Curcumin-Based Nanoformulations: A Promising Adjuvant towards Cancer Treatment.

Throughout the United States, cancer remains the second leading cause of death. Traditional treatments induce significant medical toxic effects and unpleasant adverse reactions, making them inappropriate for long-term use. Consequently, anticancer-drug resistance and relapse are frequent in certain situations. Thus, there is an urgent necessity to find effective antitumor medications that are specific and have few adverse consequences. Curcumin is a polyphenol derivative found in the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa L.), and provides chemopreventive, antitumor, chemo-, and radio-sensitizing properties. In this paper, we summarize the new nano-based formulations of polyphenolic curcumin because of the growing interest in its application against cancers and tumors. According to recent studies, the use of nanoparticles can overcome the hydrophobic nature of curcumin, as well as improving its stability and cellular bioavailability in vitro and in vivo. Several strategies for nanocurcumin production have been developed, each with its own set of advantages and unique features. Because the majority of the curcumin-based nanoformulation evidence is still in the conceptual stage, there are still numerous issues impeding the provision of nanocurcumin as a possible therapeutic option. To support the science, further work is necessary to develop curcumin as a viable anti-cancer adjuvant. In this review, we cover the various curcumin nanoformulations and nanocurcumin implications for therapeutic uses for cancer, as well as the current state of clinical studies and patents. We further address the knowledge gaps and future research orientations required to develop curcumin as a feasible treatment candidate.

Uncommon Terpenoids from Salvia Species: Chemistry, Biosynthesis and Biological Activities.

The search for new bioactive compounds from plant sources has been and continues to be one of the most important fields of research in drug discovery. However, Natural Products research has continuously evolved, and more and more has gained a multidisciplinary character. Despite new developments of methodologies and concepts, one intriguing aspect still persists, i.e., different species belonging to the same genus can produce different secondary metabolites, whereas taxonomically different genera can produce the same compounds. The genus Salvia L. (Family Lamiaceae) comprises myriad distinct medicinal herbs used in traditional medicine worldwide that show different pharmacological activities due to the presence of a variety of interesting specialized metabolites, including mono-, sesqui-, di-, sester-, tri-, tetra-, and higher terpenoids as well as phenylpropanoids, phenolic acid derivatives, lignans, flavonoids, and alkaloids. We herein summarize the research progress on some uncommon terpenoids, isolated from members of the genus Salvia, which are well recognized for their potential pharmacological activities. This review also provides a current knowledge on the biosynthesis and occurrence of some interesting phytochemicals from Salvia species, viz. C23-terpenoids, sesterterpenoids (C25), dammarane triterpenoids (C30), and uncommon triterpenoids (C20+C10). The study was carried out by searching various scientific databases, including Elsevier, ACS publications, Taylor and Francis, Wiley Online Library, MDPI, Springer, Thieme, and ProQuest. Therefore, 106 uncommon terpenoids were identified and summarized. Some of these compounds possessed a variety of pharmacological properties, such as antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic, cytotoxic and tubulin tyrosine ligase inhibitory activities. Due to the lack of pharmacological information for the presented compounds gathered from previous studies, biological investigation of these compounds should be reinvestigated.

Stachys pilifera Benth. Ameliorates Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Rats through the Antioxidant Pathways.

Methods: In this experimental study, 35 male Wistar rats (120-180 g) were divided into five groups (n = 7) as follows: intratracheal instillation of bleomycin (BLM, 7.5 IU/kg) was administered to group II. The third and fourth groups received BLM plus Stachys pilifera hydroalcoholic extract (SPHE) (300 mg/kg/day, gavage). Vitamin E (500 mg/kg/day, gavage) was given to group V in addition to BLM. After 14 days, the animals were euthanized to assess biochemical parameters and lung histopathology. Malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), total thiol (TSH), and glutathione (GSH) levels were measured. In addition, hydroxyproline (HYP) levels along with histological changes in lung tissue were also assessed. Results: MDA, NO, and HYP elevations induced by BLM toxicity were significantly inhibited by SPHE (300 and 600 mg/kg), and Vit E. SPHE also significantly increased GSH and TSH levels in comparison to the BLM group.HPLC analyses showed the presence of thymol (55.47 ng/mL) and carvacrol (109.91 ng/mL) in SPHE as potential bioactive phenolic compounds. Conclusion: The results suggest that SPHE alleviates the development of BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis by inhibiting the proliferation of fibroblasts mediated by antioxidant pathways. Other mechanisms underlying this Effect of SPHE need to be clarified through further research.

Natural Products from Medicinal Plants with Anti-Human Coronavirus Activities.

