Dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol suppresses monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells by attenuation of JNK signaling pathway

Preparation of Pinoresinol and Dehydrodiconiferyl Alcohol from Eucommiae Cortex Extract by Fermentation with Traditional Mucor

Eucommiae Cortex (EC) is frequently used alone or in combination with other active ingredients to treat a range of illnesses. An efficient technical instrument for changing cheap or plentiful organic chemicals into rare or costly counterparts is biotransformation. It combines EC with biotransformation techniques with the aim of producing some novel active ingredients, using different strains of bacteria that were introduced to biotransform EC in an aseptic environment. The high-quality strains were screened for identification after the fermentation broth was found using HPLC, and the primary unidentified chemicals were separated and purified in order to be structurally identified. Strain 1 was identified as Aspergillus niger and strain 2 as Actinomucor elegans; the main transformation product A was identified as pinoresinol (Pin) and B as dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (DA). The biotransformation of EC utilizing Aspergillus niger and Actinomucor elegans is reported for the first time in this study's conclusion, resulting in the production of Pin and DA.

Advances in the study of vascular related protective effect of garlic (Allium sativum) extract and compounds

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a functional food containing multiple bioactive compounds that find widespread applications in culinary and medicinal practices. It consists of multiple chemical components, including allicin and alliin. This article offers a comprehensive review of the protective effects of garlic extracts and their active constituents on the vascular system. In vitro and in vivo experiments have shown that garlic extracts and their active ingredients possess various bioactive properties. These substances demonstrate beneficial effects on blood vessels by demonstrating anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities, inhibiting lipid accumulation and migration, preventing lipid peroxidation, promoting angiogenesis, reducing platelet aggregation, enhancing endothelial function, and inhibiting endothelial cell apoptosis. In clinical studies, garlic and its extracts have demonstrated their efficacy in managing vascular system diseases, including atherosclerosis, diabetes, and high cholesterol levels. In summary, these studies highlight the potential therapeutic roles and underlying mechanisms of garlic and its constituents in managing conditions like diabetes, atherosclerosis, ischemic diseases, and other vascular disorders.

Ethanol extract of Herpetospermum caudigerum Wall ameliorates psoriasis-like skin inflammation and promotes degradation of keratinocyte-derived ICAM-1 and CXCL9

OBJECTIVE

To explore whether the ethanol extract of Herpetospermum caudigerum Wall (EHC), a Xizang medicinal plant traditionally used for treating liver diseases, can improve imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like skin inflammation.

METHODS

Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining were used to determine the effects of topical EHC use in vivo on the skin pathology of imiquimod-induced psoriasis in mice. The protein levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-17A (IL-17A) in mouse skin samples were examined using immunohistochemical staining. In vitro, IFN-γ-induced HaCaT cells with or without EHC treatment were used to evaluate the expression of keratinocyte-derived intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and chemokine CXC ligand 9 (CXCL9) using Western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide and proteasome inhibitor MG132 were utilized to validate the EHC-mediated mechanism underlying degradation of ICAM-1 and CXCL9.

RESULTS

EHC improved inflammation in the imiquimod-induced psoriasis mouse model and reduced the levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-17A in psoriatic lesions. Treatment with EHC also suppressed ICAM-1 and CXCL9 in epidermal keratinocytes. Further mechanistic studies revealed that EHC suppressed keratinocyte-derived ICAM-1 and CXCL9 by promoting ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated protein degradation rather than transcriptional repression. Seven primary compounds including ehletianol C, dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol, herpetrione, herpetin, herpetotriol, herpetetrone and herpetetrol were identified from the EHC using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight-mass spectrometry.

CONCLUSION

Topical application of EHC ameliorates psoriasis-like skin symptoms and improves the inflammation at the lesion sites. Please cite this article as: Zhong Y, Zhang BW, Li JT, Zeng X, Pei JX, Zhang YM, Yang YX, Li FL, Deng Y, Zhao Q. Ethanol extract of Herpetospermum caudigerum Wall ameliorates psoriasis-like skin inflammation and promotes degradation of keratinocyte-derived ICAM-1 and CXCL9. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(6): 584-592.

Dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol from Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn accelerates wound healing via inactivating NF-κB pathways in macrophages

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the efficacy of lignin compound dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (DHCA) isolated from Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn in improving wound healing. These findings preliminarily brought to light the promising therapeutic potential of DHCA in skin wound healing.

METHODS

First, the effect of DHCA on healing in vivo was studied using a full-thickness scalp wound model of mice by topical administration. Histopathological examinations were then conducted by haematoxylin and eosin (H&E), Masson's trichrome staining and the immunofluorescence assay. Second, we further examined the anti-inflammatory mechanism of DHCA in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages by immunofluorescence assay and Western blot analysis.

KEY FINDINGS

DHCA could promote scalp wound healing in mice by enhancing epithelial cell proliferation and collagen formation and reducing inflammatory cells infiltration. Moreover, the NF-κB nuclear translocation was suppressed remarkably by DHCA administration in connective tissue of healing area. DHCA was also shown to inhibit production of nitric oxide (NO) and interleukin (IL)-1β with downregulated inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in LPS-induced RAW 246.7 cells. More importantly, DHCA administration upregulated p-IκBα expression and induced nuclear translocation of NF-κB without affecting its expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study indicated that DHCA exerted anti-inflammatory activity through inactivation of NF-κB pathways in macrophages and subsequently improved wound healing.

Dose-dependent S-allyl cysteine ameliorates multiple sclerosis disease-related pathology by reducing oxidative stress and biomarkers of dysbiosis in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Garlic is a component of the Mediterranean diet. S-allyl cysteine (SAC), the most common organosulphur present in garlic, possesses neuroprotective properties. This investigation was performed to evaluate the dose-dependent protective action of SAC on oxidative damage, inflammation and gut microbiota alterations biomarkers. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) as a model of multiple sclerosis (MS) was induced by the myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG), whose effects were quantified by examining the changes in: clinical score, lipid peroxidation products, carbonylated proteins, glutathione system, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), and lipopolysaccharide membrane bacteria (LPS). Our results reveal that MOG induces paralysis, oxidative damage and increases in LPS binding protein (LBP) and LPS levels. In this work, two doses of SAC were compared with two dose of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). SAC was more effective than NAC and it prevented the harmful effects induced by MOG more effectively at the dose of 50mg/kg than that of 18mg/kg. Surprisingly, NAC increases LBP levels while SAC had not such negative effect. In conclusion the data show the ability of SAC to modify EAE evolution.