Effect of etofibrate on bile production in the normolipidemic rat

UHPLC/GC-TOF-MS metabolomics, MTT assay, and molecular docking studies reveal physostigmine as a new anticancer agent from the ethyl acetate and butanol fractions of Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth. fruit extracts

Kigelia africana plant is widely used as a herbal remedy in preventing the onset and the treatment of cancer-related infections. With the increase in the research interest of the plant, the specific chemical compound or metabolite that confers its anticancer properties has not been adequately investigated. The ethyl acetate and butanol fractions of the fruit extracts were evaluated by 2-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-3,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay against four different cell lines, with the ethyl acetate fraction having inhibition concentration values of 0.53 and 0.42 μM against Hep G2 and HeLa cells, respectively. More than 235 phytoconstituents were profiled using UHPLC-TOF-MS, while more than 15 chemical compounds were identified using GC-MS from the fractions. Molecular docking studies revealed that physostigmine, fluazifop, dexamethasone, sulfisomidine, and desmethylmirtazapine could favorably bind at higher binding energies of -8.3, -8.6, -8.2, and -8.1 kcal/mol, respectively, better than camptothecin with a binding energy of -7.9 kcal/mol. The results of this study showed that physostigmine interacted well with topoisomerase IIα and had a high score of pharmacokinetic prediction using absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity profiles, thereby suggesting that drug design using physostigmine as a base structure could serve as an alternative against the toxic side effects of doxorubicin and camptothecin.

Comparative study on the in vivo and in vitro antilipolytic effects of etofibrate, nicotinic acid and clofibrate in the rat

The release of both glycerol and free fatty acids (FFA) into a medium by epididymal fat pad pieces from fed rats incubated in Krebs Ringer bicarbonate-albumin buffer supplemented or not with epinephrine decreased more in the presence of etofibrate than in the presence of equimolecular doses of nicotinic acid or clofibrate. The first drug was the only one to stimulate the rate of fatty acid re-esterification when incubations were done under basal conditions. By 3 h after their acute oral administration all three drugs decreased plasma FFA levels, although the effect from etofibrate was largest, the drugs enhanced or decreased plasma glycerol levels depending on both the dose and the time after treatment. Plasma triglycerides also decreased at 3 h after oral drug administration, and this effect was similar with etofibrate and nicotinic acid but less with clofibrate. With the exception of a decrease at 7 h after the highest dose (1.2 mmol/kg) of either etofibrate or nicotinic acid (but not clofibrate), plasma cholesterol levels remained stable at 7 h after the respective treatments. Thus, the hypocholesterolemic effect of these drugs seems secondary to their hypotriglyceridemic effect, which would be a consequence of their respective antilipolytic actions, and follows an efficiency sequence of etofibrate, nicotinic acid and clofibrate.