Since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome caused by coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019, COVID-19 has spread to all the continents at an unprecedented pace. This pandemic has caused not only hundreds of thousands of mortalities but also a huge economic setback throughout the world. Therefore, the scientific communities around the world have focused on finding antiviral therapeutic agents to either fight or halt the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Since certain medicinal plants and herbal formulae have proved to be effective in treatment of similar viral infections such as those caused by SARS and Ebola, scientists have paid more attention to natural products for effective treatment of this devastating pandemic. This review summarizes studies and ethnobotanical information on plants and their constituents used for treatment of infections caused by viruses related to the coronavirus family. Herein, we provide a critical analysis of previous reports and how to exploit published data for the discovery of novel therapeutic leads to fight against COVID-19.

Allium hooshidaryae (Alliaceae); Chemical compositions, biological and ethnomedicine uses.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Allium hooshidaryae (sect. Pseudoprason) is a wild plant in northwestern Iran. The plant is traditionally used, besides as spice, also for its medicinal properties. AIM OF THE STUDY: Due to the shortcoming evidence in scientific research and the importance of this plant in folk medicine, this study aims to assess the chemical compositions and biological activities, which have no longer reported to date. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The bulbs of A. hooshidaryae were collected from West Azerbaijan, Iran. The plant essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation using Clevenger-type apparatus according to the European pharmacopeia. The plant hydromethanolic extract was obtained using maceration method. The volatile oil compositions of A. hooshidaryae bulbs were evaluated by use of combined gas chromatography/flame ionization detector (GC/FID) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) techniques. Furthermore, different biological activities of the yielded essential oil and hydromethanolic extract were in vitro evaluated. The antibacterial and antifungal activities were assessed using disc diffusion assay, tube dilution assay, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC), and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC). The cytotoxic activities were assayed by reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) toward two human cancerous cell lines (MOLT-4 and MCF-7). Antioxidant activity was investigated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH•) radical scavenging assay. RESULTS: GC/FID and GC/MS analyses allowed detecting 62 components in the A. hooshidaryae essential oil representing the 91.87% of the total oil. The volatile compounds were identified by comparison of the relative retention indices (RRI), mass spectra with those in NIST08/NIH and Wiley (257 and 7 L) libraries and co-elution with authentic samples where available. Surprisingly, the most abundant compound was obtained as menthol (19.0%) followed by carvacrol (10.1%), menthone (6.4%), methyl (methylthiomethyl) disulfide (4.2%), dimethyl disulfide (3.8%), and thymol (3.8%). Contrary to the other Allium species enriched by sulfur compounds, just three compounds accounting for 10.7% of the total oil were obtained as the sulfur-sulfur bond containing components (Dimethyl disulfide, Methyl (methylthio) methyl disulfide, Bis-methylthiomethyl disulfide). The hydromethanolic extract of A. hooshidaryae showed higher anti-radical (IC50DPPH of 9.81 µg/mL) and cytotoxic (for MOLT-4 and MCF-7, IC50s were 76.3 and 128.6 µg/mL, respectively) activities rather than that of the obtained essential oil (IC50 DPPH of 39.9 µg/mL; IC50 MOLT-4 of 109.2 µg/mL, and IC50 MCF-7 of 297.5 µg/mL). While, the essential oil exhibited the anti-Staphylococcus aurous and anti-Escherichia coli activities approximately the same as Chloramphenicol (positive control). The MIC values were 31.25 and 62.5 µg/mL and the disk inhibition zone values were 23 and 21 mm, respectively. In addition, Candida albicans had moderate sensitivity (MFC of 62.5 µg/mL) for the essential oil. CONCLUSIONS: The hydromethanolic extract of A. hooshidaryae shows the potency to be used for food protection in addition to further cytotoxic investigations. Associated with antimicrobial abilities of both A. hooshidaryae products, the compatible results was observed with the traditional claim having being not investigated to date. These findings will facilitate the development of A. hooshidaryae for further deep investigations.

Effects of Citrullus colocynthis L. in a rat model of diabetic neuropathy.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the biochemical, histopathological and physiological effects of Citrullus colocynthis on peripheral neuropathy in rats with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. METHODS: Seventy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were included in the present study. Diabetes was induced in 60 rats, with a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (65 mg/kg). After 4 weeks, the diabetic rats were assessed for neuropathy. Then, the diabetic rats with neuropathy were randomly divided into 6 groups for a 4-week treatment with gabapentin, oral administration of C. colocynthis fruit pulp powder (100 and 300 mg/kg per day), topical preparations as oil-based solution and ointment, or placebo. Changes in metabolic, physiological, biochemical and histological parameters were considered as treatment outcomes. RESULTS: Metabolic outcomes (body weight and blood glucose level) were improved in the C. colocynthis-treated groups as compared to placebo. Tail-flick and hot-plate tests also had lower latency in the C. colocynthis-treated groups. Measurement of oxidative stress markers (malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase and catalase) showed the antioxidant effect of C. colocynthis. Histological evaluation of the sciatic nerve showed that C. colocynthis decreased the number of demyelinated and degenerated nerve fibers. Among the C. colocynthis-treated groups, the one receiving 100 mg/kg power per day orally had the best treatment outcomes. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that C. colocynthis fruit, through its antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities, has a positive effect in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy.

