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1.
Structural characterization of a polysaccharide from Radix Hedysari and its protective effects against H2O2-induced injury in human gastric epithelium cells.
Xue, Z, Zhao, L, Wang, D, Chen, X, Liu, D, Liu, X, Feng, S
International journal of biological macromolecules. 2021;:503-515
Abstract
The gastroprotective effects of polysaccharides had become a hot topic in the field of functional polysaccharides research. Three polysaccharides, namely HPS-80-1, HPS-80-2, and HPS-80-3 were purified by DEAE-52 column chromatography. The thermodynamic characteristics, scanning electron microscopy, and Congo red experimental results of the above polysaccharides were greatly distinctive. Then a mature GES-1 oxidative stress cell model induced by H2O2 was established to screen out subsequent research subjects. It turned out that HPS-80-1 had a desirable protective effect, which was confirmed by analyses of cell cycle & apoptosis, and oxidative stress-related factors in the cell culture media, and so on. Furthermore, Structural features demonstrated that the backbone of HPS-80-1 appeared to mainly consist of →4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→, →4,6)-β-L-Glcp-(1→, and →6)-α-D-Galp-(1→, with branches at O-1, O-4, and O-6 position consisting of →2,4)-β-D-Rhap-(1→, →1)-α-D-Galp-(4→, and →3,4)-α-D-Manp-(1→. It was speculated that the excellent gastric mucosal protective activity of HPS-80-1 may be due to the high amount of glucose in the backbone. In addition, it was also related to the anti-inflammatory activity and antioxidant bases such as (1 → 4)-Glcp and (1 → 6)-Galp in the structure of HPS-80-1. These findings provide a scientific basis for further utilization of polysaccharides from Radix Hedysari.
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2.
Potential Therapeutic Effects of Natural Plant Compounds in Kidney Disease.
Avila-Carrasco, L, García-Mayorga, EA, Díaz-Avila, DL, Garza-Veloz, I, Martinez-Fierro, ML, González-Mateo, GT
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2021;(20)
Abstract
BACKGROUND The blockade of the progression or onset of pathological events is essential for the homeostasis of an organism. Some common pathological mechanisms involving a wide range of diseases are the uncontrolled inflammatory reactions that promote fibrosis, oxidative reactions, and other alterations. Natural plant compounds (NPCs) are bioactive elements obtained from natural sources that can regulate physiological processes. Inflammation is recognized as an important factor in the development and evolution of chronic renal damage. Consequently, any compound able to modulate inflammation or inflammation-related processes can be thought of as a renal protective agent and/or a potential treatment tool for controlling renal damage. The objective of this research was to review the beneficial effects of bioactive natural compounds on kidney damage to reveal their efficacy as demonstrated in clinical studies. METHODS This systematic review is based on relevant studies focused on the impact of NPCs with therapeutic potential for kidney disease treatment in humans. RESULTS Clinical studies have evaluated NPCs as a different way to treat or prevent renal damage and appear to show some benefits in improving OS, inflammation, and antioxidant capacity, therefore making them promising therapeutic tools to reduce or prevent the onset and progression of KD pathogenesis. CONCLUSIONS This review shows the promising clinical properties of NPC in KD therapy. However, more robust clinical trials are needed to establish their safety and therapeutic effects in the area of renal damage.
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3.
The highly protective natural medical agents against COVID-19.
Gokalp, F, Sayin, K
Bratislavske lekarske listy. 2021;(9):631-635
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The studies to prevent the Corona virus, which is a huge epidemic nowadays and causes the death of many people, are of great importance. Drugs to be developed to prevent the proliferation and spread of it. The active substances of the drugs have been used to prevent the attack of the COVID-19. The natural phytochemicals obtained from the traditional medicine play a big role in the inhibition of functional structures in many harmful microscopic structures. METHODS The active role of the substances for protecting from the attack of COVID-19 have been calculated and determined by using docking. RESULTS It has been clarified that drug active substances inhibit COVID-19. The selected active ingredients seem to have considerable inhibition effects for COVID-19. Molecular mechanical Poisson-Boltzman (MM-PSBA) calculations were used to analyse the selected molecules. CONCLUSION This study is the first in terms of reducing the harmful effect of COVID-19 by providing effective results in a short time by guiding the experimental studies to reveal the inhibitory effect of COVID-19 (Tab. 3, Fig. 5, Ref. 25). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: COVID-19, Carvacrol, docking Cucurbitacin-E and I.
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4.
Food and Nutrition in the Pathogenesis of Liver Damage.
