Antiinflammation constituents fromCurcuma zedoaroides

Research Progress on Sesquiterpenoids of Curcumae Rhizoma and Their Pharmacological Effects

Curcumae Rhizoma, a traditional Chinese medicine with a wide range of pharmacological activities, is obtained from the dried rhizomes of Curcuma phaeocaulis VaL., Curcuma kwangsiensis S. G. Lee et C. F. Liang, and Curcuma wenyujin Y. H. Chen et C. Ling. Sesquiterpenoids and curcuminoids are found to be the main constituents of Curcumae Rhizoma. Sesquiterpenoids are composed of three isoprene units and are susceptible to complex transformations, such as cyclization, rearrangement, and oxidation. They are the most structurally diverse class of plant-based natural products with a wide range of biological activities and are widely found in nature. In recent years, scholars have conducted abundant studies on the structures and pharmacological properties of components of Curcumae Rhizoma. This article elucidates the chemical structures, medicinal properties, and biological properties of the sesquiterpenoids (a total of 274 compounds) isolated from Curcumae Rhizoma. We summarized extraction and isolation methods for sesquiterpenoids, established a chemical component library of sesquiterpenoids in Curcumae Rhizoma, and analyzed structural variances among sesquiterpenoids sourced from Curcumae Rhizoma of diverse botanical origins. Furthermore, our investigation reveals a diverse array of sesquiterpenoid types, encompassing guaiane-type, germacrane-type, eudesmane-type, elemane-type, cadinane-type, carane-type, bisabolane-type, humulane-type, and other types, emphasizing the relationship between structural diversity and activity. We hope to provide a valuable reference for further research and exploitation and pave the way for the development of new drugs derived from medicinal plants.

Uncovering the molecular mechanisms of Curcumae Rhizoma against myocardial fibrosis using network pharmacology and experimental validation

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Myocardial fibrosis leads to cardiac remodeling and dysfunction. Curcumae Rhizoma has been utilized in clinical trials to treat a variety of cardiovascular illnesses, although its role in myocardial fibrosis is unknown.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The purpose of current study was to explore the potential mechanism action and anti-myocardial fibrosis effects of treatment with Curcumae Rhizoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The chemical components in the aqueous extract from Curcumae Rhizoma were identified using GC-MS analysis. A prediction network describing the relationship between Curcumae Rhizoma and MF was established based on information collected from multiple databases. Functional enrichment analysis was performed to investigate the specific functions and pathways involved in the candidate Curcumae Rhizoma targets acting on MF, which were further validated by vivo experiments.

RESULTS

There were 444 targets obtained from the 39 active ingredients in Curcumae Rhizoma, and 5691 disease targets related to MF were identified. Then, 41 key targets were determined with the PPI interaction network, which was structured from 324 overlapping gene targets. GO and KEGG analyses revealed that the p38 MAPK/NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smad2/3 signaling pathways might play crucial roles in the therapeutic mechanism of MF. According to the results of molecular docking, the binding activity between core components and targets was marvelous (affinity < -6 kcal/mol). Take it a step further, the experimental validation data affirmed that Curcumae Rhizoma substantially decreased myocardial fibrosis and recovered cardiac function in the ISO-induced rats. The associated proteins expression data implied that the p38 MAPK/NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smad2/3 pathways might be vital in the anti-fibrosis effect of Curcumae Rhizoma.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggested that Curcumae Rhizoma diminished myocardial fibrosis by suppressing fibrosis multiplication and collagen deposition through inhibiting p38 MAPK/NF-κB and TGF-β1/Smad2/3 pathways, which might be a promising therapeutic medicament for alleviating myocardial fibrosis.

Preparation and characterization of immobilized 5-HT1A receptor stationary phase for high throughput screening of the receptor-binding ligands from complex systems like Curcuma wenyujin Y. H. Chen et C. Ling extract

