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This review investigates the potential of natural compounds obtained from marine sources for the treatment of cancer. The oceans are believed to contain physiologically active compounds, such as alkaloids, nucleosides, macrolides, and polyketides, which have shown promising effects in slowing human tumor cells both in vivo and in vitro . Various marine species, including algae, mollusks, actinomycetes, fungi, sponges, and soft corals, have been studied for their bioactive metabolites with diverse chemical structures. The review explores the therapeutic potential of various marine-derived substances and discusses their possible applications in cancer treatment.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and optimize levofloxacin loaded PLGA nanoparticles (LN) for pulmonary delivery employing screening and experimental design and evaluate their in-vitro and in-vivo performance. The objective was to achieve Mass Median Aerodynamic Diameter (MMAD) of LN of less than 5μm, sustain the drug release up to 120 h and a higher AUC/MIC at the site of action., Methods: LN were prepared by modified emulsion solvent evaporation technique employing high speed homogenization, probe sonication and subsequent lyophilization., Key Findings: The Pareto chart from Placket Burman screening design revealed that homogenization speed and amount of PLGA were found to be significant (P < 0.05). Further analysis by 3 full-factorial design revealed that F-ratio was found to be far greater than the theoretical value (P < 0.05) for each regression model., Conclusion: The optimized formulation with desirability value 0.9612 showed mean particle size of 146 nm, MMAD of 4.40 μm and sustained the drug release up to 120 h in simulated lung fluid. Augmentation in C max (1.71-fold), AUC 0-∞ (5.46-fold), Mean Residence Time (6.64-fold) and AUC/MIC (6.21-fold) of LN through pulmonary route was found to significantly higher (P < 0.05) than levofloxacin (p. o.)., (© 2020 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.)

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a severe disease and it is one of the most raising problems worldwide. This study deals with design, synthesis and in vivo determination of a new set of tetralin-sulfonamide derivatives as anti-diabetic and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-4) inhibiting agents. Most of the new compounds exhibited significant hypoglycemic effect alongside with DPP-4 suppression potency considering sitagliptin as a reference drug. The most promising compounds 4, 15 showed 2.80 nM DPP-4 IC 50 with 20-40 folds selectivity over DPP-8 and DPP-9. 2D and 3D QSAR models were performed using auto QSAR of Schrödinger, QuaSAR of MOE and 3D Field-based QSAR of Schrödinger, respectively. The experimental results revealed that the alignment-independent descriptors, electrostatic and steric field descriptors were significantly correlated with the antidiabetic activity of the new derivatives. In addition, the new compounds were docked in the active site of DPP-4 in reference to sitagliptin to rationalize the binding modes of the compounds with the amino acid residues of the enzyme. Furthermore, 131 I-compound 4 complex was selected to evaluate the pharmacokinetic behavioral profile of compound 4 and its body organs uptakes alongside its elimination pathway as a representative example for the rest of the analogues. The bio distribution pattern of the tracer proved the selective accumulation of 131 I-substrate in the pancreas and rapid clearance from most of the body organs., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized (AgNPs) using aqueous rhizome extract of Acorus calamus (ACRE) and evaluated their in vitro anticancer activity and in vivo toxicity in a Wistar rat model. The synthesized AgNPs showed good catalytic activity against different organic pollutant dyes. In vitro cytotoxic effects of AgNPs were assessed in Hep2, COLO 205 and SH-SY5Y cells using MTT assay. Further, the apoptotic changes induced by AgNPs in more susceptible Hep2 cells were observed through AO/EB, DCFH-DA, Rhodamine 123, PI/DAPI staining, oxidative stress markers and Western blotting. In vivo toxicity study revealed substantial alterations in the levels of serum biochemical markers including AST, ALT, LDH and inflammatory markers such as TNF-α and IL-6 on day 29 when rats treated with AgNPs as compared to control, however, these levels were restored to normal at the end of washout period on day 89. No remarkable changes were observed in liver oxidative stress enzymes. ICP-OES analysis indicated bio-distribution of silver in spleen (5.67 μg/g) and liver (4.98 μg/g) in rats treated with 10 mg/kg b.w of AgNPs on day 29 and elimination of silver from all organs was observed at the end of washout period on day 89. Histopathological analysis revealed no significant changes in kidney, spleen, lungs, heart, testis and brain with 5 and 10 mg/kg b.w of AgNP. However, 10 mg/kg b.w of AgNPs showed moderate degree of cell swelling and vacuolar degeneration in liver and these alterations were reverted back to normal at the end of washout period. Findings from this study signify green synthesized AgNPs at low concentrations might be useful in many ways with ecofriendly nature., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Green synthesis of nanoparticles using plants is gaining much interest in recent years. Anyway, intricate details on the role of phytochemicals involved in capping and stabilization of nanoparticles in diminishing toxicity and enhancing therapeutic potential are required. In this study, Ficus religiosa silver nanoparticles (FRAgNPs) were synthesized using Ficus religiosa leaf extract (FRLE) and characterized. The FRAgNPs showed good antibacterial activity and also cytotoxic effect in different cancer cell lines. Induction of apoptotic cell death was confirmed by various staining techniques, increased expression of cleaved caspases-8, 9, 3, lamin, PARP and oxidative stress markers in A549 and Hep2 cells. The in vivo studies performed in rats revealed significant increase in serum levels of AST, ALT, and LDH, TNF-α and IL-6 on day 29 following oral administration of FRAgNPs. However, these levels reverted back to normal at the end of wash out period on day 89. ICP-OES analysis revealed accumulation of silver in liver, brain and lungs on day 29 with respective concentration of 4.77, 3.94 and 3.043μg/g tissue. However, complete elimination of silver was observed on day 89. Histological analysis performed in vital organs indicated pathological changes only in liver which was also normalized after 89days., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Advancement in the field of nanoscience and technology has alarmingly raised the call for comprehending the potential health effects caused by deliberate or unintentional exposure to nanoparticles. Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles have an increasing number of biomedical applications and hence a complete toxicological profile of the nanomaterial is therefore a mandatory requirement prior to its intended usage to ensure safety and to minimize potential health hazards upon its exposure. The present study elucidates the toxicity of in house synthesized Dextran stabilized iron oxide nanoparticles (DINP) in a regulatory perspective through various routes of exposure, its associated molecular, immune, genotoxic, carcinogenic effects and bio distribution profile. Synthesized ferrite nanomaterials were successfully coated with dextran (<25nm) and were physicochemically characterized and subjected to in vitro and in vivo toxicity evaluations. The results suggest that surface coating of ferrite nanoparticles with dextran helps in improvising particle stability in biological environments. The nanoparticles do not seem to induce oxidative stress mediated toxicological effects, nor altered physiological process or behavior changes or visible pathological lesions. Furthermore no anticipated health hazards are likely to be associated with the use of DINP and could be concluded that the synthesized DINP is nontoxic/safe to be used for biomedical applications., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)