Characterization of the antioxidative polysaccharides from Ziziphus jujube cv. Goutouzao and its tumor-inhibitory effects on human colorectal carcinoma LoVo cells via immunocyte activation

A Literature Review of the Pharmacological Effects of Jujube

Jujube is a plant native to China that could be used in medicine and food. Its dried fruit is a superior herb commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine formulations for its calming effect and for nourishing the blood and strengthening the spleen and stomach. Jujube contains numerous active components including polysaccharides, phenols, and triterpene acids, which show a diverse array of pharmacological activities such as neuroprotection and the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In this paper, the research status of jujube over the past two decades has been statistically evaluated. Meanwhile, by tracking the latest research advances, the pharmacological efficacy and molecular mechanisms of jujube are exhaustively expounded to provide specific and systematic references for further research on the pharmacological effects of jujube and its application in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Fingerprinting Evaluation and Gut Microbiota Regulation of Polysaccharides from Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) Fruit

Jujube fruit was well-loved and praised by the broad masses due to its delicious taste, abundant nutritional value, and medicinal properties. Few studies reported the quality evaluation and gut microbiota regulation effect of polysaccharides of jujube fruits from different producing areas. In the present study, multi-level fingerprint profiling, including polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, and monosaccharides, was established for the quality evaluation of polysaccharides from jujube fruits. For polysaccharides, the total content in jujube fruits ranged from 1.31% to 2.22%, and the molecular weight distribution (MWD) ranged from 1.14 × 10⁵ to 1.73 × 10⁶ Da. The MWD fingerprint profiling of polysaccharides from eight producing areas was similar, but the profile of infrared spectroscopy (IR) showed differentiation. The characteristic signals were screened and used to establish a discrimination model for the identification of jujube fruits from different areas, and the accuracy of identification reached 100.00%. For oligosaccharides, the main components were galacturonic acid polymers (DP, 2-4), and the profile of oligosaccharides exhibited high similarity. The monosaccharides, GalA, Glc, and Ara, were the primary monosaccharides. Although the fingerprint of monosaccharides was semblable, the composing proportion of monosaccharides revealed significant differences. In addition, the polysaccharides of jujube fruits could regulate the gut microbiota composition and possess potential therapeutic effects on dysentery and nervous system diseases.

Colorectal cancer inhibitory properties of polysaccharides and their molecular mechanisms: A review

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the three major malignant tumors in the world. The major treatments currently recommended for it are surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, all of which are frequently accompanied by a poor prognosis and high recurrence rate. To limit cell proliferation and metastasis, trigger cell apoptosis, and regulate tumor microenvironment (TME), researchers are focusing attention on investigating highly effective and non-toxic natural medicines. According to the research reported in 89 pieces of related literature, between 2018 and 2021, specialists extracted 48 different types of polysaccharides with CRC inhibitory actions from various plants, including Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo., Nostoc commune Vaucher, and Ganoderma lucidum (Leyss. ex Fr.) Karst. The novel founded mechanisms mainly include: inhibiting cancer cell proliferation by acting on IRS1/PI3K/Akt and IL-6/STAT3 pathways; inducing cancer cell apoptosis by acting on LncRNA HOTAIR/Akt mediated-intrinsic apoptosis, or regulating the TNF-α-mediated extrinsic apoptosis; inducing cancer cell autophagy by acting on endoplasmic reticulum stress or mTOR-TFEB pathway; inhibiting cancer cell metastasis by regulating Smad2/3 and TLR4/JNK pathways; regulating TME in CRC; and maintaining the intestinal barrier. This review will provide more novel research strategies and a solid literature basis for the application of polysaccharides in the treatment of CRC.

Bioactive triterpenes of jujube in the prevention of colorectal cancer and their molecular mechanism research

BACKGROUND

Jujube, a popular fruit from the Rhamnaceae family, relieves colorectal inflammation caused by spleen deficiency and has been used in many formulas in clinical for decades to treat colorectal cancer (CRC). As of yet, the therapeutic substances and mechanism of their action are unknown.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to define the therapeutic substances of jujube and its mechanism of action in treating CRC.

METHODS

The pharmacological effects of jujube extract and its fractions were evaluated in vivo using a CRC mouse model induced by AOM/DSS. The DAI value, colon length, mortality, tumor burden, and histological tumor size of the treated animals were compared. To explore the potential therapeutic substances, LC-MS analysis was conducted to characterize the serum migration components. A network pharmacology experiment was carried out for potential molecular targets. To verify the therapeutic substances as well as the molecular mechanism of jujube intervening CRC, cellular MTT assay of the serum migration components, Western blot and IHC tests were conducted.

