Taming Food-Drug Interaction Risk: Potential Inhibitory Effects of Citrus Juices on Cytochrome Liver Enzymes Can Safeguard the Liver from Overdose Paracetamol-Induced Hepatotoxicity

Paracetamol overdose is the leading cause of drug-induced hepatotoxicity worldwide. Because of N-acetyl cysteine's limited therapeutic efficacy and safety, searching for alternative therapeutic substitutes is necessary. This study investigated four citrus juices: Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck var. Pineapple (pineapple sweet orange), Citrus reticulata Blanco × Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck (Murcott mandarin), Citrus paradisi Macfadyen var. Ruby Red (red grapefruit), and Fortunella margarita Swingle (oval kumquat) to improve the herbal therapy against paracetamol-induced liver toxicity. UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS profiling of the investigated samples resulted in the identification of about 40 metabolites belonging to different phytochemical classes. Phenolic compounds were the most abundant, with the total content ranked from 609.18 to 1093.26 μg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/mL juice. The multivariate data analysis revealed that phloretin 3',5'-di-C-glucoside, narirutin, naringin, hesperidin, 2-O-rhamnosyl-swertisin, fortunellin (acacetin-7-O-neohesperidoside), sinensetin, nobiletin, and tangeretin represented the crucial discriminatory metabolites that segregated the analyzed samples. Nevertheless, the antioxidant activity of the samples was 1135.91-2913.92 μM Trolox eq/mL juice, 718.95-3749.47 μM Trolox eq/mL juice, and 2304.74-4390.32 μM Trolox eq/mL juice, as revealed from 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid, ferric-reducing antioxidant power, and oxygen radical absorbance capacity, respectively. The in vivo paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity model in rats was established and assessed by measuring the levels of hepatic enzymes and antioxidant biomarkers. Interestingly, the concomitant administration of citrus juices with a toxic dose of paracetamol effectively recovered the liver injury, as confirmed by normal sections of hepatocytes. This action could be due to the interactions between the major identified metabolites (hesperidin, hesperetin, phloretin 3',5'-di-C-glucoside, fortunellin, poncirin, nobiletin, apigenin-6,8-digalactoside, 6',7'-dihydroxybergamottin, naringenin, and naringin) and cytochrome P450 isoforms (CYP3A4, CYP2E1, and CYP1A2), as revealed from the molecular docking study. The most promising compounds in the three docking processes were hesperidin, fortunellin, poncirin, and naringin. Finally, a desirable food-drug interaction was achieved in our research to overcome paracetamol overdose-induced hepatotoxicity.

Chemical composition, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and toxicityactivities, of the essential oil of <em>Fortunella margarita</em> peels

The purpose of this study was to identify the principal components of the essential oil extracted from Fortunella margarita peels via hydrodistillation and to evaluate in vitro its anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and toxicity properties. Among the detected compounds were limonene, D-germacrene, β-myrcene, and α-pinene. Method of inhibiting the denaturation of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) was utilized to assess the anti-inflammatory properties of Fortunella margarita. At a concentration of 400g/mL, a high anti-inflammatory effect was observed. The percentage of BSA protection against heat increased with increasing concentration. Also, the evaluation of antidiabetic activity by glucose uptake by yeast cells revealed that Fortunella margarita was more effective than the standard drug novoformine in the presence of 5 mM glucose. The antioxidant potential of the essential oil was evaluated using the DPPH free radical scavenging, reducing power and β-carotene/linoleic acid tests, where the essential oil had much lower antioxidant activity. A bioassay on the lethality of brine shrimp was conducted to determine the toxicity of the essential oil. The study reveals that the essential oil is a possible source of important bioactive compounds and that its constituents may exhibit synergistic effects. Our findings suggest that the essential oil from Fortunella margarita could be used in the future as a substitute for synthetic anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant agents with potential applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.  

Assessment of Antimicrobial Efficiency of Pistacia lentiscus and Fortunella margarita Essential Oils against Spoilage and Pathogenic Microbes in Ice Cream and Fruit Juices

Nowadays, the use of antimicrobial natural agents as alternative food preservatives represents an intriguing case. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible antimicrobial activity of Pistacia lentiscus and Fortunella margarita essential oils (EOs) and to evaluate their commercial potential in the food industry. The main constituents identified by GC/MS in Pistacia lentiscus EO were a-pinene (67.7%), myrcene (18.8%), and β-pinene (3.0%), whereas limonene (93.8%) and myrcene (2.7%) were the dominant compounds in Fortunella margarita EO. The antimicrobial properties were initially assayed and the minimum inhibitory, non-inhibitory, and minimum lethal concentration values against the Escherichiacoli, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas fragi, Aspergillus niger, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were determined using a previously published model, combining absorbance measurements with the common dilution method and non-linear regression analysis to fit the data. Their efficiency was further validated in ice cream containing 0.2% (w/w) Pistacia lentiscus, 0.006% (w/w) Fortunella margarita EOs and 2% (w/w) aqueous residue of F. margarita EO deliberately inoculated with 4 logcfu/g Escherichiacoli, Listeria monocytogenes or Pseudomonas fragi, separately. Similarly, the activity of the oils was monitored in fruit juice (lemon, apple, and blackcurrant) containing 0.2% (w/w) Pistacia lentiscus, 0.006% (w/w) Fortunella margarita EOs and 2% (w/w) aqueous residue of F. margarita EO deliberately spiked with 100 spores/mL of Aspergillus niger or 4 logcfu/mL of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, separately. The results showed that microbial viable counts in the supplemented products ranged at significantly lower levels compared to the control samples during storage. Overall, the data indicated that both EOs constitute effective antimicrobial sources with many potent applications in the food industry.

Integrated Analysis by GC(RI), GC-MS and 13C NMR of Fortunella Japonica Leaf Volatiles Obtained by Hydrodistillation, Microwave- assisted Hydrodistillation and Hydrolate Extraction

The chemical composition of the essential oil (EO), microwave extract (ME) and hydrolate extract (HE) from the same batch of leaves of Fortunella japonica, was investigated by combination of chromatographic (GC, CC) and spectroscopic techniques (GC-MS, 13C NMR). F. japonica essential oil and extracts are complex mixtures of 28–60 compounds being mainly oxygenated sesquiterpenes. The EO composition was dominated by germacrene D (14.9%), β-elemol (9.1%), cis-guai-6-en-10p-ol (6.3%), β-eudesmol (5.5%), and δ-elemene (5.2%). Limonene was the unique monoterpene identified at appreciable amount (7.1%). The extract obtained by microwave assisted hydrodistillation contained as main components: β-elemol (12.4%), germacrene D (9.9%), cis-guai-6-en-10β-ol (9.0%), β-eudesmol (8.2%), germacra-1(10),5-dien-4α-ol (7.1%) and α-eudesmol (6.4%). Finally, the highest content of oxygenated sesquiterpenes (near 92%) was found in the hydrolate extract displaying cryptomeridiol (23.3%, but totally absent in the EO and ME), β-eudesmol (20.6%) and α-eudesmol (10.7%). Combined analysis by chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques appeared useful for identification of various sesquiterpenols bearing a tertiary alcohol function.