Anti-hypertensive and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory effects of Radix Astragali and its bioactive peptide AM-1

Screening and rational identification of a novel angiotensin-converting enzyme C-domain inhibitory peptide from Fabaceae food peptide library

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), consisting of N-domain and C-domain, is a key regulator of blood pressure. The use of cACE-specific inhibitors helps minimize side effects in clinical applications. Legumes are a good source of proteins containing ACE inhibitory peptides; however, no studies have reported the identification of cACE-specific inhibitory peptides from Fabaceae. In this study, thermal hydrolysates from seeds, sprouts, pods, seedlings, and flowers of legumes were analyzed. Flowers of legumes exhibited a C-domain-preference ACE inhibition and anti-hypertensive effect in rats. Screening the legume peptide library identified a novel cACE inhibitory peptide, SJ-1. This study reported the first identification of cACE inhibitory peptide from Fabaceae foods. SJ-1, identified from the legume flowers, interacted with active site residues of cACE, leading to the inhibition of ACE activity, downregulation of bradykinin levels, and reduction of blood pressure. These findings also suggested the potential of legume proteins as a source of cACE inhibitory peptides.

Screening of potential α-glucosidase inhibitors from astragalus membranaceus by affinity ultrafiltration screening coupled with UPLC-ESI-Orbitrap-MS method

Astragalus membranaceus is a traditional Chinese medicine with multiple pharmacological activities. Modern pharmacological research has found that Astragalus membranaceus extract has an inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase, however, which component can inhibit the activity of α-glucosidase and its degree of inhibition are unknown. To address this issue, this study used affinity ultrafiltration screening combined with UPLC-ESI-Orbitrap-MS technology to screen α-glucosidase inhibitors in Astragalus membranaceus. Using affinity ultrafiltration technology, we obtained the active components, and using UPLC-ESI-Orbitrap-MS technology, we quickly analyzed and identified them. As a result, a total of 8 ingredients were selected as α-glucosidase inhibitors.

Preliminary Exploration of Potential Active Ingredients and Molecular Mechanisms of Yanggan Yishui Granules for Treating Hypertensive Nephropathy Using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS Coupled with Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Strategy

Hypertensive nephropathy (HN) is a prevalent complication of hypertension and stands as the second primary reason for end-stage renal disease. Research in clinical settings has revealed that Yanggan Yishui Granule (YGYSG) has significant therapeutic effects on HN. However, the material basis and action mechanisms of YGYSG against HN remain unclear. Consequently, this study utilized a comprehensive method integrating ultraperformance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS), network pharmacology, and molecular docking to delineate the active ingredients and potential therapeutic mechanisms of YGYSG for treating HN. Firstly, sixty distinct components were recognized in total as potential active ingredients in YGYSG by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS. Subsequently, the mechanisms of YGYSG against HN were revealed for the first time using network pharmacology. 23 ingredients played key roles in the complete network and were the key active ingredients, which could affect the renin-angiotensin system, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, HIF-1 signaling pathway, and AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications by regulating 29 key targets such as TNF, IL6, ALB, EGFR, ACE, and MMP2. YGYSG could treat HN through the suppression of inflammatory response and oxidative stress, attenuating the proliferation of renal vascular smooth muscle cells, lessening glomerular capillary systolic pressure, and ameliorating renal dysfunction and vascular damage through the aforementioned targets and pathways. Molecular docking results revealed that most key active ingredients exhibited a high affinity for binding to the key targets. This study pioneers in clarifying the bioactive compounds and molecular mechanisms of YGYSG against HN and offers scientific reference into the clinical application.

Astragali Radix: comprehensive review of its botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and clinical application

Astragali Radix (A. Radix) is the dried root of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus (Bge) Hsiao or Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge., belonging to the family Leguminosae, which is mainly distributed in China. A. Radix has been consumed as a tonic in China for more than 2000 years because of its medicinal effects of invigorating the spleen and replenishing qi. Currently, more than 400 natural compounds have been isolated and identified from A. Radix, mainly including saponins, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, alkaloids, and others. Modern pharmacological studies have shown that A. Radix has anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-atherosclerotic, cardioprotective, anti-hypertensive, and anti-aging effects. It has been clinically used in the treatment of tumors, cardiovascular diseases, and cerebrovascular complications associated with diabetes with few side effects and high safety. This paper reviewed the progress of research on its chemical constituents, pharmacological effects, clinical applications, developing applications, and toxicology, which provides a basis for the better development and utilization of A. Radix.

