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Drug Design, Development and Therapy 2024Catalpol, as a natural medicine small-molecule drug, has been proven to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant pharmacological effects.
OBJECTIVE
Catalpol, as a natural medicine small-molecule drug, has been proven to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant pharmacological effects.
METHODS
The effect of catalpol on oxidative damage of mouse epidermal fibroblast L929 model and its mechanism were investigated by using hydrogen peroxide model, CCK8 method, flow cytometry, and Western blot.
RESULTS
The effect of catalpol on Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway was further studied to improve oxidative stress in cell models. The results showed that catalpol had no cytotoxicity to L929 cells, and inhibited the apoptosis of L929 cells after oxidative damage in a concentration-dependent manner, thus playing a role in cell protection. The oxidative damage of cells was inhibited by up-regulating the expression of the signature protein of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway and inhibiting the interstitial formation of cells.
CONCLUSION
This study is a preliminary study on the protective function of catalpol against oxidation and apoptosis in dermal fibroblasts, which can provide a theoretical basis and drug guidance for promoting skin wound healing in the later stage.
Topics: Iridoid Glucosides; NF-E2-Related Factor 2; Fibroblasts; Oxidative Stress; Animals; Mice; Signal Transduction; Heme Oxygenase-1; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Apoptosis; Cells, Cultured; Hydrogen Peroxide; Antioxidants; Skin; Structure-Activity Relationship; Cell Line; Membrane Proteins
PubMed: 38915869
DOI: 10.2147/DDDT.S467569 -
BMC Plant Biology Jun 2024Monoterpenes are among the most important volatile aromatic compounds contributing to the flavor and aroma of grapes and wine. However, the molecular basis of...
BACKGROUND
Monoterpenes are among the most important volatile aromatic compounds contributing to the flavor and aroma of grapes and wine. However, the molecular basis of monoterpene biosynthesis has not yet been fully elucidated.
RESULTS
In our study, transcriptomics and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to mine candidate genes and transcription factors involved in monoterpene biosynthesis between high-monoterpene and zero-monoterpene table grape cultivars. We found that monoterpene biosynthesis was positively correlated by the expression of five genes encoding 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate synthase (VvDXSs), one encoding 4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-2-enyl diphosphate reductase (VvHDR), three hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthases (VvHMGSs) and one mevalonate kinase (VvMVK), whereas the expression of one isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (VvIDI) and one 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (VvHMGR) negatively correlated monoterpene biosynthesis. Of these genes, VvIDI was selected to validate its function in monoterpene accumulation through a transient overexpression experiment, and was shown to inhibit the biosynthesis of grape linalool and α-terpineol. Meanwhile, we found that a 64-amino acid extension sequence at the N-terminus can guide the VvIDI protein to target the chloroplast.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study should help to guide future functional analysis of key genes as well as mining the potential regulatory mechanism of monoterpene biosynthesis in grapes and grape products.
Topics: Vitis; Monoterpenes; Carbon-Carbon Double Bond Isomerases; Transcriptome; Plant Proteins; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Odorants; Hemiterpenes
PubMed: 38914931
DOI: 10.1186/s12870-024-05306-y -
Scientific Reports Jun 2024Pyrethroid bednets treated with the synergist piperonyl butoxide (PBO) offer the possibility of improved vector control in mosquito populations with metabolic...
LLIN Evaluation in Uganda Project (LLINEUP)-effects of a vector control trial on Plasmodium infection prevalence and genotypic markers of insecticide resistance in Anopheles vectors from 48 districts of Uganda.
