The Protective Effect of Rosavin from Rhodiola rosea on Radiation-Induced Intestinal Injury

Rosavin derived from Rhodiola alleviates colitis in mice through modulation of Th17 differentiation

BACKGROUND

Rosavin (RSV) is a naturally occurring compound isolated from Rhodiola species. While RSV has been reported with pharmacological activities of anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-stress and immunomodulation, its effect on colitis and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

PURPOSE

This study aims to investigate whether and how RSV alleviated colitis in mice.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

The protective effect of RSV (50, 100, 200 mg/kg, p.o.) was investigated in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) mediated mouse models of acute and chronic colitis. Alterations in fecal microbiota were evaluated by 16S rRNA sequencing. Pseudo germ-free mice achieved by antibiotics treatment were applied to assess the RSV-mediated functional role of gut microbiota in colitis. RNA sequencing was performed to determine RSV-induced colonic response. Primary T cell culture was conducted to examine the effect of RSV on Th17 and Treg differentiation. Whole blood assay, dual luciferase reporter assay, and molecular docking methods were applied to investigate the mechanisms and targets of RSV in Th17 regulation.

RESULTS

Oral RSV significantly relieved DSS-mediated acute and chronic colitis in mice, which recovered body weight loss, reduced disease activity index, alleviated colon injury, inhibited inflammation, suppressed the apoptosis of intestinal epithelia, and maintained intestinal barrier function. Moreover, RSV specifically regulated intestinal microbiota by recovering DSS-mediated microbial changes and elevating beneficial microbes such as Lactobacillus and Akkermansia. Antibiotics treatment experiment showed that the protective role of RSV was at least partially dependent on gut microbiota; however, in vitro incubation showed that RSV did not directly promote the growth of Lactobacillus and Akkermansia strains. Further analysis showed that RSV-mediated genetic alterations in colon were enriched in pathways related to lymphocyte regulation. Additionally, RSV regulated the balance of Th17/Treg in colitis mice. Importantly, RSV inhibited the differentiation of Th17 cell in vitro, suppressed the production of IL-17 by Th17 cells, and downregulated Rorc encoding RORγt and its downstream Il17. RSV significantly inhibited the RORγt transcription activity and bound to its ligand binding domain.

CONCLUSION

RSV alleviates murine colitis through regulating intestinal immunity. Notably, RSV is identified as a novel regulator of Th17 cells that inhibits RORγt-mediated Th17 differentiation. These findings potentiate the Rhodiola-derived natural chemicals as novel anti-colitis agents.

Radiation protection of sodium alginate and its regulatory effect on intestinal microflora in mice

Prolonged or high-dose exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) can cause damage to normal tissues of the body. Therefore, it is imperative to find effective radiation protective agents to mitigate IR-induced damage. This study evaluated the effects of sodium alginate (SA) on the radiation protection and modulatory effects of gut microorganisms using a 60Coγ-induced damage model in mice. Results showed that SA could reduce the damage of hematopoietic system; and alleviate the oxidative damage in irradiated mice by inhibiting the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) in serum, spleen, jejunum and liver. Moreover, SA treatment ameliorated IR-induced small intestine lesions and alleviated liver injury. This was consistent with decreased levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and increased levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) after SA treatment. Furthermore, SA treatment reversed IR-induced gut dysbiosis, elevated the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, increased the beneficial bacteria and reduced the pathogenic bacteria in the small intestine. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that SA exerted good radioprotective effect by improving hematopoietic system, alleviating oxidative stress, attenuating liver injury and inflammatory response, and modulating the intestinal microbiota in irradiated mice.

Protective Effect of Rosavin Against Intestinal Epithelial Injury in Colitis Mice and Intestinal Organoids

Introduction

Rhodiola species have been utilized as functional foods in Asia and Europe for promoting health. Research has demonstrated that Rhodiola has the potential to alleviate inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in animal models. However, the specific active components and the underlying mechanism for ameliorating intestinal damage remain unclear. This study aims to explore the relieving effect of Rosavin (Rov), a known active constituent of Rhodiola, in IBD and the regulatory mechanisms.

Methods

The therapeutic effect of Rov was evaluated using a murine model of acute colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium salt (DSS). Inflammatory cytokines and neutrophil activation markers were measured by corresponding kits. Immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, TUNEL, and EdU assays were applied to investigate the tight conjunction proteins expression, epithelial marker expression, number of apoptotic cells, and epithelial proliferation, respectively. The protection effect of Rov on gut epithelial injury was assessed using TNF-α-induced intestinal organoids. Additinally, RNA sequencing was applied to observe the genetic alteration profile in these intestinal organoids.

