Seaweed-Derived Phlorotannins: A Review of Multiple Biological Roles and Action Mechanisms.

Phlorotannins are a group of phenolic secondary metabolites isolated from a variety of brown algal species belonging to the Fucaceae, Sargassaceae, and Alariaceae families. The isolation of phlorotannins from various algal species has received a lot of interest owing to the fact that they have a range of biological features and are very biocompatible in their applications. Phlorotannins have a wide range of therapeutic biological actions, including antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-adipogenesis, and numerous other biomedical applications. The current review has extensively addressed the application of phlorotannins, which have been extensively investigated for the above-mentioned biological action and the underlying mechanism of action. Furthermore, the current review offers many ways to use phlorotannins to avoid certain downsides, such as low stability. This review article will assist the scientific community in investigating the greater biological significance of phlorotannins and developing innovative techniques for treating both infectious and non-infectious diseases in humans.

Flaxseed oil ameliorates mercuric chloride-induced liver damage in rats.

BACKGROUND: Mercury is a relentless pollutant, and its toxicity contributes to significant health problems due to exposure to the environment. The present study has determined the impact of flaxseed oil on mercuric chloride (HgCl2)-mediated hepatic oxidative toxicity in rats. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy male Wistar rats were divided into four groups with six animals in each group. Group-A was the Control group treated with saline; Group-B received 1.0 ml oral dosage of flaxseed oil; Group-C was given 200 µl intraperitoneal injection of HgCl2, and Group-D received 1.0 ml oral dosage of flaxseed oil (one hour after treatment with 200 µl intraperitoneal injection of HgCl2. RESULTS: Mercuric chloride (HgCl2) increased the production of malondialdehyde (MDA), reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH), and the concentration of HgCl2 in the liver tissue with a simultaneous decrease in the activities of Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Furthermore, serum HgCl2 elevated the activity of alanine transaminase (ALT) and Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Histopathological changes showed that liver injury was caused by mercuric chloride. Treatment with flaxseed oil ameliorated ROS production and reversed enzymes in serum and liver. Also, a noticeable improvement was observed in all the histopathological characteristics in the rats. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study concluded that flaxseed oil had an outstanding remedial effect on mercuric chloride-mediated hepatic cytotoxicity.

ROS-Mediated Necrosis by Glycolipid Biosurfactants on Lung, Breast, and Skin Melanoma Cells.

Cancer is one of the major leading causes of death worldwide. Designing the new anticancer drugs is remained a challenging task due to ensure complexicity of cancer etiology and continuosly emerging drug resistance. Glycolipid biosurfactants are known to possess various biological activities including antimicrobial, anticancer and antiviral properties. In the present study, we sought to decipher the mechanism of action of the glycolipids (lactonic-sophorolipd, acidic-sophorolipid, glucolipid, and bolalipid) against cancer cells using lung cancer cell line (A549), breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB 231), and mouse skin melanoma cell line (B16F10). Scratch assay and fluorescence microscopy revealed that glycolipids inhibit tumorous cell migration possibly by inhibiting actin filaments. Fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis exhibited that lactonic sophorolipid and glucolipid both induced the reactive oxygen species, altered the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ) and finally led to the cell death by necrosis. Furthermore, combinatorial effect of lactonic-sophorolipd and glucolipid demonstrated synergistic interaction on A549 cell line whereas additive effect on MDA-MB 231 and B16F10 cell lines. Our study has highlighted that lactonic-sophorolipd and glucolipid could be useful for developing new anticancer drugs either alone or in combination.

Translational Shift of HSP90 as a Novel Therapeutic Target from Cancer to Neurodegenerative Disorders: An Emerging Trend in the Cure of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Despite having extensive research, the apparent pathogenic mechanism of Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) have not yet fully understood. The Heat Shock Protein 90 (HSP90), a ubiquitous molecular chaperone, found to have an important role in averting protein misfolding and aggregation through inhibition of apoptotic activity in neuro-inflammatory diseases. Various researchers have confirmed its role in maintaining aberrant neuronal protein's functional stability to a great capacity. It is also involved in regulating the activity of the heat shock factor-1 (HSF-1), a vital regulator of the heat shock response mechanism that cells employ to protect themselves against stress conditions. This quality makes the HSP90 an ideal candidate for novel inhibitory target for therapeutic modality in NDs. METHODS: An extensive literature search was conducted for relevant studies on PubMed, ScienceDirect, Springer- Link etc. The articles were carefully read in their entirety to determine whether they contained information on the topic of interest. Additionally, the reference sections of these articles were searched manually to get more relevant and eligible studies. RESULTS: We have taken an attempt to reveal how HSP90 play important roles with key neuronal proteins involved in supporting the AD and PD pathology. We have further on structure-function relationship of HSP90 to understand its efficacy as a new target in AD and PD by utilizing new generation of HSP90 inhibitors such as geldanamycin and its derivatives, 17-AAG, 17-DMAG, IPI-504, radicicol and its derivatives. HSP90 inhibition leads to suppress atypical neuronal activity by assisting in improving protein aggregation and its related toxicity. Further, the formation of neuronal aggregates is also influenced by HSP90 inhibitors and provides protection from toxicity of protein through HSF-1 activation and HSP70 induction in AD. CONCLUSION: HSP90 inhibition has emerged as a potential target in treating diverse array of diseases especially NDs. In spite of a large amount of research in this direction, the clear cut molecular mechanisms of HSPs associated with neuroprotection are still poorly elucidated and hence more focus is needed toward HSPs and its inhibitory mechanism. The development of HSP90 inhibitors that induce heat-shock response without cytotoxicity for treatment of NDs are still in its early stage. A panel of novel designed research and clinical trial studies are greatly needed to establish the therapeutic reliability and efficacy of HSPs in order to provide best cure for NDs.

Carum copticum and Thymus vulgaris oils inhibit virulence in Trichophyton rubrum and Aspergillus spp

Emergence of drug-resistant strains has demanded for alternative means of combating fungal infections. Oils of Carum copticum and Thymus vulgaris have long been used in ethnomedicine for ailments of various fungal infections. Since their activity has not been reported in particular against drug-resistant fungi, this study was aimed to evaluate the effects of oils of C. copticum and T. vulgaris on the growth and virulence of drug-resistant strains of Aspergillus spp. and Trichophyton rubrum. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed thymol constituting 44.71% and 22.82% of T. vulgaris and C. copticum, respectively. Inhibition of mycelial growth by essential oils was recorded in the order of thymol > T. vulgaris > C. copticum against the tested strains. RBC lysis assay showed no tested oils to be toxic even up to concentration two folds higher than their respective MFCs. Thymol exhibited highest synergy in combination with fluconazole against Aspergillus fumigatus MTCC2550 (FICI value 0.187) and T. rubrum IOA9 (0.156) as determined by checkerboard method. Thymol and T. vulgaris essential oil were equally effective against both the macro and arthroconidia growth (MIC 72 µg/mL). A > 80% reduction in elastase activity was recorded for A. fumigatus MTCC2550 by C. copticum, T. vulgaris oils and thymol. The effectiveness of these oils against arthroconidia and synergistic interaction of thymol and T. vulgaris with fluconazole can be exploited to potentiate the antifungal effects of fluconazole against drug-resistant strains of T. rubrum and Aspergillus spp.