Antimicrobial activity of Pycnarrhena cauliflora (Miers.) Diels. methanol extract

Pycnarrhena cauliflora (Miers.) Diels., local name sengkubak, is one of indigenous plants from West Kalimantan that has been used as natural flavor. Pycnorrhena cauliflora is one of species of Menispermaceae family which is rich in bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids. This alkaloids are known to have various biological activities including antiprotozoal, antiplasmodial, antifungal and antibacterial activities. This study aimed to investigate antimicrobial activity of the P. cauliflora (Miers.) Diels. methanolic extracts against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The methanolic extract of P. cauliflora (Miers.) Diels., root, leaf and stem were prepared by maceration. The disk-diffusion method was then used to determine the antimicrobial activity of the extracts against Streptococcus pyogenes, S. mutants, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli after 18-24 h incubation at 37 oC. Amoxicillin was used as positive control for gram-positive bacteria and ciprofloxacin was used as gram-negative bacteria. The inhibition zones were then measured in mm. Analysis were conducted in duplicates. The results showed in general the methanolic extracts of P. cauliflora (Miers.) Diels. root (inhibition zone diameter= 10-23 mm) were more active than that leaf (0-15 mm) and stem (0-17 mm) extracts against gram-positive bacteria. The zone inhibition diameter of amoxicillin as positive control was 8-42 mm. In addition, the methanolic extracts of P. cauliflora (Miers.) Diels. root (12-17 mm) were also more active than that leaf (0-12 mm) and stem (0-12 mm) extracts against gram-negative bacteria. The zone inhibition diameter of ciprofloxacin as positive control was 33-36 mm. In conclusion, the methanolic extract of P. caulifloria (Miers.) Diels. root is the most extract active against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Further study will be focused to isolate active compounds in the methanolic extract of the root.

Reducing visual analog scale (VAS) in circumcision patient by the additional of topical anesthesia agent in local anesthesia procedures

Circumcision could be painful before, during, and after the surgery. The local anesthesia is often used in medical practice in order to reduce pain during circumcision. Topical anesthesia works by eliminating pain sensation after direct application on skin. This study aimed to investigate the effect of additional of topical anesthesia agent for circumcision on the visual analog scale (VAS). It was a cross sectional study using the data of medical records from a Circumcision Clinic (Rumah Sunatan) in Purwokerto, Central Java conducted from July 2019 to March 2020. As a result, there were 127 subjects (70.6%) belong to Mild Category VAS, while 26 subjects (14.4%) got Moderate, and 27 subjects (15.0%) fall under Severe Category. The application of topical anesthesia for circumcision could reduce the VAS value by 70.6 %.

Evaluation of administration and use of antihypertensive drugs in severe preeclampsia patients at X General Hospital in Jakarta

The high number of maternal mortality rate (MMR) is still a problem in Indonesia. Three ethyologies of maternal death are infection (12%), hypertension in pregnancy (25%) and bleeding (30%). Pre-eclampsia as a form of hypertension during pregnancy requires antihypertensive drug therapy. Rationality assessment for any kinds of pharmacotherapy is based on the right indication, the right medicine, the right patient, and the right dose. The main indication for antihypertensive medication in pregnancy is applied to the mother’s in preventing cerebrovascular disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics, patterns and accuracy of the administration and use of antihypertensive drugs in patients with severe preeclampsia at X General Hospital in Jakarta in 2018. It was a non-experimental study with a descriptive and retrospective design using medical records. Administration and use of antihypertensive drugs in patients with severe preeclampsia at the X General Hospital in Jakarta showed 91.9% right indication, 86.72% right drug, 96.9% right patient and only 5.26% right dose with 4.0% accuracy of rational administration and use of drugs. In conclusion, the right dose in the management of patients with severe preeclampsia in X General Hospital in Jakarta is still low. Further training and close monitoring and evaluation on the rational use of antihypertension in severe preeclampsia is needed.

Antiplasmodial activity of faloak bark (Sterculia quadrifida, R.Br.) extract from East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

The current development of antimalarial drug resistance encourages researchers to discover and develop novel antimalarials. One of its alternatives for antimalarial discovery is using medicinal plants remembering the success of artemisinin. Sterculia quardrifida R. Br. bark, locally name as faloak, is an endemic medicinal plant from East Nusa Tenggara that has been used traditionally to treat malaria. However, its antimalarial activity has not been investigated, yet. This study was aimed to evaluate the antiplasmodial activity of ethanolic extract of faloak bark against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. Using FCR-3 P. falciparum strain, the ethanolic extract was evaluated on various concentration (1, 10, 50, and 100 μg/mL, respectively). The IC50 value was determined by the relationship between concentration and percentage of growth inhibition. The result showed that the percentage of inhibition of P. falciparum was concentration dependent, higher concentration resulting on higher percentage of inhibition with the IC50 42.399 ± 9.517 μg/mL. It can be concluded that the ethanolic extract of faloak bark have moderate antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum in vitro.

