Assessment of Anti-inflammatory Activity of 3-Acetylmyricadiol in LPS Stimulated Raw 264.7 Macrophages

Biaryl carboxamide-based peptidomimetics analogs as potential pancreatic lipase inhibitors for treating obesity

A series of 1,1'-biphenyl-3-carboxamide and furan-phenyl-carboxamide analogs were synthesized using an optimized scheme and confirmed by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance and high-resolution mass spectrometry techniques. The synthesized peptidomimetics analogs were screened in vitro to understand the inhibitory potential of pancreatic lipase (PL). Analogs were assessed for the PL inhibitory activity based on interactions, geometric complementarity, and docking score. Among the synthesized analogs, 9, 29, and 24 were found to have the most potent PL inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 3.87, 4.95, and 5.34 µM, respectively, compared to that of the standard drug, that is, orlistat, which inhibits PL with an IC50 value of 0.99 µM. The most potent analog, 9, exhibited a competitive-type inhibition with an inhibition constant (Ki) of 2.72 µM. In silico molecular docking of analog 9 with the PL (PDB ID:1LPB) showed a docking score of -11.00 kcal/mol. Analog 9 formed crucial hydrogen bond interaction with Ser152, His263, π-cation interaction with Asp79, Arg256, and π-π stacking with Phe77, Tyr114 at the protein's active site. The molecular dynamic simulation confirmed that analog 9 forms stable interactions with PL at the end of 200 ns with root mean square deviation values of 2.5 and 6 Å. No toxicity was observed for analog 9 (concentration range of 1-20 µM) when tested by MTT assay in RAW 264.7 cells.

Lavender Plant: Farming and Health Benefits

Natural remedies from a range of sources, including plants, animals, microorganisms, and marine life, have made a significant contribution to the treatment of many ailments. Lavender is a Mediterranean shrub from the Lamiaceae family. Lavender flowers (Lavandula flores) include active ingredients (3%), anthocyanins, sugars, phytosterols, minerals, and tannins and are majorly used for herbal applications. Lavender essential oil's descriptive and analytical composition varies depending on genotype, growing region, climatic circumstances, propagation, and morphological characteristics. There are around 300 chemical components in essential oil. Linalool, terpinen-4-ol, linalyl acetate, ocimene, acetate lavandulol, and cineole are the most prominent constituents. Lavender oil has antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The lavender extract helps to prevent dementia and may slow cancer cell growth, while lavender oil is used to treat skin problems. This review will cover the recent medical, economic and regional advancements in levander propagation and how the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research Indian Institute of Integrative (CSIR IIIM) aroma mission is actively acting as a bridge between farmers and their economic improvement by attracting them to the field of medicinal plant cultivation.

Repurposing approved non-oncology drugs for cancer therapy: a comprehensive review of mechanisms, efficacy, and clinical prospects

Cancer poses a significant global health challenge, with predictions of increasing prevalence in the coming years due to limited prevention, late diagnosis, and inadequate success with current therapies. In addition, the high cost of new anti-cancer drugs creates barriers in meeting the medical needs of cancer patients, especially in developing countries. The lengthy and costly process of developing novel drugs further hinders drug discovery and clinical implementation. Therefore, there has been a growing interest in repurposing approved drugs for other diseases to address the urgent need for effective cancer treatments. The aim of this comprehensive review is to provide an overview of the potential of approved non-oncology drugs as therapeutic options for cancer treatment. These drugs come from various chemotherapeutic classes, including antimalarials, antibiotics, antivirals, anti-inflammatory drugs, and antifungals, and have demonstrated significant antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, immunomodulatory, and antimetastatic properties. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify relevant studies on the repurposing of approved non-oncology drugs for cancer therapy. Various electronic databases, such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, were searched using appropriate keywords. Studies focusing on the therapeutic potential, mechanisms of action, efficacy, and clinical prospects of repurposed drugs in cancer treatment were included in the analysis. The review highlights the promising outcomes of repurposing approved non-oncology drugs for cancer therapy. Drugs belonging to different therapeutic classes have demonstrated notable antitumor effects, including inhibiting cell proliferation, promoting apoptosis, modulating the immune response, and suppressing metastasis. These findings suggest the potential of these repurposed drugs as effective therapeutic approaches in cancer treatment. Repurposing approved non-oncology drugs provides a promising strategy for addressing the urgent need for effective and accessible cancer treatments. The diverse classes of repurposed drugs, with their demonstrated antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, immunomodulatory, and antimetastatic properties, offer new avenues for cancer therapy. Further research and clinical trials are warranted to explore the full potential of these repurposed drugs and optimize their use in treating various cancer types. Repurposing approved drugs can significantly expedite the process of identifying effective treatments and improve patient outcomes in a cost-effective manner.