Results

Oral administration of Rov significantly attenuated weight loss and restored colon length in mice. Notably, Rov treatment led to decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and neutrophil activation markers while increasing anti-inflammatory factors. Importantly, Rov restored intestinal despair by increasing the number of Lgr5+ stem cells, Lyz1+ Paneth cells and Muc2+ goblet cells in intestines of colitis mice, displaying reduced epithelial apoptosis and recovered barrier function. In TNF-α-induced intestinal organoids, Rov facilitated epithelial cell differentiation and protected against TNF-α-induced damage. RNA sequencing revealed upregulation in the gene expression associated with epithelial cells (including Lgr5+, Lyz1+ and Muc2+ cells) proliferation and defensin secretion, unveiling the protective mechanisms of Rov on the intestinal epithelial barrier.

Discussion

Rov holds potential as a natural prophylactic agent against IBD, with its protective action on the intestinal epithelium being crucial for its therapeutic efficacy.

Determination of arbutin in vitro and in vivo by LC-MS/MS: Pre-clinical evaluation of natural product arbutin for its early medicinal properties

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Arbutin is a naturally occurring glucoside extracted from plants, known for its antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibiting properties. It is widely used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. With in-depth study of arbutin, its application in disease treatment is expanding, presenting promising development prospects. However, reports on the metabolic stability, plasma protein binding rate, and pharmacokinetic properties of arbutin are scarce.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to enrich the data of metabolic stability and pharmacokinetics of arbutin through the early pre-clinical evaluation, thereby providing some experimental basis for advancing arbutin into clinical research.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We developed an efficient and rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay for determining arbutin in plasma. We investigated the metabolic and pharmacokinetic properties of arbutin through in vitro metabolism assay, cytochrome enzymes P450 (CYP450) inhibition studies, plasma protein binding rate analysis, Caco-2 cell permeability tests, and rat pharmacokinetics to understand its in vivo performance.

RESULTS

In vitro studies show that arbutin is stable, albeit with some species differences. It exhibits low plasma protein binding (35.35 ± 11.03% ∼ 40.25 ± 2.47%), low lipophilicity, low permeability, short half-life (0.42 ± 0.30 h) and high oral bioavailability (65 ± 11.6%). Arbutin is primarily found in the liver and kidneys and is eliminated in the urine. It does not significantly inhibit CYP450 up to 10 μM, suggesting a low potential for drug interactions. Futhermore, preliminary toxicological experiments indicate arbutin's safety, supporting its potential as a therapeutic agent.

CONCLUSION

This study provides a comprehensive analysis the drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) of arbutin, enriching our understanding of its metabolism stability and pharmacokinetics properties, It establishes a foundation for further structural optimization, pharmacological studies, and the clinical development of arbutin.

Therapeutic Promises of Bioactive Rosavin: A Comprehensive Review with Mechanistic Insight

Rosavin is an alkylbenzene diglycoside primarily found in Rhodiola rosea (L.), demonstrating various pharmacological properties in a number of preclinical test systems. This study focuses on evaluating the pharmacological effects of rosavin and the underlying molecular mechanisms based on different preclinical and non-clinical investigations. The findings revealed that rosavin has anti-microbial, antioxidant, and different protective effects, including neuroprotective effects against various neurodegenerative ailments such as mild cognitive disorders, neuropathic pain, depression, and stress, as well as gastroprotective, osteoprotective, pulmoprotective, and hepatoprotective activities. This protective effect of rosavin is due to its capability to diminish inflammation and oxidative stress. The compound also manifested anticancer properties against various cancer via exerting cytotoxicity, apoptotic cell death, arresting the different phases (G0/G1) of the cancerous cell cycle, inhibiting migration, and invading other organs. Rosavin also regulated MAPK/ERK signaling pathways to exert suppressing effect of cancer cell. However, because of its high-water solubility, which lowers its permeability, the phytochemical has low oral bioavailability. The compound's relevant drug likeness was evaluated by the in silico ADME, revealing appropriate drug likeness. We suggest more extensive investigation and clinical studies to determine safety, efficacy, and human dose to establish the compound as a reliable therapeutic agent.

