Novel Combined Preparation and Investigation of Bergenin-Loaded Albumin Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Acute Lung Injury: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluations

Exploring the underlying pharmacological, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of phytochemicals against wounds: a molecular insight

BACKGROUND

Numerous cellular, humoral, and molecular processes are involved in the intricate process of wound healing.

PHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Numerous bioactive substances, such as ß-sitosterol, tannic acid, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, quercetin, ellagic acid, and pyrogallol, along with their pharmacokinetics and bioavailability, have been reviewed. These phytochemicals work together to promote angiogenesis, granulation, collagen synthesis, oxidative balance, extracellular matrix (ECM) formation, cell migration, proliferation, differentiation, and re-epithelialization during wound healing.

FINDINGS AND NOVELTY

To improve wound contraction, this review delves into how the application of each bioactive molecule mediates with the inflammatory, proliferative, and remodeling phases of wound healing to speed up the process. This review also reveals the underlying mechanisms of the phytochemicals against different stages of wound healing along with the differentiation of the in vitro evidence from the in vivo evidence There is growing interest in phytochemicals, or plant-derived compounds, due their potential health benefits. This calls for more scientific analysis and mechanistic research. The various pathways that these phytochemicals control/modulate to improve skin regeneration and wound healing are also briefly reviewed. The current review also elaborates the immunomodulatory modes of action of different phytochemicals during wound repair.

Discovery of the Active Compounds of the Ethyl Acetate Extract Site of Ardisia japonica (Thunb.) Blume for the Treatment of Acute Lung Injury

The objective of this study was to identify and evaluate the pharmacodynamic constituents of Ardisiae Japonicae Herba (AJH) for the treatment of acute lung injury (ALI). To fully analyze the chemical contents of various extraction solvents (petroleum ether site (PE), ethyl acetate site (EA), n-butanol site (NB), and water site (WS)) of AJH, the UPLC-Orbitrap Fusion-MS technique was employed. Subsequently, the anti-inflammatory properties of the four extracted components of AJH were assessed using the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced MH-S cellular inflammation model. The parts that exhibited anti-inflammatory activity were identified. Additionally, a technique was developed to measure the levels of specific chemical constituents in the anti-inflammatory components of AJH. The correlation between the "anti-inflammatory activity" and the constituents was analyzed, enabling the identification of a group of pharmacodynamic components with anti-inflammatory properties. ALI model rats were created using the tracheal drip LPS technique. The pharmacodynamic indices were evaluated for the anti-inflammatory active portions of AJH. The research revealed that the PE, EA, NB, and WS extracts of AJH included 215, 289, 128, and 69 unique chemical components, respectively. Additionally, 528 chemical components were discovered after removing duplicate values from the data. The EA exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity in the cellular assay. A further analysis was conducted to determine the correlation between anti-inflammatory activity and components. Seventeen components, such as caryophyllene oxide, bergenin, and gallic acid, were identified as potential pharmacodynamic components with anti-inflammatory activity. The pharmacodynamic findings demonstrated that the intermediate and high doses of the EA extract from AJH exhibited a more pronounced effect in enhancing lung function, blood counts, and lung histology in a way that depended on the dosage. To summarize, when considering the findings from the previous study on the chemical properties of AJH, it was determined that the EA contained a group of 13 constituents that primarily contributed to its pharmacodynamic effects against ALI. The constituents include bergenin, quercetin, epigallocatechingallate, and others.

Design and Evaluation of pH-Sensitive Nanoformulation of Bergenin Isolated from Bergenia ciliata

The aim of the current study is extraction and isolation of bergenin from Bergenia ciliata and fabrication of pH-sensitive Eudragit^® L100 (EL100) polymeric nanoparticles (NP) to tackle limitations of solubility. Bergenin-loaded EL100 nanoparticles (BN-NP) were fabricated via nanoprecipitation and an experimental design was conducted for optimization. A reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed for the quantitation of bergenin. The optimized nanoformulation was characterized by its particle size, morphology, loading capacity, entrapment efficiency, drug-excipient interaction and crystallinity. An in vitro assay was executed to gauge the release potential of pH-sensitive nanoformulation. The mean particle size, zeta potential and polydispersity index (PDI) of the optimized nanoparticles were observed to be 86.17 ± 2.1 nm, -32.33 ± 5.53 mV and 0.30 ± 0.03, respectively. The morphological analysis confirmed the spherical nature of the nanoparticles. Drug loading capacity and entrapment efficiency were calculated to be 16 ± 0.34% and 84 ± 1.3%, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies unfolded that no interaction was present between the drug and the excipients in the nanoformulation. Crystallography studies revealed that the crystalline nature of bergenin was changed to amorphous and the nanoformulation was stable for up to 3 months at 40 °C. The present study confirms that bergenin isolation can be scaled up from abundantly growing B. ciliata. Moreover, it could also be delivered by entrapment in stimuli-responsive polymer, preventing the loss of drug in healthy tissues.