Materials Science Forum Vol. 1025

Abstract: Abstract. To analyze saliva and tongue coating pH in healthy patients with physiological halitosis before and after usage of 5 different types of mouthwash available in Malaysia. A quasi-experimental study was conducted among preclinical IIUM dental students aged 18 to 21 years old. Organoleptic evaluation was conducted by the operator to rank their organoleptic score followed by self-assessment by the participants. Saliva and tongue coating pH we measured respectively beforehand, immediately after and 30 minutes after rinsing with 5 different mouthwashes using a digital pH meter and pH strip indicator respectively; 100 participants were assigned into 5 groups, with 20 samples for each brand. Intraclass correlation coefficient between examiners ranged from 0.76-1.0. Data were analyzed statistically by repeated measure ANOVA test for each brand of mouthwash. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) + test was also used to statistically analyze different pH trends among the five brands of mouthwashes. Significant increase of salivary pH was observed after using MW2 (p<0.001) and MW4 (p=0.015). Significant reduction in salivary pH was observed when using MW5 (p=0.001). For tongue coating pH, significant reduction was observed after using MW2 (p<0.0010), MW3 (p=0.012), and MW4 (p=0.001). However, there was a significant increase in tongue coating pH after using MW5 (p=0.0125). Rinsing with mouthwashes MW2, MW3 and MW4 decreased tongue coating pH, which leads to reduced physiological halitosis

Abstract: Hypertension is a significant public health challenge, responsible for a substantial proportion of deaths and disability globally. Calcium Channel Blockers (CCBs) are an essential class for the treatment of hypertension. However, most of CCBs must be taken more than once daily due to their low oral bioavailability and limited half-life, leading to non-compliance in patients. The development of delivery methods for CCBs is an ongoing effort to overcome the issues related to their delivery via their traditional forms. The administration of the drug through the skin for systemic delivery has been recognised as one of the potential routes in hypertension treatment, especially when drugs suffer from low bioavailability, undesirable side effects and short biological half-life following oral administration. The main limitation of transdermal drug delivery is the resistance barrier of skin layers to penetrant molecules. Remarkable research efforts have been made worldwide to minimise the skin barrier and to create transdermal systems of several CCBs via employing skin-enhancing potential. The persistent progress in this field is promising for development the transdermal dosage forms advance technology in the long term and being commercialised sooner rather than later. This review explores the investigations on the viability and applicability of systemic delivery of numerous CCBs through the skin.

Abstract: Various methods for the clandestine manufacture of amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) involve the extraction and subsequent reaction of pseudoephedrine salts with other essential chemicals. The precursor seized in clandestine laboratory operation is supplied from illegal sources or clandestinely extracted from decongestant tablets (despite the presence of excipients that serve to hamper re-extraction). This work reports the organic profiling of pseudoephedrine from a simulated clandestine extract of different decongestant tablets formulations. The study aims to determine the feasibility of the common extraction techniques in removing other excipients to obtain the precursor compound followed by compound identification of the extracted samples by both extraction techniques used namely direct and acid-base extraction. Five different brands of commercially available pseudoephedrine-based decongestant tablets (sample A, B, C, D, and E) at varying strengths were randomly purchased from various commercial pharmacies and reduced to homogenized powder. Samples were then subjected to direct and acid-base extraction procedures. Extracts were subsequently analyzed and profiled using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) separated using HP-5 MS PDMS column (30m x 250m x 0.25m). Mass spectra were collected with ionization voltage 70 eV, mass range from 40-450 m/z. Data acquisition was obtained with Chemstation software (Agilent, USA) and compounds were identified based on the drug and hydrocarbon library database (NIST 0.6 Version 2.0, USA) and previous literatures. Ethanol solvent recorded the best highest pseudoephedrine yield at 54% for direct simple extraction method from sample B, which was considerably pure as it contains the least excipients compared to the other brands. Meanwhile, acid-base extraction at basic pH in aqueous/diethyl ether (1:2) system at 10 mins agitation recorded higher pseudoephedrine yield (maximum 60.42%) across all the tablets proving that acid-base extraction improved pseudoephedrine purity even for tablets with the complex formulation. Additionally, the GCMS profile reveals the presence of minute excipients within the extracted product. Classification of pseudoephedrine obtained from direct and acid-base methods are shown by principal component analysis (PCA) which account for 77.3% and 78.9% total variation respectively. This information is regarded as chemical profiling useful for forensic intelligence and may assist authorities to combat illegal drug network.

