New Glycerolipids from the Traditional Chinese Medicine of Syngnathus acus (Hai-Long).

Two new glycerolipids, syngaculipids A and B (1 and 2), one first naturally occurring metabolite (8), together with five known compounds (3-7) were isolated from the AcOEt fraction of Syngnathus acus L. (Hai-Long). Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectral analyses involving UV, IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectra and ECD calculations. All the isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against A549 and HCT-116 cell lines. Compound 8 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity with IC50 values of 34.5 and 38.9 µM on the A549 and HCT-116 cell lines, respectively.

Curcumin Alleviated Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis by Regulating M1/M2 Macrophage Polarization and TLRs Signaling Pathway.

Curcumin has shown good efficacy in mice with experimental colitis and in patients with ulcerative colitis, but the mechanism of action through the regulation of M1/M2 macrophage polarization has not been elaborated. The ulcerative colitis was modeled by dextran sulfate sodium; colitis mice were orally administrated with curcumin (10 mg/kg/day) or 5-ASA (300 mg/kg/day) for 14 consecutive days. After curcumin treatment, the body weight, colon weight and length, colonic weight index, and histopathological damage in colitis mice were effectively improved. The concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1ß, IL-6, and CCL-2 in the colonic tissues of colitis mice decreased significantly, while anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-33 and IL-10 increased significantly. Importantly, macrophage activation was suppressed and M1/M2 macrophage polarization was regulated in colitis mice, and the percentage of CD11b+F4/80+ and CD11b+F4/80+TIM-1+ and CD11b+F4/80+iNOS+ decreased significantly and CD11b+F4/80+CD206+ and CD11b+F4/80+CD163+ increased significantly. Additionally, curcumin significantly downregulated CD11b+F4/80+TLR4+ macrophages and the protein levels of TLR2, TLR4, MyD88, NF-κBp65, p38MAPK, and AP-1 in colitis mice. Our study suggested that curcumin exerted therapeutic effects in colitis mice by regulating the balance of M1/M2 macrophage polarization and TLRs signaling pathway.