Papers by Saravanan Dharmaraj
Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. The drawbacks of convent... more Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. The drawbacks of conventional chemotherapy such as resistance, lack of specificity, severe toxicity warrant the need to explore alternative approach for the treatment of cancer. Antimicrobial peptides are part of the innate defense mechanism of all organisms and have been developed as potential alternatives in combatting infectious diseases. In addition, anticancer effects of many peptides have been reported with remarkable prospects in some in vitro studies especially on breast, cervical and lung cancer cell lines, and in vivo murine tumour xenografts. This review summarizes the reports on the activities of some selected anticancer peptides on various cancer cell lines.
Sensors and Materials
A taste sensor was userl for organoleptic profrling and quality evaluation oI Centella asiatica e... more A taste sensor was userl for organoleptic profrling and quality evaluation oI Centella asiatica extracts and isolates on the basis of basic tastes i.e., sweett sour, bitter, salty and umami. The sensor uses an array of eiectrocies composeci of ciifferent iipiei poiymer membranes. The potentiometric data obtained were classified using principle component analysis (PCA) and diseriminant function analysis (DFA). A good correlation was obtained betweeD Centella asiatica extraets (r>0.97) and the salty taste, and isolates (p0.94) and, the umami taste. Similar results were obtained from the DFA method.
Winged bean: Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC: an edible plant with multiple medicinal and pharmacological uses
Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science
A nondestructive, efficient, and accurate fingerprinting method using Fourier transform infrared ... more A nondestructive, efficient, and accurate fingerprinting method using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) has been developed and optimized for the investigation and demonstration of the variance in chemical characteristics among extracts of Ficus deltoidea Jack var. bornensis from different but closely situated origins. The capacity of attenuated total reflectance (ATR) to differentiate these samples were studied using methanol and water extracts which were preliminarily screened using HPTLC with vitexin and isovitexin being used as markers for authentication. The mobile phase used was ethyl acetate: formic acid (0.1%): methanol at ratio of 5:5:2 (v/v/v) and the profile showed that methanol extracts had higher affinity for the markers. The FTIR spectra indicated that there was no obvious difference in spectroscopic pattern for either extracts when comparing samples from different localities but the absorption intensities of some peaks were different. Multivariate statisti...
International Journal of Integrative Biology
A modified Schneider's gel slide method was developed to evaluate the inhibition of urinary Tamm-... more A modified Schneider's gel slide method was developed to evaluate the inhibition of urinary Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP) on the growth of calcium oxalate crystal. The growth of these crystals is an important phenomenon for formation of kidney stones, in vitro gel slide technique followed by monitoring using image analyser was used to study the growth of the crystals. Size related parameters i.e. area, equivalent diameter, convex area and shape related parameters i.e. roundness, aspect ratio and full ratio were measured. These six parameters were processed with multivariate analysis of principal component analysis (PCA) as well as selforganizing map (SOM). The results showed an inhibitory effect on crystal growth by the four concentrations of THP used and positive control of sodium citrate. Both the parametric ANOVA and non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test together with the inhibition index confirmed the inhibitory effect of the THP. The inhibition index for the four protein concentrations of 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 μg/ml were 0.12, 0.15, 0.25 and 0.25, respectively. ANOVA was more sensitive when compared to Kruskal-Wallis since the latter did not show a significant difference between blank and positive control (inhibition index = 0.204) whereas ANOVA indicated that both were significantly different.
International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. The drawbacks of convent... more Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. The drawbacks of conventional chemotherapy such as resistance, lack of specificity, severe toxicity warrant the need to explore alternative approach for the treatment of cancer. Antimicrobial peptides are part of the innate defense mechanism of all organisms and have been developed as potential alternatives in combatting infectious diseases. In addition, anticancer effects of many peptides have been reported with remarkable prospects in some in vitro studies especially on breast, cervical and lung cancer cell lines, and in vivo murine tumour xenografts. This review summarizes the reports on the activities of some selected anticancer peptides on various cancer cell lines.