The incidence of depression has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This disease is closely associated with serotonin _1A (5-HT_1A) receptor and often treated by complex prescription containing Curcuma wenyujin Y. H. Chen et C. Ling. Therefore, we hypothesized that this herb contains bioactive compounds specially binding to the receptor. However, the rapid discovery of new ligands of 5-HT_1A receptor is still challenging due to the lack of efficient screening methods. To address this problem, we developed and characterized a novel approach for the rapid screening of ligands by using immobilized 5-HT_1A receptor as the chromatographic stationary phase. Briefly, haloalkane dehalogenase was fused at the C-terminal of 5-HT_1A receptor, and the modified 5-HT_1A receptor was immobilized on amino-microspheres by the reaction between haloalkane dehalogenase and 6-chlorohexanoic acid linker. Scanning electron microscope and X-ray photo-electron were used to characterize the morphology and element of the immobilized receptor. The binding of three specific ligands to 5-HT_1A receptor was investigated by two different methods. Moreover, we examined the feasibility of 5-HT_1A receptor colume in high throughput screening of new ligands from complex systems as exemplified by Curcuma wenyujin Y. H. Chen et C. Ling. Gweicurculactone, 2-hydroxy-1-(3,4-dihydroxybenzene)-7-(4′-hydroxybezene)-heptane and curcuminol F were identified as the ligands of 5-HT_1A receptor with the binding energies of −7.06 kcal/mol, −7.77 kcal/mol and −5.26 kcal/mol, respectively. Collectively, these results indicated that the immobilized 5-HT_1A receptor was capable of screening bioactive compound from complex system, providing an effective methodology for high throughput screening.

Anti-inflammatory activity of naturally occuring diarylheptanoids - A review

Inflammation involving the innate and adaptive immune systems is a normal response to infection. However, if it becomes uncontrolled, inflammation may result in autoimmune or auto inflammatory disorders, neurodegenerative diseases or cancers. The currently available anti-inflammatory drug therapy is often not successful or induces severe side effects. Thus, the search of new therapeutic options for the treatment of inflammation is highly required. Medicinal plants have been an interesting source for obtaining new active compounds. Diarylheptanoids characterized by a 1, 7-diphenylheptane structural skeleton, are a class of secondary plant metabolites that have gained increasing interest over the last few decades due to a wide variety of biological activities. This review covers 182 natural linear or macrocyclic diarylheptanoids described in the period of 1982 to 2020 with anti-inflammatory activities evaluated using quantified in vitro and/or in vivo assays. All of these data highlight the pharmacological potential of these natural compounds to act as anti-inflammatory drugs.

Metabonomics study on orthotopic transplantion mice model of colon cancer treated with Astragalus membranaceus-Curcuma wenyujin in different proportions via UPLC-Q-TOF/MS

Metabolomics, an important part of systems biology, can reveal the complex pathogenesis of many diseases and mechanism of Chinese materia medica (CMM). Astragalus membranaceus-Curcuma wenyujin (AC) was a classic drug pair that has a good clinical effect on gastrointestinal inflammation and many tumors. Our previous research proved that AC can inhibit tumor growth and metastasis especially the colorectal cancer (CRC), also promote the normalization of tumor blood vessels, but its optimal ratio and the specific mechanism is still not clear. In this study, colon cancer mice of orthotopic transplantion model was used to screen the best proportion, UPLC-Q-TOF/MS metabolomics analysis method was established to explore the pathogenesis of colon cancer and the molecular mechanism of AC. The correlation analysis of metabolite changes and tumor growth was analyzed by R language. The result showed that AC at the ratio of 2:1 showed the best effect on inhibiting tumor growth, also the liver and spleen metastasis rate. A total of 23 potential biomarkers were detected in the serum of colon cancer mice by the analysis of Progenesis QI (Version 2.4) software. Among this, 11 metabolites including purines, steroids, phytosphingosine and l-palmitoylcarnitine were up-regulated in CC mice, while 12 metabolites like amino acids, deoxyribose and dihydrobiopterin were down-regulated in CC mice. After the treatment of AC for 15 days, 8 biomarkers were up-regulated, and 9 biomarkers down-regulated. Especially, AC at the ratio of 2:1 showed a significant callback effect on metabolic biomarkers, such as hypoxanthine, xanthosine, 7-methylxanthine, all-trans-retinoic acid, dihomo-γ-linolenic acid. 8 metabolic pathways: Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, Nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism, Phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, Valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis, Phenylalanine metabolism, Caffeine metabolism, Retinol metabolism, Alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism were selected as the model group disturbed metabolic pathways after the enrichment of MetaboAnalyst 4.0 online analysis software. And compared with the model group, Valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis, Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, Caffeine metabolism pathway and Retinol metabolism pathways were altered after the intervention of AC. The correlation analysis results showed that various endogenous metabolites in serum have a strong correlation with tumor weight, such as hypoxanthine, which provides a basis for the selection of clinical markers. The results showed that AC can partially regulate metabolic disorder of CC mice by reversing the changes of metabolites, so as to inhibit the growth and metastasis of colon cancer, especially at the ratio of 2:1. These findings can provide a scientific basis for exploring the diagnostic biomarkers of colon cancer, and for clinical application of AC in the treatment of CRC program.