| molecular recognition between serine proteases and new bioactive microproteins with a knotted structure. | microproteins with proteinase inhibitory activity, 28 to 30 amino acids long, with 3 disulfide bridges have been isolated from ecballium elaterium seeds. a peptide (eeti ii) was isolated and behaved as a powerful trypsin inhibitor (kd = 10(-11) to 10(-12) m). it was sequenced, chemically synthesized and the 3-d structure determined by 2-d 1h nmr. the information gained in the process enabled us to synthesize modified derivatives with inhibitory activity towards pancreatic elastase, chymotrypsin ... | 1990 | 2124146 |
| crystallization and preliminary x-ray study of porcine trypsin, free and complexed with ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor, a member of the squash inhibitors family. | porcine trypsin has been crystallized either free or complexed with synthetic ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii, a 28-residue peptide with three disulfide bridges. the crystals diffract beyond 2.0 a. crystals are orthorhombic, space group p2(1)2(1)2(1), with cell dimensions a = 77.32 a, b = 53.81 a, c = 46.91 a, for the free trypsin, and a = 62.25 a, b = 62.27 a, c = 84.66 a for the complex with e. elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii. | 1989 | 2614849 |
| isolation of an anti-inflammatory principle from the fruit juice of ecballium elaterium. | the fruit juice of ecballium elaterium, used as a folk medicine in turkey for the treatment of sinusitis, was investigated for its anti-inflammatory activity in mice. fractions obtained from the juice were tested in mice for their effects on increased vascular permeability, as induced by hoac ip. the active principle was isolated from the chcl3 extract as well as the h2o-insoluble part of the fruit juice and identified as cucurbitacin b. this is the first report that cucurbitacin b has a signifi ... | 1988 | 3404148 |
| sequence requirements of the gpng beta-turn of the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii explored by combinatorial library screening. | the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii (eeti-ii) contains 28 amino acids and three disulfides forming a cystine knot. reduced eeti-ii refolds spontaneously and quantitatively in vitro and regains its native structure. due to its high propensity to form a reverse turn, the gpng sequence of segment 22-25 comprising a beta-turn in native eeti-ii is a possible candidate for a folding initiation site. we generated a molecular repertoire of eeti-ii variants with variegated 22-25 tetrapeptide seq ... | 1999 | 10409654 |
| the cystine knot of a squash-type protease inhibitor as a structural scaffold for escherichia coli cell surface display of conformationally constrained peptides. | the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii (eeti-ii), a member of the squash family of protease inhibitors, is composed of 28 amino acid residues and is a potent inhibitor of trypsin. its compact structure is defined by a triple-stranded antiparallel beta-sheet, which is held together by three intramolecular disulfide bonds forming a cystine knot. in order to explore the potential of the eeti-ii peptide to serve as a structural scaffold for the presentation of randomized oligopeptides, we cons ... | 1999 | 10506290 |
| display of passenger proteins on the surface of escherichia coli k-12 by the enterohemorrhagic e. coli intimin eaea. | intimins are members of a family of bacterial adhesins from pathogenic escherichia coli which specifically interact with diverse eukaryotic cell surface receptors. the eaea intimin from enterohemorrhagic e. coli o157:h7 contains an n-terminal transporter domain, which resides in the bacterial outer membrane and promotes the translocation of four c-terminally attached passenger domains across the bacterial cell envelope. we investigated whether truncated eaea intimin lacking two carboxy-terminal ... | 2001 | 11717287 |
| structure of a hybrid squash inhibitor in complex with porcine pancreatic elastase at 1.8 a resolution. | the crystal structure of porcine pancreatic elastase in complex with a hybrid squash inhibitor (hei-toe i; 28 amino acids) has been determined to a resolution of 1.8 a. to construct the hybrid inhibitor, the trypsin-binding loop of the squash inhibitor from ecballium elaterium was substituted by the sequence of a peptide that was derived from the third domain of the turkey ovomucoid inhibitor and was optimized to inhibit porcine pancreatic elastase. this modification of the squash inhibitor chan ... | 2003 | 12554935 |
| design and characterization of a hybrid miniprotein that specifically inhibits porcine pancreatic elastase. | studying protease/peptide inhibitor interactions is a useful tool for understanding molecular recognition in general and is particularly relevant for the rational design of inhibitors with therapeutic potential. an inhibitory peptide (pmtleyr) derived from the third domain of turkey ovomucoid inhibitor and optimized for specific porcine pancreatic elastase inhibition was introduced into an inhibitor scaffold to increase the proteolytic stability of the peptide. the trypsin-specific squash inhibi ... | 2003 | 12700244 |
| isolation of ani-hepatotoxic principle form the juice of ecballium elaterium. | the antihepatotoxic activity of elaterium (dried juice of the fruits of ecballium elaterium, cucurbitaceae) and cucurbitacin b (isolated from the juice) was studied against ccl4-induced hepatotoxicity. pre- and posttreatment with elaterium and cucurbitacin b reduced ccl4-hepatotoxicity, as shown reduction in the anormally increased sgpt levels. posttreatment caused a significant reduction in the degree of steatosis observed inthe control group, treated only with ccl4. in conclusion, elaterium an ... | 1999 | 15609462 |
