Beneficial effects of ginsenosides on diabetic nephropathy: A systematical review and meta-analysis of preclinical evidence.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ginseng is one of the most widely used herbs in the world for the treatment of various diseases, and ginsenoside is the representative bioactive component in ginseng. There have been many in vivo studies on ginsenoside for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy (DN), the most common diabetic microvascular complication and the main cause of diabetic morbidity and mortality. AIM OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of ginsenosides on DN by preclinical evidence and meta-analysis. Meanwhile, the main possible action mechanisms of ginsenosides against DN were also summarized. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, WOS, Embase, Cochrane, WanFang, Cqvip, CNKI and CBM databases from January 1, 2000, to November 15, 2021, to evaluate the animal experiments of ginsenosides for the treatment of DN. Finally, 30 animal experiments were included. Twelve outcome measures, including renal function indicators (24-h urine protein, serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, creatinine clearance, uric acid, urinary albumin to creatinine ratio), oxidative stress biomarkers (GPX, MDA, SOD), inflammatory factors (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α) were obtained by using RevMan 5.4 software for meta-analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that except for no significant difference in CCr, other indicators such as 24h UP, SCr, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid and UACR were significantly decreased. It showed that ginsenoside could improve renal function in diabetes. Meanwhile ginsenoside significantly up-regulated antioxidant enzymes SOD and GPX, down-regulated MDA and inflammatory factors IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α, indicating that ginsenoside may have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. CONCLUSION: Ginsenoside can protect against the renal failure in diabetes through anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, anti-renal fibrosis, anti-apoptosis/pyroptosis, regulation of blood glucose/lipid metabolism, etc. Which provides preclinical evidence for the application of ginsenoside in the treatment of DN.

Grape seed-derived procyanidins alleviate gout pain via NLRP3 inflammasome suppression.

BACKGROUND: Gout is one of the common inflammatory arthritis which affects many people for inflicting unbearable pain. Macrophage-mediated inflammation plays an important role in gout. The uptake of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals by macrophages can lead to activation of NOD-like receptors containing a PYD 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, thus accelerating interleukin (IL)-1ß production. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) promoted development of the inflammatory process through NLRP3 inflammasome. Our study aimed to find a food-derived compound to attenuate gout pain via the specific inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages. METHODS: CD-1 mice were used to evaluate the degree of pain and the swelling dimension of joints after an intra-articular (IA) MSU injection in the ankle. The murine macrophage cell line Raw 264.7 was used to investigate the effects of procyanidins and the mechanism underlying such effects. Histological analysis was used to measure the infiltration of inflammatory cells. ROS produced from Raw 264.7 cells were evaluated by flow cytometry. Cell signaling was measured by Western blot assay and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Procyanidins significantly attenuated gout pain and suppressed ankle swelling. Procyanidins also inhibited MSU-induced activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and increase of IL-1ß. Furthermore, procyanidins decreased ROS levels in Raw 264.7 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Suppression of the NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophages contributes to the amelioration of gout pain by procyanidins.

Natural Flavonoids as Promising Analgesic Candidates: A Systematic Review.

Due to the chemical structural diversity and various analgesic mechanisms, an increasing number of studies indicated that some flavonoids from medicinal plants could be promising candidates for new natural analgesic drugs, which attract high interests of advanced users and academic researchers. The aim of this systematic review is to report flavonoids and its derivatives as new analgesic candidates based on the pharmacological evidences. Sixty-four papers were found concerning the potential analgesic activity of 46 flavonoids. In this case, the evidence for analgesic activity of flavonoids and total flavonoids was investigated. Meanwhile, the corresponding analgesic mechanism of flavonoids was discussed by generalizing and analyzing the current publications. Based on this review, the conclusion can be drawn that some flavonoids are promising candidates for painful conditions and deserve particular attention in further research and development.

New phenylpropanoid and other compounds from Illicium lanceolatum with inhibitory activities against LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages.

Illicium lanceolatum is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for treating inflammatory diseases. Anti-inflammatory activities of I. lanceolatum stems and leaves were tested using ear edema models induced by dimethyl benzene in mice. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the ethanol extract of I. lanceolatum leaves and stems revealed that the ethyl acetate fraction exhibited inhibitory potency to dimethyl benzene-induced edema in the mouse ear. Phytochemical investigation on the active fraction led to the isolation of a new phenylpropanoid (1), together with fifteen known compounds. This is the first report of the isolation of 2-16 from I. lanceolatum. Of these compounds, compounds 1, 2 and 3 showed inhibitory activity on LPS-stimulated NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages with IC50 values of 27.58, 26.59 and 34.35 µg/mL, respectively. I. lanceolatum stems and leaves can be exploited to alleviate inflammatory diseases, which makes the rare medicinal plant resources sustainable.

Chemical constituents from an endophytic fungus Chaetomium globosum Z1.

A new ergosterol, 15beta-hydroxyl-(22E,24R)-ergosta-3, 5, 8, 22-tetraen-one (1), along with three known ergosterols, two known cytochalasins, and two known azapholines were isolated from Chaetomium globosum Z1. The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods (HR-ESI-MS, 1D NMR, and 2D NMR). Compound 6 showed significant cytotoxic activity against A-549 and MG-63 cell lines with IC50 values of 6.96 and 1.73 microg/mL, respectively.