Anticancer effects of piperine-free Piper nigrum extract on cholangiocarcinoma cell lines

Melanogenesis Inhibitory Activity, Chemical Components and Molecular Docking Studies of Prunus cerasoides Buch.-Ham. D. Don. Flowers

Safe depigmenting agents are currently increasing in the cosmetic or pharmaceutical industry because various compounds have been found to have undesirable side effects. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the melanogenesis inhibitory effects of Prunus cerasoides Buch. -Ham. D. Don. flower extracts and their molecular mechanism in B16F10 mouse melanoma cells. Moreover, we also examined phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity, chemical constituents of potential extracts, and molecular docking. The highest phenolic and flavonoid contents with the greatest scavenging activity were found in the butanol extract of the P. cerasoides flower compared to other extracts. From all extracts, only crude, diethyl ether, and butanol extracts showed an inhibition of mushroom tyrosinase activity, cellular tyrosinase activity, and melanin content as well as the downregulation of the gene expression of the microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein-1 (TRP-1), and tyrosinase-related protein-2 (TRP-2) in α-MSH-stimulated B16F10 cells. Based on the molecular docking study, n-hexadecanoic acid, heptadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, 9,12,15-octadecanoic acid, and eicosanoic acid might show an inhibitory effect against tyrosinase and MITF. In conclusion, this finding demonstrates that both the diethyl ether and butanol extracts of the P. cerasoides flower can effectively reduce tyrosinase activity and melanin synthesis through the downregulation of the melanogenic gene expression in B16F10 cells and through the molecular docking study. Taken together, the diethyl ether and butanol extracts of the P. cerasoides flower could be an anti-melanogenic ingredient for hyperpigmentary or melasma treatment.

The Role of Herbal Medicine in Cholangiocarcinoma Control: A Systematic Review

The growing incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) and limited treatment options stimulate a pressing demand for research and the development of new chemotherapeutics against cholangiocarcinoma. This study aimed to systematically review herbs and herb-derived compounds or herbal formulations that have been investigated for their anti-cholangiocarcinoma potential. Systematic literature searches were conducted in three electronic databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. One hundred and twenty-three research articles fulfilled the eligibility critera and were included in the analysis (68 herbs, isolated compounds and/or synthetic analogs, 9 herbal formulations, and 119 compounds that are commonly found in several plant species). The most investigated herbs were Atractylodes lancea (Thunb.) DC. (Compositae) and Curcuma longa L. (Zingiberaceae). Only A. lancea (Thunb.) DC. (Compositae) has undergone the full process of nonclinical and clinical development to deliver the final product for clinical use. The extracts of A. lancea (Thunb.) DC. (Compositae), Garcinia hanburyi Hook.f. (Clusiaceae), and Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae) exhibit antiproliferative activities against human cholangiocarcinoma cells (IC₅₀ < 15 µg/mL). Cucurbitacin B and triptolide are herbal isolated compounds that exhibit the most promising activities (IC₅₀ < 1 µM). A series of experimental studies (in vitro, in vivo, and humans) confirmed the anti-cholangiocarcinoma potential and safety profile of A. lancea (Thunb.) DC. (Compositae) and its active compounds atractylodin and β-eudesmol, including the capsule pharmaceutical of the standardized A. lancea (Thunb.) DC. (Compositae) extract. Future research should be focused on the full development of the candidate herbs to deliver products that are safe and effective for cholangiocarcinoma control.

Effect of extraction technique on chemical compositions and antioxidant activities of freeze-dried green pepper

In this study, the yield, content of piperine, and antioxidant activity of pepper oleoresin obtained with the methods of maceration, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), and ultrasound-MAE (UMAE) were analyzed, and the microstructure of pepper residue was observed. For the yield and piperine content, the UMAE method had the best extraction capacity among the four methods. While, the oleoresin obtained with maceration had the highest total phenolic content, and the antioxidant activity of the oleoresin obtained by maceration was higher than that of the extracts acquired by UAE, MAE, and UMAE, and a high positive correlation was observed between the antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the oleoresin obtained by these extraction methods. The ideal parameters for UMAE were an 80-mesh particle size and a 1 g/10 mL solid–liquid ratio. The kinetic parameters and models of the UMAE extraction process were also compared using first- and second-order models. The second-order kinetic equation with the lowest root mean square deviation and highest adjusted correlation coefficient proved to be more suitable for describing the extraction kinetics of pepper oleoresin. This study showed that UMAE is a fast, efficient, and cost-effective technique for the extraction of green pepper oleoresin.

