The impact of major depressive disorder on the short- and long-term outcome of Crohn's disease treatment with infliximab

BACKGROUND: Major depressive disorder is the most common psychiatric diagnosis in Crohn's disease. In other chronic diseases, evidence suggests that depression influences the course of the disease. Strong evidence of such a mediating role of major depressive disorder in Crohn's disease has never been found. AIM: To assess the relationship between major depressive disorder and outcome of treatment of luminal Crohn's disease with infliximab. METHODS: In this prospective study, 100 consecutive unselected patients underwent assessment of psychosocial, demographical disease-related biological and clinical parameters at baseline and at 4 weeks after infliximab. Major depressive disorder was diagnosed using the Patient Health Questionnaire. Subsequently, the patients were followed up clinically until the next flare or during 9 months. RESULTS: The Crohn's disease responded in 75% of the patients, and remission was achieved in 60%. The presence of major depressive disorder at baseline predicted a lower remission rate (OR = 0.166, 95% CI = 0.049-0.567, P = 0.004). At follow-up, 88% of the patients needed retreatment. At univariate regression analysis, major depressive disorder significantly decreased time to retreatment (P = 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression confirmed major depressive disorder as an independent determinant of active disease both at baseline and at re-evaluation (hazard ratio = 2.271, 95% CI: 1.36-3.79, P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Major depressive disorder is a risk factor for failure to achieve remission with infliximab and for earlier retreatment in patients with active luminal Crohn's disease. Assessment and management of major depressive disorder should be part of the clinical approach to patients with Crohn's disease.     

Novel mechanism of U18666A‐induced tumour necrosis factor‐α production in RAW 264·7 macrophage cells

U18666A is a cholesterol transport‐inhibiting agent that is used widely to mimic Niemann–Pick type C disease. The effect of U18666A on tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α production in mouse macrophage cell line, RAW 264·7 cells and peritoneal macrophages was examined. U18666A induced TNF‐α mRNA expression 48 h after the treatment, and TNF‐α production 48 and 72 h after stimulation in RAW 264·7 cells. U18666A accumulated intracellular free cholesterol in the culture of normal medium but not cholesterol‐free medium. U18666A also induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in normal medium but much less in cholesterol‐free medium. Anti‐oxidant N‐acetyl‐L‐cysteine (NAC) abolished U18666A‐induced TNF‐α production. U18666A led to the phosphorylation of p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase 24 and 48 h after the stimulation and the p38 activation was inhibited in presence of cholesterol‐free medium or NAC. A p38 inhibitor reduced U18666A‐induced TNF‐α production. Taken together, U18666A was suggested to induce TNF‐α production in RAW 264·7 cells via free cholesterol accumulation‐mediated ROS generation.     

Comparative evaluation of cytotoxic,antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the crude extracts of three Plectranthus species grown in Saudi Arabia

Natural products from medicinal plants represent major resource of novel therapeutic substances for combating serious diseases including cancers and microbial infections. The genus Plectranthus (Family: Labiatae) represents a large and widespread group of species with a diversity of traditional uses in treatment of various ailments. Therefore, this research study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of three Plectranthus species growing in Saudi Arabia namely P. cylindraceus Hocst. ex Benth., P. asirensis JRI Wood and P. barbatus Andrews. Moreover, this work focused on the isolation of the active constituents responsible for the activities from the most active Plectranthus species.The extracts were tested for their cytotoxic activity against three cancer cell lines (Hela, HepG2 and HT-29), using MTT-test, antimicrobial activity against Gram positive, Gram negative bacterial and fungal strains using broth micro-dilution assay for minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC) and antioxidant activity using scavenging activity of DPPH radical and β-carotene-linoleic acid methods. The ethanolic extracts of the Plectranthus species showed remarkable cytotoxic activity against all cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values ranging between 10.1?±?0.33 to 102.6?±?8.66?μg/mL and a great and antimicrobial activity with MIC values between 62.5 and 250?µg/mL. In addition, the three Plectranthus species showed almost moderate antioxidant activity. The most interesting cytotoxic and antimicrobial results were observed with the extract of P. barbatus. Consequently, this extract was partitioned between water and n-hexane, chloroform and n-butanol and tested. The cytotoxic activity resided predominantly in the n-hexane and chloroform fractions. The analysis of the chloroform fraction led to the isolation of four diterpenoid compounds, two of labdane- and two of abietane-type, which were identified as coleonol B, forskolin, sugiol and 5,6-dehydrosugiol. Purification of the n-hexane fraction led to isolation of a major abietane-type diterpene, which was identified as ferruginol. Sugiol, 5,6-dehydrosugiol and ferruginol were isolated for the first time from P. barbatus in this study. The isolated diterpenoids showed variable cytotoxic effects with IC₅₀ values between 15.1?±?2.03 and 242?±?13.3?µg/mL, a great antimicrobial activity with MIC values between 15.6 and 129?µg/mL and a total antioxidant activity ranging from 23.1?±?2.9 to 69.2?±?3.8%.     

