Nova Biotechnologica et Chimica

Unveiling unknown transcripts and exons: Insights into durian var. D24 (Durio zibethinus Murr.) fruit development and ripening

2023-08-08T07:11:21+02:00

Durian (Durio zibethinus Murr.) plant fruits are popular among Southeast Asians. This study aimed to characterise the gene expression during the growth and development of durian fruit at its young, mature, and ripening stages. We used a high-throughput RNA Sequencing approach to identify and characterise unknown transcripts (UTs) from durian fruit pulp transcriptomes. The categorisation of UTs relied on assessing their coding potential and conducting sequence analysis, followed by thorough manual curation. After mapping, 110 million high-quality reads were analysed for each of the nine samples, revealing that each contains 76,700 to 89,117 distinct transcripts and 561,211 to 646,291 exons. In the present analysis, we emphasised identifying and classifying UTs, disregarding transcripts with accurate annotations. Differential expression analysis identified 280 significant unknown transcripts, presumably involved in various biological functions in durian growth. The top BLASTn comparative analysis results for 183 unknown transcripts (UTs) primarily showed significant homology, ranging from 80 % to 100 %, with transcripts from closely related species within the Malvaceae family, including Bombax ceiba, Gossypium hirsutum, Gossypium raimondii, Herrania umbratica, and Theobroma cacao. Functional annotation showed that many upregulated UTs may encode protein-coding genes involved in cellular and metabolic activities, catalytic and electron transfer activities, cellular and anatomical entities, and protein-containing complexes. Out of 97 UTs that do not have a BLASTn hit, 2 of them match GO terms, TCONS 00034019 and TCONS 00058246, corresponding to the InterPro GO Names, namely P: positive regulation of organ growth (GO:0046622) and F: calcium ion binding (GO:0005509). Three open reading frame (ORF) sequences longer than 300 nucleotides were identified as potential protein-coding genes through SMARTBLAST analysis, showing sequence similarities with Retropepsins, pepsin-like aspartate proteases, DUF4492 domain-containing protein, and a hypothetical protein CTI12_AA006750 in UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the dynamic gene expression patterns during durian fruit development. It highlights the significance of characterising unknown transcripts and their potential roles in biological processes, thus enhancing our understanding of durian genetics.

Computational study demonstrated anti-diabetic potencies of Diosgenin and Multiflorenol as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonist

2024-03-14T11:44:23+01:00

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus continues to rise on a global basis, making this entity one of the most pressing issues facing public health nowadays. Generally, diabetes mellitus is characterized by increased blood sugar levels caused by insulin secretion or action abnormalities. Natural products have become more popular in treating various types of diseases, including diabetes mellitus, due to their minimal adverse effects. Promoting the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARG) activation is an anti-diabetic strategy due to its biological function for adipocyte storage, mobilization, differentiation, and insulin sensitivity. This study aims to evaluate diosgenin and multiflorenol in silico as anti-diabetic drug candidates by targeting PPARG. Several analyses, such as molecular docking, protein target prediction, biological function prediction, protein-protein interaction, and pharmacokinetics analyses were carried out in this study. Computational prediction showed PPARG have involved in several activities, such as fat cell differentiation, fatty acid oxidation, fatty acid transport, and cellular response to fatty acid. The binding affinity score revealed that diosgenin and multiflorenol have a higher value than the control drug. Other characteristics, such as chemical interaction, amino acid residues, and physicochemical properties, demonstrated supportive drug development outcomes. Therefore, based on our findings, we suggested that diosgenin and multiflorenol, both of which target PPARG, would hold promise as potential candidates for an anti-diabetic drug.

Chemical compositions, antioxidant, and anti-hyperglycemic activities of the extract fractions of Terminalia bellirica trunk-bark in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

2024-04-08T14:13:56+02:00

The research aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-hyperglycemic activities of different fractions of extract from the trunk bark of Terminalia bellirica (T. bellirica), a plant commonly used in traditional Asian remedies. The antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH radical-scavenging activity. The in vitro anti-hyperglycemic activity was evaluated via the inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase and α-amylase, while the measurement of fasting blood glucose reduction capacity in treated diabetic rats was used for the in vivo anti-hyperglycemic test. The results indicated that the increase in polarity of the extraction solvent led to higher polyphenol content and DPPH radical scavenging of the extracts. The ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) and water fraction (WF) of T. bellirica exhibited significantly higher α-amylase inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ values of 0.118 ± 0.001 and 0.404 ± 0.001 mg/mL, respectively) than acarbose (IC₅₀ = 0.492 mg/mL), but the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of all fractions was lower than that of acarbose. In the in vivo test, all fractions significantly lowered fasting blood glucose levels in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight without body weight loss, while no effect was observed with acarbose treatment. In addition, the UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis showed that the EAF contains phenolic acids, flavonoids, triterpenes, and their derivative compounds. Thus, the trunk-bark of T. bellirica is recommended as a potent source of natural compounds having antioxidant and anti-hypoglycemic activities.

The Formation, characterization of gelatine from the scales of Labeo rohita and its comparison with bovine bone gelatine

2024-03-28T08:47:27+01:00

The study isolated gelatin from Labeo rohita scales and characterized it using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The resulting gelatine and commercial bovine bone gelatin were found to have crystalline structures, with both being porous and spherical. L. rohita scales yielded 5.45 % of gelatin. The moisture content varied between 11.12 % and 9.02 % for the gelatin, while the ash content varied between 2.17 % and 2.36 %. The protein content was 82.78 % in the fish scales gelatin, while the commercial bovine bone gelatin had 94.27 %. The fat content of gelatin isolated from scales of L. rohita was 1.21 %, whereas fat in commercial bovine bone gelatin was 1.19 %. The fiber contents of gelatin isolated from fish scales was 0.44 % while fiber content of commercial bovine bone gelatin was 0.65 %. The study confirms the high-quality gelatin-bearing characteristics of fish scales, suggesting that it can be produced for various purposes and potentially increase the economic value of fish. The isolated gelatin from fish by-products could also be a valuable resource.