| reactions of some cucurbitaceous species tozucchini yellow mosaic virus (zymv). | zucchini yellow mosaic virus (zymv) is a widespread serious pathogen of cucurbitaceous plants. zymv was first detected in hungary in 1995. since then it has become one of the most dangerous viruses of the cucurbitaceae family causing serious epidemics. the virus has many hosts, which - particularly perennial ones - may play important role as virus reservoirs and infection sources in virus epidemiology. on the other hand wild weed species maybe sources of resistance to viruses. our research was c ... | 2004 | 15756830 |
| new binding specificities derived from min-23, a small cystine-stabilized peptidic scaffold. | the randomization of both internal and surface residues in small protein domains followed by selection from a display library is emerging as a powerful strategy to obtain novel binding specificities. small and stable scaffold motifs observed in disulfide-rich proteins are attractive because they are small, stable, and accessible to chemical synthesis. the elementary structural motif found in the squash trypsin inhibitor eeti-ii (ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor) is the cystine stabilized be ... | 2005 | 15882053 |
| immunomodulatory activity of cucurbitacin e isolated from ecballium elaterium. | the immunomodulatory effect of cucurbitacin e, extracted from ecballium elaterium, was tested on peripheral human lymphocytes. these lymphocytes were co-cultured with cancer cells and an interesting lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity was observed. | 2005 | 15908139 |
| effect of aqueous extracts of ecballium elaterium rich, in the rabbit model of rhinosinusitis. | this study was designated to investigate anti-inflammatory effect of aqueous extract of ecballium elaterium, which is topically applied for treatment of rhinosinusitis as a traditional folk medicine in turkey. therapeutic potential of e. elaterium as an anti-inflammatory agent was examined by measurement of no* metabolites in a rabbit model of rhinosinusitis. the results showed that both activity of nos enzyme and concentration of no* metabolites were significantly reduced by topical administrat ... | 2006 | 16191438 |
| the mutagenic and anti-mutagenic effects of ecballium elaterium fruit juice in human peripheral lymphocytes. | the aim of this study was to investigate the mutagenic and anti-mutagenic effects of ecballium elaterium (ee) fruit juice which has an anti inflammatory effect using in vitro human peripheral lymphocytes. for the investigating the mutagenic effects of ee fruit juice, human peripheral lymphocytes was treated with three doses (18, 36 and 72 microl/1) of fruit juice alone for 24 and 48 h. for the investigating the anti-mutagenic effects of the ee fruit juice, the human lymphocytes also treated with ... | 2006 | 16871781 |
| late onset diffuse lamellar keratitis as a result of the toxic effect of ecballium elaterium herb. | to report a case of late onset diffuse lamellar keratitis (dlk) 11 months after lasik due to ecballium elaterium exposure. | 2006 | 17061723 |
| ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal herbs in jordan, the ajloun heights region. | the study of local knowledge about natural resources is becoming increasingly important in defining strategies and actions for conservation of medicinal plants. this study therefore sought to collect information from local population concerning the use of ajloun heights region medicinal plants; identify the most important species used; determine the relative importance of the species surveyed and calculate the informant consensus factor (icf) in relation to medicinal plant use. data collection r ... | 2007 | 17097250 |
| medicinal plants used in kirklareli province (turkey). | in this paper, 126 traditional medicinal plants from kirklareli province in turkey have been reported. one hundred and twenty six plant species belonging to 54 families and among them 100 species were wild and 26 species were cultivated plants. most used families were rosaceae, labiatae, compositae and the most used plants were cotinus coggyria, sambucus ebulus, achillea millefolium subsp. pannonica, hypericum perforatum, matricaria chamomilla var. recutita, melissa officinalis subsp. officinali ... | 2007 | 17257791 |
| cucurbitacins from ecballium elaterium juice increase the binding of bilirubin and ibuprofen to albumin in human plasma. | ecballium elaterium, a medicinal plant, whose fruit juice is used for the treatment of jaundice in folk medicine, has been reported as being capable of decreasing bilirubinemia in animals with jaundice [h.h. elayan, m.n. garaibeh, s.m. zmeili, s.a. salhab, effects of ecballium elaterium juice on serum bilirubin concentration in male rats, int. j. crude drug res. 27 (1989) 227-234]. the aim of this study is to identify the ecballium elaterium components, which are able to modify the binding of bi ... | 2007 | 17601519 |
| ethnopharmacological survey of wild medicinal plants in showbak, jordan. | two main research questions are framing this investigation: (1) the main taxa of the medicinal importance value altered the showbak forest stand and species composition? (2) the most safe species and what are the toxic ones (unsafe). these two research questions are the vital ones to draw a clear image about the wild medicinal plants of this investigated area of showbak region in jordan. 79 wild medicinal plant species were investigated in this study which are used in traditional medication for ... | 2009 | 19429338 |
