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Ushasree MV, Jia Q, Do SG, Lee EY. New opportunities and perspectives on biosynthesis and bioactivities of secondary metabolites from Aloe vera. Biotechnol Adv 2024; 72:108325. [PMID: 38395206 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
Historically, the genus Aloe has been an indispensable part of both traditional and modern medicine. Decades of intensive research have unveiled the major bioactive secondary metabolites of this plant. Recent pandemic outbreaks have revitalized curiosity in aloe metabolites, as they have proven pharmacokinetic profiles and repurposable chemical space. However, the structural complexity of these metabolites has hindered scientific advances in the chemical synthesis of these compounds. Multi-omics research interventions have transformed aloe research by providing insights into the biosynthesis of many of these compounds, for example, aloesone, aloenin, noreugenin, aloin, saponins, and carotenoids. Here, we summarize the biological activities of major aloe secondary metabolites with a focus on their mechanism of action. We also highlight the recent advances in decoding the aloe metabolite biosynthetic pathways and enzymatic machinery linked with these pathways. Proof-of-concept studies on in vitro, whole-cell, and microbial synthesis of aloe compounds have also been briefed. Research initiatives on the structural modification of various aloe metabolites to expand their chemical space and activity are detailed. Further, the technological limitations, patent status, and prospects of aloe secondary metabolites in biomedicine have been discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mrudulakumari Vasudevan Ushasree
- Department of Chemical Engineering (BK21 FOUR Integrated Engineering Program), Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 17104, Republic of Korea
| | - Qi Jia
- Unigen, Inc., 2121 South street suite 400 Tacoma, Washington 98405, USA
| | - Seon Gil Do
- Naturetech, Inc., 29-8, Yongjeong-gil, Chopyeong-myeon, Jincheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do 27858, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun Yeol Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering (BK21 FOUR Integrated Engineering Program), Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 17104, Republic of Korea.
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Kong XY, Chen TT, Zhang HW, Jia HM, Yu M, Zou ZM. Characterization of the metabolism of aloin A/B and aloesin in rats by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Biomed Chromatogr 2022; 36:e5483. [PMID: 35975594 DOI: 10.1002/bmc.5483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 08/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Aloin A/B and aloesin are the major bioactive constituents in the Aloe vera, with diverse pharmacological activities, including anti-bacterial, anti-tumour, anti-inflammatory and intestinal regulation. However, the in vivo metabolism of aloin A/B and aloesin are still unclear. In this study, the metabolic processes of aloin A/B and aloesin in rats were investigated using the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) and MetaboLynxTM software with Mass defect filter (MDF) technique. Based on the proposed method, the prototype component of three compounds were all detected in the rat plasma, urine and feces. Meanwhile, 25 aloin A/B metabolites (6 phase I, 3 phase II, 16 phase I combined with phase II) and 3 aloesin metabolites (2 phase I and 1 phase II) were detected in rats after oral administration of aloin A, aloin B and aloesin, and the main biotransformation reactions were hydroxylation, oxidation, methylation, acetylation, and glucuronidation. In addition, Aloin A and aloin B can be transformed into each other in vivo and the metabolic profiles of aloin A and aloin B were identical. These results provide essential data for further pharmaceutical researches and clinical application of aloin A/B and aloesin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin-Yu Kong
- The Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China
| | | | - Hong-Wu Zhang
- The Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Hong-Mei Jia
- The Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Meng Yu
- The Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Zhong-Mei Zou
- The Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
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Hicks EG, Kandel SE, Lampe JN. Identification of Aloe-derived natural products as prospective lead scaffolds for SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M pro) inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2022; 66:128732. [PMID: 35427739 PMCID: PMC9004148 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2022.128732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused over 5 million deaths and 250 million infections worldwide. Despite successful vaccination efforts and emergency approval of small molecule therapies, a diverse range of antivirals is still needed to combat the inevitable resistance that will arise from new SARS-CoV-2 variants. The main protease of SARS-CoV-2 (Mpro) is an attractive drug target due to the clinical success of protease inhibitors against other viruses, such as HIV and HCV. However, in order to combat resistance, various chemical scaffolds need to be identified that have the potential to be developed into potent inhibitors. To this end, we screened a high-content protease inhibitor library against Mproin vitro, in order to identify structurally diverse compounds that could be further developed into antiviral leads. Our high-content screening efforts retrieved 27 hits each with > 50% inhibition in our Mpro FRET assay. Of these, four of the top inhibitor compounds were chosen for follow-up due to their potency and drugability (Lipinski's rules of five criteria): anacardic acid, aloesin, aloeresin D, and TCID. Further analysis via dose response curves revealed IC50 values of 6.8 μM, 38.9 μM, 125.3 μM, and 138.0 μM for each compound, respectively. Molecular docking studies demonstrated that the four inhibitors bound at the catalytic active site of Mpro with varying binding energies (-7.5 to -5.6 kcal/mol). Furthermore, Mpro FRET assay kinetic studies demonstrated that Mpro catalysis is better represented by a sigmoidal Hill model than the standard Michaelis-Menten hyperbola, indicating substantial cooperativity of the active enzyme dimer. This result suggests that the dimerization interface could be an attractive target for allosteric inhibitors. In conclusion, we identified two closely-related natural product compounds from the Aloe plant (aloesin and aloeresin D) that may serve as novel scaffolds for Mpro inhibitor design and additionally confirmed the strongly cooperative kinetics of Mpro proteolysis. These results further advance our knowledge of structure-function relationships in Mpro and offer new molecular scaffolds for inhibitor design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily G Hicks
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, United States
| | - Sylvie E Kandel
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, United States
| | - Jed N Lampe
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Skaggs School of Pharmacy, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, United States.
