Nigella sativa L. and Its Active Compound Thymoquinone in the Clinical Management of Diabetes: A Systematic Review

Despite existing conventional hypoglycemic drugs to manage diabetes, their non-availability and cost in low-income countries coupled with the associated side effects remain a major concern. Consequently, exploring for alternative treatments to manage diabetes has been a continuous priority. Nigella sativa L. (NS) (Family: Ranunculaceae) is regarded as a valuable traditional remedy in diabetes management and extensively studied for its biological properties. This systematic review provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of clinical studies on the efficacy, safety, and mechanism of action of NS and its compound thymoquinone (TQ) in diabetes management. The main scientific databases which were scrutinised were Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. Data search was conducted from inception to January 2022. A total of 17 clinical studies were obtained; 16 studies on Nigella sativa L. and 1 study on its compound TQ. N. sativa was found to be highly potent in terms of its hypoglycemic activity when compared to placebo based on improvement in parameters including fasting blood glucose (FBG), postprandial blood glucose (PPBG), Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and homeostatic model assessment for assessment of beta-cell functionality (HOMA-β). The compound TQ in combination with a daily dose of metformin demonstrated a greater reduction in the levels of HbA1c and blood glucose compared to metformin alone. The bioavailability of TQ can be enhanced by using nanoparticulate drug delivery systems. Considering the findings of the clinical studies along with negligible adverse effects, NS has strong potential application in bioproduct development for the management of diabetes. Further investigations should explore the detailed mechanism of actions by which TQ exerts its therapeutic antidiabetic effects to provide more insights into its clinical use in the management of diabetes.     

Optimal Detection of Critical Nodes: Improvements to Model Structure and Performance

Networks and Spatial Economics - The identification of critical network components is of interest to both interdictors wishing to degrade the network’s performance, and to defenders aiming to...     

Photochromic microcapsules by coacervation and in situ polymerization methods for product-marking applications

Photochromic materials can change their colour quickly and reversibly when exposed to light of certain wavelengths. These materials have recently been of great interest for intelligent and functional textile applications. In this study, two different photochromic dyes, including 1′,3′-dihydro-1′,3′,3′-trimethyl-6-nitro-spiro[2H-1-benzopyran-2,2′-(2H)-indole] and 1′,3′-dihydro-8-methoxy-1′,3′,3′-trimethyl-6-nitrospiro[2H-1-benzopyran-2,2′-(2H)-indole], were microencapsulated by coacervation and in situ polymerization methods. Ethyl cellulose and melamine–urea–formaldehyde were used as polymers. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, particle size and size distribution analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and ultraviolet spectrophotometry evaluations were utilized to characterize the structure, morphology, size distribution, and absorbance maxima of the photochromic microcapsules. The results indicated that photochromic microcapsules were in spherical shape, smooth, and homogeneous characteristics. These microcapsules were applied successfully onto cotton fabric using printing technique. Then, the activities of photochromic microcapsules on the fabrics were analysed by colour analysis under different light sources, fatigue resistance, washing, and rubbing fastness tests. After printing, the colours of the fabrics changed very quickly under different light sources. At the same time, these fabrics showed a reversible photochromic response and good fatigue resistance. Mechanical and physical properties of the fabrics such as thickness, air permeability and tensile and tear strength were also investigated. It can be concluded that photochromic microcapsules are well appropriate for brand protection and prevention of imitation in textile materials.     

Nutritional quality of protein in the leaves of eleven Asphodeline species (Liliaceae) from Turkey

The nutritional quality of the protein in the leaves of 11 Asphodeline (Liliaceae) species was investigated by the determination of the amino acid composition and calculation of several nutritional parameters. The average protein content was 4.7% and ranged from 2.5% in Asphodeline damascena ssp. rugosa to 8.2% in A. turcica. The most abundant essential amino acids were Thr (5.7%), Val (6.0%), Ile (4.7%), and Trp (2.1%). The amino acid composition of Asphodeline peshmeniana was well equilibrated according to Food and Agriculture Organisation standards, but Lys and sulphur amino acids were at limiting concentrations in all the other taxa. Determination of the protein efficiency ratio and biological value revealed that the protein in the leaves of Asphodeline species is of high nutritional quality. Hence, the Asphodeline leaves that are typically used in Turkey for the preparation of salads, represent a good source of protein with high levels of several essential amino acids and a good nutritional value. Analysis of the similarity based on the amino acid composition indicated the existence of different clusters that are consistent with the taxonomical classification, area of distribution, and morphological similarities of the Asphodeline species.     

LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS Analysis,Cytotoxic, Antiviral,Antioxidant, and Enzyme Inhibitory Properties of Four Extracts of Geranium pyrenaicum Burm. f.: A Good Gift from the Natural Treasure

This study focused on the biological evaluation and chemical characterization of Geranium pyrenaicum Burm. f. Different solvent extracts (hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts) were prepared. The phytochemical profile, antioxidant, and enzyme inhibitory activity were investigated. Cytotoxicity was assessed using VERO, FaDu, HeLa and RKO cells. The antiviral activity was carried out against HSV-1 (Herpes simplex virus 1) propagated in VERO cell line. The aqueous extract, possessing high phenolic content (170.50 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract), showed the highest reducing capacity (613.27 and 364.10 mg Trolox equivalent/g extract, for cupric reducing antioxidant capacity and ferric reducing antioxidant power, respectively), radical scavenging potential (469.82 mg Trolox equivalent/g extract, against 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)), metal chelating ability (52.39 mg ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid equivalent/g extract) and total antioxidant capacity (3.15 mmol Trolox equivalent/g extract). Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS) alloved to tentatively identify a total of 56 compounds in the extracts, including ellagitannins, gallic acid and galloyl derivatives amongst others. The ethyl acetate extracts substantially depressed cholinesterase enzymes (4.49 and 12.26 mg galantamine equivalent/g extract against AChE and BChE, respectively) and α-amylase enzyme (1.04 mmol acarbose equivalent/g extract). On the other hand, the methanolic extract inhibited tyrosinase (121.42 mg kojic acid equivalent/g extract) and α-glucosidase (2.39 mmol acarbose equivalent/g extract) activities. The highest selectivity towards all cancer cell lines (SI 4.5–10.8) was observed with aqueous extract with the FaDu cells being the most sensitive (CC₅₀ 40.22 µg/mL). It can be concluded that the presence of certain bioactive antiviral molecules may be related to the high anti HSV-1 activity of the methanolic extract. This work has generated vital scientific data on this medicinal plant, which is a prospective candidate for the creation of innovative phyto-pharmaceuticals.     

Hybrid movement strategy in self-orienting directional sensor networks

The coverage problem in directional sensor networks (DSNs) introduces new challenges especially for randomly deployed networks. As many overlapped regions and coverage holes might occur after the initial deployment, self-orientation of the nodes is a necessity for randomly deployed DSNs. There exist two main approaches for the self-orientation of directional sensor nodes in DSNs [1], motility and mobility. Motility refers to the adjustment of the working direction of the nodes, whereas mobility describes the physical movement of the nodes. Most existing studies propose solutions based on the motility capability of the directional sensor nodes. On the other hand, mobility is a powerful feature offering great flexibility. Nevertheless, the high energy consumption of mobility discourages researchers to utilize this approach in their solutions. In this study, we propose a novel approach, a hybrid movement strategy (HMS), where we exploit motility/mobility in a cascaded manner for the coverage improvement in DSNs. The HMS improves the initial coverage up to 47% and achieves up to 7% more coverage than the motility only solution. Besides, it has provided at least 40% energy-saving compared to the mobility only solution in our scenarios.     

Fatty Acid Composition,Total Sugar Content and Anti-Diabetic Activity of Methanol and Water Extracts of Nine Different Fruit Tree Leaves Collected from Mediterranean Region of Turkey

In this research, the total sugar content, fatty acid compositions, and α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of methanolic and water extracts of nine different fruit tree leaves were determined. α-amylase and α-glycosidase inhibitory activity were determined by using Caraway-Somogyi iodine/potassium iodide and 4-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside as substrate, respectively. The total sugar content of the nine different fruit tree leaves varies from 281.02 mg GE/g (glucose equivalents) to 643.96 mg GE/g. Methanolic extract from avocado leaves had the strongest in α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, 69.21 and 96.26%, respectively. Fatty acid composition of nine fruit tree leaves was characterized by gas chromatography and 24 components were identified. Among the tested fruit tree leaves, the main component was linolenic acid (49.09%). The level of essential fatty acids are over 50% in mulberry, grape, and loquat leaves. Polyunsaturated fatty acids were the major group of fatty acids present in oils of mulberry, fig, pomegranate, grape, and loquat leaves. Therefore, these oils can be considered as a good source of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Furthermore, avocado can be regarded as a new source for diabetic therapies.     

A NEW METHOD FOR MACHINING OF ELECTRICALLY NONCONDUCTIVE WORKPIECES USING ELECTRIC DISCHARGE MACHINING TECHNIQUE

In this study, a new method for machining of nonconductive ceramic workpieces in electric discharge machining (EDM) was developed. Machining surfaces of nonconductive workpieces were coated with a conductive layer (CL) and graphite powder was added to dielectric fluid for machining. Al₂O₃, ZrO₂, SiC, B₄C and glass workpiece samples were machined by using the method. Different machining conditions were tested for each sample and optimum machining parameters were determined. Effect of electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and melting point of workpieces on material removal rate (MRR) was investigated. Optical microscope and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) surface photographs of workpieces taken after machining are presented and discussed.