| engineered cystine knot peptides that bind alphavbeta3, alphavbeta5, and alpha5beta1 integrins with low-nanomolar affinity. | there is a critical need for compounds that target cell surface integrin receptors for applications in cancer therapy and diagnosis. we used directed evolution to engineer the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor (eeti-ii), a knottin peptide from the squash family of protease inhibitors, as a new class of integrin-binding agents. we generated yeast-displayed libraries of eeti-ii by substituting its 6-amino acid trypsin binding loop with 11-amino acid loops containing the arg-gly-asp integrin bi ... | 2009 | 19452550 |
| interrogating and predicting tolerated sequence diversity in protein folds: application to e. elaterium trypsin inhibitor-ii cystine-knot miniprotein. | cystine-knot miniproteins (knottins) are promising molecular scaffolds for protein engineering applications. members of the knottin family have multiple loops capable of displaying conformationally constrained polypeptides for molecular recognition. while previous studies have illustrated the potential of engineering knottins with modified loop sequences, a thorough exploration into the tolerated loop lengths and sequence space of a knottin scaffold has not been performed. in this work, we used ... | 2009 | 19730675 |
| ethnobotanical and phytomedicinal knowledge in a long-history protected area, the abruzzo, lazio and molise national park (italian apennines). | this study reports on the ethnobotanical and phytomedical knowledge in one of the oldest european parks, the abruzzo, lazio and molise national park (central italy). we selected this area because we judged the long history of nature preservation as an added value potentially encouraging the survival of uses possibly lost elsewhere. | 2010 | 19874882 |
| an engineered knottin peptide labeled with 18f for pet imaging of integrin expression. | knottins are small constrained polypeptides that share a common disulfide-bonded framework and a triple-stranded beta-sheet fold. previously, directed evolution of the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor (eeti-ii) knottin led to the identification of a mutant that bound to tumor-specific alpha(v)beta(3) and alpha(v)beta(5) integrin receptors with low nanomolar affinity. the objective of this study was to prepare and evaluate a radiofluorinated version of this knottin (termed 2.5d) for micropet ... | 2009 | 19908826 |
| a dual-labeled knottin peptide for pet and near-infrared fluorescence imaging of integrin expression in living subjects. | previously, we used directed evolution to engineer mutants of the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor (eeti-ii) knottin that bind to alpha(v)beta(3) and alpha(v)beta(5) integrin receptors with low nanomolar affinity, and showed that cy5.5- or (64)cu-dota-labeled knottin peptides could be used to image integrin expression in mouse tumor models using near-infrared fluorescence (nirf) imaging or positron emission tomography (pet). here, we report the development of a dual-labeled knottin peptide ... | 2010 | 20131753 |
| functional mutation of multiple solvent-exposed loops in the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor-ii cystine knot miniprotein. | the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor (eeti-ii), a 28-amino acid member of the knottin family of peptides, contains three interwoven disulfide bonds that form multiple solvent-exposed loops. previously, the trypsin binding loop of eeti-ii has been engineered to confer binding to several alternative molecular targets. here, eeti-ii was further explored as a molecular scaffold for polypeptide engineering by evaluating the ability to mutate two of its structurally adjacent loops. | 2011 | 21364742 |
| hybridization, polyploidy, and evolutionary transitions between monoecy and dioecy in bryonia (cucurbitaceae). | correns's 1903 (berichte der deutschen botanischen gesellschaft 21: 133-147) crosses between a monoecious and a dioecious species of bryonia revealed the simple mendelian inheritance of dioecy and provided the first instance of an xy sex determination system in any organism. bryonia ranges from the canary islands to central asia and comprises seven dioecious and three monoecious species; its closest relative, ecballium elaterium, has dioecious and monoecious populations. we used chloroplast (cp) ... | 2008 | 21632334 |
| effect of ethanolic extract of ecballium elaterium against staphylococcus aureus and candida albicans. | to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract of ecballium elaterium (e. elaterium) fruits alone against staphylococcus aureus (s. aureus) strains and candida albicans (c. albicans) strains, or in combination with penicillin against staphylococcus areus strains. | 2011 | 23569813 |
| protease inhibitors from ecballium elaterium seeds. | several protease inhibitors were found in the seeds of a cucurbitacea, ecballium elaterium, and were separated from one another by affinity and molecular sieve chromatography. three main trypsin isoinhibitors were purified by ion-exchange chromatography and the sequence of the major one, eeti ii, was elucidated and compared with other inhibitors of the squash family. it is a peptide of m.w. 3020 of strong inhibitory activity (ka = 8 x 10(11) m-1) against trypsin, showing high gly content, six ha ... | 2009 | 2654042 |
| solid phase synthesis of a trypsin inhibitor isolated from the cucurbitaceae ecballium elaterium. | the synthesis of a 28-residue peptide isolated from ecballium elaterium of the cucurbitaceae family which strongly inhibits trypsin activities (ka = 8.10(-11)m), using bop as the coupling reagent in a solid phase procedure is presented. this micro protein contains three disulfide bridges in its sequence and was obtained after oxidation of the six half-cystine residues either by air or with the use of carboethoxysulfenyl chloride. after purification by semi-preparative hplc, the synthetic product ... | 2008 | 2635696 |
