Clinacanthus nutans extract lowers periodontal inflammation under high-glucose conditions via inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway.

Periodontal disease is more prevalent in patients with diabetes, and it has a negative impact on their quality of life. Inhibiting the infection and inflammation processes that cause periodontal disease can reduce the severity of the disease and chances of serious complications. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of Clinacanthus nutans extract in reducing the inflammation in gingival fibroblast cells induced by Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Stimulation with LPS under high-glucose conditions led to increased inflammation compared to low-glucose conditions. Treatment of C. nutans extract significantly reduced the expression of these pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. At a concentration of 50 µg/mL, it reduced the relative expression of IL6, IL8, and CXCL10 to 0.51 ± 0.09, 0.6 ± 0.19, and 0.09 ± 0.02, respectively, compared to the non-treatment control, accompanied by a decrease in secreted protein as measured by ELISA. Additionally, application of C. nutans extract markedly suppressed the NF-κB signaling pathway by reducing the phosphorylated form of IκBα, NF-κB p65, and nuclear translocation of NF-κB, along with a decrease in COX2, a key mediator in the inflammatory pathway. Furthermore, analysis of RNA sequencing data indicated that the extract clearly reversed the gene expression changes induced by LPS. This was particularly true for the signaling mediators and inflammatory genes in response to NF-κB, JAK/STAT, and TNF signaling pathways. Our finding highlights the potential of C. nutans extract to alleviate inflammation and suggests its potential as a treatment for periodontal disease in patients with diabetes.

Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Glyceryl 1,3-Distearate Identified from Clinacanthus nutans Extract against Bovine Mastitis Pathogens.

Clinacanthus nutans is widely used as a traditional medicine in Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia. Although its effectiveness is well documented, its therapeutic use is limited to the treatment of only a few diseases; mostly it is used as an anti-viral agent against varicella-zoster and herpes simplex virus infections. Herein, we demonstrate the therapeutic activity of C. nutans extracts in lowering inflammation in a model of bovine mastitis caused by bacterial infection. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a gram-negative bacterial component, caused inflammation activation in bovine endothelial cells (CPAE) through the upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines (IL6 and IL1ß) and chemokines (CXCL3 and CXCL8) gene expression, partially leading to cell death. Treatment with C. nutans crude extract significantly diminished these responses in a dose-dependent manner. The solvent fractionation of C. nutans extract revealed that the ethyl acetate (C4H8O2) fractions had a high potential to protect against cell death and diminished IL1ß, IL6, CXCL3, and CXCL8 levels to less than 0.45 folds relative to the LPS-treated control. Glyceryl 1,3-distearate (C39H76O5) was identified as a bioactive compound responsible for the anti-inflammation activity but not the anti-cell death activity of C. nutans extract. This study highlighted the efficiency of C. nutans extracts as an alternative therapeutic option for the natural-product sustainable development of bovine mastitis treatment.

Clinacanthus nutans genetic diversity and its association with anti-apoptotic, antioxidant, and anti-bacterial activities.

Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau has been extensively utilized in Thai folk medicine. However, there has been no prior exploration of its genetic diversity or its correlation with biological activity and phytochemical profiles. Herein, a total of 10 samples of C. nutans were collected from different geographic locations in different environments of Thailand, encompassing Northern, Northeastern, and Central regions. The genetic diversity study using sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers showed that all C. nutans samples were closely related, as indicated by UPGMA cluster analysis. When comparing the biological activities of C. nutans extracts, our findings demonstrated that those sourced from Northern Thailand exhibited the most potent activity in reducing lipopolysaccharide-inducing cell death, as accessed by cell viability assay. Furthermore, they showed remarkable antioxidant and antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of phytochemical profiles revealed consistent chromatography peak patterns across all C. nutans extracts. However, they exhibited varying levels of phenolic contents, as judged by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay, which positively correlated with their observed activities. In conclusion, this study highlights the limited genetic variation within C. nutans population in Thailand. Furthermore, it underscores the association between the biological activity and the total phenolic contents which might be mainly impacted by environmental conditions.