Anti-cancer activity of an ethyl-acetate extract of the fruits of Terminalia bellerica (Gaertn.) Roxb. through an apoptotic signaling pathway in vitro

Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb. Extracts reshape the perifollicular microenvironment and regulate the MAPK pathway for androgenetic alopecia treatment

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb. (TBR), a popular herbal remedy in India and Southeast Asia, has been demonstrated to possess multiple pharmacological activities. However, systematic studies on the medicinal effects and mechanism of TBR for the androgenetic alopecia (AGA) treatment are deficient.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) and testosterone-induced AGA mice were used to evaluate the hair regrowth activity of TBR extracts. Chemical constituents and potential active components of TBR extracts were analyed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS in vitro/vivo. The hair regrowth mechanisms of TBR were elucidated through network pharmacology and experimental validation.

RESULTS

Totally 28 chemical constituents in TBR were identified, of which 15 were predicted as potential active components for AGA therapy. TBR could significantly scavenge ROS, promote VEGF level/cell migration of HUVECs, and inhibiting type II 5α-reductase activity (the inhibit rate: 82.35 ± 1.02 %). Pharmacodynamic evaluation suggested that TBR effectively led to hair regrowth in C57BL6 mice compared to minoxidil. TBR promoted the hair follicle (HF) transition from the telogen phase to anagen phase by decreasing MDA levels, increasing VEFG expression and up-regulating phosphorylated P38/ERK protein levels in the MAPK signalling pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

TBR reversed AGA via inhibiting SRD5A2 activity and stimulating the MAPK pathway. Meantime, TBR could remodel the follicle microenvironment by reducing oxidative stress and increasing angiogenesis.

A comprehensive strategy for quality evaluation of Changan powder by fingerprinting combined with rapid qualitative and quantitative multi-ingredients profiling

INTRODUCTION

Changan powder (CAP) is mainly used to treat various intestinal diseases. Few studies on CAP have been reported; therefore, it is necessary to clarify the material basis of CAP to lay the foundation for further elucidating its functional mechanism and support the rational use of drugs.

OBJECTIVES

In the present study, we aimed to propose a methodology for the quality control of CAP based on qualitative and quantitative analysis of its components.

METHODS

An ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (UPLC-FT-ICR-MS) method was developed to identify chemical components in CAP. In addition, fingerprints of 10 different batches of CAP were established, and quantitative analysis based on UPLC was performed to analyze the quality of CAP.

RESULTS

A total of 58 compounds were preliminarily characterized. The similarity of 10 batches of CAP was greater than 0.995, and 23 common peaks were calibrated. Investigation of the quantitative analytical methodology showed that the four components had good linear relationships within their respective concentration ranges (r2 ≥ 0.9992), and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of precision and stability was less than 2%. The RSD of sample recovery ranged from 0.78% to 1.52%.

CONCLUSION

The established method can quickly and effectively identify the chemical components of CAP and accurately quantify the known components in CAP. The established fingerprinting and content determination method is stable, reliable, and easy to operate and can be applied in quality control and in vivo research on CAP.

Structural insights into modeling of hepatitis B virus reverse transcriptase and identification of its inhibitors from potential medicinal plants of Western Ghats: an in silico and in vitro study

The present study was proposed to model full-length HBV-RT and investigate the intermolecular interactions of known inhibitor and libraries of phytocompounds to probe the potential natural leads by in silico and in vitro studies. Homology modeling of RT was performed by Phyre2 and Modeller and virtual screening of ligands implemented through POAP pipeline. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation (100 ns) and MM-GBSA calculations were performed using Schrodinger Desmond and Prime, respectively. Phytocompounds probable host protein targets gene set pathway enrichment and network analysis were executed by KEGG database and Cytoscape software. Prioritized plant extracts/enriched fraction LC-MS analysis was performed and along with pure compound, RT inhibitory activity, time-dependent HBsAg and HBeAg secretion, and intracellular HBV DNA, and pgRNA by qRT-PCR was performed in HepG2.2.15 cell line. Among the screened chemical library of 268 phytocompounds from 18 medicinal plants, 15 molecules from Terminalia chebula (6), Bidens pilosa (5), and Centella asiatica (4)) were identified as potential inhibitors of YMDD and RT1 motif of HBV-RT. MD simulation demonstrated stable interactions of 15 phytocompounds with HBV-RT, of which 1,2,3,4,6-Pentagalloyl Glucose (PGG) was identified as lead molecule. Out of 15 compounds, 11 were predicted to modulate 39 proteins and 15 molecular pathways associated with HBV infection. TCN and TCW (500 µg/mL) showed potent RT inhibition, decreased intracellular HBV DNA, and pgRNA, and time-dependent inhibition of HBsAg and HBeAg levels compared to PGG and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate. We propose that the identified lead molecules from T. chebula as promising and cost-effective moieties for the management of HBV infection.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Hepatitis C Virus NS3/4A Inhibition and Host Immunomodulation by Tannins from Terminalia chebula: A Structural Perspective