| genetic diversity and potential vectors and reservoirs of cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus in southeastern spain. | the genetic variability of a cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (cabyv) (genus polerovirus, family luteoviridae) population was evaluated by determining the nucleotide sequences of two genomic regions of cabyv isolates collected in open-field melon and squash crops during three consecutive years in murcia (southeastern spain). a phylogenetic analysis showed the existence of two major clades. the sequences did not cluster according to host, year, or locality of collection, and nucleotide similari ... | 2013 | 23802870 |
| investigation of cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of ecballium elaterium juice based on allium test. | the genus ecballium only comprises the ecballium elaterium (ee) (l.) a.rich species which is a wild medicinal plant found in the mediterranean region. ee fruit juice is widely used in turkish folk medicine for the relief of sinusitis and for several illnesses. up to date, there has been no report on the genotoxicity of ee fruit juice. thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential genotoxic effects of ee fruit juice using the allium test system. allium cepa (a. cepa) bulbs were tre ... | 2009 | 20094642 |
| foraging behavior of three bee species in a natural mimicry system: female flowers which mimic male flowers in ecballium elaterium (cucurbitaceae). | the behavior of apis mellifera and two species of solitary bees which forage in the flowers of monoecious ecballium elaterium (l.) a. rich (cucurbitaceae) were compared. the female flowers of e. elaterium resemble male flowers visually but are nectarless, and their number is relatively smaller. apis mellifera was found to discriminate between the two genders and to pay relatively fewer visits to female flowers (mean of 30% relative to male flowers) from the beginning of their activity in the mor ... | 1987 | 28311999 |
| a method for estimating the proportion of sieve tubes in the phloem of higher plants. | a statistical method has been developed for the estimation of the proportion of phloem area occupied by sieve tube lumen which is applicable to most higher plants. by simple probability, the number of sieve tubes in a given area of phloem is equal to the number of sieve plates present in a series of transverse sections whose total thickness equals the mean sieve element length. the case of oblique sieve plates, where the plate is divided and occurs in more than one section, has also been dealt w ... | 1975 | 24435236 |
| ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants commonly used by local bedouins in the badia region of jordan. | the harsh dry environment of the badia region in jordan harbors many valuable plant species that are well known to be used by the local bedouins (bedu) for medicinal purposes. an ethnobotanical study was conducted as a part of the local knowledge study which was carried out in 2010. the target participants were livestock owners in the arid jordanian badia region. | 2013 | 23727184 |
| the cucurbits of mediterranean antiquity: identification of taxa from ancient images and descriptions. | a critical analysis was made of cucurbit descriptions in dioscorides' de materia medica, columella's de re rustica and pliny's historia naturalis, works on medicine, agriculture and natural science of the 1st century ce, as well as the mishna and tosefta, compilations of rabbinic law derived from the same time period together with cucurbit images dating from antiquity including paintings, mosaics and sculpture. the goal was to identify taxonomically the mediterranean cucurbits at the time of the ... | 2007 | 17932073 |
| 1h and 13c nmr signal assignment of cucurbitacin derivatives from citrullus colocynthis (l.) schrader and ecballium elaterium l. (cucurbitaceae). | 2d nmr-derived 1h and 13c nmr signal assignments of six structurally closely related cucurbitacin derivatives are presented. the investigated 2-o-beta-d-glucopyranosylcucurbitacins i, j, k, and l were obtained from citrullus colocynthis (l.) schrader whereas the aglyca cucurbitacin e and i were isolated from ecballium elaterium l. | 2005 | 15772995 |
| the cucurbit images (1515-1518) of the villa farnesina, rome. | the gorgeous frescoes organized by the master renaissance painter raphael sanzio (1483-1520) and illustrating the heavenly adventures of cupid and psyche were painted between 1515 and 1518 to decorate the roman villa (now known as the villa farnesina) of the wealthy sienese banker agostino chigi (1466-1520). surrounding these paintings are festoons of fruits, vegetables and flowers painted by giovanni martini da udine (1487-1564), which include over 170 species of plants. a deconstruction and co ... | 2006 | 16314340 |
| individual quantitative rdna variation in three species of the cucurbitaceae family. | individual quantitative variation in rdna content within three species of the cucurbitaceae family has been studied by rrna/dna filter hybridization experiments. the results showed a 2.3-fold range of variation in the number of ribosomal cistrons per diploid cell in an ecballium elaterium natural population. this range of variation is compared with the smaller range observed in three cucumis sativus and in two cucurbita pepo varieties obtained as f1 hybrids between pure lines. | 1980 | 7437009 |
