Effects of compounds extracted from Santolina oblongifolia on TXB2 release in human platelets

The ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of the genus Erycibe (Convolvulaceae)

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The genus Erycibe belongs to the Convolvulaceae family that contains approximately 70 species mainly distributed from tropical and subtropical Asia to north of Australia. Several Erycibe species are traditionally used in folk medicine for the treatment of various ailments, including rheumatic arthralgia, primary glaucoma, hepatopathies, and infectious and malignant diseases.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

This review aims to summarize comprehensive and updated information on traditional medicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of Erycibe species to provide a reference for the further research and application of the Erycibe genus.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The scientific and extensive literatures between 1975 and 2020 were systematically gathered from scientific databases such as SciFinder Scholar, Science Direct, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Springer Link and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), as well as Chinese herbal classic books, PhD and MSc theses, and several official websites.

RESULTS

Erycibe species have been used for the treatment of various rheumatoid diseases, glaucoma, a variety of hepatic diseases, infectious diseases and various malignancies in the traditional and local medicine. Since the 1970s, 153 compounds, including coumarins, quinic acid derivatives, flavonoids, alkaloids, lignans, and others have been isolated from five species of the Erycibe genus. Pharmacological studies have shown that these extracts and compounds from the Erycibe genus have extensive activities consistent with the traditional and local applications, such as anti-glaucoma, anti-arthritic, hepatoprotective and anti-cancer activities, as well as anti-inflammatory, anti-respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and neuroprotective properties.

CONCLUSIONS

Although there are extensive data on the genus Erycibe, certain specific gaps still exist. For herbal preparations containing Erycibe species, clinical toxicological investigation is required for the safety of these herbal preparation therapies, as well as further investigations on pharmacokinetics and bioavailability for guideline for clinical application. Furthermore, more detailed pharmacological, toxicological and clinical researches are needed to assess the alternatives to Erycibe species. Systematic and comprehensive pre-clinical studies are similarly required to estimate the possibility of extracts and compounds from the genus Erycibe with bioactivity developing into new drugs.

Protective Effect of Apium graveolens L. (Celery) Seeds Extracts and Luteolin on Acetic Acid-Induced Colitis in Rats

INTRODUCTION

Anti-oxidant, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects have been reported for Apium graveolens Linn. ) Celery( seeds and its active component luteolin. So, this study was carried out to investigate the protective effects of hexane (AGHE) and methanol (AGME) extracts of A. graveolens seeds and luteolin on acetic acid-induced colitis in rats.

METHODS

Three doses of AGHE (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg), AGME (200, 400, and 800 mg/kg), and luteolin (5, 10, and 20 mg/kg) were administered orally (p.o.) to separate groups of male Wistar rats, 2 h before ulcer induction (acetic acid 4%) and continued once daily for 4 days. Prednisolone (4 mg/kg) and mesalazine (100 mg/kg) were used as reference and vehicle (2 mL/kg) as control groups. Colon biopsies were taken for weighting, macroscopic and histopathologic evaluation, and measuring myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity.

RESULTS

Our findings showed that AGHE (200 and 400 mg/kg), AGME (400 and 800 mg/kg), and luteolin (10 and 20 mg/kg) were effective to reduce colonic ulcer score, area, and index as well as total colitis index, and MPO activity significantly in comparison with controls. Since the lowest doses of extracts and luteolin were not significantly effective to diminish evaluated parameters of colitis, it is concluded that the ameliorative effect was dose related.

CONCLUSION

It is also concluded that both extracts and luteolin, as an important ingredient of celery extract, were effective in the amelioration of colitis in rats, but further clinical and detailed mechanistic experiments are required to introduce these natural agents for colitis treatment or prevention in human.

