Prunella vulgaris L. attenuates gut dysbiosis and endotoxin leakage against alcoholic liver disease

Extraction and purification, structural characteristics, pharmacological activities, structure-activity relationships, applications, and quality assessments of Prunella vulgaris L. polysaccharides: A review

Prunella vulgaris L. (P. vulgaris) is a representative natural medicinal plant in the Prunella L. genus of the Lamiaceae family, widely distributed around the world. It has high value in both medicinal and edible aspects. As a highly representative class of macromolecular substances in P. vulgaris, polysaccharides from P. vulgaris have been extensively studied. P. vulgaris polysaccharides have various pharmacological activities, including anti-HSV, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-complement, anti-hyperplasia, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-tumor, and immunomodulatory. It is meaningful and necessary to review it to enable better research and application. This article integrates the research results on the extraction and purification, structure, pharmacological activities, structure-activity relationships, applications, and quality assessments of polysaccharides from P. vulgaris over the past 25 years. We look forward to promoting the research and application of polysaccharides from P. vulgaris while providing references for developing polysaccharides from other traditional natural medicinal plants.

An Integrated Approach of Network Pharmacology, Bioinformatics, Molecular Docking, and Experimental Verification Uncovers Prunellae Spica as the Potential Medicine of Prognosis Improvement for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Prunellae Spica (PS), the spike from Prunella vulgaris L., is a traditional Chinese medicine that can treat Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC), whereas its molecular mechanisms and effects on the prognosis of patients remain unclear.

METHODS

Our study aimed to identify the potential anti-OSCC targets of PS and explore its mechanisms and effects on prognosis through network pharmacology, bioinformatics analysis, molecular docking, and in-vitro cell assays.

RESULTS

Sixty-two potential targets of 11 active anti-OSCC ingredients of PS were identified, with Quercetin, the core ingredient of PS, exhibiting the most significant number of OSCC-related targets. GO analysis indicated that the primary biological processes involved in OSCC treatment by PS were the cellular response to nitrogen compound, response to xenobiotic stimulus, and cellular response to organonitrogen compound. KEGG analysis revealed that pathways in cancer were the top highly enriched signaling pathway in the treatment of OSCC by PS. DisGeNET analysis is mainly about Lip and Oral Cavity Carcinoma. More importantly, 6 of the 62 targets were markedly related to prognosis. Molecular docking revealed high affinities between the key component and the prognosis-related target proteins. Treatment of OSCC cell line SCC-25 with Quercetin could inhibit malignant biological behaviors, such as cell proliferation, colony formation, invasion, and migration, as well as affect the targets related to prognosis and promote autophagy.

CONCLUSION

Overall, these results suggest that PS plays a significant role in treating and improving the prognosis of OSCC by directly influencing various processes in OSCC.

FXR overexpression prevents hepatic steatosis through inhibiting AIM2 inflammasome activation in alcoholic liver disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD), a metabolic liver disease caused by excessive alcohol consumption, has attracted increasing attention due to its high prevalence and mortality. Up to date, there is no effective and feasible treatment method for ALD. This study was to investigate whether Farnesoid X receptor (FXR, NR1H4) can alleviate ALD and whether this effect is mediated by inhibiting absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) inflammasome activation.

METHODS

The difference in FXR expression between normal subjects and ALD patients was analyzed using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Lieber-DeCarli liquid diet with 5% ethanol (v/v) (EtOH) was adopted to establish the mouse ALD model. Liver histopathological changes and the accumulation of lipid droplets were assessed by H&E and Oil Red O staining. Quantitative real-time PCR, Western blotting analysis and immunofluorescence staining were utilized to evaluate the expression levels of related genes and proteins. DCFH-DA staining was adopted to visualize reactive oxidative species (ROS).

RESULTS

FXR was distinctly downregulated in liver tissues of patients with steatosis compared to normal livers using the GEO database, and in ethanol-induced AML-12 cellular steatosis model. FXR overexpression ameliorated hepatic lipid metabolism disorder and steatosis induced by ethanol by inhibiting the expression of genes involved in lipid synthesis and inducing the expression of genes responsible for lipid metabolism. Besides, FXR overexpression inhibited ethanol-induced AIM2 inflammasome activation and alleviated oxidative stress and ROS production during ethanol-induced hepatic steatosis. However, when FXR was knocked down, the results were completely opposite.

CONCLUSIONS

FXR attenuated lipid metabolism disorders and lipid degeneration in alcohol-caused liver injury and alleviated oxidative stress and inflammation by inhibiting AIM2 inflammasome activation.