| cucurbitacin b purified from ecballium elaterium (l.) a. rich from tunisia inhibits α5β1 integrin-mediated adhesion, migration, proliferation of human glioblastoma cell line and angiogenesis. | integrins are essential protagonists in the complex multistep process of cancer progression and are thus attractive targets for the development of anticancer agents. cucurbitacin b, a triterpenoid purified from the leaves of tunisian ecballium elaterium exhibited an anticancer effect and displayed anti-integrin activity on human glioblastoma u87 cells, without being cytotoxic at concentrations up to 500nm. here we show that cucurbitacin b affected the adhesion and migration of u87 cells to fibro ... | 2017 | 28108377 |
| purification of cucurbitacins d, e, and i from ecballium elaterium (l.) a. rich fruits and study of their cytotoxic effects on the ags cell line | background: the plant ecballium elaterium (l.) a. rich, belongs to the cucurbitaceae family which occupies an important position in traditional medicine prescriptions. it has been reported that a freeze-dried aqueous extract of e. elaterium fruits has cytotoxic effects on the ags human stomach adenocarcinoma cell line. we here focused on anticancer effects of the main chemicals purified from e. elaterium fruits. materials and methods: we isolated cucurbitacins d, e, and i from chloroform, and et ... | 2016 | 27892675 |
| targetting αvβ3 and α5β1 integrins with ecballium elaterium (l.) a. rich. seed oil. | in the present study, the effect of ecbalium elaterium seed oil on adhesion, migration and proliferation of human brain cancer cell line (u87) was determined. treatment of u87 cell line with the seed oil resulted in strong inhibition of their adhesion to fibrinogen (fg), fibronectin (fn). it also reduced their migration and proliferation in a dose-dependent manner without being cytotoxic. concomitantly, by using matrigel™ assays, the oil significantly inhibited angiogenesis. the anti- tumor effe ... | 2016 | 27810778 |
| d-amino acid scan of two small proteins. | a "d-scan" of two small proteins, the disulfide-rich ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii (eeti-ii) and a minimized z domain of protein a (z33), is reported. for each protein, the stereochemistry of one amino acid at a time was inverted to generate a series of diastereomers. in much the same way an alanine scan determines necessary residues for protein function, the d-scan elucidated the critical stereocenters of the 30-residue eeti-ii and the 33-residue z33. the folding properties and activ ... | 2016 | 27494078 |
| effects of ecballium elaterium on proinflammatory cytokines in a rat model of sepsis. | ecballium elaterium (ee) is a plant from cucurbitaceae family. its anti-inflammatory role in sepsis is not well understood. we investigated the effects of ee on serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines and further explored the mechanisms underlying histological changes in liver and ileum following ee administration in a polymicrobial sepsis model. | 2016 | 27191817 |
| histopathological and biochemical effects of ecballium elaterium on sepsis-induced lung injury. | the aim of this study was to investigate the role of ecballium elaterium (ee) on sepsis-induced lung injury. | 2016 | 26822342 |
| a new experimental rat model of pancreatitis using ecballium elaterium. | we originally aimed to determine the beneficial effects of ecballium elaterium (ee) on acute pancreatitis; however, we observed negative effects of ee on the pancreas. thus, we used ee in rats to generate a new model of pancreatitis, which we compared with other established pancreatitis models. | 2015 | 26472695 |
| hepatoprotective and proapoptotic effect of ecballium elaterium on ccl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. | to investigate the effects of perorally administered juice on tetrachloromethane (ccl4)-induced hepatotoxicity model in rats. | 2015 | 26276282 |
| cucurbitacin e has neuroprotective properties and autophagic modulating activities on dopaminergic neurons. | natural molecules are under intensive study for their potential as preventive and/or adjuvant therapies for neurodegenerative disorders such as parkinson's disease (pd). we evaluated the neuroprotective potential of cucurbitacin e (cue), a tetracyclic triterpenoid phytosterol extracted from the ecballium elaterium (cucurbitaceae), using a known cellular model of pd, ngf-differentiated pc12. in our postmitotic experimental paradigm, neuronal cells were treated with the parkinsonian toxin 1-methyl ... | 2014 | 25574337 |
| cholestatic hepatitis due to ecballium elaterium ingestion. | ecballium elaterium is an herbaceous plant belonging to the cucurbitaceae family. this plant is fairly common in the mediterranean regions. it is frequently consumed in infusion, mixture of fruit or even in aerosol in cases of fever or flu. this plant is known for its respiratory and ocular toxicity. hepatotoxicity has never been described in the literature. we report a case of acute cholestatic hepatitis due to ecballium elaterium in a 39 years old patient, with no past medical history. | 2015 | 25573494 |
| peer review report 1 on "a new experimental rat model of pancreatitis using ecballium elaterium". | | 2017 | 27352717 |
| intra-peritoneal administration of ecballium elaterium diminishes postoperative adhesions. | to evaluate the effects of ecballium elaterium (ee), elaterium officinarum, in postoperative intraperitoneal adhesions in rats. | 2014 | 25317995 |
| cucurbitacin-d-induced cdk1 mrna up-regulation causes proliferation arrest of a non-small cell lung carcinoma cell line (nsclc-n6). | despite progress in chemotherapeutic agents, non-small cell lung cancers (nsclc) still have a poor survival rate. thus, development of new therapeutic strategies, specifically against cancer cells is still required. for this purpose, we treated the non-small cell lung cancer cell line nsclc-n6 with the natural product cucurbitacin d (cucd) - extracted from the plant ecballium elaterium in order first to assess its in vitro cytotoxicity, but also to study the genetic changes that it could bring o ... | 2014 | 25202060 |
