Corilagin from longan seed: Identification, quantification, and synergistic cytotoxicity on SKOv3ip and hey cells with ginsenoside Rh2 and 5-fluorouracil

Screening and characterization of cosmetic efficacy components of Terminalia chebula based on biological activity-guided methodology

Terminalia chebula exhibits a high level of antioxidant capacity and is highly valued in medicine and cosmetics. However, its main efficacy and active ingredients related to antioxidant, whitening, and anti-aging are still unclear. In this study, the active site responsible for its cosmetic efficacy was specified by the biological activity-guided method and further characterized by using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS). T. chebula was ultrasonically extracted by five solvents, and 30% ethanol extract was screened out for subsequent purification by 1,1-D-iphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH), 2,2'-Azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS), hydroxyl, and superoxide anion free radical scavenging assays. Five elution fractions were obtained by column chromatography on D101 macroporous adsorbent resin eluted by an increased proportion of ethanol. The 30% ethanol elution fraction was specified as the enrichment site of active ingredients showing good antioxidant capacity and potent inhibitory activity against tyrosinase and elastase. A total of 30 compounds were identified by UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS in the 30% ethanol elution fraction, including 11 gallotannins, 14 ellagitannins, and 5 other compounds, and these compounds may be the key ingredients in cosmetics beneficial for the skin. Such a biological activity-guided method has provided a simple and rapid venue for specifying the components of medicinal herbs responsible for cosmetic efficacy.

Comprehensive Review on Fruit Seeds: Nutritional, Phytochemical, Nanotechnology, Toxicity, Food Biochemistry, and Biotechnology Perspective

Fruit seeds are leftovers from a variety of culinary sectors. They are generally unutilized and contribute greatly to global disposals. These seeds not only possess various nutritional attributes but also have many heath-beneficial properties. One way to make use of these seeds is to extract their bioactive components and create fortified food items. Nowadays, researchers are highly interested in creating innovative functional meals and food components from these unconventional resources. The main objective of this manuscript was to determine the usefulness of seed powder from 70 highly consumed fruits, including Apple, Apricot, Avocado, Banana, Blackberry, Blackcurrant, Blueberry, Cherry, Common plum, Cranberry, Gooseberry, Jackfruit, Jamun, Kiwi, Lemon, Mahua, Mango, Melon, Olive, Orange, and many more have been presented. The nutritional attributes, phytochemical composition, health advantages, nanotechnology applications, and toxicity of these fruit seeds have been fully depicted. This study also goes into in-depth detailing on creating useful food items out of these seeds, such as bakery goods, milk products, cereal-based goods, and meat products. It also identifies enzymes purified from these seeds along with their biochemical applications and any research openings in this area.

Potential of longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) in functional food: A review of molecular mechanism-directing health benefit properties

Longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) has received widespread attention worldwide as a therapeutic food with nutritional, economic, and medicinal value. Its fruit, seed, pericarp, and flower becoming dietary tools for health maintenance when it comes to targeting chronic diseases or sub-health conditions. In recent years, research focusing on longan and human health has intensified, and the high-value products of the whole fruit, including polyphenols, polysaccharides, angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibiting peptides, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and Maillard reaction products etc., may have beneficial effects on human health by preventing the onset of chronic diseases and cancer, maintaining intestinal homeostasis and skin health. Here, we review and summarize the new available evidence on the bioactive role of phytochemicals in longan and explore the relationship between longan bioactive compounds and health benefits, with a focus on the molecular mechanisms of the health effects.

The ways for ginsenoside Rh2 to fight against cancer: the molecular evidences in vitro and in vivo

Cancer is a global public health issue that becomes the second primary cause of death globally. Considering the side effects of radio- or chemo-therapy, natural phytochemicals are promising alternatives for therapeutic interventions to alleviate the side effects and complications. Ginsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) is the main phytochemical extracted from Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer with anticancer activity. GRh2 could induce apoptosis and autophagy of cancer cells and inhibit proliferation, metastasis, invasion, and angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. In addition, GRh2 could be used as an adjuvant to chemotherapeutics to enhance the anticancer effect and reverse the adverse effects. Here we summarized the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the anticancer effects of GRh2 and proposed future directions to promote the development and application of GRh2.

Comparative metabolomics reveals differences in primary and secondary metabolites between "Shixia" and "Chuliang" longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) pulp