A novel heat-stable angiotensin-converting enzyme zinc-binding motif inhibitory peptide identified from corn silk

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Hypertension is the most common and chronic severe health problem globally. Corn silk (CS), the silky fibers of corn (Zea mays L.), has a long history of traditional usage as a remedy for edema and hypertension.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim of the study was to explore the underlying mechanism by which CS exerts its anti-hypertensive effects and investigate the presence of bioactive molecules in CS aqueous extract.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We analyzed the effects of boiling water extract of CS on angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activities, the critical enzyme involved in the regulation of blood pressure. ACE inhibitory peptides from CS extract were identified using proteomics and bioinformatics tools. The binding interfaces between these peptides and ACE were defined by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS). Subsequently, the anti-hypertensive effects of peptides were further investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).

RESULTS

Our data showed that CS extract exhibited dose-dependent inhibition of ACE activity. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry identified a heat-stable peptide bank with 1313 distinct peptide fragments within the CS boiling water extract. Among these, CS-1 (LVPGWTKPICIGR) was selected through PeptideRanker and BIOPEP-UWM analyses. In vitro ACE inhibitory assays confirmed that CS-1 exhibited dose-dependent ACE inhibition, with IC50 values of 10.32 ± 0.41 μmol/L (using HHL as the substrate) and 13.74 ± 1.87 μmol/L (using ZFHL as the substrate). Oral administration of CS-1 led to a significant dose-dependent reduction in blood pressure, with the maximal decrease (42.33 ± 13.08 mmHg) occurring 0.5 h after ingestion. HDX-MS analysis revealed that CS-1 interacted with the zinc-binding motif of ACE, and hydrogen bond interactions were predicted between CS-1 and specific residues, including His361 in the N-domain, as well as His382, Gly386, and His387 in the C-domain of ACE. These findings suggested that the interaction of CS-1 with the residues in the zinc-binding motif of ACE led to ACE activity inhibition and a subsequent decrease in blood pressure in rats.

CONCLUSIONS

A novel heat-stable ACE inhibitory peptide, which interacted with the zinc-binding motif of ACE and reduced blood pressure in SHR, was identified in the CS extract. The presence of ACE inhibitory peptides in the CS extract supports its traditional use in ethnopharmacology for hypertension.

Rutin protects against gamma-irradiation and malathion-induced oxidative stress and inflammation through regulation of mir-129-3p, mir-200C-3p, and mir-210 gene expressions in rats' kidney

Kidney injury represents a global concern, leading to chronic kidney disease. The organophosphate insecticide malathion (MT) demonstrates environmental disturbance and impairment of different mammalian organs, including kidneys. Likewise, gamma-irradiation (IRR) provokes destructive effects in the kidneys. Rutin is a flavonoid glycoside that exhibits nephro-protective and radio-protective properties. This manuscript focused on investigating the protective response of rutin on MT- and IRR-triggered kidney injury in rats. Rats were randomly divided into eight groups of twelve: G1 (C), control; G2 (Rutin), rutin-treated rats; G3 (IRR), gamma-irradiated rats; G4 (MT), malathion-treated rats; G5 (IRR/MT), gamma-irradiated rats treated with malathion; G6 (IRR/Rutin), gamma-irradiated rats treated with rutin; G7 (MT/Rutin), rats treated with malathion and rutin; and G8 (IRR/MT/Rutin), gamma-irradiated rats treated with malathion and rutin, every day for 30 days. The results demonstrated that rutin treatment regulated the biochemical parameters, the oxidative stress, the antioxidant status, and the inflammatory responses due to the down-regulation of the renal NF-κB p65 protein expression. Moreover, it amended the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AchE), angiotensin ACE I, and ACE II-converting enzymes. Besides, it regulated the iNOS, eNOS, miR-129-3p, miR-200c, and miR-210 gene expressions and bradykinin receptor (B1R and B2R) protein expressions. Histopathological examinations of the kidney tissue confirmed these investigated results. It could be concluded that rutin demonstrated nephro/radioprotection and counteracted the toxicological effects triggered in the kidney tissues of IRR, MT, and IRR/MT intoxicated rats, via regulating miR-129-3p, miR-200c-3p, and miR-210-3p gene expressions, which consequently regulated B2R protein expressions, ACE II activity, and HIF-1α production, respectively.

Renal protective effects of astragalus root in rat models of chronic kidney disease

BACKGROUND

Astragalus root is a commonly used herb in traditional Chinese medicine. Although renoprotective effects have been reported in some clinical and experimental studies, the details remain unknown.

METHODS

We used 5/6 nephrectomized rats as chronic kidney disease (CKD) models. At 10 weeks, they were divided into four groups, namely, CKD, low-dose astragalus (AR400), high-dose astragalus (AR800), and sham groups. At 14 weeks, they were sacrificed for the evaluation of blood, urine, mRNA expression in the kidney, and renal histopathology.

RESULTS

Kidney dysfunction was significantly improved following astragalus administration (creatinine clearance: sham group; 3.8 ± 0.3 mL/min, CKD group; 1.5 ± 0.1 mL/min, AR400 group; 2.5 ± 0.3 mL/min, AR800 group; 2.7 ± 0.1 mL/min). Blood pressure, urinary albumin, and urinary NGAL levels were significantly lower in the astragalus-treated groups than those in the CKD group. Excretion of urinary 8-OHdG, an oxidative stress marker, and intrarenal oxidative stress were lower in the astragalus-treated groups than those in the CKD group. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of NADPH p22 phox, NADPH p47 phox, Nox4, renin, angiotensin II type 1 receptor, and angiotensinogen in the kidney was lower in the astragalus-treated groups compared with the CKD group.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that astragalus root slowed CKD progression, possibly through the suppression of oxidative stress and the renin-angiotensin system.

Bidirectional effects and mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The bidirectional property of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) was recorded in the classic work Medicine Origin (Yi Xue Qi Yuan) as early as the Jin and Yuan dynasties of ancient China. Since then, this imperative theory has been applied to guide the clinical application of TCMs. Studies have been performed to investigate this phenomenon only over the last three decades. A limited number of reviews on the bidirectional role of TCMs have been published, and almost all current studies are published in the Chinese language.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

The aim of this review is to provide the first comprehensive evidence regarding the bidirectional effects and the underlying mechanisms of TCMs and their active compounds.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Information relevant to opposing pharmacological activities or opposing properties exerted by TCM prescriptions, herbal medicines, and their active compound, as well as their mechanisms was summarized by searching Chinese and English databases, including the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan Fang Data, Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP), Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library.

RESULTS

Although the bidirectional regulation of TCMs has been applied in the clinic since ancient times in China, only limited reviews have been published in Chinese. The existing data showed that bidirectional effects can be found in TCM prescriptions, herbal medicines, and pure active compounds. Additionally, the bidirectional role of TCMs was primarily reported in the modulation of immune function, blood circulation and hemostasis, gastrointestinal motility, the central nervous system and blood pressure. This may because the therapeutic outcomes of these disorders are more obvious than those of other complicated diseases. Intriguingly, some herbal medicines have multiple bidirectional activities; for instance, Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer showed bidirectional regulation of immune function and the central nervous system; Astragalus membranaceus can bidirectionally regulate blood pressure and immune function; and Rheum officinale Baill exerts bidirectional effects on blood circulation and hemostasis, gastrointestinal motility and immune function. The mechanisms underlying the bidirectional effects of TCMs are largely attributed to the complexity of herbal constituents, dosage differences, the processing of herbal medicine, and compatibility of medicines, the physiological conditions of patients and adaptogenic effects.

CONCLUSION

Uncovering the bidirectional effects and mechanisms of TCMs is of great importance for both scientific research and clinical applications. This review may help to facilitate the recognition of the bidirectional role of TCMs, to explain some seemingly-opposite phenomena in the pharmacological study of herbal medicines and to provide guidance for TCM practitioners.

Small molecule angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors: A medicinal chemistry perspective

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), a zinc metalloprotein, is a central component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). It degrades bradykinin and other vasoactive peptides. Angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors, ACEIs) decrease the formation of angiotensin II and increase the level of bradykinin, thus relaxing blood vessels as well as reducing blood volume, lowering blood pressure and reducing oxygen consumption by the heart, which can be used to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases and kidney diseases. Nevertheless, ACEIs are associated with a range of adverse effects such as renal insufficiency, which limits their use. In recent years, researchers have attempted to reduce the adverse effects of ACEIs by improving the selectivity of ACEIs for structural domains based on conformational relationships, and have developed a series of novel ACEIs. In this review, we have summarized the research advances of ACE inhibitors, focusing on the development sources, design strategies and analysis of structure-activity relationships and the biological activities of ACE inhibitors.

