Development and in vivo Evaluation of Hydroxy-α-Sanshool Intranasal Liposomes as a Potential Remedial Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease

Multiple effects of spicy flavors on neurological diseases through the intervention of TRPV1: a critical review

The spicy properties of foods are contributed by various spicy flavor substances (SFs) such as capsaicin, piperine, and allicin. Beyond their distinctive sensory characteristics, SFs also influence health conditions and numerous studies have associated spicy flavors with disease treatment. In this review, we enumerate different types of SFs and describe their role in food processing, with a specific emphasis on critically examining their influence on human wellness. Particularly, detailed insights into the mechanisms through which SFs enhance physiological balance and alleviate neurological diseases are provided, and a systematic analysis of the significance of transient receptor potential vanilloid type-1 (TRPV1) in regulating metabolism and nervous system homeostasis is presented. Moreover, enhancing the accessibility and utilization of SFs can potentially amplify the physiological effects. This review aims to provide compelling evidence for the integration of food flavor and human health.

Liposomes against Alzheimer's Disease: Current Research and Future Prospects

Alzheimer's disease, the most common neurodegenerative disease, affects more than 60 million people worldwide, a number that is estimated to double by 2050. Alzheimer's disease is characterized by progressive memory loss, the impairment of behavior, and mood changes, as well as the disturbed daily routine of the patient. Although there are some active molecules that can be beneficial by halting the progression of the disease, the blood-brain barrier and other physiological barriers hinder their delivery and, consequently, the appropriate management of the disease. Therefore, drug delivery systems that effectively target and overcome the blood-brain barrier to reach the targeted brain area would improve treatment effectiveness. Liposomes are lipophilic carriers that consist of a phospholipid bilayer structure, simulating the physiological lipidic layer of the blood-brain barrier and enabling better delivery of the drug to the brain. Given that pure liposomes may have less targeting affinity than functionalized liposomes, modification with groups such as lactoferrin, poly(ethylene glycol), and transferrin may improve specificity. In this mini-review, we summarize the literature on the use of liposomes for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, focusing on the functionalization moieties of liposomes. In addition, challenges in brain delivery are also discussed.

Development of nanomedicines for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: Raison d'être, strategies, challenges and regulatory aspects

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of memory. Presently, AD is challenging to treat with current drug therapy as their delivery to the brain is restricted by the presence of the blood-brain barrier. Nanomedicines, due to their size, high surface volume ratio, and ease of tailoring drug release characteristics, showed their potential to treat AD. The nanotechnology-based formulations for brain targeting are expected to enter the market in the near future. So, regulatory frameworks are required to ensure the quality, safety, and effectiveness of the nanomedicines to treat AD. In this review, we discuss different strategies, in-vitro blood-brain permeation models, in-vivo permeation assessment, and regulatory aspects for the development of nanomedicine to treat AD.

The application strategy of liposomes in organ targeting therapy

Liposomes-microscopic phospholipid bubbles with bilayered membrane structure-have been a focal point in drug delivery research for the past 30 years. Current liposomes possess a blend of biocompatibility, drug loading efficiency, prolonged circulation and targeted delivery. Tailored liposomes, varying in size, charge, lipid composition, and ratio, have been developed to address diseases in specific organs, thereby enhancing drug circulation, accumulation at lesion sites, intracellular delivery, and treatment efficacy for various organ-specific diseases. For further successful development of this field, this review summarized liposomal strategies for targeting different organs in series of major human diseases, including widely studied cardiovascular diseases, liver and spleen immune diseases, chronic or acute kidney injury, neurodegenerative diseases, and organ-specific tumors. It highlights recent advances of liposome-mediated therapeutic agent delivery for disease intervention and organ rehabilitation, offering practical guidelines for designing organ-targeted liposomes. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Biology-Inspired Nanomaterials > Lipid-Based Structures.

Sodium Alginate/Chitosan-Coated Liposomes for Oral Delivery of Hydroxy-α-Sanshool: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation

BACKGROUND

Hydroxy-α-Sanshool (HAS) possesses various pharmacological properties, such as analgesia and regulating gastrointestinal function. However, the low oral bioavailability of HAS has limited its oral delivery in clinical application.