Antimicrobial Survey of Local Herbal Drugs against Acinetobacter baumannii Isolated from Patients Admitted to a Level-I Trauma Center.

Objective: To determine the antimicrobial activity and entity of several local herbal plants against Acintobacters isolated from trauma patients admitted to a Level-I trauma center. Methods: The antibacterial activities of the Satureja bachtiarica oil and someselected Iranian medicinal plants (Artemisia sieberi and Tanacetum dumosum belonging to the Asteraceae/Compositae; Salvia mirzayanii and Mentha mozaffarianii belonging to the Lamiaceae/Labiatae) were assayed on A. baumannii by microdilution and agar disc diffusion methods. Having obtained the acceptable antibacterial data, the shade-dried aerial parts of the plants were extracted by hydrodistillation method using Clevenger apparatus according to European pharmacopeia for 3 h. The analysis of S. bachtiarica essential oil accompanied by other herbal drug oils were performed by using GC/FID and GC/MS methods. Results: Outcomes revealed that the S. bachtiarica essential oil exhibited the potent antibacterial capability against Acinetobacter strains in comparison with Colistin, as a positive control. For S. bachtiarica,the growth inhibition zone and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were 21 mm and 0.5 mg/ml, while, for Colistin, the data were in order: 8 mm and 0.016 mg/ml. Consequently, GC/MS outcomes demonstrated that the major components of the essence were carvacrol (48.6%), followed by p-Cymene (16.6%), γ-terpinene (6.9%) and linalool (5.3%). Conclusion: Based on the considerable inhibitory activity against nosocomial infections by essential oil of S. bachtiarica, it could be considered as the suitable candidate in the food industry and pharmaceutical uses.

Isolation and characterization of homoisoflavonoids from Scilla persica HAUSSKN

abstract Medicinal plants have many traditional claims including the treatment of ailments of infectious origin. In the evaluation of traditional claims, scientific research is extremely important. In this study, five homoisoflavonoids named 3-(4'-hydroxybenzylidene)-5,7-dihydroxy-6-methoxychroman-4-one(Autumnalin),3-(4'-hydroxybenzyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-6-methoxychroman-4-one (3,9-dihydro-autumnalin), 3-(3',4'-dihydroxybenzyl)-5,8-dihydroxy-7-methoxychroman-4-one,3-(3',4'-dihydroxybenzylidene)-5,8-dihydroxy-7-methoxychroman-4-one and 3-(3',4'-dihydroxybenzylidene)-5,7-dihydroxy-6-methoxychroman-4-one, were isolated from the bulbs of the plant Scilla persica HAUSSKN. Their structures were established on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses such as NMR, MS, IR and UV.

resumo Plantas medicinais apresentam muitas atribuições tradicionais, incluindo o tratamento de doenças de origem infecciosa. A pesquisa científica é extremamente importante na avaliação dos usos tradicionais. Neste estudo, cinco homoisoflavonóides: 3-(4'-hidroxibenzilideno)-5,7-diidroxi-6-metoxicroman-4-ona(autumnalina), 3-(4'-hidroxibenzil)-5,7-diidroxi-6- metoxicroman-4-ona (3,9-diidro-autumnalina), 3-(3',4'-diidroxibenzil)-5,8-diidroxi-7- metoxicroman-4-ona, 3-(3',4'-diidroxibenzilideno)-5,8-diidroxi-7- metoxicroman-4-ona e 3-(3',4'-diidroxibenzilideno)-5,7-diidroxi-6- metoxicroman-4-ona foram isolados dos bulbos da planta Scilla persica HAUSSKN. Suas estruturas foram estabelecidas com base na extensa análise espectroscópica, como RMN, EM, IV e UV.

Biochemical and biophysical properties of a novel homoisoflavonoid extracted from Scilla persica HAUSSKN.

In this study isolation and structural elucidation of a homoisoflavonoid, 3-(3',4'-dihydroxybenzyl)-8-hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxychroman-4-one (Scillapersicone 1), is reported from Scilla persica HAUSSKN. The structure was solved by a single crystal X-ray analysis. The unit cell parameters are a=11.7676 (2)Å, b=20.1174 (4)Å, c=7.8645 (9)Å, ß=93.544 (2)°, V=1858.23 (7)Å(3), monoclinic space group P21/c and four symmetry equivalent molecules in an unit cell. The structure was consistent with the UV, IR, 1D and 2D NMR, HRFAB-MS data. The optimized molecular geometry agrees closely that obtained from the single crystal X-ray crystallography. Furthermore, cytotoxicity of this compound was evaluated by MTT assay on AGS and WEHI-164 cancerous cell lines.