Oxysophoridine rescues spinal cord injury via anti‑inflammatory, anti‑oxidative stress and anti‑apoptosis effects

Inhibitory Effect of Salvia miltiorrhiza Extract and Its Active Components on Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplastic Cells

The effective treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) can prevent cervical cancer. Salvia miltiorrhiza is a medicinal and health-promoting plant. To identify a potential treatment for CIN, the effect of S. miltiorrhiza extract and its active components on immortalized cervical epithelial cells was studied in vitro. The H8 cell was used as a CIN model. We found that S. miltiorrhiza extract effectively inhibited H8 cells through the CCK8 method. An HPLC-MS analysis revealed that S. miltiorrhiza extract contained salvianolic acid H, salvianolic acid A, salvianolic acid B, monomethyl lithospermate, 9‴-methyl lithospermate B, and 9‴-methyl lithospermate B/isomer. Salvianolic acid A had the best inhibitory effect on H8 cells with an IC50 value of 5.74 ± 0.63 μM. We also found that the combination of salvianolic acid A and oxysophoridine had a synergistic inhibitory effect on H8 cells at molar ratios of 4:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, and 1:4, with salvianolic acid A/oxysophoridine = 1:2 having the best synergistic effect. Using Hoechst33342, flow cytometry, and Western blotting analysis, we found that the combination of salvianolic acid A and oxysophoridine can induce programmed apoptosis of H8 cells and block the cell cycle in the G2/M phase, which was correlated with decreased cyclinB1 and CDK1 protein levels. In conclusion, S. miltiorrhiza extract can inhibit the growth of H8 cells, and the combination of salvianolic acid A (its active component) and oxysophoridine has a synergistic inhibitory effect on H8 cells and may be a potential treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Genus Sophora: a comprehensive review on secondary chemical metabolites and their biological aspects from past achievements to future perspectives

Sophora is deemed as one of the most remarkable genera of Fabaceae, and the third largest family of flowering plants. The genus Sophora comprises approximately 52 species, 19 varieties, and 7 forms that are widely distributed in Asia and mildly in Africa. Sophora species are recognized to be substantial sources of broad spectrum biopertinent secondary metabolites namely flavonoids, isoflavonoids, chalcones, chromones, pterocarpans, coumarins, benzofuran derivatives, sterols, saponins (mainly triterpene glycosides), oligostilbenes, and mainly alkaloids. Meanwhile, extracts and isolated compounds from Sophora have been identified to possess several health-promising effects including anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, antiplatelets, antipyretic, anticancer, antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-osteoporosis, anti-ulcerative colitis, antidiabetic, anti-obesity, antidiarrheal, and insecticidal activities. Herein, the present review aims to provide comprehensive details about the phytochemicals and biological effects of Sophora species. The review spotlighted on the promising phytonutrients extracted from Sophora and their plethora of bioactivities. The review also clarifies the remaining gaps and thus qualifies and supplies a platform for further investigations of these compounds.

Small Molecule Drug Candidates for Managing the Clinical Symptoms of COVID-19: a Narrative Review

Towards the end of 2019, an atypical acute respiratory disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified in Wuhan, China and subsequently named Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The rapid dissemination of COVID-19 has provoked a global crisis in public health. COVID-19 has been reported to cause sepsis, severe infections in the respiratory tract, multiple organ failure, and pulmonary fibrosis, all of which might induce mortality. Although several vaccines for COVID-19 are currently being administered worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet effectively under control. Therefore, novel therapeutic agents to eradicate the cause of the disease and/or manage the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 should be developed to effectively regulate the current pandemic. In this review, we discuss the possibility of managing the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 using natural products derived from medicinal plants used for controlling pulmonary inflammatory diseases in folk medicine. Diverse natural products have been reported to exert potential antiviral effects in vitro by affecting viral replication, entry into host cells, assembly in host cells, and release. However, the in vivo antiviral effects and clinical antiviral efficacies of these natural products against SARS-CoV-2 have not been successfully proven to date. Thus, these properties need to be elucidated through further investigations, including randomized clinical trials, in order to develop optimal and ideal therapeutic candidates for COVID-19.

Alkaloids: Therapeutic Potential against Human Coronaviruses

Alkaloids are a class of natural products known to have wide pharmacological activity and have great potential for the development of new drugs to treat a wide array of pathologies. Some alkaloids have antiviral activity and/or have been used as prototypes in the development of synthetic antiviral drugs. In this study, eleven anti-coronavirus alkaloids were identified from the scientific literature and their potential therapeutic value against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is discussed. In this study, in silico studies showed an affinity of the alkaloids for binding to the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, putatively preventing it from binding to the host cell. Lastly, several mechanisms for the known anti-coronavirus activity of alkaloids were discussed, showing that the alkaloids are interesting compounds with potential use as bioactive agents against SARS-CoV-2.

Gemcitabine, lycorine and oxysophoridine inhibit novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in cell culture

The emerging SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with the outbreak of viral pneumonia in China is ongoing worldwide. There are no approved antiviral therapies to treat this viral disease. Here we examined the antiviral abilities of three broad-spectrum antiviral compounds gemcitabine, lycorine and oxysophoridine against SARS-CoV-2 in cell culture. We found that all three tested compounds inhibited viral replication in Vero-E6 cells at noncytotoxic concentrations. The antiviral effect of gemcitabine was suppressed efficiently by the cytidine nucleosides. Additionally, combination of gemcitabine with oxysophoridine had an additive antiviral effect against SARS-CoV-2. Our results demonstrate that broad-spectrum antiviral compounds may have a priority for the screening of antiviral compounds against newly emerging viruses to control viral infection.

On the Neuroprotective Effects of Naringenin: Pharmacological Targets, Signaling Pathways, Molecular Mechanisms, and Clinical Perspective

As a group of progressive, chronic, and disabling disorders, neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) affect millions of people worldwide, and are on the rise. NDs are known as the gradual loss of neurons; however, their pathophysiological mechanisms have not been precisely revealed. Due to the complex pathophysiological mechanisms behind the neurodegeneration, investigating effective and multi-target treatments has remained a clinical challenge. Besides, appropriate neuroprotective agents are still lacking, which raises the need for new therapeutic agents. In recent years, several reports have introduced naturally-derived compounds as promising alternative treatments for NDs. Among natural entities, flavonoids are multi-target alternatives affecting different pathogenesis mechanisms in neurodegeneration. Naringenin is a natural flavonoid possessing neuroprotective activities. Increasing evidence has attained special attention on the variety of therapeutic targets along with complex signaling pathways for naringenin, which suggest its possible therapeutic applications in several NDs. Here, in this review, the neuroprotective effects of naringenin, as well as its related pharmacological targets, signaling pathways, molecular mechanisms, and clinical perspective, are described. Moreover, the need to develop novel naringenin delivery systems is also discussed to solve its widespread pharmacokinetic limitation.