Osteoartritis lutut atau knee osteoarthritis (KOA) merupakan penyakit muskuloskeletal yang lazim dan semakin meningkat secara global. Di Malaysia, perbezaan etnik dalam kelaziman KOA telah dikenal pasti, namun kajian yang menilai sama ada perbezaan ini turut melibatkan ketidakupayaan dan kesejahteraan psikologi masih terhad. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk membandingkan ketidakupayaan, kesejahteraan psikologi dan kualiti hidup berkaitan kesihatan dalam kalangan pesakit KOA berbangsa Melayu, Cina dan India di Malaysia. Kajian keratan rentas ini melibatkan 90 orang dewasa yang telah didiagnosis secara klinikal dengan KOA, merangkumi 30 responden Melayu (57.97 ± 7.89 tahun), 30 responden Cina (60.00 ± 9.90 tahun), dan 30 responden India (59.20 ± 8.65 tahun). Ketidakupayaan berkaitan KOA dinilai menggunakan soal selidik Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), manakala kesejahteraan psikologi dan kualiti hidup dinilai menggunakan Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). Analisis varians sehala dan ujian post hoc digunakan untuk membandingkan keputusan antara kumpulan etnik. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa responden Cina mencatatkan skor tertinggi dalam hampir semua domain KOOS dan SF-36, menunjukkan fungsi lutut, kesejahteraan psikologi dan kualiti hidup yang lebih baik. Responden Melayu pula mencatatkan skor KOOS terendah dalam domain kesakitan dan kualiti hidup, serta menunjukkan tahap kesakitan yang paling tinggi. Responden India menunjukkan skor sederhana dalam kebanyakan domain, namun mencatatkan skor terendah dalam domain sukan dan rekreasi. Dapatan ini menunjukkan perbezaan etnik yang ketara dalam aspek ketidakupayaan, kesejahteraan psikologi dan kualiti hidup dalam kalangan pesakit KOA. Oleh itu, strategi pemulihan yang bersifat khusus dan mengambil kira latar belakang etnik adalah penting bagi meningkatkan kesaksamaan dalam penjagaan kesihatan muskuloskeletal di Malaysia.

Objective: To evaluate the immunosuppressive effect on human phagocytes and antibacterial activity of dihydromorin and norartocarpetin isolated from Artocarpus heterophyllus heartwoods. Methods: Dihydromorin and norartocarpetin were isolated from Artocarpus heterophyllus heartwoods. A modified Boyden chamber was used to determine the chemotactic activity of human phagocyte. The respiratory burst was evaluated by chemiluminescence assay. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity was quantified using a colorimetric assay. The broth microdilution method was performed to assess their antibacterial activity. Results: Dihydromorin exhibited potent inhibitory effect on the chemotactic activity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) with an IC50 value of 5.03 μg/mL. Dihydromorin also inhibited reactive oxygen species production of whole blood cells, PMNs, and monocytes with IC50 values of 7.88, 7.59 and 7.24 μg/mL, respectively. Interestingly, dihydromorin also strongly inhibited the MPO activity of PMNs with an IC50 value of 5.24 μg/mL, which was lower than indomethacin (24.6 μg/mL). Molecular docking of dihydromorin and crystal structure of MPO showed that dihydromorin had close interaction with key amino acid residues such as Arg239 and Gln91. Antibacterial activity assay showed that only dihydromorin had a strong effect against Streptococcus pyogenes with MIC and MBC values of 15.62 and 31.25 μg/mL, respectively. Conclusions: The results suggest that dihydromorin could be developed as an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agent.

Inhibition of xanthine oxidase (XO) activity is an effective therapeutic approach for the treatment of diseases such as goutand hyperuricemia. Additionally, the use of XO inhibitors can further be extended to injury treatments such as ischemicreperfusion in various organs such as heart, liver and kidney. In this study, 7 aurone compounds were synthesized andtested on XO and compared with the positive control allopurinol. Compound 5e was identified as the most potent compoundand was able to inhibit half of XO activity at 33.23 μM followed by compounds 5f and 5d at 210.22 μM and 302.0 μM,respectively. Finally, molecular docking study was conducted to understand the important binding interactions of theselected aurone with the active site of XO.