Recent advances in natural products from plants for treatment of liver diseases

A review of non-nucleoside anti-hepatitis B virus agents

Hepatitis B Virus is the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Currently approved agents of chronic HBV infection treatment include interferon and nucleoside analogues. However, the side effects of interferon and the viral resistance of nucleoside analogues make the current treatment far from satisfactory. Therefore, new drugs with novel structures and mechanisms are needed. Recently, a number of non-nucleoside HBV inhibitors have been obtained from natural sources or prepared by synthesis/semi-synthesis. Some of them exhibited potent anti-HBV activity with novel mechanisms. These compounds provide useful information for the medicinal chemist to develop novel non-nucleoside compounds as anti-HBV agents.

Advancing drug discovery and development from active constituents of yinchenhao tang, a famous traditional chinese medicine formula

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula has been playing a very important role in health protection and disease control for thousands of years. Guided by TCM syndrome theories, formula are designed to contain a combination of various kinds of crude drugs that, when combined, will achieve synergistic efficacy. However, the precise mechanism of synergistic action remains poorly understood. One example is a famous TCM formula Yinchenhao Tang (YCHT), whose efficacy in treating hepatic injury (HI) and Jaundice syndrome, has recently been well established as a case study. We also conducted a systematic analysis of synergistic effects of the principal compound using biochemistry, pharmacokinetics and systems biology, to explore the key molecular mechanisms. We had found that the three component (6,7-dimethylesculetin (D), geniposide (G), and rhein (R)) combination exerts a more robust synergistic effect than any one or two of the three individual compounds by hitting multiple targets. They can regulate molecular networks through activating both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways to synergistically cause intensified therapeutic effects. This paper provides an overview of the recent and potential developments of chemical fingerprinting coupled with systems biology advancing drug discovery towards more agile development of targeted combination therapies for the YCHT.

Metabolomics and proteomics annotate therapeutic properties of geniposide: targeting and regulating multiple perturbed pathways

Geniposide is an important constituent of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, a famous Chinese medicinal plant, and has displayed bright prospects in prevention and therapy of hepatic injury (HI). Unfortunately, the working mechanisms of this compound are difficult to determine and thus remain unknown. To determine the mechanisms that underlie this compound, we conducted a systematic analysis of the therapeutic effects of geniposide using biochemistry, metabolomics and proteomics. Geniposide significantly intensified the therapeutic efficacy as indicated by our modern biochemical analysis. Metabolomics results indicate 9 ions in the positive mode as differentiating metabolites which were associated with perturbations in primary bile acid biosynthesis, butanoate metabolism, citrate cycle (TCA cycle), alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism. Of note, geniposide has potential pharmacological effect through regulating multiple perturbed pathways to normal state. In an attempt to address the benefits of geniposide based on the proteomics approaches, the protein-interacting networks were constructed to aid identifying the drug targets of geniposide. Six identified differential proteins appear to be involved in antioxidation and signal transduction, energy production, immunity, metabolism, chaperoning. These proteins were closely related in the protein-protein interaction network and the modulation of multiple vital physiological pathways. These data will help to understand the molecular therapeutic mechanisms of geniposide on hepatic damage rats. We also conclude that metabolomics and proteomics are powerful and versatile tools for both biomarker discovery and exploring the complex relationships between biological pathways and drug response, highlighting insights into drug discovery.