Water-soluble egg membrane enhances the immunoactivating properties of an Aloe vera-based extract of Nerium oleander leaves

Differential Activities of the Botanical Extract PBI-05204 and Oleandrin on Innate Immune Functions under Viral Challenge Versus Inflammatory Culture Conditions

The Nerium oleander extract PBI 05204 (PBI) and its cardiac glycoside constituent oleandrin have direct anti-viral properties. Their effect on the immune system, however, is largely unknown. We used an in vitro model of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells to document effects under three different culture conditions: normal, challenged with the viral mimetic polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid Poly I:C, and inflamed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Cells were evaluated for immune activation marks CD69, CD25, and CD107a, and culture supernatants were tested for cytokines. Both PBI and oleandrin directly activated Natural Killer (NK) cells and monocytes and triggered increased production of cytokines. Under viral mimetic challenge, PBI and oleandrin enhanced the Poly I:C-mediated immune activation of monocytes and NK cells and enhanced production of IFN-γ. Under inflammatory conditions, many cytokines were controlled at similar levels as in cultures treated with PBI and oleandrin without inflammation. PBI triggered higher levels of some cytokines than oleandrin. Both products increased T cell cytotoxic attack on malignant target cells, strongest by PBI. The results show that PBI and oleandrin directly activate innate immune cells, enhance anti-viral immune responses through NK cell activation and IFN-γ levels, and modulate immune responses under inflamed conditions. The potential clinical impact of these activities is discussed.

A toxic shrub turned therapeutic: The dichotomy of Nerium oleander bioactivities

Nerium oleander L. is a medicinal plant, used for the treatment of cancers and hyperglycemia across the world, especially in Indian sub-continent, Turkey, Morocco, and China. Although clinical studies supporting its pharmacological effects remain critically underexplored, accidental and intentional consumption of any part of the plant causes fatal toxicity in animals and humans. While the polyphenolic fraction of oleander leaves has been attributed to its pre-clinical pharmacological activities, the presence of diverse cardiac glycosides (especially oleandrin) causes apoptosis to cancer cells in vitro and results in clinical signs of oleander poisoning. Thus, the dual pharmacological and toxicological role of oleander is a perplexing dichotomy in phytotherapy. The current investigative review, therefore, intended to analyze the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that likely contribute to this conundrum. Especially by focusing on gut microbial diversity, abundance, and metabolic functions, oleander-associated pharmacological and toxicological studies have been critically analyzed to define the dual effects of oleander. Electronic databases were extensively screened for relevant research articles (including pre-clinical and clinical) related to oleander bioactivities and toxicity. Taxonomic preference was given to the plant N. oleander L. and synonymous plants as per 'The World Flora Online' database (WCSP record #135196). Discussion on yellow oleander (Cascabela thevetia (L.) Lippold) has intentionally been avoided since it is a different plant. The review indicates that the gut microbiota likely plays a key role in differentially modulating the pharmacological and toxicological effects of oleander. Other factors identified influencing the oleander bioactivities include dose and mode of treatment, cardiac glycoside pharmacokinetics, host-endogenous glycosides, plant material processing and phytochemical extraction methods, plant genotypic variations, environmental effects on the phytochemical quality and quantity, gene expression variations, host dietary patterns and co-morbidity, etc. The arguments proposed are also relevant to other medicinal plants containing toxic cardiac glycosides.

State-of-the-Art of Eggshell Waste in Materials Science: Recent Advances in Catalysis, Pharmaceutical Applications, and Mechanochemistry

Eggshell waste is among the most abundant waste materials coming from food processing technologies. Despite the unique properties that both its components (eggshell, ES, and eggshell membrane, ESM) possess, it is very often discarded without further use. This review article aims to summarize the recent reports utilizing eggshell waste for very diverse purposes, stressing the need to use a mechanochemical approach to broaden its applications. The most studied field with regards to the potential use of eggshell waste is catalysis. Upon proper treatment, it can be used for turning waste oils into biodiesel and moreover, the catalytic effect of eggshell-based material in organic synthesis is also very beneficial. In inorganic chemistry, the eggshell membrane is very often used as a templating agent for nanoparticles production. Such composites are suitable for application in photocatalysis. These bionanocomposites are also capable of heavy metal ions reduction and can be also used for the ozonation process. The eggshell and its membrane are applicable in electrochemistry as well. Due to the high protein content and the presence of functional groups on the surface, ESM can be easily converted to a high-performance electrode material. Finally, both ES and ESM are suitable for medical applications, as the former can be used as an inexpensive Ca2+ source for the development of medications, particles for drug delivery, organic matrix/mineral nanocomposites as potential tissue scaffolds, food supplements and the latter for the treatment of joint diseases, in reparative medicine and vascular graft producing. For the majority of the above-mentioned applications, the pretreatment of the eggshell waste is necessary. Among other options, the mechanochemical pretreatment has found an inevitable place. Since the publication of the last review paper devoted to the mechanochemical treatment of eggshell waste, a few new works have appeared, which are reviewed here to underline the sustainable character of the proposed methodology. The mechanochemical treatment of eggshell is capable of producing the nanoscale material which can be further used for bioceramics synthesis, dehalogenation processes, wastewater treatment, preparation of hydrophobic filters, lithium-ion batteries, dental materials, and in the building industry as cement.

