Simultaneous determination of four furostanol glycosides in rat plasma by UPLC–MS/MS and its application to PK study after oral administration of Dioscorea nipponica extracts

Black Phosphorus Nanosheets Induced Oxidative Stress In Vitro and Targeted Photo-thermal Antitumor Therapy

Black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets with excellent features have been broadly employed for cancer therapy. BPs in blood were known to form BP nanomaterial-corona complexes, yet not explored their biological effects. In this study, BPs as delivery vehicles loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) (BP-DOX) by electrostatic interaction had been successfully prepared for photo-thermal/chemotherapy with a tumor inhibition rate of 81.47% more than the rates of BPs (69.50%) and free DOX (51.91%) in the Hela-bearing mice model by a pH/photo-responsive controlled drug release property. Then, in vivo experiments demonstrated that the treatment of healthy mice with BPs led to mild inflammation in the body and oxidative stress in the liver and lung which caused cell apoptosis. In vitro studies further showed that oxidative stress and metabolic disorders could be induced by BPs in A549, HepG2, Beas-2B, and LO2 cells. Lastly, the RGD peptide-conjugated red blood cell (RBC) membrane-coated BPs (RGD-RBC@BP) was prepared by lipid insertion and co-ultrasound methods for efficient photo-thermal therapy (PTT) cancer via a tumor-targeted strategy. RGD-RBC@BP showed positive biocompatibility, photo-thermal properties, and increased cellular uptake by Hela cells benefited by the long circulation property of RBC and RGD peptides. Pharmacokinetics and bio-distribution study of RGD-RBC@BP were found to prolong circulation time and tended to accumulate in the tumors, which overexpression of ανβ3 integrin rather than livers after intravenous injection 24 h in vivo. After 808 nm laser irradiation, RGD-RBC@BP nanoparticles exhibited a better PTT than PEGylated BPs (BP-PEG). The active-targeting strategy of biomimetic nanomaterials based on the tumor microenvironment have been proved to have favorable biological prospects in cancer PTT.

Plant-derived Glycosides with α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity: Current Standing and Future Prospects

Background:

The α-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.20), a calcium-containing intestinal enzyme which is positioned in the cells which cover the intestinal microvilli brush border. The carbohydrates require metabolism by α-glucosidase before being absorbed into the small intestine, and as a result, this enzyme represents a significant drug target for the effective management of diabetes. There are few α- glucosidase inhibitors in the clinical practice that is challenged by several limitations. Thus, new effective and safe therapeutic agents in this class are required. In this regard, plant secondary metabolites are a very promising source to be investigated. Herein in this review, we have focused on the preclinical studies on various glycosides with in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.

Methods:

The literature available on various websites such as GoogleScholar, PubMed, Scopus. All the peer-reviewed articles were included without considering the impact factor.

Results:

The surveyed literature revealed marked inhibitory profile of various glycosides derived from plants, and some of them were extremely potent relatively to the standard, acarbose in preclinical trials and exhibited multiple targeted effects.

Conclusion:

Keeping in view the results, these glycosides are strong candidates for further, more detailed studies to ascertain their clinical potential and for effective contribution in effective management of diabetes, where multiple targets are required to address