Strychnos nux-vomica L. seed preparation promotes functional recovery and attenuates oxidative stress in a mouse model of sciatic nerve crush injury

Visualization analysis of research frontiers and trends in the treatment of sciatic nerve injury

Objective

To visualize and analyze the literature related to sciatic nerve injury treatment from January 2019 to December 2023, and summarize the current status, hotspots, and development trends of research in this field.

Methods

Using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software, we searched the Web of Science database for literature related to the treatment of sciatic nerve injury. Then we analyzed and plotted visualization maps to show the number of publications, countries, institutions, authors, keywords, references, and journals.

Results

A total of 2,653 articles were included in the English database. The annual number of publications exceeded 230, and the citation frequency increased yearly. The United States and China were identified as high-influence nations in this field. Nantong University was the leading institution in terms of close cooperation among institutions. The authors Wang Yu had the highest number of publications and were highly influential in this field. Keyword analysis and reference Burst revealed a research focus on nerve regeneration and neuropathic pain, which involve regenerative medicine and neural tissue engineering. Chronic pain resulting from sciatic nerve injury often manifests alongside anxiety, depression, cognitive-behavioral disorders, and other issues. Interventions such as stem cells, electrical stimulation, electroacupuncture, total joint replacement, pharmacological interventions, gene therapy, nerve conduits, chitosan scaffolds, and exercise promote nerve repair and alleviate pain. Schwann cells have been the focus of much attention in nerve repair and regeneration. Improving the outcome of sciatic nerve injury is a current research challenge and focus in this field. Based on keyword Burst, nerve conduits and grafts may become a potential research hotspot in the treatment of sciatic nerve injury.

Conclusion

This visual analysis summarizes research trends and developments of sciatic nerve injury treatment and predicts potential research frontiers and hot directions.

Mitigation of sciatica injury-induced neuropathic pain through active metabolites derived from medicinal plants

Sciatica characterized by irritation, inflammation, and compression of the lower back nerve, is considered one of the most common back ailments globally. Currently, the therapeutic regimens for sciatica are experiencing a paradigm shift from the conventional pharmacological approach toward exploring potent phytochemicals from medicinal plants. There is a dire need to identify novel phytochemicals with anti-neuropathic potential. This review aimed to identify the potent phytochemicals from diverse medicinal plants capable of alleviating neuropathic pain associated with sciatica. This review describes the pathophysiology of sciatic nerve pain, its cellular mechanisms, and the pharmacological potential of various plants and phytochemicals using animal-based models of sciatic nerve injury-induced pain. Extensive searches across databases such as Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were conducted. The findings highlights 39 families including Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Apocyanaceae and Cucurbitaceae, effectively treating sciatic nerve injury-induced pain. Flavonoids made up 53% constituents, phenols and terpenoids made up 15%, alkaloids made up 13%, and glycosides made up 6% to be used in neuorpathic pain. Phytochemicals derived from various medicinal plants can serve as potential therapeutic targets for both acute and chronic sciatic injury-induced neuropathic pain.

Brucine Inhibits Proliferation of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma through PI3K/AKT Pathway-induced Mitochondrial Apoptosis

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this research was to settle the role of brucine in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and the mechanisms involved.

METHODS

The findings of this study suggest that brucine exerts inhibitory effects on cell growth, clonogenicity, and invasive potential of Panc02 and Mia Paca-2 cells. These effects may be linked to an increase in apoptotic-prone cell population.

RESULTS

Gene sequencing data suggests that these effects are mediated through the induction of apoptosis. Experimental evidence further supports the notion that brucine reduces mitochondrial membrane potential and upregulates Bax expression while downregulating Bcl-2 expression. These effects are believed to be a result of brucine-mediated suppression of PI3K/Akt activity, which serves as a regulatory factor of mTOR, Bax, and Bcl-2. Suppression of PI3K activity enhances the tumor-suppressing effects of brucine.

CONCLUSION

Overall, these findings suggest that brucine has therapeutic potential as a remedy option for PDAC.

