Antihepatotoxic activity of a quantified Desmodium adscendens decoction and D-pinitol against chemically-induced liver damage in rats

D-Pinitol-Active Natural Product from Carob with Notable Insulin Regulation

Carob is one of the major food trees for peoples of the Mediterranean basin, but it has also been traditionally used for medicinal purposes. Carob contains many nutrients and active natural products, and D-Pinitol is clearly one of the most important of these. D-Pinitol has been reported in dozens of scientific publications and its very diverse medicinal properties are still being studied. Presently, more than thirty medicinal activities of D-Pinitol have been reported. Among these, many publications have reported the strong activities of D-Pinitol as a natural antidiabetic and insulin regulator, but also as an active anti-Alzheimer, anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory, and is also immune- and hepato-protective. In this review, we will present a brief introduction of the nutritional and medicinal importance of Carob, both traditionally and as found by modern research. In the introduction, we will present Carob’s major active natural products. The structures of inositols will be presented with a brief literature summary of their medicinal activities, with special attention to those inositols in Carob, as well as D-Pinitol’s chemical structure and its medicinal and other properties. D-Pinitol antidiabetic and insulin regulation activities will be extensively presented, including its proposed mechanism of action. Finally, a discussion followed by the conclusions and future vision will summarize this article.

A preclinical randomized controlled study of ischemia treated with Ginkgo biloba extracts: Are complex components beneficial for treating acute stroke?

The rigorous design of preclinical experimental studies of candidate neuroprotectants for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke is crucial for the success of subsequent randomized clinical trials. The efficacy of Ginkgo biloba extracts (GBEs) in complex mixtures for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke remains unclear. In this preclinical randomized controlled trail (pRCT), the effects of a novel (n)GBE containing pinitol versus traditional (t)GBE without pinitol were evaluated on the mouse models of acute transient and permanent stroke, separately. The sample size, an important aspect of study design, was calculated based on our experimental data. Mice with ischemia that were induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) or permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion (pdMCAO), were treated with vehicle, nGBE, tGBE, or pinitol alone by tail-vein injection. Our results showed that nGBE significantly reduced infarct size in mice with tMCAO compared with vehicle-treated control mice. Both nGBE and tGBE significantly reduced infarct size in mice with pdMCAO compared with the vehicle-treated controls. None of the three treatments rescued weight loss or prevented the neurological deficits in either the tMCAO- or pdMCAO-model mice. These findings suggest that nGBE, which includes all of the components of tGBE and pinitol, is neuroprotective in two ischemic stroke models. Additional studies of complex GBE mixtures for stroke treatment compared to single component medications are undergoing evaluation.

Feasibility single-arm study of a medical device containing Desmodium adscendens and Lithothamnium calcareum combined with chemotherapy in head and neck cancer patients

Background

Neoplasms of the head and neck represent approximately 5% of cancers and they require complex multidisciplinary clinical management. Desmodium adscendens (Desmodium) is a plant that possesses anti-allergic, antioxidant and hepatoprotective properties. Lithothamnium calcareum (Lithothamnium) is a calcified seaweed that possesses remineralization properties and the ability to maintain homeostasis.

Aim

In this single-arm study, we investigated the efficacy of a combination therapy based on Desmovit^® which contains Desmodium and Lithothamnium, and chemotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer.

Methods

Twelve patients with histological or cytological diagnosis of stage IV head and neck cancer were enrolled in this study that was approved by the ethics committee of the Unità Operativa Complessa (UOC) di Oncologia Medica Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedali Riuniti Marche Nord and followed the Declaration of Helsinki guidelines. The patients were monitored by investigation of the performance status according to the Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), which evaluates the plasma level of C-reactive protein and albumin levels, and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) examination. Pain and fatigue were also monitored using the visual analog scale and visual analog fatigue scale, respectively. All the above parameters were assessed biweekly to week 10.

Results

GPS, ECOG, and albumin remained stable throughout the study with a trend towards a decrease in GPS and albumin at week 10 post-treatment. Pain significantly improved at week 8 (P<0.05) while fatigue improved at weeks 8 and 10 (all P<0.01).

