The aim of the present study was to investigate the probable effects of metformin plus vildagliptin on the oxidative stress index (OSI) in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this case–control study, 44 patients with T2DM on either metformin monotherapy (n = 24) or metformin plus vildagliptin (n = 20) were compared with healthy controls (n = 20). Anthropometric and biochemical variables including body mass index, blood pressure profile, cardiac indices, lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, fasting serum insulin, and glycemic indices were assessed. Besides, total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), and OSI were determined. Patients with T2DM have higher risk of cardiometabolic changes compared with the control (P = 0.0001). TAS was lower while TOS and OSI were higher in patients with T2DM, as compared with the healthy controls (P < 0.001). TAS, TOS, and OSI were better in patients with T2DM on metformin plus vildagliptin therapy as compared with metformin monotherapy (P < 0.05). Therefore, this study concluded that metformin plus vildagliptin therapy is more effective than metformin monotherapy in attenuation of OSI in patients with T2DM.

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Alpha-mangostin is a xanthone compound isolated from the mangosteen plant (Garcinia mangostana L.), which has various pharmacological activities. However, in its utilization alpha-mangostin is unstable and shows low solubility in the oral delivery system. Nanoparticles can deliver specific drugs to their workplace and increase the solubility. The objectives of this study were to create and characterize the alpha-mangostin nanoparticles based on chitosan and Eudragit® S 100. The nanoparticles were made by the ionic gelation method with comparisons core: Coating FI (1:2), FII (1:1), and FIII (2:1). Nanoparticles powder obtained using the spray pyrolysis method. Characterization using Fourier transform infrared indicates that the nanoparticles have been coated properly, and no damage occurred in the formula. The particle sizes for FI, FII, and FII are 373.381 ± 138.023 nm, 398.333 ± 184.977 nm, and 326.567 ± 130.366 nm, respectively, with a smooth surface. The entrapment efficiency value of FI, FII, and FIII are, respectively, 99.7692%, 99.6535%, and 99.476%. Alpha-mangostin was successfully encapsulated in chitosan-tripolyphosphate polymer by ionic gelation method and then coated with Eudragit S 100. Alpha-mangostin chitosan-eudragit nanoparticles (core: Polymer ratio of 1:2) yielded more entrapment efficiency.

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Hyperlipidemia is generally managed with statin-based drugs. Simvastatin serves as a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) inhibitor, with prolonged use proven to cause side effects. In the present study, antihyperlipidemic material is tested for its effect in lowering lipid in animals and its proven ability to bind to HMGR. Hyperlipidemia rats were divided into four groups, with different doses of 0, 57, and 114 mg/kg BW of apple peel extract (APE) and simvastatin (3.6 mg/kg BW). The total cholesterol (TC), total triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) serum were measured. In silico inhibition test of HMGR activity was conducted by molecular docking using PyRx software. This process places HMGR as a receptor and active compound of apple peels as a ligand. APE treatment with a dose of 114 mg/kg BW could significantly reduce LDLc and increase serum HDLc levels. Docking tests confirmed that quercetin, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, and catechins depicted HMGR inhibition. Quercetin could bind to HMGR at a similar location to amino acid residues as simvastatin. These material extracts have inhibited cholesterol synthesis through a stronger HMGR inhibition than simvastatin.

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Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are an acute inflammation of the upper and lower respiratory tract caused by the infection of microorganisms or bacteria, viruses, without or accompanied by inflammation of the lung parenchyma. The use of antibiotics is one way to treat respiratory diseases. This study aims to determine the level of resistance of levofloxacin antibiotics to clinical isolates from ARTIs patients at the Tasikmalaya Health Center, Indonesia. The stages of the research included rejuvenation of clinical single isolates from ARTIs patients, identification of bacteria, and antibiotic resistance testing using the paper-disc method. The results of resistance tests from 142 single clinical isolates of acute respiratory infections showed that levofloxacin antibiotics had high levels of resistance of 50.0%, 30.95% of resistance with intermediate levels, and 19.04% were still sensitive. Bacterial identification test results showed bacteria that have been resistant to levofloxacin are from the genus Haemophillus, Streptococcus, Corynebacterium, Staphylococcus, and Bordetella. Treatment of ARTIs with the antibiotic levofloxacin shows that there has been a relatively large resistance, where the results of the identification of all bacteria showed the bacteria that cause ARTIs.

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Cancer is a complex multifactorial disease and leading causes of death worldwide. Despite the development of many anticancer drugs, there is a reduced survival rate due to severe side effects. The nontargeted approach of convention drugs is one of the leading players in context to toxicity. Hyaluronan is a versatile bio-polymer and ligand of the receptor (CD44) on cancer cells. The MCF-7 and HT-29 cancer cell lines treated with hyaluronic acid-paclitaxel (HA-PTX) showed the distinguishing morphological features of apoptosis. Flow cytometric analysis showed that HA-PTX induces apoptosis as a significant mode of cell death. The activation level of tumor suppressor protein (p53) increased after PTX treatment in MCF-7, but no changes observed in HT-29 might be due to hereditary mutations. The lack of suppression in AKT and Rho A protein suggest the use of possible inhibitors in future studies which might could play a role in increasing the sensitivity of drug towards mutated cells line and reducing the possibilities for cancer cell survival, migration, and metastasis.