Autophagy as an Anti-senescent in Aging Neurocytes

Neuron homeostasis is crucial for the organism, and its maintenance is multifactorial, including autophagy. The turnover of aberrant intracellular components is a fundamental pathogenetic mechanism for cell aging. Autophagy is involved in the acceleration of the neurocyte aging process and the modification of cell longevity. Neurocyte aging is a process of loss of cell identity through cellular and subcellular changes that include molecular loss of epigenetics, transcriptomic, proteomic, and autophagy dysfunction. Autophagy dysfunction is the hallmark of neurocyte aging. Cell aging is the credential feature of neurodegenerative diseases. Pathophysiologically, aged neurocytes are characterized by dysregulated autophagy and subsequently neurocyte metabolic stress, resulting in accelerated neurocyte aging. In particular, chaperone- mediated autophagy perturbation results in upregulated expression of aging and apoptosis genes. Aged neurocytes are also characterized by the down-regulation of autophagy-related genes, such as ATG5-ATG12, LC3-II / LC3-I ratio, Beclin-1, and p62. Slowing aging through autophagy targeting is sufficient to improve prognosis in neurodegenerative diseases. Three primary anti-senescent molecules are involved in the aging process: mTOR, AMPK, and Sirtuins. Autophagy therapeutic effects can be applied to reverse and slow aging. This article discusses current advances in the role of autophagy in neurocyte homeostasis, aging, and potential therapeutic strategies to reduce aging and increase cell longevity.

HPLC-MS/MS analysis of primary alkaloids in rat plasma after oral administration of "Nux vomica - Glycyrrhiza glabra decoction": A pharmacokinetic study

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Decoction is the most common form of administering traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). During the preparation of decoction, the high temperature and complex chemical environment result in the formation of complex and multiple phases. The differences in drug components in different phases induce gastrointestinal absorption and physiological response. Nux vomica (Strychnos nux-vomica L) is a typical toxic TCM used in China, with remarkable pharmacological activity. In order to reduce its toxicity, nux vomica (NV) is often decocted with Glycyrrhiza glabra (GG) in clinic, and the detoxification mechanism has always been the focus of research interest. Most studies investigated the compatibility of NV-GG, but the in vivo behavior of individual constituents based on phase state has yet to be elucidated.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To investigate the pharmacokinetic behavior of typical toxic components in different phase states of "NV-GG decoction" in rat plasma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The sediment, suspension, colloid and true solution of "NV-GG decoction" was obtained via physical methods. The main components in different phase states were analyzed via reliable UFLC-Q-TOF-MS high-resolution mass spectrometry. A rapid and accurate HPLC-qqq-MS/MS method was established and validated for accurate determination of brucine and strychnine levels in plasma, followed by pharmacokinetic evaluation of different phase states of "NV-GG decoction" in rats. Kinetex F5 100A (50 mm × 3.0 mm, 2.6 μm) column was used for chromatographic separation. Aqueous solution containing acetonitrile and 0.1% formic acid was used as the mobile phase, followed by gradient elution at 0.4 mL/min. Mass spectra were detected by electrospray ionization (ESI) multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in positive ion mode.

RESULTS

Fifteen different alkaloids were detected in different phase states of "NV-GG decoction". Strychnine and brucine, which are toxic components with high content, were selected for quantitative analysis. The established UPLC-qqq-MS/MS method is accurate and reliable with a good linearity (R² > 0.99) in the respective concentration range, satisfying the quantitative requirements. The pharmacokinetic parameters of different phase states of rats differed significantly after gavage. The deposition phase was the most prominent. The index components showed higher C_max, AUC₀ and T_max, while the T_1/2, MRT, V/F and CL/F were the smallest, with a relatively slow plasma clearance rate in rats. The true solution group showed the lowest T_max and the fastest absorption.

CONCLUSION

This method has been successfully utilized to study the pharmacokinetics of different phase states of "NV-GG decoction". Among the four phases, the deposition phase contributed to a large proportion of the in vivo kinetic behavior similar to that of sustained-release preparations, with slow absorption of toxic components and prolonged peak time. The pharmacokinetic parameters and plasma concentration-time curves of each phase can be used to study toxicity reduction of NV-GG and increase its biocompatibility.

Verapamil attenuates oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in cigarette smoke (CS)-induced murine models of acute lung injury and CSE-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages via inhibiting the NF-κB pathway

Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), severe form of ALI, are characterized by overwhelming of lung inflammation, and no treatment is currently available to treat ALI/ARDS. Cigarette smoke (CS) is one of the prime causes to induce ALI/ARDS via oxidative stress. Despite extensive research, no appropriate therapy is currently available to treat ALI/ARDS. Hence, new potential approaches are needed to treat ALI/ARDS. Consequently, this project was designed to explore the protective effects of verapamil against CS-induced ALI by in vivo and in vitro method. In vivo data obtained from respiratory mechanics, pulmonary morphometric analyses and lung histopathology revealed that verapamil dose-dependently and strikingly decreased the lung weight coefficient, attenuated the albumin exudation into lungs, minimized the infiltration of macrophages and neutrophils into lungs, reduced the pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and keratinocyte chemoattractant (KC)) production, and improved the hypoxemia and lung histopathological changes. Similarly, verapamil also reduced the production of TNF-α, IL-6 and KC from cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage. Importantly, verapamil dose-dependently and remarkably suppressed the CS-induced oxidative stress via not only reducing the myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity of lungs, total oxidative stress (TOS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the lungs and supernatant of RAW 264.7 macrophage but also improving total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) production. Finally, verapamil strikingly decreased the NF-κB expression both in in vivo and in vitro models. Hence, verapamil has positive therapeutic effects against CS-induced ALI via suppressing uncontrolled inflammatory response, oxidative stress and NF-κB p65 signaling.