Rosavin thwarts amyloid-β-induced macromolecular damages and neurotoxicity, exhibiting anti-Alzheimer's disease activity in Wister rat model

Lately, interest surrounding the utilization of plant-derived compounds as a viable beneficial approach for treating Alzheimer's disease (AD) has significantly increased. This study aimed to assess the defensive properties of rosavin against Alzheimer's disease induced by amyloid-β, utilizing experimental models. We found that rosavin exhibited anti-aggregation and disaggregation properties, suggesting its potential to prevent the gathering of Aβ-aggregates. In vitro experiments revealed that rosavin effectively mitigated the neurotoxicity induced by Aβ in Neuro-2a cells, showcasing its protective potential. Rosavin significantly improved the Aβ-induced cognitive deficits in Wistar rats, particularly in spatial memory. Which the pathophysiology of AD includes oxidative damage, which negatively impacts biological macromolecules. Triggers the apoptotic process, causing macromolecular destruction. Interestingly, rosavin attenuated Aβ-induced macromolecular damages, thereby preserving neuronal integrity. Furthermore, the activation of antioxidative defense enzymes by rosavin inhibited oxidative damage. The positive outcomes associated with rosavin were primarily attributed to its capacity to enhance acetylcholine-mediated effects. Finally, rosavin has the potential to alleviate Aβ-induced neurotoxicity and macromolecular damages, ultimately resulting in enhanced memorial and reasoning function in Wistar rats, offering promising prospects for the treatment of AD.

Rosavin: Research Advances in Extraction and Synthesis, Pharmacological Activities and Therapeutic Effects on Diseases of the Characteristic Active Ingredients of Rhodiola rosea L

Rhodiola rosea L. (RRL) is a popular plant in traditional medicine, and Rosavin, a characteristic ingredient of RRL, is considered one of the most important active ingredients in it. In recent years, with deepening research on its pharmacological actions, the clinical application value and demand for Rosavin have been steadily increasing. Various routes for the extraction and all-chemical or biological synthesis of Rosavin have been gradually developed for the large-scale production and broad application of Rosavin. Pharmacological studies have demonstrated that Rosavin has a variety of biological activities, including antioxidant, lipid-lowering, analgesic, antiradiation, antitumor and immunomodulation effects. Rosavin showed significant therapeutic effects on a range of chronic diseases, including neurological, digestive, respiratory and bone-related disorders during in vitro and vivo experiments, demonstrating the great potential of Rosavin as a therapeutic drug for diseases. This paper gives a comprehensive and insightful overview of Rosavin, focusing on its extraction and synthesis, pharmacological activities, progress in disease-treatment research and formulation studies, providing a reference for the production and preparation, further clinical research and applications of Rosavin in the future.

Chemical Profile Determination and Quantitative Analysis of Components in Oryeong-san Using UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS and UPLC-TQ-MS/MS

In this study, a method to both qualitatively and quantitively analyze the components of Oryeong-san (ORS), which is composed of five herbal medicines (Alisma orientale Juzepzuk, Polyporus umbellatus Fries, Atractylodes japonica Koidzumi, Poria cocos Wolf, and Cinnamomum cassia Presl) and is prescribed in traditional Oriental medicine practices, was established for the first time. First, ORS components were profiled using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole Orbitrap mass spectrometry, and 19 compounds were clearly identified via comparison against reference standard compounds. Subsequently, a quantitative method based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry was established to simultaneously measure the identified compounds. Nineteen compounds were accurately quantified using the multiple-reaction-monitoring mode and used to analyze the sample; we confirmed that coumarin was the most abundant compound. The method was validated, achieving good linearity (R2 ≤ 0.9991), recovery (RSD, 0.11-3.15%), and precision (RSD, 0.35-9.44%). The results suggest that this method offers a strategy for accurately and effectively determining the components of ORS, and it can be used for quality assessment and management.

Protective Effect of Bojungikki-Tang against Radiation-Induced Intestinal Injury in Mice: Experimental Verification and Compound-Target Prediction

Bojungikki-tang (BJIT) is a traditional herbal medicine used in Korea, Japan, and China to treat gastrointestinal disorders. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether BJIT has protective effects against radiation-induced intestinal injury and to predict the underlying therapeutic mechanisms and related pathways via network pharmacological analyses. BJIT was injected intraperitoneally (50 mg/kg body weight) to C₃H/HeN mice at 36 and 12 h before exposure to partial abdominal irradiation (5 Gy and 13 Gy) to evaluate the apoptotic changes and the histological changes and variations in inflammatory cytokine mRNA levels in the jejunum, respectively. Through in silico network analysis, we predicted the mechanisms underlying BJIT-mediated regulation of radiation-induced intestinal injury. BJIT reduced the level of apoptosis in the jejunal crypts 12 h post 5-Gy irradiation. Histological assessment revealed intestinal morphological changes in irradiated mice 3.5 days post 13-Gy irradiation. Furthermore, BJIT decreased inflammatory cytokine levels following radiation exposure. Apoptosis, TNF, p53, VEGF, toll-like receptor, PPAR, PI3K-Akt, and MAPK signaling pathways, as well as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), were found to be linked to the radioprotective effects of BJIT against intestinal injury. According to our results, BJIT exerted its potential protective effects by attenuating histopathological changes in jejunal crypts and suppressing inflammatory mediator levels. Therefore, BJIT is a potential therapeutic agent that can treat radiation-induced intestinal injury and its associated symptoms.