Pyrethroid bednets treated with the synergist piperonyl butoxide (PBO) offer the possibility of improved vector control in mosquito populations with metabolic resistance. In 2017-2019, we conducted a large-scale, cluster-randomised trial (LLINEUP) to evaluate long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) treated with a pyrethroid insecticide plus PBO (PBO LLINs), as compared to conventional, pyrethroid-only LLINs across 104 health sub-districts (HSDs) in Uganda. In LLINEUP, and similar trials in Tanzania, PBO LLINs were found to provide greater protection against malaria than conventional LLINs, reducing parasitaemia and vector density. In the LLINEUP trial, we conducted cross-sectional household entomological surveys at baseline and then every 6 months for two years, which we use here to investigate longitudinal changes in mosquito infection rate and genetic markers of resistance. Overall, 5395 female Anopheles mosquitoes were collected from 5046 households. The proportion of mosquitoes infected (PCR-positive) with Plasmodium falciparum did not change significantly over time, while infection with non-falciparum malaria decreased in An. gambiae s.s., but not An. funestus. The frequency of genetic markers associated with pyrethroid resistance increased significantly over time, but the rate of change was not different between the two LLIN types. The knock-down resistance (kdr) mutation Vgsc-995S declined over time as Vgsc-995F, the alternative resistance mutation at this codon, increased. Vgsc-995F appears to be spreading into Uganda. Distribution of LLINs in Uganda was previously found to be associated with reductions in parasite prevalence and vector density, but here we show that the proportion of infective mosquitoes remained stable across both PBO and non-PBO LLINs, suggesting that the potential for transmission persisted. The increased frequency of markers of pyrethroid resistance indicates that LLIN distribution favoured the evolution of resistance within local vectors and highlights the potential benefits of resistance management strategies.Trial registration: This study is registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN17516395. Registered 14 February 2017, http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN17516395 .
Topics: Animals; Anopheles; Insecticide Resistance; Uganda; Mosquito Vectors; Insecticide-Treated Bednets; Mosquito Control; Humans; Pyrethrins; Insecticides; Malaria; Female; Plasmodium falciparum; Prevalence; Genetic Markers; Cross-Sectional Studies; Malaria, Falciparum; Piperonyl Butoxide; Genotype
PubMed: 38914669
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-65050-z -
Archives of Microbiology Jun 2024Among the ESKAPE pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an extensively notorious superbug that causes difficult-to-treat infections. Since quorum sensing (QS) directly...
Among the ESKAPE pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an extensively notorious superbug that causes difficult-to-treat infections. Since quorum sensing (QS) directly promotes pseudomonal virulence, targeting QS circuits is a promising approach for disarming phenotypic virulence. Hence, this study scrutinizes the anti-QS, antivirulence, and anti-biofilm potential of citral (CiT; phytochemical) and triclosan (TcN; disinfectant), alone and in combination, against P. aeruginosa PAO1/PA14. The findings confirmed synergism between CiT and TcN and revealed their quorum quenching (QQ) potential. At sub-inhibitory levels, CiT-TcN combination significantly impeded pyocyanin, total bacterial protease, hemolysin, and pyochelin production alongside inhibiting biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa. Moreover, the QQ and antivirulence potential of CiT and TcN was positively correlated by molecular docking studies that predicted strong associations of the drugs with QS receptors of P. aeruginosa. Collectively, the study identifies CiT-TcN as an effective drug combination that harbors QQ, antivirulence, and anti-biofilm prospects against P. aeruginosa.
Topics: Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Quorum Sensing; Triclosan; Biofilms; Acyclic Monoterpenes; Drug Synergism; Molecular Docking Simulation; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Virulence; Bacterial Proteins; Pyocyanine
PubMed: 38913239
DOI: 10.1007/s00203-024-04059-4 -
Iranian Journal of Basic Medical... 2024Hyperglycemia, a prevalent metabolic condition observed in diabetes, leads to oxidative damage, inflammatory responses, and other consequences. Natural compounds...
OBJECTIVES
Hyperglycemia, a prevalent metabolic condition observed in diabetes, leads to oxidative damage, inflammatory responses, and other consequences. Natural compounds alleviate the adverse impacts of diabetes. We aimed to explore the effects of alpha-pinene (AP) as a monoterpene on oxidative damage and inflammation caused by high glucose (HG) in the human hepatocellular liver carcinoma (HepG2) cell line.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The HepG2 cells were subjected to non or HG concentration (50 mM) and treated with or without AP (8, 16, and 32 μg/ml) for 48 hr. The effect of treatments on cellular viability, malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), and activity of anti-oxidant enzymes, including glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), was determined. The gene expression levels of nuclear factor-κβ (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) were estimated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).
