Prostate cancer is one of the common cancers in males and its incidence keeps increasing globally. Approximately 81% of prostate cancer is diagnosed during the early stage of the disease. The treatment options for prostate care include surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, but these treatments often have side effects that may result to poor quality of life such as impotence or decrease bowel function. Our central goal is to test the anticancer activity of Vernonia amygdalina Delile (an edible medicinal plant that is relatively inexpensive, nontoxic, and virtually without side effects) for the prevention of prostate cancer using human adenocarcinoma (PC-3) cells as a test model. To address our specific goal, PC-3 cells were treated with Vernonia amygdalina Delile (VAD). Cell viability and cell morphology was analyzed by acridine orange and propidium iodide (AO/PI) dye using the fluorescent microscope. DNA damage was evaluated by the comet assay. Cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis was evaluated by Flow Cytometry assessment. Nucleosomal DNA fragmentation was detected by DNA ladder assay. Data obtained from the AO/PI dye assessment indicated that VAD significantly reduced the number of live cells in a dose-dependent manner, showing a gradual increase in the loss of viability in VAD-treated cells. Similar result was previously obtained by the MTT assay. We observed a significant increase in DNA damage in VAD-treated cells compared to the control group. Flow cytometry data showed that VAD induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 checkpoint. Flow cytometry data also showed that VAD induced caspase-3 activation in treated cells compared to the control group. We observed the formation of the DNA ladder in gel electrophoresis by induction of apoptosis in PC-3 cells treated with VAD. These results suggest that inhibition of cancer cell growth, induction of DNA damage, cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 checkpoint, and apoptosis through caspase-3 activation and nucleosomal DNA fragmentation are involved in the therapeutic efficacy of VAD as anticancer candidate towards the prevention and/or treatment of prostate cancer.

Myrtus communis is a typical plant of Mediterranean area. The different parts of this plant such as berries, branches, and leaves have been used worldwide as a traditional/folk medicine for the treatment of various ailments and diseases. Ethanolic leaf extract of the plant was prepared and its effect on bacterial growth was investigated. The ethanolic extract showed strong inhibitory effect against Gram-positive and acid-fast bacteria with significant inhibition-zone size (9–25mm), MIC (4.87–78 μg/ml), as well as MBC (0.3–20 mg/ml). However, no effect was observed on the growth of Gram-negative bacteria. The growth inhibition was found to be associated with the damage of cell wall as the extract-treated cells were sensitive to cell wall-targeting antibiotics and displayed the cell wall damage-depicting morphological defects. GC-MS analysis confirmed the presence of novel compounds in addition to the most representative compounds of the essential oils/extracts of M. communis of other country origins. These results demonstrate that M. communis leaf extract could be the source of compounds to be used for the treatment of Gram-positive bacterial infections. This is the first report, which provides insights into the mechanism of action of the extract in inhibiting the growth of Gram-positive bacteria.

Pomegranate fruit is a type of fruit belonging to the family of Lythraceae, consisting of shell, kernel, grains and dice. In this study, pomegranates of 3 different genotypes (local name : deve diÅ?i, hicaz and nuz ekÅ?isi) harvested (October-December), which are widely cultivated in the province of Gaziantep, OÄ?uzeli, were collected, and after identification, the dice sections were removed and dried in the shade. Total antioxidant and total oxidant levels, animicrobial activities, DNA protective activity and total flavanoid and total phenolic content were determined in 18 extracts in 3 different solvents (methanol, ethanol and DMSO) with solid-liquid extraction. Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method was used to determine antimicrobial properties. According to the results obtained, 100% of Escherichia coli, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Staphylococcus aureus strains were resistant to all membrane extracts. While antioxidant levels of all membrane extracts were found highly and oxidant levels were found to be low. It was determined that the extracts have the potential to protect DNA against oxidative damage caused by UV and H2O2. Total phenolic determination by Folin-Ciocalteu method; Total flavonoid amount was measured by AlCl3 using colorimetric method. Compared to the solvent and extraction methods used, high results were obtained in both phenolic and flavonoid determinations in all extracts, although they differed slightly among themselves. While the pomegranate fruit is consumed as food, the dice and shell parts are discarded. According to our study results, it is thought that alternative new products that can be used in complementary medicine can be obtained from pomegranate membranes that have a rich bioactive composition.

Oral administration of 1,8-cineole-rich supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extract of small cardamom seeds in hypercholesterolemic Wistar albino rats resulted in restoring normal total cholesterol (TC) levels in the animals. These findings prompted us to encapsulate the aforesaid extract as nanoliposomes to enhance its shelf stabilitiy. Nanoliposome of the extractwas characterized and itsin vivo hypocholesterolemic efficacy was assessed in triton-X treated hypercholesterolemic rats. Atorvastatin served as the positive control in the in vivo study. PEGylated nanoliposomes of small cardamom seed extract (SN) were formulated using soya phosphatidylcholine and Tween 80 (composition standardized) using ultra-sonication (probe) technology. Entrapment efficiency of spherical SN (dp= 76.93 nm) was 84.20% possessing negative zeta potential value<30. The antioxidant potency and shelf stability of SN (T1/2 = 192 days at 4 ± 1 °C) were appreciably higher than that of the native extract and exhibited in vitro sustained release of the spiceutical from the same. The liposomes had thermal stabilities up to 250 °C and successful binding among their chemical constituents were confirmed by FT-IR and XRD spectra. Reduction in TC levels in rats co-administered with liposomes (550 mg/kg b.w.) and triton-X were comparable to that of atorvastatin-administered rats on day 35. Moreover, SN (550 mg/kg b.w.) exhibited inhibitory effects on HMG-CoA reductase activity in the animals. This study established nanoliposomes of small cardamom seed extract as natural alternative of statin in redressing hypercholesterolemia.

Inflammation occurs in response to injury and if left untreated can lead to several diseases including arthritis. In Jamaican folklore practice plant extracts have been traditionally used to treat inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and asthma. This is the first preliminary scientific investigation of the anti-inflammatory effects of extracts from the Jamaican species of Croton linearis (wild rosemary) and Cymbopogan citratus (lemon grass) leaves on carrageenan-induced rat paw edema. The methods used involved testing of plant extracts on inflammation induced by carrageenan lambda on the rat paw model. 0.1ml of 1% Carrageenan lambda in saline solution (0.9%) was injected into the plantar region of the right hind paw of all groups to induce inflammation. Hexane extract (50mg/kg) of Croton linearis screened by BSA assay represents a sample inhibiting denaturation greater than 0%. Findings show that Croton linearis extract and aspirin (NSAID) shows comparable efficacy in reducing rat paw oedema (p< 0.05)(n=18 Sprague Dawley rats). This extract might be blocking the COX enzymes, with emphasis on COX-2 actions inflammation. Lemon grass extract 400 mg/kg showed reduction in paw volume (p < 0.001), 200 mg/kg extract (p <0.01), saline group showed no significance compared to aceclofenac group (p<0.05), n=24. In concluding extracts of both Wild rosemary and lemon grass showed comparable efficacy to aspirin and aceclofenac in reducing the inflammatory response induced by carrageenan lambda. This data indicates that the extracts of Jamaican species of our samples contain components with anti-inflammatory potential. We are hoping to assess if the extracts are arresting inflammation at the early stage where there is release of histamine, 5-hydroxytrptamine and bradykinin or in in the late phase where prostaglandins are detectable (Prakash et al., 2011). Further work needs to be done to assess for toxicity and to purify the extracts to ensure safety.