Arbutin: Occurrence in Plants, and Its Potential as an Anticancer Agent

Arbutin, a hydroquinone glucoside, has been detected in ca. 50 plant families, especially in the plants of the Asteraceae, Ericaceae, Proteaceae and Rosaceae families. It is one of the most widely used natural skin-whitening agents. In addition to its skin whitening property, arbutin possesses other therapeutically relevant biological properties, e.g., antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory, as well as anticancer potential. This review presents, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the distribution of arbutin in the plant kingdom and critically appraises its therapeutic potential as an anticancer agent based on the literature published until the end of August 2022, accessed via several databases, e.g., Web of Science, Science Direct, Dictionary of Natural Products, PubMed and Google Scholar. The keywords used in the search were arbutin, cancer, anticancer, distribution and hydroquinone. Published outputs suggest that arbutin has potential anticancer properties against bladder, bone, brain, breast, cervix, colon, liver, prostate and skin cancers and a low level of acute or chronic toxicity.

Arbutin ameliorated ulcerative colitis of mice induced by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)

Accumulating evidence has revealed the anti-inflammatory effects of arbutin against various diseases. However, the effects of arbutin are not clarified in ulcerative colitis. This study was intended to investigate the protective effects and mechanisms of arbutin on DSS-induced colitis. Hematoxylin eosin staining was performed to determine the pathological damage of intestinal tissue in mice. Inflammatory factors levels in intestinal tissue were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) assay. TUNEL staining showed the apoptosis levels of cells. Intestinal permeability was analyzed using the application of Fluorescein isothiocyanate Dextran (FD) 4. The levels of Zona Occludens 1 (ZO-1), occluding and claudin-1, and the related proteins in MAPK/ELK1 pathway were analyzed by Western blot. DSS promotes pathological injury, the levels of pro-inflammatory factors containing tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), Interleukin- 6 (IL-6) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), and cell apoptosis in the mouse colon. Additionally, intestinal permeability was increased and the levels of tight function-related proteins were increased following DSS induction. Its effects could be greatly improved by arbutin. Arbutin exerted effects by eliciting anti-inflammatory effects and maintaining normal intestinal mucosal barrier function, the action mechanism of which could be associated with MAPK/ELK1 pathway.

Biosynthesis of a rosavin natural product in Escherichia coli by glycosyltransferase rational design and artificial pathway construction

Phytochemicals are rich resources for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical agents. A key challenge of accessing these precious compounds can present significant bottlenecks for development. The cinnamyl alcohol disaccharides also known as rosavins are the major bioactive ingredients of the notable medicinal plant Rhodiola rosea L. Cinnamyl-(6'-O-β-xylopyranosyl)-O-β-glucopyranoside (rosavin E) is a natural rosavin analogue with the arabinopyranose unit being replaced by its diastereomer xylose, which was only isolated in minute quantity from R. rosea. Herein, we described the de novo production of rosavin E in Escherichia coli. The 1,6-glucosyltransferase CaUGT3 was engineered into a xylosyltransferase converting cinnamyl alcohol monoglucoside (rosin) into rosavin E by replacing the residue T145 with valine. The enzyme activity was further elevated 2.9 times by adding the mutation N375Q. The synthesis of rosavin E from glucose was achieved with a titer of 92.9 mg/L by combining the variant CaUGT3^T145V/N375Q, the UDP-xylose synthase from Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021 (SmUXS) and enzymes for rosin biosynthesis into a phenylalanine overproducing E. coli strain. The production of rosavin E was further elevated by co-overexpressing UDP-xylose synthase from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtUXS3) and SmUXS, and the titer in a 5 L bioreactor with fed-batch fermentation reached 782.0 mg/L. This work represents an excellent example of producing a natural product with a disaccharide chain by glycosyltransferase engineering and artificial pathway construction.