Kartini Eriani

The semen quality of Gembrong goats is lower than other goats and may be related to the low concentration of testosterone hormone. Implementation of reproductive technology using prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) hormone is beneficial to increase the testosterone hormone in Gembrong goats. This study aimed to determine the effect of PGF2α injection on increasing testosterone levels in Gembrong goats. Male Gembrong goats (n=4), aged 2.5-4 years with similar body condition scores (BCS=3) were used in this study. Goats were divided into two treatment groups (n=2). Goats in group 1 (G1) were injected intramuscularly with 1 ml PGF2α (75 μg), while those in group 2 (G2) were injected with 1 ml physiological NaCl. Semen collection was carried out 30 minutes after treatment using an artificial vagina. Testosterone levels were measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The collected data was tabulated and analyzed descriptively. The results showed that the average testosterone concentration of G1 was higher than G2 with respective concentrations of 6.41 ± 0.70 and 2.81 ± 1.75 ng/ml. It was concluded that administration of PGF2α in vivo could increase testosterone concentration in Gembrong goats.

Turmeric extract (TE) with curcumin as its main active ingredient has been studied as a potential COVID-19 therapeutic. Curcumin has been studied in silico and in vitro against a naive SARS-CoV-2 virus, yet little is known about TE’s impact on SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, no study reveals the potential of both curcumin and TE on the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 cell-to-cell transmission. Here, we investigated the effects of both curcumin and TE on inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 entry and cell-to-cell transmission using pseudovirus (PSV) and syncytia models. We performed a PSV entry assay in 293T or 293 cells expressing hACE2. The cells were pretreated with curcumin or TE and then treated with PSV with or without the test samples. Next, we carried out syncytia assay by co-transfecting 293T cells with plasmids encoding spike, hACE2, and TMPRSS2 to be treated with the test samples. The results showed that in PSV entry assay on 293T/hACE/TMPRSS2 cells, both curcumin and TE inhibited PSV entry at concentrations of 1 µM and 10 µM for curcumin and 1 µg/ml and 10 µg/ml for TE. Moreover, both curcumin and TE reduced syncytia formation compared to control cells. Our study shows that TE and curcumin are potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 infection at entry points, either by direct or indirect infection models. GRAPHICAL

Faizah S, Eriani K, Rosnizar. 2023. Effectiveness test of Diploknema oligomera extracts to the decrease in glucose levels in alloxan-induced BALB/c male mice. Nusantara Bioscience 15: 143-148. People with diabetes mellitus usually consume chemical drugs to lower their blood glucose levels which cause side effects and require a reasonably high cost. Therefore, alternative natural medicines (phytopharmaceuticals) that are safer and more affordable are needed. Punti fruit (Diploknema oligomera H.J Lam) has the potential as an antihyperglycemic agent that can lower glucose levels in the blood because the punti fruit contains flavonoid compounds, tannins, terpenoids, and saponins. These secondary metabolites can reduce blood glucose levels. This research used an experimental method with a completely randomized design, six treatments, and four replications. This study used 24 BALB/C (Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758) male mice grouped into six treatments, namely normal control treatment (P1), negative control by giving alloxan 150 mg/kg bw (P2), positive control by giving glibenclamide dose of 0.65 mg/kg body weight (bw) (P3), ethanol extract of punti fruit dose of 250 mg/kg bw (P4), ethanol extract of punti fruit dose of 500 mg/kg body weight (P5) and ethanol extract of punti fruit dose of 1,000 mg/kg bw (P6). The results proved that administering punti extract (P3, P4, P5) for 14 could reduce blood glucose levels in male diabetic mice with a percentage reduction of 33.6%, 37.4%, and 52.7%, and treatment-positive control decreased blood glucose by 32.6%. The conclusion showed that the ethanol extract of punti fruit at a dose of 1,000 mg/kg bw could effectively reduce blood glucose levels in diabetic mice compared to a dose of 250 mg/kg bw, 500 mg/kg bw and 0.65 mg/kg glibenclamide kg bw. Therefore, punti fruit can be used as a drug candidate to be developed as phytopharmaceuticals in treating diabetes mellitus.

Degenerative diseases, such as osteoporosis, could be treated by stem cells. The aim of this study was to identify the gene expression of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC) derived from Sprague Dawley rats and to assess the effect of Cissus quadrangularis Salisb. extract on their maturation into bone cells. The BM-MSC were divided into three groups: (a) BM-MSCs + osteoblast cell growth basal medium as the positive control; (b) BM-MSCs + Dulbecco’s modified eagle’s medium (DMEM) + 0.3 mg/mL methanol extract of C. quadrangularis as methanol group; and (c) BM-MSC + DMEM + 0.3 mg/mL ethyl acetate extract of C. quadrangularis as ethyl acetate group. A relative quantification approach using was used to analyze the expression of the alp (alkaline phosphatase) gene, with the beta-actin gene was used to normalize the expression of the alp gene. The intra-assay variation was calculated to validate the RT-qPCR data. Our study found that the intra-assay variation value was acceptable, with most of the coefficients of variability (CV) value C. quadrangularis. In the ethyl acetate extract group, the expression of the alp gene increased three times compared to the positive control. In methanol extract group, the expression of alp gene was lower six times compared to positive control. This study suggests that C. quadrangularis extracts using ethyl acetate could induce the maturation of BM-MSCs. However, further studies are warrant to confirm this effect using different indicators.

