Emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens has fueled the search for alternatives to the existing line of antibiotics that can eradicate pathogens without inducing resistance development. Here, we report the accelerated...

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Context: Depression is an inflammatory, commonly occurring and lethal psychiatric disorder having high lifetime prevalence. Zanthoxylum alatum Roxb. (Rutaceae), commonly called Timur, has high medicinal value and is used ethnomedicinally for the treatment of various diseases.Objective: To evaluate the effect of hexane extract of Z. alatum seeds (ZAHE) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression-like behaviour in Swiss albino mice.Materials and methods: Mice were treated with ZAHE (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) and imipramine (10 mg/kg injected i.p.) for 14 days. On 14th day of the treatment, depression-like behaviour was induced by LPS (0.83 mg/kg injected i.p.) and after 24 h of LPS administration, it was assessed by measuring behavioural parameters and biochemical estimations.Results: Behavioural tests, including the open field test, forced swimming test, tail suspension test and sucrose preference test revealed that ZAHE (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) and imipramine (10 mg/kg injected i.p.) alleviated the depression symptoms of LPS-induced mice. Moreover, ZAHE treatments reversed the LPS-induced alterations in the concentrations of norepinephrine and serotonin (5-HT) and inhibited the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxido-nitrosative stress in the mice. Acute toxicity was calculated to be LD50 > 2500 mg/kg.Discussion and conclusions: This study showed that LPS-induced depression in mice was significantly prevented by ZAHE at both the dosages. In conclusion, ZAHE exhibited an antidepressant activity by altering monoaminergic neurotransmitters in the brain combined with its anti-inflammatory potential. Thus, it could be an effective therapeutic against inflammation-induced depression and other brain disorders.

OBJECTIVE:Hydroethanolic extract of Zanthoxylum alatum seeds (HEZA) in scopolamine-induced amnesia was investigated for memory enhancing activity.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Radial arm maze (RAM) test was performed to evaluate the behavioral activity. Rats were treated with HEZA (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, p. o.) and tacrine (3 mg/kg. i. p.) for 14 days. Scopolamine (0.4 mg/kg) was injected i. p. into rats after 45 min of drug administration on the 14th day. The messenger RNA (mRNA)/protein profile of few markers (acetylcholinesterase [AChE], heme oxygenase-1 [HO-1], nuclear factor-kappa B [NFκB], nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 [Nrf2], protein phosphatase 2A[PP2A], Tau, brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF], tropomyosin-related kinase B [TrkB], Bcl-2-associated X protein [Bax], and Caspase-3) were also measured by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunoblotting assay. Brain cytokines (tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α], interleukin [IL]-1 β, and IL-10) in hippocampus were evaluated using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits.RESULTS:HEZA exhibited anti-amnesic activity as indicated by a significant reduction in the working memory error and reference memory error in RAM. Pretreatment with HEZA significantly down-regulated the expression of AChE, NFκB, Tau, Bax, and Caspase-3 with simultaneous up-regulation of Nrf2, HO-1, PP2A, BDNF, and TrkB genes in the hippocampal tissues similar to tacrine when compared with scopolamine-treated rats. Pretreatment with HEZA attenuated scopolamine-induced elevation of TNF-α, IL-1 β, levels in hippocampus and reversed diminished IL-10 concentrations towards normal levels in the brain.CONCLUSION:Zanthoxylum alatum seeds could probably counteract amnesia. Since its use is mainly reported as a stimulant and tonic, this novel activity could be a boon for the scientists to explore more in this direction.

Rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains has posed a global threat to public health. Hospital-acquired infections, especially in diabetic and burn patients, severely impede the process of wound healing, thereby causing high mortality. This calls for developing a new biomaterial that synergistically destroys pathogenic strains and also helps in promoting wound healing without causing any resistance generation. A new and highly potent antibacterial agent has been developed by integrating the bactericidal and wound healing properties of MoS2 nanosheets and a recently developed quaternized polysaccharide, pullulan (CP), into a single nanoplatform for accelerated wound therapy. MoS2 nanosheets are noncovalently functionalized with quaternized pullulan to yield glycosheets (MCP) that efficiently eradicate both Gram-negative Escherichia coli (5 μg/mL) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (10 μg/mL) within a short period of 4 h, through a synergistic action of membrane damage and chemical oxidation. MoS2 nanosheets coupled with CP exert a membrane-directed bactericidal action through distinct mechanisms of “pore-forming” and “non-pore-forming” pathways, respectively, whereas oxidative stress is induced by MoS2 nanosheets alone to collectively kill the pathogens. The MCP glycosheets have good biocompatibility and are also capable of disrupting and eradicating mature biofilms. Rapid and highly efficient in vivo wound disinfection and healing occurred upon MCP treatment through the reduction of inflammation and promotion of cellular proliferation and tissue remodeling. Thus, MCP glycosheets can emerge as a safe and potential biomaterial for better wound care management.