Effect of Cuttlebone on Healing of Indomethacin-Induced Acute Gastric Mucosal Lesions in Rats

From marine debris to a valuable medical resource: A review on biology, chemistry, ethnopharmacology, bioactivity and application in biomedical materials of cuttlebone

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Cuttlebone (CB), also known as SEPIAE ENDOCONCHA, is the inner shell of cuttlefish and has been employed in traditional medicine in numerous countries since antiquity. Despite its significant medicinal value, CB is often underestimated and discarded on the beach as debris in some countries, which considerably impacts the environment and economy.

THE AIM OF THE REVIEW

This study aims to elucidate the value of CB, particularly in the context of its medicinal properties, to promote its rational utilization.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

"Haipiaoxiao", "Wuzeigu", "cuttlebone", "cuttle bone", "Sepiae Endoconcha" were used as subject headings for the document retrieval conducted in the CNKI (core journals, CSSCI, CSCD) and Web of Science core collection databases (SCI, SSCI) to collate data pertinent to CB. The bibliometric software VOSviewer was employed to perform keyword co-occurrence analysis on the screened data to determine the research focus of this article. Based on the results of the analysis, a review of relevant articles from scientific databases (e.g., CNKI, Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Chinese Herbal Classics, Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Doctoral and Master's Theses, and so on) was conducted to explore CB from the perspectives of biology, chemistry, ethnopharmacology, bioactivity, and its application in biomedical materials.

RESULTS

The components of CB include calcium carbonate, protein, peptides, amino acids, nucleosides, polysaccharides, inorganic elements, and other chemical components. Among these components, calcium carbonate is the primary component. Several pharmacological activities have been demonstrated in CB, including hemostatic and anticoagulant effects; antiulcer and wound repair effects; antibacterial and antiviral effects; and anti-hyperphosphatemia, osteogenesis, and antioxidant effects. CB has been observed to be nontoxic. Owing to its distinctive "wall-septa" microscopic structure, layer-by-layer destruction characteristics, and multifaceted biological activities, CB is extensively utilized in materials, particularly those in the biomedical field.

CONCLUSION

CB is a versatile marine product in many fields, including ethnopharmacology and materials science. However, only a limited number of cuttlefish species are currently recognized as sources of medicinal CB. It is essential to comprehensively compare CB from various cuttlefish species to expand the range of potential medicinal uses. Several ethnopharmacological applications of CB require further verification through contemporary research. The processing mechanisms of its processed products needs to be elucidated, and the processing parameters should be quantified and unified to obtain products with homogeneous quality. It is imperative to establish a correlation between the chemical composition of CB and its pharmacological activities to clarify the substance basis of its efficacy.

Protective Effect of Anwulignan on Gastric Injury Induced by Indomethacin in Mice

Anwulignan (AN) is a monomer lignan from Schisandra sphenanthera Rehd. et Wits (Schisandra sphenanthera fructus, Schisandra sphenanthera). The protective effect of AN against the indomethacin (IND)-induced gastric injury to mice and the related mechanism of action was investigated in this study. The effect of AN was mainly assessed by observing the gastric tissue morphology, gastric ulcer index (GUI), ulcer inhibition rate (UIR), gastric juice volume (GJV) and pH value. Chemical colorimetry, immunofluorescence, ELISA, and Western blot were used to detect related factors in the gastric tissue. The results showed that AN reduced the GUI, increased the UIR, inhibited the GJV, and increased the gastric pH value. AN significantly increased cyclooxygenase-1, cyclooxygenase-2, and prostaglandin E2 expression levels in the gastric tissue, activated nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2), increased heme oxygenase-1 expression, enhanced the activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, and decreased the malondialdehyde content. AN reduced the phosphorylation of nuclear factor-κ gene binding (NF-κB) p65 and its nuclear translocation, the key protein of NF-κB signaling pathway in the gastric tissue, and the content of the pathway downstream signaling molecules, including interleukin-6, interleukin-1β, and tumor necrosis factor-α, to play an anti-inflammatory role. AN inhibited the downstream signals B-cell lymphoma 2-associated x protein and cleaved caspase-3 in gastric tissue, and activated B-cell lymphoma 2, to play an antiapoptotic role, which were further verified by Hoechst staining. Therefore, AN has a significant protection against the gastric injury induced by IND in mice, and the mechanism may be concerned in its activation of Nrf2, inhibition of NF-κB signaling pathway, and anti-apoptotic effect. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Anwulignan (AN) significantly reduced the indomethacin-induced gastric injury in mice, and its antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and antiapoptosis were considered to be involve in the effect, suggesting that AN should be a potential drug or food supplement for gastric injury induced by indomethacin.

The Cao-Xiang-Wei-Kang formula attenuates the progression of experimental colitis by restoring the homeostasis of the microbiome and suppressing inflammation

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is pathologically characterized by an immune response accommodative insufficiency and dysbiosis accompanied by persistent epithelial barrier dysfunction. The Cao-Xiang-Wei-Kang (CW) formula has been utilized to treat gastrointestinal disorders in the clinic. The present study was designed to delineate the pharmacological mechanisms of this formula from different aspects of the etiology of ulcerative colitis (UC), a major subtype of IBD. Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) was given to mice for a week at a concentration of 2%, and the CW solution was administered for 3 weeks. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and untargeted metabolomics were conducted to examine the changes in the microbiome profile, and biochemical experiments were performed to confirm the therapeutic functions predicted by system pharmacology analysis. The CW treatment hampered DSS-induced experimental colitis progression, and the targets were enriched in inflammation, infection, and tumorigenesis, which was corroborated by suppressed caspase 3 (Casp3) and interleukin-1b (IL-1b) and increased cleaved caspase 3 expression and casp-3 activity in the colon samples from colitis mice subjected to the CW therapy. Moreover, the CW therapy rescued the decreased richness and diversity, suppressed the potentially pathogenic phenotype of the gut microorganisms, and reversed the altered linoleic acid metabolism and cytochrome P450 activity in murine colitis models. In our in vitro experiments, the CW administration increased the alternative activation of macrophages (Mφs) and inhibited the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and subsequent death in intestinal organoids (IOs). We propose that the CW formula alleviates the progression of murine colitis by suppressing inflammation, promoting mucosal healing, and re-establishing a microbiome profile that favors re-epithelization.