Chinese Herbal Medicine Reduces the Risk of Heart Failure in Hypertensive Patients: A Nationwide, Retrospective, Cohort Study

Background

Hypertension (HTN) is the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease worldwide. Patients with HTN are at higher risk for heart failure (HF). The currently available therapeutic approaches for HTN do not always optimally control blood pressure or are not suitable for hypertensive patients who have a higher number of comorbidities. This study aimed to determine whether Chinese herbal medicine (CMH)-based interventions could reduce the risk of HF in hypertensive patients.

Methods

This retrospective study randomly selected 2 million enrollees from the National Health Insurance Research Database and identified 507,608 patients who were newly diagnosed with HTN in 2000–2017. After 1:1 frequency-matching by age, sex, index year, income, urbanization, duration of HTN, comorbidities and antihypertensive medications, we selected 8,912 eligible patients in each group. During 16 years of follow-up, 380 CHM users and 426 CHM non-users developed HF, representing incidence rates of 6.29 and 7.43 per 1,000 person-years, respectively.

Results

CHM users had significantly lower HF risk compared with CHM non-users (adjusted HR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.74–0.98). The markedly predominant effect was observed in those receiving CHM products for more than 180 days (adjusted HR = 0.65). The frequently prescribed formula, Jia-Wei-Xiao-Yao-San, and the single herbs Ge Gen, Huang Qi, Du Zhong, Huang Qin, and Chuan Xiong were significantly associated with lower risk of HF.

Conclusions

This population-based study revealed decreased HF risk in hypertensive patients with CHM use. These findings may provide a reference for HF prevention strategies and support the integration of CHM into clinical intervention programs that provide a favorable prognosis for hypertensive patients.

Colour, chemical compounds, and antioxidant capacity of Astragali Radix based on untargeted metabolomics and targeted quantification

INTRODUCTION

Astragali Radix has been used for over 2000 years in traditional Chinese medicine. Its secondary xylem "Jinjing" and secondary phloem "Yulan" are important for evaluating the quality of the Daodi medicinal material in China. However, its systematic characterisation has not been conducted.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to investigate the colour, chemical compounds, and antioxidant capacity of the secondary xylem and phloem of Astragali Radix on the basis of untargeted metabolomics, broadening the application scope of Astragali Radix in food and pharmaceutical industries.

METHODS

The L*, a*, and b* of the secondary xylem and phloem were measured by colorimetry, and the chemical compounds were identified and quantified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-evaporative light scattering detection. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) assays were conducted to evaluate their antioxidant capacity.

RESULTS

Thirty-one compounds were identified by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. The secondary xylem exhibited high parameter b*, flavonoid content, and antioxidant capacity, while the secondary phloem was rich in astragalosides. The colour parameters of well-defined type A significantly varied from those of the other types. Well-defined type A also exhibited the highest antioxidant activity and flavonoid content, followed by middle type A-like, middle type B-like, and yellow shading type B.

CONCLUSION

The colour parameters, chemical compounds, and antioxidant capacity among the different transverse sections of secondary xylem and phloem varied. The yellow colour of secondary xylem was correlated to high flavonoid content and antioxidant activity, and well-defined type A of Astragali Radix had better quality than other types.

Ensemble-AHTPpred: A Robust Ensemble Machine Learning Model Integrated With a New Composite Feature for Identifying Antihypertensive Peptides

