Pinus thunbergii PARL leaf protects against alcohol-induced liver disease by enhancing antioxidant defense mechanism in BALB/c mice

Phytochemical profiling, in vitro antioxidants, and antidiabetic efficacy of ethyl acetate fraction of Lespedeza cuneata on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

In the recent past, phytomolecules are exponentially applied in discovering the antidiabetic drug due to less adverse effects. This work screened the active solvent fraction of Lespedeza cuneata based on the phytochemical, enzyme inhibition, and antioxidant properties. The antioxidant efficacy of the different fractions of the L. cuneata was assessed by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), ferric reducing power, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radical scavenging assays. The digestive enzyme (α-amylase and α-glucosidase) inhibitory activity was also evaluated. The phytochemical composition of ethyl acetate fraction of L. cuneata (Lc-EAF) was studied by UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. The effect of Lc-EAF treatments on glucose uptake was studied in insulin resistance HepG2 cells (IR-HepG2). Further, the antidiabetic effect of Lc-EAF in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice were demonstrated. Ethyl acetate, hexane, and methanol fractions of the L. cuneata showed notable antioxidant, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase inhibitory properties. Among the fractions, Lc-EAF was found to be the most potent. The Lc-EAF exhibited an IC₅₀ of 205.32 ± 23.47 µg/mL and 105.32 ± 13.93 µg/mL for α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition, respectively. In addition, 75 µg/mL of Lc-EAF exposure enhanced glucose uptake (68.23%) in IR-HepG2 cells. In vivo study indicated that treatment of Lc-EAF (100 mg/kg b.wt) maintained the blood glucose level through reduced insulin level while improving the lipid profile, hepatic, and renal markers. These findings suggest that Lc-EAF could be considered a prominent source for antidiabetic, anti-hyperlipidemic, and anti-ROS potentials.

Protective Effect of Polyphenols, Protein, Peptides, and Polysaccharides on Alcoholic Liver Disease: A Review of Research Status and Molecular Mechanisms

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) has emerged as an important public health problem in the world. The polyphenols, protein, peptides, and polysaccharides have attracted attention for prevention or treatment of ALD. Therefore, this paper reviews the pathogenesis of ALD, the relationship between polyphenols, peptides, polysaccharides, and ALD, and expounds the mechanism of gut microbiota on protecting ALD. It is mainly found that the hydroxyl group of polyphenols endows it with antioxidation to protect ALD. The ALD protection of bioactive peptides is related to amino acid composition. The ALD protection of polysaccharides is related to the primary structure. Meanwhile, polyphenols, protein, peptides, and polysaccharides prevent or treat ALD by antioxidation, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptosis, lipid metabolism, and gut microbiota regulation. This contribution provides updated information on polyphenols, protein, peptides, and polysaccharides in response to ALD, which will not only facilitate the development of novel bioactive components but also the future application of functional food raw materials will be promoted.

Plant genetic diversity by DNA barcoding to investigate propolis origin

Identify the botanical origins of a certain type of propolis may be challenging and time demanding, since it involves bee's behavior observation, plant resins collection and chemical analysis. Thus, this study aimed to determine the plant genetic materials in propolis from southern Brazil using the DNA barcoding to investigate their botanical origins, as well as to compare it with the phytochemical composition determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) and with the pollinic profile. As principal results, non-native Populus carolinensis Moench (Salicaceae) was almost the only DNA source in some propolis samples, which coincided with the presence of flavonoids typical from poplar exudates. Conversely, other propolis samples had DNA material coming mainly from native plant species, most of them characterized to the species level, although no specific chemical markers from those plants could be identified by UHPLC-HRMS. However, pollen from several plants identified by the DNA barcoding were extracted from some propolis samples. Despite the identification of typical diterpenes, DNA material from Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze (Araucariaceae), which have been indicated as a major resin source for propolis from preservation areas in southern Brazil, was found in very small abundancies, likely because bees do not drag tissue material containing DNA when collecting resin from this native species. In conclusion, DNA barcoding analysis successfully provided information about the provenance of propolis, although, depending on the plant resin sources, this information is likely to come from pollen.

Ameliorating effects of water bamboo shoot (Zizania latifolia) on acute alcoholism in a mice model and its chemical composition

In this study, the ameliorative effect of water bamboo shoot (WBS) on acute alcoholism mice was investigated and potential biological compounds were explored. Results showed that extraction methods significantly affected the active substances contents and bioactivities of WBS. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that alkali extract (NE) obtained the highest score, therefore, it was selected for further analysis. Animal experiments showed that NE demonstrated ameliorative effects on acute alcoholism mice as evident by significantly elevated activities of dehydrogenase (alcohol dehydrogenase, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase), whereas significantly reduced the levels of aminotransferase (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase) in serum. The potential bioactive activity compounds of NE were explored by UPLC-MS/MS and bioinformatics analysis. Butyl isobutyl phthalate vanillin, ferulic acid methyl ester might be the major compounds in NE on alleviating acute alcoholism. These results indicated that WBS possesses potential ameliorating effect on acute alcoholism.

