UP Chemists Modify Anticancer Compound to Improve Safety and Efficacy

By: Harvey Sapigao

Chemical structure of deguelin. (Photo credit: Francisco, J. A., & Paderes, M. C. Inhibitory effects of B-, C-, and E-ring-truncated deguelin derivatives against A549, HCT116, and MCF-7 Cancer Cells. ACS Omega, 8(45): p. 43109–43117)

Scientists from the University of the Philippines – Diliman College of Science (UPD-CS) have transformed the anticancer compound deguelin into a novel class of compounds that show promise as safer and more effective treatments for colon, lung, and breast cancer.

Originally used as a pesticide and fish poison, concerns arose regarding the safety of administering deguelin to humans once it was identified as a cancer treatment. Science Research Specialist John Alfon Francisco and Dr. Monissa Paderes of the UPD-CS Institute of Chemistry (UPD-CS IC) addressed these concerns by altering the structure of deguelin.

Their altered versions exhibited better qualities than the original compound. Preliminary tests done on human cancer cell cultures revealed reduced adverse effects, prompting Dr. Paderes and collaborators to conduct further research into the safety of these compounds.

Some versions are also more effective against specific types of cancer. “We were amused to find that some compounds have improved anticancer properties than its parent compound, deguelin, with some even surpassing the effectiveness of the commercially available anticancer drug doxorubicin,” Francisco said. For instance, a version named 6a outperformed doxorubicin in treating colon cancer, while versions 3a and 8e excelled in treating lung and breast cancer, respectively.

Their modified versions offer a simpler and more cost-effective production than those developed in previous studies. “The simplicity of the structures, as well as the straightforward synthesis of these compounds, add to the novelty of this study,” Dr. Paderes emphasized.

The researchers created the altered versions by shortening a part of deguelin known as the BCE ring, making the new versions more akin to the deoxybenzoin compound, recognized for its antibacterial and antioxidant properties.

Despite its huge commercial potential, their research is still in its early stages. The next phase involves testing the modified anticancer compounds on animal models. If the compounds are proven effective on animals, it will move on to clinical trials, where it will be tested on humans with colon, lung, or breast cancer. If proven successful, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review and approve the rollout of the compounds as cancer treatments.

“The goal would be to advance these compounds toward clinical trials and potential development as novel anticancer therapeutics,” Dr. Paderes concluded.

For interview requests and other concerns, please contact [email protected].

References:

Francisco, J. A., & Paderes, M. C. (2023). Inhibitory effects of B-, C-, and E-ring-truncated deguelin derivatives against A549, HCT116, and MCF-7 Cancer Cells. ACS Omega, 8(45), 43109–43117. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.3c06619

UP alumni named among the Outstanding Professionals of 2023







Seventeen UP alumni were among the recipients of the 2023 Outstanding Professionals of the Year Awards and the Eric C. Nubla Excellence Award given by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) during the 50th Anniversary program held at the Manila Hotel on December 10, 2023.

According to the PRC website, the Outstanding Professional of the Year Award is given to professionals in 39 fields of expertise in recognition of their excellent achievements in their respective professions and their significant contributions and services to fellow professionals, the profession, and the nation.

The Eric C. Nubla Excellence Award, on the other hand, is the highest honor bestowed by the PRC to the top 5 Outstanding Professionals who embody the values of professionalism, integrity, responsibility, competence, and excellence.

The Outstanding Professionals of the Year Awards were divided into four cluster: Business, Education, and Social Cluster; Health and Allied Cluster; Engineering Cluster; and Technology Cluster

The first group of outstanding professionals awarded was the Business, Education, and Social Cluster. The UP alumni awardees are:

Felina P. Espique for Professional Teachers;
Robert Marie C. Sy for Real Estate Service;
Mary Inglay G. Capuyan-Fokno for Social Workers.

Second group recognized was the Health and Allied Cluster, as follows:

Ermelinda I. Sabater-Galang for Dentistry;
Zaida K. Sadain-Urao for Medicine;
Royson A. Mercado for Physical Therapy;
Cecile Leah T. Bayaga for Nutrition and Dietetics;
Carla Krishan A. Cuadro for Speech Language Pathology;
Virginia M. Venturina for Veterinary Medicine.

The next group to be awarded was the Engineering Cluster. The UP alumni awardees are:

Rossana Marie C. Amongo for Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering;
Juvy J. Monserate for Chemical Engineering;
Romeo R. Quizon for Sanitary Engineering.

The last group of awardees are from the Technology Cluster. They are:

Edward A. Barlaan for Agriculture;
Henry L. Yap for Environmental Planning;
Adelaida T. Calpe for Fisheries;
Dennis Marvin O. Santiago for Food Technology;
Guillermo R. Balce for Geology.

Engr. Romeo R. Quizon, a professor at the UP Manila Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, received the Eric C. Nubla Excellence Award. He was the first Sanitary Engineer and the first Engineer to serve as the Dean of the UP Manila College of Public Health (2013-2019).

Each awardee was given a plaque of recognition for their role as a nation-builder and world-class globally competitive professional, according to the Master of Ceremony.

****
Written by Lyzete Balinhawang, Office of Alumni Relations
Photos from PRC Facebook

Reference: https://psse.org.ph/index.php/2023/12/12/engr-romeo-r-quizon-wins-the-2023-eric-c-nubla-excellence-award/

November 2023 Dentist Licensure Examination UP Topnotchers



The University of the Philippines Manila warmly congratulates the topnotchers and passers of the November 2023 Dentist Licensure Examination from the UPCD UP Manila College of Dentistry!

The topnotchers are:

Aljin Capusi Prado – Rank 2, 82.54 percent
Ma. Evan Ezra Reyes Cadag – Rank 3, 82.10 percent
Christine Jennifer Dalida Padilla – Rank 5, 82.04 percent
Zen Alfred Bantolinao Nemenzo – Rank 6, 82.03 percent
Ana Marie Obtiar Orbase – Rank 7, 81.77 percent
Paul Benzo Inserto Sia – Rank 9, 81.40 percent

#UPM garners a 100% PASSING RATE in the said licensure exam.

Kudos to all newly licensed dentists!

Source: University of the Philippines Manila Facebook

“No patent, no right”: UP lawyer highlights scientists’ need to protect inventions

By: Harvey L. Sapigao

In the ’90s, Dr. Neila Cortes-Maramba of UP Manila led a team of scientists investigating ten medicinal plants in the Philippines. Two of these plants exhibited promising results—one for cough and the other for urinary tract infections. The team patented Vitex negundo (Lagundi) and Blumea balsamifera (Sambong) in syrup and tablet forms, granting them exclusive rights to these medicines.

Today, Lagundi and Sambong are essential remedies for coughs and UTIs, proving lucrative for the pharmaceutical industry. Had they not applied for a patent, UP Manila and its partners would not have earned more than 50 million pesos in remittances through royalties and licensing fees, nor would they have been able to claim the invention as their own and would leave it vulnerable to idea theft.

If inventions and creations are not patented, “it belongs now to the public domain where anyone can reproduce or manufacture it,” Atty. Josephine R. Santiago of the UP Diliman College of Law said at the 7th session of the iStories webinar, hosted by the University of the Philippines – Diliman College of Science. Atty. Santiago is an award-winning intellectual property (IP) expert who served as the Director General of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).

Failing to patent inventions exposes them to the public domain, allowing anyone to reproduce or manufacture them. (Photo credit: Eunice Jean Patron)

A patent, as a form of IP, provides the inventor exclusive rights to their creations. “The right of a patentee is only to prevent third persons from manufacturing, offering for sale, using, selling, or importing the invention,” Atty. Santiago explained. “It is not to make the invention, but to prevent others.” She added that, when multiple inventors unknowingly created the same invention, the first to file the patent secures the rights to it.

UP Diliman has successfully patented various inventions, such as CoaTiN, a coating technology that uses titanium nitride to extend the lifespan of metallic tools, developed by Dr. Henry Ramos of the National Institute of Physics (NIP), and an amebiasis detection kit that quickly identifies the disease using saliva, invented by Dr. Windell Rivera, Dr. Angeline Odelia Concepcion, and Dr. Alexander Edward Dy of the Institute of Biology (IB).

Patents not only benefit inventors but also stimulate innovation and improve existing products. Applying for patents requires detailed explanations of how the invention works. This information becomes publicly available upon patent approval, allowing other inventors to draw inspiration from or enhance the patented work.

Atty. Santiago also touched upon the other three types of IP: trademarks, which protect identifying symbols and expressions; copyright which grants rights from the moment of creation; and trade secrets, which safeguards valuable confidential information.

She will also discuss harnessing IP for innovation in another iStories session.

iStories is a series of monthly innovation-themed talks, storytelling, and activities featuring local and international scientists. The initiative aims to ignite the creativity and inventiveness of young scientists not just from UPD-CS but also from other institutes inside and outside of UP.

For inquiries about iStories, please message [email protected]

For interview requests and other media concerns, please contact [email protected]

Seaweed as a Resilient Food Solution After a Nuclear War

Shallow water seaweed farming in the lower intertidal flat using long lines in Bohol, Philippines. Photo copyright MYRoleda AlgaE Lab.

Diliman, QC: A new study about the potential of seaweed as a resilient food source was published in the scientific journal “Earth’s Future” by a team of researchers from the Alliance to Feed the Earth in Disasters (ALLFED), Louisiana State University, University of the Philippines Diliman Marine Science Institute (UP MSI), and the University of Canterbury.

Researchers have discovered that seaweed can be a crucial pillar for food security in the context of abrupt sunlight reduction scenarios, as seen in scenarios like nuclear winter. Surprisingly, seaweed is resilient in adverse conditions, so its growth and potential to enhance food security increases after more severe nuclear conflicts.

Using an empirical model based on the seaweed Gracilaria tikvahiae, in combination with nuclear winter climate data, the researchers simulated global seaweed growth. The results demonstrate that seaweed has the capacity to be cultivated in tropical oceans even after a major nuclear war between Russia and the US. Such a war would deliver 150 Tg of black carbon to the atmosphere and could block out the sunlight for years but enough to drive photosynthesis. This scenario leads to increased vertical mixing and decreased phytoplankton production, providing more nutrients to the seaweed.

Previous studies show that agriculture and fisheries production would plummet, so alternative food sources like seaweed will be critical in ensuring good security in sunlight reduction scenarios. Ocean modeler Prof. Cheryl Harrison from the Louisiana State University said “It’s only a matter of time before the latter [nuclear war and large volcanic eruption] happens, so we need to be ready. Because the ocean does not cool as rapidly as land, marine aquaculture is a very good option.”

Seaweed can be quickly scaled up to meet a substantial portion of global food application demand, reaching about 70% within just 7 to 13 months. Most of this can be used for animal feed and biofuel, as human consumption is limited to 10-15 % due to the high iodine content in seaweed, which could cause adverse health effects.

In addition to the current benefits of seaweed farming, researchers suggest investing in seaweed farming as a proactive measure for global food security, both now and after a catastrophe. This could potentially avert a significant number of deaths from starvation, according to resilient food expert Prof. Dr. David Denkenberger from the University of Canterbury.

In fact, in the Philippines, low-tech seaweed farming is the commonly implemented infrastructure.

Seaweed farming using long lines submerged 1 – 2m below the air-water interface in the subtidal approximately 5m depth in Quezon Province, Philippines. Photo copyright MYRoleda AlgaE Lab.

According to laboratory head Prof. Michael Y. Roleda of Algal Physiology (AlgaE) laboratory of UP MSI, “we are engaged in the selection and curation of novel and climate change resilient cultivars of tropical seaweeds (e.g., eucheumatoids and gracilariods) that possess superior traits in terms of growth, chemistry, and disease resistance. The gene bank of UP-MSI provides a platform for selective breeding and production of high quality seedstrock for distribution to seaweed farmers.” This effort by UP MSI significantly contributes to the goal of scaling up seaweed for future food production and security.

The preprint of this study was selected as one of the most exciting and interesting entries out of 17,000 submissions to the European Geosciences Union conference in Vienna (2023) and discussed in their press conference and blog. According to Lead author Dr. Florian Ulrich Jehn from ALLFED, this study opens avenues to further research about seaweed as a food solution after a nuclear war.

Access to the original paper: https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EF003710

Media Interest:

The unexpected aspect of the study is the revelation that seaweed exhibits high growth rates in a more severe nuclear war. This further adds to the many benefits of seaweed, including its capacity to mitigate eutrophication–excessive nutrient and consequently algal growth which can deplete oxygen and harm aquatic life–and its independence from arable land, freshwater, fertilizer, or extensive pesticide applications. Seaweed fed to cattle could also significantly decrease the emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. In addition, seaweed can be used to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, combating climate change. These factors contribute to making seaweed a subject of interest for both the scientific community and the general public.

The UP Marine Science Institute is one of seven academic institutes of the College of Science, University of the Philippines Diliman. It aims to advance, disseminate, and apply knowledge through research and development, and public service and extension in the marine sciences and related disciplines, playing a big role in shaping the discourse on the Philippine waters.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Florian Ulrich Jehn
First author
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-ulrich-jehn-b03a4011b/
Mastodon: @[email protected] (https://fediscience.org/@florianjehn)
Twitter: @FlorianJehn (https://twitter.com/FlorianJehn)

Michael Y. Roleda, Dr. rer. nat.
Co-author
Email: [email protected]

Communications Team
UP Marine Science Institute
Email: [email protected]

Source: https://msi.upd.edu.ph/seaweed-as-a-resilient-food-solution-after-a-nuclear-war/

Dr. Raymundo Rovillos Appointed as First President of Pangasinan Polytechnic College

By: BNN Correspondents

Photo from UP Baguio CSS

In a significant development, Dr. Raymundo Rovillos, a distinguished professor and former chancellor of the University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB), has been named the inaugural president of the Pangasinan Polytechnic College (PPC). The announcement was made on January 15 by Vice Governor Mark Ronald Lambino during a media briefing. With a focus on academic programs in agriculture, sustainable local governance, program/project management, and creativity and design, PPC is Northern Luzon’s first provincial government-run higher educational institution.

Dr. Rovillos’ Role at PPC

Having been established in June 2023, PPC’s mission is to prepare young minds for immediate employment in the province’s local communities and beyond. Starting February 2024, Dr. Rovillos will be seconded to PPC, lending his expertise in academic leadership, curriculum planning, development of academic and research programs, and fostering relationships with other educational and research institutions. His compensation, including salaries, allowances, and benefits, will be shouldered by the provincial government during his tenure, which runs through January 31, 2025.

Return to University of the Philippines Baguio

After his tenure at PPC, Dr. Rovillos will return to his position at UPB. His appointment to PPC is facilitated through a Memorandum of Agreement with the University of the Philippines (UP)-Baguio, which has approved of his temporary role at PPC.

Launch of the Center for Lifelong Learning (CeLL)

In addition to the appointment of Dr. Rovillos, PPC is also gearing up to launch the Center for Lifelong Learning (CeLL) in the first quarter of the year. This center will offer a variety of training programs to students. Alongside this, the provincial government is also working on preparing facilities for PPC, which includes revamping buildings for classroom use. PPC will offer bachelor’s programs that are in line with the country’s academic calendar, with a focus on agriculture and potential inclusion of nursing, to mirror the economy of Pangasinan.