Abstract: The search of novel mPGES-1 lead inhibitors has recently become subject of interest to medicinal chemists due to the safety in comparison to existing NSAIDs such as coxibs drugs. The recent published work revealed that prenylated pyrazolocurcumin derivative as mPGES-1 has been sucessfully designed and synthesized through computational guided 3D-QSAR approach. To improve our understanding, the present paper aimed to develop in silico functional and structural insight of the compound including pharmacophore mapping, molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) simulation using Density Functional Theory (DFT) and druglikeness prediction associated with PGE₂ suppression through mPGES-1 blocking. The data collected from computational modelling studies provide important insight on the molecular conformation and further shed light towards structural modification of the future novel mPGES-1 inhibitors.

Abstract: Asiaticoside is a bioactive compound found in the traditional plant Centella asiatica (Asiatic pennywort or ‘Pegaga’) generally used for wound healing applications. Numerous studies have discussed the potential benefits of asiaticoside on different human cells such as keratinocytes and dermal fibroblast cells in healing of wounds. However only very few studies have been conducted to investigate its healing effect on cells originated from human oral cavity. The present study aimed to determine the potential of asiaticoside on human gingival fibroblast cells. Cytotoxic activities of the compounds were assessed by MTT assay. The wound healing was examined by scratch assay. The effect of asiaticoside on Col1A1 gene expression was also analyzed using qRT-PCR. Col1A1 is known to play a crucial role in wound healing. The MTT assay result showed that the maximum tolerable concentration of asiaticoside was 0.25 mg/ml. The scratch assay revealed that asiaticoside significantly accelerated the wound healing compared to the negative control (P<0.05). Moreover, the qRT-PCR demonstrated that asiaticoside markedly increased Col1A1 mRNA expression. These results proved asiaticoside as a potential candidate for wound healing agent in dentistry.

Abstract: Parkinson’s Disease ongoing progression treatment demonstrated that new treatment had indicated a promising potential to suppress better the motor and non-motor symptoms arising in PD. There are various pre-existing treatment strategies besides therapeutic drugs used in treating PD. This review discusses newly approved therapeutic medications, current advancements and new strategies to overcome Parkinson’s. It includes deep Brain Stimulation, Focused Ultrasound Surgery and Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNP) treatment in suppressing Parkinson’s Disease symptoms.

Abstract: Cisplatin (CDDP) is frequently used as an adjuvant chemotherapy in oral cancer management and often associated with significant adverse effects. Natural occurring compounds have provided considerable value in cancer chemotherapeutic research. Thymoquinone (TQ), the main constituent of Nigella sativa has been widely known for its anti-neoplastic activities with negligible undesirable effect on normal cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate the enhancement of CDDP cytotoxicity in combination with TQ oral cancer HSC-4 cell line. Cytotoxicity assay followed by Isobologram and Combination Index (CI) analysis using CompuSyn software demonstrated that combined exposure of 1.66 μM (‘low-dose’) of CDDP and 1.52 μM of TQ exhibited synergism on HSC-4 cells with CI value <1 (0.362 and 0.538 at 24h and 48h, respectively). In addition, it was revealed that the low CDDP dose used in the assay was sufficient to reduce the percentage of viable HSC-4 cells at the level comparable to those exposed to IC50 dose of CDDP alone (16.9 μM and 1.97 μM at 24h and 48h respectively). The cytotoxicity assay also confirmed that CDDP treatment at the low-dose had no effect on human oral fibroblasts viability. The study indicates the potential use of TQ to augment the chemotherapeutic activities of CDDP against oral cancers while minimizing the CDDP toxic side effects on normal cells.

