Protective changes of inflammation-related gene expression by the leaves of Eriobotrya japonica in the LPS-stimulated human gingival fibroblast: microarray analysis

Eriobotrya japonica ameliorates cardiac hypertrophy in H9c2 cardiomyoblast and in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Eriobotrya japonica (EJ) is a traditional Chinese plant with high medicinal value. EJ extracts are reported to exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory biological attributes. The current study aims to evaluate the prospective efficacy of E. japonica leave extract (EJLE) against Angiotensin-II induced cardiac hypertrophy in H9c2 cardiomyoblast and in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). For the in vitro studies, Angiotensin-II pretreated H9c2 cells were treated with EJLE and analyzed through Western blotting and rhodamine phalloidin staining for their cardio-protective attributes. In the in vivo studies, 12-week-old SHRs were randomly divided into groups: SHRs supplemented with EJLE, control SHR group supplemented with PBS; in addition, a control group of Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) was also employed. All rats were supplemented twice a week for 8 week time interval. Finally, echocardiography, morphological, histology, and Western blot analysis were performed to assess their role against cardiac hypertrophy. Interestingly, we could observe that supplementation of EJLE could rescue Ang-II induced cardiac hypertrophy as evident through Western blot, rhodamine phalloidin staining, and Hematoxylin-Eosin staining. Notably, morphological and echocardiography data provided further supports for their ability to ameliorate cardiac characteristics. Cumulatively, the results clearly suggests that supplementation of EJLE promotes cardio-protective effects through amelioration of cardiac hypertrophy in vitro and in vivo.

Biological Activities of Extracts from Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.): A Review

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is a subtropical fruit tree with high medicinal value native to China. Different organs of loquat have been used historically as folk medicines and this has been recorded in Chinese history for thousands of years. Research shows that loquat extracts contain many antioxidants, and different extracts exhibit bioactivity capable of counteracting inflammation, diabetes, cancer, bacterial infection, aging, pain, allergy and other health issues. Bioactive compounds such as phenolics and terpenoids have been isolated and characterized to provide a better understanding of the chemical mechanisms underlying the biological activities of loquat extracts. As the identification of compounds progresses, studies investigating the in vivo metabolism, bioavailability, and structure–activity relationships, as well as potential toxicity of loquat extracts in animal or cell models are receiving more attention. In addition, genetic studies and breeding of loquat germplasms for high contents of health-benefiting compounds may provide new insight for the loquat industry and research. This review is focused on the main medicinal properties reported and the possible pharmaceutically active compounds identified in different loquat extracts.

Systems pharmacology dissection of the anti-inflammatory mechanism for the medicinal herb Folium eriobotryae

Inflammation is a hallmark of many diseases like diabetes, cancers, atherosclerosis and arthritis. Thus, lots of concerns have been raised toward developing novel anti-inflammatory agents. Many alternative herbal medicines possess excellent anti-inflammatory properties, yet their precise mechanisms of action are yet to be elucidated. Here, a novel systems pharmacology approach based on a large number of chemical, biological and pharmacological data was developed and exemplified by a probe herb Folium Eriobotryae, a widely used clinical anti-inflammatory botanic drug. The results show that 11 ingredients of this herb with favorable pharmacokinetic properties are predicted as active compounds for anti-inflammatory treatment. In addition, via systematic network analyses, their targets are identified to be 43 inflammation-associated proteins including especially COX2, ALOX5, PPARG, TNF and RELA that are mainly involved in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, the rheumatoid arthritis pathway and NF-κB signaling pathway. All these demonstrate that the integrated systems pharmacology method provides not only an effective tool to illustrate the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of herbs, but also a new systems-based approach for drug discovery from, but not limited to, herbs, especially when combined with further experimental validations.