Artocarpus Integer

Present study reveals the comparative bioefficacy assessment of leaf and fruit extracts of breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) using different solvents (petroleum ether, methanol and ethyl acetate) against various pathogenic organisms like Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus mutans and Enterococcus faecalis by disc diffusion assay through determination of MIC (minimal inhibitory concentrations). Steroids, phenols, phytosterols, gums & resins and terpenoids were found in the ethyl acetate and methanolic leaf extracts. Flavonoids were present in the petroleum ether and ethyl acetate leaf extracts whereas tannins were detected only in the methanolic leaf extract of Artocarpus altilis. Methanolic and ethyl acetate fruit extracts exhibits the presence of steroids, phenols and flavonoids. Zone of inhibition for Streptococcus mutans, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were noted maximum with 50 µl of leaf extracts in ethyl acetate and methanol, 20 µl of petroleum ether leaf extract, 25 µl of petroleum ether leaf extract and 50µl of methanolic leaf extract respectively. The above observation for fruit extracts varies. The MIC values ranges from 0.3 mg/ml to 0.6 mg/ml which correspond to variations in different solvent media used for leaf extracts against four different pathogenic microbes. Maximum growth inhibition of Streptococcus mutans and Enterococcus faecalis was noticed with 25 µl of methanolic fruit extracts with a MIC value of 0.45 and 0.3 mg/ml respectively. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed maximum zone of inhibition by 25 µl of ethyl acetate fruit extract with a MIC value of 0.45 mg/ml for both.

Two novel chitin-binding lectins from seeds of Artocarpus genus were described in this paper, one from A. integrifolia (jackfruit) and one from A. incisa (breadfruit). They were purified from saline crude extract of seeds using affinity chromatography on chitin column, size-exclusion chromatography and reverse-phase chromatography on the C-18 column. Both are 14 kDa proteins, made up of 3 chains linked by disulfide bonds. The partial amino acid sequences of the two lectins showed they are homologous to each other but not to other plant chitin-binding proteins. Thus, they cannot be classified in any known plant chitin-binding protein family, particularly because of their inter-chain covalent bonds. Their circular dichroism spectra and deconvolution showed a secondary structure content of β-sheet and unordered elements. The lectins were thermally stable until 80 °C and structural changes were observed below pH 6. Both lectins inhibited the growth of Fusarium moniliforme and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and presented hemagglutination activity against human and rabbit erythrocytes. These lectins were denoted jackin (from jackfruit) and frutackin (from breadfruit).

The tegumental surface of the adult intestinal fluke, Haplorchis taichui, after in vitro incubation in Tyrode's solution containing 25, 50, 75 and 100% of aqueous extract of Artocarpus takoocha for 1, 6, 12 and 24 hours, was monitored by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The effect on worm motility was studied in contemporizing period. The adult worms stopped their motility immediately after being incubated with 25, 50, 75 and 100% of aqueous extract of A. takoocha. Observed under a light microscope, most worms showed bubbling from the oral sucker, ventral sucker and excretory pore. After exposure to the solution, SEM observation showed large blebs protruding from the oral sucker, ventral sucker and excretory pore. The surface damage was composed of numerous small blebs, followed later by the disruption of tegument. The severity of damage increased due to the increasing of aqueous extract of A. takoocha and incubation periods.

Novel approaches for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are of great importance due to its vast spectrum of applications in diverse fields, including medical diagnostics and therapeutics. Te presented study reports the successful AuNPs' synthesis using Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. extract, and provides detailed characterization and evaluation of its antibacterial potential. The aim was to develop a cost-effective and environmentally friendly synthesis method of gold nanoparticles using aqueous fruit extract of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. as a reducing and capping agent, which has proven activity against human pathogens, such as microbial species E.coli and Streptobacillus sps. Characterizations were carried out using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray and Fourier-Transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR). SEM images showed the formation of gold nanoparticles with an average size of 20-25 nm. Spec...

Mucins and mucin-type glycoproteins, collectively referred to as mucin-type O-glycans, are implicated in many important biological functions and pathological conditions, including malignancy. Presently, there is no reliable method to measure the total mucin-type O-glycans of a sample, which may contain one or more of these macromolecules of unknown structures. We report the development of an improved microassay that is based on the binding of lectins to the unique and constant GalNAc-Ser/Thr structural feature of mucin-type O-glycans. Since the sugar-amino acid linkage in the mucin-type O-glycans is invariably cryptic, we first chemically removed the heterogeneous peripheral and core saccharides of model glycoconjugates before examining for their interactions using an enzyme-linked lectin assay (ELLA). Desialylation of the model glycoconjugates led to maximal binding of the lectins but additional treatments such as Smith degradation did not result in increased binding. Of the lectins tested for their ability to probe the desialylated O-glycans, jacalin showed the highest sensitivity followed by champedak galactose binding (CGB) lectin and Vicia villosa agglutinin. Further improvement in the sensitivity of ELLA was achieved by using microtiter plates that were pre-coated with the CGB lectin, which increased the specificity of the assay to mucin-type O-glycans. Finally, the applicability of the developed sandwich ELLA to crude samples was demonstrated by estimating trace quantities of the mucin-type O-glycans in the human serum.

Eight natural prenylated flavones, previously isolated from Artocarpus elasticus, were evaluated for their effect on the mitogenic response of human lymphocytes to PHA. They all exhibited a dose-dependent suppression effect. An interesting relationship was observed between their antiproliferative activity and their chemical structure. Indeed, the most potent flavones possessed a 3,3-dymethylallyl group (prenyl) at C-8, such as artelastin, which exhibited the highest antiproliferative activity. Studies of the mechanism underlying its effect revealed that artelastin had an irreversible inhibitory effect on the PHA-induced lymphocyte proliferation and could affect the course of the ongoing mitogenic response either at the initial induction phase or at the late phase of proliferation. This prenylated flavone was also shown to be a potent inhibitor of both T- and B-lymphocyte mitogen induced proliferation although B-mitogenic response was the more sensitive one. Artelastin did not affect...

Diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease have high incidence in the general population and are associated with various degrees of dysfunction in the immune system. It has been shown that diabetic patients with severe periodontal disease have more complications of diabetes and less effective metabolic control compared with diabetic patients with healthy gingiva. Patients with diabetes and severe periodontal disease present higher levels of serous immunoglobulin A (IgA). Elevation of the IgA1 isotype is thought to contribute to this phenomenon. Another important event in the diabetes-periodontitis association is the disturbance in local and systemic production of inflammatory cytokines. In this study we tested the hypothesis that type 2 diabetic patients with chronic moderate periodontal disease have differences in salivary IgA1 titers and cytokine expression when compared with the chronic severe periodontal disease cases. We utilized a jacalin-IgA capture assay to determine the IgA1 titers in total saliva and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to detect mRNA for interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in total saliva samples of 13 patients with chronic moderate periodontal disease and 10 with chronic severe periodontal disease. We observed a predominance of IgA1 titers of 64 (45.5%) in saliva samples from chronic severe periodontal disease patients and titers averaging 512 (30.8%) in chronic moderate periodontal disease patients. We detected mRNA for IFN-gamma in six out of 10 chronic severe periodontal disease subjects and in two out of 13 chronic moderate periodontal disease patients. TNF-alpha expression was similar in both groups. Our data suggest that higher levels of IgA1 may exert partial protection of the periodontal tissue in chronic moderate periodontal disease diabetic patients when compared to severe periodontal disease. Despite the small number of patients, IFN-gamma expression had a trend association with severity of periodontitis and TNF-alpha gene expression did not correlate with severity of periodontal disease.