Pectin, a natural polysaccharide, has gained increasing attention due to not only its biomaterial properties but also its biomedical activities. One of the abundant sources of pectin is mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) rind. In this study, we characterized the pectin from Indonesian mangosteen rind extract and evaluated its antioxidant activity. Pectin was extracted in acid condition and evaluated its physicochemical properties by fourier transform infrared (FTIR), powder X-ray diffractometer (PXRD), water content, ash content, equivalent weight, methoxyl level and of galacturonic acid content. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of pectin was also observed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. Pectin was successfully extracted from dry weight of Indonesian mangosten rind with yield about 1,16 ± 0,17%, fine powder, brownish and odorless. FTIR and PXRD results showed that pectin from mangosteen rind extract was amorphous and similar characteristic with a commercial pectin. The chemical properties of pectin such as water content, ash content, equivalent weight, methoxyl level and of galacturonic acid level were 9.85 ± 0.12%, 3.91 ± 0.17%, 6330.76 ± 220.43 g/mol, 2.86 ± 0.05% and 75.98 ± 0.88%, respectively. In addition, pectin showed an antioxidant activity with the IC50 about 161.94 ± 31.57 ppm. These results suggest that pectin from Indonesian mangosteen rind has the potential properties as biopolymers for biomedical applications with a low-methylated pectin and a moderate antioxidant activity.

Resistance to antimalarial medicine remains a threat to the global effort for malaria eradication. The World Health Organization recently reported that artemisinin partial resistance, which was defined as delayed parasite clearance, was detected in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Greater Mekong subregion, and in Africa, particularly in Rwanda and Uganda. Therefore, the discovery of a potential new drug is important to overcome emerging drug resistance. Natural products have played an important role in drug development over the centuries, including the development of antimalarial drugs, with most of it influenced by traditional use. Recent research on traditional medicine used as an antimalarial treatment on Papua Island, Indonesia, reported that 72 plant species have been used as traditional medicine, with Alstonia scholaris, Carica papaya, Andrographis paniculata, and Physalis minima as the most frequently used medicinal plants. This review aimed to highlight the current research status of these plants for potential novel antiplasmodial development. In conclusion, A. paniculata has the highest potential to be developed as an antiplasmodial, and its extract and known bioactive isolate andrographolide posed strong activity both in vitro and in vivo. A. scholaris and C. papaya also have the potential to be further investigated as both have good potential for their antiplasmodial activities in vivo. However, P. minima is a less studied medicinal plant; nevertheless, it opens the opportunity to explore the potential of this plant.

Context: The search for antidiabetic drugs that target the receptors involved in diabetes has received significant attention in recent years. Peperomia pellucida (L.) Kunth's ethanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction have antihyperglycemic activity. 8,9-dimethoxy ellagic acid (DEA) has shown significant diabetes mellitus activity in mice, but its interaction with diabetes receptors remains unknown. Aims: To perform molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations to explore the binding interactions and stability of DEA within the binding sites of enzymes involved in diabetes. Methods: At the outset, the utilization of molecular docking was limited to forecasting the DEA's binding orientations and affinities within the active sites of the enzymes implicated in diabetes. Following this, molecular dynamics simulation was employed to investigate the interactions, stability, and dynamic behavior of these complexes over a period of 100 nanoseconds. Results: Molecular docking results revealed that DEA interacts with all selected receptors involved in diabetes and interacts more strongly with the aldose reductase receptor (PDB ID 3S3G) than the native ligand, with a binding energy of -10.3 kcal/mol. However, further molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the stability of the receptor complex with DEA over 100 ns, which is less potent than that of the native ligand. This is probably due to the rigidity of the DEA molecular structure. Conclusions: This study highlights the potential of DEA derived from P. pellucida as an inhibitor of various receptors involved in diabetes.