Artemisia scoparia and Metabolic Health: Untapped Potential of an Ancient Remedy for Modern Use

Botanicals have a long history of medicinal use for a multitude of ailments, and many modern pharmaceuticals were originally isolated from plants or derived from phytochemicals. Among these, artemisinin, first isolated from Artemisia annua, is the foundation for standard anti-malarial therapies. Plants of the genus Artemisia are among the most common herbal remedies across Asia and Central Europe. The species Artemisia scoparia (SCOPA) is widely used in traditional folk medicine for various liver diseases and inflammatory conditions, as well as for infections, fever, pain, cancer, and diabetes. Modern in vivo and in vitro studies have now investigated SCOPA's effects on these pathologies and its ability to mitigate hepatotoxicity, oxidative stress, obesity, diabetes, and other disease states. This review focuses on the effects of SCOPA that are particularly relevant to metabolic health. Indeed, in recent years, an ethanolic extract of SCOPA has been shown to enhance differentiation of cultured adipocytes and to share some properties of thiazolidinediones (TZDs), a class of insulin-sensitizing agonists of the adipogenic transcription factor PPARγ. In a mouse model of diet-induced obesity, SCOPA diet supplementation lowered fasting insulin and glucose levels, while inducing metabolically favorable changes in adipose tissue and liver. These observations are consistent with many lines of evidence from various tissues and cell types known to contribute to metabolic homeostasis, including immune cells, hepatocytes, and pancreatic beta-cells. Compounds belonging to several classes of phytochemicals have been implicated in these effects, and we provide an overview of these bioactives. The ongoing global epidemics of obesity and metabolic disease clearly require novel therapeutic approaches. While the mechanisms involved in SCOPA's effects on metabolic, anti-inflammatory, and oxidative stress pathways are not fully characterized, current data support further investigation of this plant and its bioactives as potential therapeutic agents in obesity-related metabolic dysfunction and many other conditions.

Inhibitory Effects of Apium graveolens on Xanthine Oxidase Activity and Serum Uric Acid Levels in Hyperuricemic Mice

Celery (Apium graveolens) is traditionally used to treat rheumatism and cardiovascular disorders. Hyperuricemia is considered as a predisposing factor for gout and is also suggested to be associated with coronary artery disease. In the present study, the effect of hydroalcoholic extracts from A. graveolens (AGE) against potassium oxonate (PO)-induced hyperuricemia was investigated in mice. AGE (250, 500, and 1,000 mg/kg) or allopurinol (5 mg/kg, as positive control) were orally administrated 1 h after PO injection (250 mg/kg, ip) for two weeks. After that, the serum uric acid level and hepatic xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) and xanthine oxidase (XO) activities were measured. In addition, the antioxidant activity of AGE was determined by assessment of hepatic lipid peroxidation, in vivo and the ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay, in vitro. The extract exhibited good capacity to reduce ferric ion to ferrous ion with mean value of 63.8±8.5 μmol/g. The data also showed that oxonate treatment produced a significant increase in serum uric acid level (4.6 vs. 2.3 mg/ dL, P<0.001), liver XO/XDH activities (P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively), and hepatic lipid peroxides levels (about two fold, P<0.01), compared to the healthy mice. AGE significantly decreased the serum uric acid level, hepatic XO/XDH activities, and lipid peroxidation, in a dose-dependent manner. Oral administration of 1,000 mg/kg AGE for two weeks reversed the elevated serum uric acid level (2.7 vs. 4.6 mg/dL, P<0.001) and significantly inhibited liver XO/XDH activities (P<0.001) and diminished hepatic lipid peroxidation (0.45 vs. 0.82 nmol/mg protein, P<0.05), compared with hyperuricemic mice. AGE (1,000 mg/kg) per se did not significantly modify these parameters. Our results demonstrated that AGE could reduce the serum uric acid level via inhibition of hepatic XDH/XO and indicated its potential utility as an effective hypouricemic bioactive agent or functional food.

Coumarins as privileged scaffold for anti-inflammatory drug development

Several literature reports had highlighted the significance of coumarin nucleus as a source of potential candidates for anti-inflammatory drug development.

The Effects of Hydroalcoholic Extract of Apium graveolens Leaf on the Number of Sexual Cells and Testicular Structure in Rat

Background:

Use of medicinal plants with high antioxidant properties could be effective to increase fertility and improvement of disorders such as hormonal imbalance, impotency, oligospermia and immotile sperm. Celery (Apium graveolens) is rich in antioxidant agents. The leaf and stems of celery contain phenols, furanocoumarin and luteolin. Apigenin is one of the main flavonoids of celery leaf.

Objectives:

This study aimed to investigate the effects of hydroalcoholic extract of celery on histological properties of testis and number of sexual cells in male rats.