Physalis minimahas been used as herbal medicine because it is believed by the community to cure neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of P.minima extract in increasing the proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) from mouse (Musmusculus) bone marrow (BM). BM from the femur and tibia were isolated using a flushing method. BM-MSC primary culture was conducted in mesenPROÒ medium at 37ᵒC in a 5% CO2 incubator until it reached a 70% confluence.BM-MSCs were sub-cultured overnight in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Media (mDMEM). The mDMEM was replaced with a treatment medium on the second day of subculture. The treatment medium was changed every three days and evaluated under an inverted microscope by counting the number of cells at the beginning and the end of the incubation period. The proliferation rate is expressed as PDT, which was statistically analyzed using ANOVA at a significance level of 0.05% and followed-up with Duncan's test. Statistically, P. minima leaf extract could significantly reduce the PDT value. The optimum dose of P. minima leaf extract that can increase the proliferation of BM-MSC was 0.8 mg/ml. It is concluded that P. minima leaf extract was effective as an inducer of BM-MSC proliferation. The data obtained is the preliminary data on the use of P.minimaextracts in stem cell-based therapy. The results of this study provide important information in scientifically proving the potential of P. minima extract on stem cell proliferation.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into nerve cells with an induction from chemical compounds in medium culture. Chromolaena odorata contains active compounds, such as alkaloids and flavonoids, that can initiate the transformation of MSCs into nerve cells. The aim of this study was to determine the potential of methanol extracted C. odorata leaf to induce the differentiation of bone marrow MSCs into nerve cells. Methods: A serial concentration of C. odorata leaf extract (0.7–1.0 mg/mL) with two replications was used. The parameters measured were the number of differentiated MSCs into nerve cells (statistically analyzed using ANOVA) and cell confirmation using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: The results showed that the C. odorata extract had a significant effect on the number MSCs differentiating into nerve cells (p < 0.05) on the doses of 0.8 mg/ml with 22.6%. Molecular assay with RT-PCR confirmed the presence of the nerve cell gene in all of the samples. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study showed the potential application of C. odorata leaf extract in stem cell therapy for patients experiencing neurodegeneration by inducing the differentiation of MSCs into nerve cells.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into nerve cells with an induction from chemical compounds in medium culture. Chromolaena odorata contains active compounds, such as alkaloids and flavonoids, that can initiate the transformation of MSCs into nerve cells. The aim of this study was to determine the potential of methanol extracted C. odorata leaf to induce the differentiation of bone marrow MSCs into nerve cells. Methods: A serial concentration of C. odorata leaf extract (0.7–1.0 mg/mL) with two replications was used. The parameters measured were the number of differentiated MSCs into nerve cells (statistically analyzed using ANOVA) and cell confirmation using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: The results showed that the C. odorata extract had a significant effect on the number MSCs differentiating into nerve cells (p < 0.05) on the doses of 0.8 mg/ml with 22.6%. Molecular assay with RT-PCR confirmed the presence of the nerve cell gene in all of the samples. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study showed the potential application of C. odorata leaf extract in stem cell therapy for patients experiencing neurodegeneration by inducing the differentiation of MSCs into nerve cells.

Background: Sperm cells are susceptible to oxidative stress during cryopreservation. Therefore, an antioxidant is necessary to protect them from damages. Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is one of potent antioxidants for fish sperm cryopreservation. Hence, the aims of this study are to examine the effect of FBS on sperm quality after a short period and to determine its optimum concentration on depik (Rasbora tawarensis). Methods: Depik fish were obtained from the Fish hatchery of Lukup Badak, Aceh Tengah District, Indonesia. Sperms collected from the fish were diluted in Ringer extenders containing FBS concentration of 10% (P1), 20% (P2), 30% (P3), 40% (P4), 50% (P5) and 60% (P6), filled into 2 ml cryotubes and equilibrated prior immersed into liquid nitrogen for 15 days. The parameters observed were sperm motility, consistency, pH, fertilization and hatching rates and DNA fragmentation post-thawing. Result: The ANOVA test indicates that the application of FBS in Ringer had a significant effect on sperm motility, fertilization and hatching rates (P less than 0.05). The highest motility (58.33%) was recorded at FBS 60% and significantly different from those at other concentrations. The laddering analysis showed that applying FBS protected the integrity of depik sperms DNA. It is concluded that the optimum concentration of FBS on depik sperm led to a short-term cryopreservation of 60%.

Naleh fish Barbonymus sp. is a commercial freshwater fish, which is indigenous to Aceh, Indonesia. The population of this species has declined over the years as a result of habitat perturbations and overfishing. Hence, the crucial need to develop a cryopreservation method to support breeding programs. This involved the use of a cryoprotectant as an important component. The objective of this study, therefore, was to explore the best cryoprotectant for naleh fish spermatozoa, and a total of five types were tested. These include the DMSO, Methanol, Ethanol, Glycerol, and Ethylene Glycol at a similar concentration of 10%, which were individually combined with 15% egg yolk, and every treatment was performed in three replications. Conversely, Ringer’s solution was adopted as an extender, and the sperm was cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen for 15 days. The results showed significant influence on sperm motility and viability, as well as egg fertility of naleh fish (P <0.05), although the DMSO provided the best outcome, compared to others at 47.17%, 50.13%, and 45.67%, respectively. Furthermore, DNA fragmentation had not occurred in the fresh and cryopreserved sperm samples, indicating the protective effect of tested cryoprotectants. It is concluded that the 10% DMSO and 15% egg yolk is the best cryoprotectant for naleh fish spermatozoa.