RESULTS

The in vivo pharmacological studies showed that compared to AOM/DSS treated mice, the mortality and DAI value, tumor burden, and histological tumor size of jujube extract and its fat-soluble fraction (mainly contained triterpenes) treated mice were significantly reduced, and their colon lengths were obviously longer than AOM/DSS treated mice. The targeted-LC/MS analysis supposed triterpenes 3, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17 - 21, and 25 - 28 to be the serum migration components, which might be the potential therapeutic substances. In the network pharmacology experiment, the GO annotation and enrichment analysis of the KEGG pathway indicated that PI3K-Akt pathway and inflammatory reaction were important factors for jujube inhibiting CRC. Cellular MTT assay of serum migration components indicated that the potential effective substances from fat-soluble fraction to be triterpenes 3, 7, 17, 19, 20, and 25. The Western blot and IHC assays implied that the jujube extract, its fat-soluble fraction, and triterpenes 7, 17, and 20 showed inhibition on the expression of PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway-related proteins. Additionally, it was noted in the pharmacodynamic experiment that ZJL's effectiveness was more apparent than ZJH and SQL in tumor burden rate, colon length, and spleen weight, which indicated that the efficacy of ZJ is contributed from CD and SQ, and they may have a synergistic effect on anti-CRC.

CONCLUSION

These results for the first time provide evidence that jujube triterpenes possess an anti-CRC effect, their mechanism was involving the control of the PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway. What's more, the potential synergistic effect of the fat-soluble and water-soluble components found in this study provided a solid foundation for our deep understanding of how jujube can ameliorate CRC.

A novel acidic polysaccharide from blackened jujube: Structural features and antitumor activity in vitro

Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers, with increasing trends in incidence and mortality. A novel acidic polysaccharide (BJP-2) obtained from blackened jujube was extracted by hot water followed by chromatographic purification employing DEAE-cellulose 52 and Sephadex G-100 column. And then BJP-2 was identified by SEC-MALLS-RI, GC-MS, methylation and NMR for the following characteristics: molecular weight of 6.42 × 104 Da, monosaccharide composition of glucuronic acid (GalA), arabinose (Ara), galactose (Gal), rhamnose (Rha), xylose (Xyl), glucuronic acid (GlcA), glucose (Glc), fucose (Fuc) and mannose (Man) with the percentage of 39.78, 31.93, 16.86, 6.43, 1.86, 1.28, 1.02, 0.61, and 0.23%, as well as the main chain of → 5)-α-L-Araf (1 → 4)-β-D-Gal(1 → , T-α-L-Araf (1 → 4)-β-D-Gal(1 → , and → 4)-α-L-6MeGalAp(1 → . The effect of BJP-2 on the apoptosis of HepG2 cells and its anti-tumor mechanism were further explored. The analysis by MTT and flow cytometry showed that BJP-2 suppressed cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. Cell scratching and Transwell revealed that BJP-2 was able to block the invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. Western blot results demonstrated that BJP-2 exhibited antitumor activity through a mitochondria-dependent pathway, as evidenced by overexpression of Bax, Cleaved Caspase-3/Caspase-3 and Cleaved Caspase-9/Caspase-9 and downregulation of Bcl-2. Therefore, BJP-2 has broad research prospects as a tumor preventive or therapeutic agent.

Prospects of ultrasonically extracted food bioactives in the field of non-invasive biomedical applications - A review

Foods incorporated with bioactive compounds, called nutraceuticals, can fight or prevent or alleviate diseases. The contribution of nutraceuticals or phytochemicals to non-invasive biomedical applications is increasing. Although there are many traditional methods for extracting bioactive compounds or secondary metabolites, these processes come with many disadvantages like lower yield, longer process time, high energy consumption, more usage of solvent, yielding low active principles with low efficacy against diseases, poor quality, poor mass transfer, higher extraction temperature, etc. However, nullifying all these disadvantages of a non-thermal technology, ultrasound has played a significant role in delivering them with higher yield and improved bio-efficacy. The physical and chemical effects of acoustic cavitation are the crux of the output. This review paper primarily discusses the ultrasound-assisted extraction (USAE) of bioactives in providing non-invasive prevention and cure to diseases and bodily dysfunctions in human and animal models. The outputs of non-invasive bioactive components in terms of yield and the clinical efficacy in either in vitro or in vitro conditions are discussed in detail. The non-invasive biomedical applications of USAE bioactives providing anticancer, antioxidant, cardiovascular health, antidiabetic, and antimicrobial benefits are analyzed in-depth and appraised. This review additionally highlights the improved performance of USAE compounds against conventionally extracted compounds. In addition, an exhaustive analysis is performed on the role and application of the food bioactives in vivo and in vitro systems, mainly for promoting these efficient USAE bioactives in non-invasive biomedical applications. Also, the review explores the recovery of bioactives from the less explored food sources like cactus pear fruit, ash gourd, sweet granadilla, basil, kokum, baobab, and the food processing industrial wastes like peel, pomace, propolis, wine residues, bran, etc., which is rare in literature.

