SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF SCIENCES

Background: Drug repurposing offers potential advantages for cancer therapy development, particularly when utilizing medications with established safety profiles and expired patents. While individual repurposed medications have been investigated for oncological applications, comprehensive comparative analyses of research distribution patterns across multiple therapeutic candidates appear limited in the literature. Understanding these patterns may provide insights into research priorities and potential knowledge gaps. Aim: This exploratory study was designed to quantify and compare the volume of scientific literature examining the anticancer potential of eleven selected off-patent medications across different pharmacological classes. Methods: Bibliometric searches were conducted across five databases (Google Scholar, BVS, PubMed, NIH, and Science.gov) using standardized search terms combining each medication name with "cancer" and "cancer treatment." The selected medications included ivermectin, fenbendazole, mebendazole, albendazole, metformin, propranolol, disulfiram, valproic acid, thalidomide, dexamethasone, and hydroxychloroquine. Basic statistical analyses were performed to examine the distribution patterns and correlations within the database. Results: The search yielded 3,226,066 total publications with considerable variation in distribution patterns. Dexamethasone accounted for the largest proportion (1,538,058 publications, 47.68%), followed by metformin (697,172 publications, 21.61%). Some medications with smaller overall publication volumes demonstrated higher proportions of treatment-specific research, such as fenbendazole (87.82%), disulfiram with copper (86.54%), and hydroxychloroquine with zinc (75.21%). The Herfindahl Index indicated a high concentration of research attention (0.2870). Discussion: The findings suggest substantial variation in research attention across the selected medications. While some medications dominate the literature, others with focused treatment-specific research may warrant further investigation. The inverse relationship observed between total publication volume and treatment specificity suggests that research patterns in this field may be more complex than absolute publication counts indicate. Conclusions: This preliminary bibliometric assessment reveals an uneven distribution of research attention among repurposed medications being investigated for cancer applications. These patterns may inform future research prioritization, though further qualitative analysis would be valuable to assess the clinical significance of these quantitative observations.

It is investigated the effect of synthesized organic compounds of 6-hydroxy-2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2- dihydroquinoline, its derivatives, and hydrogenated analogs. These compounds affected the height of seedlings when they were used for pre-sowing seed treatment of the following ornamental plants: annual ornamental grass – scarlet sage (Salvia splendens) and woody plant – yellow rhododendron (Rhododendron luteum). Prior to the sprouting process, the seeds of Rh. luteum and S. splendens were soaked in water solutions of compounds with concentrations of 0.01%, 0.05%, and 0.1% for 18 hours. Dihydro- and tetrahydroquinolines with a concentration of 0.05% proved to be the most effective for both plants. For Rhododendron luteum, the compounds of 6-hydroxy-2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline, its derivatives, and hydrogenated analogs with a concentration of 0.1% proved to be the most effective. Dihydroquinolines at concentrations of 0.05 and 0.1% proved to have the strongest effect when applied to the studied perennial woody plant (Rhododendron luteum). Dihydroquinoline at the concentration of 0.05% also proved to be effective when applied to the annual grass (Salvia splendens). For annual S. splendens, tetrahydroquinoline at concentrations of 0.01 and 0.05% appeared to be the most effective. The pre-sowing seed treatment of grass Salvia splendens and woody plant Rhododendron luteum with the studied compounds demonstrated that their effect on the height of the seedlings is species-specific. The pre-sowing seed treatment of Rh. luteum and S. splendens allows increasing the height of the seedlings by 3-61 % and 17-25 %, respectively. It is suggested using the compounds of 6-hydroxy-2,2,4- trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline, its derivatives, and hydrogenated analogs as effective growth stimulators for ornamental grasses and woody plants.

Of the most fundamental fields of modern biology is transcriptomics, with a focal point on the expression pattern of plants under various conditions by assessing ribonucleic acid. So far, this approach has been a game-changer in revealing the gene structure, function, and most importantly, their cellular and biological role. Considering the criticality of pathogens for crop plants, understanding plant defense mechanisms against them is in high demand. This study aimed to review the principles of these approaches and their recent application in the plant. An Important method to address this gap is transcriptomics, which can effectively provide insight into plants against pathogens. This field has covered different aspects of plant biology besides the plant-pathogen relationship. Identifying pathogens in infected plants and the series of reactions they provoke at the gene level is crucial to finding the responsible gene (s). Finding the gene associated with resistance or vulnerability to a specific pathogen paves the way to differentiate the potential genotypes. Thus, the breeding attempts would be more successful. The advancement in biotechnology has revolutionized this field with some of the methods that have been commonly applied in studies on the plant-pathogen relationship, for instance, Northern blotting, microarray, real-time polymerase chain reaction.