Worldwide, there are plants known as psychoactive plants that naturally contain psychedelic active components. They have a high concentration of neuroprotective substances that can interact with the nervous system to produce psychedelic effects. Despite these plants' hazardous potential, recreational use of them is on the rise because of their psychoactive properties. Early neuroscience studies relied heavily on psychoactive plants and plant natural products (NPs), and both recreational and hazardous NPs have contributed significantly to the understanding of almost all neurotransmitter systems. Worldwide, there are many plants that contain psychoactive properties, and people have been using them for ages. Psychoactive plant compounds may significantly alter how people perceive the world.
1. J Chem Phys. 2024 Sep 7;161(9):094305. doi: 10.1063/5.0222122. Electric field modulated configuration and orientation of aqueous molecule chains. Wang J(1), Li Z(1). Author information: (1)College of Science, Guizhou Institute of Technology, Boshi Road, Dangwu Town, Gui'an New District, Guizhou 550025, China. Understanding how external electric fields (EFs) impact the properties of aqueous molecules is crucial for various applications in chemistry, biology, and engineering. In this paper, we present a study utilizing molecular dynamics simulation to explore how direct-current (DC) and alternative-current (AC) EFs affect hydrophobic (n-triacontane) and hydrophilic (PEG-10) oligomer chains. Through a machine learning approach, we extract a 2-dimensional free energy (FE) landscape of these molecules, revealing that electric fields modulate the FE landscape to favor stretched configurations and enhance the alignment of the chain with the electric field. Our observations indicate that DC EFs have a more prominent impact on modulation compared to AC EFs and that EFs have a stronger effect on hydrophobic chains than on hydrophilic oligomers. We analyze the orientation of water dipole moments and hydrogen bonds, finding that EFs align water molecules and induce more directional hydrogen bond networks, forming 1D water structures. This favors the stretched configuration and alignment of the studied oligomers simultaneously, as it minimizes the disruption of 1D structures. This research deepens our understanding of the mechanisms by which electric fields modulate molecular properties and could guide the broader application of EFs to control other aqueous molecules, such as proteins or biomolecules. © 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing. DOI: 10.1063/5.0222122 PMID: 39230558 2. Heliyon. 2024 May 9;10(10):e30839. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30839. eCollection 2024 May 30. Bio-functional properties and phytochemical composition of selected Apis mellifera honey from Africa. Ndungu NN(1), Kegode TM(1), Kurgat JK(1), Baleba SBS(1), Cheseto X(1), Turner S(2), Tasse Taboue GC(3), Kasina JM(4), Subramanian S(1), Nganso BT(1). Author information: (1)International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Nairobi, Kenya. (2)Malaika Honey Company, Kampala, Uganda. (3)Institute of Agricultural Research for Development, Bangangté, Cameroon. (4)Apiculture and Beneficial Insects Research Institute, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization, P.O. Box 32-30403, Marigat, Kenya. Globally, the demand for natural remedies such as honey to manage ailments has increased. Yet, the health benefits and chemical composition of African honeys are not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to characterise the bio-functional properties and the phytochemical composition of 18 Apis mellifera honeys from Kenya, Uganda, and Cameroon in comparison to the popular and commercially available Manuka 5+ honey from New Zealand. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay (DPPH-RSA) was used to determine the antioxidant property, whilst the agar well diffusion and broth dilution (Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)) assays were used to determine antimicrobial property. Further, colorimetric methods were used for phytochemical analysis. Our results showed that honeys collected from Rift Valley region of Kenya (e.g. Poi, Salabani and Mbechot) and Western region of Cameron (e.g. Bangoulap) had the highest antioxidant (DPPH RSA of 41.52-43.81%) and antimicrobial (MIC (3.125-6.25% w/v) and MBC (6.25-12.5% w/v)) activities. Additionally, the total flavonoid (770-970 mg QE/100 g), phenol (944.79-1047.53 mg GAE/100 g), terpenoid (239.78-320.89 mg LE/100 g) and alkaloid (119.40-266.57 mg CE/100 g) contents reached the highest levels in these bioactive African honeys, which significantly and positively correlated with their bio-functional properties. The functional and phytochemical composition of these bioactive African honeys were similar to or higher than those of the Manuka 5+ honey. Furthermore, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of African honeys revealed 10 most prominent volatile organic compounds that contribute to their geographical distinction: triacontane, heptacosane, (Z)-9-tricosene, tetracosane, 6-propyl-2,3-dihydropyran-2,4-dione, octacosane, 1,2,4-trimethylcyclohexane, 1,3-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl) benzene, 2-methylheptane and phytol. Overall, our findings suggest that some of the tested African honeys are natural sources of antimicrobial and antioxidant therapies that can be exploited upon further research and commercialized as high value honey. © 2024 The Authors. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30839 PMCID: PMC11109849 PMID: 38778936 Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. 3. J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Jul 15;666:355-370. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.021. Epub 2024 Apr 6. Effect of molecular branching and surface wettability on solid-liquid surface tension and line-tension of liquid alkane surface nanodroplets. Jabbarzadeh A(1). Author information: (1)School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Sydney Nano Institute, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Electronic address: ahmad.jabbarzadeh@sydney.edu.au. HYPOTHESIS: Surface nanodroplets have important technological applications. Previous experiments and simulations have shown that their contact angle deviates from Young's equation. A modified version of Young's equation considering the three-phase line tension (τ) has been widely used in literature, and a wide range of values for τ are reported. We have recently shown that molecular branching affects the liquid-vapour surface tension γlv of liquid alkanes. Therefore, the wetting behaviour of surface nanodroplets should be affected by molecular branching. This study conducted molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to gain insight into the wetting behaviour of linear and branched alkane nanodroplets on oleophilic and oleophobic surfaces. We aim to examine the Young equation's validity and branching's effect on fundamental properties, including solid-liquid surface tension γsl and line tension τ. SIMULATIONS: The simulations were performed on a linear alkane, triacontane (C30H62), as well as four of its branched isomers: 2,6,13,17-tetrapropyloctadecane,2,6,9,10,13,17-hexaethyloctadecane, 2,5,7,8,11,12,15-heptaethylhexadecane and 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexapropyldodecane. Nanodroplets with a diameter of approximately 15 nm were released onto the surfaces, and their contact angles were measured. Additionally, using a novel approach, the solid-liquid surface tension (γsl), the validity of Young's equation and line tension for all alkane and surface combinations are determined. FINDINGS: It was discovered that the calculated γsl, deviated from the theoretical γsl,Young predicted from Young's equation for all alkanes on oleophilic surfaces. However, this deviation was minimal for branched alkanes on the oleophobic surfaces but more significant for the linear alkane. The findings indicated that γsl < 0 for oleophilic surfaces and γsl > 0 for oleophobic surfaces. Moreover, it was observed that |γsl| was lower for branched molecules and decreased as branching increased. Line tension values were then determined through a novel method, showing τ was positive for oleophilic surfaces ranging from 1.30 × 10-10 to 6.27 × 10-11N. On an oleophobic surface, linear alkane shows a negative line tension of -1.15 × 10-10N and branched alkanes up to two orders of magnitude lower values ranging from -2.09 × 10-12 to 2.43 × 10-11N. Line tension values between -1.15 × 10-10 and + 1.1 × 10-10N are calculated for various linear alkane and surface combinations. These findings show the dependence of line tension on the contact angle and branching, demonstrating that for linear alkanes, τ is significant, whereas, for branched alkanes, line tension is smaller or negligible for large contact angles. Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.04.021 PMID: 38603878 Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. 4. Plants (Basel). 