Research Journal of Pharmaceutical, Biological and Chemical Sciences
Standardization and quality control of herbal products used for the development of medicinal mate... more Standardization and quality control of herbal products used for the development of medicinal materials is important. The objective of the present study is to standardize the Cassia surattensis seed extract. Various chromatographic and spectral fingerprinting techniques, and heavy metal analysis and microscopy of seed were used to standardize the C. surattensis seed. The findings of the current study can be useful to progress and surge further scientific investigation on the seeds of this species. Pharmacognostic investigation of the fresh and anatomical sections of the seeds of C. surattensis was carried out. Pharmacognostic evaluation confirmed the authenticity of the seeds which involved parameters like gross morphology, microscopy of the seeds and functional group analysis by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The chromatographic and spectroscopic evaluation provided the qualitative and semi quantitative information about the main active constituents present in the s...
ABSTRACT Objective: The aims of this study were to identify and evaluate the chemical markers of ... more ABSTRACT Objective: The aims of this study were to identify and evaluate the chemical markers of Ficus deltoidea Jack (FD) varieties namely var. deltoidea, var. trengganuensis, var. kunstleri, var. motleyana, var. intermedia, var. borneensis, var. bilobata and var. angustifolia by high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and to discriminate between the varieties based on Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) data. Methods: Methanol extracts of eight varieties and water extracts of five varieties were subjected to HPTLC and FTIR fingerprinting analysis. Quantification of markers (vitexin and isovitexin) was performed by HPTLC. Cluster analysis of principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was employed to discriminate between the varieties based on their FTIR data. Results: Two markers, vitexin and isovitexin, were found in all of the varieties, but their contents were varied in the different samples. Cluster analysis (PCA and HCA) was employed t...
Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP, 2013
Plants play important roles in human life not only as suppliers of oxygen but also as a fundament... more Plants play important roles in human life not only as suppliers of oxygen but also as a fundamental resource to sustain the human race on this earthly plane. Plants also play a major role in our nutrition by converting energy from the sun during photosynthesis. In addition, plants have been used extensively in traditional medicine since time immemorial. Information in the biomedical literature has indicated that many natural herbs have been investigated for their efficacy against lethal irradiation. Pharmacological studies by various groups of investigators have shown that natural herbs possess significant radioprotective activity. In view of the immense medicinal importance of natural product based radioprotective agents, this review aims at compiling all currently available information on radioprotective agents from medicinal plants and herbs, especially the evaluation methods and mechanisms of action. In this review we particularly emphasize on ethnomedicinal uses, botany, phytoc...
Asian Pacific journal of tropical biomedicine, 2012
To investigate the antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts of Lantana camara (L. camara) vari... more To investigate the antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts of Lantana camara (L. camara) various parts and the determination of their total phenolics content. The extract was screened for possible antioxidant activities by free radical scavenging activity(DPPH), xanthine oxidase inhibition activity and Griess-Ilosvay method. The results showed that all the plant parts possessed antioxidant properties including radical scavenging, xanthine oxidase inhibition and nitrites scavenging activities. The antioxidative activities were correlated with the total phenol. The leaves extract of L. camara was more effective than that of other parts. This study suggests that L. camara extracts exhibit great potential for antioxidant activity and may be useful for their nutritional and medicinal functions.
Research Journal of Pharmacy and Technology, 2015
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder and management of blood glucose level is an important s... more Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder and management of blood glucose level is an important strategy in the control of the disease and complications associated with it. Therefore, components that cause uptake of glucose from the bloodstream and inhibitors of carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes can be useful in treatment of diabetes and medicinal plants are often used to achieve this aim. Morinda citrifolia fruit (MCF) is used in various countries for treatment of diabetes and the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of MCF extract and its biomarker scopoletin on glucose uptake in HepG2 cells as well as its inhibitory effect on α-amylase and α-glucosidase. The safe dosesforMCF extract and scopoletin were at 1 mg/ml and 0.2 μM, respectively as assessed by MTT assaysand these were used for the assays. The extract had glucose uptake of 59.5% which was comparable to the standard metformin whereas the value for scopoletin was 30.6%. The extract had mild inhibitory activity on α-amylase and α-glucosidase with percentage of inhibition at 43.5% and 57%. The biomarker scopoletin showed lower activities at 23.9% and 35.7% for α-amylase and α-glucosidase respectively. Hence, these three activities may possibly be the mechanisms for MCF to exert its antidiabetic activity.
Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) Thwaites (PL) (Family: Annonaceae) is a tall handsome evergreen tre... more Polyalthia longifolia (Sonn.) Thwaites (PL) (Family: Annonaceae) is a tall handsome evergreen tree and it is cultivated all over India. The plant has been commonly used in traditional system of medicine for the treatment of fever, skin diseases, diabetes, hypertension and helminthiasis. In view of the immense medicinal importance of P. longifolia, this review was aimed at compiling all currently available botanical, phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological and ethnomedical information on P. longifolia's including its mechanisms of action. Information in the biomedical literature has indicated the presence of a variety of medicinally-important chemical constituents in P. longifolia. Pharmacological studies by various groups of investigators have shown that P. longifolia possesses significant biological and pharmacological activities, such as antibacterial, antifungal, antitumor, anti-ulcer and antioxidant properties. Beside this, toxicity studies of this plant have revealed no toxic effect on mice. P. longifolia can be considered as an ancient remedy to be explored for the development of various novel therapeutic agents.
Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity assessment of Euphorbia hirta in MCF-7 cell line model using comet assay
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, 2013
To evaluate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity activity of Euphorbia hirta (E. hirta) in MCF-7 cel... more To evaluate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity activity of Euphorbia hirta (E. hirta) in MCF-7 cell line model using comet assay. The cytotoxicity of E. hirta extract was investigated by employing brine shrimp lethality assay and the genotoxicity of E. hirta was assessed by using Comet assay. Both toxicity tests exhibited significant toxicity result. In the comet assay, the E. hirta extract exhibited genotoxicity effects against MCF-7 DNA in a time-dependent manner by increasing mean percentage of DNA damage. The extract of E. hirta showed significant toxicity against brine shrimp with an LC₅₀ value of 620.382 µg/mL (24 h). Comparison with positive control potassium dichromate signifies that cytotoxicity exhibited by the methanol extract might have moderate activity. The present work confirmed the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of E. hirta. However, the observed toxicity of E. hirta extracts needs to be confirmed in additional studies.
Molecules, 2010
Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and hepatoprotective e... more Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of methanolic extracts of L. edodes and the determination of their total phenolics content. Results: The amount of total phenolics was estimated to be 70.83 mg Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE) per gram of dry extract. The antioxidant activity of the L. edodes extract was 39.0% at a concentration of 1 mg/mL and was also concentration dependant, with an EC 50 value of 4.4 mg/mL. Different groups of animals (Wister albino mice) were administered paracetamol (1 g/kg, p.o.). L. edodes extract at a dose of 200 mg/kg was administered to the paracetamol treated mice for seven days. The effects of L. edodes extract on serum transaminases (SGOT, SGPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bilirubin were measured in the paracetamol-induced hepatotoxic mice. L. edodes extract produced significant (p < 0.05) hepatoprotective effects by decreasing the activity of serum enzymes and bilirubin. Conclusion: From these results, it was suggested that L. edodes extract could perhaps protect liver cells from paracetamol-induced liver damage by its antioxidative effect on hepatocytes, hence diminishing or eliminating the harmful effects of toxic metabolites of paracetamol. OPEN ACCESS Molecules 2010, 15 4479
World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2011
To evaluate the usefulness of differentially expressed proteins from colorectal cancer (CRC) tiss... more To evaluate the usefulness of differentially expressed proteins from colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues for differentiating cancer and normal tissues.
