Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2020 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
For centuries, many kinds of native plants and their products have been used for the\ntreatment of gastric ulcers by traditional healers in Phayao province. The current study aimed to\ninvestigate the polyphenol content in some of these medicinal plants and to point out the relationship\nbetween their antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammatory activities. Six species were selected based\non ethnopharmacologic considerations: Punica granatum L., Psidium guajava L., Careya arborea Roxb.,\nGochnatia decora (Kurz) Cabr., Shorea obtusaWall. ex Blume, and Ficus hispida L.f. The leaves or bark of\nthese plants were extracted with 70% ethanol and water. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities\nof the extracts were analyzed based on nitric oxide (NO) and proinflammatory cytokine production\nin lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and through the determination of\nscavenging activity. The results demonstrated that the ethanol extract from P. granatum and P. guajava\nleaves significantly inhibited NO production by suppressing nitric oxide synthase. The extracts also\ninhibited tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1, and interleukin-6 in terms of both mRNA and protein\nlevels and possessed high antioxidants. These extracts were shown to contain the highest amount of\npolyphenols. Our study concluded that among the plants studied, P. granatum and P. guajava have the\nmost significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and polyphenols. These plants may have\nthe potential for use in gastric ulcer therapy due to their indicated properties. Future research should\nfocus on the isolation of their active compounds and their in vivo biological activities. Their beneficial\napplications need to be warranted by such evidence....
Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. produces an antinociceptive effect in ICR mice in both chemically\ninduced and thermal pain models. In the present study, we examined the antinociceptive\neffects of single components isolated from Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. (AP) extract in ICR mice.\nThree active compounds isolated from AP, including rutin, luteolin-7-O-glucuronide, and\napigenin-7-O-glucuronide, were isolated and identified by comparing EI-MS, 1H-, 13C-NMR,\nand UV. We studied the antinociceptive effects of three single components administered orally\nat doses of 10 and 20 mg/kg in monosodium urate (MSU)-treated pain model as measured\nby von Frey test. Among these compounds, apigenin-7-O-glucuronide was more effective in\nthe production of antinociceptive effects. We further characterized the antinociceptive effects\nand possible mechanisms of apigenin-7-O-glucuronide in writhing and formalin tests. Oral\nadministration of Apigenin-7-O-glucuronide caused a reduction in the number of writhing and\neffectively reduced the pain behavior observed during the second phase of the formalin test in\na dose-dependent manner. In addition, the pretreatment of yohimbine instead of naloxone or\nmethysergide attenuated apigenin-7-O-glucuronide-induced antinociception in the writhing test.\nMoreover, apigenin-7-O-glucuronide caused reduction in the expression of p-P38, p-CREB, and\np-mTOR induced by formalin injection. Our results indicate that apigenin-7-O-glucuronide shows an\nantinociceptive effect in various pain models. In addition, spinal alpha2-adrenergic receptors appear to\nbe involved in the production of antinociception induced by apigenin-7-O-glucuronide. Furthermore,\nthe antinociceptive effect of apigenin-7-O-glucuronide appears to be mediated by reduction in the\nexpression of p-P38, p-CREB and p-mTOR levels in the spinal cord....
N-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) is a nitrosamine derivative with carcinogenic and\nmutagenic properties which can be found in tobacco smoke, meat and various food products.\nThis study examined the antioxidant and hepatoprotective potential of Cajanus cajan (C. cajan) with\nrespect to hepatotoxicity in male Wistar rats. Administration of NDEA induced hepatotoxicity\nat 200 mg/kg while C. cajan was administered (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg) for 28 days.\nNDEA-induced hepatotoxicity significantly (p less than equal to 0.05) increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT),\naspartate aminotransferase (AST) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and significantly (p less than equal to 0.05) decreased\nreduced glutathione (GSH), albumin (ALB), glutathione S-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT) and\nsuperoxide dismutase (SOD). C. cajan-treated groups were seen to have significantly (p less than equal to 0.05)\ndecreased ALT and AST and significantly (p < 0.05) increased ALB, GST, GSH, SOD and CAT. The\nNDEA-treated group also showed a marginal increase in body weight and a significant (p less than equal to 0.05)\nincrease in liver weight. The C. cajan treated groups showed a significant (p less than equal to 0.05) increase and\ndecrease respectively in body and liver weights. Histopathological changes also substantiated\nNDEA-induced hepatotoxicity and the hepatoprotective effect of C. cajan on the liver. The results\nindicate that C. cajan has the potential to ameliorate NDEA-induced hepatotoxicity....
Sea buckthorn (Elaeagnus rhamnoides (L.) A. Nelson) is a small tree or bush. It belongs to the\nElaeagnaceae family, and has been used for many years in traditional medicine in both Europe and\nAsia. However, there is no data on the effect of sea buckthorn leaves and twigs on the properties\nof blood platelets. The aim of the study was to analyze the biological activity of phenolic extracts\nfrom leaves and twigs of sea buckthorn in blood platelets in vitro. Two sets of extracts were used: (1)\nphenolic compounds from twigs and (2) phenolic compounds from leaves. Their biological effects on\nhuman blood platelets were studied by blood platelet adhesion, platelet aggregation, arachidonic acid\nmetabolism and the generation of superoxide anion. Cytotoxicity was also evaluated against platelets.\nThe action of extracts from sea buckthorn twigs and leaves was compared to activities of the phenolic\nextract (a commercial product from the berries of Aronia melanocarpa (Aronox®) with antioxidative\nand antiplatelet properties. This study is the first to demonstrate that extracts from sea buckthorn\nleaves and twigs are a source of bioactive compounds which may be used for the prophylaxis and\ntreatment of cardiovascular pathologies associated with blood platelet hyperactivity. Both leaf and\ntwig extracts were found to display anti-platelet activity in vitro. Moreover, the twig extract (rich in\nproanthocyanidins) displayed better anti-platelet potential than the leaf extract or aronia extract....
Alpinumisoflavone, a major compound in unripe Cudrania tricuspidata fruit is reported\nto exhibit numerous beneficial pharmacological activities, such as osteoprotective, antibacterial,\nestrogenic, anti-metastatic, atheroprotective, antioxidant, and anticancer effects. Despite its medicinal\nvalue, alpinumisoflavone is poorly soluble in water, which makes it difficult to formulate and\nadminister intravenously (i.v.). To overcome these limitations, we used methoxy poly(ethylene\nglycol)-b-poly(d,l-lactide) (mPEG-b-PLA) polymeric micelles to solubilize alpinumisoflavone and\nincrease its bioavailability, and evaluated their toxicity in vivo. Alpinumisoflavone-loaded polymeric\nmicelles were prepared using thin-film hydration method, and their physicochemical properties\nwere characterized for drug release, particle size, drug-loading (DL, %), and encapsulation efficiency\n(EE, %). The in vitro drug release profile was determined and the release rate of alpinumisoflavone\nfrom mPEG-b-PLA micelles was slower than that from drug solution, and sustained. Pharmacokinetic\nstudies showed decreased total clearance and volume of distribution of alpinumisoflavone, whereas\narea under the curve (AUC) and bioavailability were significantly increased by incorporation in\nmPEG-b-PLA micelles. In vivo toxicity assay revealed that alpinumisoflavone-loaded mPEG-b-PLA\nmicelles had no severe toxicity. In conclusion, we prepared an intravenous (i.v.) injectable\nalpinumisoflavone formulation, which was solubilized using mPEG-b-PLA micelles, and determined\ntheir physicochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity profiles....
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