NOPR Collection:

Purification and characterization of a gelatinolytic serine protease from the seeds of ash gourd Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn.

2018-05-07T05:48:37Z

Title: Purification and characterization of a gelatinolytic serine protease from the seeds of ash gourd Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn. Authors: Das, Niloy; Maity, Sanhita; Chakraborty, Jishnu; Pal, Sampa; Sardar, Subrata; Halder, Umesh Chandra Abstract: In Ayurveda, Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn. (Ash gourd) was recommended for management of diabetes, peptic ulcer, and other diseases. This plant is rich in proteolytic enzymes and proteases have wide application in food and laundry industry. Therefore, the search for new potential plant proteases continues. A soluble gelatinolytic plant serine protease (AG2) had been purified from the seeds of Benincasa hispida. The molecular mass of the monomer was estimated to be about 11 kDa by SDS-PAGE and 11211.1 Da by MALDI-TOF. The protease activity was strongly inhibited by PMSF only but not at all by soyabean trypsin inhibitor and resists autodigestion. Thus AG2 belongs to subtilisin family. The optimum pH and temperature are 10.0 and 30°C respectively. This protease was quite stable in presence of a cationic surfactant, an oxidizing agent and in basic pH medium. The protease AG2 can hydrolyze casein, azoalbumin and TAME but it was inert towards BAPNA. The kinetic parameters K_m and V_max were 0.117 ± 0.00067 mM and 470.592 ± 0.631 unit mg^-1 min^-1 respectively using casein as substrate. The CD spectrum showed it as a typical α/β class of protease. The N-terminal sequence of first 17 amino acid residues (MQQFFNEPSSLLIVVVR) is unique in nature. Page(s): 77-87

In silico interaction of rutin with some immunomodulatory targets: a docking analysis

2018-05-07T05:41:15Z

Title: In silico interaction of rutin with some immunomodulatory targets: a docking analysis Authors: Ganeshpurkar, Aditya; Saluja, Ajay Abstract: The use of plant products as immunomodulator has a long history. Forms eternal era, plant, mineral and animal products are used as drugs for the treatment of various diseases. The present-day synthetic compounds find their leads in natural products. The process of immunomodulation retunes the immune system of an individual by restoring routine functions. Research on immunomodulators from natural sources has been extensively studied for modulation of immune system along with protection and prevention of diseases. Rutin, a flavonoid has been investigated for its potential immunomodulatory effects. Increased particle clearance, decreased inflammation, increased leucocyte and antibody production was observed with administration of rutin in rats. The present study is focused on exploring in silico interaction of rutin with some chemokines and inflammatory targets. In this study, rutin was docked with TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and NOs. Docking studies revealed the excellent interaction of rutin with these targets. The result of present study provides insight for the discovery of novel molecules for immunomodulation and treatment of inflammatory disorders. Findings from the present study show that rutin may interact with several chemokines and inflammatory mediators. Further studies on rutin and associated flavonoids are necessary to develop and establish QSAR and QSPR studies which may serve a stepping stone for the development of novel and safe immunomodulator. Rutin therefore, can be considered for development of an immunomodulatory agent. Page(s): 88-94

Neuroprotective effects of Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa against cadmium toxicity by reducing oxidative stress and maintaining the histoarchitecture of neural tissue in BALB/c mice

2018-05-07T05:37:39Z

Title: Neuroprotective effects of Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa against cadmium toxicity by reducing oxidative stress and maintaining the histoarchitecture of neural tissue in BALB/c mice Authors: Seth, Era; Kaushal, Surbhi; Ahsan, Aitizaz Ul; Sharma, Vijay Lakshmi; Chopra, Mani Abstract: Herbal plants have various biological and pharmacological activities and are used as chemotherapeutic agents. Aegle marmelos (Lin.) has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antigenotoxic properties due to its active phytoconstituents like marmenol, marmin, marmelosin, aegelin, marmelin etc. The present study investigates the protective potential of leaf extract of A. marmelos against cadmium-induced oxidative stress and histopathological manifestations involved in the neuronal tissue of BALB/c mice. Mice were given prophylactic and therapeutic treatments (pre and post) of two different doses (250 and 500 mg/kg body weight) of A. marmelos to evaluate its protective efficacy against CdSO₄ (5 mg/kg body weight, i.p. for 5 days) induced neurotoxicity by estimating various biochemical and histopathological parameters. Sub-lethal cadmium exposure caused a significant elevation in levels of lipid peroxidation, a noticeable decrease in enzymatic antioxidants (Catalase, Superoxide dismutase, Glutathione reductase, Glutathione –S-transferase) and non-enzymatic (reduced glutathione) antioxidants and marked structural alterations in neural tissue. A. marmelos pretreatment significantly (P≤ 0.01) reversed increased lipid peroxidation and attenuated the decreased enzymatic (P≤ 0.05) and non-enzymatic antioxidant markers (P≤ 0.05). Furthermore, pretreatment of A. marmelos also protected the histoarchitecture of neuronal tissue. Out of all the treatments, pretreatment was found to be more effective as compared to post-treatment, evidently seen in all biochemical assay (P≤ 0.05, two-way ANOVA). Taken together, these results indicate that Aegle marmelos could be used as a potential prophylactic agent for combating adverse effects of cadmium in neural tissue. Page(s): 95-104

Functional properties of protein hydrolysates from fresh water mussel Lamellidens marginalis (Lam.)

2018-05-07T05:32:10Z

Title: Functional properties of protein hydrolysates from fresh water mussel Lamellidens marginalis (Lam.) Authors: Haldar, Ankhi; Das, Madhushrita; Chatterjee, Roshni; Dey, Tanmoy Kumar; Dhar, Pubali; Chakrabarti, Jana Abstract: Bioactive peptides from dietary proteins are used as nutraceuticals. An objective of the present investigation is to produce enzymatically hydrolysed bioactive peptides from the freshwater mussel Lamellidens marginalis (Lam.), an unconventional low cost protein source, using commercial food grade proteases such as alcalase® 2.4 L and pepsin. Functional characteristics which include protein solubility at different pH, emulsifying, foaming, fat absorption, water holding capacities and antioxidant activity of protein hydrolysates and isolates were evaluated for their utilisation in different food products. The mussel protein hydrolysates showed improved functional properties as evident from emulsifying and foaming capacities. Protein Solubility increased significantly at pH 7 in both hydrolysates of different time fractions. The antioxidative property as well as the free radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing the antioxidant power of ultrafiltered (<3 kDa) hydrolysates at different concentrations demonstrated that pepsin has maximum efficacy. Biochemical analyses reveal that hydrolysates can be commercialized as a source of potential antioxidative nutraceuticals. Administration of such bioactive peptides in optimum doses may help to mitigate health ailments. Moreover, the therapeutic potential of bioactive peptides from L. marginalis has not yet been explored so much for translational research/applications. This scenario has prompted us to evaluate the potential of bioactive peptides from Lamellidens marginalis for nutraceutical therapy. Page(s): 105-113