Vibrational Spectroscopy, 2006
This preliminary work investigates whether Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), in co... more This preliminary work investigates whether Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), in combination with multivariate analysis can be used to distinguish Phyllanthus niruri Linn. samples from different locations. A FT-IR spectrometer used in this work is equipped with a transmittance accessory. All samples were scanned in the mid-infrared range of 400-4000 cm À1 but only the region of 400-2000 cm À1 that contained the most spectral information was analyzed with multivariate techniques of principal component analysis (PCA), genetic algorithm (GA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and SIMCA. PCA was used to reduce the spectra to three principal components, which explained 96.2% of the whole variance and a plot of principal components two and three showed groupings of the samples according to origin. Secondly, the spectra compressed with PCA were used to develop a LDA. The GA applied for 50 or 100 generations used concept of maximizing the ratio of betweengroups variance to within-groups variance and identified the most discriminating variable for subsequent LDA. The SIMCA technique consisted of constructing an enclosure for each location using separate principal component models and using these models to classify the whole data. The best discriminatory approach was the technique using GA with LDA, where using just six wavenumber variables obtained from application of GA for 100 generations, gave 100% correct prediction for both originally grouped and cross-validated data. However, both PCA-LDA and SIMCA also gave very good classification. Basically, FT-IR analysis is rapid and has the power to discriminate samples in terms of geographical origin with the aid of multivariate analyses. #
Molecules, 2012
The genus Cassia, comprising about 600 species widely distributed worldwide is well known for its... more The genus Cassia, comprising about 600 species widely distributed worldwide is well known for its diverse biological and pharmacological properties. Cassia spectabilis (sin Senna spectabilis) (DC) Irwin et Barn (Fabaceae) is widely grown as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical areas. C. spectabilis has been commonly used in traditional medicine for many years. Information in the biomedical literature has indicated the presence of a variety of medicinally-important chemical constituents in C. spectabilis. Pharmacological studies by various groups of investigators have shown that C. spectabilis possesses significant biological activity, such as antibacterial, antibiofilm, antifungal and antioxidant properties. Beside this, toxicity studies of this plant have revealed no toxic
The PCA and LDA Analysis on the Differential Expression of Proteins in Breast Cancer
Disease Markers, 2010
Breast cancer is a leading cause of mortality in women. In Malaysia, it is the most common cancer... more Breast cancer is a leading cause of mortality in women. In Malaysia, it is the most common cancer to affect women. The most common form of breast cancer is infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC). A proteomic approach was undertaken to identify protein profile changes between cancerous and normal breast tissues from 18 patients. Two protein extracts; aqueous soluble and membrane associated protein extracts were studied. Thirty four differentially expressed proteins were identified. The intensities of the proteins were used as variables in PCA and reduced data of six principal components (PC) were subjected to LDA in order to evaluate the potential of these proteins as collective biomarkers for breast cancer. The protein intensities of SEC13-like 1 (isoform b) and calreticulin contributed the most to the first PC while the protein intensities of fibrinogen beta chain precursor and ATP synthase D chain contributed the most to the second PC. Transthyretin precursor and apolipoprotein A-1 precursor contributed the most to the third PC. The results of LDA indicated good classification of samples into normal and cancerous types when the first 6 PCs were used as the variables. The percentage of correct classification was 91.7% for the originally grouped tissue samples and 88.9% for cross-validated samples.
Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, 2006
The modified Schneider's gel slide method is used to monitor the inhibitory effect of 50% methano... more The modified Schneider's gel slide method is used to monitor the inhibitory effect of 50% methanol extract of Orthosiphon stamineus on the growth of calcium oxalate crystals. The images of crystals grown in the gel were captured at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 24 h with digital camera and image analysis was carried out. A total of nine variables relating to size and shape parameters were calculated and six were used for further analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) and self-organizing map (SOM) were applied in the visualization of the size and shape distribution of the produced crystals using the following six variables: area, convex area, aspect ratio, equivalent diameter, roundness and full ratio. The results indicate that the modified gel slide method with the use of PCA and SOM to reduce the dimensionality of the data allowed an intuitive presentation of the differences in the studied inhibitors. The decrease in crystal growth for the extract and positive control of sodium citrate was clearly evident in the principal component scores and also on the location in the SOM. Evidence about the decrease in growth was also provided by an inhibition index of 0.290 for the extract and 0.255 for the positive control.
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Papers by Saravanan Dharmaraj