Hypertension or elevated blood pressure is a serious medical condition that significantly increases the risks of cardiovascular disease, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, kidney disease, and other health problems, that affect people worldwide. Thus, hypertension is one of the major global causes of premature death. Regarding the prevention and treatment of hypertension with no or few side effects, antihypertensive peptides (AHTPs) obtained from natural sources might be useful as nutraceuticals. Therefore, the search for alternative/novel AHTPs in food or natural sources has received much attention, as AHTPs may be functional agents for human health. AHTPs have been observed in diverse organisms, although many of them remain underinvestigated. The identification of peptides with antihypertensive activity in the laboratory is time- and resource-consuming. Alternatively, computational methods based on robust machine learning can identify or screen potential AHTP candidates prior to experimental verification. In this paper, we propose Ensemble-AHTPpred, an ensemble machine learning algorithm composed of a random forest (RF), a support vector machine (SVM), and extreme gradient boosting (XGB), with the aim of integrating diverse heterogeneous algorithms to enhance the robustness of the final predictive model. The selected feature set includes various computed features, such as various physicochemical properties, amino acid compositions (AACs), transitions, n-grams, and secondary structure-related information; these features are able to learn more information in terms of analyzing or explaining the characteristics of the predicted peptide. In addition, the tool is integrated with a newly proposed composite feature (generated based on a logistic regression function) that combines various feature aspects to enable improved AHTP characterization. Our tool, Ensemble-AHTPpred, achieved an overall accuracy above 90% on independent test data. Additionally, the approach was applied to novel experimentally validated AHTPs, obtained from recent studies, which did not overlap with the training and test datasets, and the tool could precisely predict these AHTPs.

Molecular modeling in cardiovascular pharmacology: Current state of the art and perspectives

Molecular modeling in pharmacology is a promising emerging tool for exploring drug interactions with cellular components. Recent advances in molecular simulations, big data analysis, and artificial intelligence (AI) have opened new opportunities for rationalizing drug interactions with their pharmacological targets. Despite the obvious utility and increasing impact of computational approaches, their development is not progressing at the same speed in different fields of pharmacology. Here, we review current in silico techniques used in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cardiological drug discovery, and assessment of cardiotoxicity. In silico techniques are paving the way to a new era in cardiovascular medicine, but their use somewhat lags behind that in other fields.

Ethnopharmacological studies of medicinal plants in central Zagros, Lorestan Province, Iran

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Lorestan Province (Iran) has a great diversity of habitats and plant diversity and the people living in this province have a good knowledge of herbal therapies.

AIM OF THE STUDY

In this study, the authors aimed to identify and report the medicinal plants used in the folk medicine of Lorestan.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The indigenous medicinal information was collected with a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire, interviews, and personal observations. The relative importance of the species were estimated through frequency of citations (FC).

RESULTS

and discussion: A total of 555 plants belonging to 91 families were identified. The plants belong to Asteraceae with 62 species followed by Lamiaceae (56), Apiaceae (44), Fabaceae (41), and Brassicaceae (31). The plants were mostly used as a decoction or eaten raw (32%). Leaves (22%) were the most utilized plant parts followed by shoots (16%), and seeds (13%). Thymus daenensis, Thymus eriocalyx, Mentha longifolia, Mentha spicata, Mentha piperitha, Alium sativum, Quercus infectoria, Quercus persica, Ziziphora clinopodioides, and Malus domestica had the highest FC values. Most of the plants were used for gastrointestinal, respiratory, and skin problems.

CONCLUSION

Lorestan is a region rich in medicinal plants. The local knowledge of herbal therapies can be used as complementary medicine, particularly by people in remote areas and as a guide for the future pharmacological and phytochemical studies. While the known medicinal plants can be harvested or cultivated for medical and pharmaceutical purposes, the less known plants with high FC scores can be investigated phytochemically and pharmacologically in the future studies.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors from plants: A review of their diversity, modes of action, prospects, and concerns in the management of diabetes-centric complications

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are antihypertensive medications often used in the treatment of diabetes-related complications. Synthetic ACE inhibitors are known to cause serious side effects like hypotension, renal insufficiency, and hyperkalaemia. Therefore, there has been an intensifying search for natural ACE inhibitors. Many plants or plant-based extracts are known to possess ACE-inhibitory activity. In this review, articles focusing on the natural ACE inhibitors extracted from plants were retrieved from databases like Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. We have found more than 50 plant species with ACE-inhibitory activity. Among them, Angelica keiskei, Momordica charantia, Muntingia calabura, Prunus domestica, and Peperomia pellucida were the most potent, showing comparatively lower half-maximal inhibitory concentration values. Among the bioactive metabolites, peptides (e.g., Tyr-Glu-Pro, Met-Arg-Trp, and Gln-Phe-Tyr-Ala-Val), phenolics (e.g., cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside and delphinidin-3-O-sambubioside), flavonoids ([-]-epicatechin, astilbin, and eupatorin), terpenoids (ursolic acid and oleanolic acid) and alkaloids (berberine and harmaline) isolated from several plant and fungus species were found to possess significant ACE-inhibitory activity. These were also known to possess promising antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihyperlipidemic and anti-inflammatory activities. Considering the minimal side effects and lower toxicity of herbal compounds, development of antihypertensive drugs from these plant extracts or phytocompounds for the treatment of diabetes-associated complications is an important endeavour. This review, therefore, focuses on the ACE inhibitors extracted from different plant sources, their possible mechanisms of action, present status, and any safety concerns.