Microwave-assisted eco-dyeing of bio mordanted silk fabric using cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum Verum) based yellow natural dye

The revival of sustainable plant-based dyes, now a day is becoming the demands of the global community in every field. The current study has been concerned with the exploration of cinnamon bark as a source of yellow natural colorant for silk dyeing. The yellow dye has been extracted in various media and exposed to microwave treatment for up to 6 min. The results show that dyeing of irradiated fabric at 35 °C for 45 min using an irradiated extract of 3 pH containing 1g of salt as a leveling agent has given excellent results. Salt of Al& Fe as sustainable chemical mordants & extract of acacia, henna, rose, pomegranate and turmeric as sustainable bio-mordants employed have not only given new shades but also improved fastness ratings. Conclusively, the microwave treatment has not only enhanced the extraction yield of dye from cinnamon bark but also has made the process more sustainable and ecofriendly by utilizing bio-mordants extracts.     

Siphonocholin isolated from red sea sponge Siphonochalina siphonella attenuates quorum sensing controlled virulence and biofilm formation

Increasing incidence of multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens, especially in clinical settings, has been developed into a grave health situation. The drug resistance problem demands the necessity for alternative unique therapeutic policies. One such tactic is targeting the quorum sensing (QS) controlled virulence and biofilm production. In this study, we evaluated a marine steroid Siphonocholin (Syph-1) isolated from Siphonochalina siphonella against Chromobacterium violaceum (CV) 12472, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Acinetobacter baumannii (BAA) for biofilm and pellicle formation inhibition, and anti-QS property. MIC of Syph-1 against MRSA, CV, PAO1 was found as 64 µg/mL and 256 µg/mL against BAA. At selected sub-MICs, Syph-1 significantly (P ≤ 0.05) decreased the production of QS regulated virulence functions of CV12472 (violacein) and PAO1 [elastase, total protease, pyocyanin, chitinase, exopolysaccharides, and swarming motility]. The Syph-1 significantly decreased (p = 0.005) biofilm formation ability of tested bacterial pathogens, at sub-MIC level (PAO1 > MRSA > CV > BAA) and pellicle formation in A. baumannii (at 128 µg/mL). Molecular docking and simulation results indicated that Siph-1 was bound at the active site of BfmR N-terminal domain with high affinity. This study highlights the anti-QS and anti-biofilm activity of Syph-1 against bacterial pathogens reflecting its broad spectrum anti-infective potential.     

Streblus asper attenuates alloxan-induced diabetes in rats and demonstrates antioxidant and cytotoxic effects

ContextStreblus asper Lour. (Moraceae) is used for the treatment of different ailments, including diabetes, and requires scientific validation.ObjectiveThe study evaluates antidiabetic effects, antioxidant potential, and cytotoxicity of leaf and bark extracts of S. asper.Materials and methodsAntidiabetic effects were assessed by inducing diabetes in Wistar albino rats (n = 5, six groups included 30 rats) by injecting alloxan [0.25 mg/kg body weight (bw)] intraperitoneally, and efficacy of methanol extracts of leaf and bark, and aqueous extract of leaves were evaluated by oral administration of 300 mg/kg bw of extracts for 3 weeks. Glibenclamide (Dibenol™) was used as a control (10 mg/kg bw). Antioxidant properties were examined by DPPH free radical scavenging activity, and cytotoxicity was investigated using a brine shrimp lethality assay.ResultsMethanol extracts of leaves and bark, and the aqueous extract of leaves of S. asper, caused significant reductions in blood glucose levels in diabetic rats of 36.83, 70.33, and 52.71%, respectively, after 21 days of treatment. IC₅₀ values in DPPH radical scavenging assessment for those extracts were 58.92, 88.54, and 111.36 µg/mL, respectively. LC₅₀ values for brine shrimp lethality for the extracts were 173.80, 32.36, and 3235.9 µg/mL, respectively.Discussion and conclusionsThe methanol bark extract of S. asper showed significant antidiabetic activity. This study will significantly contribute to establishing the plant as an alternative medicinal resource for rural populations of Bangladesh and provides an opportunity for further research to identify the primary active compound(s) and establish new drug candidates.     

Correction: Efficient broadband light absorption in thin-film a-Si solar cell based on double sided hybrid bi-metallic nanogratings

Correction for ‘Efficient broadband light absorption in thin-film a-Si solar cell based on double sided hybrid bi-metallic nanogratings’ by Fazal E. Subhan et al., RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 11836–11842, DOI: 10.1039/C9RA10232A.

The authors regret that the name of one of the authors (Rehan Ullah Khan) was shown incorrectly in the original article. In addition, the affiliations for this author were incorrectly given. The corrected author list and affiliations are as shown above.The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers.