- Central Mindanao University, University Town, Musuan, Bukidnon 8714
Mark Lloyd G Dapar
Central Mindanao University, Biology Department, Faculty Member
- Biological Sciences, Pharmacology, Biomedical Sciences, Biomedical Research, Genetics, Population Genetics, and 16 moreHuman Genetics, Evolutionary genetics, Medical Genetics, Population genetics (Biology), Biopsychology, Biosociology, Biochemistry, Plant Biochemistry, Medical Sciences, Computer Science, Biostatistics, Biostatistical Analysis, Pharmacognosy, Phytochemistry and Ethnopharmacology o of Natural Products, Ethnopharmacology, Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, and Quantitative Ethnobotanyedit
- A scientist and researcher studying the environment, plants, animals, humans, and the complexities of life.edit
The purpose of this study was to explore the cytotoxicity of Gloydius brevicauda venom on tumor cells. Hela and Hep G2 cells were used as the research subjects. The MTT assay was employed to investigate the proliferative activity of snake... more
The purpose of this study was to explore the cytotoxicity of Gloydius brevicauda venom on tumor cells. Hela and Hep G2 cells were used as the research subjects. The MTT assay was employed to investigate the proliferative activity of snake venom on tumor cells. The cell scratch assay was conducted to study the migration ability of tumor cells treated with snake venom. The Hoechst 33258 fluorescent staining method was utilized to examine the damage caused by snake venom on tumor cells. The results demonstrated that the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the venom on Hela and Hep G2 cells at 48 hours was 8.176 µg/ml and 12.276 µg/ml, respectively. Furthermore, at a concentration of 4 µg/ml, the venom was able to inhibit the migration of tumor cells. Cell nuclear fluorescence staining revealed that the venom at concentrations of 8 µg/ml and 12 µg/ml induced DNA condensation in Hela and Hep G2 cells, respectively. In conclusion, the venom of Gloydius brevicauda was found to ...
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Research Interests: Sociology, Geography, Ethnobotany, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Traditional Medicine, and 11 moreTraditional Ecological Knowledge, Ethnopharmacology, Medicinal Plants, Ethnobiology, Medicine, Ethnomedicine, Traditional Knowledge, Tribe, Public health systems and services research, Ethnic Group, and Indigenous
This study provides ethnomedicinal information and conservation status of medicinal trees used by the Manobo and Higaonon indigenous communities of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, Philippines. Data were obtained through semi-structured... more
This study provides ethnomedicinal information and conservation status of medicinal trees used by the Manobo and Higaonon indigenous communities of Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, Philippines. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews, group discussion, and guided field walks with a total of 145 informants comprising of 95 Manobo and 50 Higaonon people with their traditional medical knowledge. A total of 43 tree species belonging to 36 genera and 22 plant families were recorded as ethnomedicinally important. Family importance value (FIV) was highest in Moraceae (99.33), followed by Lamiaceae (97.33), Rutaceae (96.00), Lauraceae (94.00), and Fabaceae (93.33). Plant parts are used for fracture and dislocation, weakness and fatigue, snakebite, diarrhea, and postpartum care and recovery, respectively. Highest relative frequency of citation (RFC) was cited for both Cinnamomum mercadoi S.Vidal and Ficus concinna (Miq.) Miq. Assessment of conservation status revealed that most of the medicinal trees with 20 species were not assessed (NA), followed by 15 species as least concern (LC), two species as vulnerable (VU), two species as other threatened species (OTS), two species as data deficient (DD), and one species each as endangered and near threatened, namely Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq., and Calamus megaphyllus Becc., respectively. Only seven species (16%) are endemic in the Philippines. These findings provide a rationale for future in-situ conservation strategies of these important medicinal trees in indigenous ancestral lands for sustainable utilization of these genetic resources as part of the traditional heritage of the Manobo and Higaonon.
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Lead (Pb) is a neurotoxic heavy metal element with many recognized adverse health side effects, and its main target of lead toxicity is the central nervous system. The mechanism of lead toxicity is still uncertain. However, there are few... more
Lead (Pb) is a neurotoxic heavy metal element with many recognized adverse health side effects, and its main target of lead toxicity is the central nervous system. The mechanism of lead toxicity is still uncertain. However, there are few studies investigated the cytokines changes caused by lead exposure in children. The BLLs was quantified using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The novel cytokines were detected by RayBio@ Human Cytokine Antibody Array. A total of 4 children with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) and 4 children with low BLLs were chosen in the study. Volcano plot analysis was performed to identify significant proteins, with the criteria: P value <0.05 and log2 fold change >1. The mean BLLs of children with elevated BLLs (5.675±1.018 μg/dL) has significant difference compared with those with low BLLs (1.975±0.3966 μg/dL) (P=0.0148, t=3.385). And 9 kinds of novel cytokines were identified. The expression of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-17 was significantly up-regulated...
Snake venom, as a natural biotoxin, is widely present in nature and can act in coordination with a variety of signal regulatory proteins, playing a significant role in the regulation of tumor cell proliferation, metastasis, invasion, and... more
Snake venom, as a natural biotoxin, is widely present in nature and can act in coordination with a variety of signal regulatory proteins, playing a significant role in the regulation of tumor cell proliferation, metastasis, invasion, and angiogenesis. Malignant tumors have long attracted the attention of the medical community as the leading cause of death in humans. In this paper, we focus on reviewing the progress of snake venom in the regulation of apoptosis, proliferation, metastasis, invasion, and angiogenesis of tumor cells in malignant tumors in order to clarify the mechanisms by which snake venom suppresses malignant tumors and to provide a reference for the study of malignant tumors.
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Medicinal plants are a valuable resource for a variety of products which are important for human needs. The fundamental step in the process has always been the characterization of species. This is the reason which connects the... more
Medicinal plants are a valuable resource for a variety of products which are important for human needs. The fundamental step in the process has always been the characterization of species. This is the reason which connects the phytopharmaceutical sciences with taxonomy and species identification. The DNA-based method of identification has revolutionized this field in taking the taxonomy to the molecular level. 50 medicinal plants were selected. Two nucleotide sequences of each collected plant were selected and 100 nucleotide sequences downloaded from the NCBI database. MEGA11 Software was used to analyze those nucleotide sequences, and then Maximum Likelihood tree was reconstructed to reveal genetic relationship of 50 medicinal plants. The phylogenetic tree showed that majority nucleotide sequences of 50 medicinal plants can be clustered on the same branch with the same plants of their network.
Research Interests: Biology and Euphorbiaceae
YKT6, as a Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) protein with vesicle trafficking, plays an essential role in the development and progression of tumor. However, the gene of YKT6 has not been fully... more
YKT6, as a Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) protein with vesicle trafficking, plays an essential role in the development and progression of tumor. However, the gene of YKT6 has not been fully assessed in pan-cancer studies. We aim to investigate the gene of YKT6 across 33 different types of tumor by using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, and other several kinds of bioinformatic tools. YKT6 is significantly up-regulated in most tumors, and we found that overexpression of YKT6 is positively associated with poor prognosis of overall survival (OS) and poor disease-free survival (DFS) prognosis in several tumors, such as Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma (BLCA), Head and Neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC). We also detected distinct associations exist between YKT6 and tumor mutational burden (TMB) or microsatellite instability (MSI) with tumors. YKT6 expression was positively re...
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The pediatric population constitutes the most vulnerable patients due to a dearth of approved drugs. Consequently, there is a pressing need to probe novel natural pharmacological agents in an endeavour to develop new drugs to address... more
The pediatric population constitutes the most vulnerable patients due to a dearth of approved drugs. Consequently, there is a pressing need to probe novel natural pharmacological agents in an endeavour to develop new drugs to address pediatric illnesses. To date, no studies have explored the use of natural therapies for pediatric health care in Mauritius. Parents (n = 325) from different regions of the island were interviewed. Quantitative indexes such as fidelity level (FL), informant consensus factor (F IC), and use-value (UV) were calculated. Thirty-two plants were reported to be used by pediatric patients. Gastrointestinal disorders (F IC = 0.97) encompassing regurgitation, infantile colic, and stomach aches were the most common ailments managed with herbs. Matricaria chamomilla used for infantile colic and its pharmacological properties has previously been documented for pediatric patients. Product from A. mellifera (UV = 0.75) was the most utilized zootherapy for managing coug...
Research Interests: Sociology, Technology, Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Traditional Medicine, Adolescent, and 15 moreMedicine, Biological Sciences, Humans, Child, Mauritius, Female, Male, Infant, Biomed, Middle Aged, Adult, Public health systems and services research, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Child preschool, and Biological products
Article history: Received 25 January 2014 Received in revised form 12 March 2014 Accepted 14 April 2014 Available online 25 April 2014
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This study was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial and cellular metabolic inhibitory properties of the ethanolic extract from the bark of ‘Lunas-bagon’, Lunasia sp. Extracts were evaluated using the agar well diffusion method for... more
This study was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial and cellular metabolic inhibitory properties of the ethanolic extract from the bark of ‘Lunas-bagon’, Lunasia sp. Extracts were evaluated using the agar well diffusion method for antimicrobial assay. The standard phytochemical screening was done for the determination of compounds that can be considered toxic and MTT assay for the effects of the extract on cellular metabolism. Results showed that the extracts have ability to inhibit selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial isolates indicating that the extracts are effective antibacterials. Results from the MTT assay revealed at doses lower than 100.0 ug/ml, extracts will not inhibit cellular metabolism of the splenocytes. Higher dose, however shows reduction of metabolic activity which may indicate the onset of apoptosis in cells. Basic biochemical tests indicated the absence of cyanogenic glycosides and anthraquinones, thus the extracts may not have toxic effects. Iden...
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Rice bran is a byproduct of rice milling process which contains significant amount of natural phytochemicals. The IR64 rice variety is a high-yielding, semi-dwarf and mostly grown variety in the tropics. This study aims to determine the... more
Rice bran is a byproduct of rice milling process which contains significant amount of natural phytochemicals. The IR64 rice variety is a high-yielding, semi-dwarf and mostly grown variety in the tropics. This study aims to determine the cytotoxic and antioxidant potentials of IR64 rice bran. The sample was subjected to sequential extraction using hexane and ethanol. The concentrated extracts were diluted in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The cytotoxic activity of hexane and ethanol extracts was analyzed using the Methyl Thiazol Tetrazollium (MTT) Assay for human lung and colon carcinomas. Both extracts were also analyzed by Cytotoxicity Assay using lymphocytes from normal blood. The antioxidant property was evaluated by free radical diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay. The result of MTT Assay revealed that ethanol extract inhibit proliferation of human lung and colon carcinomas at 10181 µg/ml and 6650 µg/ml, respectively. The ethanol extract demonstrated 79.79% inhibition ag...
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Many studies show the human face can provide insights or predictions of the character and behavior of the individual. While many persons argue that one should focus on how the individual acts and not how they look, studies have shown that... more
Many studies show the human face can provide insights or predictions of the character and behavior of the individual. While many persons argue that one should focus on how the individual acts and not how they look, studies have shown that many individuals perceive the face can describe the person&#39;s identity, emotional states, and the social categories. Several studies had been conducted to assess the facial morphology in individuals pertaining to recognition, investigations, and most to health-related issues but not on sexual preference. One of the most interesting topic for research is describing biological traits such as the face of homosexuals. Studies on sexual preference use traditional methods but these were only limited to the application of multivariate statistical analysis to sets of quantitative variables. With the advances in statistics, biology, geometry and imaging, the facial morphological characteristics of the homosexual and heterosexual populations in Iligan City, Philippines, were described using the tools of Geometric Morphometrics (GM). Digital images were taken from 60 heterosexual and 72 homosexual males who participated in the study. Using the standard number of landmarks, forty-three points were positioned on the front face images, the Cartesian of which were extracted using an image analysis and processing software. Four relative warps were generated for definite results in shape variations between the two groups. The significant relative warps revealed that most homosexuals have drooping eyes, eyebrows and nose that are slightly distanced from the eyes, smaller chin, obvious facial width and prominent jaws and cheekbones which could overall give us a picture of a relative widened face compared to the consensus (mean) shape while most heterosexuals have a shorter distance between the eyes and the nose region, longer chin, less facial width and less prominent jaws and cheeks that could be imagined as faces with a slight elongated shape. In this particular study, sexual orientation is strongly associated with changes in the face shape and thus, it adds to the growing evidence that there could be biological basis in the expression of such facial characteristics in exclusive homosexuals.
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Abstract. Jamera JKAM, Manting MME, Dapar MLG. 2020. Ritual plants used by the Manobo tribe of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. Asian J Ethnobiol 3: 41-50. Manobo tribe is culturally rich in traditional practices, medicinal uses, diversity,... more
Abstract. Jamera JKAM, Manting MME, Dapar MLG. 2020. Ritual plants used by the Manobo tribe of Surigao del Sur, Philippines. Asian J Ethnobiol 3: 41-50. Manobo tribe is culturally rich in traditional practices, medicinal uses, diversity, and traditional knowledge based on their community plant resources. They dwell in hinterlands and mountainous regions in the southern part of the Philippines and live an intricate life dependent on agriculture and forest plants. Traditional ecological knowledge and beliefs of indigenous peoples play an essential role in the conservation of biodiversity. This study seeks to investigate the use of ritual plants of the Manobo tribe in Hinapuyan, Carmen and Cabangahan, Cantilan, Surigao del Sur and to identify the availability of ritual plants being used. Plant information with the local name, plant parts used, methods of preparation, ritual uses, and Cultural Importance Index (CI) were quantified. This study documented a total of 12 traditional rituals...
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Ethnobotany encompasses multidisciplinary fields such as systematics and taxonomy, pharmacognosy, pharmacology, phytochemistry, ecology, and conservation biology. This review article gives an account of the current status, challenges,... more
Ethnobotany encompasses multidisciplinary fields such as systematics and taxonomy, pharmacognosy, pharmacology, phytochemistry, ecology, and conservation biology. This review article gives an account of the current status, challenges, recommendations and future perspectives of Philippine ethnobotanical studies on indigenous communities. Data mining related to ethnobotanical studies was performed retrieving updated search from online databases using series of keywords showing the elements of Philippine ethnobotany. Other literature was sourced from the university library. Philippine ethnobotanical studies still prevail and strengthen the dynamic nature of traditional knowledge among diverse cultural communities. Medical ethnobotany remains the central interest and continually attracted researchers in various fields of discipline. While some of these traditional practices have existed throughout the centuries, most studies reported a threatening loss of knowledge as the younger generation has changed or vanishing. We assessed that the traditional knowledge of indigenous communities is still under- documented across several ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines. Challenges may vary in different cultures and localities. Philippine ethnobotanical studies enhance the quality of science by providing compensation to cultural groups with benefit-sharing and taking into account the importance of their plant resources and environmental concerns. Ethnobotanical surveys present the rich traditional plant knowledge of ethnic groups allowing them to make more educated decisions about their future directions. We recommend quantitative evaluations and experimental assessments of medicinal plants following ethics and standardized data-collecting protocols. Given our findings, we hope to encourage future researchers to formulate clear plans and systematically document ethnobotanical knowledge in the country before it is lost and forgotten.
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This study was conducted to investigate the ethnomedicinal plants used by the Agusan Manobo as potential drug leads for the treatment of cuts and wounds. Despite the prominence of the locality on medicinal plant use, the area was... more
This study was conducted to investigate the ethnomedicinal plants used by the Agusan Manobo as potential drug leads for the treatment of cuts and wounds. Despite the prominence of the locality on medicinal plant use, the area was previously ignored due to distance and security threat from the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army. Oral medicinal plant knowledge was documented. Ethnomedicinal survey was conducted from October 2018 to February 2019 among 50 key informants through a semi-structured questionnaire; open interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to gather information on medicinal plants used as a treatment for cuts and wounds. Nonparametric inferential statistics Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were set at 0.05 level of significance to determine if there was a significant difference of ethnomedicinal knowledge among respondents when grouped according to location, social position, occupation, educational level, civil status, gender and age. Quantitative ethnomedicinal data was obtained from Family Importance Value and Relative Frequency of Citation. Present documentation enumerates 48 species of medicinal plants belonging to 45 genera and 26 families used by the community and their only tribal healer for the treatment of cuts and wounds. Asteraceae (7 species) was the best-represented family and Piper species were cited to be the most frequently used medicinal plant species. Statistically, the medicinal plant knowledge among respondents was significantly different (p < 0.05) when grouped according to occupation, educational level, civil status, gender, and age but not when grouped according to location (p = 0.234) and social position (p = 0.580). The current study documents the medicinal plant knowledge of Agusan Manobo in the treatment of cuts and wounds. The traditional medicinal systems of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) are sources of knowledge for bioprospecting. More ethnobotanical studies should be encouraged before the traditional knowledge of indigenous people vanishes.
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The leaves of Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp. have been reported to have ethnomedicinal uses such as wound healing, skin itching or dermatitis, and others. This study was therefore conducted to evaluate its biological properties, whether... more
The leaves of Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp. have been reported to have ethnomedicinal uses such as wound healing, skin itching or dermatitis, and others. This study was therefore conducted to evaluate its biological properties, whether ethanolic leaf extract of G. sepium (Jacq.) Walp. has antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, and whether these are reflected in the presence of antimicrobial and antioxidant phytochemicals in the extract. Antimicrobial properties using the agar well-diffusion method showed inhibition against bacterial organism Bacillus subtilis and fungus Candida albicans. The antioxidant activity evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) photometric assay showed that G. sepium (Jacq.) Walp. is a medium antioxidant with an IC50 of 144 ppm. Phytochemicals present in the extract showed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, steroids, and tannins, which are known as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents. Evaluation of the bioactive compounds in the extract using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry identified twenty-two (22) possible bioactive compounds. Of these, ten (10) were found to be known antimicrobials, while eight (8) compounds were found to be known antioxidants based on published literature. This study has shown support to the ethnomedicinal uses of the leaves of G. sepium (Jacq.) Walp. as an antimicrobial and antioxidant plant.
Atuna racemosa is a fruit-bearing tree popular in Asia and Polynesia for its medicinal uses. Traditionally, the inner bark of the plant is used to treat hypertension and severe abdominal pain. This study was conducted to determine the... more
Atuna racemosa is a fruit-bearing tree popular in Asia and Polynesia for its medicinal uses. Traditionally, the inner bark of the plant is used to treat hypertension and severe abdominal pain. This study was conducted to determine the phytochemical components, antimicrobial properties and antioxidant properties in the ethanolic extract of the inner bark of the plant. Phytochemical screening reveals the presence of flavonoids, saponins, tannins and alkaloids, and the absence of anthraquinones and cyanogenic-glycosides. Through the DPPH assay, the inner bark extract showed antioxidant potential. The antibacterial assay showed antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis UPCC129, Staphylococcus aureus UPCC1142, Escherichia coli UPCC1195, Klebsiella pneumoniae UPCC1360, Salmonella typhimurium UPCC1368, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa UPCC1244. The biochemical components in the plant extract determined by GCMS analysis and identified by comparison with the reference standard found in the NIST library showed the compounds have antimicrobial, antioxidant and other biological properties. These results enhance the medicinal value of the plant as a potential source for pharmaceutical drugs and therapeutics.