The effect of Centella asiatica L. Urban. and Curcuma longa L. extracts combination in improving memory performance in stroke model rats and its acute toxicity

Post-stroke cognitive impairment involves memory, visuoconstructional, and spatial dysfunctions. Centella asiatica L. Urban. and Curcuma longa L. are both well-known herbs in South and South-East Asia countries that are believed to possess neuroprotective properties as memory enhancers. This study aimed to investigate the effects of C. asiatica L. Urban. and C. longa L. extracts combination in improving memory performance in stroke model rats and its acute toxicity. Twenty-five Wistar rats underwent transient bilateral common carotid artery occlusion. Y-maze pre-test was performed 24 h after the occlusion. The rats were then divided into five groups i.e. Group 1 received NaCMC dilution, Group 2 received donepezil 0. 7 mg/kg BW/day, and Groups 3, 4, and 5 received the extracts combination with dose of 59; 118; and 236 mg/kg BW/day, respectively. Y-maze post-test was performed 24 h after the last dose had been given. Spontaneous alternation behavior was used as the indicator of working memory measurement. The fixed-dose method according to OECD Guideline was used to estimate the LD50 in acute toxicity testing on Wistar rats. There was a significant difference in the delta spontaneous alternation percentage among groups tested (p<0. 05). Group 1 had significant difference with any other group (compared to Groups 2 to 5; p<0.05). No significant difference could be found between groups of the extracts combination and donepezil group suggesting that the effect is not more inferior nor dose-dependent in improving memory performance. The extracts combination at a single dose of 2000 mg/kg BW did not show related signs of toxicity or mortality in any of the rats during the 14-day observation period. In conclusion, the C. asiatica L. Urban. and C. longa L. extracts combination can improve performance of memory on stroke model animal. According to Globally Harmonized Classification System, the extracts combination can be classified as Category 5/unclassified.

Antiplasmodial activity and genome mining study of marine-derived Streptomyces sp. GMY01

High resistance to chloroquine in most malaria-endemic area in the world leads to the need for new antimalaria drugs. Marine bacterium Streptomyces is the source for potential new antimalarial molecules. This research aimed to investigate antiplasmodial activity of marine-derived of Streptomyces sp. GMY01 and to identify potential active compounds using genome mining study. In vitro antiplasmodial activity assays using flow cytometry method showed that the ethyl acetate extract of this bacterium had high antiplasmodial activity (IC50 value of 1.183 µg/mL) on Plasmodium falciparum FCR3. Genome mining analysis of whole-genome sequences using antiSMASH 6.0 beta version revealed that Streptomyces sp. GMY01 had 28 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), including the genes encoding polyketide synthase, non-ribosomal peptide synthetase, terpene, lanthipeptide, bacteriocin, butyrolactone, ectoin, siderophore, and others. The known BGCs were predicted to be involved in the production of known compounds from gene clusters ranged from 5 to 100% similarity. Ongoing purification and elucidation of the structures will allow identification of the active compounds produced by marine-derived Streptomyces sp. GMY01.

The resistance status of Aedes aegypti larvae to Temephos in Depok, Sleman, Yogyakarta

There are still many cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever and tend to increaseover time. One strategy to reduce the increase in cases of dengue infection isto eradicate Aedes aegypti as a vector using insecticides. The use of insecticidesfor a long time can cause resistance. The purpose of this study was to determinethe resistance status of Aedes aegypti larvae against temephos in Depok, Sleman.This quasi experimental test was carried out on 3rd instar larvae of aedesaegypti from RW 9 and 10 Minomartani, Depok, Sleman. The treatment groupwas exposed 0.02 ppm temephos for 24 hours. The analysis was presented in theform of percentage of larval mortality and resistance categories based on WHOguidelines. The mortality percentage of Aedes aegypti larvae in RW 9 was 100%,while the mortality from RW 10 was 97%. Aedes aegypti larvae in Depok district,Sleman are still susceptible to temephos at a dose of 0.02 ppm.

