradability, and biocompatibility have sparked the industry's interest in its production. Therefore, in the present study, 3 enzymes, cellulase, pectinase, and viscozymes, were used for the green synthesis of CNP. The characterisation of CNP was done using techniques like DLS, FTIR, TEM, SEM, AFM, and TG/DTG, and cytotoxicity of CNP was studied in human skin cell-line (HaCaT) using MTT assay. Results show that CNPs synthesised using viscozyme and pectinase were of crystalline nature (2.0-3.0 nm) and cellulase were of fibres (40-60 nm). The FTIR confirmed that CNPs were devoid of lignin/hemicellulose. The AFM pictures revealed thick and thin nanoparticles with a variety of morphologies. The thermal stability of cellulose was higher compared to CNP. All the synthesised CNPs were crystaline, with a 60-70% crystallinity index. Furthermore, CNP did not show cytotoxic effect on HaCaT cells upto 500 µg/mL concentrations. In conclusion, pectinase and viscosyme may be used for synthesing cellulose-nanocrystals and cellulase enzyme for cellulose-nanofibers from the vetiver roots agro-waste. The findings revealed that Vetiveria zizanioides agro-waste-derived CNP is a sustainable material that can be used as a reinforcing agent/nanocarrier in textile and drug-delivery systems.

Flavonoids as Prospective Aromatase Inhibitors in Breast Cancer Prevention/ Therapy.

Flavonoids have been shown to target aromatase, suppressing the transformed cells' proliferation and growth. Such experimental data further promoted the usage of flavonoids as an aromatase inhibitor and helps prevent cancer, specifically breast and lung cancer. Conversely, flavonoids have certain limitations like low absorption, potency, and some side effects in addition to their tremendous advantages. The pharmacokinetics and toxicity of flavonoids are now being addressed by using advanced nanotechnological approaches. This review discusses the comprehensive aromatase signaling pathway in normal and cancer cells. It also draws attention to how do flavonoids modulate aromatase signaling pathways. Also, different flavonoid groups inhibiting aromatase activities are discussed and listed in the Table comprising flavonoids group, cancer type, clinical trials, IC50, and the assay employed. Moreover, nanoparticles-mediated improvement in the pharmacokinetics and toxicity issues of flavonoids in targeting aromatase are also deliberated. In conclusion, flavonoids act as a potential anticancer agent via targeting aromatase. Besides, nanotechnological approaches are useful in addressing the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of flavonoids.

Chemical composition and antibacterial properties of the essential oil and extracts of Lantana camara Linn. from Uttarakhand (India)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the essential oil composition as well as antibacterial activities of essential oil and leaves extracts of Lantana camara against five bacterial strains. Methods: Essential oil was obtained by hydro-distillation from the leaves and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The antibacterial activities of essential oil and the leaves extracts were tested by using disk diffusion method against five bacterial strains. Results: Thirty seven compounds were identified representing 98.11% of the total oil, of which trans-caryophyllene (13.95%), bicyclogermacrene (9.77%), α-curcumene (8.57%), sabinene (8.28%), (E)-citral (6.90%), 1,8 cineole (5.06%), α-pinene (4.03%), γ-terpinene (3.83%) and germacrene D (3.13%) were detected as major components. In respect to the antibacterial activities, essential oil showed the high degree of sensitivity against Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus except Pseudomonas aeruginosa while extracts of leaves obtained through petroleum ether, benzene, methanol and water exhibited good to moderate antimicrobial activity against all tested bacterial strains. Conclusions: The present study suggested that M. luteus showed best zone of inhibition for the essential oil as well as aqueous extract among all the tested bacterial strains. The most active extract can be subjected to isolation of the therapeutic antimicrobials to carry out further pharmacological evaluation.