Metabolic status is related to the effects of adding of sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.) oil on postprandial inflammation and lipid profile: Randomized, crossover clinical trial

Effects of Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.) Oil Supplementation on Hyperglycaemia, Hypertension and Hyperlipidaemia (3Hs) Patients: A Preliminary Human Trial

Sacha Inchi oil (SIO), derived from seeds of Plukenetia volubilis L., is a novel plant source of unsaturated fatty acids, highly regarded for its health benefits. The rich fractions of polyunsaturated fatty acids have shown potential in improving or reducing the impact of hyperglycaemia, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia (3Hs) for both in vivo and preliminary human studies. This study aimed to investigate the effects of SIO supplementation on glycaemic, lipid and blood pressures outcomes of patients with 3Hs. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled human clinical trial was conducted to investigate the effects of SIO supplementation in fifty-four (n = 54) 3Hs patients. Assessments of glycaemic control, blood pressure and lipid profiles were conducted and compared at baseline and week-12 after 3Hs patients were randomised into SIO group (n = 27) (received 1000 mg of SIO soft gel per day) or the placebo group (n = 27) (received 1000 mg of corn oil), with prescribed medications. The compliancy and tolerability of supplementation were assessed concurrently. The SIO group demonstrated lower systolic (-8.6 mmHg, p = 0.004) and diastolic blood pressure (BP) (-7.0 mmHg, p = 0.004), total cholesterol (TC) (-0.6 mmol/L, p = 0.024), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (-0.3 mmol/L, p = 0.036) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (p = 0.048) but no effect on glycaemic markers. No clinical adverse events were reported, and the side effects of SIO supplementation were self-limiting and minimal. SIO supplementation showed the potential to alleviate BPs, reduced both TC and LDL-C, and improved HDL-C levels. SIO may offer a simple, novel complementary medicine for the management of 3Hs.

Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis): Potential Bioactivity, Extraction Methods, and Microencapsulation Techniques

Sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.), an oilseed native to the Peruvian rainforest, has garnered attention for its valuable components and its potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. Sacha inchi oil is rich in fatty acids, particularly omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9, along with antioxidants such as tocopherols, which collectively contribute to cardiovascular health, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and neuroprotective effects. The susceptibility of the oil to oxidation poses significant challenges for both storage and processing, making it essential to employ microencapsulation technologies to preserve its integrity and extend shelf life. This paper aims to provide a review of the therapeutic potential, extraction methods, and microencapsulation strategies for enhancing the oil's stability and bioavailability. Optimizing both extraction processes and encapsulation strategies would enhance the oil's stability and bioavailability, enabling it to be more effectively utilized in functional foods and therapeutic applications across the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical fields.

The application prospects of sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis linneo) in rheumatoid arthritis

Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L) (SI) is a traditional natural medicine from tropical rainforests of Amazon region in South America. As a raw material for edible oil, it has various pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemia, and blood pressure lowering, which have attracted increasing attentions of pharmacists. This has prompted researchers to explore its pharmacological effects for potential applications in certain diseases. Among these, the study of its anti-inflammatory effects has become a particularly interesting topic, especially in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is a systemic autoimmune disease, and often accompanied by chronic inflammatory reactions. Despite significant progress in its treatment, there is still an urgent need to find effective anti-RA drugs in regard to safety. This review summarizes the potential therapeutic effects of SI on RA by modulating gut microbiota, targeting inflammatory cells and pathways, and mimicking biologic antibody drugs, predicting the application prospects of SI in RA, and providing references for research aimed at using SI to treat RA.

Evaluating the Potential of Plukenetia volubilis Linneo (Sacha Inchi) in Alleviating Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: A Mini Review

Plukenetia volubilis Linneo or Sacha Inchi (SI), a traditional natural remedy indigenous to Peru and Brazil, has garnered global attention due to its exceptional nutritional composition. Its protective effects against various non-communicable diseases, notably cardiovascular disease (CVD), have become a subject of interest in recent research. This comprehensive review summarizes the existing evidence from 15 relevant articles concerning the impact of SI on common CVD risk factors, including dyslipidemia, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. The relevant articles were derived from comprehensive searches on PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science using predefined criteria and keywords related to the topic. Overall, SI demonstrated positive effects in attenuating dyslipidemia, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. The multifaceted mechanisms responsible for the protective effects of SI against these CVD risk factors are primarily attributed to its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. While preclinical studies dominate the current scientific literature on SI, there are limited clinical trials to corroborate these findings. Therefore, future well-designed, large-scale randomized clinical trials are highly recommended to establish the efficacy of SI and determine its optimal dosage, potential drug and food interactions, and practical integration into preventive strategies and dietary interventions for the high-risk populations.

Medicinal Plants in Peru as a Source of Immunomodulatory Drugs Potentially Useful Against COVID-19

The current COVID-19 pandemic, characterized by a highly contagious severe acute respiratory syndrome, led us to look for medicinal plants as an alternative to obtain new drugs, especially those with immunomodulatory abilities, capable of acting against the pulmonary infection caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Despite medical advances with COVID-19 drugs and vaccines, plant-based compounds could provide an array of suitable candidates to test against this virus, or at the very least, to alleviate some symptoms. Therefore, this review explores some plants widely used in Peru that show immunomodulatory properties or, even more, contain phytoconstituents potentially useful to prevent or alleviate the COVID-19 infection. More interestingly, the present review highlights relevant information from those plants to support the development of new drugs to boost the immune system. We used three criteria to choose nine vegetal species, and a descriptive search was then conducted from 1978 to 2021 on different databases, using keywords focused on the immune system that included information such as pharmacological properties, phytochemical, botanical, ethnobotanical uses, and some clinical trials. From these literature data, our results displayed considerable immunomodulation activity along with anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant, and antitumoral activities. Noticeably, these pharmacological activities are related with a wide variety of bioactive phytoconstituents (mixtures or isolated compounds) which may be beneficial in modulating the overt inflammatory response in severe COVID-19. Further scientific research on the pharmacological activities and clinical utilization of these potential plants are warranted.

Graphical Abstract

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43450-023-00367-w.

Selected Seeds as Sources of Bioactive Compounds with Diverse Biological Activities

Seeds contain a variety of phytochemicals that exhibit a wide range of biological activities. Plant-derived compounds are often investigated for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, hypoglycemic, anti-hypercholesterolemic, anti-hypertensive, anti-platelet, anti-apoptotic, anti-nociceptive, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, hepatoprotective, or neuroprotective properties. In this review, we have described the chemical content and biological activity of seeds from eight selected plant species-blackberry (Rubus fruticosus L.), black raspberry (Rubus coreanus Miq.), grape (Vitis vinifera L.), Moringa oleifera Lam., sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.), Gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Sprenger), hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), and sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L). This review is based on studies identified in electronic databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, and SCOPUS. Numerous preclinical, and some clinical studies have found that extracts, fractions, oil, flour, proteins, polysaccharides, or purified chemical compounds isolated from the seeds of these plants display promising, health-promoting effects, and could be utilized in drug development, or to make nutraceuticals and functional foods. Despite that, many of these properties have been studied only in vitro, and it's unsure if their effects would be relevant in vivo as well, so there is a need for more animal studies and clinical trials that would help determine if they could be applied in disease prevention or treatment.

Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia Volubilis L.): recent insight on phytochemistry, pharmacology, organoleptic, safety and toxicity perspectives

Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia Volubilis L.), SI, is the oleaginous plant of the Euphorbiaceous family originally cultivated in the Amazonian forest. It is traditionally appreciated and consumed as the healthful food. In vivo, in vitro and clinical studies have suggested the beneficial effects of SI for a variety of neuroprotection, dermatology, antidyslipidaemic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative and antitumor modulation activities. Many of these potential impacts are related to its bioactive compounds, particularly essential fatty acids, proteins and phytochemicals. However, there are some scientific evidences underlying the risk of toxicity associated with the high doses of SI seed oils. With the aforementioned, this review outlines a narrative review of SI, including its ethnobotanical components, phytochemistry profile, organoleptic and sensory evaluations. The essential development of its latest applications in the field of medicine, pharmacology, safety and toxicological issues, are laconically demonstrated. Moreover, the underlying challenges and upcoming prospective for the integration of SI use are detailed.

Potential plants for inflammatory dysfunction in the SARS-CoV-2 infection

The inflammatory process is a biological response of the organism to remove injurious stimuli and initiate homeostasis. It has been recognized as a key player in the most severe forms of SARS-CoV-2, characterized by significantly increased pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, the so-called "cytokine storm" that appears to play a pivotal role in this disease. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to select clinical trials with anti-inflammatory plants and relate the activity of these plants to inflammatory markers of SARS-CoV-2 infection. PRISMA guidelines are followed, and studies of interest are indexed in PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov databases. As a result, 32 clinical trials encompassing 22 plants were selected. The main anti-inflammatory mechanisms described in the studies are the inhibition of inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, TNF-a, IFN-γ, and IL-1; decreased CRP and oxidative marker levels; increased endogenous antioxidant levels; modulation of cardiovascular risk markers. The data found are not directly related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, they provide possibilities for new studies as plants have a wide array of phytochemicals, and detecting which ones are responsible for anti-inflammatory effects can provide invaluable contribution to studies aiming to evaluate efficacy in scenarios of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.): An emerging source of nutrients, omega-3 fatty acid and phytochemicals

Sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis) (SI) is an oleaginous plant producing oil and protein-rich seeds. It has been cultivated for centuries and is native to the tropical rainforest of the Amazon region of South America including parts of Peru and northwestern Brazil. At present, SI seeds are emerging as a potential source of macro- and micronutrients, α-linolenic acid and phytochemicals. This review attempts to elucidate the nutrients, phytonutrients, safety, toxicity, health benefits and food applications of SI seed. Recent scientific studies have associated the consumption of SI seed/oil with reduced risk of chronic inflammatory diseases. However, lack of awareness and in-depth understanding has resulted in it being neglected both at the consumer and industrial level. In all, SI is an underutilized and undervalued oleaginous crop which not only has the potential to mitigate food and nutritional insecurity but also offers humongous opportunities for the development of novel value-added food products.