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July 2009 - present
Publications
Publications (90)
Objective:
Inflammatory phenomena and increase in oxidative stress in cell physiopathology progression render therapeutic strategies based on nutritional antioxidants necessary. It was thus aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the pomegranate mesocarp extract (PME) on differentiation of preadipocytes to adipocytes in the presence/absence of hyd...
Marine fungi represent an important proportion of the microbial diversity in the oceans. They are attractive candidates for biotechnological purposes and industrial applications. Despite an increasing interest in mycology, marine fungi associated with sponges and algae have been poorly studied in Mauritius. The objectives of this study were to: 1)...
Marine sponges belonging to the genus Neopetrosia represent a quasi-inexhaustible source of novel cytotoxic compounds. Yet studies delineating their molecular mechanisms of action in cancer cells remain scarce. We investigated the cytotoxic and apoptosis inducing potential of the Mauritian marine sponge Neopetrosia exigua derived crude extract, hex...
Biochemometric approach to reveal Terminalia bentzo € e cytotoxic effect against HepG2 cells in relation to its different organs and extraction solvents as analysed via UPLC-MS A B S T R A C T Numerous Terminalia species from the Combretaceae family have been well characterised for their potential anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inammatory activi...
Resistance to the existing arsenal of therapeutic agents significantly impedes successful drug therapy. One approach to combat this burgeoning global crisis is to provide novel and more effective clinical agents. Terrestrial plants have long been exploited as a source of novel drug candidates. In this line, the endemic floral diversity of the Repub...
Biodiversity is the measure of the variation of lifeforms in a given ecological system. Biodiversity provides ecosystems with the robustness, stability, and resilience that sustains them. This is ultimately essential for our survival because we depend on the services that natural ecosystems provide (food, fresh water, air, climate, and medicine). D...
Tropical forests of the islands of the West Indian Ocean region, have a rich and diverse collection of unique plants containing a multitude of chemical scaffolds that can potentially be developed into medicinal agents. Till date, endemic plants from the Mascarene Archipelago have been undervalued but they hold significant economic and biomedical po...
Background
Punicalagin (PG), a component of Punica granatum L., present a significant nutraceutical value in view of its numerous health-promoting properties and abundance. Interest in PG is driven by its complex structure, as the largest molecular weight ellagitannin. Promising results from the consumption of pomegranate juice in clinical trials a...
Nutraceuticals and natural health products globally represent one of the fastest growing sectors of research and development leading to novel products intended for disease risk reduction and human health promotion. The global nutraceutical market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.3% from 2020 to 2027 to reach USD 722.5 billi...
Objective: It was aimed at determining which polyphenolic compound(s) in pomegranate mesocarp
extract (PME) is liable for the antioxidant, anti-glycation and anti-CD36 activities.
Methods: The PME was fractionated using liquid-liquid extraction method. The fractions were
tested for their polyphenolic content, antioxidant potency, anti-glycation act...
Objective:
It was aimed at comparing the glycating capacities of glucose and ribose in bovine serum albumin (BSA) and anti-glycation activity of pomegranate mesocarp extract (PME). The protective mechanism of PME against ribosylated BSA (BSARIB)-induced toxicity was also investigated.
Methods:
BSA was incubated with glucose or ribose in the pres...
The third author’s given name was incomplete in the initial online publication.
This paper aims to help policy makers with a characterization of the intrinsic value of biodiversity and its role as a critical foundation for sustainable development, human health, and well-being. Our objective is to highlight the urgent need to overcome economic, disciplinary, national, cultural, and regional barriers, in order to work out innova...
Tropical forests constitute prolific sanctuary of unique floral diversity and potential medicinal sources, however, many of them remains unexplored. Herein, seven Mascarene endemic plants leaves were extracted and evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant properties and antiproliferative effects on a panel of cancer cell lines using MTT and clonogen...
Mushrooms, both edible and medicinal have received considerable attention against cancer due to their polysaccharides, polysaccharides-protein complexes and low molecular weight secondary metabolites content. Every year, millions of people die because of this disease. Existing cancer therapies are poised with questions of efficacy, toxicity and adv...
Diet composition has been speculated to play a marked role on insulin resistance and hence on increasing the risk to the development of several chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are among the top leading causes of death worldwide, and there is a dire need to un...
With about 25% of life-saving pharmaceutical drugs derived from plants, unexplored flora offer much promise as a source of new pharmacologically active molecules. Despite the number of challenges associated with plants as a drug discovery source, the thousands to millions of different molecules that plants produce cannot be disregarded in the wake...
