Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. Dalton Trans. 2024 Oct 18. doi: 10.1039/d4dt02538e. Online ahead of print.

Direct O(2) mediated oxidation of a Ni(II)N(3)O structural model complex for the 
active site of nickel acireductone dioxygenase (Ni-ARD): characterization, 
biomimetic reactivity, and enzymatic implications.

Kirsch KE(1), Little ME(2), Cundari TR(3), El-Shaer E(2), Barone G(2), Lynch 
VM(4), Toledo SA(1).

Author information:
(1)Department of Chemistry, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, 
Washington, DC, 20016, USA. stoledo@american.edu.
(2)Department of Chemistry, St Edward's University, 3001 South Congress Ave, 
Austin, Texas 78704, USA.
(3)Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, 1155 Union Cir, Denton, 
Texas 76203, USA.
(4)Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 120 Inner Campus 
Dr Stop G2500, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.

A new biomimetic model complex of the active site of acireductone dioxygenase 
(ARD) was synthesized and crystallographically characterized 
([Ni(ii)(N-(ethyl-N'Me2)(Py)(2-t-ButPhOH))(OTf)]-1). 1 displays carbon-carbon 
oxidative cleavage activity in the presence of O2 towards the substrate 
2-hydroxyacetophenone. This reactivity was monitored via UV-Visible and NMR 
spectroscopy. We postulate that the reactivity of 1 with O2 leads to the 
formation of a putative Ni(III)-superoxo transient species resulting from the 
direct activation of O2via the nickel center during the oxidative reaction. This 
proposed intermediate and reaction mechanism were studied in detail using DFT 
calculations. 1 and its substrate bound derivatives display reactivity toward 
mild outer sphere oxidants, suggesting ease of access to high valent Ni 
coordination complexes, consistent with our calculations. If confirmed, the 
direct activation of O2 at a nickel center could have implications for the 
mechanism of action of ARD and other nickel-based dioxygenases and their 
respective non-traditional, enzymatic moonlighting functions, as well as 
contribute to a general understanding of direct oxidation of nickel(II) 
coordination complexes by O2.

DOI: 10.1039/d4dt02538e
PMID: 39421893


2. Molecules. 2024 Oct 1;29(19):4670. doi: 10.3390/molecules29194670.

N-Oxide Coordination to Mn(III) Chloride.

Saju A(1), Crawley MR(1), MacMillan SN(2), Le Magueres P(3), Del Campo M(3), 
Lacy DC(1).

Author information:
(1)Department of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, 
Buffalo, NY 14260, USA.
(2)Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 
14853, USA.
(3)Rigaku Americas, The Woodlands, TX 77381, USA.

We report on the synthesis and characterization of Mn(III) chloride (MnIIICl3) 
complexes coordinated with N-oxide ylide ligands, namely trimethyl-N-oxide 
(Me3NO) and pyridine-N-oxide (PyNO). The compounds are reactive and, while 
isolable in the solid-state at room temperature, readily decompose into Mn(II). 
For example, "[MnIIICl3(ONMe3)n]" decomposes into the 2D polymeric network 
compound complex salt [MnII(µ-Cl)3MnII(µ-ONMe3)]n[MnII(µ-Cl)3]n·(Me3NO·HCl)3n 
(4). The reaction of MnIIICl3 with PyNO forms varied Mn(III) compounds with PyNO 
coordination and these react with hexamethylbenzene (HMB) to form the 
chlorinated organic product 1-cloromethyl-2,3,4,5,6-pentamethylbenzene (8). In 
contrast to N-oxide coordination to Mn(III), the reaction between 
[MnIIICl3(OPPh3)2] and 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) resulted in 
electron transfer-forming d5 manganate of the [TEMPO] cation instead of 
TEMPO-Mn(III) adducts. The reactivity affected by N-oxide coordination is 
discussed through comparisons with other L-MnIIICl3 complexes within the context 
of reduction potential.

DOI: 10.3390/molecules29194670
PMCID: PMC11477729
PMID: 39407599

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.


3. Langmuir. 2024 Oct 15;40(41):21407-21426. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c02171. 
Epub 2024 Oct 6.