Biologia futura: medicinal plants-derived bioactive peptides in functional perspective-a review

Bioactive peptides (BPs) are 3-20 amino acid residues, with a molecular weight lower than 6 kDa; originated from the breakdown of proteins by endogenous and exogenous peptidases. While intact in protein these peptides do not exert any biological activity, but as they release from their parent protein, they exert various pharmacological activities such as antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anticancerous, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory. Such peptides exist in all living organism like plants, animals, marine organism and also present in food products derived from them. BPs obtained from dairy food products, cereals, vegetables have been gaining much more importance now-a-days, but little work has been done on bioactive peptides obtained from medicinal plants. Some of the medicinal plants such as Tinospora cordifolia Sterculia foetida, Benincasa hispida, Parkia speciosa, Linum usitatissimum, Salvia hispanica and Ziziphus jujube have been explored for bioactive peptides. Current review is aimed to provide a complete information of medicinal plants derived BPs along with the surge of new materials, new plants which will provide more solutions for handling some of the major human health problems of twenty-first century. This review will also be helpful to researchers in providing valuable information about the extraction, separation, characterization of BPs, their known peptide sequences and various pharmacological activities exerted by medicinal plants-derived bioactive peptides.

Calycosin-loaded nanoliposomes as potential nanoplatforms for treatment of diabetic nephropathy through regulation of mitochondrial respiratory function

BACKGROUNDS

One of the most common complications in diabetic nephropathy is generation of high levels of ROS which can be regulated by herbal antioxidants. However, polyphenols like calycosin, the bioactive compound of Radix astragali suffer from low solubility and poor bioavailability.

METHODS

Therefore, in the present study, calycosin-loaded nanoliposomes were fabricated and characterized by TEM, DLS and FTIR techniques. Afterwards, the drug loading (DL) and entrapment efficiency (EE), drug release, solubility, stability, and pharmacodynamic assays were performed. Finally, the antinephropathic effects of calycosin-loaded-nanoliposomes on mitochondria of kidney cells were explored by MTT, ROS, MDA, mitochondrial respiratory function assays.

RESULTS

The result showed that the size, hydrodynamic radius, zeta potential, EE, and DL were, 80 nm, 133.99 ± 21.44 nm, - 20.53 ± 3.57, 88.37 ± 2.28%, and 7.48 ± 1.19%, respectively. The outcomes of in vitro release assay showed that calycosin-loaded nanoliposomes were significantly slow-release in dialysis media with pH 1.2, pH 6.9 and pH 7.4, at about 30 min, the dissolution of calycosin from nanoliposome became almost complete, and after 2 months, the calycosin-loaded nanoliposomes were still stable. Pharmacokinetic assay revealed that the AUC0-t of calycosin in calycosin-loaded nanoliposome group was 927.39 ± 124.91 μg/L*h, which was 2.26 times than that of the free calycosin group (**P < 0.01). Additionally, the MRT0-t and t1/2 of calycosin in the calycosin-loaded nanoliposome group were prolonged by 1.54 times and 1.33 times than that of free calycosin group, respectively (*P < 0.05). Finally, it was shown that calycosin-loaded nanoliposomes regulated the viability, ROS production, lipid peroxidation and function of mitochondria in kidney cells of diabetic rats as a model of diabetic nephropathy.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion it may be suggested that new therapies based on nano-formulated calycosin can restore mitochondrial function which can improve diabetic nephropathy.

Phytochemistry and cardiovascular protective effects of Huang-Qi (Astragali Radix)

Huang-Qi (Astragali Radix) is an herbal tonic widely used in China and many other countries. It is derived from the roots of Astragalus membranaceus and A. membranaceus var. mongholicus and shows potent cardiovascular protective effects. In this article, we comprehensively reviewed 189 small molecules isolated from the two Astragalus species and discussed the interspecies chemical differences. Moreover, we summarized the pharmacological activities and mechanisms of action of Huang-Qi and its major bioactive compounds for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. This review covers 171 references published between February 1983 and March 2020.