LIPID-LOWERING EFFICACY OF PIPERINE FROM PIPER NIGRUM L. IN HIGH-FAT DIET AND ANTITHYROID DRUG-INDUCED HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC RATS

A polyphenol-rich plant extract prevents hypercholesterolemia and modulates gut microbiota in western diet-fed mice

Introduction

Totum-070 is a combination of five plant extracts enriched in polyphenols to target hypercholesterolemia, one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Totum-070 on cholesterol levels in an animal model of diet-induced hypercholesterolemia.

Methods

C57BL/6JOlaHsd male mice were fed a Western diet and received Totum-070, or not, by daily gavage (1g/kg and 3g/kg body weight) for 6 weeks.

Results

The Western diet induced obesity, fat accumulation, hepatic steatosis and increased plasma cholesterol compared with the control group. All these metabolic perturbations were alleviated by Totum-070 supplementation in a dose-dependent manner. Lipid excretion in feces was higher in mice supplemented with Totum-070, suggesting inhibition of intestinal lipid absorption. Totum-070 also increased the fecal concentration of short chain fatty acids, demonstrating a direct effect on intestinal microbiota.

Discussion

The characterization of fecal microbiota by 16S amplicon sequencing showed that Totum-070 supplementation modulated the dysbiosis associated with metabolic disorders. Specifically, Totum-070 increased the relative abundance of Muribaculum (a beneficial bacterium) and reduced that of Lactococcus (a genus positively correlated with increased plasma cholesterol level). Together, these findings indicate that the cholesterol-lowering effect of Totum-070 bioactive molecules could be mediated through multiple actions on the intestine and gut microbiota.

Therapeutic spectrum of piperine for clinical practice: a scoping review

Translation of traditional knowledge of herbs into a viable product for clinical use is still an uphill task. Piperine, a pungent alkaloid molecule derived from Piper nigrum and Piper longum possesses diverse pharmacological effects. Traditionally, pepper is used for arthritis, bronchitis, gastritis, diarrhea, snake bite, menstrual pain, fever, and bacterial infections, etc. The anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immunomodulatory actions of piperine are the possible mechanisms behind its therapeutic potential. Various in-silico and experimental studies have shown piperine as a possible promising molecule in coronavirus disease (COVID-19), ebola, and dengue due to its immunomodulatory and antiviral activities. The other important clinical applications of piperine are due to its bio enhancing effect on drugs, by modulating, absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, altering activities of transporters like p-glycoprotein substrates, and modulating drug metabolism by altering the expression of cytochrome P450 or UDP-glucuronosyltransferase enzymes. Piperine attracted clinicians in treating patients with arthritis, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, skin infections, gastric and liver disorders. This review focused on systematic, evidence-based insight into the use of piperine in clinical settings and mechanistic details behind its therapeutic actions. Also, highlights a number of clinical trials of piperine at various stages exploring its clinical application in cancer, neurological, respiratory, and viral disease, etc.

Piperine-A Major Principle of Black Pepper: A Review of Its Bioactivity and Studies

Piperine is the main compound present in black pepper, and is the carrier of its specific pungent taste, which is responsible for centuries of human dietary utilization and worldwide popularity as a food ingredient. Along with the application as a food ingredient and food preservative, it is used in traditional medicine for many purposes, which has in most cases been justified by modern scientific studies on its biological effects. It has been confirmed that piperine has many bioactive effects, such as antimicrobial action, as well as many physiological effects that can contribute to general human health, including immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antimetastatic, antitumor, and many other activities. Clinical studies demonstrated remarkable antioxidant, antitumor, and drug availability-enhancing characteristics of this compound, together with immunomodulatory potential. All these facts point to the therapeutic potential of piperine and the need to incorporate this compound into general health-enhancing medical formulations, as well as into those that would be used as adjunctive therapy in order to enhance the bioavailability of various (chemo)therapeutic drugs.

Piperine and Its Various Physicochemical and Biological Aspects: A Review

Piper nigrumL. is examined as the king of species worldwide by virtue of its principle piperine. In Ayurveda, since from the ancient times, it is known as “Yogvahi”. It is one of the important alkaloids of Pepper fruits (Family Piperaceae) and has been found to have numerous medicinal properties such as antioxidant, antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, antithyroid, antitumor, antiasthmatic activity and also have significant role as fertility enhancer. The present review discusses the biosynthetic pathway, extraction process, chemistry and various analytical methods of piperine. It also describes the structural modification of piperine and its various effects on biological system. The utility of piperine as a bioenhancer for certain antibacterial- antibiotics and a potent inhibitor of drug metabolism are also discussed. Thus, review provides knowledgeable erudition on the piperine which paves way for further work.

