Anti-Struvite, Antimicrobial, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Aqueous and Ethanolic Extracts of Saussurea costus (Falc) Lipsch Asteraceae

Xintongtai Granule: Investigating the serum pharmacology and mechanisms of action against atherosclerosis

PURPOSE

A serum medicinal chemistry analysis was performed to investigate the pharmacological basis of Xintongtai granule and to predict the potential mechanism of anti-atherosclerotic action based on the blood components.

METHODS

UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS was used to analyze the in vitro chemical composition and in vivo blood components of Xintongtai granule, and to detect the blood drug concentration. The PPI network was constructed by collecting blood components and disease targets through the network pharmacology method, and the key targets were subjected to GO and KEGG functional enrichment analyses, so as to construct the topology network of drug-component-target-disease, and to validate the network by molecular docking.

RESULTS

The UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS analysis identified 69 chemical components in Xintongtai granule, including 19 prototype circulating components and 9 metabolites in the bloodstream. Network pharmacology analysis revealed 115 intersecting targets for the circulating components, from which 10 core targets were selected. GO and KEGG analyses unveiled associated signaling pathways and biological processes. The construction of a topology network and preliminary molecular docking provided insights into its mechanism of action.

CONCLUSION

The mechanism underlying the anti- atherosclerosis effect of Xintongtai granule may be associated with the intervention of active components such as Cryptotanshinone, Kaempferitrin, and Puerarin in pathways targeting CXCL8, STAT3, TNF, and other related targets.

New Triazole-Isoxazole Hybrids as Antibacterial Agents: Design, Synthesis, Characterization, In Vitro, and In Silico Studies

Novel isoxazole-triazole conjugates have been efficiently synthesized using 3-formylchromone as starting material according to a multi-step synthetic approach. The structures of the target conjugates and intermediate products were characterized by standard spectroscopic techniques (1H NMR and 13C NMR) and confirmed by mass spectrometry (MS). The all-synthesized compounds were screened for their antibacterial activity against three ATCC reference strains, namely Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC BAA-44, and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 as well as one strain isolated from the hospital environment Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The findings indicate that conjugate 7b exhibits a stronger antibacterial response against the tested Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenic strains compared to the standard antibiotics. Furthermore, hybrid compound 7b proved to have a bactericidal action on the Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 strain, as evidenced by the results of the MBC determination. Moreover, the ADMET pharmacokinetic characteristics revealed a favorable profile for the examined compound, as well as a good level of oral bioavailability. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were performed to explore the inhibition mechanism and binding energies of conjugate 7b with the proteins of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial strains. The in silico results corroborated the data observed in the in vitro evaluation for compound 7b.

The Anti-urolithiatic effect of the roots of Saussurea costus (falc) Lipsch agonist ethylene glycol and magnesium oxide induced urolithiasis in rats

Phytotherapy, which involves the use of plant extracts and natural compounds for medicinal purposes, is indeed a promising alternative for managing urinary lithiasis. Many plants have been studied for their potential to prevent and treat kidney stones, and they may offer a more natural and potentially less harmful approach compared to conventional treatments. Additionally, phytotherapy may be more cost-effective. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antilithic potential of extracts and essential oils of Saussurea costus (Falc) Lipsch in two in vivo models, one on ethylene glycol-induced calcium oxalate crystal formation and the other to assess the effects of these extracts on magnesium oxide-induced struvite crystal formation. The experiment involved the administration of different doses of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of S. costus (200 and 400 mg/kg) and essential oils (25 and 50 mg/kg) to male Wistar rats, followed by the evaluation of various physiological, biochemical and histopathological parameters. The results demonstrated that the administration of S. costus essential oils and extracts had significant effects on the rats, influencing body weight, urine volume, crystal deposition, cytobacteriological examination of urine, and serum biochemical parameters. Histopathological examinations revealed varying impacts on the kidneys and livers of the treated rats. The findings suggest that S. costus extracts and essential oils may hold promise in inhibiting calcium oxalate crystal formation in vivo and influencing various physiological and biochemical parameters in rats. Overall, the 200 mg/kg ethanolic extract of S. costus demonstrated antilithiatic efficacy, did not exhibit signs of toxicity and reduced the number of crystals in the kidneys. Furthermore, the study did not find a significant effect on reducing struvite crystals.