A Study Modeling Bridged Nucleic Acid-Based ASOs and Their Impact on the 
Structure and Stability of ASO/RNA Duplexes.

Dowerah D(1), V N Uppuladinne M(2), Paul S(1)(3), Das D(1), Gour NK(1), 
Biswakarma N(1), Sarma PJ(1)(4), Sonavane UB(2), Joshi RR(2), Ray SK(5)(6), Deka 
RC(1)(6).

Author information:
(1)CMML-Catalysis and Molecular Modelling Lab, Department of Chemical Sciences, 
Tezpur University, Napaam, Sonitpur, Assam 784028, India.
(2)HPC - Medical & Bioinformatics Applications Group, Centre for Development of 
Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Panchavati, Pashan, Pune 411008, India.
(3)Department of Chemistry, Assam University, Silchar, Assam 788011, India.
(4)Department of Chemistry, Gargaon College, Simaluguri, Sivasagar, Assam 
785686, India.
(5)Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Napaam, 
Sonitpur, Assam 784028, India.
(6)Center for Multidisciplinary Research, Tezpur University, Napaam, Sonitpur, 
Assam 784028, India.

Antisense medications treat diseases that cannot be treated using traditional 
pharmacological technologies. Nucleotide monomers of bare and phosphorothioate 
(PS)-modified LNA, N-MeO-amino-BNA, 2',4'-BNANC[NH], 2',4'-BNANC[NMe], and 
N-Me-aminooxy-BNA antisense modifications were considered for a detailed 
DFT-based quantum chemical study to estimate their molecular-level structural 
and electronic properties. Oligomer hybrid duplex stability is described by 
performing an elaborate MD simulation study by incorporating the PS-LNA and 
PS-BNA antisense modifications onto 14-mer ASO/RNA hybrid gapmer type duplexes 
targeting protein PTEN mRNA nucleic acid sequence 
(5'-CTTAGCACTGGCCT-3'/3'-GAAUCGUGACCGGA-5'). Replica sets of MD simulations were 
performed accounting to two data sets, each set simulated for 1 μs simulation 
time. Bulk properties of oligomers are regulated by the chemical properties of 
their monomers. As such, the primary goal of this work focused on establishing 
an organized connection between the monomeric BNA nucleotide's electronic 
effects observed in DFT studies and the macroscopic behavior of the BNA 
antisense oligomers, as observed in MD simulations. The results from this study 
predicted that spatial orientation of MO-isosurfaces of the BNA nucleotides are 
concentrated in the nucleobase region. These BNA nucleotides may become less 
accessible for various electronic interactions when coupled as ASOs forming 
duplexes with target RNAs and when the ASO/RNA duplexes further bind with the 
RNase H. Understanding such electronic interactions is crucial to design 
superior antisense modifications with specific electronic properties. Also, for 
the particular nucleic acid sequence solvation of the duplexes although were 
higher compared to the natural oligonucleotides, their binding energies being 
relatively lower may lead to decreased antisense activity compared to existing 
analogs such as the LNAs and MOEs. Fine tuning these BNAs to obtain superior 
binding affinity is thus a necessity.

DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c02171
PMID: 39370641 [Indexed for MEDLINE]


4. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent. 2024 May;17(5):545-551. doi: 
10.5005/jp-journals-10005-2864.

Mouth Breathing Habit and Their Effects on Dentofacial Growth in Children in the 
Age Range of 6-14 Years: A Cephalometric Study.

Chowdhary K(1), Yadav G(1), Rai A(1), Saha S(1), Dhinsa K(1), Sharma A(1).

Author information:
(1)Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Sardar Patel Post 
Graduate Institute of Dental and Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 
India.