| phenolic contents and antimicrobial activity of squirting cucumber (ecballium elaterium) extracts against food-borne pathogens. | squirting cucumber (ecballium elaterium), is an indigenous species of the south of europe and the mediterranean basin, sometimes cultivated for its use as a medicinal plant. this study compared phenolic contents in ecballium elaterium organs and their antimicrobial activities against some foodborne pathogens. our results indicated that the plant organs had different total polyphenol contents (ranging from 6.744 to 46.848 mg gae g(-1) dw) the leaves and fruits contained about 6-fold higher phenol ... | 2014 | 24811804 |
| efficacy of iranian traditional medicine in the treatment of epilepsy. | epilepsy is a brain disorder which affects about 50 million people worldwide. ineffectiveness of the drugs in some cases and the serious side effects and chronic toxicity of the antiepileptic drugs lead to use of herbal medicine as a form of complementary and alternative medicine. in this review modern evidences for the efficacy of antiepileptic medicinal plants in traditional iranian medicine (tim) will be discussed. for this purpose electronic databases including pubmed, scopus, sciencedirect, ... | 2013 | 23936834 |
| engineering agatoxin, a cystine-knot peptide from spider venom, as a molecular probe for in vivo tumor imaging. | cystine-knot miniproteins, also known as knottins, have shown great potential as molecular scaffolds for the development of targeted therapeutics and diagnostic agents. for this purpose, previous protein engineering efforts have focused on knottins based on the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor (eeti) from squash seeds, the agouti-related protein (agrp) neuropeptide from mammals, or the kalata b1 uterotonic peptide from plants. here, we demonstrate that agatoxin (agtx), an ion channel inhibi ... | 2013 | 23573262 |
| traditional food and herbal uses of wild plants in the ancient south-slavic diaspora of mundimitar/montemitro (southern italy). | | 2012 | 22672636 |
| keratoconjunctivitis and periorbital edema due to ecballium elaterium. | to report on a case of keratoconjunctivitis with periorbital edema after accidental exposure to undiluted juice of ecballium elaterium fruit during the ripening season of this plant. | 2012 | 22529808 |
| cytotoxic effect of freeze-dried extract of ecballium elaterium fruit on gastric adenocarcinoma (ags) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (kyse30) cell lines. | ecballium elaterium (l.) a. rich (cucurbitaceae), also known as the "squirting cucumber," is a wild medicinal plant found abundantly in moghan, ardabil province, iran. this study was undertaken to examine possible cytotoxic effect of freeze-dried aqueous extract of e. elaterium fruit on cell lines of gastric and esophageal origin namely called ags (human gastric carcinoma) and kyse30 (human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma). | 2012 | 22415321 |
| severe uvular edema and resulting hypoxemia due to single use of ecballium elaterium extract. | ecballium elaterium (also known as squirting cucumber in the mediterranean countries) is a weedy plant that belongs to the cucurbitacea family. the roots and juice of its fruits were used traditionally against a wide range of diseases and symptoms, since it was known for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. the use of the extract, though, has been linked to allergic reactions and toxic effects. in this report, we present a case of severe uvular edema and hypoxemia due to a single use of ... | 2012 | 23569474 |
| selenopeptide analogs of eeti-ii retain potent trypsin inhibitory activities. | three-disulfide-bridged ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii (eeti-ii) is a 28-residue peptide that belongs to the squash family of canonical trypsin inhibitors. herein, we report synthesis and biological activity of three eeti-ii analogs. in each of analog, a pair of cysteine residues forming a native disulfide bridge was individually replaced by a pair of selenocysteine residues. all selenopeptide analogs were chemically synthesized using the fmoc protocol and subsequently folded in the pr ... | 2011 | 20958922 |
| the safety and efficacy of the fruit juice of ecballium elaterium in the treatment of acute rhinosinusitis. | | 2009 | 19958105 |
| phytochemical analysis and allelopathic activity of essential oils of ecballium elaterium a. richard growing in iran. | the hydrodistillated essential oils from leaves and fruits of ecballium elaterium were analysed by gc-ms. octyl octanoate (30.0%), 3-(6,6- dimethyl-5-oxohept-2-enyl)-cyclohexanone (20.4%) and hexahydro farnesyl acetone (19.1%) were the main components among 21 constituents characterised in the leaf oil. twenty-one compounds were also identified in the oil of the fruits, with e-anethol (31.6%) and 3-(6,6-dimethyl-5-oxohept-2-enyl)-cyclohexanone (8.8%) as the main constituents. furthermore, allelo ... | 2010 | 19606384 |
| antitrypsin activity of extracts from ecballium elaterium seeds. | the antitrypsin activity of extracts obtained from two different seed types of ecballium elaterium, was tested in vitro. the presence of trypsin inhibitors in three chromatographed samples for each extract, showed a strong and specific antitrypsin activity. | 2008 | 18331783 |