Mega, A, Marzi, L, Kob, M, Piccin, A, Floreani, A
Nutrients. 2021;(4)
Abstract
The liver is an important organ and plays a key role in the regulation of metabolism and in the secretion, storage, and detoxification of endogenous and exogenous substances. The impact of food and nutrition on the pathophysiological mechanisms of liver injury represents a great controversy. Several environmental factors including food and micronutrients are involved in the pathogenesis of liver damage. Conversely, some xenobiotics and micronutrients have been recognized to have a protective effect in several liver diseases. This paper offers an overview of the current knowledge on the role of xenobiotics and micronutrients in liver damage.
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5.
Alcohol Consumption in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Path through the Immune System.
Azizov, V, Zaiss, MM
Nutrients. 2021;(4)
Abstract
Benefits and harms of different components of human diet have been known for hundreds of years. Alcohol is one the highest consumed, abused, and addictive substances worldwide. Consequences of alcohol abuse are increased risks for diseases of the cardiovascular system, liver, and nervous system, as well as reduced immune system function. Paradoxically, alcohol has also been a consistent protective factor against the development of autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Here, we focused on summarizing current findings on the effects of alcohol, as well as of its metabolites, acetaldehyde and acetate, on the immune system and RA. Heavy or moderate alcohol consumption can affect intestinal barrier integrity, as well as the microbiome, possibly contributing to RA. Additionally, systemic increase in acetate negatively affects humoral immune response, diminishing TFH cell as well as professional antigen-presenting cell (APC) function. Hence, alcohol consumption has profound effects on the efficacy of vaccinations, but also elicits protection against autoimmune diseases. The mechanism of alcohol's negative effects on the immune system is multivariate. Future studies addressing alcohol and its metabolite acetate's effect on individual components of the immune system remains crucial for our understanding and development of novel therapeutic pathways.
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6.
Systematic Bioinformatic Analyses of Nutrigenomic Modifications by Polyphenols Associated with Cardiometabolic Health in Humans-Evidence from Targeted Nutrigenomic Studies.
Ruskovska, T, Budić-Leto, I, Corral-Jara, KF, Ajdžanović, V, Arola-Arnal, A, Bravo, FI, Deligiannidou, GE, Havlik, J, Janeva, M, Kistanova, E, et al
Nutrients. 2021;(7)
Abstract
Cardiometabolic disorders are among the leading causes of mortality in the human population. Dietary polyphenols exert beneficial effects on cardiometabolic health in humans. Molecular mechanisms, however, are not completely understood. Aiming to conduct in-depth integrative bioinformatic analyses to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effects of polyphenols on cardiometabolic health, we first conducted a systematic literature search to identify human intervention studies with polyphenols that demonstrate improvement of cardiometabolic risk factors in parallel with significant nutrigenomic effects. Applying the predefined inclusion criteria, we identified 58 differentially expressed genes at mRNA level and 5 miRNAs, analyzed in peripheral blood cells with RT-PCR methods. Subsequent integrative bioinformatic analyses demonstrated that polyphenols modulate genes that are mainly involved in the processes such as inflammation, lipid metabolism, and endothelial function. We also identified 37 transcription factors that are involved in the regulation of polyphenol modulated genes, including RELA/NFKB1, STAT1, JUN, or SIRT1. Integrative bioinformatic analysis of mRNA and miRNA-target pathways demonstrated several common enriched pathways that include MAPK signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, focal adhesion, or PPAR signaling pathway. These bioinformatic analyses represent a valuable source of information for the identification of molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial health effects of polyphenols and potential target genes for future nutrigenetic studies.
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7.
From the distinctive smell to therapeutic effects: Garlic for cardiovascular, hepatic, gut, diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Ribeiro, M, Alvarenga, L, Cardozo, LFMF, Chermut, TR, Sequeira, J, de Souza Gouveia Moreira, L, Teixeira, KTR, Shiels, PG, Stenvinkel, P, Mafra, D
Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland). 2021;(7):4807-4819
Abstract
Garlic, a member of the Allium family, widely used in cooking for many centuries, displays well described antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as a result of its constituent organosulfur compounds, such as alliin, allicin, ajoene S-allyl-cysteine, diallyl sulfide and diallyl disulfide, among others. Although garlic has demonstrated beneficial effects in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, its efficacy as a therapeutic intervention in chronic kidney disease remains to be proven. This review thus focuses on the potential benefits of garlic as a treatment option in chronic kidney disease. and its ability to mitigate associated cardiovascular complications and gut dysbiosis.
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8.
Protective effect of paeoniflorin on H2O2 induced Schwann cells injury based on network pharmacology and experimental validation.
