Antihypertensive effect of carvacrol is improved after incorporation in β-cyclodextrin as a drug delivery system

Protective effects of carvacrol on lipid profiles, oxidative stress, hypertension, and cardiac dysfunction - A comprehensive review

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a class of illnesses that affect the heart or blood vessels, leading to the most common causes of death worldwide. In 2017, CVD caused approximately 17.8 million deaths that were increased approximately to 20.5 million deaths in 2021, globally. Also, nearly 80% of worldwide CVD deaths occur in some countries. Some herbs and their constituents due to their several pharmacological activities have been used for medicinal purposes. Carvacrol is a phenolic mono-terpenoid found in the oils of aromatic herbs with several biological properties. The possible therapeutic effects of carvacrol on lipid profiles, oxidative stress, hypertension, and cardiac dysfunction were summarized in the current study. The data from this review article were obtained by searching the terms including; "Carvacrol", "Hypertension", Hypotensive, "Cardiac dysfunction", "Ischemia", "Lipid profile", and Oxidative stress in several web databases such as Web of Sciences, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar, until November 2023. The results of the reviewed studies revealed that carvacrol inhibits acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity and alters lipid profiles, reducing heart rate as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP). Carvacrol also decreased the proinflammatory cytokine (IL-1β), while increasing secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10). Moreover, carvacrol improved oxidative stress and mitigated the number of apoptotic cells. The pharmacological effects of carvacrol on CVD might be through its antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects. The mentioned therapeutic effects of carvacrol on lipid profile, hypertension, and cardiac dysfunction indicate the possible remedy effect of carvacrol for the treatment of CVD.

Advancements in application of chitosan and cyclodextrins in biomedicine and pharmaceutics: recent progress and future trends

The global community is faced with numerous health concerns such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, diabetes, joint pain, osteoporosis, among others. With the advancement of research in the fields of materials chemistry and medicine, pharmaceutical technology and biomedical analysis have entered a new stage of development. The utilization of natural oligosaccharides and polysaccharides in pharmaceutical/biomedical studies has gained significant attention. Over the past decade, several studies have shown that chitosan and cyclodextrin have promising biomedical implications in background analysis, ongoing development, and critical applications in biomedical and pharmaceutical research fields. This review introduces different types of saccharides/natural biopolymers such as chitosan and cyclodextrin and discusses their wide-ranging applications in the biomedical/pharmaceutical research area. Recent research advances in pharmaceutics and drug delivery based on cyclodextrin, and their response to smart stimuli, as well as the biological functions of cyclodextrin and chitosan, such as the immunomodulatory effects, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties, have also been discussed, along with their applications in tissue engineering, wound dressing, and drug delivery systems. Finally, the innovative applications of chitosan and cyclodextrin in the pharmaceutical/biomedicine were reviewed, and current challenges, research/technological gaps, and future development opportunities were surveyed.

Role of Terpenophenolics in Modulating Inflammation and Apoptosis in Cardiovascular Diseases: A Review

One in every three deaths worldwide is caused by cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), estimating a total of 17.9 million deaths annually. By 2030, it is expected that more than 24 million people will die from CVDs related complications. The most common CVDs are coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, and hypertension. A plethora of studies has shown inflammation causing both short-term and long-term damage to the tissues in many organ systems, including the cardiovascular system. In parallel to inflammation processes, it has been discovered that apoptosis, a mode of programmed cell death, may also contribute to CVD development due to the loss of cardiomyocytes. Terpenophenolic compounds are comprised of terpenes and natural phenols as secondary metabolites by plants and are commonly found in the genus Humulus and Cannabis. A growing body of evidence has shown that terpenophenolic compounds exhibit protective properties against inflammation and apoptosis within the cardiovascular system. This review highlights the current evidence elucidating the molecular actions of terpenophenolic compounds in protecting the cardiovascular system, i.e., bakuchiol, ferruginol, carnosic acid, carnosol, carvacrol, thymol and hinokitiol. The potential of these compounds is discussed as the new nutraceutical drugs that may help to decrease the burden of cardiovascular disorders.