The mycelium of the Trametes versicolor (Turkey tail) mushroom and its fermented substrate each show potent and complementary immune activating properties in vitro

BACKGROUND

The medicinal mushroom Trametes versicolor (Tv, Turkey Tail) is often prepared for consumption as a powder from the fungal mycelium and the fermented substrate on which it grew. The goal for this study was to evaluate the immune-modulating properties of the mycelium versus the fermented substrate, to document whether an important part of the immune-activating effects resides in the metabolically fermented substrate.

METHODS

Tv mycelium was cultured on rice flour. The mycelium and the fermented substrate were mechanically separated, dried, and milled. The initial substrate served as a control. Aqueous fractions were extracted and passed through 0.22-μm filters. The remaining solids were passed through homogenization spin columns without filtration. The aqueous and solid fractions of the initial substrate (IS), the fermented substrate (FS), and the Trametes versicolor mycelium (TvM) were tested for immune-activating and modulating activities on human peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures, to examine expression of the CD69 activation marker on lymphocytes versus monocytes, and on the T, NKT, and NK lymphocyte subsets. Culture supernatants were tested for cytokines using Luminex arrays.

RESULTS

Both aqueous and solid fractions of TvM triggered robust induction of CD69 on lymphocytes and monocytes, whereas FS only triggered minor induction of CD69, and IS had no activating effect. The aqueous extract of TvM had stronger activating effects than the solid fraction. In contrast, the solid fraction of IS triggered a reduction in CD69, below levels on untreated cells. Both aqueous and solid fractions of FS triggered large and dose-dependent increases in immune-activating pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-6), anti-inflammatory cytokines Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) and Interleukin-10 (IL-10), anti-viral cytokines interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-alpha (MIP-1α), as well as Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) and Interleukin-8 (IL-8). TvM triggered more modest cytokine increases. The aqueous extract of IS showed no effects, whereas the solid fraction showed modest effects on induction of cytokines and growth factors.

CONCLUSION

The results demonstrated that the immune-activating bioactivity of a mycelial-based medicinal mushroom preparation is a combination of the mycelium itself (including insoluble beta-glucans, and also water-soluble components), and the highly bioactive, metabolically fermented substrate, not present in the initial substrate.

Evaluation of the wound healing potential of Aloe vera-based extract of Nerium oleander

OBJECTIVE

Nerium oleander (Apocynaceae) and Aloe vera (Liliaceae) are among the widely used herbal remedies for treating skin diseases and possess numerous activities such as antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and antioxidant. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible wound healing effect of Aloev era-based extract of the N. oleander leaf (NAE-8^®) based on its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and DNA repair capacity along with histological changes and to compare them with the traditional silver sulfadiazine treatment (SSD).

METHODS

Twenty-four Wistar albino rats were randomly grouped as follows: i) control, ii) burn alone (burn), iii) burn with topical NAE-8^® (burn+NAE-8^®) treatment, and iv) burn with topical 1% silver sulfadiazine (burn+SSD) treatment. All groups received their related topical application twice a day for 14 consecutive days. Upon completion of the experimental protocol, trunk blood and skin tissues were collected for measuring malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), myeloperoxidase (MPO), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), %DNA in the tail (%DNAT) levels along with histological examinations.

RESULTS

Thermal injury-induced alterations in MDA, GSH, MPO, TNF-α, IL-1β, and %DNAT levels were significantly reversed by NAE-8^® treatment. These ameliorative effects were also supported by histological findings.

CONCLUSION

Findings of the present study suggest that NAE-8^® is a promising remedy for treating skin burn injury.