Conclusion

We found that chemotherapy, combined with Desmodium and Lithothamnium, improved pain and fatigue in head and neck cancer patients, although we cannot confirm if this was due to Desmodium and Lithothamnium or chemotherapy. The improvement in pain and fatigue was supported by the ECOG performance status remaining stable with the highest score being equal to 2 throughout the study and a trend towards an improvement in GPS performance status and albumin levels.

In vitro gastrointestinal biotransformation and characterization of a Desmodium adscendens decoction: the first step in unravelling its behaviour in the human body

OBJECTIVES

The isolation and identification of the flavonoids present in a decoction of Desmodium adscendens was performed. In view of the oral use of the decoction, this work focused on the stability in gastrointestinal conditions and biotransformation by intestinal microflora in the colon of D-pinitol, vitexin and the flavonoid fraction of the decoction, as a first step in unravelling its behaviour in the human body.

METHODS

The freeze-dried decoction was first subjected to column chromatography. Subsequently an enriched flavonoid fraction, was separated by repeated semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) or by HPLC-SPE. The isolated compounds were elucidated by NMR. Biotransformation experiments were carried in an in vitro gastrointestinal dialysis model.

KEY FINDINGS

The major flavonoids of a decoction of D. adscendens were characterized as vicenin-2, isoschaftoside, schaftoside, 2″-O-xylosylvitexin, 2″-O-pentosyl-C-hexosyl apigenin and a O-hexosyl-C-hexosyl apigenin, tentatively identified as 2″-O-glucosyl-vitexin. During their passage in the gastrointestinal dialysis model, vitexin and C-glycosides thereof were found to be stable. Only the O-glycosidic bonds of O-glycosides of vitexin or isovitexin were hydrolysed during the colonic phase.

CONCLUSIONS

A D. adscendens decoction was found to be rich in vitexin and isovitexin glycosides from which vitexin and the C-glycosides thereof were found to be stable in the simulated gastrointestinal tract.

Acute and Subchronic Toxicity Studies of Aqueous Extract of Desmodium adscendens (Sw) DC

Extracts of Desmodium adscendens (Sw) DC are used for the treatment of various diseases but limited toxicological evaluations have been done on the medicinal plant. This study investigates toxicity effects of the leave extract of D adscendens, and the possibility of drug-drug interaction of the plant extract when co-administered with other drugs. Oral administrations of leaf extract of D adscendens to white Wistar rats in an acute toxicity studies allowed the estimation of an LD₅₀ (median lethal dose) value of 1122 mg/kg body weight. In a subchronic toxicity studies, the plant extract caused a decrease in zoxazolamine paralysis time and prevented thiopentone from causing sleep in test animals compared to controls. Overall, the results are consistent with the plant extract being safe at the doses administered in humans. However, the induction of the CYP enzymes is an indication of a possible drug interaction when the plant extract is co-administered with other drugs.

The "Other" Inositols and Their Phosphates: Synthesis, Biology, and Medicine (with Recent Advances in myo-Inositol Chemistry)

Cell signaling via inositol phosphates, in particular via the second messenger myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate, and phosphoinositides comprises a huge field of biology. Of the nine 1,2,3,4,5,6-cyclohexanehexol isomers, myo-inositol is pre-eminent, with "other" inositols (cis-, epi-, allo-, muco-, neo-, L-chiro-, D-chiro-, and scyllo-) and derivatives rarer or thought not to exist in nature. However, neo- and d-chiro-inositol hexakisphosphates were recently revealed in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, thus highlighting the paucity of knowledge of the origins and potential biological functions of such stereoisomers, a prevalent group of environmental organic phosphates, and their parent inositols. Some "other" inositols are medically relevant, for example, scyllo-inositol (neurodegenerative diseases) and d-chiro-inositol (diabetes). It is timely to consider exploration of the roles and applications of the "other" isomers and their derivatives, likely by exploiting techniques now well developed for the myo series.

