Preparation of novel butyryl galactose ester-modified coix component microemulsions and evaluation on hepatoma-targeting in vitro and in vivo

Actional Mechanisms of Active Ingredients in Functional Food Adlay for Human Health

Medicinal and food homologous adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf) plays an important role in natural products promoting human health. We demonstrated the systematic actional mechanism of functional ingredients in adlay to promote human health, based on the PubMed, CNKI, Google, and ISI Web of Science databases from 1988 to 2022. Adlay and its extracts are rich in 30 ingredients with more than 20 health effects based on human and animal or cell cultures: they are anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, anti-obesity, liver protective, anti-virus, gastroprotective, cardiovascular protective, anti-hypertension, heart disease preventive, melanogenesis inhibiting, anti-allergy, endocrine regulating, anti-diabetes, anti-cachexia, osteoporosis preventive, analgesic, neuroprotecting, suitable for the treatment of gout arthritis, life extending, anti-fungi, and detoxifying effects. Function components with anti-oxidants are rich in adlay. These results support the notion that adlay seeds may be one of the best functional foods and further reveal the action mechanism of six major functional ingredients (oils, polysaccharides, phenols, phytosterols, coixol, and resistant starch) for combating diseases. This review paper not only reveals the action mechanisms of adding adlay to the diet to overcome 17 human diseases, but also provides a scientific basis for the development of functional foods and drugs for the treatment of human diseases.

Lipid based nanoparticles as a novel treatment modality for hepatocellular carcinoma: a comprehensive review on targeting and recent advances

Liver cancer is considered one of the deadliest diseases with one of the highest disease burdens worldwide. Among the different types of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma is considered to be the most common type. Multiple conventional approaches are being used in treating hepatocellular carcinoma. Focusing on drug treatment, regular agents in conventional forms fail to achieve the intended clinical outcomes. In order to improve the treatment outcomes, utilizing nanoparticles-specifically lipid based nanoparticles-are considered to be one of the most promising approaches being set in motion. Multiple forms of lipid based nanoparticles exist including liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, microemulsion, nanoemulsion, phytosomes, lipid coated nanoparticles, and nanoassemblies. Multiple approaches are used to enhance the tumor uptake as well tumor specificity such as intratumoral injection, passive targeting, active targeting, and stimuli responsive nanoparticles. In this review, the effect of utilizing lipidic nanoparticles is being discussed as well as the different tumor uptake enhancement techniques used.

Regulatory Mechanisms of Coicis Semen on Bionetwork of Liver Cancer Based on Network Pharmacology

At present, there is an increasing incidence and mortality of liver cancer. Despite surgery and chemoradiotherapy, there is a lack of effective oral medications with low side effects. In East Asia, Coicis Semen (CS) is used as both food and natural medicine and has a significant impact on the treatment of liver cancer. However, due to its multicomponent and multitarget characteristics, the mechanisms of CS against liver cancer remain unclear. This study collected CS compounds and target proteins in SymMap, then cross-matched with the liver cancer targets in the CTD database to construct an interaction network of CS-liver cancer proteins, and visualized by Cytoscape software. DAVID database was used to perform pathway enrichment analysis to find target proteins in core pathways and the related small molecules in CS. The results showed that a total of 103 common genes shared by CS and liver cancer were obtained, which were enriched for precancerous lesion pathways such as hepatitis B and fatty liver and biological signaling pathways such as HIF-1 and TNF. The combination of sitosterol and CASP3 in CS, acting on “pathways in cancer” and restoring normal cell apoptosis, could be the core mechanisms of CS in the treatment of liver cancer. Based on the system biology analysis, it is speculated that CS may not only participate in multiple mechanisms of action to treat liver cancer synergistically but may also be involved in factors that reduce the incidence of liver cancer.