Potential targeted therapy: The role of MicroRNAs in breast cancer metastasis via epithelial-mesenchymal transition and cancer stem cell regulation

In the advancement of breast cancer treatment, metastatic breast cancer is remaining as an incurable disease. It contributes to almost 90% of cancer-related death in breast cancer cases. Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is a serial change of the epithelial cell to gain the mesenchymal-like phenotype. In cancer, the cells that undergo the EMT lose the adherent junction protein, cell polarity, and gain the invasive phenotype. Recent studies showed that the EMT induces the cancer stem cell-like phenotypes in cancer cells. These cells possess self-renewal ability, and multi-lineage differentiation capacity to generate the new bulk of tumor during cancer distant metastasis. Both EMT and cancer stem cells take responsibility in drug-resistant, and relapse cases in breast cancer. In the last decades, a new type of non-coding RNA, microRNA (miR) shows have an important role in the normal physiological and pathophysiological condition such as cancer. Recent studies revealed that the EMT is regulated by microRNAs. In this review, we discussed the microRNAs regulation on the EMT process through TGF-β, and Wnt signaling pathways in breast cancer. Understanding of microRNA regulation in EMT in breast cancer metastasis gives a chance to explore a new therapy approach to improve the prognosis of breast cancer patients. In addition, we also explored several potential approaches targeting microRNA as a new approach of cancer treatment. Keywords: breast cancer, microRNA, EMT, metastasis, targeted therapy.

Synthesis of 3-carbethoxy-4(3’-chloro-4’-hydroxy) phenyl-but-3-en-2-one and its cytotoxicity evaluation against cancer cell carrying mutant p53

Overexpression of mutant p53 in cancer cell inactivates the p53 pathways to execute apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. This study aimed to synthesize new kardiena derivative compound, 3-carbethoxy-4(3’-chloro-4’-hydroxy)phenyl-but-3-en-2-one, to reactivate the p53 pathways to execute apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Characterization of the synthetic compound employing melting point, IR, EI-MS, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectra revealed 3-carbethoxy-4(3’-chloro-4’-hydroxy)phenyl-but-3-en-2-one was successfully synthesized from 3-chloro-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde and ethyl acetoacetate using dimethylamine as a catalyst. This compound had antiproliferative activity against the WiDr cells which carried mutant p53. Its antiproliferative activity was better than 5’-FU as a reference standard to treat colon cancer. Increasing WiDr cell accumulation in the G2-M phase, the active form of caspase-3, and inducing apoptosis demonstrated the ability of 3-carbethoxy-4(3’-chloro-4’-hydroxy)phenyl-but-3-en-2-one to reactivate p53 pathways to execute apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in cancer cells carrying mutant p53.

Hepatoprotective effect of chewable tablet of Centella asiatica (L.) Urb extractin Wistar rats induced by high fat diets

Gotukola or Centella asiatica (L.) Urban contains high flavonoids which well known as fatty liver protector. This study aimed to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of chewable tablet of C. asiatica (L.) Urb extract (CTCE) in Wistar rats induced by high fat diets. Twenty-one Wistar male rats aged 8-12 weeks with body weight ranging from 100-150 g were used in this study. Rats were randomly divided into seven groups i.e. Group 1 as normal control, rats were given standard food, Group 2 as high fat diets control, rats were induced high fat diets (HFD),Group 3 as positive control, rats were induced HFD and given simvastatin, Group 4 as placebo control, rats were induced HFD and given placebo, Group 5-7 as treatment group, rats were induced HFD and given CTCE at doses of 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg BW, respectively. The HFD induction was conducted for five weeks andthe CTCE was given for one week in the last week of the induction. At the end of the intervention, blood triglyceride levels and SGPT as well SGOT activities were examined. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with confidence interval of 95% (p<0.05) was applied. The results showed that the HFD induction increased the serum triglyceride levels and SGPT activity. The serum triglyceride levels and SGPT activity of Group 2 were significantly higher than Group 1 (p<0.05). Furthermore, the simvastatin and CTCE administration reduced the serum triglyceride levels and SGPT activity. The serum triglyceride levels and SGPT activity of Group 3, 5, 6and 7 were significantly lower than Group 2 and 4 (p<0.05). In addition, the serum triglyceride levels and SGPT activity of Group 5, 6 and 7 were significantly lower than Group 3 (p<0.05). In conclusion, CTCE can reduce the serum triglyceride levels and SGPT activity in Wistar rats induced by HFD.