Preparation and Evaluation of Curcumin Derivatives Nanoemulsion Based on Turmeric Extract and Its Antidepressant Effect.

Purpose: The early stage of this study verified that a turmeric extract (TUR) including 59% curcumin (CU), 22% demethoxycurcumin (DMC), and 18% bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC), could enhance the stability of CU and had greater antidepressant potential in vitro. The objective of the study was to develop a nano-delivery system containing TUR (TUR-NE) to improve the pharmacokinetic behavior of TUR and enhance its antidepressant effect. Methods: The antidepressant potential of TUR was explored using ABTS, oxidative stress-induced cell injury, and a high-throughput screening model. TUR-NE was fabricated, optimized and characterized. The pharmacokinetic behaviors of TUR-NE were evaluated following oral administration to normal rats. The antidepressant effect of TUR-NE was assessed within chronic unpredictable mild stress model (CUMS) mice. The behavioral and biochemical indexes of mice were conducted. Results: The results depicted that TUR had 3.18 and 1.62 times higher antioxidant capacity than ascorbic acid and CU, respectively. The inhibition effect of TUR on ASP+ transport was significantly enhanced compared with fluoxetine and CU. TUR-NE displayed a particle size of 116.0 ± 0.31 nm, polydispersity index value of 0.121 ± 0.007, an encapsulation rate of 98.45%, and good release and stability in cold storage. The results of pharmacokinetics indicated the AUC(0-t) of TUR-NE was 8.436 and 4.495 times higher than that of CU and TUR, while the Cmax was 9.012 and 5.452 times higher than that of CU and TUR, respectively. The pharmacodynamic study confirmed that the superior antidepressant effect of TUR-NE by significantly improving the depressant-like behaviors and elevating the content of 5-hydroxytryptamine in plasma and brain in CUMS mice. TUR-NE showed good safety with repeated administration. Conclusion: TUR-NE, which had small and uniform particle size, enhanced the bioavailability and antidepressant effect of TUR. It could be a promising novel oral preparation against depression.

Effects of almonds on ameliorating salt-induced hypertension in dahl salt-sensitive rats.

BACKGROUND: Excessive dietary salt intake is related to an increased risk of hypertension. Dietary functional foods probably could help to improve salt-induced hypertension. In this study, Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) rats were used to investigate their metabolic differences from those of salt-resistant SS.13BN rats and determine whether dietary protein-rich almonds could ameliorate salt-induced elevation of blood pressure in DSS rats. RESULTS: After high-salt intake, the systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure of the DSS rats increased dramatically. Metabolomics analysis indicated abnormal amino acid metabolism in their kidneys. Their renal nitric oxide (NO) content and nitric oxide synthase activity decreased significantly after high-salt diet. Oxidative stress also occurred in DSS rats. After the DSS rats received almond supplementation, the levels of various amino acids in their kidney increased, and renal arginine and NO contents were upregulated. Their renal hydrogen peroxide and malonaldehyde levels decreased, whereas renal catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and glutathione levels increased. CONCLUSION: The renal abnormal amino acid metabolism of DSS rats contributed to the impaired NO production in response to high-salt intake. Together with salt-induced oxidative stress, high-salt diet intake ultimately led to an increase in the blood pressure of DSS rats. Protein-rich almond supplementation might prevent the development of salt-induced hypertension by restoring arginine and NO regeneration and alleviating salt-induced oxidative stress. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Thermo- and pH-dual responsive polymeric micelles with upper critical solution temperature behavior for photoacoustic imaging-guided synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy against subcutaneous and metastatic breast tumors.

Chemo-photothermal therapy shows great potential for inhibiting tumor growth. However, achieving maximal chemo-photothermal synergistic efficacy is challenging because of the low efficiency of controllable chemo-drug release in response to external or internal triggers. Thus, a nano-delivery system that could effectively achieve photothermal therapy and dual stimuli-responsive (heat and pH) drug release to inhibit both primary breast tumor growth and metastases is required. Methods: Herein, a thermo- and pH-responsive polymer (mPEG-PAAV) with an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) was synthesized to fabricate a DOX- and IR780-loaded micellar system. After systematic studies of the photothermal performance and controllable drug release of mPEG-PAAV micelles/IR780+DOX under NIR irradiation at different pH values, their chemo-photothermal synergetic therapy efficacies were also estimated both in in vitro and in vivo. Results: Because of the photothermal conversion of mPEG-PAAV micelle/IR780+DOX (~200 nm, 3.82 mV), high local temperature could be induced at the tumor site under NIR laser irradiation. This hyperthermia not only produced an enhanced tumor necrosis, but also broke down the micelles under the decreased pH environment, resulting in rapid DOX release and enhanced intracellular drug accumulation after NIR laser irradiation. In addition, photoacoustic imaging (PAI) of mPEG-PAAV/IR780+DOX micelle was adopted to monitor the morphology and micro-vascular distribution of the tumor tissue, which could also guide the chemo-photothermal therapy. Most importantly, the systemic administration of mPEG-PAAV micelles/IR780+DOX combined with NIR laser irradiation could simultaneously eliminate the 4T1 breast tumor and thoroughly suppress lung metastasis without any obvious adverse effects. Conclusion: Herein, a pH- and thermo-dual responsive UCST micelle system was developed for delivering IR780 and DOX, which could achieve NIR laser-controlled drug release and PA imaging guidance for chemo-photothermal synergistic therapy of both primary breast tumors and their metastases.

A potential model for drug screening by simulating the effect of shear stress in vivo on endothelium.

The purpose of this paper was to research the potential of a dynamic cell model in drug screening by studying the influence of microvascular wall shear stress on the drug absorption of endothelial cells compared to that in the static state. The cells were grown and seeded on gelatin-coated glass slides and were pretreated with extracts of Salviae miltiorrhizae (200 µg/ml) for 1 h. Then oxidative stress damage was produced by H2O2 (300 µmol/l) for 0.5 h under the 1.5 dyn/cm2 shear stress incorporated in a parallel plate flow chamber. Morphological analysis was conducted with an inverted microscope and image analysis software, and high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used for the detection of active compounds. We compared the drug absorption in the dynamic group with that in the static group. In the dynamic model, five compounds and two new metabolite peaks were detected. However, in the static model, four compounds were absorbed by cells, and one metabolite peak was found. This study indicated that there were some effects on the absorption and metabolism of drugs under the microvascular shear stress compared to that under stasis. We infer that shear stress in the microcirculation situation in vivo played a role in causing the differences between drug screening in vitro and in vivo.