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Lime peel contains essential oils are used as anti-oxidants or anti-cancer compounds. As a traditional medicine, lime has been widely used as a substitute for antibiotics. This study aimed to identify active compounds in peel extracts from Citrus aurantifolia that grows in Indonesia. Extraction was carried out by maceration using three different solvents: ethyl acetate, chloroform, and n-hexane. The extracts were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that lime peel contained many important compounds and that 28, 27, and 24 different chemical compounds, both minor and major constituents, were extracted by ethyl acetate, chloroform, and n-hexane, respectively. Four compounds were found in all three solvent extracts, namely, D-limonene, phytol, α-tocopherol, and 5, 7-dimethoxycoumarin. Forty-seven compounds were uniquely present in one solvent, including 17 in ethyl acetate, 17 in chloroform, and 13 in n-hexane. Among the active compounds extracted, several are of biological importance, for example, stigmasterol, D-limonene, Vitamin E, and α-tocopherol. It can be concluded that a variety of distinct compounds are extracted from the same lime peel sample when different solvents are used and that some of these are bioactive compounds with anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, or anti-cancer properties.

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Sphagneticola trilobata (L.) J.F. Pruski is the perennial herb distributed at tropical temperature. In this study, the antioxidant and anticancer properties of the ethyl acetate extract from S. trilobata leaves were investigated against MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The antioxidant and anticancer activities were assessed by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay methods, respectively. The extract demonstrated DPPH free radical scavenging effect with IC₅₀value equaling to 127.43 μg/mL. The cytotoxic study was conducted on the concentration range of 1–200 μg/mL, and the results exhibited the strongest inhibitory activity against MCF-7 with the LC₅₀value of 58.143 μg/mL. The cytotoxic activity of the extract was supported by the induction of apoptosis cell which possessed the apoptosis percentage of 78.80%. Thus, the cheap herbal drug treatment might highly be recommended to treat effectively breast cancers as an ideal choice or combinational therapy.

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Plants in the genus Curcuma are a rhizomatous perennial herb which is widely distributed in Thailand. It has long been known for their uses as folk medicines, foods, spices, and cosmetics. However, the identification of plants in the genus Curcuma is very difficult due to morphological similarity in the early flowering stage. Recently, the molecular technique is one of the reliable and powerful tools for plant identification. In this study, the genetic relationship among twenty Curcuma species from Thailand was accessed by the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) method. AFLP fingerprint showed 98.54% highly polymorphisms with the number of bands (617 bands) ranging between 48 and 80 bands. The dendrogram generated from the unweighted pair group method of the arithmetic average could separate these Curcuma species into three major clusters. Cluster I can be subdivided into IA, which composed of Curcuma parviflora, Curcuma sparganiifolia, Curcuma alismatifolia, Curcuma larsenii, Curcuma Gracillima, and Curcuma rhabdota with similarity index (SI) 0.7926–0.9358 and IB composed of Curcuma petiolata and Curcuma rubrobracteata with the SI 0.9240. Cluster II can be subdivided into IIA being composed of Curcuma longa, Curcuma Zedoaria, and Curcuma aromatica with the SI 0.8989–0.9071, whereas Cluster IIB was composed of Curcuma leucorrhiza, Curcuma aeruginosa, Curcuma comosa, Curcuma mangga, Curcuma angustifolia, Curcuma amada, Curcuma sessilis, and Curcuma albicoma with the SI 0.8236–0.9500. Cluster III belongs to Curcuma singularis and Alpinia galanga (outgroup plant), which clearly separated into different clusters from twenty Curcuma species. In summary, the ten successful AFLP primer combinations could be used to determine the genetic relationship among closely related twenty Curcuma species in Thailand.

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The purpose of this research is to find a lupeol acetate from Artocarpus camansi fruit peel. Ethyl acetate extract of A. camansi fruit peel was obtained by maceration process. After the process of fractionation, it results 3 subfractions (A, B, and C). The subfraction B was rechromatographed and yielded B2₂pure isolate. Based on data from proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform–infrared, and mass spectrometry (MS from gas chromatography-MS), the B2₂isolate was suspected as lupeol acetate compound (in this study, the presence of lupeol acetate in the A. camansi fruit peel has been reported for the first time).

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Analyses of polyphenolic plant extracts have shown significant results when used to control different pathogens. Many of these pathogens are responsible for different infections causing significant public health problems. This work aims basically to determine the efficiency of polyphenolic extract of Pulicaria crispa to prevent biofilm formation by Klebsiella pneumoniae. Strains were identified by their biochemical characters and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. P. crispa is a Saharan plant used to extract polyphenols to assess their inhibitory action against K. pneumoniae development and biofilm forming. High-performance liquid chromatography revealed quercetin as the most important component of the polyphenolic extract. All strains are biofilm forming and are resistant to many antibiotics. The Minimal inhibitory concentrations of biofilm (MICBs) of the extract range from 0.21 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) to 3.40 mg GAE. The minimal inhibitory concentrations vary from 0.1 mg GAE to 0.425 mg GAE. Although many plant extracts have already shown their antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities, their application in clinical cases requires a long-term endeavor.

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