Abstract: The chemical constituents of Psidium guajava essential oil was analyzed by using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. The essential oil was obtained from dried leaves by hydrodistillation method using a Clevenger apparatus. From the initial screening, 20 components were detected with different amounts traced. The most abundant constituents observed in the oil were Limonene (23.39%), Caryophyllene (18.19%), Cyclooctasiloxane (14.46%), and Pinene (13.50%). The essential oil showed significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis and Bacillus cereus with inhibition range of 6-25 mm. The profile of chemical constituents present in the oil able to serve as preliminary screening of the bioactive components posses in a natural plants for investigating antibacterial properties in regenerative medicine.

Abstract: Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) has been known as a medicinal plant. The objectives of this study is to identify the chemical compositions of M. oleifera pods extracts and to evaluate its total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity. The methodology of this study began with the collection of the pod's sample, drying and grinding the pods into powdered form. M. oleifera pods extracts were prepared by using methanol (MeOH), hexane, dichloromethane (DCM), and ethyl acetate (EtOAc) solvent which yielded respective residues. All extracts were subjected to Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify its chemical compositions. Major compound found in hexane, DCM, EtOAc, and MeOH extracts were nonanoic acid (30.94 %), diisooctyl phthalate (89.45 %), benzoic acid, 4-hydroxy- (37.57 %) and octanoic acid (19.19 %), respectively. The TPC quantification was done via Folin-Ciocalteu method showed that EtOAc extract has the highest phenols content with 500.05 mg GAE/g. Generally, all extract contain moderate phenolic content. M. oleifera pods extracts were screened for the antioxidant activity via 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical. Hexane, DCM and EtOAc extracts exhibited good free radical scavenging activity with IC₅₀ of 65.79 μg/mL, 74.93 μg/mL and 82.83 μg/mL, respectively. MeOH showed the lowest free radical scavenging activity with IC₅₀ 529.6 μg/mL. However, antioxidant activity of all extracts was low compared to standard, ascorbic acid (AA) with IC₅₀ of 19.57 μg/mL. The presence of various bioactive constituents in the M. oleifera pods extracts might contributed to the antioxidant activity of the plant.

Abstract: The present study demonstrated the evaluation of starch based film formulated with Clitoria Ternatea flowers extracts which act as pH indicator. Maceration, sonication and infusion extraction were employed to determine the percentage yield of the flower extracts. Extract solutions (1mg/mL) were subjected to UPLC-QTOF/MS in order to detect and identify the chemical constituents of C. ternatea. UV-Vis analysis is done by treating the extracts (4mg/mL) with prepared buffer solution in various pH value ranged (2.0 – 11.0) and the absorbance were observed within a broad range of wavelength (400-700 nm). 100 mL solution of 4g starch, C. ternatea extracts and glycerol (19g plasticizer/100g starch) in distilled water were undergo gelatinization process to form the desired thin film. The functional group presented in the film and raw materials were detected and defined by analyzing through FTIR spectroscopy. From the results, maceration techniques produced the higher yield of extracts with 41.48% compared to sonication and infusion method. Variation colours of C. ternatea solution were displayed in different value of pH. At pH lower than 3, the extract solution illustrated light red to purple in colour while at higher pH value to the more basic pH (4,5,6,7,8 and 9), the colour can be perceived as blue. From the gelatinization process, the blue smooth thin layer of film was produced. FTIR analysis showed that all of samples contain C-O bond (3300 cm^-1). Starch based film formulated with C. ternatea as pH indicator can be applied to detect the spoilage of foods in the production of food wrapper and packaging.