Prunus Mahaleb Fruit Extract Prevents Chemically Induced Colitis and Enhances Mitochondrial Oxidative Metabolism via the Activation of the Nrf2 Pathway

Medicinal Plant-derived Phytochemicals in Detoxification

The average worldwide human life expectancy is 70 years, with a significantly higher value in Western societies. Many modern diseases are not associated with premature mortality but with a decreased quality of life in aged patients and an excessive accumulation of various toxic compounds in the human body during life. Today, scientists are especially interested in finding compounds that can help increase a healthy lifespan by detoxifying the body. Phytotherapy with specific approaches is used in alternative medicine to remove toxins from the body. Worldwide, research is conducted to identify medicinal plant-derived molecules that, with few or no side effects, may protect the liver and other organs. This review provides updated information about the detoxification process, the traditional and modern use of the most effective medicinal plants, their active metabolites as detoxifying agents, and the mechanisms and pathways involved in the detoxification process. Among medicinal plants with substantial detoxifying properties, a major part belongs to the Asteraceae family (Silybum marianum, Cynara scolymus, Arctium lappa, Helichrysum species, Inula helenium, and Taraxacum officinale). The most widely used hepatoprotective phytocomponent is silymarin, a standardized extract from the Silybum marianum seeds containing a mixture of flavonolignans. Many polysaccharides, polyphenols, and terpenoids have a detoxifying effect. Overall, scientific data on medicinal plants used in phytotherapeutic practice worldwide provides an understanding and awareness of their efficacy in detoxification.

Saccharina japonica Ethanol Extract Ameliorates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis via Reshaping Intestinal Microenvironment and Alleviating Inflammatory Response

Saccharina japonica belongs to brown macro-alga with various potential health benefits; its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities indicate the potential to improve inflammatory bowel diseases. Here, the potential anti-colitis effect of Saccharina japonica extract (SJE) was evaluated on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in C57B/L6 mice. The mice were treated with mesalazine (MES) and various doses of SJE by gavage for 14 days. Results showed that both MES and SJE treatment decreased the disease activity index scores, relieving the short colon. SJE increased the occludin and zonula occludens-1 levels, and the beneficial effects were better than MES. MES and SJE exerted similar effects in decreasing inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress. Moreover, SJE reshaped the intestinal microbiota by increasing α-diversity and reducing plenty of harmful bacteria. Dietary SJE was significant to relieving the reduction in short-chain fatty acids. The results revealed the protective effect of SJE on colitis and potential mechanisms, which is important for the rational use of SJE in UC prevention.

Hypolipidemic effects of macadamia oil are related to AMPK activation and oxidative stress relief: In vitro and in vivo studies

Macadamia oil is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, especially a high level of palmitoleic acid, which may have beneficial health effects by lowering blood lipid levels. In our study, the hypolipidemic effects of macadamia oil and its potential mechanisms of action were investigated using a combination of in vitro and in vivo assays. The results showed that macadamia oil significantly reduced lipid accumulation, and improved triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in oleic acid-induced high-fat HepG2 cells. The macadamia oil treatment also exhibited antioxidant effects, as seen by its ability to reduce reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and increase superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The effects of 1000 μg/mL of macadamia oil were comparable to that of 4.19 μg/mL simvastatin. The results of qRT-PCR and western blotting analyses indicated that macadamia oil effectively inhibited hyperlipidemia by reducing the expression levels of SREBP-1c, PPAR-γ, ACC and FAS and by enhancing the expression levels of HO-1, NRF2 and γ-GCS, via AMPK activation and oxidative stress relief, respectively. In addition, different doses of macadamia oil were found to significantly improve liver lipid accumulation, reduce serum and liver TC, TG, and LDL-C levels, increase HDL-C levels, increase antioxidant enzyme (SOD, GSH-Px, and T-AOC) activity, and decrease the MDA content of mice on a high-fat diet. These results indicated that macadamia oil had a hypolipidemic effect and provide insights that might facilitate the development of functional food and dietary supplements.

Effects of Medicinal Plants and Phytochemicals in Nrf2 Pathways during Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and Related Colorectal Cancer: A Comprehensive Review

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are related to nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) dysregulation. In vitro and in vivo studies using phytocompounds as modulators of the Nrf2 signaling in IBD have already been published. However, no existing review emphasizes the whole scenario for the potential of plants and phytocompounds as regulators of Nrf2 in IBD models and colitis-associated colorectal carcinogenesis. For these reasons, this study aimed to build a review that could fill this void. The PubMed, EMBASE, COCHRANE, and Google Scholar databases were searched. The literature review showed that medicinal plants and phytochemicals regulated the Nrf2 on IBD and IBD-associated colorectal cancer by amplifying the expression of the Nrf2-mediated phase II detoxifying enzymes and diminishing NF-κB-related inflammation. These effects improve the bowel environment, mucosal barrier, colon, and crypt disruption, reduce ulceration and microbial translocation, and consequently, reduce the disease activity index (DAI). Moreover, the modulation of Nrf2 can regulate various genes involved in cellular redox, protein degradation, DNA repair, xenobiotic metabolism, and apoptosis, contributing to the prevention of colorectal cancer.

