A phytochemical approach to explore therapeutic potentials of Terminalia Arjuna bark

girl on a mountain looking at the sun rise

The conventional drug delivery vehicle is expensive and shows poor toxicological profile including the biosafety and biodistribution. A novel, green and bio-based drug delivery carrier is proposed in this project where terminilia arjuna bark (TAB) assisted selenium compound ensures a novel drug delivery vehicle in controlling obesity and associated diseases.

Award

MRes | MPhil | PhD | MSc by Research

Start Date

Usually February and October - at individual School's discretion

Research Opportunities

Summary

There is epidemiological evidence that dietary intake of terminilia arjuna bark (TAB) powder is associated with a lower prevalence of several disorders or chronic diseases. While about 38 phytocompounds have been identified from TAB, the bioactive compounds and their functionalities are not well understood yet. A wide range of pharmacological effects have been reported for TAB using in-vitro and in-vivo disease models, highlighting anti-cancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and wound healing activities in addition to glucose regulation in type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the way to deliver such compounds to the required organs and cells is more important. Lignin, a major component of plants has been used to produce nanoparticles which have several antioxidant properties and delivery capacity.

Aim

To produce lignin-based nanoparticles from TAB and test their toxicity and delivery properties in diverse in vitro disease models.

Goal-A

Understanding lignin extraction process:

To conduct a benchmark study to the current state of the art to facilitate the definition of the project scope, selectivity and sensibility parameters and production set up variables.
To develop a novel lignin extraction process and characterization of various types of extracted lignin.
Molecular mechanisms of TAB derived lignin towards different tissues, that influences obesity and associated diseases

Goal-B

Identifying the influential compound/s and application of the compound/s in in-vitro analyses:

The investigation of this study to elucidate the mechanisms of action of the TAB-derived lignin extracts, expanding the knowledge of healing process. This also infers the influential phytocompounds in TAB-derived lignins are potent anticancer agents, specifically lignin-induced 7-methyl gallate could be a potential candidate for cancer therapy in the near future.