Synergistic antitumor effects of polysaccharides and anthocyanins from Lycium ruthenicum Murr. on human colorectal carcinoma LoVo cells and the molecular mechanism

The antitumor effects of Lycium ruthenicum Murr. polysaccharides (LRPS) and Lycium ruthenicum Murr. anthocyanins (LRAC) were comprehensively investigated in this study. LPRS was obtained by water extraction and alcohol precipitation and further purified using diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE-Cellulose) and Sephadex G-75 columns. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the purified LRPS. The results showed that the purified LRPS contained heteropolysaccharides, mainly composed of arabinose, galactose, and glucose with weight percentage of 41.2%, 33.6%, and 10.8%, respectively. More importantly, LRPS (500 μg/ml) and LRAC (80 μg/ml) failed to impede the proliferation of tumor cells when applied solely (48 h incubation), yet remarkable antineoplastic effects were found once they were applied altogether, since the LoVo cells, a typical human colorectal carcinoma cell line, were significantly inhibited by the mixture of LRPS (150 μg/ml) and LRAC (20 μg/ml) (LRPS&AC) in 24 h. The antineoplastic activity resulted from the combination of both LRPS and LRAC (LRPS&AC), by means of blocking the cell cycle at the G0-G1 phase and inducing LoVo cell apoptosis via reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent pathway. The inhibitory effects of LRPS&AC were specific to the tumor cells, without imposing on the proliferation of normal cells. Western blotting revealed that the antitumor effect was related to the mitochondria-mediated apoptosis launched by the cross-action of PI3K/Akt (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B) and JAK2/STAT3 (janus kinase 2/signal transduction and activator of transcription 3) signaling pathways. These findings for the first time reveal the synergistic antitumor effects of LRPS&AC and the related mechanisms, which enable Lycium ruthenicum Murr. to serve as a natural source to develop therapeutic reagents and functional foods with antineoplastic properties.

Bioactive components of Banxia Xiexin Decoction for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases based on flavor-oriented analysis

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Banxia Xiexin Decoction (BXD) was first recorded in a Chinese medical classic, Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Miscellaneous Diseases, which was written in the Eastern Han dynasty of China. This ancient prescription consists of seven kinds of Chinese herbal medicine, namely, Pinellia ternata, Rhizoma Coptidis, Radix scutellariae, Rhizoma Zingiberis, Ginseng, Jujube, and Radix Glycyrrhizaepreparata. In clinic practice, its original application in China mainly has focused on the treatment of chronic gastritis for several hundred years. BXD is also effective in treating other gastrointestinal diseases (GIDs) in modern medical application. Despite available literature support and clinical experience, the treatment mechanisms or their relationships with the bioactive compounds in BXD responsible for its pharmacological actions, still need further explorations in more diversified channels. According to the analysis based on the five-flavor theory of TCM, BXD is traditionally viewed as the most representative prescription for pungent-dispersion, bitter-purgation and sweet-tonification. Consequently, based on the flavor-oriented analysis, the compositive herbs in BXD can be divided into three flavor groups, namely, the pungent, bitter, and sweet groups, each of which has specific active ingredients that are possibly relevant to GID treatment.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

This paper summarized recent literatures on BXD and its bioactive components used in GID treatment, and provided the pharmacological or chemical basis for the further exploration of the ancient prescription and the relative components.

METHOD

ology: Relevant literature was collected from various electronic databases such as Pubmed, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Citations were based on peer-reviewed articles published in English or Chinese during the last decade.

RESULTS

Multiple components were found in the pungent, bitter, and sweet groups in BXD. The corresponding bioactive components include gingerol, shogaol, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol in the pungent group; berberine, palmatine, coptisine, baicalein, and baicalin in the bitter group; and ginsenosides, polysaccharides, liquiritin, and glycyrrhetinic acid in the sweet group. These components have been found directly or indirectly responsible for the remarkable effects of BXD on GID.

CONCLUSION

This review provided some valuable reference to further clarify BXD treatment for GID and their possible material basis, based on the perspective of the flavor-oriented analysis.