Longan was a characteristic fruit for both medicine and food in China, which was rich in primary and secondary metabolites. Comprehensive high-throughput identification and comparison of metabolites in longan pulp among different varieties were still lacked. "Shixia" (SX) and "Chuliang" (CL) were the biggest major cultivars of longan in China. In this study, the content of total soluble solid, total flavonoid, and total phenolics indicated the difference of sweetness and bioactive compound content between the SX and CL pulp. Through a widely targeted metabolome, a total of 514 metabolites were identified and categorized into 23 groups mainly including flavonoids, amino acids & derivatives, lipids, phenolic acids, nucleotides & derivatives, alkaloids, organic acids and sugars & derivatives. A total of 89 metabolites with significantly differential accumulation (variable importance in projection (VIP) value ≧1, p-value <.05) over 1.2 fold were found between SX and CL, which were mainly enriched into pathways including flavone and flavonol biosynthesis, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and arginine and proline metabolism. Higher leveled hexose and hexose-phosphate (i.e., β-D-glucose, D(+)-glucose, glucose-1-phosphate and glucose-6-phosphate), dominant organic acids (i.e., citric acid, succinic acid, D-malic acid, and citramalate), and essential amino acids (L-threonine, L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-leucine, L-phenylalanine and L-lysine) in SX pulp might be contributed to the taste and flavor difference between SX and CL. Moreover, the greatly differential accumulated secondary metabolites especially flavonoids and phenolic acids might result in different medicinal and nutritional characteristic between SX and CL. In conclusion, this study provided a systemic metabolic basis for understanding the nutritional differences between SX and CL and would help deepen the molecular biology and pharmacology research on characteristic metabolites in longan pulp.

Corilagin prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection by targeting RBD-ACE2 binding

BACKGROUND

The outbreak of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease caused more than 100,000,000 people get infected and over 2,200,000 people being killed worldwide. However, the current developed vaccines or drugs may be not effective in preventing the pandemic of COVID-19 due to the mutations of coronavirus and the severe side effects of the newly developed vaccines. Chinese herbal medicines and their active components play important antiviral activities. Corilagin exhibited antiviral effect on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). However, whether it blocks the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 RBD and hACE2 has not been elucidated.

PURPOSE

To characterize an active compound, corilagin derived from Phyllanthus urinaria as potential SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors for its possible preventive application in daily anti-virus hygienic products.

METHODS

Computational docking coupled with bio-layer interferometry, BLI were adopted to screen more than 1800 natural compounds for the identification of SARS-CoV-2 spike-RBD inhibitors. Corilagin was confirmed to have a strong binding affinity with SARS-CoV-2-RBD or human ACE2 (hACE2) protein by the BLI, ELISA and immunocytochemistry (ICC) assay. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of viral infection of corilagin was assessed by in vitro pseudovirus system. Finally, the toxicity of corilagin was examined by using MTT assay and maximal tolerated dose (MTD) studies in C57BL/6 mice.

RESULTS

Corilagin preferentially binds to a pocket that contains residues Cys 336 to Phe 374 of spike-RBD with a relatively low binding energy of -9.4 kcal/mol. BLI assay further confirmed that corilagin exhibits a relatively strong binding affinity to SARS-CoV-2-RBD and hACE2 protein. In addition, corilagin dose-dependently blocks SARS-CoV-2-RBD binding and abolishes the infectious property of RBD-pseudotyped lentivirus in hACE2 overexpressing HEK293 cells, which mimicked the entry of SARS-CoV-2 virus in human host cells. Finally, in vivo studies revealed that up to 300 mg/kg/day of corilagin was safe in C57BL/6 mice. Our findings suggest that corilagin could be a safe and potential antiviral agent against the COVID-19 acting through the blockade of the fusion of SARS-CoV-2 spike-RBD to hACE2 receptors.

CONCLUSION

Corilagin could be considered as a safe and environmental friendly anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent for its potential preventive application in daily anti-virus hygienic products.

Corilagin induces apoptosis and autophagy in NRF2‑addicted U251 glioma cell line

Corilagin, extracted from the Euphorbiaceae and Phyllanthus plants, inhibits the growth of a number of types of tumors. Compared with temozolomide, the traditional chemotherapy drug, corilagin has demonstrated stronger antitumor activity. However, the pharmaceutical mechanism of corilagin in glioma remains unclear. Nuclear factor erythroid 2 like 2 (NFE2L2 or NRF2) is positively associated with several types of tumor including glioma. In the present study, NRF2 expression was higher in glioma tissues compared with non-glioma specimens. Therefore, it was hypothesized that corilagin targets NRF2 regulation of U251 cell apoptosis. The present study used Hoechst 33258 staining to demonstrate that corilagin induced glioma cell apoptosis and observed that the expression of the apoptosis-related gene Bcl-2 was reduced. In addition, corilagin induced autophagy and promoted the conversion of light chain 3 (LC3) protein from LC3I to LC3II. NRF2 expression was downregulated by corilagin stimulation. Furthermore, the gene expression pattern following knockdown of NRF2 in U251 cells using siRNA was consistent with corilagin stimulation. Therefore, it was preliminarily concluded that corilagin induces apoptosis and autophagy by reducing NRF2 expression.