METHODS AND RESULTS

To enhance its oral bioavailability, a nanocomposite delivery system based on chitosan (CH, as the polycation) and sodium alginate (SA, as the polyanion) was prepared using a layer-by-layer coating technique. The morphology, thermal behavior and Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR) showed that the obtained sodium alginate/chitosan-coated HAS-loaded liposomes (SA/CH-HAS-LIP) with core-shell structures have been successfully covered with polymers. When compared with HAS-loaded liposomes (HAS-LIP), SA/CH-HAS-LIP displayed obvious pH sensitivity and a sustained-release behavior in in vitro studies, which fitted well to Weibull model. In vivo, the half-life of HAS from SA/CH-HAS-LIP remarkably extended after oral administration compared to the free drug. Additionally, it allowed a 4.6-fold and 4.2-fold increase in oral bioavailability, respectively, compared with free HAS and HAS-LIP.

CONCLUSIONS

SA/CH-HAS-LIP could be a promising release vehicle for the oral delivery of HAS to increase its oral bioavailability.

Recent Advances in Intranasal Liposomes for Drug, Gene, and Vaccine Delivery

Liposomes are safe, biocompatible, and biodegradable spherical nanosized vesicles produced from cholesterol and phospholipids. Recently, liposomes have been widely administered intranasally for systemic and brain delivery. From the nasal cavity, liposome-encapsulated drugs and genes enter the systemic circulation primarily via absorption in the respiratory region, whereas they can be directly transported to the brain via the olfactory pathway. Liposomes can protect drugs and genes from enzymatic degradation, increase drug absorption across the nasal epithelium, and prolong the residence time in the nasal cavity. Intranasal liposomes are also a potential approach for vaccine delivery. Liposomes can be used as a platform to load antigens and as vaccine adjuvants to induce a robust immune response. With the recent interest in intranasal liposome formulations, this review discusses various aspects of liposomes that make them suitable for intranasal administration. We have summarized the latest advancements and applications of liposomes and evaluated their performance in the systemic and brain delivery of drugs and genes administered intranasally. We have also reviewed recent advances in intranasal liposome vaccine development and proposed perspectives on the future of intranasal liposomes.

Formulation considerations for improving intranasal delivery of CNS acting therapeutics

One of the principal impediments for the treatment of neurological conditions is the lack of ability of most of the medicinal agents to evade the blood–brain barrier. Among all the novel approaches to bypass the blood–brain barrier, nose to brain transport is the most patient compliant, non-invasive and effective approach. It directly transports drugs to the CNS via the trigeminal and olfactory nerves present in the nasal cavity. This review article focuses on anatomy and physiology of nasal cavity, potential of intranasal drug delivery, mechanisms of drug transport to brain, its advantages and limitations, novel intranasal formulations, marketed products, factors affecting nose to brain transport, formulation consideration of intranasal products and the future perspectives of CNS targeting via intranasal drug administration.

Fructus Zanthoxyli extract improves glycolipid metabolism disorder of type 2 diabetes mellitus via activation of AMPK/PI3K/Akt pathway: Network pharmacology and experimental validation

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the potential mechanisms behind the beneficial effects of Fructus Zanthoxyli (FZ) against type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) based on network pharmacology and experimental validation.

METHODS

Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to identify the constituents of FZ. Next, the differentially expressed genes linked to the treatment of diabetes with FZ were screened using online databases (including Gene Expression Omnibus database and Swiss Target Prediction online database), and the overlapping genes and their enrichment were analyzed by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Finally, the pathway was verified by in vitro experiments, and cell staining with oil red and Nile red showed that the extract of FZ had a therapeutic effect on T2DM.

RESULTS

A total of 43 components were identified from FZ, and 39 differentially expressed overlapping genes were screened as the possible targets of FZ in T2DM. The dug component-target network indicated that PPARA, PPARG, PIK3R3, JAK2 and GPR88 might be the core genes targeted by FZ in the treatment of T2DM. Interestingly, the enrichment analysis of KEGG showed that effects of FZ against T2DM were closely correlated with the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathways. In vitro experiments further confirmed that FZ significantly inhibited palmitic acid-induced lipid formation in HepG2 cells. Moreover, FZ treatment was able to promote the AMPK and PI3K/Akt expressions in HepG2 cells.