Chemical characterization, anti-struvite crystal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antidepressant activities of Papaver rhoeas L. root and leaf extracts

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Papaver rhoeas L. (P. rhoeas) is used to treat a wide range of pathologies. But there is no data on the anti-struvite, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anti-depressant effects of root and leaf extracts from this medicinal plant.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aimed to chemically characterize and determine the antidepressant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-struvite activities of the root extract (RE) and leaf extract (LE) of P. rhoeas, a wild plant.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The extraction of secondary metabolites and phytochemical screening were carried out using standard methods. The anti-struvite effect of our samples was assessed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and microscopic observation. For the anti-inflammatory impact, we used the carrageenan-induced paw edema technique in rats. To assess the analgesic effect of the extracts, we recorded the resulting abdominal contraction after intraperitoneal (IP) acetic acid injection. Finally, we assessed the antidepressant effect by conducting the Forced Swimming Test (FST).

RESULTS

Phytochemical screening results revealed the presence of phenols, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, coumarins, terpenoids, and alkaloids. Extraction results confirmed that our extracts were rich in secondary metabolites. Both P. rhoeas extracts limited struvite crystal development by reducing the size and number of crystals, as indicated by FT-IR analysis and microscopic observation. Additionally, the anti-struvite effects of the LE sample were greater than those of the RE sample. The results of the anti-inflammatory capacity of our extracts demonstrate the maximum inhibition of carrageenan-induced edema following 6 h (T6) of injection, ranging from 72.73 ± 7.7% for LE (400 mg/kg) to 95.45 ± 6.42% for the RE sample (400 mg/kg). On the other hand, the results for analgesic activity showed that the number of abdominal contractions in rats treated with RE and LE ranged from 11 ± 1.73 for RE (400 mg/kg) to 18 ± 1.50 for LE (200 mg/kg), while that of aspirin was 10.33 ± 0.57. Furthermore, the FST results show that the immobility time in rats treated with RE and LE varied from 91.98 ± 4.24 s for LE-treated rats (300 mg/kg) to 123.54 ± 7.83 s for RE-treated rats (150 mg/kg).

CONCLUSION

Based on these results, the roots and leaves of the studied plant can be considered a significant source of biologically active molecules for use in the pharmaceutical industry.

Papaver rhoeas L. stem and flower extracts: Anti-struvite, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antidepressant activities

The Papaver rhoeas L. (P. rhoeas) plant, which belongs to the Papaveraceae family, is also used as food and is exploited to treat several health problems. The purpose of this research is to determine the anti-struvite, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antidepressant effects of the stem extract (SE) and flower extract (FE) of the plant P. rhoeas. We used polarizing microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR) to evaluate the anti-struvite effect of our plant. The edema approach induced by the carrageenan molecule was used to study the anti-inflammatory impact of our extracts. The analgesic test was determined by calculating the number of abdominal contractions induced by the intraperitoneal (IP) administration of acetic acid. To evaluate the antidepressant effect of our extracts, we used the forced swimming test (FST). According to the results of the secondary metabolite extraction, both extracts contained high contents of secondary metabolites, while the results of the screening test showed that flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, tannins, coumarins, saponins, and terpenoids were present. The result of struvite crystallization inhibition observed by polarizing microscopy and FT-IR shows the inhibition of struvite crystal aggregation by SE by decreasing the amount and size of crystals in a manner similar to cystone. The results of anti-inflammatory activity show maximum inhibition of edema after six hours of carrageenan injection in rats (T₆) for all extracts, with a maximum value of 86.36% for SE at the dose of 200 mg/kg. Regarding the analgesic effect of our plant, the lowest number of abdominal contractions was observed in rats treated with SE at a dose of 400 mg/kg. The FST results show that the lowest immobilization time was observed in rats treated with FE at a dose of 400 mg/kg. The results obtained show that the flowers and stems of P. rhoeas can constitute a rich source of bioactive molecules with potential pharmaceutical applications.