In this study we investigated the chemical constituents of bioactive methanol extract of Euphorbia schimperi C. Presl. For this the methanol extract was fractionated into 20, 40, 60, 80% MeOH in CHCl3, and 100% MeOH fractions respectively by vacuum liquid chromatography. Excision wound surface of the animals were topically treated with these fractions at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight for twenty days. Povidone-iodine ointment was used as a reference drug. Wound contraction measurement and period of epithelialization were used to assess the effect of fractions on wound repairing. The 100% MeOH fraction treated animals achieved significant (p < 0.001) value by showing 100% wound contraction and minimum period of epithelization (17.75±0.47) on the 20th day as compared to standard drug treated animals on the same day. The active 100% MeOH fraction was subjected to various chromatographic techniques led to the isolation of miquelianin (1), kaempferol 3-O-glucuronide (2) and quercitrin (3). Compounds (1-3) were isolated from this plant for the first time. KEY WORDS: Euphorpia schimperi C. Presl, Wound healing, Chromatographic techniques, Chemical constituents Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2017, 31(3), 471-479. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v31i3.11
We provide promising computational (in silico) data on phytochemicals (compounds 1–10) from Arabian Peninsula medicinal plants as strong binders, targeting 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLPro) and papain-like proteases (PLPro) of SARS-CoV-2. Compounds 1–10 followed the Lipinski rules of five (RO5) and ADMET analysis, exhibiting drug-like characters. Non-covalent (reversible) docking of compounds 1–10 demonstrated their binding with the catalytic dyad (CYS145 and HIS41) of 3CLPro and catalytic triad (CYS111, HIS272, and ASP286) of PLPro. Moreover, the implementation of the covalent (irreversible) docking protocol revealed that only compounds 7, 8, and 9 possess covalent warheads, which allowed the formation of the covalent bond with the catalytic dyad (CYS145) in 3CLPro and the catalytic triad (CYS111) in PLPro. Root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF), and radius of gyration (Rg) analysis from molecular dynamic (MD) simulations revealed that complexation between ligands (compounds 7, 8, and 9) and 3CLPro and PLPro was stable, and there was less deviation of ligands. Overall, the in silico data on the inherent properties of the above phytochemicals unravel the fact that they can act as reversible inhibitors for 3CLPro and PLPro. Moreover, compounds 7, 8, and 9 also showed their novel properties to inhibit dual targets by irreversible inhibition, indicating their effectiveness for possibly developing future drugs against SARS-CoV-2. Nonetheless, to confirm the theoretical findings here, the effectiveness of the above compounds as inhibitors of 3CLPro and PLPro warrants future investigations using suitable in vitro and in vivo tests.
Here, meta -cycloparaphenylenes ( m CPPs) with pendant carborane were synthesized through an alkyne insertion reaction. Subsequent deboronation reaction efficiently yields ionic m CPP compounds with a high fluorescence quantum yield (81%) in solutions.