CONCLUSION

Network pharmacology combined with experimental validation revealed that FZ extract can improve the glycolipid metabolism disorder of T2DM via activation of the AMPK/PI3K/Akt pathway.

Regulation of mitochondrial dysfunction induced cell apoptosis is a potential therapeutic strategy for herbal medicine to treat neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative disease is a progressive neurodegeneration caused by genetic and environmental factors. Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Huntington’s disease (HD) are the three most common neurodegenerative diseases clinically. Unfortunately, the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases is increasing year by year. However, the current available drugs have poor efficacy and large side effects, which brings a great burden to the patients and the society. Increasing evidence suggests that occurrence and development of the neurodegenerative diseases is closely related to the mitochondrial dysfunction, which can affect mitochondrial biogenesis, mitochondrial dynamics, as well as mitochondrial mitophagy. Through the disruption of mitochondrial homeostasis, nerve cells undergo varying degrees of apoptosis. Interestingly, it has been shown in recent years that the natural agents derived from herbal medicines are beneficial for prevention/treatment of neurodegenerative diseases via regulation of mitochondrial dysfunction. Therefore, in this review, we will focus on the potential therapeutic agents from herbal medicines for treating neurodegenerative diseases via suppressing apoptosis through regulation of mitochondrial dysfunction, in order to provide a foundation for the development of more candidate drugs for neurodegenerative diseases from herbal medicine.

Nanomedicines in the Management of Alzheimer’s Disease: Current View and Future Prospects

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a kind of dementia that creates serious challenges for sufferers’ memory, thinking, and behavior. It commonly targeting the aging population and decay the brain cells, despite attempts have been performed to enhance AD diagnostic and therapeutic techniques. Hence, AD remains incurable owing to its complex and multifactorial consequences and still there is lack of appropriate diagnostics/therapeutics option for this severe brain disorder. Therefore, nanotechnology is currently bringing new tools and insights to improve the previous knowledge of AD and ultimately may provide a novel treatment option and a ray of hope to AD patients. Here in this review, we highlighted the nanotechnologies-based findings for AD, in both diagnostic and therapeutic aspects and explained how advances in the field of nanotechnology/nanomedicine could enhance patient prognosis and quality of life. It is highly expected these emerging technologies could bring a research-based revolution in the field of neurodegenerative disorders and may assist their clinical experiments and develop an efficacious drug for AD also. The main aim of review is to showcase readers the recent advances in nanotechnology-based approaches for treatment and diagnosing of AD.

Analisis Senyawa Aktif Trigeminal Andaliman dengan Variasi Metode Pengeringan dengan Pendekatan GC-MS

Sanshool compounds are the trigeminal active compounds in andaliman (Zanthoxylum acantho-podium DC) with a numbing and tingling sensation. The analysis of such compounds is usually done through HPLC approach; however, limited studies have reported that the analysis of such compounds could be conducted with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). This method could save research time and funding by analyzing both sanshools and volatiles simultaneously, which would describe the complete profile of andaliman flavor compounds. This study aimed to confirm the potency of GC-MS in analyzing sanshool compounds and to utilize this method in studying the impact of different drying methods towards andaliman trigeminal active compounds. Andaliman was dried with five drying methods (sun, sunshade, air, oven, and freeze-drying) and was macerated with chloroform, concentrated, and analyzed with GC-MS. The results of this study showed that GC-MS was able to analyze sanshool compounds efficiently. Drying had no statistically significant impact on sanshool quantities extracted from andaliman. Fresh andaliman contained 0.69 % (dry weight basis) of α-sanshool, the main sanshool in andaliman. On the other hand, dried andaliman contained 0.80-1.08% of α-sanshool (dry weight basis). As oven drying managed to produce andaliman with a similar concentration of α-sanshool at a faster time and more affordable cost than other drying methods, oven drying was suggested as the ideal drying method to extend the shelf life of andaliman.