The evaluation of herbal extracts’ toxicity profiles are crucial when validating their therapeutic potential. Hence, an in vitro model using embryonic dorsal aorta region from day 11 mice embryo and cKit+ cells from B6 mice bone marrow was used to evaluate the hematotoxicity of three Mauritian endemic medicinal plants. At high concentration, all th...
Biological diversity sustains humanity. It is the nature of the evolutionary process for biodiversity to wax and wane over time, but biodiversity is currently declining at rates undocumented in human history and anthropogenic activities are the primary drivers of biodiversity losses. A variety of solutions have been proposed as means to protect nat...
Objective: This clinical study monitored the effect of eating cooked Moringa oleifera leaves on the blood pressure (BP) of healthy participants in view of the perception that consumption of Moringa is associated with an increase in blood pressure, which is contradictory to the findings from the literature.
Methods: A random sample of 41 healthy par...
Terrestrial plants have contributed massively to the development of modern oncologic drugs. Despite the wide acceptance of Mauritian endemic flowering plants in traditional medicine, scientific evidence of their chemotherapeutic potential is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro tumor cytotoxicity of leaf extracts from five Mauritian e...
The magnitude of non-communicable diseases epidemic in Mauritius heralds the need for increased attention. One of the key strategies includes the optimal use of nutritionally and medicinally rich indigenous crops, as a means of curbing the impact of this epidemic. The purpose of this study was to explore the Moringa oleifera leaves and pods consump...
The Mauritian endemic plants represent untapped resources, which must be probed into to establish therapeutic activities. This study aimed at determining a broad spectrum of in vitro bioactivities of twelve endemic plants. Total phenolics, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins were determined spectrophotometrically and by High Performance Liquid Chromat...
Marine sponges (Phylum Porifera) have consistently been a prolific source of new marine natural products with unprecedented chemical scaffolds and potential pharmaceutical applications. Other than their chemical diversity, these compounds possess remarkable bioactivities. This great potential has aroused applications of sponge natural products as t...
Looking to nature for medicine is nothing new – we have been doing it for tens of thousands of years
and although modern pharmaceutical science has come a long way from those ancient roots, nature
is and will always be an important source of useful compounds and inspiration. Dismissing
nature in this regard is a huge mistake as evolution is the gre...
Ethnopharmacological relevance
The Mauritian endemic flora has been recorded to be used as medicines for nearly 300 years. Despite acceptance of these endemic plants among the local population, proper documentation of their therapeutic uses is scarce. This review aims at summarising documented traditional uses of Mauritian endemic species with exi...
This study aimed at investigating and comparing the anti-diabetic potential of black and green teas. Biochemical analyses indicate higher antioxidant potency, significantly correlated to phytochemicals present, in green teas compared to black teas. Both extracts afforded similar level of protection to erythrocytes against peroxyl radical-induced ly...
Background Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a biomarker to assess long-term glycemic control in diabetic patients and has recently been recommended for diagnosis of diabetes. An evaluation of the Roche Cobas b 101 point-of-care (POC) HbA1c analyzer was conducted to assess its analytical performance. Methods Precision and accuracy were estimated b...
Increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance has led research to focus on discovering new antimicrobial agents derived from the marine biome. Although ample studies have investigated sponges for their bioactive metabolites with promising prospects in drug discovery, the potentiating effects of sponge extracts on antibiotics still remains to be ex...
The balance between acetylation and deacetylation of histone proteins plays a critical role in the regulation of genomic functions. Aberrations in global levels of histone modifications are linked to carcinogenesis and are currently the focus of intense scrutiny and translational research investments to develop new therapies, which can modify compl...
The protective potential of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) mesocarp extract (PME) on a cell model mimicking diabetes-like oxidative stress exposed to advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was investigated. The polyphenolic antioxidant rich PME afforded protection to erythrocytes from AAPH radical-induced lysis and si...
Moringa oleifera Lam, a very resilient plant, currently cultivated in all the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world has a rich history as traditional medicine and food. M. oleifera is being used to improve the nutritional value of staple foods in many parts of the world including Africa. It is considered as an important food forticant in v...
Punica granatum L. (pomegranate) has been valued for its medicinal properties since ancient times and is still being used in folk medicine across the world. The different anatomical parts of pomegranate have been professed with different health benefits in different indigenous cultures and associated traditional medicine. The dietary nature of pome...
Bioactive plant constituents from traditional herbal medicines can simultaneously protect neurons against oxidative stress and act as cholinesterase inhibitors, two key factors involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. This study thus aimed at investigating the antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities of five herbal medicines...