PPC Governing Board Formation

The formation of the PPC Governing Board has been initiated, with the announcement of its composition to be made by Governor Ramon Guico 3rd in due course.

Source: https://bnnbreaking.com/world/philippines/dr-raymundo-rovillos-appointed-as-first-president-of-pangasinan-polytechnic-college/

UP EVP Alcantara recognizes Gurong Pahinungod volunteer



UP Executive Vice President Jose Fernando Alcantara presents UP Mindanao fresh graduate Dwight Gasapo with a pin in recognition of a Gurong Pahinungod volunteer to be deployed as Mathematics teacher in Pikit, North Cotabato.

Looking on is Marie Therese Bustos, director of the UP System Ugnayan ng Pahinungod. Also to be deployed in the same location is UP Diliman fresh graduate Alia Macapundag, who is unable to attend the recognition rite held during the “Rolling the Thunder 2” meeting/workshop on January 11, 2024 at the Executive House, UP Diliman.

Photo by Abraham Arboleda, UPMPRO

Source: University of the Philippines Facebook

Cebu City recognizes UP Cebu alumna LET topnotcher





The Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Cebu, through Resolution No. 16-2128-2023, recognizes UP Cebu alumna Ms. Trilbe Lizann Espina Vasquez for landing in the Top 1 spot among the 95,969 examinees in the recent Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers – Secondary Level.

The same resolution commends the University of the Philippines Cebu for producing top-quality students giving pride, honor, and inspiration to Cebu City.

Mabuhi ug padayon, UP Cebu!

Source: UP Cebu Facebook

5 UP alumni enter LET Secondary Level topnotchers

Five graduates from the University of the Philippines (UP) entered the list of top 10 highest placers of the September 2023 Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers for Secondary Level (LET- Secondary) conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

Trilbe Lizann Espina Vasquez from UP Cebu landed the top spot of the LET-Secondary Level, with a rating of 94.80%. Matthew Kyle Yee Oronce from UP Diliman ranked in third place, with a rating of 94.20%. Next in 4th place is Fritzie Anne Cebrian Bueno coming also from UP Diliman, with a 94.00% rating. Last from UP Diliman is Maro Rapog Peña who occupied the 8th place with a 93.20% rating. Finally, for 10th place is Rachel Anne Garcia Concepcion from UP Los Baños, with a 92.80%.

UP Diliman ranked second in the list of top 10 performing schools for secondary level, having registered a 97.10% passing rate with 67 out of 69 of its examinees passing. Schools with 50 or more examinees and at least an 80% passing rate are considered top performing schools.

The PRC released the results of the licensure examination after fifty-five (55) working days.

Written by UP OAR

UPLB is lone top-performing school in 2023 LEA

UPLB is the lone top-performing school in this year’s Licensure Examination for Agriculturists (LEA).

To be a top-performing school one has to have 50 or more examinees and with at least 80% passing percentage.

UPLB has 101 passers and a passing rate of 99% in the 2023 LEA.

Eleven examinees from UPLB landed in the top ten: Kathleen Joy D. Franco placed second with a rating of 87.33%; Quenee Anne Z. Aurin, third place, 86.67%; Carmel Rose M. Rolloque, fourth place, 86.50%; Joel John S. Cariño, fifth place, 86.33%; Chiara Angeli K. Dela Peña and Ghar Christian R. Tesorero, both in eighth place at 85.67%; Daniella Jean E. Pamulaklakin and Luis Angelo T. Tabasa, both in 9th place with a rating of 85.50%; and Krizza Jane C. Manatad, Jairo P. Rabano, and John Kenneth L. Tabiolo who landed in tenth place with a rating of 85.33%.

UPLB has been a top-performing school in LEA for 19 years now.

The Agriculturists Licensure Examination was administered by the Professional Regulation Commission through the Board of Agriculture in 19 testing centers all over the Philippines in November 2023. (Juan Paolo A. Aquino)

Source: https://uplb.edu.ph/all-news/uplb-is-lone-top-performing-school-in-2023-lea/