SYL3C aptamer-anchored microemulsion co-loading β-elemene and PTX enhances the treatment of colorectal cancer

The aim of this study is to construct a SYL3C aptamer-anchored microemulsion based on β-elemene and PTX (SYL3C/EP-MEs) for enhancement on colorectal cancer therapy. Such microemulsion is consist of encapsulated drugs (β-elemene and PTX), tumor targeting ligand (3’-end thiolated SYL3C aptamer), thiol conjugated site (maleimide-modified PEGylated 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, mal-DOPE-PEG), pH-sensitive component (DOPE) and other necessary excipients. SYL3C/EP-MEs showed a spherical particle with an average particle size around 30 nm and a high encapsulation efficiency (>80%) for both drugs. β-elemene and PTX could be released controllably from SYL3C/EP-MEs as pH values changed. SYL3C/EP-MEs displayed a selective affinity to HT-29 cells, leading to an obvious increase in cellular uptake, cell apoptosis and cytotoxicity. In the HT-29 tumor xenograft-bearing nude mice model studies, SYL3C/EP-MEs showed an overwhelming tumor growth inhibition, the longest survival time and the lowest systemic toxicity among all the treatments. The potential mechanism of enhanced anti-cancer ability was probably associated with the induction of M1 macrophage polarization, the downregulation of mutant p53 protein and the reduction of bcl-2 protein expression. Collectively, the microemulsion codelivery of β-elemene and PTX using functionalization with SYL3C aptamer provides a novel approach for combinational colorectal cancer-targeted treatment.

Preparation, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of isoliquiritigenin-loaded TPGS modified proliposomes

Isoliquiritigenin (ISL) has a great variety of pharmacological effects especially liver cancer therapy, but its poor solubility, bioavailability and liver targeting have limited its clinical use. In order to solve the aforementioned shortcomings, the TPGS-modified proliposomes loaded with ISL (ISL-TPGS-PLP) was prepared in this study. ISL-TPGS-PLP was fabricated via thin-film dispersion method and was characterized by the appearance, particle size, zeta potential and morphology. HPLC was used to evaluate entrapment efficiency (EE), in vitro release and stability of ISL-TPGS-PLP single or combined while appropriate physicochemical parameters were measured with DLS. Meanwhile, the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution were also studied after oral administration. The results demonstrated that ISL-TPGS-PLP had a mean size of 23.8 ± 0.9 nm, high EE of 97.33 ± 0.40%. More importantly, nearly 90% ISL was released from ISL-TPGS-PLP within 24 h while only 50% was released from ISL suspension. In the pharmacokinetics study, the area under the curve (AUC_0-24h) of ISL-TPGS-PLP was 1.53 times higher than that of ISL suspension. The Tissue distribution study showed that the ISL released from ISL-TPGS-PLP was higher in the liver than the free ISL suspension. Altogether, ISL-TPGS-PLP could ameliorate the ISL solubility, bioavailability and liver targeting ability, suggesting that ISL-TPGS-PLP could serve as a promising nanocarrier for liver cancer therapy.

Ganoderma lucidum-derived polysaccharide enhances coix oil-based microemulsion on stability and lung cancer-targeted therapy

The aim of this study is to explore the influence of Ganoderma lucidum-derived polysaccharides (GLP) to coix oil-based microemulsion on pharmaceutical performance and anti-lung cancer treatment. GLP-integrated coix oil-based microemulsion (MEs(PS-GLP)) exhibited a clear spherical shape, small particle size, and good hydrodynamics similar to the coix oil-based microemulsion, but showed a lower zeta potential and a better stability. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer analysis presented that GLP was integrated with microemulsion as a single system. Notably, the average molecular distance between polysaccharide and microemulsion was approximately 1.7 nm. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration of MEs(PS-GLP) against A549 cells was about 119 μg/mL. In vivo imaging studies showed that introduction of GLP promoted the tumor-specific accumulation of microemulsion in comparison with controls. In vivo, antitumor results showed that MEs(PS-GLP) markedly inhibited the tumor growth of A549-bearing xenograft nude mice and obviously improve the serum immune index. Collectively, this study demonstrates the potential mechanism of spatial relation between polysaccharides and microemulsion and validates the significances of GLP on tumoral accumulation and antitumor efficacy.