| structure of ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii (eeti-ii): a rigid molecular scaffold. | the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii (eeti-ii) belongs to the family of squash inhibitors and is one of the strongest inhibitors known for trypsin. the eight independent molecules of eeti-ii in the crystal structure reported here provide a good opportunity to test the hypothesis that this small cystine-knot protein (knottin) is sufficiently rigid to be used as a molecular scaffold for protein-engineering purposes. to extend this test, the structures of two complexes of eeti-ii with tryps ... | 2005 | 16131759 |
| a new cucurbitacin d related 16,23-epoxy derivative and its isomerization products. | [reaction: see text] a new (23s,24z)-16,23-epoxy cucurbitacin derivative was isolated from ecballium elaterium l. (cucurbitaceae) fruit juice along with known cucurbitacin derivatives. structure elucidation of these derivatives was accomplished by nmr spectroscopy and mass spectrometry from hplc-ms data. isomerization of the epoxy derivative was monitored by 1d and 2d nmr experiments. the configuration of the reaction products was elucidated as (23r,24e) and (23r,24z), and a mechanism for the ac ... | 2004 | 14961641 |
| callus formation and cucurbitacin b accumulation in ecballium elaterium callus cultures. | ecballium elaterium fruit juice is used for the treatment of sinusitis in turkish folk medicine. the aim of this study was to increase the yield of cucurbitacin b, an anti-inflammatory compound previously isolated in various organs of e. elaterium, through tissue culture techniques. higher yields of cucurbitacin b (1.126%) were obtained from the first subculture calluses from stem nodes in the presence of benzyl adenine (ba; 1 mg/l) and naphtalene acetic acid (naa; 0.1 mg/l) in comparison with t ... | 2003 | 14630164 |
| upper airway edema resulting from use of ecballium elaterium. | to present a rare occurrence in ear, nose and throat practice of upper airway allergic edema from use of juice extracted from the fruit of ecballium elaterium. | 2001 | 11568622 |
| ecballium elaterium: an in vitro source of cucurbitacins. | biomass and secondary metabolite accumulation were assayed on a wide range of auxins, cytokinins and their combinations using ecballium elaterium callus tissue. the best combination was that consisting of alpha-naphthalene acetic acid (naa) and benzylamino purine (bap) (1 mg/l of medium, each). naa and bap were set up in a grid to determine concentrations that produced the best callus as regards fresh and dry weights and yield of cucurbitacins, particularly cucurbitacin e. the best combination f ... | 2001 | 11163940 |
| folding of the squash trypsin inhibitor eeti ii. evidence of native and non-native local structural preferences in a linear analogue. | a peptide, corresponding to the entire sequence of the squash trypsin inhibitor eeti ii (ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor) in which the six cysteines, engaged in three disulphide bridges in native eeti ii, have been replaced by six serines, has been synthesised. cd, fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ftir) and 1h-nmr studies of this peptide revealed that some secondary structures present in native eeti ii are still populated in the absence of disulphide bonds. native-like secondary st ... | 1995 | 8521849 |
| an 1h nmr determination of the three-dimensional structures of mirror-image forms of a leu-5 variant of the trypsin inhibitor from ecballium elaterium (eeti-ii). | the 3-dimensional structures of mirror-image forms of a leu-5 variant of the trypsin inhibitor ecballium elaterium (eeti-ii) have been determined by 1h nmr spectroscopy and simulated annealing calculations incorporating noe-derived distance constraints. spectra were assigned using 2-dimensional nmr methods at 400 mhz, and internuclear distances were determined from noesy experiments. three-bond spin-spin couplings between c alpha h and amide protons, amide exchange rates, and the temperature dep ... | 1994 | 8003965 |
| solution conformation of a synthetic bis-headed inhibitor of trypsin and carboxypeptidase a: new structural alignment between the squash inhibitors and the potato carboxypeptidase inhibitor. | the trypsin carboxypeptidase peptide inhibitor (tcpi) which inhibits both trypsin and carboxypeptidase a has been chemically engineered by modification of the ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii (eeti-ii). the solution conformation of tcpi, studied by two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance, was shown to be very close to those of squash inhibitors. only limited deviations of the trypsin binding loop compared to its location in the eeti-ii/trypsin complex were detected. it was also shown ... | 1993 | 8248090 |
| characterization and 2d nmr study of the stable [9-21, 15-27] 2 disulfide intermediate in the folding of the 3 disulfide trypsin inhibitor eeti ii. | the three disulfide ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii (eeti ii) reduction with dithiothreitol (dtt) and reoxidation of the fully reduced derivative have been examined. a common stable intermediate has been observed for both processes. isolation and sequencing of carboxymethylated material showed that the intermediate lacks the [2-19] bridge. the nmr study showed a very strong structural conservation as compared to the native eeti ii, suggesting that the bridges are the [9-21] and [15-27] ... | 1993 | 8443596 |
| system of pleiotropic polygenes in the cucurbitacea ecballium elaterium (l.) rich. related to durability and size of plant. | the statistical association between the characters "life durability of plant" and "size of plant" observed in a set of samples - cultivated forming a system of randomly balanced incomplete blocks - and corresponding to filial generations (pure, hybrid or backcross) from hybridization between the monoecious subspecies and the dioecious subspecies of the cucurbitacea ecballium elaterium (l.) rich, respectively, is in concordance with the hypothesis that the system of polygenes governing the life d ... | 1989 | 24225683 |