Piperine inhibits ABCA1 degradation and promotes cholesterol efflux from THP-1-derived macrophages

Scope

Increased macrophage cholesterol efflux (ChE) is considered to have anti‐atherosclerotic effect counteracting cardiovascular disease. The principle pungent ingredient of the fruits of Piper nigrum, piperine, is identified in this study as a ChE inducer in THP‐1‐derived macrophages, and mechanisms underlying this effect are explored.

Methods and results

Without affecting cell viability, piperine concentration‐dependently enhances ChE in THP‐1‐derived macrophages from 25 to 100 μM. The expression level of the key cholesterol transporter protein ATP‐binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) is significantly upregulated by piperine, as revealed by western blot analyses. However, two other ChE‐mediating transporter proteins, ATP‐binding cassette transporter G1 (ABCG1) and scavenger receptor class B member 1 (SR‐B1), remain unaffected. Piperine exerts no influence on ABCA1 mRNA levels, but significantly inhibits the degradation of ABCA1, as evident by an increased half‐life of the protein in the presence of cycloheximide. Furthermore, it is found that piperine likely interferes with the calpain‐mediated ABCA1 degradation pathway and exhibits significant inhibition of calpain activity.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that piperine promotes ChE in THP‐1‐derived macrophages by upregulation of ABCA1, which might be mediated by inhibition of calpain activity. This novel bioactivity makes the dietary constituent piperine a good candidate to be further explored for therapeutic or preventive applications in the context of atherosclerosis.

An experimental evaluation of the anti-atherogenic potential of the plant, Piper betle, and its active constitutent, eugenol, in rats fed an atherogenic diet

Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for systemic atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular disease. Lipoperoxidation-mediated oxidative damage is believed to contribute strongly to the progression of atherogenesis. In the current investigation, putative anti-atherogenic and antioxidative properties of an ethanolic extract of Piper betle and of its active constituent, eugenol, were sought in an experimental animal model of chronic hypercholesterolemia. Atherogenic diet-fed rats that received either Piper betle extract orally (500mg/kg b.wt) or eugenol orally (5mg/kg b.wt) for 15days (commencing 30days after the atherogenic diet had been started) exhibited the following variations in different parameters, when compared to atherogenic diet-fed rats that received only saline: (1) significantly lower mean levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol in both serum and hepatic tissue samples; (2) lower mean serum levels of aspartate amino-transferase, alanine amino-transferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase and lipid-metabolizing enzymes (lipoprotein lipase, 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase; (3) significantly lower mean levels of enzymatic antioxidants (catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase) and non-enzymatic antioxidants (reduced glutathione, vitamin C and vitamin E) and significantly higher mean levels of malondialdehyde in haemolysate and hepatic tissue samples. Histopathological findings suggested a protective effect of the Piper betle extract and a more pronounced protective effect of eugenol on the hepatic and aortic tissues of atherogenic diet-fed (presumed atherosclerotic) rats. These results strongly suggest that the Piper betle extract and its active constituent, eugenol, exhibit anti-atherogenic effects which may be due to their anti-oxidative properties.

LC analysis and pharmacokinetic study of synthetic piperlonguminine in rat plasma after oral administration

Only one kind of synthesized alkaloid, piperlonguminine, was used to understand the interference of the other alkaloids in pharmacokinetic study using HPLC/UV in rat plasma after oral administration. Compared with the previous report, it was clarified that mixed alkaloids such as piperine and the other extract from Piper longum Linn did not interfere with the results.

Effects of Ilex latifolia and Camellia sinensis on cholesterol and circulating immune complexes in rats fed with a high-cholesterol diet

Hypercholesterolaemia is one of the risk factors for atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular disease. Here, we investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with Ilex latifolia or green tea (Camellia sinensis) on the levels of plasma total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and circulating immune complexes in Sprague Dawley rats fed with a high-cholesterol diet. We demonstrated that daily administration by gavage of I. latifolia or C. sinensis at doses of 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg body weight for 30 days resulted in a significant decrease in plasma total cholesterol levels and circulating immune complexes and an increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in rats fed with a high-cholesterol diet compared with levels in the high-cholesterol diet control group. C. sinensis was more effective than I. latifolia. I. latifolia and C. sinensis could be used as food supplements to protect against the development of hypercholesterolaemia.