engleski

Screening natural antioxidants for their activities - from in silico analysis to in vitro probing

The immune system is subjected to a wide variety of stress factors in western society. These include overwork, lack of exercise, air pollution and processed foods. Although it is often financially impracticable to perform extensive clinical studies on mild immunostimulants, it is widely agreed that the benefit of dietary antioxidants in nutritional excess is probably greater than was previously thought. Extensive clinical studies on important dietary antioxidants such as vitamins C and E suggest that there are indeed some prophylactic health benefits, although these studies are subjected to continuous revisions. Even greater benefits are expected from the chemical modification of specific plant phenolic constituents. Potent nutritional antioxidants are coumarines, flavanoides (like quercetin), polyphenols (like resveratrol), rosemarinic acid, etc. The challenges for advancement of natural sources derived therapeutics include development of discovery, validation and manufacturing technologies that are compatible with multifunctional phytochemical mixtures, but also the ability to identify and genetically manipulate complex biosynthetic pathways in plants and other organisms. In order to identify mode of action and potential therapeutic applications of novel natural compounds, research cascade can be shaped in several ways. First clues on potential actions of a purified and structurally characterised compound are gained through in silico similarity search, which can lead to optimal selection of specific assays for biological characterisation. However, several general features should be looked into. First one should be sure that the compound is of high purity, and that solubility issue will not jeopardise the final outcome. And second, any compound that is intended for prolong use, particularly as supplement, chronic treatment medication, should be “clean” of any antimicrobial activity or cytotoxic effects. Our approach in screening natural compounds and their derivatives will be presented.

natural anti-oxidants; in vitro screening; in silico screening

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