Evolution of Natural Product Scaffolds as Potential Proteasome Inhibitors in Developing Cancer Therapeutics

Homeostasis between protein synthesis and degradation is a critical biological function involving a lot of precise and intricate regulatory systems. The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP) is a large, multi-protease complex that degrades most intracellular proteins and accounts for about 80% of cellular protein degradation. The proteasome, a massive multi-catalytic proteinase complex that plays a substantial role in protein processing, has been shown to have a wide range of catalytic activity and is at the center of this eukaryotic protein breakdown mechanism. As cancer cells overexpress proteins that induce cell proliferation, while blocking cell death pathways, UPP inhibition has been used as an anticancer therapy to change the balance between protein production and degradation towards cell death. Natural products have a long history of being used to prevent and treat various illnesses. Modern research has shown that the pharmacological actions of several natural products are involved in the engagement of UPP. Over the past few years, numerous natural compounds have been found that target the UPP pathway. These molecules could lead to the clinical development of novel and potent anticancer medications to combat the onslaught of adverse effects and resistance mechanisms caused by already approved proteasome inhibitors. In this review, we report the importance of UPP in anticancer therapy and the regulatory effects of diverse natural metabolites, their semi-synthetic analogs, and SAR studies on proteasome components, which may aid in discovering a new proteasome regulator for drug development and clinical applications.

Myrica esculenta Buch.-Ham. (ex D. Don): A Review on its Phytochemistry, Pharmacology and Nutritional Potential

Myrica esculenta is an important ethnomedicinal plant used in the traditional system of medicine and as an important nutraceutical. Several studies on the plant justify its use in alternative systems of medicine and establish a scientific rationale for its possible therapeutic application. The plant contains a range of biologically active classes of compounds, particularly diarylheptanoids, flavonoids, terpenes, tannins, and glycosides. The nutraceutical potential of the plant can be particularly attributed to its fruit, and several studies have demonstrated the presence of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fiber content, and minerals like sodium, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, copper, and zinc, in it. The current review aims to provide complete insight into the phytochemistry, pharmacological potential, and nutritional potential of the plant, which would not only serve as a comprehensive source of information but also will highlight the scope of isolation and evaluation of these molecules for various disease conditions.

Evaluation of the in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of Gymnosporia montana (Roth). Benth leaves

ETHNO-PHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Gymnosporia montana (Roth) Benth an herbaceous shrub used in Indian traditional medicine their leaves decoction was used as mouthwash to get relieve from toothache, hence it is also known as Dantakashta in Sanskrit language which means the plant used for tooth problems. Traditionally the leaves juice used to alleviate inflammation and in some parts of India like Saurashtra in Gujarat, leaves were chewed as a folklore cure for Jaundice and in Bhandra region Karnataka, leaves extract mixed with cow milk used for jaundice. Hepatoprotective activity for G. montana leaves was well reported however, its use for inflammation and toothache are still not studied to investigate active phytoconstituents responsible for anti-inflammatory activity.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The present study aimed at bioactivity guided isolation of G. montana leaves extracts using inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and interleukins (IL-1β and IL-6) in RAW 264.7 cells in vitro assay to yield bioactive phytoconstituents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts prepared from G. montana leaves were evaluated for cell viability using MTT assay. The effect of extracts to inhibit the pro-inflammatory mediators like NO, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in RAW 264.7 macrophages was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The quantitative analysis of the isolated phytoconstituents was performed using quantitative Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (qNMR).

RESULTS

The n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of G. montana leaves exhibited cell viability in the range of 97.43-84.88% at 50 μg/mL concentration in RAW 264.7 macrophages. In-vitro evaluation of extracts showed that n-hexane extract was most effective in inhibiting NO, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 inflammatory mediators at 50 μg/mL in lipopolysaccharides (LPS) stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Further n-hexane extract, its fraction GMHA3 and β-amyrin exhibited significant anti-inflammatory activity at 100, 50 and 30 mg/kg per oral, respectively in carrageenan-induced rat paw edema. The quantitative analysis by qNMR revealed β-amyrin as a major compound in the n-hexane extract.

CONCLUSIONS

In vitro and in vivo bioassay results suggested that G. montana n-hexane extract, its fraction GMHA3 and β-amyrin exhibits significant anti-inflammatory activity proves the traditional uses of G. montana leaves. The reported activity of β-amyrin for periodontitis provides evidence of profound the use of G. montana leaves for toothache and anti-inflammatory activity.