This plant is very popular ingredient of local made drinks during hot summer. After drinking this drink people feels fresh, relaxed and can enjoy sound sleep. Present study was aimed to assess the sedative properties of a plant Sterculia villosa leaves. Therefore, we tried to find out the methanolic extract from the leaves of Sterculia villosa leaves having any sedative activity or not. The extract were subjected to various in vivo methods like hole cross test, open field test, elevated plus-maze (EPM) test, thiopental sodium induced sleeping time test. Diazepam was used as the standard drug. From the study, it is clear that the extract has excellent CNS depressant activity by reducing locomotors activity of mice in every cases of hole cross test, open field test, elevated plus-maze (EPM) test compared to the standard diazepam. In addition, the extract prolong the sleeping time (230 min) with quick onset of action (9 min) in contrast to the standard and control group. From the present study it can be conclude that the extract posses significant a sedative property that may lead to new drug development and further investigation is necessary to understand the underlying mechanisms and to isolate the active principles.
This study was undertaken to evaluate the appearance of phytochemicals and antioxidant activity of seven wild mushrooms of the University of Chittagong campus. Phytochemical screening was performed using standard methods, whereas DPPH radical scavenging assay was used to elucidate the antioxidant effect. Besides, in silico studies were implemented using the targets of human erythrocyte catalase 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazole, human glutathione reductase, and selected compounds. Again, the absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and toxicity (ADME/T) analysis has been determined by using online tools. Both Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) Karst. and Ganoderma applanatum (Pers.) Pat. showed a significant (p < .001) increase in the percentage of scavenging activity at 400 μg/ml concentration when compared with ascorbic acid. The methanol extract of G. lucidum, G. applanatum, and Rhodofomes cajanderi (P. Karst.) B. K. Cui, M. L. Han & Y. C. Dai showed strong antioxidant activity with an IC50 value. In addition, molecular docking studies of the previously isolated compounds from three selective mushrooms revealed that the targeted compounds along with positive controls were able to interact strongly (range: −3.498 to −8.655) with the enzymes. The study concludes that the G. lucidum, G. applanatum, and R. cajanderi mushrooms can be a strong source in the management of oxidative stress‐induced diseases.
7 May 2025 in Journal of Herbs, Spices & Medicinal Plants
The present study sought to evaluate the central nervous system (CNS) depressant, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity activity of methanol and aqueous extract of Trametes versicolor (METV and AETV). The CNS activity was assessed by the open field, hole-cross, forced swimming, thiopental sodium-induced sleeping time, hole-board, and rotarod tests in Swiss albino mice. For both extracts, a substantial decrease in locomotion was observed in open field and hole-cross tests. In addition, the molecular docking study has been implemented through Maestro V11.1. The higher dose of METV (400 mg/kg) and the lower dose of AETV (200 mg/kg) exhibited a significant decrease in immobility time in forced swimming test and increased prolongation of sleep in thiopental sodium-induced sleeping time test, respectively. In contrast, a moderate finding was observed for the hole-board and rotarod tests. Additionally, a significant DPPH scavenging assay and a high toxicity effect in brine shrimp lethality assay were observed. Besides, five phenolic compounds, namely baicalin, quercetin, catechin, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, and quinic acid, were used for the molecular docking study, whereas catechin demonstrated the highest binding affinity towards the targets. The findings conclude that the T. versicolor could be an alternative source for CNS anti-depressant and antioxidant activity.
Background: Breast cancer (BC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women. The oncoprotein MDM2 negatively regulates the tumor suppressor p53, and its overexpression in BC promotes tumor progression and resistance to therapy. Targeting the MDM2-p53 interaction represents a promising therapeutic approach. However, many existing MDM2 inhibitors suffer from poor pharmacokinetics and off-target toxicity, necessitating the discovery of novel, more selective alternatives. This study aims to identify natural terpenoid compounds with potent MDM2 inhibitory potential through computational approaches.Methods: A library of 398 natural terpenoids was sourced from the NPACT database and filtered based on Lipinski’s Rule of Five. A two-stage docking strategy was applied: 1) rigid protein-flexible ligand docking to screen for high-affinity binders, followed by 2) ensemble docking using multiple MDM2 conformations derived from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The top candidates were further evaluated for their pharmacokinetic and toxicity profiles using ADMET analysis. Finally, 150 ns MD simulations and binding free energy (MM-PBSA) calculations were performed to assess the stability and strength of protein-ligand interactions.Results: Three terpenoid compounds, olean-12-en-3-beta-ol, cabralealactone, and 27-deoxyactein demonstrated strong binding affinities toward MDM2 in ensemble docking studies. ADMET analysis confirmed their favorable pharmacokinetic properties. Further MD simulations indicated that these compounds formed highly stable complexes with MDM2. Notably, 27-deoxyactein exhibited the lowest binding free energy (−154.514 kJ/mol), outperforming the reference inhibitor Nutlin-3a (−133.531 kJ/mol), suggesting superior binding stability and interaction strength.Conclusion: Our findings highlight 27-deoxyactein as a promising MDM2 inhibitor with strong binding affinity, stability, and a favorable pharmacokinetic profile. This study provides a computational foundation for further experimental validation, supporting the potential of terpenoid-based MDM2 inhibitors in BC therapy.