Inhibitory effects of epi-sesamin on endothelial protein C receptor shedding in vitro and in vivo

Lignans as Pharmacological Agents in Disorders Related to Oxidative Stress and Inflammation: Chemical Synthesis Approaches and Biological Activities

Plant lignans exhibit a wide range of biological activities, which makes them the research objects of potential use as therapeutic agents. They provide diverse naturally-occurring pharmacophores and are available for production by chemical synthesis. A large amount of accumulated data indicates that lignans of different structural groups are apt to demonstrate both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, in many cases, simultaneously. In this review, we summarize the comprehensive knowledge about lignan use as a bioactive agent in disorders associated with oxidative stress and inflammation, pharmacological effects in vitro and in vivo, molecular mechanisms underlying these effects, and chemical synthesis approaches. This article provides an up-to-date overview of the current data in this area, available in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, screened from 2000 to 2022.

The genus Asarum: A review on phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology, toxicology and pharmacokinetics

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

In essentially every quadrant of the globe, many species of genus Asarum are used as a common herbal medicine and appear in many formulas or Kampo. Crude drug from several medicinal plants of genus Asarum (MA) known as Asari Radix et Rhizoma (ARR) has been proven to have the functions of dispelling cold, relieving pain, and reducing phlegm according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory for thousands of years.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This article reviews the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and metabolic kinetics related research of genus Asarum to evaluate its ethnopharmacology use and future opportunities for research.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Information on relevant studies of the genus Asarum was gathered via the Internet using Baidu Scholar, Web of Science, Elsevier, ResearchGate, ACS, Pudmed and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Additionally, information was also obtained from some local books, PhD, MS's dissertations and Pharmacopeias.

RESULTS

The genus Asarum has played an important role in herbal treatment. At present, more than 277 compounds have been isolated or identified from genus Asarum. Among them, volatile oil and lignans are the major active constituents and important chemotaxonomic markers. Modern pharmacological studies indicated that genus Asarum and its active compounds possess a wide range of pharmacological effects, especially analgesic, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, cardiovascular protection, antitussive, immunosuppressive, anti-tumor, and microbicidal activities.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on this review, therapeutic potential of genus Asarum has been demonstrated with the pharmacological effects on inflammation, CNS, respiratory regulation, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and microbial infection. The available literature showed that the major activities of the genus Asarum can be attributed to the active lignans and essential oils. Further in-depth studies on the aspects of the genus for mechanism of actions, metabolism, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, drug interactions, and clinical trials are still limited, thereby intensive research and assessments should be performed.

The combination of two natural medicines, Chuanxiong and Asarum: A review of the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities

Traditional Chinese medicine has been clinically used in China for many years, with experimental studies and clinical trials having demonstrated that it is safe and valid. Among many traditional natural medicines, Chuanxiong and Asarum have been proven to be effective in the treatment of relieving pain. Actually, as well as analgesic, they have common attributes, such as anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular benefits, and anticancer activities, with volatile oils being their major components. Furthermore, Chuanxiong and Asarum have been combined as drug pairs in the same prescription for thousands of years, with examples being Chuanxiong Chatiao San and Chuanxiongxixintang. More interestingly, their combination has better therapeutic effects on diseases than a single drug. After the combination of Chuanxiong and Asarum forms a blend, a series of changes take place in their chemical components, such as the contents of the main active ingredients, ferulic acid and ligustilide, increased significantly after this progress. At the same time, the pharmacological effects of the combination appearing to be more powerful, such as synergistic analgesic. This review focuses on the chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Chuanxiong, Asarum, and Chuanxiong Asarum compositions.

Immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects of sesamin: mechanisms of action and future directions

Inflammation is associated with the development and progression of various disorders including atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus and cancer. Sesamin, a fat-soluble lignan derived from Sesamum indicum seeds and oil, has received increased attention due to its wide array of pharmacological properties including its immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory potential. To date, no review has been conducted to summarize or analyze the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory roles of sesamin. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review of experimental findings that were reported with regards to the ability of sesamin to modulate inflammation, cellular and humoral adaptive immune responses and Th1/Th2 paradigm. The potential influence of sesamin on the cytotoxic activity of NK cells against cancer cells is also highlighted. The molecular mechanisms and the signal transduction pathways underlying such effects are underscored. The metabolism, pharmacokinetics, absorption, tissue distribution and bioavailability of sesamin in different species, including humans, are reviewed. Moreover, we propose future preclinical and clinical investigations to further validate the potential preventive and/or therapeutic efficacy of sesamin against various immune-related and inflammatory conditions. We anticipate that sesamin may be employed in future therapeutic regimens to enhance the efficacy of treatment and dampen the adverse effects of synthetic chemical drugs currently used to alleviate immune-related and inflammatory conditions.