RESULTS
HG exposure significantly increased cell death, MDA formation, and depletion of GSH content and GPx, CAT, and SOD activity (<0.05). We have also seen a significant induction in NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6, and DPP-4 gene expression in hepatocytes under HG conditions (<0.05). Interestingly, co-treatment with AP in a dose-dependent manner improved cell death and altered levels of MDA and GSH, and activity of GPx and CAT (<0.05). AP could also modulate the gene expression of NF-κB and inflammatory biomarkers dose-dependently (<0.05).
CONCLUSION
Our findings suggested the protective effect of AP on hepatocytes under HG conditions through attenuating oxidative stress markers and suppression of inflammatory pathways.
PubMed: 38911237
DOI: 10.22038/IJBMS.2024.74546.16191 -
The Science of the Total Environment Jun 2024Urban trees are often not considered in air-quality models although they can significantly impact the concentrations of pollutants. Gas and particles can deposit on leaf...
Urban trees are often not considered in air-quality models although they can significantly impact the concentrations of pollutants. Gas and particles can deposit on leaf surfaces, lowering their concentrations, but the tree crown aerodynamic effect is antagonist, limiting the dispersion of pollutants in streets. Furthermore, trees emit Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) that react with other compounds to form ozone and secondary organic aerosols. This study aims to quantify the impacts of these three tree effects (dry deposition, aerodynamic effect and BVOC emissions) on air quality from the regional to the street scale over Paris city. Each tree effect is added in the model chain CHIMERE/MUNICH/SSH-aerosol. The tree location and characteristics are determined using the Paris tree inventory, combined with allometric equations. The air-quality simulations are performed over June and July 2022. The results show that the aerodynamic tree effect increases the concentrations of gas and particles emitted in streets, such as NOx (+4.6 % on average in streets with trees and up to +37 % for NO). This effect increases with the tree Leaf Area Index and it is more important in streets with high traffic, suggesting to limit the planting of trees with large crowns on high-traffic streets. The effect of dry deposition of gas and particles on leaves is very limited, reducing the concentrations of O concentrations by -0.6 % on average and at most -2.5 %. Tree biogenic emissions largely increase the isoprene and monoterpene concentrations, bringing the simulated concentrations closer to observations. Over the two-week sensitivity analysis, biogenic emissions induce an increase of O, organic particles and PM street concentrations by respectively +1.1, +2.4 and + 0.5 % on average over all streets. This concentration increase may reach locally +3.5, +12.3 and + 2.9 % respectively for O, organic particles and PM, suggesting to prefer the plantation of low-emitting VOC species in cities.
PubMed: 38909817
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174116 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2024Frequent and variant infections are caused by the virtue of opportunistic fungi pathogens. Candidiasis, aspergillosis, and mucormycosis are pathogenic microorganisms...
Frequent and variant infections are caused by the virtue of opportunistic fungi pathogens. Candidiasis, aspergillosis, and mucormycosis are pathogenic microorganisms that give rise to vast fungal diseases that alternate between moderate to fatal in severity. The use of fluconazole as an antifungal drug was limited due to the acquired resistance in some types of Candida and other fungal species. This study aims to consolidate fluconazole's biological effectiveness against several pathogenic fungi. Six active monoterpenes (MTs) of carvacrol, linalool, geraniol, α-terpinene, citronellal, and nerolidol were selected and encapsulated in nanostructure lipid carrier (NLC) with (NLC-Flu-MTs) and/without (NLC-MTs) fluconazole in one nanoformulation to determine if they will act synergistically or not? The synthesized nanoformulation NLC-Flu-MTs and NLC-MTs exhibited very good particle size of 144.5 nm and 138.6 nm for size and zeta potential values of (- 23.5 mV) and (- 20.3 mV), respectively. Transmission electron microscope investigation confirmed that the synthesized NLCs have regular and spherical shape. The abundance and concentration of the six released monoterpenes were determined, as a novel approach, using GC-MS with very good results and validity. In-vitro antifungal screening was done before and after nano co-delivery against seven pathogenic, and aggressive fungi of Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei, Candida glabrata, Geotrichum Candidum, Candidaalbicans, Aspergillus Niger, and mucor circinelloides. Inhibition Zone diameter (IZD) and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) were measured. Nanoformulations NLC-Flu-MTs and NLC-MTs manifested potential and unique biological susceptibility against all the tested microorganisms with reduced (MIC) values, especially against Candida Tropicalis (MIC = 0.97 µg/ml) which represents 16-fold of the value shown by NLC-MTs (MIC = 15.6 µg/ml) and 64-fold of fluconazole free before nanoformulation (MIC = 62.5 µg/ml). The efficiency of nanomaterials, particularly NLC-Flu-MTs, has become evident in the diminishing value of MIC which affirmed the synergism between fluconazole and the other six monoterpenes.