Calotropis procera (leaves) supplementation exerts curative effects on promoting functional recovery in a mouse model of peripheral nerve injury

Peripheral nerve injuries are among those complicated medical conditions, which are still waiting for their highly effective first-line therapies. In this study, the role of Calotropis procera crude leaves was evaluated at different doses for their effectiveness in improving functional recovery following sciatic nerve injury-induced in the mouse model. Thirty-two healthy albino mice were divided into four groups as Normal chow group (control, n = 8) and C. procera chow groups (50 mg/kg (n = 8), 100 mg/kg (n = 8) and 200 mg/kg (n = 8)). Behavioral analyses were performed to assess and compare improved functional recovery along with skeletal muscle mass measurement in all groups. Serum samples were analyzed for oxidative stress markers. Results showed that C. procera leaves at dose-dependent manner showed statistically prominent (p < .05) increase in sensorimotor functions reclamation as confirmed by behavioral analyses along with muscle mass restoration and prominent decline in TOS and momentous increase in TAC along with the augmented activity of antioxidative enzymes.

Efficacy and safety of Biqi capsule in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: A protocol of a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic and degenerative bone and joint disease, with KOA, cartilage degeneration, destruction and subchondral bone remodeling as the main pathological features. Its clinical symptoms are knee pain, swelling, limited activity, and long course of disease can cause joint deformities. At present, the early treatment of Western medicine is mainly the use of nonsteroidal drugs for anti-inflammation and removing pain, but because the efficacy of these drugs is unstable, the disease is easy to repeat after treatment, and the clinical effect is not good. Although Biqi capsule has advantages in the treatment of KOA, there is a lack of standard clinical studies to verify it, so the purpose of this randomized controlled study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Biqi capsule in the treatment of KOA.

METHODS

This is a prospective randomized controlled trial to study the efficacy and safety of Biqi capsule in the treatment of KOA. The patients were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group according to 1:1. Among them, treatment group: Biqi capsule combined with diclofenac sodium sustained release tablets; Control group: Diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets alone. Both groups were treated with standard treatment for 2 weeks and were followed up for 30 days to pay attention to the efficacy and safety indexes. Observation indicators included: the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score (HSS), liver and kidney function, adverse reactions, and so on. SPSS 25.0 software is used for data analysis.

DISCUSSION

This study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Biqi capsule in the treatment of KOA, and the results of this experiment will provide a clinical basis for Biqi capsule in the treatment of KOA.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

OSF Registration number: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/6HB9D.

Methanolic extract of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) escalates functional restoration following a compression injury to the sciatic nerve in a mouse model

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is one of the major health concerns faced by the community at present. Till now, available therapeutic approaches are ineffective to fully heal a nerve injury and to assure the functional recovery entirely. Natural compounds can prove attractive and effective drug candidates to bridge up this gap. In this scenario, the present study was designed to explore the role of methanolic extract of Foeniculum vulgare (F. vulgare) seeds in accelerating the function regain following a sciatic nerve injury in a mouse model. For this purpose, 12 adult healthy albino mice (BALB/C), 8-10 weeks old, were grouped as control (Ctrl, n = 6) and treatment (Trt, n = 6). The treated group was given methanolic extract of F. vulgare (200 mg/kg per day) started from the day of nerve crush until the end of the study. The sensorimotor function regain assessed by hot plate test, grip strength, and SFI assessments was found significantly (p < .05) ameliorated in the F. vulgare-treated group. A prominent improvement in the muscle mass of the treated group further affirmed these effects. Furthermore, morphometric analysis of muscle fiber cross-sectional area of tibialis anterior muscle between groups revealed a noticeable improvement in muscle fibers' diameter of the treated group. Conclusively, these findings suggest that F. vulgare methanolic extract exhibits the potential to escalate functional recovery following a peripheral nerve injury. However, the real players of this extract and the mechanism involved in boosting functional restoration need to be dissected by further work.