2023 May 24;12(11):2094. doi: 10.3390/plants12112094. Wax Composition of Serbian Dianthus spp. (Caryophyllaceae): Identification of New Metabolites and Chemotaxonomic Implications. Mladenović MZ(1), Ristić MN(2), Bogdanović AI(3), Ristić NR(2), Boylan F(4), Radulović NS(1). Author information: (1)Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš, Serbia. (2)Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics, University of Priština, Lole Ribara 29, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia. (3)Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, University of Niš, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš, Serbia. (4)School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Panoz Institute, and Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40 Dublin, Ireland. Although ethnopharmacologically renowned, wax constituents of Dianthus species were sporadically studied. A combination of GC-MS analysis, synthesis, and chemical transformations enabled the identification of 275 constituents of diethyl-ether washings of aerial parts and/or flowers of six Dianthus taxa (Dianthus carthusianorum, D. deltoides, D. giganteus subsp. banaticus, D. integer subsp. minutiflorus, D. petraeus, and D. superbus) and one Petrorhagia taxon (P. prolifera) from Serbia. Seventeen of these constituents (nonacosyl benzoate, additional 12 benzoates with anteiso-branched 1-alkanols, eicosyl tiglate, triacontane-14,16-dione, dotriacontane-14,16-dione, and tetratriacontane-16,18-dione) and two additional synthesized eicosyl esters (angelate and senecioate) represent completely new compounds. The structures of the tentatively identified β-ketones were confirmed by analysis of the mass fragmentation of the corresponding pyrazoles and silyl enol ethers obtained by transformations of crude extracts and extract fractions. Silylation allowed the identification of 114 additional constituents, including a completely new natural product (30-methylhentriacontan-1-ol). The results obtained by multivariate statistical analyses showed that the chemical profile of Dianthus taxa's surface waxes is subject to both genetic and ecological factors, whereas the latter seemingly takes a more important role for the studied Dianthus samples. DOI: 10.3390/plants12112094 PMCID: PMC10255586 PMID: 37299073 Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest. 5. F1000Res. 2023 Jun 21;12:436. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.132106.1. eCollection 2023. Nigella sativa L. seed extracts promote wound healing progress by activating VEGF and PDGF signaling pathways: An in vitro and in silico study. Palanisamy CP(1), Alugoju P(2), Jayaraman S(3), Poompradub S(1)(4). Author information: (1)Department of Chemical Technology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand. (2)Natural Products for Neuroprotection and Anti-Ageing Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand. (3)Centre of Molecular Medicine and Diagnostics (COMManD), Department of Biochemistry, Saveetha Dental College & Hospital, Saveetha Institute of Medical & Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai, 600077, India. (4)Center of Excellence in Green Materials for Industrial Application, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. Background: A significant area of clinical research is the development of natural wound healing products and the management of chronic wounds. Healing wounds with medicinal plants has been a practice of ancient civilizations for centuries. Nigella sativa L ( N. sativa) is a medicinal plant that has several pharmacological properties. Methods: The present study evaluated the wound healing properties of Nigella sativa L. ( N. sativa) seed extracts using normal cell lines such as normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) were analyzed through western blot analysis. Furthermore, computational analyses were carried out to screen the potential bioactive compounds for wound healing applications. Results: The results of the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay revealed that, all the tested solvent extracts of N. sativa seeds (including ethanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform, and petroleum ether) did not exert any cytotoxic effects at the tested concentrations. Furthermore, the western blot analysis showed elevated levels of VEGF and PDGF upon treatment with N. sativa seed extracts. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of N. sativa extracts identified 268 phytocompounds. Molecular docking studies revealed that three phytocompounds of N. sativa extracts, including tricyclo[20.8.0.0(7,16)]triacontane, 1(22),7(16)-diepoxy-, adaphostin and obeticholic acid had strong binding affinity with wound healing-related target proteins, showing docking scores ranging from -5.5 to -10.9 Kcal/mol. These compounds had acceptable Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME) properties. Conclusions: Based on these results, N. sativa seed extracts might possess potential wound healing properties owing to the presence of a wide range of bioactive components. Copyright: © 2023 Palanisamy CP et al. DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.132106.1 PMCID: PMC10230177 PMID: 37265686 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Conflict of interest statement: No competing interests were disclosed.