Terminalia chebula Retz. forms a key component of traditional folk medicine and is also reported to possess antihepatitis C virus (HCV) and immunomodulatory activities. However, information on the intermolecular interactions of phytochemicals from this plant with HCV and human proteins are yet to be established. Thus, by this current study, we investigated the HCV NS3/4A inhibitory and host immune-modulatory activity of phytocompounds from T. chebula through in silico strategies involving network pharmacology and structural bioinformatics techniques. To start with, the phytochemical dataset of T. chebula was curated from biological databases and the published literature. Further, the target ability of the phytocompounds was predicted using BindingDB for both HCV NS3/4A and other probable host targets involved in the immune system. Further, the identified targets were docked to the phytochemical dataset using AutoDock Vina executed through the POAP pipeline. The resultant docked complexes with significant binding energy were subjected to 50 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in order to infer the stability of complex formation. During network pharmacology analysis, the gene set pathway enrichment of host targets was performed using the STRING and Reactome pathway databases. Further, the biological network among compounds, proteins, and pathways was constructed using Cytoscape 3.6.1. Furthermore, the druglikeness, side effects, and toxicity of the phytocompounds were also predicted using the MolSoft, ADVERpred, and PreADMET methods, respectively. Out of 41 selected compounds, 10 were predicted to target HCV NS3/4A and also to possess druglike and nontoxic properties. Among these 10 molecules, Chebulagic acid and 1,2,3,4,6-Pentagalloyl glucose exhibited potent HCV NS3/4A inhibitory activity, as these scored a lowest binding energy (BE) of −8.6 kcal/mol and −7.7 kcal/mol with 11 and 20 intermolecular interactions with active site residues, respectively. These findings are highly comparable with Asunaprevir (known inhibitor of HCV NS3/4A), which scored a BE of −7.4 kcal/mol with 20 key intermolecular interactions. MD studies also strongly suggest that chebulagic acid and 1,2,3,4,6-Pentagalloyl glucose as promising leads, as these molecules showed stable binding during 50 ns of production run. Further, the gene set enrichment and network analysis of 18 protein targets prioritized 10 compounds and were predicted to potentially modulate the host immune system, hemostasis, cytokine levels, interleukins signaling pathways, and platelet aggregation. On overall analysis, this present study predicts that tannins from T. chebula have a potential HCV NS3/4A inhibitory and host immune-modulatory activity. However, further experimental studies are required to confirm the efficacies.

Antifungal, Antitumoral and Antioxidant Potential of the Danube Delta Nymphaea alba Extracts

This study aimed to explore for the first time the biological properties such as antifungal, antitumoral and antioxidant of Danube Delta Nymphaea alba (N. alba) leaf and root methanolic extracts. The toxicity studies of N. alba extracts showed no inhibitory effect on wheat seed germination by evaluating the most sensitive physiological parameters (Germination %, Germination index, Vigor index) and using confocal laser scanning microscopy images. The analyzed extracts were found to have high antifungal activity against Candida glabrata with MIC values of 1.717 µg/mL for leaf and 1.935 µg/mL for root. The antitumor activity of the both extracts against A2780/A2780cisR ovarian, LNCaP prostate and MCF-7 breast cancer cells was promising with IC₅₀ values ranging from 23–274 µg/mL for leaf and 18–152 µg/mL for root, and the combination of N. alba extracts with cisplatin showed a synergistic effect (coefficient of drug interaction <1). The antioxidant properties were assessed by β-carotene bleaching, ABTS and FRAP assays and cyclic voltammetry. Quercetin, the most prominent antioxidant, was quantified in very good yields by spectroelectrochemical assay.