| active site chemical mutagenesis of ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii: new microproteins inhibiting elastase and chymotrypsin. | seven microproteins analogous to ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii. were synthesized. the study of their inhibiting power showed a change in selectivity from trypsin to elastase for 5 of the compounds and to alpha-chymotrypsin for another one. a striking characteristic that appeared during this synthetic approach was the ability of the 28 amino acid peptides to refold and close correctly the 3 disulfide bridges, giving in each case an active compound. | 1989 | 2751673 |
| 1h 2d nmr and distance geometry study of the folding of ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor, a member of the squash inhibitors family. | the solution conformation of synthetic ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii, a 28-residue peptide with 3 disulfide bridges, has been studied by 1h 2d nmr measurements. secondary structure elements were determined: a miniantiparallel beta-sheet met 7-cys 9 and gly 25-cys 27, a beta-hairpin 20-28 with beta-turn 22-25, and two tight turns asp 12-cys 15 and leu 16-cys 19. a set of interproton distance restraints deduced from two-dimensional nuclear overhauser enhancement spectra and 13 phi backb ... | 1989 | 2730872 |
| use of restrained molecular dynamics in water to determine three-dimensional protein structure: prediction of the three-dimensional structure of ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii. | refinement of distance geometry (dg) structures of eeti-ii (heitz et al.: biochemistry 28:2392-2398, 1989), a member of the squash family trypsin inhibitor, have been carried out by restrained molecular dynamics (rmd) in water. the resulting models show better side chain apolar/polar surface ratio and estimated solvation free energy than structures refined "in vacuo." the consistent lower values of residual nmr constraint violations, apolar/polar surface ratio, and solvation free energy for one ... | 1989 | 2622910 |
| new cucurbitacin glucosides from ecballium elaterium l. | | 1977 | 607222 |
| effect of water stress on turgor differences and c-assimilate movement in phloem of ecballium elaterium. | the effects of water stress on pressure differences and (14)c-assimilate translocation in sieve tubes of squirting cucumber ecballium elaterium a. rich were studied. water stress was induced by transfer of plants from culture solution to a polyethylene glycol 6,000 solution having an osmotic potential of -18.2 atm. sieve tube turgor, turgor differences between source and sink, and translocation rate were decreased. after 260 minutes of translocation, only 19% of the total fixed (14)co(2) had mov ... | 1977 | 16659856 |
| phloem pressure differences and c-assimilate translocation in ecballium elaterium. | the role of phloem turgor pressure in (14)c-assimilate translocation in ecballium elaterium a. rich was studied. the direction of translocation was manipulated by two methods: darkening, or defoliation, of the upper or lower halves of the shoots. after 24 hours of labeled assimilate movement, sieve tube turgor levels were measured with the phloem needle technique. distribution of label, determined by autoradiography and counting, revealed a direct correlation between the direction of assimilate ... | 1977 | 16659855 |
| an investigation of bidirectional translocation in the phloem. | patterns of (14) co(2) , assimilate movement in vicia jaba plants having 7 nodes were studied. bidirectional translocation occurred throughout most of the stem length when tracer was applied to leaves of various ages. to determine whether this bidirectional translocation occurs within single sieve tubes, a o.1 % solution of the fluorescent dye k-fluorescein was applied to a lightly scraped area on the stem in the middle of a young internode. after one hour the dye was present short distances abo ... | 1969 | 20925674 |
| the constituents of ecballium elaterium l. xxi. isomerism in ring a of the cucurbitanes. | | 1965 | 14267303 |
| [treatment of cervicitis with local applications of ecballium elaterium in pure powdered form and in oil]. | | 1950 | 15441922 |
| medical toxicology in the old testament. the poisonous pottage. | | 2017 | 29224210 |
| heterochiral knottin protein: folding and solution structure. | homochirality is a general feature of biological macromolecules, and nature includes few examples of heterochiral proteins. herein, we report on the design, chemical synthesis, and structural characterization of heterochiral proteins possessing loops of amino acids of chirality opposite to that of the rest of a protein scaffold. using the protein ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor ii, we discover that selective β-alanine substitution favors the efficient folding of our heterochiral constructs ... | 2017 | 28952732 |
| effects of ecballium elaterium on brain in a rat model of sepsis-associated encephalopathy. | despite recent advances in antibiotic therapy, sepsis remains a major clinical challenge in intensive care units. here we examined the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of ecballium elaterium (ee) on brain, and explored its therapeutic potential in an animal model of sepsis-associated encephalopathy (sae) [induced by cecal ligation and puncture (clp)]. thirty rats were divided into three groups of 10 each: control, sepsis, and treatment. rats were subjected to clp except for the control ... | 2017 | 28859554 |