An Emerging Strategy for Neuroinflammation Treatment: Combined Cannabidiol and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers Treatments Effectively Inhibit Glial Nitric Oxide Release.

Cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychoactive phytocannabinoid found in cannabis, has anti-neuroinflammatory properties. Despite the increasing use of CBD, little is known about its effect in combination with other substances. Combination therapy has been gaining attention recently, aiming to produce more efficient effects. Angiotensin II activates the angiotensin 1 receptor and regulates neuroinflammation and cognition. Angiotensin receptor 1 blockers (ARBs) were shown to be neuroprotective and prevent cognitive decline. The present study aimed to elucidate the combined role of CBD and ARBs in the modulation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced glial inflammation. While LPS significantly enhanced nitric oxide synthesis vs. the control, telmisartan and CBD, when administered alone, attenuated this effect by 60% and 36%, respectively. Exposure of LPS-stimulated cells to both compounds resulted in the 95% inhibition of glial nitric oxide release (additive effect). A synergistic inhibitory effect on nitric oxide release was observed when cells were co-treated with losartan (5 µM) and CBD (5 µM) (by 80%) compared to exposure to each compound alone (by 22% and 26%, respectively). Telmisartan and CBD given alone increased TNFα levels by 60% and 40%, respectively. CBD and telmisartan, when given together, attenuated the LPS-induced increase in TNFα levels without statistical significance. LPS-induced IL-17 release was attenuated by CBD with or without telmisartan (by 75%) or telmisartan alone (by 60%). LPS-induced Interferon-γ release was attenuated by 80% when telmisartan was administered in the absence or presence of CBD. Anti-inflammatory effects were recorded when CBD was combined with the known anti-inflammatory agent dimethyl fumarate (DMF)/monomethyl fumarate (MMF). A synergistic inhibitory effect of CBD and MMF on glial release of nitric oxide (by 77%) was observed compared to cells exposed to MMF (by 35%) or CBD (by 12%) alone. Overall, this study highlights the potential of new combinations of CBD (5 µM) with losartan (5 µM) or MMF (1 µM) to synergistically attenuate glial NO synthesis. Additive effects on NO production were observed when telmisartan (5 µM) and CBD (5 µM) were administered together to glial cells.

Higher Novel L-Cys Degradation Activity Results in Lower Organic-S and Biomass in Sarcocornia than the Related Saltwort, Salicornia.

Salicornia and Sarcocornia are almost identical halophytes whose edible succulent shoots hold promise for commercial production in saline water. Enhanced sulfur nutrition may be beneficial to crops naturally grown on high sulfate. However, little is known about sulfate nutrition in halophytes. Here we show that Salicornia europaea (ecotype RN) exhibits a significant increase in biomass and organic-S accumulation in response to supplemental sulfate, whereas Sarcocornia fruticosa (ecotype VM) does not, instead exhibiting increased sulfate accumulation. We investigated the role of two pathways on organic-S and biomass accumulation in Salicornia and Sarcoconia: the sulfate reductive pathway that generates Cys and l-Cys desulfhydrase that degrades Cys to H2S, NH3, and pyruvate. The major function of O-acetyl-Ser-(thiol) lyase (OAS-TL; EC 2.5.1.47) is the formation of l-Cys, but our study shows that the OAS-TL A and OAS-TL B of both halophytes are enzymes that also degrade l-Cys to H2S. This activity was significantly higher in Sarcocornia than in Salicornia, especially upon sulfate supplementation. The activity of the sulfate reductive pathway key enzyme, adenosine 5'-phosphosulfate reductase (APR, EC 1.8.99.2), was significantly higher in Salicornia than in Sarcocornia These results suggest that the low organic-S level in Sarcocornia is the result of high l-Cys degradation rate by OAS-TLs, whereas the greater organic-S and biomass accumulation in Salicornia is the result of higher APR activity and low l-Cys degradation rate, resulting in higher net Cys biosynthesis. These results present an initial road map for halophyte growers to attain better growth rates and nutritional value of Salicornia and Sarcocornia.

The importance of iron supply during repetitive harvesting of Aster tripolium.

Aster tripolium L. is a salt marsh halophyte that has recently gained interest as a cash crop vegetable. Leaf yield and quality were investigated in plants grown with salinity in experiments with Perlite in pots and in plots on dune sand. Plants were repetitively harvested in a 14-day cycle. A. tripolium irrigated with 50mM NaCl exhibited the highest yield when grown in pots, whereas in the plot experiment no significant differences in biomass accumulation occurred up to 80mM NaCl in the irrigation water. Chemical leaf composition changed with salinity, exhibiting higher levels of electrical conductivity, total soluble solutes and the non-enzymatic antioxidant compounds ascorbic acid and polyphenols compared with control plants grown without NaCl supplementation. Using the repetitive harvest regime, leaf chlorosis occurred, a symptom shared by deficiencies in either nitrogen or iron. Comparative applications of five iron chelate formulations in plants grown with 50mM NaCl in pots revealed improved leaf colour and chlorophyll content for only two of the applied Fe-chelates. Concomitantly with leaf colour restoration, the activity of nitrate reductase, the first enzyme during nitrate assimilation, which requires heme-iron for its proper function, increased 3-fold as a result of the iron treatment in the plot experiment. Importantly, the enhancement of nitrate reductase activity was associated with a considerable decrease in the leaf nitrate concentration. Therefore, we concluded that iron deficiency, in addition to leaf chlorosis, reduces A. tripolium leaf quality as a vegetable by increasing the leaf nitrate content. Furthermore, nitrate reductase (NR) activity levels in A. tripolium leaves may act as an indicator of iron deficiency that manifests itself as reduced nitrate content owing to the higher NR activity upon proper iron nutrition. These results demonstrate the importance of salinity level and the application of an appropriate iron-chelating formulation to generate marketable yields of Aster tripolium leafy vegetable when grown commercially on dune sand.