Materials and Methods:

Thirty-two male Wistar rats were divided into four groups of eight rats each. Control, did not receive any medication; sham, received normal saline; and two groups received celery extract orally in dosages of 100 and 200 mg/kg/BW once every two days for 60 days. At the end, animals were anesthetized, and caudal part of the right epididymis was used for sperm counting. After fixation of testis, tissue sections were prepared and studied microscopically to evaluate morphometric (lumen diameter, number of primary spermatocyte and sertoli cell) and histological changes. Data was analyzed by one-way ANOVA test using SPSS15 software. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Results:

There was a significant increase in the number of sperms, sertoli cells, and primary spermatocyte (P < 0.05) in groups receiving extract; however, structural changes were not observed in the groups.

Conclusions:

It seems that celery increases spermatogenesis in male rats, but has no destructive effects on testicular tissue.

Scopolin isolated from Erycibe obtusifolia Benth stems suppresses adjuvant-induced rat arthritis by inhibiting inflammation and angiogenesis

Despite scopolin is a main coumarin constituent in the stems of Erycibe obtusifolia Benth, a herb drug that has long been utilized in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, little information is available about the pharmacological activities of this compound. The present study was performed to investigate the anti-rheumatic effects of scopolin in adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) in rats, and explore the underlying mechanisms of action in views of anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic properties in the synovial tissues. Scopolin (50, 100 mg/kg), injected intraperitoneally for 10 days from the onset of secondary response, significantly inhibited both inoculated and non-inoculated paw swelling as well as articular index scores in AIA. Meanwhile, the mean body weight of rats treated with scopolin was higher than that of model group. Rats treated with high dose of scopolin (100 mg/kg) preserved a nearly normal histological architecture of the joints and showed a significant reduction of the new blood vessels in the synovial tissues. Additionally, scopolin could reduce IL-6, VEGF and FGF-2 expressions in rat synovial tissues. In conclusion, scopolin can reduce the clinical symptoms of rat AIA by inhibiting inflammation and angiogenesis, and this compound may be a potent agent for angiogenesis related diseases and can serve as a structural base for screening more potent synthetic analogs.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of scopolin in rat plasma: application to pharmacokinetic studies

An analytical method based on high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection was developed for determination of scopolin in rat plasma using aesculin as internal standard (IS). After protein precipitation of plasma sample with methanol, the supernatant was directly injected and analyzed. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a C18 column using methanol and distilled water (22:78, v/v) containing 0.2% (v/v) glacial acetic acid as mobile phase with a column temperature of 30 degrees C. The UV detector was set at 338 nm. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 0.105-13.125 microg/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998. The retention times of aesculin and scopolin were 10.4 and 12.8 min, respectively. The recoveries for plasma samples of 0.105, 4.725 and 13.125 microg/mL were 91.08, 95.30 and 96.10%, respectively. The RSD of intra- and inter-day assay variations was less than 7.35%. The lower limit of detection was 0.03 microg/mL .This HPLC assay is a simple, sensitive and accurate and was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of scopolin in rats.

Antianaphylactic and Antipruritic Effects of the Flowers of Impatiens textori MIQ

The anti-anaphylactic and anti-pruritic activities of a 35% EtOH extract (IT) of the flowers of Impatiens textori MIQ. were investigated by in vivo assay. IT and apigenin (1), apigenin 7-glucoside (2) and luteolin (3), principal compounds from IT, inhibited compound 48/80 (COM)-induced by blood pressure (BP) decrease, which was an immunoglobulin (Ig)E-independent anaphylaxis-like response. Compounds 1-3 all inhibited BP decrease induced by IgE-dependent anaphylaxis. Furthermore, IT also inhibited the blood flow (BF) decrease induced by antigen-induced anaphylaxis in actively sensitized mice. IT showed a significant inhibitory effect on scratching behavior induced by COM without a central depressant. IT also significantly inhibited platelet activating factor (PAF)- and serotonin (5-HT)-induced scratching behavior and mitigated protease (PA)-induced scratching behavior. These findings showed that the flowers of I. textori can be utilized as an anti-anaphylactic and anti-pruritic agent in addition to the traditional applications of this plant.