The hepatoprotective potential of edible mushrooms from Mauritius, namely Pleurotus sajor-caju and Agaricus bisporus was evaluated using an N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU)-induced hepatocarcinogenesis Balb/c mice model. Mushroom extracts restored normal weight in MNU treated mice over a 3 month supplementation period. Blood parameter analyses indicate...
Morinda citrifolia L. commonly known as noni is used by the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries due to the plethora of pharmacological activities of its metabolites. In Mauritius, the fruits of M. citrifolia are used in folk medicine against a number of indications. The present study aimed at evaluating the antioxidant activity of ripe and unrip...
Moringa oleifera Lam. has long been used in traditional medicine and for culinary purposes. This study aimed at determining the phenolic content as well as the antioxidative properties of leaf and pod extracts of M. oleifera Lam. in vitro and in mayonnaise and bulk sunflower oil. The methanolic leaf and pod extracts (MLE and MPE) had the highest ph...
Published Abstract
ARCHIVES of Medical and Biomedical Research (Official Journal of the International Association of Medical and Biomedical Researchers (IAMBR) and the Society for Free Radical Research Africa (SFRR-Africa)
Volume 2, Number 1-3, January - July 2015 Page 99
The search for biomarkers to detect the earliest glimpse of cancer has been one of the primary objectives of cancer research initiatives. These endeavours, in spite of constant clinical challenges, are now more focused as early cancer detection provides increased opportunities for different interventions and therapies, with higher potential for imp...
Multiple myeloma is of great concern since existing therapies are unable to cure this clinical condition. Alternative therapeutic approaches are mandatory, and the use of plant extracts is considered interesting. Punica granatum and its derived products were suggested as potential anticancer agents due to the presence of bioactive compounds. Thus,...
In
view
of
the
high
prevalence
of
type
2
diabetes
mellitus,
this
study
aimed
at
determining
the
total
plasma
antioxidant
capacity
of
type
2
diabetic
patients
with
and
without
macrovascular
complications.
The
erythrocyte
catalase
level
was
also
evaluated
because
of
the
implication
of
catalase
as
a
risk
factor
in
diabetes.
90
age-‐,
gender-‐
and
bo...
The role played by dietary factors on health status has long been recognized but it has been only recently that epidemiological, clinical and cell-culture studies have provided a clearer insight on the chemical and physiological mechanisms of the effects of bioactive food constituents on human health. Citrus fruits are rich in phytochemicals which...
With the unprecedented increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, cancers, cardiovascular disorders and diabetes have attained pandemic proportions with limited distinction between developed and developing countries. The emerging pandemic is driven by the combined effects of population ageing, rising levels of obesity and inactivity,...
Tea has been considered a palatable beverage for over 4,000 years before the scientific community advocated its therapeutic potential. It is a complex mixture containing a range of compounds from simple phenolics to complex tannins, many of which have well-recognized biological properties. Epidemiological and experimental investigations have provid...
A pilot study involving 30 Type II diabetic subjects with no macrovascular and microvascular complications and 30 healthy subjects from the Republic of Mauritius was conducted to assess the erythrocyte catalase level and the plasma antioxidant activity in diabetic condition. The total antioxidant capacity was determined using the ferric reducing an...
The deleterious effects of lipid autoxidation are of major concern to the food industry and can be prevented by food antioxidants. In this vein, the phenolic contents and antioxidant potential of traditional plants of Mauritius such as P. betle L. (Piperaceae), M. koenigii L. Sprengel. (Rutaceae), O. gratissimum L. (Lamiaceae), O. tenuiflorum L. (L...
Various reports suggest a high contemporaneous prevalence of herb-drug use in both developed and developing countries. The World Health Organisation indicates that 80% of the Asian and African populations rely on traditional medicine as the primary method for their health care needs. Since time immemorial and despite the beneficial and traditional...
Punica granatum L. has a long standing culinary and medicinal traditional use in Mauritius.
This prompted a comparative study to determine the bioefficacy of the flower, peel, leaf, stem, and seed extracts of the Mauritian P. granatum.
The flower and peel extracts resulting from organic solvent extraction exhibited strong antioxidant activities w...
Rheumatoid arthritis is historically linked with disability and no cure for the disease has been found. This has encouraged a renaissance of traditional medicine for the management of this condition in Mauritius. There are a number of traditional herbal medicines for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. This study aimed to determine the antioxida...
Natural products as disease remedies have a history of near 5,000 years (India, China and Greece), and even today, in this advanced technological age, a revival of interest is being witnessed in the use of natural or plant-based therapeutic agents for the treatment of several pathological conditions. Citrus fruits have been utilised as a traditiona...
