Progress in Chemical and Biochemical Research
Volume:6 Issue: 1, Jun 2023

The use of medicinal herbs in the treatment of diseases has become increasingly widespread, in this regard the Verbena officinalis is considered as one of the herbs that affects pregnancy. The present study was conducted to investigate the Verbena officinalis herb on the level of sex hormones of NMRI female rats during pregnancy. This is an experimental study which divided 40 rats into 5 groups of 8 each and the groups included control, sham, and experimental with 5, 10, and 15 mM alcoholic extract of Verbena officinalis. The serum levels measurement of FSH and LH hormones was done using ELISA (Biotech) method. After blood sampling, the ovaries were stained with hematoxylin eosin for histological examination. Cell count and thickness measurement of different ovarian cells, primitive follicles, primary follicles, growing follicles, graph follicles, lymph nodes, blood vessels, atretic follicles, and abnormal follicles (1 or 2 oocytes in one follicle) were examined microscopically in 6 segments of tissue segments from different groups. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS23 software.The findings of the present study showed that the consumption of alcoholic extract of Verbena officinalis significantly reduced the levels of LH, FSH, the number of abnormal follicles, the number of graph follicles, and the number of corpus luteum in the experimental group compared to the control group (p≤0.05), the number of primary follicles, the number of growing follicles, the number of ethereal follicles, and the number of blood vessels in the experimental group compared to the control group (p≤0.05). The weight, ovarian weight, ovarian diameter, secondary follicle diameter, and primary follicle diameter decreased in experimental groups compared to control group and sham group; however, this decrease was not significant and abnormal follicle diameter in experimental groups compared to control group and group. Sham increased but this increase was not significant (p> 0.05). The results of the present study show that consumption of Verbena officinalis medicinal plant can be effective in abortion

The current research was conducted as part of the anti-leishmanial drug discovery effort towards new drug molecules with attributes that overcome the limitations of existing therapies. This work utilizes a combined approach of Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR), virtual docking screening, and pharmacokinetics analysis to design some novel 2,6-diarylidene cyclohexanone analogs using ligand-based drug design methods, while also performing docking investigation, drug-likeness analysis, and Molecular Dynamic (MD) simulation to evaluate their anti-leishmanial potential. Some crucial parameters were calculated for the built QSAR model, including R2 = 0.7827, R2adj = 0.7206, Q2cv = 0.6414, and R2test = 0.8539, which indicate an acceptable QSAR model. The combined results of QSAR, docking, and pharmacokinetics analysis suggested compound 1 as the template. The Six (6) newly designed analogs possessed higher binding scores than the reference drug Pentamidine in the order; 1a (-10.2 kcal/mol) > 1e (-9.6) > 1d (-9.4) > 1c (-9.2) > Template (-9.1) > 1f (-9) > 1b (-8.5) > Pentamidine (-6.9 kcal/mol), while their predicted pIC50 followed the order; 1e (8.7321) > 1c (7.6772) > 1f (7.1602) > 1a (6.8289) > 1d (6.7738) > 1b (6.5772) > Template (5.3824). The results of the drug-likeness testing suggest 1 and the new analogs (especially 1a) as being orally bioavailable with excellent pharmacokinetic profiles. These molecules equally showed good pharmacological interactions with the receptor, Pyridoxal kinase (PDB: 6K91).  In addition, the MD simulation results confirmed the stability and rigidity of 1_6K91 and 1a_6K91. Therefore, the new analogs could be considered as potent anti-leishmanial inhibitors.

A new series of 3-furan-2-yl-1-p-aryl-propenone derivatives containing imine moieties (1-7) were synthesized and characterized using spectral analysis. The synthesized derivatives were screened in vitro against several bacterial species, including Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-negative bacteria), and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria) to study the effect of different imine moieties on the activity of (E)-1-(4-aminophenyl)-3-(furan-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one, which represent the potent hit against different bacterial species. The synthesized compounds were found to exhibit modest to vigorous activity, especially compounds 1, 4, and 6-7. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of compound 1 and 6 against Acinetobacter baumannii and Staphylococcus aureus were determined. The anti-biofilm activity of the potent discovered compounds (1, 4, 6, and 7) against Acinetobacter baumannii and Staphylococcus aureus were also determined. Docking study of the best discovered hits against the active site of glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase, the antimicrobial target enzyme was achieved to explore the interactions of the synthesized hits inside the enzyme residues.

