Evaluation of cinnamaldehyde derivatives as potential protective agents against oxidative-stress induced myotube atrophy using chemical, biological and computational analysis

The state and trends of cinnamaldehyde research over the past three decades: a bibliometric and visualized analysis

OBJECTIVES

As an aromatic aldehyde, Cinnamaldehyde (CAL) is the representative bioactive component of cinnamon, possessing extensive applications in the fields of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food, and feed. The objective of the present study is to elucidate the state and trends of CAL research via bibliometric and visualized analysis.

METHODS

Research on CAL was obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection, and knowledge graphs were created employing CiteSpace software. Bibliometric analysis was conducted on 6205 articles published from 1994 to 2023.

KEY FINDINGS

The findings indicate a steadily growing trend in the quantity of papers published on CAL. The collaborative network visualization analysis has determined that China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Kumar Venkitanarayanan have the highest number of publications among all countries, institutions, and authors, respectively. According to the keyword and cocited reference analysis, the primary research hotspots and frontiers include pharmacological effect, underlying mechanism, chemical structure modification, encapsulation technology, and delivery system, highlighting the cross-disciplinary characteristic of CAL research.

CONCLUSIONS

This study delineates the research hotspots and trends of CAL. Future research should focus on exploring the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of CAL in more depth, optimizing chemical derivatization methods, and refining stimuli-responsive smart release systems of CAL.

Fabrication and characterization of an alginate-based film incorporated with cinnamaldehyde for fruit preservation

Sodium alginate (SA) is widely used in the food, biomedical, and chemical industries due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, and excellent film-forming properties. This article introduces a simple method for preparing uniform alginate-based packaging materials with exceptional properties for fruit preservation. The alginate was uniformly crosslinked by gradually releasing calcium ions triggered by the sustained hydrolysis of gluconolactone (GDL). A cinnamaldehyde (CA) emulsion, stabilized by xanthan without the use of traditional surfactants, was tightly incorporated into the alginate film to enhance its antimicrobial, antioxidant, and UV shielding properties. The alginate-based film effectively blocked ultraviolet rays in the range of 400-200 nm, while allowing for a visible light transmittance of up to 70 %. Additionally, it showed an increased water contact angle and decreased water vapor permeability. The alginate-based film was also employed in the preparation of coated paper through the commonly used coating process in the papermaking industry. The alginate-based material displayed excellent antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Botrytis cinerea, successfully extending the shelf life of strawberries to 7 days at room temperature. This low-cost and facile method has the potential to drive advancements in the food and biomedical fields by tightly incorporating active oil onto a wide range of biomacromolecule substrates.

Cinnamaldehyde attenuates TNF-α induced skeletal muscle loss in C2C12 myotubes via regulation of protein synthesis, proteolysis, oxidative stress and inflammation

Inflammation is the primary driver of skeletal muscle wasting, with oxidative stress serving as both a major consequence and a contributor to its deleterious effects. In this regard, regulation of both can efficiently prevent atrophy and thus will increase the rate of survival [1]. With this idea, we hypothesize that preincubation of Cinnamaldehyde (CNA), a known compound with anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, may be able to prevent skeletal muscle loss. To examine the same, C2C12 post-differentiated myotubes were treated with 25 ng/ml Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the presence or absence of 50 μM CNA. The data showed that TNF-α mediated myotube thinning and a lower fusion index were prevented by CNA supplementation 4 h before TNF-α treatment. Moreover, a lower level of ROS and thus maintained antioxidant defense system further underlines the antioxidative function of CNA in atrophic conditions. CNA preincubation also inhibited an increase in the level of inflammatory cytokines and thus led to a lower level of inflammation even in the presence of TNF-α. With decreased oxidative stress and inflammation by CNA, it was able to maintain the intracellular level of injury markers (CK, LDH) and SDH activity of mitochondria. In addition, CNA modulates all five proteolytic systems [cathepsin-L, UPS (atrogin-1), calpain, LC3, beclin] simultaneously with an upregulation of Akt/mTOR pathway, in turn, preserves the muscle-specific proteins (MHCf) from degradation by TNF-α. Altogether, our study exhibits attenuation of muscle loss and provides insight into the possible mechanism of action of CNA in curbing TNF-α induced muscle loss, specifically its effect on proteolysis and protein synthesis.