Purple sweet potato anthocyanin extract regulates redox state related to gut microbiota homeostasis in obese mice

This study explored the advantageous effects of purple sweet potato anthocyanin extract (PSPAE) on redox state in obese mice. The normal chow diet (NCD) group, high-fat/cholesterol diet (HCD) group, and three groups based on HCD and added with low, middle, and high dose of PSPAE (PAL, PAM, and PAH) were raised for 12 weeks. High dose of PSPAE treatment decreased the elevations of the body weight by 24.7%, serum total cholesterol by 48.3%, serum triglyceride by 42.4%, and elevated serum activities of glutathione peroxidase by 53.3%, superoxide dismutase by 57.8%, catalase by 75.4%, decreased serum contents of malondialdehyde by 27.1% and lipopolysaccharides by 40.5%, as well as increased caecal total short-chain fatty acid by 2.05-fold. Additionally, PSPAE depressed toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor α, and preserved nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) gene expression. Similarly, the protein expression of Nrf2 was enhanced, while TLR-4 and p-NF-κB/NF-κB were depressed by PSPAE treatment. Moreover, PSPAE administration promoted the protection of intestinal barrier function and rebuilt gut microbiota homeostasis by blooming g_Akkermansia, g_Bifidobacterium, and g_Lactobacillus. Furthermore, antibiotic interference experiments showed that the gut microbiota was indispensable for preserving the redox state of PSPAE. These results suggested that PSPAE administration could be an opportunity for improving HCD-induced obesity and the redox state related to gut dysbiosis. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Purple sweet potato anthocyanin has diverse pharmacological properties. It is applicable for individuals to consume extracts (as pills or other forms) from raw purple sweet potato if they want to improve obesity or redox state.

Unravelling the Phytochemical Composition and the Pharmacological Properties of an Optimized Extract from the Fruit from Prunus mahaleb L.: From Traditional Liqueur Market to the Pharmacy Shelf

Prunus mahaleb L. fruit has long been used in the production of traditional liqueurs. The fruit also displayed scavenging and reducing activity, in vitro. The present study focused on unravelling peripheral and central protective effects, antimicrobial but also anti-COVID-19 properties exerted by the water extract of P. mahaleb. Anti-inflammatory effects were studied in isolated mouse colons exposed to lipopolysaccharide. Neuroprotection, measured as a blunting effect on hydrogen-peroxide-induced dopamine turnover, was investigated in hypothalamic HypoE22 cells. Antimicrobial effects were tested against different Gram+ and Gram- bacterial strains. Whereas anti-COVID-19 activity was studied in lung adenocarcinoma H1299 cells, where the gene expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 was measured after extract treatment. The bacteriostatic effects induced on Gram+ and Gram- strains, together with the inhibition of COX-2, TNFα, HIF1α, and VEGFA in the colon, suggest the potential of P. mahaleb water extract in contrasting the clinical symptoms related to ulcerative colitis. The inhibition of the hydrogen peroxide-induced DOPAC/DA ratio indicates promising neuroprotective effects. Finally, the downregulation of the gene expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in H1299 cells, suggests the potential to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 virus entry in the human host. Overall, the results support the valorization of the local cultivation of P. mahaleb.

Bioinformatis analysis reveals possible molecular mechanism of PXR on regulating ulcerative colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of IBD. Pregnane X Receptor (PXR) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily. In order to deepen understanding and exploration of the molecular mechanism of regulation roles of PXR on UC, biological informatics analysis was performed. First, 878 overlapping differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between UC and normal samples were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database (GSE59071 and GSE38713) by using the "limma" R language package. Then WGCNA analysis was performed by 878 DEGs to obtain co-expression modules that were positively and negatively correlated with clinical traits. GSEA analysis of PXR results obtained the signal pathways enriched in the PXR high and low expression group and the active genes of each signal pathway. Then the association of PXR with genes that are both active in high expression group and negatively related to diseases (gene set 1), or both active in low expression group and negatively related to diseases (gene set 2) was analyzed by String database. Finally, carboxylesterase 2 (CES2), ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCK1), PPARG coactivator 1 alpha (PPARGC1A), cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily B member 6 (CYP2B6) from gene set 1 and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8) from gene set 2 were screened out. After the above analysis and reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) verification, we speculated that PXR may exert a protective role on UC by promoting CES2, ABCG2, PCK1, PPARGC1A, CYP2B6 expression and inhibiting CXCL8 expression in their corresponding signal pathway in intestinal tissue.

Application of response surface methodology (RSM) for the optimization of supercritical CO2 extraction of oil from patè olive cake: Yield, content of bioactive molecules and biological effects in vivo

The two-phase technology for olive oil extraction generates large amounts of patè olive cake (POC), a by-product that is rich in bioactive health-promoting compounds. Here, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to maximize supercritical-CO₂ oil extraction from POC, while minimizing operative temperature, pressure and time. Under the optimal parameters (40.2 °C, 43.8 MPa and time 30 min), the oil yield was 14.5 g·100 g^-1 dw (~65% of the total oil content of the freeze-dried POC matrix), as predicted by RSM. Compared with freeze-dried POC, the oil contained more phytosterols (13-fold), tocopherols (6-fold) and squalene (8-fold) and was a good source of pentacyclic triterpenes. When the biological effects of POC oil intake (20-40 µL·die^-1) were evaluated in the livers of BALB/c mice, no significant influence on redox homeostasis was observed. Notably, a decline in liver triglycerides alongside increased activities of NAD(P)H:Quinone Oxidoreductase 1, Carnitine Palmitoyl-CoA Transferase and mitochondrial respiratory complexes suggested a potential beneficial effect on liver fatty acid oxidation.