The immune status of patients plays an essential role in COVID-19. Herbal medicine with immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effect could have potential as a complementary therapeutic along with modern medicine. This study aims to investigate the anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory constituents of Curcuma longa (C. longa) and its possible mechanisms in COVID-19. We systematically sorted the biochemical of C. longa rhizome from literature and repository. Next, we investigated targets related to COVID-19 in the selected active phytochemical constituents and analyzed the possible mechanisms against COVID-19 and performed molecular docking with four essential target proteins in COVID-19 for further verification. Ten active phytochemical constituents of C. longa were predicted to interact with four protein targets. The epidermal growth factor was the most interacted protein targeted by Calebin A, curcumin, cyclocurcumin, demethoxycurcumin, turmeronol a, turmeronol b, caffeic acid, and quercetin. Interferon-gamma was performed as the most critical protein targeted by 4-hydroxycinnamic acid. Curcumin was also predicted to interact with toll-like receptor 4 and Ar-turmerone with angiotensin II receptor type 2. We also reported four signaling pathways associated with target proteins-active phytochemical constituents against COVID-19: cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, toll-like receptor signaling pathway, Jak-STAT signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. In conclusion, multi compounds in C. longa might act synergistically against COVID-19 by affecting the inflammatory and immune responses, and other pathological processes through multiple targets and pathways.

Masyarakat daerah Pangandaran, Jawa Barat secara turun-temurun memanfaatkan buah hanggasa (Amomum dealbatum Roxb.) sebagai obat diare, yang umumnya diketahui disebabkan oleh infeksi bakteri Escherichia coli dan Bacillus cereus. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui aktivitas antibakteri, menentukan rentang nilai Konsentrasi Hambat Tumbuh Minimum (KHTM) dan Konsentrasi Bunuh Minimun (KBM) serta nilai banding aktivitas antibakteri ekstrak etanol buah hanggasa dengan antibiotik kloramfenikol terhadap E. coli ATCC 11229 dan B. cereus ATCC 11778. Penelitian ini dilakukan melalui tahap determinasi tumbuhan dan penyiapan simplisia, ekstraksi simplisia, penapisan fitokimia, pengujian aktivitas antibakteri ekstrak menggunakan metode difusi agar teknik cakram kertas, penentuan rentang KHTM dan KBM ekstrak dengan metode mikrodilusi dan penentuan nilai banding aktivitas antibakteri ekstrak dengan antibiotik kloramfenikol. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ekstrak etanol buah hanggasa (A. dealbatum Roxb.) memberikan zona hambat pada B. cereus namun tidak pada E. coli di semua konsentrasi. Hasil penentuan nilai rentang KHTM ekstrak etanol buah hanggasa untuk B. cereus ATCC 11778 sebesar 1,25%-2,5% (b/v) dan nilai KBM sebesar 2,5% (b/v). Dapat disimpulkan bahwa ekstrak etanol buah hanggasa memberikan aktivitas antibakteri pada B. cereus namun tidak pada E. coli.

Introduction: Pluchea indica is known to have diverse pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities. However, there is a pressing need to thoroughly investigate the molecular interactions between P. indica compounds and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG). This study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind P. indica and PPARG, and its potential implications for diabetes mellitus. Methods: The computational investigation employed Pharmacological Network pharmacology, homology modeling, deep learning docking, and molecular dynamics to explore the active compounds and targets within P. indica against the PPARG. Results: Three active compounds were identified namely pinoresinol, syringaresinol, and plucheoside A, all of which complied with the Lipinski rule of five. The deep learning-based pose scores were determined as follows: Pinoresinol 0.55, syringaresinol 0.32, and plucheoside A 0.44. Additionally, protein-protein interactions were observed with PPARG and associated with the PPAR signaling pathway. Molecular dynamics simulation analysis showed the stability of the three compounds over a 100 ns period. Free energy calculations using Molecular Mechanics-Generalized Born and Surface Area (MM-GBSA) yielded ΔG values of -44.39 kcal/mol, -51.83 kcal/mol, and -40.27 kcal/mol for pinoresinol, syringaresinol, and plucheoside A, respectively. Conclusion: Pluchea indica might be developed to treat various diseases, particularly those involving the PPARG signaling pathway. It suggests the possibility of being developed as a focused medication for diabetes.