Antiproliferative activity and phenotypic modification induced by selected Peruvian medicinal plants on human hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The high incidence of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Peru and the wide use of medicinal plants in this country led us to study the activity against HCC cells in vitro of somes species used locally against liver and digestive disorders.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ethnopharmacological survey: Medicinal plant species with a strong convergence of use for liver and digestive diseases were collected fresh in the wild or on markets, in two places of Peru: Chiclayo (Lambayeque department, Chiclayo province) and Huaraz (Ancash department, Huaraz province). Altogether 51 species were collected and 61 ethanol extracts were prepared to be tested. Biological assessment: All extracts were first assessed against the HCC cell line Hep3B according a 3-step multi-parametric phenotypic assay. It included 1) the evaluation of phenotypic changes on cells by light microscopy, 2) the measurement of the antiproliferative activity and 3) the analysis of the cytoskeleton and mitosis by immunofluorescence. Best extracts were further assessed against other HCC cell lines HepG2, PLC/PRF/5 and SNU-182 and their toxicity measured in vitro on primary human hepatocytes.

RESULTS

Ethnopharmacological survey: Some of the species collected had a high reputation spreading over the surveyed locations for treating liver problems, i.e. Baccharis genistelloides, Bejaria aestuans, Centaurium pulchellum, Desmodium molliculum, Dipsacus fullonum, Equisetum bogotense, Gentianella spp., Krameria lapacea, Otholobium spp., Schkuhria pinnata, Taraxacum officinale. Hep3B evaluation: Fourteen extracts from 13 species (Achyrocline alata, Ambrosia arborescens, Baccharis latifolia, Hypericum laricifolium, Krameria lappacea, Niphidium crassifolium, Ophryosporus chilca, Orthrosanthus chimboracensis, Otholobium pubescens, Passiflora ligularis, Perezia coerulescens, Perezia multiflora and Schkuhria pinnata) showed a significant antiproliferative activity against Hep3B cells (IC50≤ 50µg/mL). This was associated with a lack of toxicity on primary human hepatocytes in vitro. Immunofluorescence experiments on Hep3B cells showed that crude extracts of Schkuhria pinnata and Orthrosanthus chimboracensis could block Hep3B cells in mitosis with an original phenotype. Crude extracts of Perezia coerulescens, Perezia multiflora, Achyrocline alata, Ophryosporus chilca, Otholobium pubescens and Hypericum laricifolium could modify the overall microtubule cytoskeletal dynamics of Hep3B cells in interphase by an original mechanism.

CONCLUSIONS

Our method allowed us to select 9 extracts which displayed antiproliferative activities associated with original cellular phenotypes on Hep3B cells, regarding known microtubule-targeting drugs. Both chemical and cellular studies are ongoing in order to elucidate natural compounds and cellular mechanisms responsible of the activities described.

Activity-guided isolation, identification and quantification of biologically active isomeric compounds from folk medicinal plant Desmodium adscendens using high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector, mass spectrometry and multidimentional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The antioxidant activity of the crude extract (60% ethanol) from the leaves of Desmodium adscendens (Sw.) DC. (Fabaceae) was observed in DPPH, xanthine/xanthine oxidase, lipid peroxydation and neutrophils burst tests. Further activity-guided fractionation on C18 column (water, 20% methanol, 50% methanol and 100% methanol) resulted in the separation of the fraction (50% methanol) with the highest antioxidant capacity. HPLC-DAD analysis of biologically active fraction revealed the presence of two pairs of flavonoid isomers as the dominant constituents. Those compounds were isolated and purified by multi-step liquid column chromatography (Sephadex LH20). Their structures were elucidated by various spectroscopic techniques, including NMR, UV and MS. Based on 1D and 2D NMR spectra as well as ion fragmentation, flavonoids were identified as: isovitexin 2''-O-xyloside (1), vitexin 2''-O-xyloside (2), vitexin (3) and isovitexin (4). The hybrid HSQC-DEPT technique provided very fast determination of the glycosylation positions in aglycone and the type of glycosidic bond in the flavonoid isomers. This study provides novel information concerning identity of the major compounds present in the leaves of D. adscendens cultivated in Ghana, which broadens the knowledge about anti-inflammatory, antiallergic and antioxidant properties of their extracts.