Pleiotropic actions of factor Xa inhibition in cardiovascular prevention: mechanistic insights and implications for anti-thrombotic treatment

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease in which atherothrombotic complications lead to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. At advanced stages, myocardial infarction, ischaemic stroke, and peripheral artery disease, including major adverse limb events, are caused either by acute occlusive atherothrombosis or by thromboembolism. Endothelial dysfunction, vascular smooth muscle cell activation, and vascular inflammation are essential in the development of acute cardiovascular events. Effects of the coagulation system on vascular biology extend beyond thrombosis. Under physiological conditions, coagulation proteases in blood are pivotal in maintaining haemostasis and vascular integrity. Under pathological conditions, including atherosclerosis, the same coagulation proteases (including factor Xa, factor VIIa, and thrombin) become drivers of atherothrombosis, working in concert with platelets and vessel wall components. While initially atherothrombosis was attributed primarily to platelets, recent advances indicate the critical role of fibrin clot and plasma coagulation factors. Mechanisms of atherothrombosis and hypercoagulability vary depending on plaque erosion or plaque rupture. In addition to contributing to thrombus formation, factor Xa and thrombin can affect endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, vascular smooth muscle cell function as well as immune cell activation and vascular inflammation. By these mechanisms, they promote atherosclerosis and contribute to plaque instability. In this review, we first discuss the postulated vasoprotective mechanisms of protease-activated receptor signalling induced by coagulation enzymes under physiological conditions. Next, we discuss preclinical studies linking coagulation with endothelial cell dysfunction, thromboinflammation, and atherogenesis. Understanding these mechanisms is pivotal for the introduction of novel strategies in cardiovascular prevention and therapy. We therefore translate these findings to clinical studies of direct oral anticoagulant drugs and discuss the potential relevance of dual pathway inhibition for atherothrombosis prevention and vascular protection.

High temperature treatment allows the detection of episesamin in paulownia wood extractives

The composition and the relative variation of secondary metabolites of Paulownia tomentosa S. wood under thermal effect is a little explored area. Wood material was previously thermo-treated at 210 °C for 3 hours using a press vacuum technology. Extractives of untreated and thermo-treated wood material achieved with Soxhlet extraction techniques were obtained. Then the extracts were chromatographed by using thin layer chromatography. Component groups in extracts were determined by gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry. In terms of wood change the thermo-treatment of wood induces a darkening of wood color surface (ΔL* = 28.3), an increase of mass loss (3.5%) and an increase of the amount of extractives and lignin content as well as an increase of the chloroform soluble fraction. This work mainly describes the chemical exploration of the extract from paulownia wood, leading to the isolation and identification of episesamin.

New Contributions to Asarum Powder on Immunology Related Toxicity Effects in Lung

Objective. Asarum is widely used in clinical practice of Chinese medicine in the treatment of respiratory diseases. Many toxic ingredients (safrole, etc.) had been found in Asarum that show multiple visceral toxicities. In this study, we performed systematic investigation of expression profiles of genes to take a new insight into unclear mechanism of Asarum toxicities in lung. Methods. mRNAs were extracted from lungs of rats after intragastric administration with/without Asarum powders, and microarray assays were applied to investigate gene expression profiles. Differentially expressed genes with significance were selected to carry out GO analysis. Subsequently, quantitative PCRs were performed to verify the differential expression of Tmprss6, Prkag3, Nptx2, Antxr11, Klk11, Rag2, Olr77, Cd7, Il20, LOC69, C6, Ccl20, LOC68, and Cd163 in lung. Changes of Ampk, Bcl2, Caspase 3, Il1, Il20, Matriptase2, Nfκb, Nptx2, and Rag2 in the lung on protein level were verified by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Results. Compared with control group, the estimated organ coefficients were relatively increased in Asarum group. Results of GO analysis showed that a group of immune related genes in lung were expressed abnormally. The result of PCRs showed that Ccl20 was downregulated rather than other upregulated genes in the Asarum group. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry images showed that Asarum can upregulate the expression of Ampk, Caspase 3, Il1, Il20, Matriptase2, Nfκb, and Rag2 and downregulate the expression of Bcl2 in lung. Conclusion. Our data suggest that expressions of immune related genes in lung were selectively altered by Asarum. Therefore, inflammatory response was active, by regulating Caspase 3, Il1, Il20, Matriptase2, Nfκb, Rag2, Tmprss6, Prkag3, Nptx2, Antxr1, Klk11, Olr77, Cd7, LOC69, C6, LOC68, Cd163, Ampk, Bcl2, and Ccl20. Our study indicated that inflammatory factors take effect in lung toxicity caused by Asarum, which provides a new insight into molecular mechanism of Asarum toxicities in lung.