Ethnobotanical Survey of Natural Galactagogues Prescribed in Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacies in Taiwan

Natural medicinal materials have been used to promote breast milk secretion. Here, we investigated the natural medicinal materials prescribed in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pharmacies across Taiwan to induce lactation. We collected medicinal materials from 87 TCM pharmacies, identified them in the prescriptions, and analyzed their drug contents. We examined their botanical origins, biological classifications, traditional usage, and modern pharmacological properties. We used the TCM Inheritance Support System to identify core medicinal materials in galactogenous prescriptions. We collected 81 medicinal materials from 90 galactogenous prescriptions. Leguminosae accounted for 12%, whereas Apiaceae accounted for 7% of all materials examined. The primary medicinal plant parts used were roots and seeds. Nineteen frequently used medicinal materials had a relative frequency of citation of greater than or equal to 0.2. According to their efficacy, 58% were warm, 54% were sweet, and 63% were tonifying; 74% of the frequently used medicinal materials have been showed efficacy against breast cancer. The primary core medicinal material was Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, whereas the secondary core medicinal materials were Tetrapanax papyrifer (Hook.) K. Koch and Hedysarum polybotrys Hand.-Mazz. Most galactogenous prescriptions consisted of multiple materials from Leguminosae and Apiaceae. The mechanisms underlying galactogenous efficacy warrant further investigations.

Inhibitory effects and molecular mechanism on mushroom tyrosinase by condensed tannins isolation from the fruit of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H. F. Chow

The structure of extracted condensed tannin (CT) from the fruit of Sour jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill. var. spinosa (Bunge) Hu ex H. F. Chow) and the molecular mechanisms by which CT inhibits the activity of mushroom tyrosinase were investigated. The structure of CT was characterized by high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The kinetic assays were used to detect inhibition effect, type and mechanism. UV scanning, fluorescence quenching, copper interacting, o-quinone interaction and molecular docking assays were also used to reveal the molecular mechanisms by which CT inhibit tyrosinase. The results showed the structural units of CT containing afzelechin/epiafzelechin, catechin/epicatechin, and gallocatechin/epigallocatechin. Kinetic analysis showed that CT inhibits both the monophenolase and diphenolase activities of tyrosinase and exhibits reversible, mixed type mechanism. The fruit CT interacts primarily with the copper ions and specific amino acid residue (Asn191, Thr203, Ala202, Ser206, Met201, His194, His54, Glu182 and Ile42) in the active site of tyrosinase to disturb oxidation of substrates by tyrosinase. These results suggested the sour jujube fruit is a potential natural source of tyrosinase inhibitors, and has a potential to be used in food preservation, whitening cosmetics.

Bridelia speciosa Müll.Arg. Stem bark Extracts as a Potential Biomedicine: From Tropical Western Africa to the Pharmacy Shelf

Bridelia species have been used in traditional African medicine for the management of diverse human ailments. In the current work, the detailed phytochemical profiles of the extracts of the stem bark of B. speciosa were evaluated and the antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory properties of the extracts were assessed. The anti-bacterial and anti-mycotic effects of the extracts were evaluated against selected pathogen strains. Additionally, the anti-proliferative effects were studied on the liver cancer HepG2 cell line. Finally, the putative protective effects were assessed on isolated rat liver that was challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The results revealed the presence of 36 compounds in the ethyl acetate extract, 44 in the methanol extract, and 38 in the water extract. Overall, the methanol extract showed the highest antioxidant activity, particularly in LPS-stimulated rat liver. Additionally, this extract exerted the highest antimycotic effect on C. albicans, whereas the water extract showed a promising anti-proliferative effect on liver cancer HepG2 cells. The methanol extract was also the most active as enzyme inhibitor, against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. The current study appraises the antioxidant and enzyme inhibition properties of B. speciosa methanol extract and showed that this specie could be a promising source of biologically active phytochemicals, with potential health uses.

HPLC Profile of Longan (cv. Shixia) Pericarp-Sourced Phenolics and Their Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Effects

Longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) pericarp, the main by-product of aril and pulp processing, is abundant in phenolic compounds and worthy of further utilization. The present work firstly reported HPLC analysis and in vitro antioxidant evaluation of longan (cv. Shixia) pericarp-derived phenolics (LPPs), the purified longan pericarp extract (LPE), as well as their cytotoxic effect on lung cancer cell line, A549. The results indicated that the purified LPE had significant amounts of phenolics, with content of 57.8 ± 0.6 mg of gallic acid equivalents per gram of dry longan pericarp (mg GAE·g^-1 DLP), which consisted of six phenolic compounds (A⁻F), including protocatechuic acid (A), isoscopoletin (B), quercetin (C), ellagic acid (D), corilagin (E), and proanthocyanidins C1 (F). Antioxidant assays showed that LPPs (10 μM) and LPE (1.0 mg·mL^-1) had certain antioxidant activities, in which corilagin (E) possessed the best DPPH radical scavenging rate 71.8 ± 0.5% and •OH inhibition rate 75.9 ± 0.3%, and protocatechuic acid (A) exhibited the strongest Fe²⁺ chelating ability 36.4 ± 0.7%. In vitro cytotoxic tests suggested that LPPs had different effect on A549 cell line, in which corilagin (E) exhibited potent cytotoxicity with an IC₅₀ value of 28.8 ± 1.2 μM. These findings were further confirmed by cell staining experiments.