Combinations of Piperine with Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin as a Multifunctional System

Piperine is an alkaloid that has extensive pharmacological activity and impacts other active substances bioavailability due to inhibition of CYP450 enzymes, stimulation of amino acid transporters and P-glycoprotein inhibition. Low solubility and the associated low bioavailability of piperine limit its potential. The combination of piperine with 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) causes a significant increase in its solubility and, consequently, an increase in permeability through gastrointestinal tract membranes and the blood–brain barrier. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used to characterize interactions between piperine and HP-β-CD. The observed physicochemical changes should be combined with the process of piperine and CD system formation. Importantly, with an increase in solubility and permeability of piperine as a result of interaction with CD, it was proven to maintain its biological activity concerning the antioxidant potential (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate assay), inhibition of enzymes essential for the inflammatory process and for neurodegenerative changes (hyaluronidase, acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase).     

Enhancement of nutraceutical properties of licorice callus cultures using sample pre-treatment strategy

Licorice is an herbal plant in the Leguminosae family, and its roots and rhizomes are used as sweeteners in food and confectionery products. Moreover, it has a distinct inflammatory activity. In the present study, a sample pre-treatment method to induce the deglycosylation of active metabolites in callus cultures of Glycyrrhiza inflata (GI) and Glycyrrhiza glabra (GG) was developed. The results of the method evaluation showed the biotransformation of ononin to formononetin, a rare flavonoid found in trace amounts in licorice. The magnitude of enhancement was 3- and 19-fold in the GI and GG samples, respectively. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory activity assay showed that the potency of the sample pre-treatment group was higher than that of the untreated group because it exerted an enhanced suppression of cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene expression. This is the first report on the anti-inflammatory activity of licorice callus, which has the potential to be utilised as a functional food for health promotion. These findings support the idea of using sample preparation to impart nutraceutical properties to plant products.     

Mushroom-Derived Medicine? Preclinical Studies Suggest Potential Benefits of Ergothioneine for Cardiometabolic Health

Medicinal use of mushrooms has been documented since ancient times, and in the modern world, mushrooms have a longstanding history of use in Eastern medicine. Recent interest in plant-based diets in Westernized countries has brought increasing attention to the use of mushrooms and mushroom-derived compounds in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Edible mushrooms are the most abundant food sources of the modified amino acid, ergothioneine. This compound has been shown to accumulate in almost all cells and tissues, but preferentially in those exposed to oxidative stress and injury. The demonstrated cytoprotectant effect of ergothioneine has led many to suggest a potential therapeutic role for this compound in chronic conditions that involve ongoing oxidative stress and inflammation, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. However, the in vivo effects of ergothioneine and its underlying therapeutic mechanisms in the whole organism are not as clear. Moreover, there are no well-defined, clinical prevention and intervention trials of ergothioneine in chronic disease. This review highlights the cellular and molecular mechanisms of action of ergothioneine and its potential as a Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine for the promotion of cardiometabolic health and the management of the most common manifestations of cardiometabolic disease.     

The Role of Chronic Inflammation in Various Diseases and Anti-inflammatory Therapies Containing Natural Products

Chronic inflammation represents a long-term reaction of the body's immune system to noxious stimuli. Such a sustained inflammatory response sometimes results in lasting damage to healthy tissues and organs. In fact, chronic inflammation is implicated in the development and progression of various diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, metabolic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and even cancers. Targeting nonresolving inflammation thus provides new opportunities for treating relevant diseases. In this review, we will go over several chronic inflammation-associated diseases first with emphasis on the role of inflammation in their pathogenesis. Then, we will summarize a number of natural products that exhibit therapeutic effects against those diseases by acting on different markers in the inflammatory response. We envision that natural products will remain a rich resource for the discovery of new drugs treating diseases associated with chronic inflammation.     

TCDCANa的合成及抗菌抗炎作用研究

以鹅去氧胆酸(CDCA)和牛磺酸为基本原料合成了牛磺鹅去氧胆酸钠(TCDCANa),以萃取和重结晶法提纯,收率63.4%,w(TCDCANa)≥92%,以TLC和IR法确定了其结构。并将牛磺鹅去氧胆酸钠与鹅去氧胆酸钠(CDCANa)进行了抗菌、抗炎和镇咳对比实验。药效实验结果为:TCDCANa和CDCANa均具有抗革兰阳性菌作用(抑菌环直径分别为2.46±0.08cm和1.91±0.13cm),抗炎作用抑制率分别为(79.1±25.4)%和(71.2±23.1)%,镇咳作用减咳率分别为(29.1±5.6)%和(18.2±6.8)%,牛磺鹅去氧胆酸钠与鹅去氧胆酸钠间存在显著性差异。药效实验表明,TCDCANa具明显的镇咳、平喘和抗菌作用,其作用强于CDCANa。     

ROS scavenging Manganese-loaded mesoporous silica nanozymes for catalytic anti-inflammatory therapy

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are reactive substances closely related to the inflammatory response, and previous studies have shown that anti-inflammatory therapy can achieve significant effects by scavenging ROS. Nanozymes are synthetic mimics of natural enzymes that are more stable, customizable, inexpensive, and catalytic for ROS. Therefore, we prepared a novel manganese-loaded mesoporous silica nanozyme (MnMSN) by template method and KMnO₄ oxidation surfactant templates. The physicochemical properties of the nanomaterials were investigated by XRD, TEM, SEM, size, Zeta potential and BET, etc. The results showed that MnMSN contains MnO₂ (Mn⁴⁺) and MnSiO₃ (Mn²⁺), and the particle size of MnMSN is smaller with the increase of KMnO₄ oxidation surfactant templates time, and the in vitro scavenging of ROS (H₂O₂, ·OH and ·O₂^–) is more effective. MnMSN has good cytocompatibility, scavenging intracellular ROS and inducing a shift from M1 to anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. Furthermore, the intrinsic mechanism of MnMSN regulation of macrophage polarization was investigated by ELISA and qPCR, and the results showed that MnMSN is through scavenging ROS, leading to the down-regulation of NF-κB, which further leads to the down-regulation of TNF-α and IL-Iβ. The results of this work highlight the potential of MnMSN in catalyzing anti-inflammatory therapy.     

NMR-Guided Repositioning of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs into Tight Junction Modulators

Bioavailability is a major bottleneck in the clinical application of medium molecular weight therapeutics, including protein and peptide drugs. Paracellular transport of these molecules is hampered by intercellular tight junction (TJ) complexes. Therefore, safe chemical regulators for TJ loosening are desired. Here, we showed a potential application of select non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as TJ modulators. Based on our previous observation that diclofenac and flufenamic acid directly bound various PDZ domains with a broad specificity, we applied solution nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to examine the interaction of other NSAIDs and the first PDZ domain (PDZ1) of zonula occludens (ZO)-1, ZO-1(PDZ1). Inhibition of ZO-1(PDZ1) is expected to provide loosening of the epithelial barrier function because the domain plays a crucial role in maintaining TJ integrity. Accordingly, diclofenac and indomethacin were found to decrease the subcellular localization of claudin (CLD)-2 but not occludin and ZO-1 at the apicolateral intercellular compartment of Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) II cells. These NSAIDs exhibited 125–155% improved paracellular efflux of fluorescein isothiocyanate insulin for the Caco-2 cell monolayer. We propose that these NSAIDs can be repurposed as drug absorption enhancers for peptide drugs.