A prospective randomized controlled clinical trial determined the effect of Mauritian black tea consumption on fasting blood plasma levels of glucose, lipid profiles and antioxidant status in a normal population.
The study group (71%) consumed 3 x 200 ml of black tea infusate/day for 12 weeks without additives followed by a 3 week wash-out. The con...
In 400 B.C. Hippocrates said, Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food. Despite technological and cultural advances, the essence of these words has seen contemporary resurgence through renewed interest in food and their ability to reduce the incidence of chronic diseases. Thus, the search for novel and effective cancer chemoprevent...
The polyphenolic profile of a leaf extract of the Mauritian endemic plant, Eugenia pollicina, was assessed as a source of natural antioxidants. The amounts of flavan-3-ol derivatives determined by HPLC, were in the order of (−)-epicatechin (EC) > (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) > (+)-catechin (C) > (−)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) with the levels...
Natural phytochemicals derived from dietary sources or medicinal plants have gained significant recognition in the potential management of several human clinical conditions. Much research has also been geared towards the evaluation of plant extracts as effective prophylactic agents since they can act on specific and/or multiple molecular and cellul...
The involvement of developing countries in international food trade has transcended ideology from the traditional production of cash crops and raw materials to producing processed or semiprocessed food products. The African continent is endowed with a great variety of plant species and their use for achieving nutritional and therapeutic effects is...
The role of free radicals in the etiology and development of a wide range of clinical disorders has continued to fuel the suggestion that phenolic antioxidants can offer a realistic promise to reduce the incidence of a number of pathologies involving oxidative stress. In this study, the total phenol, flavonoid, and proanthocyanidin contents of the...
There is continued interest in the assessment of the bioefficacy of the active principles in extracts from a variety of traditional medicine and food plants in order to determine their impact on the management of a variety of clinical conditions and maintenance of health. The polyphenolic composition and antioxidant potential of Mauritian endemic p...
The metabolic disturbances in the insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or type 1 and noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or type 2 are associated with a number of complications including cardiovascular diseases, nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy leading to blindness and embryopathy or congenital malformations. Maternal diabetes is associated w...
Naturally occurring compounds have protective effects towards mutagens and carcinogens. The leaf extract of Monimiastrum globosum (Bois de Clous), a Mauritian endemic plant from the Myrtaceae family, was studied for its potency to induce DNA damage in human HepG2 hepatoma cells using DNA migration as a biological endpoint in the alkaline single cel...
The phenolic constituents of Mauritian endemic plants from the Rubiaceae and Myrtaceae family were assessed and correlated with their potential antioxidant activities in vitro. The antioxidant activities of the plant extracts ranged from 0.27 to 1.49mmol Trolox equivalent/g FW and from 0.20 to 1.39mmol Fe(II) equivalent/g FW in the TEAC and FAP ass...
Since the advent of modern drug treatments, traditional medicine has greatly receded in occidental societies. Moreover, only a limited number of medicinal plants have received detailed scientific scrutiny thereby prompting the World Health Organisation to recommend that this area be comprehensively investigated. Cassia fistula Linn is used extensiv...
There is increasing interest in the emerging view that tea improves the antioxidant status in vivo and thereby helps to lower risk of certain types of cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke and its component biofactors could provide prophylactic potential for these diseases. The polyphenolic composition and the antioxidant properties of organic...
Interdisciplinary research endeavors are directed at understanding the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative and chronic diseases that affect human lifestyle. Hence the potential for developing medicinal herb-derived and food plant-derived prophylactic agents directed at neurological, metabolic, cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders abounds....
Accumulating chemical, biochemical, clinical and epidemiological evidence supports the chemoprotective effects of phenolic antioxidants against oxidative stress-mediated disorders. The pharmacological actions of phenolic antioxidants stem mainly from their free radical scavenging and metal chelating properties as well as their effects on cell signa...
The incorporation of L-phenylalanine (0, 5, 50, 100 mg/l) in the culture media of three-year-old calli initiated young leaves of Cassia fistula induced a polyphenolic production enhancement correlated with an increased growth. Maximal increase in growth (0,857 g of dry weight) and optimal total phenol (5,044 g/100g dry weight) and proanthocyanidin...
There has been a resurgence of interest in natural products with a focus on plants as an alternative source of therapeutic compounds. Bioactive constituents from plant sources include plant secondary metabolites like alkaloids, polyphenolics (flavonoids, phenolic acids, anthraquinones) and terpenoids, many of which are pharmacologically active ingr...