Low Piperine Fractional Piper nigrum Extract Enhanced the Antitumor Immunity via Regulating the Th1/Th2/Treg Cell Subsets on NMU-Induced Tumorigenesis Rats

Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide. In addition to standard regimens, tumor suppression ability has been demonstrated in many types of natural products, including Piper nigrum, or black pepper. In previous reports, we demonstrated the antitumor effect of low piperine fractional Piper nigrum extract in vitro and in vivo. However, the effects of low piperine fractional P. nigrum extract in the aspect of antitumor immunity has not yet been investigated. In this study, tumor-bearing rats were fed with 100 mg/kg BW or 200 mg/kg BW of low piperine fractional P. nigrum extract 3 times per week for 4 weeks. Tumor burden and hematological data were then evaluated. Immunological data was investigated using a cytokine array and flow cytometry. The results showed that both doses of low piperine fractional P. nigrum extract significantly suppressed tumor progression in N-nitrosomethylurea-induced mammary tumor rats. There were no significant changes observed in the total white blood cells, red blood cells, and hemoglobin. Low piperine fractional P. nigrum extract suppressed some cytokine and chemokine levels including CXCL7, sICAM-1, and L-selectin 0.2- to 0.6-fold. Interestingly, 200 mg/kg BW of low piperine fractional P. nigrum extract significantly promoted type 1 T helper cell, and suppressed neutrophil, basophil, type 2 T helper cell, and regulatory T cell compared to the control group. In summary, these results indicate that low piperine fractional P. nigrum extract had a high efficacy in supporting antitumor activity at immunological levels via regulating Th1/Th2/Treg cells.

Molecular and pharmacological aspects of piperine as a potential molecule for disease prevention and management: evidence from clinical trials

BACKGROUND

Piperine is a type of amide alkaloid that exhibits pleiotropic properties like antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective and enhancing bioavailability and fertility-related activities. Piperine has the ability to alter gastrointestinal disorders, drug-metabolizing enzymes, and bioavailability of several drugs. The present review explores the available clinical and preclinical data, nanoformulations, extraction process, structure-activity relationships, molecular docking, bioavailability enhancement of phytochemicals and drugs, and brain penetration properties of piperine in the prevention, management, and treatment of various diseases and disorders.

MAIN BODY

Piperine provides therapeutic benefits in patients suffering from diabetes, obesity, arthritis, oral cancer, breast cancer, multiple myeloma, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, cerebral stroke, cardiovascular diseases, kidney diseases, inflammatory diseases, and rhinopharyngitis. The molecular basis for the pleiotropic activities of piperine is based on its ability to regulate multiple signaling molecules such as cell cycle proteins, anti-apoptotic proteins, P-glycoprotein, cytochrome P450 3A4, multidrug resistance protein 1, breast cancer resistance protein, transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 proinflammatory cytokine, nuclear factor-κB, c-Fos, cAMP response element-binding protein, activation transcription factor-2, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma, Human G-quadruplex DNA, Cyclooxygenase-2, Nitric oxide synthases-2, MicroRNA, and coronaviruses. Piperine also regulates multiple signaling pathways such as Akt/mTOR/MMP-9, 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase-activated NLR family pyrin domain containing-3 inflammasome, voltage-gated K+ current, PKCα/ERK1/2, NF-κB/AP-1/MMP-9, Wnt/β-catenin, JNK/P38 MAPK, and gut microbiota.

SHORT CONCLUSION

Based on the current evidence, piperine can be the potential molecule for treatment of disease, and its significance of this molecule in the clinic is discussed.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT