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Law SK, Wang Y, Lu X, Au DCT, Chow WYL, Leung AWN, Xu C. Chinese medicinal herbs as potential prodrugs for obesity. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:1016004. [PMID: 36263142 PMCID: PMC9573959 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1016004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Obesity is a leading worldwide health threat with ever-growing prevalence, it promotes the incidence of various diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, and certain cancers. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used to control body weight and treat obesity for thousands of years, Chinese medicinal herbs provide a rich natural source of effective agents against obesity. However, some problems such as complex active ingredients, poor quality control, and unclear therapeutic mechanisms still need to be investigated and resolved. Prodrugs provide a path forward to overcome TCM deficiencies such as absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion (ADME) properties, and toxicity. This article aimed to review the possible prodrugs from various medicinal plants that demonstrate beneficial effects on obesity and seek to offer insights on prodrug design as well as a solution to the global obesity issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siu Kan Law
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Target & Clinical Pharmacology and the State & NMPA Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- Faculty of Science and Technology, The Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yanping Wang
- School of Nursing and Health Studies, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Xinchen Lu
- Faculty of Science and Technology, The Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Dawn Ching Tung Au
- Faculty of Science and Technology, The Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Wesley Yeuk Lung Chow
- Faculty of Science and Technology, The Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | | | - Chuanshan Xu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Target & Clinical Pharmacology and the State & NMPA Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Chuanshan Xu,
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Abstract
The prodrug concept has been used to improve undesirable properties of drugs since the late 19th century, although it was only at the end of the 1950s that the actual term prodrug was introduced for the first time. Prodrugs are inactive, bioreversible derivatives of active drug molecules that must undergo an enzymatic and/or chemical transformation in vivo to release the active parent drug, which can then elicit its desired pharmacological effect in the body. In most cases, prodrugs are simple chemical derivatives that are only one or two chemical or enzymatic steps away from the active parent drug. However, some prodrugs lack an obvious carrier or promoiety but instead result from a molecular modification of the prodrug itself, which generates a new active compound. Numerous prodrugs designed to overcome formulation, delivery, and toxicity barriers to drug utilization have reached the market. In fact, approximately 20% of all small molecular drugs approved during the period 2000 to 2008 were prodrugs. Although the development of a prodrug can be very challenging, the prodrug approach represents a feasible way to improve the erratic properties of investigational drugs or drugs already on the market. This review introduces in depth the rationale behind the use of the prodrug approach from past to present, and also considers the possible problems that can arise from inadequate activation of prodrugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristiina M Huttunen
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
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