Nasal breathing protects the upper airway and is responsible for adequate 
craniofacial development. It is believed that long-standing obstruction causes 
mouth breathing, which has a negative impact on the craniofacial complex.
AIM: The study aimed to verify the effects of mouth breathing on the dentofacial 
structure by employing cephalometric analysis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study was conducted on 68 patients (34 
mouth-breathing group or study group and 34 nasal-breathing group or control 
group) aged 6-14 years. Study subjects were screened based on the inclusion and 
exclusion criteria. Clinical assessment of nasal function was done to select the 
mouth breathing patients and referred for ear, nose, and throat (ENT) clearance. 
Lateral cephalograms were taken for the study subjects, including both nasal and 
mouth breathers, over which selected landmarks were marked to evaluate linear, 
skeletal, and dental angular variables for comparison with cephalometric 
variables of a normal child.
RESULTS: The mean values of facial height (N-Me, ANS-Me) and mandibular plane 
angle (SN-GoGn) were significantly higher for mouth breathers. The gonial angle 
(Ar-GoMe) for ages 6-14 years was significantly lower in the nasal breathing 
group.
CONCLUSION: The study led to the conclusion that all subjects with a history of 
mouth breathing showed an increase in facial height, gonial angle, and 
mandibular plane angle.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Evaluating dentoskeletal changes in a patient with a 
mouth-breathing habit helps discern the importance of early identification and 
interception at an early age, thereby ensuring a functional environment adequate 
for physiological growth and dentofacial esthetics.
HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Chowdhary K, Yadav G, Rai A, et al. Mouth Breathing 
Habit and Their Effects on Dentofacial Growth in Children in the Age Range of 
6-14 Years: A Cephalometric Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(5):545-551.

Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10005-2864
PMCID: PMC11440658
PMID: 39355183

Conflict of interest statement: Source of support: Nil Conflict of interest: 
NoneConflict of interest: None


5. Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2024 Sep 18. doi: 10.1007/s12010-024-05051-w. Online 
ahead of print.

Investigating the antioxidant potential and mechanism of a hydrazide bioactive 
component of garlic: insights from density functional theory calculations, 
drug-likeness and molecular docking studies.

Ugwu JC(1), Ubah CB(2), Lawrence P(3), Edim MM(4), N ME(5), Enyike JO(6), Edet 
HO(6).

Author information:
(1)Department of Microbiology, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
(2)Department of Microbiology, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria. 
ubahchioma3@gmail.com.
(3)Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Calabar, Calabar, 
Nigeria.
(4)Department of Chemistry, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, 
Nigeria.
(5)Department of Microbiology, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, 
Nigeria.
(6)Department of Biochemistry, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, 
Nigeria.

Glutathione remains one of the most efficient antioxidant compounds in living 
systems, and the biological abilities of hydrazides have been well documented in 
literature. This study highlights the phytochemical constituents of garlic and 
the separation of the bioactive benzoic acid, 4-chloro- 1-(4-methoxyphenyl) 
hydrazide (BA4C) using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) technique. 
Preliminary phytochemical screening reveals the presence of alkaloids, saponins, 
flavonoids, tannins, terpenoids, steroids and phenols. Computationally, compound 
BA4C was optimized using the B3LYP/aug-cc-PVDZ DFT method. Spectroscopic studies 
of the compound involved analysis of the vibrational FT-IR frequencies and the 
modes of vibrations. Frontier molecular orbitals analysis records an energy gap 
of 4.3391 eV; NBO studies reveal that the compound has strong perturbation 
energies of 246 kcal/mol and 269 kcal/mol among its intramolecular interactions 
such as π *C12 - C13 to π *C14 - C15 and π *C11 - C16 to π *C14 - C15, 
respectively. According to the visualization of non-covalent interactions, 
steric repulsions were observed at the core of the phenyl and benzene rings. 
However, other regions of the compound depict a significant balance of forces 
between steric repulsions and van der Waals forces. To significantly deduce the 
reducing power of compound BA4C, electrons were found to be highly localized at 
the methoxy and hydrazide moieties significantly implying their propensity to 
donate electrons to oxidized systems. Furthermore, ADMET analysis reveals that 
the compound has two hydrogen donors. Most significantly, the compound binds to 
NADPH dehydrogenase (5V4P) and glutathione reductase (1XAN) with binding 
energies of - 6.0 kcal/mol and - 8.0 kcal/mol showing considerable favourable 
binding feasibility as well as forming plural hydrogen bonds with the amino acid 
residues. Notably, BA4C was bonded at the active site of 1XAN, which implies the 
ability of the compound for the reduction of oxidized glutathione.

© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business 
Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

DOI: 10.1007/s12010-024-05051-w
PMID: 39292337