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Mikayoulou M, Mayr F, Temml V, Pandian A, Vermaak I, Chen W, Komane B, Stuppner H, Viljoen A. Anti-tyrosinase activity of South African Aloe species and isolated compounds plicataloside and aloesin. Fitoterapia 2021; 150:104828. [PMID: 33434632 DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2021.104828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Tyrosinase is the key enzyme in the production of melanin. Tyrosinase inhibitors have gained interest in the cosmetics industry to prevent hyperpigmentation and skin-related disorders by inhibiting melanin production. It has been reported that several Aloe species exhibit anti-tyrosinase efficacy in vitro. In this study, the exudates of thirty-nine South African Aloe species were screened to identify species and compounds with anti-tyrosinase activity. Qualitative screening revealed that twenty-nine Aloe species exhibited tyrosinase inhibition activity with one to three active bands. Quantitative screening was performed for 29 species and expressed as IC50 values. Three species were further analysed and subsequently, aloesin and aloeresin A was isolated from A. ferox and plicataloside from A. plicatilis and A. chabaudii. Aloeresin A was determined to be a substrate of mushroom tyrosinase. Dose-response assays showed that aloesin (IC50 = 31.5 μM) and plicataloside (IC50 = 84.1 μM) exhibited moderate to weak activity. Molecular docking scores for plicataloside were considerably lower than for aloesin (P < 0.01), confirming its lower IC50. Several Aloe species may have potential for the management of hyperpigmentation or as a skin lightening agent. This is the first report showing that plicataloside, present in A. plicatilis and A. chabaudii, exhibits anti-tyrosinase activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miena Mikayoulou
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Fabian Mayr
- Institute of Pharmacy/Pharmacognosy, Centre for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80/82, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Veronika Temml
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Strubergasse 21, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Arjun Pandian
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Ilze Vermaak
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; SAMRC Herbal Drugs Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Weiyang Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Baatile Komane
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Hermann Stuppner
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Strubergasse 21, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
| | - Alvaro Viljoen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; SAMRC Herbal Drugs Research Unit, Faculty of Science, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
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Yimam M, Brownell L, Jia Q. Aloesin as a medical food ingredient for systemic oxidative stress of diabetes. World J Diabetes 2015; 6:1097-1107. [PMID: 26265996 PMCID: PMC4530323 DOI: 10.4239/wjd.v6.i9.1097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Revised: 05/28/2015] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires a long term management where oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in disease progression and intensifying secondary complications. In spite of all the research on diabetes and recent advances in diabetes treatments, the reality is that there is no cure for diabetes and its devastating complications. While currently available anti-diabetic therapies are effective in reducing blood glucose level, they are not without associated side effects when they are used for a long term applications. As a result, physicians and patients are inclining more towards to a safer therapy with less serious side effects in the form of medicinal foods and botanical alternatives that are suitable for chronic usage. Aloesin, an Aloe chromone, has previously been formulated with an aloe polysaccharide to give a composition called Loesyn, where it showed significant impact in reducing glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, fructosamine and plasma insulin level in humans. Radical scavenging activities of chromones and polysaccharides from Aloe have also been reported. Here we rationalize the relevance of use of Aloesin alone or in a standardized blend with Aloe polysaccharides, as a potential medical food to manage systemic oxidative stress and/or high blood glucose of diabetes.
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Yimam M, Brownell L, Jia Q. In vivo safety evaluation of UP780, a standardized composition of aloe chromone aloesin formulated with an Aloe vera inner leaf fillet. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2014; 69:390-7. [PMID: 24830776 DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2014.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2014] [Revised: 04/17/2014] [Accepted: 05/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Safety profiles of the aloe chromone aloesin or Aloe vera inner leaf fillet (Qmatrix) as a well tolerated entity have been reported separately. UP780, a standardized composition of aloe chromone formulated with an Aloe vera inner leaf fillet, has shown a significant beneficial effect in lowering blood glucose and improving insulin resistance in human. Here we evaluate the safety of UP780 after a repeated 14 and 90-day oral administration in CD-1 mice. UP780 was given at doses of 100mg/kg/day, 500mg/kg/day and 1000mg/kg/day to groups of 10 male and 10 female for 90days or administered by oral gavage at a dose of 2g/kg/day to groups of 5 male and 5 female for 14days. Body weight, feed consumption, hematology, clinical chemistry and histopathologic evaluation were performed. UP780 at a dose of 1000mg/kg/day or at 2000mg/kg/day produced no treatment-related toxicity or mortality. Body weight gain or feed consumption was similar between groups. There was no test article-related microscopic change. Spontaneously occurring minor changes in clinical chemistry and hematology were observed. However, these changes were limited to one sex or were not dose correlated. UP780 was well tolerated in this strain. A dose of 2000mg/kg/day was identified as the NOAEL (no-observed-adverse-effect-level).
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