Quercetin- and caffeic acid-functionalized chitosan-capped colloidal silver nanoparticles: one-pot synthesis, characterization, and anticancer and antibacterial activities

Genotoxic and antigenotoxic medicinal plant extracts and their main phytochemicals: "A review"

Many medicinal plant extracts have been proven to have significant health benefits. In contrast, research has shown that some medicinal plant extracts can be toxic, genotoxic, mutagenic, or carcinogenic. Therefore, evaluation of the genotoxicity effects of plant extracts that are used as traditional medicine is essential to ensure they are safe for use and in the search for new medication. This review summarizes 52 published studies on the genotoxicity of 28 plant extracts used in traditional medicine. A brief overview of the selected plant extracts, including, for example, their medicinal uses, pharmacological effects, and primary identified compounds, as well as plant parts used, the extraction method, genotoxic assay, and phytochemicals responsible for genotoxicity effect were provided. The genotoxicity effect of selected plant extracts in most of the reviewed articles was based on the experimental conditions. Among different reviewed studies, A total of 6 plant extracts showed no genotoxic effect, other 14 plant extracts showed either genotoxic or mutagenic effect and 14 plant extracts showed anti-genotoxic effect against different genotoxic induced agents. In addition, 4 plant extracts showed both genotoxic and non-genotoxic effects and 6 plant extracts showed both genotoxic and antigenotoxic effects. While some suggestions on the responsible compounds of the genotoxicity effects were proposed, the proposed responsible phytochemicals were not individually tested for the genotoxicity potential to confirm the findings. In addition, the mechanisms by which most plant extracts exert their genotoxicity effect remain unidentified. Therefore, more research on the genotoxicity of medicinal plant extracts and their genotoxicity mechanisms is required.

Effect of caffeic acid grafted chitosan loaded quercetin lyophilized powder formulation on avian colibacillosis and tissue distribution

Quercetin (QR), recognized as a natural antibacterial ingredient, has found widespread application in the poultry industry. This study investigated the bacteriostatic mechanism and evaluated the in vivo inhibitory impact of caffeic acid-grafted chitosan self-assembled micelles loaded quercetin (CA-g-CS/QR) on avian Escherichia coli (E. coli). The findings indicate that the bactericidal mechanism of CA-g-CS/QR exhibits enhanced efficacy compared to QR alone, disrupting bacterial cell walls, disassembling biofilm structures, and impeding essential components necessary for bacterial growth. Following an avian E. coli attack in broilers, CA-g-CS/QR demonstrated the capacity to enhance the population of beneficial bacteria while concurrently decreasing harmful bacteria within the intestinal tract. Moreover, within 3 days of oral administration of CA-g-CS/QR, a significant decrease in Escherichia spp. count was evident, resulting in the restoration of broilers to a healthy state. CA-g-CS/QR proved to be a significant and more efficacious solution than QR alone for avian E. coli disease. Furthermore, CA-g-CS/QR displayed a broader distribution range and higher concentration within the body. Ten metabolites have been identified in the liver for both QR and CA-g-CS/QR. In conclusion, CA-g-CS/QR has demonstrated a notable capacity to enhance in vitro and in vivo bacterial inhibitory effects, providing foundation for the clinical application of QR in combating avian E. coli infections in broilers.

Caffeic acid, a dietary polyphenol, pre-sensitizes pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma to chemotherapeutic drug

Resistance to chemotherapeutics is an eminent cause that leads to search for options that help in diminution of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) by overcoming resistance issues. Caffeic acid (CFA), a polyphenol occurring in many dietary foods, is known to show antidiabetic and anticancer properties potential. To unveil the effect of CFA on PDAC, we carried out this research in PDAC cells, following which we checked the combination effect of CFA and chemotherapeutics and pre-sensitization effects of CFA. Multitudinous web-based approaches were applied for identifying CFA targets in PDAC and then getting their interconnections. Subsequently, we manifested CFA effects by in-vitro analysis showing IC50 concentrations of 37.37 and 15.06 µM on Panc-1 and Mia-PaCa-2, respectively. The combination index of CFA with different drugs was explored which showed the antagonistic effects of combination treatment leading to further investigation of the pre-sensitizing effects. CFA pre-sensitization reduced IC50 concentration of doxorubicin in both PDAC cell lines which also triggered ROS generation determined by 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate assay. The differential gene expression analysis after CFA treatment showed discrete genes affected in both cells, i.e. N-Cad and Cas9 in Panc-1 and Pi3K/AkT/mTOR along with p53 in Mia-PaCa-2. Collectively, this study investigated the role of CFA as PDAC therapeutics and explored the mechanism in mitigating resistance of PDAC by sensitizing to chemotherapeutics.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Preparation of caffeic acid grafted chitosan self-assembled micelles to enhance oral bioavailability and antibacterial activity of quercetin

Quercetin (QR) is a naturally occurring flavonoid organic compound that has poor solubility in water and highly unstable in alkaline conditions, resulting in limited absorption in poultry. Consequently, in our experiment, QR was employed as a model compound, encapsulated within the caffeic acid graft chitosan copolymer (CA-g-CS) self-assembled micelles to enhance its solubility, stability and exhibit a synergistic antibacterial effect. The optimization of the formula was carried out using a combination of single-factor experimentation and the response surface method. The in vitro release rate and stability of CA-g-CS-loaded QR micelles (CA-g-CS/QR) in various pH media were studied and the pharmacokinetics in white feather broiler chickens was evaluated in vivo. Additionally, the antibacterial activity was investigated using Escherichia coliCMCC44102 and Escherichia coli of chicken origin as the test strain. The results showed the optimized formula for the self-assembled micelles were 4 mL water, 0.02 mg/mL graft copolymer, and 1 mg QR, stirring at room temperature. The encapsulation efficiency was 72.09%. The resulting CA-g-CS/QR was uniform in size with an average diameter of 375.6 ± 5.9 nm. The release pattern was consistent with the Ritger-Peppas model. CA-g-CS/QR also significantly improved the stability of QR in alkaline condition. The relative bioavailability of CA-g-CS/QR was found to be 1.67-fold that of the reference drug, indicating a substantial increase in the absorption of QR in the broiler. Compared to the original drug, the antibacterial activity of CA-g-CS/QR was significantly enhanced, as evidenced by a reduction of half in the MIC and MBC values. These results suggest that CA-g-CS/QR improves the bioavailability and antibacterial activity of QR, making it a promising candidate for clinical use.