Background: Psychological problem is a key medical issue for numerous neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, for example, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, dementia, seizure and Parkinsonism. Morinda citrifolia (Noni) has been utilized for a considerable length of time to cure or counteract assortment of diseases by conventional therapeutic professionals in Hawaii and Polynesia. Objective: The present study is focused to identify the neuroprotective activity of Morinda citrifolia fruit extract (MCFE) on in vitro and ex vivo animal model by inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme target used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Methods: Acetylcholinesterase inhibition assay was performed by in vitro & ex vivo methods as described by Ellman et al. In vitro antioxidant assay of the extract was performed by DPPH free radical scavenging activity & nitric oxide scavenging activity. Statistical analysis used: Statistical analysis was carried out using non linear regression analysis for plotting the line of best fit for the observed values using GraphPad Prism software. Results: By performing in vitro antioxidant assay the IC 50 value of the standard quercetin was found to be 46.22 µg/ml as compared to the MCFE which has an IC 50 value of 43.14 µg/ml for DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Similarly the IC 50 value of the standard ascorbic acid was found to be 81.85 µg/ml as compared to the MCFE which has an IC 50 value of 148.0 µg/ml for nitric oxide scavenging activity. Acetylcholinesterase inhibition assay was performed by in vitro method and the IC 50 value of MCFE and neostigmine was found to be 31.84 µg/ml & 19.71 µg/ml respectively. Conclusions: The present study investigated the neuroprotective activity of MCFE and it was identified by both in vitro and ex vivo techniques that the phytoconstituents has the ability to improve the learning and memory function by inhibiting the acetylcholinesterase. Key words:Morinda citrifolia, Noni, Acetylcholinesterase, Neuroprotective activity, in vitro, ex vivo. Key Messages: The present study investigated the neuroprotective activity of Morinda citrifolia and it was identified by both in vitro and ex vivo techniques that the phytoconstituents in the plant can improve the learning and memory function by inhibiting the acetylcholinesterase. Further the antioxidant potential of the plant was also evident from the DPPH and nitric oxide scavenging activity. Future studies may be designed for chronic administration of Morinda citrifolia to further investigate the effect on in vivo experimentation and also to identify the safety and efficacy parameters at both preclinical and clinical stages.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are formed excessively in pathological conditions due to non - enzymatic glycation of proteins, lipids or nucleic acids, affecting their structure and function. Isorhamnetin is a naturally occurring flavonoid with anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-obesity, anticancer, anti-diabetic and anti-atherosclerosis activity. Structure activity studies of isorhamnetin reveal the presence of hydroxyl group in the B-ring of isorhamnetin may contribute to antiglycation activity. Hence we hypothised that isorhamnetin may have antiglycation activity owing to its structure as well as antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities by modulating various AGE pathway proteins. The aim of our study was to determine the antiglycation activity of isorhamnetin by targeting various molecular proteins of AGE pathway using insilico docking. The structure of isorhamnetin was imported and drawn in Marvin sketch (version 6. 3. 0). Nearly 17 molecular proteins of AGE pathway were docked with isorhamnetin using autodock tools 4.2 (version 1. 5. 6) software. The present study showed that isorhamnetin exhibited good docking profiles with receptor for advanced glycation End product (RAGE), protein kinase B (PKB/Akt2), activating transcription factor4 (ATF4), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) indicating it may exert good antiglycation activity by modulating these proteins of AGE pathways. However further invitro and invivo studies are required to establish the antiglycation activity of isorhamnetin.

No abstract

The most common human neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Huntington’s disease (HD) etc. have been recognized to result from a complex interplay between genetic predisposition and defective cellular dynamics such as inappropriate accumulation of unfolded proteins, oxygen free radicals and mitochondrial dysfunction. The treatment strategies available today for these neurodegenerative ailments are only palliative and are incapable of restraining the progression of the disease. Hence, there is an immense requirement for identification of drug candidates with the ability to alleviate neuronal damage along with controlling progression of the disease. From time immemorial mankind has been relying on plants for treating varied types of dreadful diseases. Among the various medicinal plants used for treating various neurological ailments, Celastrus paniculatus (CP) popularly known as Jyotishmati or Malkangni is well known in the Ayurveda system of Indian Traditional Medicine whose seeds and seed oil have been used for centuries in treating epilepsy, dementia, facial paralysis, amnesia, anxiety, sciatica, cognitive dysfunctions etc. This review apart from specifying the phytochemical characteristics and traditional uses of C. paniculatus seeds and seed oil also exemplify the comprehensive data derived from various research reports on their therapeutic potential against some common neurological disorders.

Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis with a prevalence of 1-2% in developed countries. The major objectives in chronic gout management are to keep the serum uric acid level towards normal, prevent joint damage due to hyperuricemia and further occurr ence as well as to promote the dissolution of existing uric acid crystals as well as prevent new crystal formation. The present work is aimed at in-vitro xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity between the enzyme xanthine oxidase isolated from bovine milk and Morinda citrifolia fruit extract and comparing against standard drug allopurinol. Further the activity would be ascertained by molecular docking studies of phytoconstituents identified in Morinda citrifolia fruit extract on xanthine oxidase obtained from protein data bank using Molegro virtual docker. The IC50 values were found to be 178.6µg/ml and 99.6 µg/ml for Morinda citrifolia fruit extract and allopurinol respectively. From the docking studies based on the MolDock score, Bisdemethylpinoresinol, Asperulosidic acid, Aucubin, Rutin and Americanin A were found to be the most effective phytoconstituents to bind with the selected xanthine oxidase enzyme as compared to the standard drugs. In conclusion, the extract of Morinda citrifolia was found to possess appreciable hypouricemic activity where one or more of the phytoconstituents present in the extract may be responsible for the activity. Further in vivo studies are required to confirm the hypouricemic activity of Morinda citrifolia fruit extract.