Octanoyl galactose ester-modified microemulsion system self-assembled by coix seed components to enhance tumor targeting and hepatoma therapy

A nanosized drug delivery platform with a combination of rational components and tumor targeting is significant for enhancement of anticancer therapy and reduction of side effects. In this study, we developed a octanoyl galactose ester-modified microemulsion system self-assembled by coix seed components (Gal(oct)-C-MEs), which improved the tumor accumulation through asialoglycoprotein receptor-mediated endocytosis and promoted the antitumor efficacy through multicomponent-mediated synergistic effect. Octanoyl galactose ester (Gal(oct)) with a yield of 82.3% was synthesized through a green enzymatic reaction and multidimensional characterization. Gal(oct)-C-MEs with a spherical shape had a small and uniform particle size (58.49±1.03 nm), narrow polydispersity index (0.09±0.01) and neutral surface charge (-5.82±0.57 mV). In the cellular uptake studies, the internalized Gal(oct)-C-ME was 2.28-fold higher relative to that of coix seed component-based microemulsions (C-MEs). The half-maximal inhibitory concentration of Gal(oct)-C-MEs against HepG2 cells was 46.5±2.4 μg/mL, which was notably higher than that of C-MEs. Importantly, the intratumor fluorescence of HepG2 xenograft-bearing nude mice treated with Cy5/Gal(oct)-C-MEs was 1.9-fold higher relative to treatment with Cy5/C-MEs. In the study of antitumor efficacy in vivo, HepG2 xenograft-bearing nude mice intragastrically administered Gal(oct)-C-MEs for 14 days exhibited the strongest inhibition of tumor growth and the lowest toxicity against liver and kidney among all the treatments. In summary, Gal(oct)-C-ME, as a highly effective and safe anticancer drug delivery system, showed promising potential for hepatoma therapy.

Preparation and antitumor evaluation of self-assembling oleanolic acid-loaded Pluronic P105/d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate mixed micelles for non-small-cell lung cancer treatment

Oleanolic acid (OA) is a triterpenoid found in various fruits and vegetables and used in traditional Chinese medicine. OA plays a crucial role in the treatment of several cancers, but poor water solubility, low permeability, and significant efflux have limited its widespread clinical use. Vitamin E-d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (vitamin E-TPGS) and Pluronic P105 were used to improve the solubility and permeability and to decrease the efflux of OA. OA-loaded mixed micelles were prepared by ethanol thin-film hydration. The physicochemical properties of the micelles, including zeta potential, morphology, particle size, solubility, drug loading, and drug entrapment efficiency were characterized. OA release from micelles was slower than that from the free drug system. OA uptake by A549 non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells was enhanced by the micelles. A tumor model was established by injecting A549 cells into nude mice. In vivo imaging showed that OA-micelles could accumulate in the tumors of nude mice. Additionally, smaller tumor size and increased expression of pro-apoptotic proteins were observed in OA-micelle-treated mice, indicating that OA-micelles are more effective than free OA in treating cancer. In vitro experiments were performed using two NSCLC cell lines (A549 and PC-9). Cytotoxicity evaluations showed that the half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of free OA and OA-micelles were 36.8±4.8 and 20.9±3.7 μM, respectively, in A549 cells and 82.7±7.8 and 56.7±4.7 μM, respectively, in PC-9 cells. Apoptosis assays revealed that the apoptotic rate of OA-micelle-treated A549 and PC-9 cells was higher than that of cells treated with the same concentration of free OA. Wound healing and transwell assays showed that migration and invasion were significantly suppressed in OA-micelle-treated cells. Immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses confirmed that the epithelial–mesenchymal transition was reversed in OA-micelle-treated cells. Mixed micelles are a promising nano-drug delivery system for lung cancer treatment.