Protective Effects of Ellagic Acid Against Alcoholic Liver Disease in Mice

Ellagic acid, a natural polyphenolic compound commonly present in vegetables, fruits, nuts, and other edible plants, exerts many pharmacological activities. The present project was designed to explore the hepatoprotective effect of ellagic acid against alcohol-induced liver disease (ALD) and the correlation among alcohol, oxidative stress, inflammation, and gut microbiota. Fifty percent (v/v) alcohol (10 mL/kg bw daily) was orally administrated for 4 weeks in mice along with ellagic acid (50 and 100 mg/kg bw). Alcohol administration significantly (p < 0.05) increased the activities of alanine aminotransferase and serum aspartate aminotransferase, levels of triglyceride, low density lipoprotein, free fatty acid, and total cholesterol, and decreased contents of the high-density lipoprotein in model group compared with the control group, which were further improved by ellagic acid (50 or 100 mg/kg bw). Furthermore, daily supplementation of ellagic acid alleviated hepatic antioxidant activities (glutathione peroxidase, catalase, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione), proinflammatory cytokines levels (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α), genes expressions (Tlr4, Myd88, Cd14, Cox2, Nos2, and Nfκb1), and histopathological features in alcohol-induced liver injured mice. Additionally, results also revealed that ellagic acid supplementation improved alcohol-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis. In conclusion, ellagic acid mitigated oxidative stress, inflammatory response, steatosis, and gut microbiota dysbiosis in ALD mice. Our results suggested that ellagic acid could be applied as an ideal dietary therapy against ALD.

Chemical composition, antioxidant, and anti-diabetic activities of ethyl acetate fraction of Stachys riederi var. japonica (Miq.) in streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic mice

This work analysed the chemical composition, antioxidant, and enzyme inhibitory activities of solvent extract (SJ-ME) and fractions (SJ-HF, SJ-EAF, and SJ-MF) of the Stachys riederi var. japonica (Miq.) (SJ). Furthermore, the effect of SJ-EAF in STZ induced type 2 diabetic mice was examined. Among the samples, SJ-EAF exhibited a lower IC50 concentration of 64.2 ± 0.48 μg/mL for DPPH and 82.6 ± 0.09 μg/mL for ABTS+. The SJ-EAF concentration of 2.89 ± 0.03 μg and 2.27 ± 0.98 μg was equivalent to 1 μg of acarbose mediated enzyme inhibitory effect against α-amylase and α -glucosidase, respectively. The SJ-EAF did not show cytotoxicity (<80%) to NIH3T3 nor HepG2 cells but enhanced the glucose uptake in the IR-HepG2. LC-MS/MS of SJ-EAF showed the presence of a total of 16 compounds. Among the identified compounds, rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid showed high catalytic activity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase. The treatments of SJ-EAF restored the level of blood glucose, body weight, insulin, HDL and mRNA level of IRS1, GLUT2, GLUT4 and Akt whereas it reduced the excess elevation of total cholesterol, total triglycerides, LDL, AST, ALT, ALP, BUN, and creatinine in STZ induced diabetic mice. Overall, the present study concluded that the SJ-EAF exhibited promising antidiabetic activity.

Metabolite Profiling of Methanolic Extract of Gardenia jaminoides by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS and Its Anti-Diabetic, and Anti-Oxidant Activities

In this study, the methanolic extract from seeds of Gardenia jasminoides exhibited strong antioxidant and enzyme inhibition activities with less toxicity to NIH3T3 and HepG2 cells at the concentration of 100 µg/mL. The antioxidant activities (DPPH and ABTS), α-amylase, and α-glucosidase inhibition activities were found higher in methanolic extract (MeOH-E) than H₂O extract. Besides, 9.82 ± 0.62 µg and 6.42 ± 0.26 µg of MeOH-E were equivalent to 1 µg ascorbic acid for ABTS and DPPH scavenging, respectively while 9.02 ± 0.25 µg and 6.52 ± 0.15 µg of MeOH-E were equivalent to 1 µg of acarbose for inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase respectively. Moreover, the cell assay revealed that the addition of MeOH-E (12.5 µg/mL) increased about 37% of glucose uptake in insulin resistant (IR) HepG2 as compared to untreated IR HepG2 cells. The LC- MS/MS and GC-MS analysis of MeOH-E revealed a total of 54 compounds including terpenoids, glycosides, fatty acid, phenolic acid derivatives. Among the identified compounds, chlorogenic acid and jasminoside A were found promising for anti-diabetic activity revealed by molecular docking study and these molecules are deserving further purification and molecular analysis.

Antioxidant Potential of Pine Needles: A Systematic Study on the Essential Oils and Extracts of 46 Species of the Genus Pinus

The antioxidant activity of the essential oils, as well as of the organic and hydroethanolic extracts, of the fresh needles of 54 pine taxa was evaluated using the peroxy-oxalate and luminol chemiluminescence assays. Among all evaluated essential oils, P. canariensis and P. attenuata displayed the highest levels of activity. P. contorta var. murrayana, followed by P. nigra var. caramanica, exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity among the organic extracts, while the most active hydroethanolic extract was that of P. nigra subsp. nigra. Based on the overall levels of activity, the latter taxon was selected for phytochemical analysis targeting the isolation of the bioactive constituents. As such, the organic extract of P. nigra subsp. nigra was subjected to chromatographic separations to yield 11 secondary metabolites (1-11) that were evaluated for their antioxidant activity. Nonetheless, the isolated compounds were found to be less active than the crude extract, thus suggesting the potential role of synergism.