Targeting STATs in neuroinflammation: The road less traveled!

JAK/STAT transduction pathway is a highly conserved pathway implicated in regulating cellular proliferation, differentiation, survival and apoptosis. Dysregulation of this pathway is involved in the onset of autoimmune, haematological, oncological, metabolic and neurological diseases. Over the last few years, the research of anti-neuroinflammatory agents has gained considerable attention. The ability to diminish the STAT-induced transcription of inflammatory genes is documented for both natural compounds (such as polyphenols) and chemical drugs. Among polyphenols, quercetin and curcumin directly inhibit STAT, while Berberis vulgaris L. and Sophora alopecuroides L extracts act indirectly. Also, the Food and Drug Administration has approved several JAK/STAT inhibitors (direct or indirect) for treating inflammatory diseases, indicating STAT can be considered as a therapeutic target for neuroinflammatory pathologies. Considering the encouraging data obtained so far, clinical trials are warranted to demonstrate the effectiveness and potential use in the clinical practice of STAT inhibitors to treat inflammation-associated neurodegenerative pathologies.

In vitro polyphenol effects on apoptosis: An update of literature data.

Polyphenols are secondary plant metabolites which have been studied extensively for their health-promoting properties, and which could also exert pharmacological activities ranging from anti-inflammatory effects, to cytotoxic activity against cancer cells. The main mechanism for programmed cell death is represented by apoptosis, and its dysregulation is involved in the etiopathology of cancer. As such, substances able to induce apoptosis in cancer cells could be used as new anticancer agents. The aim of this paper is to review literature data on the apoptotic effects of polyphenols and the molecular mechanisms through which they induce these effects in cancer cells. In addition, a brief summary of the new delivery forms used to increase the bioavailability, and clinical impact of polyphenols is provided. The studies reported show that many polyphenol rich plant extracts, originating from food and herbal medicine, as well as isolated polyphenols administered individually or in combination, can regulate cell apoptosis primarily through intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of action in in vitro conditions. Due to these promising results, the use of polyphenols in the treatment of cancer should therefore be deeply investigated. In particular, because of the low number of clinical trials, further studies are required to evaluate the anticancer activity of polyphenols in in vivo conditions.

Effects of Tea and Coffee Consumption on Cardiovascular Diseases and Relative Risk Factors: An Update.

BACKGROUND: Tea and coffee are the second and third most consumed beverages after water, respectively. The high consumption of these beverages is due to the sensorial properties and effects on psychological and physiological functions, induced by caffeine and many other bioactive components responsible for the protective effects on human health generally ascribed to these beverages. METHODS: The goal of this review article is to collect the scientific data obtained from clinical trials published in the last five years on the role of tea and coffee consumption against cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and CVD risk factors such as hypertension, hyperglicemia, and hyperlipidaemia. RESULTS: In normal weight subjects, clinical trials showed that the consumption of tea is inversely associated to CVD risk factors or no association was found. Differently, in overweight subjects, the clinical trials and the metaanalyses showed an inverse correlation between tea consumption and CVDs. As regards coffee, it has long been suspected to be associated to high risk of CVDs. Nevertheless, some recent investigations reported that moderate coffee consumption have no effect or even protective effects against CVDs risk factors. The results of the metaanalyses confirm this trend suggesting that moderate coffee drinkers could be associated to a lower risk of CVDs than non- or occasional coffee drinkers or no association can be demonstrated between coffee consumption and CVDs. CONCLUSION: Literature data on tea consumption and CVD risk factors support that tea consumption reduces some risk factors especially in overweight people and obese subjects. Therefore, these results seem to suggest that tea could exert a protective effects against CVD development. As regards coffee, the results are controversial and did not allow to draw conclusions. Therefore, further research is needed before definitive recommendations for coffee consumption against CVD development can be made.

Plants belonging to the genus Thymus as antibacterial agents: from farm to pharmacy.

In traditional medicine, plants have been used since ancient times for the prevention and/or protection against infectious diseases. In recent years, the use of herbal medicines and food supplements containing botanical ingredients, as alternative therapy for infectious diseases, has been intensified due to their high content of antimicrobial agents such as polyphenols, i.e. flavonoids, tannins, and alkaloids. Plants from the genus Thymus are important medicinal herbs, which are known to contain antimicrobial agents, and are rich in different active substances such as thymol, carvacrol, p-cymene and terpinene. In this review, we summarise the available literature data about the in vitro antibacterial effects of the main plants belonging to the genus Thymus. We also provide information about cultivation, chemical composition of the essential oils obtained from these plants, and their use for medicinal purposes.

Tea consumption and risk of ischemic stroke: a brief review of the literature.

Stroke is an important cerebrovascular disease which causes chronic disability and death in patients. Despite of its high morbidity and mortality, there are limited available effective neuroprotective agents for stroke. In recent years, the research aimed at finding novel neuroprotective agents from natural origins has been intensified. Camellia sinensis L. (tea) is the second most consumed beverage worldwide, after water. It is classified into green and white, oolong, black and red, and Pu-erh tea based on the manufacturing process. Catechins are the main phytochemical constituents of Camellia sinensis which are known for their high antioxidant capacity. On other hand, it is well known that oxidative stress plays an important role in the initiation and progression of different cardiovascular diseases such as stroke. Therefore, the present article is aimed to review scientific studies that show the protective effects of tea consumption against ischemic stroke.