Topics: Antifungal Agents; Fluconazole; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Monoterpenes; Nanostructures; Lipids; Drug Synergism; Drug Carriers; Particle Size; Candida
PubMed: 38909063
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63149-x -
Natural Product Research Jun 2024Anti- activity of compounds from fruits of Raddi (pink pepper) were evaluated, using sustainable techniques such as steam distillation (SD) and supercritical fluid...
Anti- activity of compounds from fruits of Raddi (pink pepper) were evaluated, using sustainable techniques such as steam distillation (SD) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). SD was optimised using a design of experiment and SFE was carried out using supercritical CO solvent (300 bar and 60 °C). Results of the anti- activity showed that the essential oil presented high activity (IC = 4.5 ± 0.3 μg/mL), whereas the supercritical extract had a moderate effect (IC = 19.7 ± 2.9 μg/mL). The differences in the anti- activity can be attributed to the extraction of non-volatile compounds in the SFE, such as moronic and ()-masticadienoic acids. In contrast, SD extracted only volatile compounds such as monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. Therefore, these results suggest that the volatile compounds from pink pepper are involved with the anti- activity.
PubMed: 38907673
DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2024.2371108 -
Natural Product Research Jun 2024The genus L. (Lamiaceae) comprises more than 300 species as annual or perennial herbs or small shrubs, spread in temperate regions of Mediterranean, Asia, America, and...
The genus L. (Lamiaceae) comprises more than 300 species as annual or perennial herbs or small shrubs, spread in temperate regions of Mediterranean, Asia, America, and Southern Africa and several species have been used in the traditional medicine of many countries. Section , one of nineteen sections of genus , is divided in two subsections: and . In the present study the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of Coss., endemic of Morocco, and belonging to subsection , was analysed by GC-MS. No report has been previously published on this species. The result showed the presence of large quantity of monoterpene hydrocarbons (73.3%), being -pinene (38.0%) -pinene (14.8%), and limonene (11.1%) the principal constituents. Furthermore, a complete review on the chemical composition and biological properties of all the other taxa, belonging to section , studied so far, was carried out.
PubMed: 38907665
DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2024.2368750 -
Natural Product Research Jun 2024The genus of is the largest genus of Caprifoliaceae family. This study revealed the composition, antioxidant, and antibacterial actions of essential oils of L. in...
The genus of is the largest genus of Caprifoliaceae family. This study revealed the composition, antioxidant, and antibacterial actions of essential oils of L. in different areas of Iran; Qom, Mashhad, Shiraz. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry examination was applied to recognise the oil conformation. The essential oils of Qom included a high number of monoterpenes, with linalool as the significant constituent. In the essential oil of Mashhad, the main elements were methyl linoleate. The essential oil of Shiraz displayed a similar profile, including a large quantity of fatty acid, with methyl palmitate as the main component. The antioxidant activity was assessed the DPPH exam, and the antimicrobial action was verified using the broth microdilution procedure. The essential oils of Qom revealed the maximum antimicrobial and antioxidant actions between the three regions, ascribed to its high concentration of monoterpenes and phenolic composites. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA) and heat map successfully revealed the variation and correlation between metabolites of the three oils. These conclusions highlight the potential of as natural foundations of antimicrobial and antioxidant representatives, with investigation required to reveal their therapeutic requests.
PubMed: 38907660
DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2024.2369229