Alpha-Lipoic Acid as an Antioxidant Strategy for Managing Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain (NP) is the most prevalent and debilitating form of chronic pain, caused by injuries or diseases of the somatosensory system. Since current first-line treatments only provide poor symptomatic relief, the search for new therapeutic strategies for managing NP is an active field of investigation. Multiple mechanisms contribute to the genesis and maintenance of NP, including damage caused by oxidative stress. The naturally occurring antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a promising therapeutic agent for the management of NP. Several pre-clinical in vitro and in vivo studies as well as clinical trials demonstrate the analgesic potential of ALA in the management of NP. The beneficial biological activities of ALA are reflected in the various patents for the development of ALA-based innovative products. This review demonstrates the therapeutic potential of ALA in the management of NP by discussing its analgesic effects by multiple antioxidant mechanisms as well as the use of patented ALA-based products and how technological approaches have been applied to enhance ALA's pharmacological properties.

Recent Updates on Supramolecular-Based Drug Delivery - Macrocycles and Supramolecular Gels

Supramolecules-based drug delivery has attracted significant recent research attention as it could enhance drug solubility, retention time, targeting, and stimuli responsiveness. Among the different supramolecules and assemblies, the macrocycles and the supramolecular hydrogels are the two important categories investigated to a greater extent. Here, we provide the most recent advancements in these categories. Under macrocycles, reports on drug delivery by cyclodextrins, cucurbiturils, calixarenes/pillararenes, crown ethers and porphyrins are detailed. The second category discusses the supramolecular hydrogels of macrocycles/polymers and low molecular weight gelators. The updated information provided could be helpful to advance R & D in this vital area.

Unraveling the Cardiac Effects Induced by Carvacrol in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats: Involvement of Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin Subfamily 4 and 7 Channels

ABSTRACT

Accumulating evidence indicates that transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are involved in the pathophysiological process in the heart, and monoterpenes, such as carvacrol, are able to modulate these channels activity. In this article, our purpose was to evaluate the direct cardiac effect of carvacrol on the contractility of cardiomyocytes and isolated right atria from spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar Kyoto rats. In this way, in vitro experiments were used to evaluate the ventricular cardiomyocytes contractility and the Ca2+ transient measuring, in addition to heart rhythm in the right atria. The role of TRPM channels in carvacrol-mediated cardiac activities was also investigated. The results demonstrated that carvacrol induced a significant reduction in ventricular cell contractility, without changes in transient Ca2+. In addition, carvacrol promoted a significant negative chronotropic response in spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar Kyoto rats' atria. Selective blockage of TRPM channels suggests the involvement of TRP melastatin subfamily 2 (TRPM2), TRPM4, and TRPM7 in the carvacrol-mediated cardiac effects. In silico studies were conducted to further investigate the putative role of TRPM4 in carvacrol-mediated cardiac action. FTMap underscores a conserved pocket in both TRPM4 and TRPM7, revealing a potential carvacrol binding site, and morphological similarity analysis demonstrated that carvacrol shares a more than 85% similarity to 9-phenanthrol. Taken together, these results suggest that carvacrol has direct cardiac actions, leading to reduced cellular contractility and inducing a negative chronotropic effect, which may be related to TRPM7 and TRPM4 modulation.

Polymeric Carriers Designed for Encapsulation of Essential Oils with Biological Activity

The article reviews the possibilities of encapsulating essential oils EOs, due to their multiple benefits, controlled release, and in order to protect them from environmental conditions. Thus, we present the natural polymers and the synthetic macromolecular chains that are commonly used as networks for embedding EOs, owing to their biodegradability and biocompatibility, interdependent encapsulation methods, and potential applicability of bioactive blend structures. The possibilities of using artificial intelligence to evaluate the bioactivity of EOs—in direct correlation with their chemical constitutions and structures, in order to avoid complex laboratory analyses, to save money and time, and to enhance the final consistency of the products—are also presented.