Chelidonium majus L. alkaloid extract enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis in HeLa cell line through death receptors 4 and 5 upregulation

Romanian Wild-Growing Chelidonium majus-An Emerging Approach to a Potential Antimicrobial Engineering Carrier System Based on AuNPs: In Vitro Investigation and Evaluation

Novel nanotechnology based on herbal products aspires to be a high-performing therapeutic platform. This study reports the development of an original engineering carrier system that jointly combines the pharmacological action of Chelidonium majus and AuNPs, with unique properties that ensure that the limitations imposed by low stability, toxicity, absorption, and targeted and prolonged release can be overcome. The metabolite profile of Romanian wild-grown Chelidonium majus contains a total of seventy-four phytochemicals belonging to eight secondary metabolite categories, including alkaloids, amino acids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, carotenoids, fatty acids, sterols, and miscellaneous others. In this study, various techniques (XRD, FTIR, SEM, DLS, and TG/DTG) were employed to investigate his new carrier system's morpho-structural and thermal properties. In vitro assays were conducted to evaluate the antioxidant potential and release profile. The results indicate 99.9% and 94.4% dissolution at different pH values for the CG-AuNPs carrier system and 93.5% and 85.26% for greater celandine at pH 4 and pH 7, respectively. Additionally, three in vitro antioxidant assays indicated an increase in antioxidant potential (flavonoid content 3.8%; FRAP assay 24.6%; and DPPH 24.4%) of the CG-AuNPs carrier system compared to the herb sample. The collective results reflect the system's promising perspective as a new efficient antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory candidate with versatile applications, ranging from target delivery systems, oral inflammation (periodontitis), and anti-age cosmetics to extending the shelf lives of products in the food industry.

VDR gene polymorphisms are associated with the increased susceptibility to COVID-19 among iranian population: A case-control study

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), but the pathogenesis is unclear. Host genetic background is one of the main factors influencing the patients' susceptibility to several viral infectious diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association between host genetic polymorphisms of two genes, including vitamin D receptor (VDR) and vitamin D binding protein (DBP), and susceptibility to COVID‐19 in a sample of the Iranian population. This case‐control study enrolled 188 hospitalized COVID‐19 patients as the case group and 218 suspected COVID‐19 patients with mild signs as the control group. The VDR (rs7975232, rs731236 and rs2228570) and DBP (rs7041) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped by Polymerase Chain Reaction Restriction – Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) method. A significant association between rs2228570 SNP in the VDR gene and the susceptibility of COVID‐19 was found between case and control groups. The CT genotype (Heterozygous) of rs2228570 C > T polymorphism showed significant association with a 3.088 fold increased odds of COVID‐19 (p < .0001; adjusted OR: 3.088; 95% CI: 1.902–5.012). In addition, a significant association between CC genotype of rs2228570 CT polymorphism and increased odds of COVID‐19 in male and female groups (p = .001; adjusted OR: 3.125; 95% CI: 1.630–5.991 and p = .002; adjusted OR: 3.071; 95% CI: 1.485–6.354 respectively) were determined. Our results revealed no significant differences in the frequency of genotype and allele of VDR (rs7975232 and rs731236) and DBP (rs7041) between SARS‐CoV‐2‐infected patients and controls (p > .05). Our results showed that polymorphism of VDR (rs2228570) probably could influence individual susceptibility to COVID‐19. The polymorphisms of VDR (rs7975232 and rs731236) and DBP (rs7041) were not associated with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection susceptibility.