Ginger metabolites and metabolite-inspired synthetic products modulate intracellular calcium and relax airway smooth muscle

Banxia Xiexin decoction promotes gastric lymphatic pumping by regulating lymphatic smooth muscle cell contraction and energy metabolism in a stress-induced gastric ulceration rat model

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula Banxia Xiexin decoction (BXD) has definite therapeutic effect in treating stress-induced gastric ulceration (SIGU) and many other gastrointestinal diseases, but its effect on gastric lymphatic pumping (GLP) remains unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Elucidating the role of GLP in SIGU and BXD treatment, and exploring the molecular mechanisms of GLP regulation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In vivo GLP imaging were performed on SIGU rat model, and the lymphatic dynamic parameters were evaluated. Gastric antrum tissues and serum were collected for macroscopic, histopathological and ulcerative parameters analysis. Gastric lymphatic vessel (GLV) tissues were collected for RNA-Seq assays. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened from RNA-Seq result and submitted for transcriptomic analysis. Key DEGs and their derivative proteins were measured by qRT-PCR and WB.

RESULTS

GLP was significantly suppressed in SIGU rats. BXD could recover GLP, ameliorate stomach lymphostasis, and alleviate the ulcerative damage. Transcriptome analysis of GLV showed the top up-DEGs were concentrated in smooth muscle contraction signaling pathway, while the top the down-DEGs were concentrated in energy metabolism pathways especially fatty acid degradation pathway, which indicated BXD can promote lymphatic smooth muscle contraction, regulate energy metabolism, and reduce fatty acid degradation. The most possible target of these mechanisms was the lymphatic smooth muscle cells (LSMCs) which drove the GLP. This speculation was further validated by the qRT-PCR and WB assessments for the level of key genes and proteins.

CONCLUSIONS

By activating the smooth muscle contraction signaling pathway, restoring energy supply, modulating energy metabolism program and reducing fatty acid degradation, BXD effectively recovered GLP, mitigated the accumulation of inflammatory cytokines and metabolic wastes in the stomach, which importantly contributes to its efficacy in treating SIGU.

Phytoestrogen-Based Hormonal Replacement Therapy Could Benefit Women Suffering Late-Onset Asthma

It has been observed that plasmatic concentrations of estrogens, progesterone, or both correlate with symptoms in asthmatic women. Fluctuations in female sex steroid concentrations during menstrual periods are closely related to asthma symptoms, while menopause induces severe physiological changes that might require hormonal replacement therapy (HRT), that could influence asthma symptoms in these women. Late-onset asthma (LOA) has been categorized as a specific asthmatic phenotype that includes menopausal women and novel research regarding therapeutic alternatives that might provide relief to asthmatic women suffering LOA warrants more thorough and comprehensive analysis. Therefore, the present review proposes phytoestrogens as a promising HRT that might provide these females with relief for both their menopause and asthma symptoms. Besides their well-recognized anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacities, phytoestrogens activate estrogen receptors and promote mild hormone-like responses that benefit postmenopausal women, particularly asthmatics, constituting therefore a very attractive potential therapy largely due to their low toxicity and scarce side effects.

Absorption and Metabolism of Ginger Compounds in Broiler Chicks

Bioavailability is critical in ensuring bioefficacy of ginger compounds, which have not been studied in chicks. In this study, day-old chicks were treated with ginger root extract at 0.0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.5, and 3.0% for 42 days. The gingerols and shogaols in chick samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The primary phase-I metabolic pathway for gingerols and shogaols was the reduction of ketone groups into hydroxyl groups. Shogaols were also metabolized through thiol conjugation and hydrogenation of double-bond pathways. Within the bloodstream, gingerols and their metabolites predominantly existed as glucuronidate or sulfate conjugates. However, the levels of the free form and conjugates were comparable for shogaols. In breast meat, the quantities of both the free form and conjugates for all compounds were similar. In plasma, more than 50% of absorbed 6-gingerol (6G) and 90% of absorbed 6-shogaol underwent reduction to their respective metabolites. However, in breast meat, the percentage of reduction for absorbed 6G was less than 50%, and for absorbed 6-shogaol, it was less than 60%. Ginger compounds were absorbed into chick plasma ranging from 1.4 to 8.5 μg/mL and breast meat ranging from 7.1 to 114.6 μg/100 g across the 0.4-3.0% dose range in a dose-dependent manner.

Pharmacokinetics of Gingerols, Shogaols, and Their Metabolites in Asthma Patients

6-Gingerol and 6-shogaol are the most abundant gingerols and shogaols in ginger root and have been shown to reduce the asthmatic phenotype in murine models of asthma. Several studies have described the pharmacokinetics of gingerols and shogaols in humans following the oral ingestion of ginger, while little was known about the metabolism of these components in humans, particularly in patients with asthma. In this study, a dietary supplement of 1.0 g of ginger root extract was administered to asthma patients twice daily for 56 days and serum samples were drawn at 0.5-8 h on days 0, 28, and 56. The metabolic profiles of gingerols and shogaols in human plasma and the kinetic changes of gingerols, shogaols, and their metabolites in asthma patients collected on the three different visits were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Ketone reduction was the major metabolic pathway of both gingerols and shogaols. Gingerdiols were identified as the major metabolites of 6-, 8-, and 10-gingerols. M11 and M9 were identified as the double-bond reduction and both the double-bond and ketone reduction metabolites of 6-shogaol, respectively. Cysteine conjugation was another major metabolic pathway of 6-shogaol in asthma patients, and two cysteine-conjugated 6-shogaol, M1 and M2, were identified as the major metabolites of 6-shogaol. Furthermore, gingerols, shogaols, and their metabolites were quantitated in the human serum collected at different time points during each of the three visits using a very sensitive high-resolution LC-MS method. The results showed that one-third of 6-gingerol was metabolized to produce its reduction metabolites, 6-gingerdiols, and more than 90% of 6-shogaol was metabolized to its phase I and cysteine-conjugated metabolites, suggesting the importance of considering the contribution of these metabolites to the bioavailability and health beneficial effects of gingerols and shogaols. All gingerols, shogaols, and their metabolites reached their peak concentrations in less than 2 h, and their half-lives (t1/2) were from 0.6 to 2.4 h. Furthermore, long-term treatment of ginger supplements, especially after 56 days of treatment, increases the absorption of ginger compounds and their metabolites in asthma patients.