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Background: The flower of Acmella uliginosa (AU) (Sw.) Cass., a naturally grown herb in India, is consumed as a natural painkiller for its notable analgesic properties. Objective: The objective of the study was to establish the role of AU flower methanolic extract in antinociception and its neuromodulatory activities to assess any disadvantage of the drug akin to opioids. Materials and Methods: In experimental rats, plant flower extracts were fed at a dose of 100 mg and 200 mg/kg body weight (BW) for 14 days. Analgesic activity was evaluated through formalin-induced paw licking test. T-maze, novel object recognition (NOR), and rotarod tests were done to assess the role of the extract in memory alteration and neuromotor coordination, respectively. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), reduced glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity from the brain homogenates were done to assess the induced oxidative stress. Results: The plant proved to be a promising analgesic when fed orally up to 200 mg/kg BW dose. No acute toxicity was seen up to 1000 mg/kg. In the T-maze test, extract-fed animals showed a reduction in food searching time. In NOR test, the discrimination index between new and familiar objects was high in extract-fed animals compared to standard group. In rotarod test, the extract did not alter the neuromotor coordination. AChE, GSH, and SOD activities were normal in extract-treated animals. Conclusion: Memory alteration and oxidative stress are two major drawbacks associated with opioid drugs. Our results indicate that the AU flower methanolic extract qualifies as a potent painkiller and overcomes the disadvantages of opioid analgesics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CuO-Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 has been successfully prepared by a two-phase system of hexane-water. • Optical bandgap of Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 decreased from 3.68 to 1.78 eV after decoration with CuO. • Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 actively work in the visible region. • CuO-Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity for MG degradation. CuO-Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 has been prepared in a two-phase system of polar precursor solution and non-polar hexane fraction of Acmella uliginosa leaf extract (AUE). The secondary metabolites in AUE have an essential role in the synthesis of CuO-Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7. The optical bandgap value for CuO-Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 plummeted from 3.68 to 1.78 eV, compared to Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7. The photocatalytic activity was investigated to degrade malachite green (MG) under visible light illumination. As a result, CuO-Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 showed the MG degradation percentage of 88.60% after 90 min of illumination, which was 1.9 times higher than the MG degradation percentage over Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7. The improved photocatalytic activity could be ascribed to the narrower optical bandgap Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 after being decorated by CuO, which effectively works in the visible region. This research suggests a novel method to prepare CuO-Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 as a promising candidate with good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of malachite green under visible light illumination. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leafy vegetables are sources of diet diversification and could contribute to food and nutritional security in African rural areas. However, in some places, little is known about if, how, and why leafy vegetables are consumed. Processing and preservation methods, food forms, and consumption determinants of four leafy vegetables (Sesamum radiatum, Ceratotheca sesamoïdes, Acmella uliginosa and Justicia tenella), known to contribute to the diet of rural populations in the Center and Northern parts of Benin, were investigated. Three hundred randomly selected households were investigated, using rapid appraisal and quantitative survey methods, descriptive statistics and correspondence analysis. Processing methods to prepare sauces varied depending on sociocultural groups. Cooking of fresh leaves predominated, while sun drying was the usual practice of preserving these leafy vegetables. Consumption frequencies were associated with sociocultural groups, food habits, and availability in living areas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction: In-vitro cytotoxicity screening is a useful tool for the discovery of new potential anticancer agents from natural products. Acmella uliginosa (Swartz) Cassini; locally known as 'Pokok Getang' or 'Subang Nenek' has been used to relieve pain associated with toothaches. Methods: The present study investigated the correlation between untargeted metabolites and cytotoxicity effects of methanol crude of A. uliginosa flower on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. All metabolites were determined by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) analyses and the resulting chromatograms were exported to R version 2.13.0 (2011-04-13) software for peak selection. The relationships among the metabolites and cytotoxicity effects were evaluated using Orthogonal Projection to Latent Structure-Discriminant Analysis (OPLSDA) models in SIMCA13 software. Results: The GCMS data revealed the alkylamides were the major compounds in A. uliginosa flower. The inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of flower crude extract were 72.7µg/ml and 62.9µg/ml at 48 and 72 hours of treatment, respectively. The OPLS-DA model successfully discriminated the metabolites contributing to the cytotoxicity effects which both alkylamides; N-isobutyl-2(E),6(Z),8(E)-decatrienamide and N-isobutyl-2E,4Z,8Z,10E-dodecatetraenamide were identified attributing significantly to cytotoxicity effects on human breast cancer MCF-7 cell line. Alkylamides are known to have inhibition activities towards cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 (COX-1 and COX-2) and 5lipooxygenase that contribute to cancer and metastasis development. Conclusion: The proposed method of using multivariate data analysis to evaluate GCMS chromatograms in combination with cytotoxicity effects was successfully applied to identify active biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]