Zhang, D, Yang, B, Chang, SQ, Ma, SS, Sun, JX, Yi, L, Li, X, Shi, HM, Jing, B, Zheng, YC, et al
Chinese journal of natural medicines. 2021;(2):90-99
Abstract
This study was to investigate the protective effect of paeoniflorin (PF) on hydrogen peroxide-induced injury. Firstly, "SMILES" of PF was searched in Pubchem and further was used for reverse molecular docking in Swiss Target Prediction database to obtain potential targets. Injury-related molecules were obtained from GeenCards database, and the predicted targets of PF for injury treatment were selected by Wayne diagram. For mechanism analysis, the protein-protein interactions were constructed by String, and the KEGG analysis was conducted in Webgestalt. Then, cell viability and cytotoxicity assay were established by CCK8 assay. Also, the experimental cells were allocated to control, model (200 μmol·L-1 H2O2), SB203580 10 μmol·L-1 (200 μmol·L-1 H2O2+ SB203580 10 μmol·L-1), PF 50 μmol·L-1 (200 μmol·L-1 H2O2+ PF 50 μmol·L-1), and PF 100 μmol·L-1 (200 μmol·L-1 H2O2+ PF 100 μmol·L-1) groups. We measured the intracellular ROS, Hoechst 33258 staining, cell apoptosis, the levels of Bcl-xl, Bcl-2, Caspase-3, Cleaved-caspase3, Cleaved-caspase7, TRPA1, TRPV1, and the phosphorylation expression of p38MAPK. There are 96 potential targets that may be associated with PF for injury treatment. Then, we chose the "Inflammatory mediator regulation of TRP channels" pathway for the experimental verification from the first 10 KEGG pathway. In experimental verification, H2O2 decreased the cell viability moderately (P < 0.05), and 100 μmol·L -1 PF increased the cell viability significantly (P < 0.05). Depending on the difference of intracellular ROS fluorescence intensity, PF inhibited H 2O2-induced reactive oxygen species production in Schwann cells. In Hoechst 33258 staining, PF reversed the condensed chromatin and apoptotic nuclei following H2O2 treatment. Moreover, Flow cytometry results showed that PF could substantially inhibit H2O2 induced apoptosis (P < 0.05). Pretreatment with PF obviously reduced the levels of Caspase3, Cleaved-caspase3, Cleaved-caspase7, TRPA1, TRPV1, and the phosphorylation expression of p38MAPK after H 2O2 treatment (P < 0.05), increased the levels of Bcl-2, and Bcl-xl ( P < 0.05). PF inhibited Schwann cell injury and apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide, which mechanism was linked to the inhibition of phosphorylation of p38MAPK.
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9.
Chemopreventive effect of troxerutin against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in human leukocytes through modulation of glutathione-dependent enzymes.
Cavalcanti, BC, Neto, JBA, Silva, AAS, Barreto, FS, Ferreira, JRO, Magalhães, HIF, Silva, CRD, Vieira, ÍGP, Ricardo, NMPS, Nobre Júnior, HV, et al
Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A. 2021;(4):137-151
Abstract
Troxerutin is a natural flavonoid present abundantly in tea, coffee, olives, wheat, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Due to its diverse pharmacological properties, this flavonoid has aroused interest for treatment of various diseases, and consequently prompted investigation into its toxicological characteristics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic and mutagenic effects and chemoprotective activity attributed to troxerutin using human peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) through several well-established experimental protocols based upon different parameters. Data demonstrated that troxerutin (100 to 1000 µM) induced no marked cytotoxic effect on PBLs after 24 hr, and did not produce strand breaks and mutagenicity. Regarding chemoprevention, this flavonoid attenuated cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and mutagenicity initiated by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in human PBLs. Further, troxerutin demonstrated no marked cytotoxic effect on PBLs and exerted a protective effect against oxidative stress induced by H2O2 through modulation of GSH-dependent enzymes.
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10.
Research progress on the protection and detoxification of phytochemicals against aflatoxin B1-Induced liver toxicity.
Fan, T, Xie, Y, Ma, W
Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology. 2021;:58-68
Abstract
Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a potent hepatotoxic toxin, which can cause hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver immunological damage. It has been involved in the etiology of human hepatocellular carcinoma. AFB1 can cause oxidative stress in the body's metabolism process, and then cause cytotoxicity, such as apoptosis and DNA damage. Scientific research has discovered that phytochemicals can induce the detoxification pathway of AFB1 through its biotransformation, thereby reducing the damage of AFB1 to the human body. In clinical treatment, certain phytochemicals have been effectively used in the treatment of liver injury due to the advantages of multiple targets, multiple pathways, low toxicity and side effects. Therefore, the article summarizes the toxic mechanism of AFB1-induced hepatoxicity, and the related research progress of phytochemicals for preventing and treating its cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. We also look forward to the existing problems and application prospects of phytochemicals in the pharmaceutical industry, in order to provide theoretical reference for the prevention and treatment of AFB1 poisoning in future research work.