Vitamin C, vitamin E, ß-carotene and risk of Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the relationship between the intake of vitamin C, vitamin E and ß-carotene, and the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS: Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, Cochrane library, CNKI, and WanFang databases were searched from inception to 29 August 2022 for observational studies reporting the odds ratios (ORs) or relative risks (RRs) or hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of PD by Vitamin C/Vitamin E/ß-carotene intake. Random-effects models, publication bias assessment, subgroup, sensitivity and dose-response analyses were performed, using.Stata version 12.0. RESULTS: A total of 13 studies were included. There was no significant association between high-dose vitamin C intake and the risk of PD compared with low-dose vitamin C intake (RR = 0.98, 95%CI:0.89,1.08). Compared with low-dose intake, high-dose intake of vitamin E can prevent the risk of PD (RR = 0.87, 95%CI:0.77,0.99). Compared with lower ß-carotene intake, there was a borderline non-significant correlation between higher intake and PD risk (RR = 0.91, 95%CI:0.82,1.01), and high dose ß-carotene intake was found to be associated with a lower risk of PD in women (RR = 0.78, 95%CI:0.64,0.96). CONCLUSION: This study shows that vitamin E intake can reduce the risk of PD and play a preventive role.

Efficacy of Co-administration of Liuwei Dihuang Pills and Ginkgo Biloba Tablets on Albuminuria in Type 2 Diabetes: A 24-Month, Multicenter, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Clinical Trial.

Purpose: We investigated the effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) on the occurrence and progression of albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, multicenter, controlled trial, we enrolled 600 type 2 diabetes without diabetic nephropathy (DN) or with early-stage DN. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive Liuwei Dihuang Pills (LWDH) (1.5 g daily) and Ginkgo biloba Tablets (24 mg daily) orally or matching placebos for 24 months. The primary endpoint was the change in urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) from baseline to 24 months. Results: There were 431 patients having UACR data at baseline and 24 months following-up in both groups. Changes of UACR from baseline to follow-up were not affected in both groups: -1.61(-10.24, 7.17) mg/g in the TCM group and -0.73(-7.47, 6.75) mg/g in the control group. For patients with UACR ≥30 mg/g at baseline, LWDH and Ginkgo biloba significantly reduced the UACR value at 24 months [46.21(34.96, 58.96) vs. 20.78(9.62, 38.85), P < 0.05]. Moreover, the change of UACR from baseline to follow-up in the TCM group was significant higher than that in the control group [-25.50(-42.30, -9.56] vs. -20.61(-36.79, 4.31), P < 0.05]. Conclusion: LWDH and Ginkgo biloba may attenuate deterioration of albuminuria in type 2 diabetes patients. These results suggest that TCM is a promising option of renoprotective agents for early stage of DN. Trial registration: The study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. (no. ChiCTR-TRC-07000037, chictr.org).

Simultaneous determination of anemoside B4, phellodendrine, berberine, palmatine, obakunone, esculin, esculetin in rat plasma by UPLC-ESI-MS/MS and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study in normal and ulcerative colitis rats.

A sensitive and rapid ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous analysis of anemoside B4, phellodendrine, berberine, palmatine, obakunone, esculin, esculetin, toosendanin (IS1 of anemoside B4), tetrahydropalmatine (IS2 of phellodendrine, berberine, palmatine and obakunone) and scopoletin (IS3 of esculin and esculetin) and to compare the pharmacokinetics of these active ingredients in normal and ulcerative colitis rats. After methanol deproteinization, solvents were evaporated at 40°C under a gentle stream of nitrogen. Chromatography was performed using a C18 column with a gradient elution of 0.1% aqueous formic acid and acetonitrile at 0.4ml/min. Detection and measurement were performed on a 4000 QTRAP UPLC-MS/MS system from AB Sciex in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. Phellodendrine, berberine, palmatine, obakunone, esculin, esculetin, tetrahydropalmatine (IS2) and scopoletin (IS3) were monitored under positive ionization conditions. Anemoside B4, and toosendanin (IS1) were monitored under negative ionization conditions. The optimized mass transition ion-pairs (m/z) were 1221.1/750.7 for anemoside B4, 343.2/193.2 for phellodendrine, 337.1/321.0 for berberine, 353.0/336.9 for palmatine, 455.1/161.1 for obakunone, 341.2/179.2 for esculin, 179.1/123.0 for esculetin, 573.4/531.4 for toosendanin (IS1), 356.2/192.2 for tetrahydropalmatine (IS2) and 193.0/133.1 for scopoletin (IS3).

Optimization of Purification, Identification and Evaluation of the in Vitro Antitumor Activity of Polyphenols from Pinus Koraiensis Pinecones.

In this study, an efficient purification method for the polyphenols of Pinus koraiensis pinecone (PPP) has been developed. AB-8 resin was verified to offer good adsorption and desorption ratio for PPP. Response surface methodology (RSM) indicated that the optimized purification parameters for PPP were 1.70 mg GAE/mL phenolic sample concentration, 22.00 mL sample volume, and 63.00% ethanol concentration. Under these conditions, the experimental purity of PPP was 27.93 ± 0.14% (n = 3), which matched well with the predicted purity of 28.17%. Next, the antiproliferative effects of PPP on seven cancer cell lines, including A375 (human skin melanoma cancer cell line), A549 (human lung cancer cell line), SH-SY5Y (human neuroblastoma cell line), LOVO (human colon cancer stem cell line), MCF-7 (human breast cancer cell line), HeLa (human cervical cancer line), and HT29 (human colon cancer line), were examined by MTT assays. The results indicated that PPP had the highest capacity for inhibiting LOVO cells growth with an EC50 value of 0.317 ± 0.0476 mg/mL. Finally, Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was used to tentatively identify twenty-four peaks in the purified PPP, of which five representative peaks were identified as catechin, methyl quercetin, o-vanillin, luteolin and coronaric acid. Our results demonstrate that Pinus koraiensis pinecone is a readily available source of polyphenols, and the purified PPP could be a promising natural antitumor agent for applications in functional foods.