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Zhang E, Ji X, Ouyang F, Lei Y, Deng S, Rong H, Deng X, Shen H. A minireview of the medicinal and edible insects from the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1125600. [PMID: 37007003 PMCID: PMC10060509 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1125600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Entomoceuticals define a subset of pharmaceuticals derived from insects. The therapeutic effect of insect-derived drugs has been empirically validated by the direct use of various folk medicines originating from three sources in particular: the glandular secretions of insects (e.g., silk, honey, venom), the body parts of the insect or the whole used live or by various processing (e.g., cooked, toasted, ground), and active ingredients extracted from insects or insect-microbe symbiosis. Insects have been widely exploited in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) relative to other ethnomedicines, especially in the prospect of insect species for medicinal uses. It is noticeable that most of these entomoceuticals are also exploited as health food for improving immune function. In addition, some edible insects are rich in animal protein and have high nutritional value, which are used in the food field, such as insect wine, health supplements and so on. In this review, we focused on 12 insect species that have been widely used in traditional Chinese herbal formulae but have remained less investigated for their biological properties in previous studies. We also combined the entomoceutical knowledge with recent advances in insect omics. This review specifies the underexplored medicinal insects from ethnomedicine and shows their specific medicinal and nutritional roles in traditional medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enming Zhang
- School of Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Ji
- School of Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
| | - Fang Ouyang
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Lei
- College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Shun Deng
- Sichuan Provincial Orthopedic Hospital, Chengdu, China
- *Correspondence: Shun Deng, ; Haibo Rong,
| | - Haibo Rong
- Sichuan Provincial Orthopedic Hospital, Chengdu, China
- *Correspondence: Shun Deng, ; Haibo Rong,
| | - Xuangen Deng
- Sichuan Provincial Orthopedic Hospital, Chengdu, China
| | - Hai Shen
- Sichuan Provincial Orthopedic Hospital, Chengdu, China
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Xavier MA, Tirloni L, Torquato R, Tanaka A, Pinto AFM, Diedrich JK, Yates JR, da Silva Vaz I, Seixas A, Termignoni C. Blood anticlotting activity of a Rhipicephalus microplus cathepsin L-like enzyme. Biochimie 2019; 163:12-20. [PMID: 31059753 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2019.04.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
In parasites, cathepsins are implicated in mechanisms related to organism surveillance and host evasion. Some parasite cathepsins have fibrinogenolytic and fibrinolytic activity, suggesting that they may contribute to maintain blood meal fluidity for extended feeding periods. Here, it is shown that BmGTI (Rhipicephalus [Boophilus] microplus Gut Thrombin Inhibitor), a protein previously described as an inhibitor of fibrinogen hydrolysis and platelet aggregation by thrombin, and BmCL1 (Rhipicephalus [Boophilus] microplus Cathepsin-L like 1) are the same protein, hereinafter referred to using the earliest name (BmCL1). To further characterize BmCL1, Rhipicephalus microplus native and recombinant (rBmCL1) proteins were obtained. Native BmCL1 was isolated using thrombin-affinity chromatography, and it displays thrombin inhibition activity. We subsequently investigated rBmCL1 interaction with thrombin. We show that rBmCL1 and thrombin have a dissociation constant (ΚD) of 130.2 ± 11.2 nM, and this interaction likely occurs due to a more electronegative surface of BmCL1 at pH 7.5 than at pH 5.0, which may favor an electrostatic binding to positively charged thrombin exosites. During BmCL1-thrombin interaction, thrombin is not degraded or inhibited. rBmCL1 impairs thrombin-induced fibrinogen clotting via a fibrinogenolytic activity. Fibrinogen degradation by BmCL1 occurs by the hydrolysis of Aα- and Bβ-chains, generating products similar to those produced by fibrinogenolytic cathepsins from other organisms. In conclusion, BmCL1 likely has an additional role in R. microplus blood digestion, besides its role in hemoglobin degradation at acid pH. BmCL1 fibrinogenolytic activity indicates a proteolytic activity in the neutral lumen of tick midgut, contributing to maintain the fluidity of the ingested blood, which remains to be confirmed in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Amaral Xavier
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Lucas Tirloni
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Ricardo Torquato
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Aparecida Tanaka
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Antônio F M Pinto
- Clayton Foundation Peptide Biology Lab, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, USA
| | - Jolene K Diedrich
- Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - John R Yates
- Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Itabajara da Silva Vaz
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Adriana Seixas
- Departamento de Farmacociências, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
| | - Carlos Termignoni
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
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