Bioavailability of finger millet ( Eleusine coracana ) phenolic compounds in rat as influenced by co-administered piperine

Tuning Ferulic Acid Solubility in Choline-Chloride- and Betaine-Based Deep Eutectic Solvents: Experimental Determination and Machine Learning Modeling

Deep eutectic solvents (DES) represent a promising class of green solvents, offering particular utility in the extraction and development of new formulations of natural compounds such as ferulic acid (FA). The experimental phase of the study undertook a systematic investigation of the solubility of FA in DES, comprising choline chloride or betaine as hydrogen bond acceptors and six different polyols as hydrogen bond donors. The results demonstrated that solvents based on choline chloride were more effective than those based on betaine. The optimal ratio of hydrogen bond acceptors to donors was found to be 1:2 molar. The addition of water to the DES resulted in a notable enhancement in the solubility of FA. Among the polyols tested, triethylene glycol was the most effective. Hence, DES composed of choline chloride and triethylene glycol (TEG) (1:2) with added water in a 0.3 molar ration is suggested as an efficient alternative to traditional organic solvents like DMSO. In the second part of this report, the affinities of FA in saturated solutions were computed for solute-solute and all solute-solvent pairs. It was found that self-association of FA leads to a cyclic structure of the C28 type, common among carboxylic acids, which is the strongest type of FA affinity. On the other hand, among all hetero-molecular bi-complexes, the most stable is the FA-TEG pair, which is an interesting congruency with the high solubility of FA in TEG containing liquids. Finally, this work combined COSMO-RS modeling with machine learning for the development of a model predicting ferulic acid solubility in a wide range of solvents, including not only DES but also classical neat and binary mixtures. A machine learning protocol developed a highly accurate model for predicting FA solubility, significantly outperforming the COSMO-RS approach. Based on the obtained results, it is recommended to use the support vector regressor (SVR) for screening new dissolution media as it is not only accurate but also has sound generalization to new systems.

Ethanolic extract of Pyrus pashia buch ham ex. D. Don (Kainth): A bioaccessible source of polyphenols with anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and in vivo

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Pyrus pashia Buch ham ex. D. Don (Kainth) fruit from the Himalayan region is traditionally consumed by native people in the form of decoctions for various clinical conditions including inflammatory diseases. However, scientific studies on the biofunctional properties of Kainth fruits are still scarce.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The study is aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of Kainth fruit extracts using in vitro and in vivo inflammation models.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Free, esterified and bound fractions from the Kainth ethanolic extracts were prepared for determining the anti-inflammatory effect. The levels of 5-LOX and COX-2 were determined in vitro. The protein levels of cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α & IL-10) were quantitated by ELISA method in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW macrophages. Also, the anti-inflammatory potential of the Kainth fruit extracts was determined using the carrageenan-induced mice paw edema model. The bioaccessibility of Kainth fruit extracts was measured using a simulated in vitro digestion system (salivary, gastric and intestinal).

RESULTS

The Kainth fruit extracts were partially purified to yield free, esterified and bound phenolics. Free and bound phenolics of Kainth fruits inhibited 5-Lipoxygenase, Cyclooxygenase-2 activities and pro-inflammatory cytokines (Interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-α) expression in vitro. Also, oral administration of these extracts to the carrageenan-injected mice showed an anti-inflammatory effect by decreasing the pro-inflammatory cytokines and reducing the cellular infiltration in paw tissues. Also, both the extracts showed better bioavailability and bioaccessibility in in vitro and in vivo studies.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicated that free and bound phenolics from Kainth fruits that are rich in catechin, epicatechin, arbutin and chlorogenic acid exhibited anti-inflammatory effects and could potentially be used to treat inflammatory diseases.