The genus Vitex is also known as a chaste tree, in which it is a large shrub native to the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. A diverse range of species is distributed throughout Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, and Central Asia. The Vitex tree, including its leaves and fruits, has been used for herbal remedies in the form of pastes, decoctions, and dried fruits since ancient times. This article aimed to prepare a comprehensive review of traditional uses and secondary metabolites derived from Vitex sp., including the chemical compounds, biological activities, application of Vitex in human clinical trials, toxicology and safety, marketed products, and patents. The scientific findings were obtained using a number of search engines and databases, including Google Scholar, PMC, and ScienceDirect. Vitex species are well known in pharmacology to have medicinal values, such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. Previous studies reported that some species are proven to be effective in treating diseases, such as diabetes, and improving female health. A total of 161 compounds from different Vitex species are reported, covering the literature from 1982 to 2022. A chemical analysis report of various studies identified that Vitex exhibited a wide range of phytoconstituents, such as iridoid, diterpenoid, ecdysteroid, and flavonoid and phenolic compounds. Apart from that, the review will also discuss the application of Vitex in human clinical trials, toxicology and safety, marketed products, and patents of the genus. While the extracts of the genus have been made into many commercial products, including supplements and essential oils, most of them are made to be used by women to improve menstrual conditions and relieve premenstrual syndrome. Among the species, Vitex agnus-castus L. is the only one that has been reported to undergo clinical trials, mainly related to the use of the genus for the treatment of mastalgia, menstrual bleeding problems, amenorrhea, menorrhagia, luteal insufficiency, and premenstrual syndrome. Overall, the review addresses recent therapeutic breakthroughs and identifies research gaps that should be explored for prospective research work.

In the current era of globalization, synthetic dyes are one of the key factors of water pollution. Photocatalysis constitutes a promising technology for the treatment of wastewater, especially to those containing hard-to-remove organic compounds. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) play a vital role as a photocatalyst material. This research highlights the synthesized ZnONPs with roselle flower and oil palm leaf extract. The extracts and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) act as reducing agents during the synthesis process. Synthesis without the addition of plant extract is used as blank control for the experiment. Structural and optical studies of the three variants of ZnONPs were performed. High purity of ZnONPs with element Zn and O was obtained. The size of the three variants of ZnONPs was from 10–15 nm and found in agglomerated spherical shape. Large band gap, 3.2 eV was obtained by UV-Vis and high thermal stability was proven by TGA. Oxygen vacancies that assist in the degradation phenomenon were found in ZnONPs. Five percent of ZnONPs with the presence of 10 W UV light could effectively degrade 10 ppm MO in 5 h and MB in 3 h. Besides, high antioxidant properties and low toxicity demonstrated the ability of ZnONPs to be used as photocatalysts. In conclusion, ZnONPs can be further developed for pharmaceutical and industrial use.

A new invention, papain-based wound cleanser is formulated by incorporating papain, a proteolytic enzyme extracted from Carica papaya into the formulation. This cleanser is invented to simplify the methods in wound management by combining wound cleansing and wound debridement using a single formulation. This study describes the preparation and preclinical study of papain-based wound cleanser in accelerating wound healing. In this study, papain-based wound cleanser was used to treat wound incision on Sprague-Dawley rats while distilled water and Betadine were used as negative and positive control. Twenty-seven clinically healthy white rats were randomly divided into three groups and treated accordingly until the 21st day post-incision. Wound reduction rates and histological analysis were obtained to asses the healing pattern. Rats treated with papain-based wound cleanser showed a progressive wound healing based on the wound reduction rates and histological analysis when compared with rats treated with distilled water and Betadine. Better collagen deposition and presence of skin organelles in rats treated with papain-based wound cleanser demonstrated its efficacy in promoting wound healing. In addition to its wound healing effect, papain-based wound cleanser is also integrated with antibacterial properties which make it a complete package for wound management. However, further studies should be carried out to ensure its safety for human usage.

The application of astaxanthin is not widely studied especially on its uses and relationship toward lipid stability in food products. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the antioxidant activity of astaxanthin and evaluate its lipid stability, physicochemical and sensory properties of astaxanthin formulated cookies. The antioxidant activity of astaxanthin was analyzed using DPPH, HRSA and FRAP assays. Meanwhile, lipid stability including peroxide value (PV), p-anisidine value (P-aV) and TOTOX value was evaluated periodically on the formulated cookies (10%, 15% and 20% of astaxanthin). Astaxanthin recorded inhibition percent (I%) value of DPPH 97%. The hardness of the cookies significantly decreased (P<0.05) as the astaxanthin were increased. The amount of astaxanthin added did not affect the taste acceptability of all formulated cookies. Storage time has affected on PV and P-aV value, but not affected on the TOTOX value. The significance of this study will lead to the potential application of astaxanthin as functional foods, thus provide health benefits.

The rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) regulates a range of involuntary behaviours but is most often associated with nociception via the action of pronociceptive ON cells and antinociceptive OFF cells. The phasic responses of ON and OFF cells determine whether or not incoming noxious signals provoke a withdrawal reflex, and previous studies have suggested that reflex RVM activity patterns actively shape motor output. Here we challenged the model by using juvenile rats, which are known to exhibit markedly different reflex responses compared with adults. By recording single‐cell activity in the RVM and the electromyography responses of hindlimb flexor muscles to noxious thermal stimulation we found that the juvenile reflex had a shorter onset latency, was larger in amplitude and exhibited a decreased rise time compared with the adult reflex. The responses of ON and OFF cells faithfully tracked the shorter onset latency of the reflex by also responding earlier and, thus, still preceded the reflex. However, neither the reflex amplitude nor the ongoing response profile was predicted by the firing rate of RVM cells in either age group. Instead we found a close correspondence between RVM activity and the reflex only during the initiation of the response. Furthermore, the short rise time of the juvenile reflex was reflected in higher rates of change of both ON and OFF cell firing. Our data suggest that the RVM is associated only with the initiation of reflexes and does not shape ongoing muscle activity, which is more likely to be subserved by downstream spinal processes.

Mangrove plants are endowed with various biologically active compounds which have potent antibacterial and antioxidant properties. In present study, a bioactivity-guided fractionation for antibacterial and antioxidant active metabolites from the twigs of Avicennia officinalis collected from Kuala Selangor Nature Park, Selangor, Malaysia gave 13 major fractions. The antibacterial activity of A. officinalis fractions using well-diffusion showed strong selectivity on the Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus epidermidis, S. aureus and Bacillus subtilis) with minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values of 0.156-5.00 mg/mL. However, no antibacterial activities were observed on the Gram-negative bacteria (Vibrio cholera, Enterobacter cloacae and Escherichia coli). The active antibacterial fractions were further isolated using several chromatographic techniques to give two naphthofuranquinones, namely, avicenol C (1) and stenocarpoquinone B (2). Meanwhile, the antioxidant activity of A. officinalis fractions were evaluated using DPPH radical scavenging assay exhibited low antioxidant activities. Molecular structure of the naphthofuranquinones was elucidated using 1 D and 2 D NMR spectroscopy.