The novel 2-[(E)-(3-phenylmethoxyphenyl)methylideneamin-o]guanidine was put forth as a potential anti-SARS-coronavirus-2 candidate targeting the spike glycoprotein following a docking simulation study. When compared with the standard medications (Chloroquine and Ruxolitinib) with a binding score of -4.8 kcal/mol and -7.0 kcal/mol, respectively, 2-[(E)-(3-phenylmethoxyphenyl) methylideneamino] guanidine's computed binding score of -7.2 kcal/mol indicated that it may have promising anti-SARS-coronavirus-2 activity. The accurate binding of 2-[(E)-(3-phenylmethoxyphenyl) methylideneamino] guanidine to the SARS-coronavirus-2 spike glycoprotein through the appropriate dynamic and energetic behaviours over 20 ns was verified by molecular dynamics simulations as well as MM/GBSA studies. Besides that, in silico ADME studies demonstrated 2-[(E)-(3-phenylmethoxyphenyl) methylidene-amino]guanidine's general safety and drug-likeness. As a result, the outcomes of this survey gave a strong basis for the in silico plan and hypothetical investigation of more potent SARS-coronavirus-2 inhibitors.

Lack of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter in the brain, causes diseases such as Parkinson. Therefore, in order to diagnose and prevent these diseases, it is important to accurately measure the amount of dopamine. Aptasensor is one of the most sensitive and selective measuring tools for this purpose. In this research, a modified electrochemical sensor (Apt-AMP/AuNPs-PRGO/GCE) by nanocomposite was designed for highly accurate and selective measurement of dopamine. The results of the experiment using FTIR, SEM, and CV methods show a very favourable modification of the electron surface. Methylene blue dye was used as an indicator in this experiment and the maximum concentration and interaction time for this dye were optimized at 50 µM and 15 minutes. The electrode designed using the DPV method was able to identify and measure dopamine with a detection limit of 120 pM and a very high sensitivity compared with other compounds with the same structure.

Clay minerals are eco-friendly adsorbent materials that are abundant in nature. The usage of nano-clay for the cleanup of contaminated water has grown recently due to its distinctive physicochemical properties and characteristics. Emerging contaminants, such as pharmaceutical residue, are not typically monitored in the environment and are not controlled in our wastewater. However, due to environmental dangers and their influence on human and aquatic life, removing pharmaceutical residues and their metabolites from wastewater has piqued attention. Several researchers have investigated the application of natural clay, clay-carbon, and clay-polymer composites, among others, to remove this specific pollutant. In addition, to enhance the adsorption efficiency of natural clay minerals, the adsorption sites can be improved by acid activation, thermal treatment, or incorporation of functional groups into the clay mineral layers, which have a strong affinity for the adsorption of pharmaceutical resides. The literature review findings show that modified clays are better adsorbents for the remediation of pharmaceutical residues in wastewater than natural clays and represent an economically viable and efficient option for the cleanup of wastewater containing this contaminant. Consequently, this review gives an inclusive overview of current trends in employing clay minerals for the remediation of pharmaceutical residues in wastewater and outlines the research gaps for future research.

This study was conducted with the aim of transmission methods, diagnosis, and home quarantine of Covid-19 in babies and children.

This study is a systematic review that was conducted in 2022. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Elsevier, and Google Scholar to identify related articles from 2019 to 2022. The search terms "Coronavirus 2019", "Covid-19", and "pregnancy" were used, which were adjusted according to the mesh.

Studies published from 2019 to the end of 2022 were evaluated. The contents that were explained in detail about them included the methods of transmission, clinical symptoms, and home quarantine and children.

According to the results of this research and confirming the effect of parents' unwanted thoughts and hyperarousal on children, the need for psychotherapists' intervention for families seems necessary on two levels. First, management and treatment of parental stress and second, children's anxiety and depression should be treated separately and correction of their possibly uncompromising interactive styles should be done in an interactive and confrontational way. This leads to both psychological and financial savings for the government and healthcare providers.