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Zhang X, Tang B, Wen S, Wang Y, Pan C, Qu L, Yin Y, Wei Y. Advancements in the Biotransformation and Biosynthesis of the Primary Active Flavonoids Derived from Epimedium. Molecules 2023; 28:7173. [PMID: 37894651 PMCID: PMC10609448 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28207173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Epimedium is a classical Chinese herbal medicine, which has been used extensively to treat various diseases, such as sexual dysfunction, osteoporosis, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and brain diseases. Flavonoids, such as icariin, baohuoside I, icaritin, and epimedin C, are the main active ingredients with diverse pharmacological activities. Currently, most Epimedium flavonoids are extracted from Epimedium plants, but this method cannot meet the increasing market demand. Biotransformation strategies promised huge potential for increasing the contents of high-value Epimedium flavonoids, which would promote the full use of the Epimedium herb. Complete biosynthesis of major Epimedium flavonoids by microbial cell factories would enable industrial-scale production of Epimedium flavonoids. This review summarizes the structures, pharmacological activities, and biosynthesis pathways in the Epimedium plant, as well as the extraction methods of major Epimedium flavonoids, and advancements in the biotransformation and complete microbial synthesis of Epimedium flavonoids, which would provide valuable insights for future studies on Epimedium herb usage and the production of Epimedium flavonoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoling Zhang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- Key Laboratory of Food Safety Quick Testing and Smart Supervision Technology for State Market Regulation, Zhengzhou 450003, China
| | - Bingling Tang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Sijie Wen
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Yitong Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
- Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Chengxue Pan
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Lingbo Qu
- College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Yulong Yin
- Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410081, China
| | - Yongjun Wei
- Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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Lu Y, Luo Q, Jia X, Tam JP, Yang H, Shen Y, Li X. Multidisciplinary strategies to enhance therapeutic effects of flavonoids from Epimedii Folium: Integration of herbal medicine, enzyme engineering, and nanotechnology. J Pharm Anal 2022; 13:239-254. [PMID: 37102112 PMCID: PMC10123947 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpha.2022.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Flavonoids such as baohuoside I and icaritin are the major active compounds in Epimedii Folium (EF) and possess excellent therapeutic effects on various diseases. Encouragingly, in 2022, icaritin soft capsules were approved to reach the market for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China. Moreover, recent studies demonstrate that icaritin can serve as immune-modulating agent to exert anti-tumor effects. Nonetheless, both production efficiency and clinical applications of epimedium flavonoids have been restrained because of their low content, poor bioavailability, and unfavorable in vivo delivery efficiency. Recently, various strategies, including enzyme engineering and nanotechnology, have been developed to increase productivity and activity, improve delivery efficiency, and enhance therapeutic effects of epimedium flavonoids. In this review, the structure-activity relationship of epimedium flavonoids is described. Then, enzymatic engineering strategies for increasing the productivity of highly active baohuoside I and icaritin are discussed. The nanomedicines for overcoming in vivo delivery barriers and improving therapeutic effects of various diseases are summarized. Finally, the challenges and an outlook on clinical translation of epimedium flavonoids are proposed.
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Wang G, Yan F, Wang Y, Liu Y, Cui J, Yu Z, Feng L, James TD, Wang C, Kong Y. Visual Sensing of β-Glucosidase From Intestinal Fungus in the Generation of Cytotoxic Icarisid II. Front Chem 2022; 10:919624. [PMID: 35692694 PMCID: PMC9184716 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.919624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
β-Glucosidase (β-Glc) is an enzyme capable of the selective hydrolysis of the β-glycosidic bond of glycosides and glycans containing glucose. β-Glc expressed by intestinal microbiota has attracted increasing levels of interest, due to their important roles for the metabolism of exogenous substances in the gut. Using the 2-((6-hydroxy-2,3-dihydro-1H-xanthen-4-yl)methylene)malononitrile fluorophore (DXM-OH, λem 636 nm) and the recognition group β-Glucose, an enzymatic activatable turn-on fluorescent probe (DXM-Glc) was developed for the selective and sensitive sensing of β-Glc. In addition, DXM-Glc could be used to sense endogenous β-Glc in living fungal cells. Using DXM-Glc, Pichia terricola M2 was identified as a functional intestinal fungus with β-Glc expression. P. terricola M2 could transform the flavone glycoside Icariin to Icariside Ⅱ efficiently, which confirmed the metabolism of glycosides in the gut mediated by fungi. Furthermore, Icariside Ⅱ could inhibit the proliferation of human endometrial cancer cells (RL 95-2 and ishikawa) significantly, suggesting the metabolic activation of Icariin by intestinal fungi in vivo. Therefore, DXM-Glc as a probe for β-Glc provided a novel technique for the investigation of the metabolism of bioactive substances by intestinal microbiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Wang
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Academy of Integrative Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Fei Yan
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Academy of Integrative Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Yufei Wang
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Academy of Integrative Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Yingping Liu
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Academy of Integrative Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Jingnan Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Zhenlong Yu
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Academy of Integrative Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Lei Feng
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
| | - Tony D. James
- Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
- *Correspondence: Tony D. James, ; Chao Wang, ; Ying Kong,
| | - Chao Wang
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Academy of Integrative Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
- *Correspondence: Tony D. James, ; Chao Wang, ; Ying Kong,
| | - Ying Kong
- College of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Academy of Integrative Medicine, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
- *Correspondence: Tony D. James, ; Chao Wang, ; Ying Kong,
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Han F, Kim JH, Lee IS. Microbial transformation of icariin and its derivatives. Nat Prod Res 2021; 36:4103-4113. [PMID: 34507516 DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2021.1975702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Microbial transformation is an important tool to perform selective conversion of compounds to derivatives which are difficult to produce synthetically. In order to obtain icariside II and icaritin, the active components in Herba Epimedii in vivo, biotransformation studies using microbes as biocatalysts were carried out. Icariside II (2) and icaritin (3) were produced through biotransformation of icariin (1) using the fungi Hormoconis resinae and Mortierella ramanniana var. angulispora in 98% and 92% yields, respectively. In the subsequent transformation studies, 2 was deglycosylated to form 3 by Gliocladium deliquescens, whereas 3 was further converted to a novel compound icaritin-3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (4) and previously known icaritin-3,7-O-β-d-diglucopyranoside (5) by Mucor hiemalis. Biological evaluation of these compounds using MTT assay exhibited potent cytotoxic activities against human cancer cell lines A549, A375P, and MCF-7, with icariin being the most active, indicating that glycosylation plays a role in the cytotoxic activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fubo Han
- College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji Hye Kim
- College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
| | - Ik-Soo Lee
- College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
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Luo G, Xu B, Wang W, Wu Y, Li M. Study of the osteogenesis effect of icariside II and icaritin on canine bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. J Bone Miner Metab 2018; 36:668-678. [PMID: 29264750 DOI: 10.1007/s00774-017-0889-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to identify the osteogenesis effect of icariside II (ICSII) and icaritin (ICT) in vitro. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were treated with ICSII and ICT in order to detect the proliferation and differentiation of BMSCs, the expression of the osteogenesis-related proteins with or without osteogenic medium (OM) and genes, Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx-2), osteocalcin (OCN), osteopontin (OPN), osterix, and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and the phosphorylation levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). We found that the optical density increased and alkaline phosphatase decreased after the BMSCs were treated with different concentrations of ICSII; however, ICT showed an opposing effect. The formation of calcium nodules was observed after the BMSCs were treated with ICSII and ICT. The expression level of osteogenesis-related proteins was enhanced following treatment with both ICSII or ICT, while the expression level of the osteogenesis-related genes Runx-2, OCN, OPN, osterix, and bFGF significantly increased with ICSII treatment (P < 0.05), and only Runx-2 and bFGF significantly increased (P < 0.01) with ICT. The expression of osteogenic differentiation-related proteins (except OPN) following treatment with ICSII + OM or ICT + OM was not notably increased. Both ICSII and ICT elevated the phosphorylation levels of MAPK/ERK, which was attenuated by GDC-0994 (an inhibitor of MAPK/ERK). Collectively, these data indicate that ICSII and ICT facilitate orientation osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, which is most likely via the MAPK/ERK pathway. OM did not synergistically enhance the osteogenesis effect of ICSII and ICT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangming Luo
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Block C No 1088 of Hai Yuan Road, High and New Technology Zone, Kunming, 650031, Yunnan, People's Republic of China.
| | - Biao Xu
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Block C No 1088 of Hai Yuan Road, High and New Technology Zone, Kunming, 650031, Yunnan, People's Republic of China
| | - Weihong Wang
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Block C No 1088 of Hai Yuan Road, High and New Technology Zone, Kunming, 650031, Yunnan, People's Republic of China
| | - Yong Wu
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Block C No 1088 of Hai Yuan Road, High and New Technology Zone, Kunming, 650031, Yunnan, People's Republic of China
| | - Ming Li
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Block C No 1088 of Hai Yuan Road, High and New Technology Zone, Kunming, 650031, Yunnan, People's Republic of China
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Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Alkyl Amine Substituted Icariside II Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents. Molecules 2018; 23:molecules23092146. [PMID: 30150543 PMCID: PMC6225249 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23092146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2018] [Revised: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
A series of novel alkyl amine-substituted icariside II (ICA II) derivatives were synthesized by Mannich reactions at the 6-C position (compounds 4a–d) and changing the carbon chain length at the 7-OH position (compounds 7a–h), and their in vitro antitumor activity towards human breast cancer lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) and human hepatoma cell lines (HepG2 and HCCLM3-LUC) were evaluated by the MTT assay. Compared with ICA II, most of the twelve derivatives showed good micromole level activity and a preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) for the anticancer activity was obtained. Compound 7g showed the most potent inhibitory activity for the four cancer cell lines (13.28 μM for HCCLM3-LUC, 3.96 μM for HepG2, 2.44 μM for MCF-7 and 4.21 μM for MDA-MB-231), which was 2.94, 5.54, 12.56 and 7.72-fold stronger than that of ICA II. The preliminary SAR showed that the introduction of a alkyl amine substituent at 6-C was not favorable for the anticancer activity, while most of the 7-O-alkylamino derivatives exhibited good antitumor activity and the anticancer activity 7-O-alkylamino derivatives were influenced by the alkyl chain length and the different terminal amine substituents. Furthermore, the effects of compound 7g on apoptosis and cell cycle of MCF-7 cells were further investigated, which showed that compound 7g triggered apoptosis and arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase in MCF-7 cells. Our findings indicate that compound 7g may be a promising anticancer drug candidate lead.
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