Over the years, labdane diterpenes, norlabdane diterpenes, and bis-labdanic diterpenes with cytotoxic activities have been identified across various families in the plant kingdom including the Zingiberaceae. The present review discusses the distribution of these labdane-type diterpenes within the Zingiberaceae; their extraction, isolation, and characterization from the respective Zingiberaceae species; the structural similarities and differences within each group and between the different groups of the labdane-type diterpenes; and their cytotoxic activities against breast, cervical, liver, colorectal, pancreatic, lung and prostate cancer cell lines. The review will also provide insight into how the cytotoxic activities of the labdane-type diterpenes are influenced by their structural features.
The therapeutic effects of food rich in ellagitannins have been established to stem from its microbial metabolite, urolithin. Over the past decade, there has been a growing trend in urolithin research pertaining to its pharmacological properties. The purpose of this systematic review is to collate and synthesise all available data on urolithin's therapeutic ability, to highlight its potential as a pharmaceutical agent, and prospective direction on future research. METHODS: This systematic review was written based on the PRISMA guideline and was conducted across Ovid via Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials, and Web of Science Core Collection. RESULTS: A total of 41 animal studies were included in this systematic review based on the appropriate keyword. The included studies highlighted the neuroprotective, anti-metabolic disorder activity, nephroprotective, myocardial protective, anti-inflammatory, and musculoskeletal protection of urolithin A, B, and its synthetic analogue methylated urolithin A. The Sirt1, AMPK, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling pathways were reported to be involved in the initiation of autophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis by urolithin A. CONCLUSIONS: This review methodically discusses the therapeutic prospects of urolithins and provides scientific justification for the potential development of urolithin A as a potent natural mitophagy inducer for anti-ageing purposes.
Coumarins , Hydrolyzable Tannins , Animals , Coumarins/metabolism , Coumarins/pharmacology , Hydrolyzable Tannins/metabolism , Hydrolyzable Tannins/pharmacology , Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases , Prospective Studies
The oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) originates from West and Central Africa, and it is cultivated in Malaysia for its oil-producing fruits. Malaysia is the world's second largest palm oil producer and the world's largest exporter to date. Consequently, the Malaysian oil palm industry constantly generates a huge amount of biomass with the major contributor being the leaves. A large percentage of these leaves remain underutilized, making them a promising source of raw materials that can be converted into value-added products. The present review summarizes and discusses the flavonoid composition, total phenolic and flavonoid content, and the in vitro and in vivo pharmacological properties exhibited by the extracts of the leaves of E. guineensis. The purpose of this systematic review is to highlight the potential of valorizing the leaf extracts of the oil palm tree as pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical agents.
BACKGROUND: Although numerous medicinal herbal compounds demonstrate promising therapeutic potential, their clinical application is often limited by their poor oral bioavailability. To circumvent this barrier, various lipid-based herbal formulations have been developed and trialled with promising experimental results. PURPOSE: This scoping review aims to describe the effect of lipid-based formulations on the oral bioavailability of herbal compounds. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted across three electronic databases (Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library) between January 2010 and January 2021 to identify relevant studies. The articles were rigorously screened for eligibility. Data from eligible studies were then extracted and collated for synthesis and descriptive analysis using Covidence. RESULTS: A total of 109 studies were included in the present review: 105 animal studies and four clinical trials. Among the formulations investigated, 50% were emulsions, 34% lipid particulate systems, 12% vesicular systems, and 4% were other types of lipid-based formulations. Within the emulsion system classification, self-emulsifying drug delivery systems were observed to produce the best improvements in oral bioavailability, followed by mixed micellar formulations. The introduction of composite lipid-based formulations and the use of uncommon surfactants such as sodium oleate in emulsion preparation was shown to consistently enhance the bioavailability of herbal compounds with poor oral absorption. Interestingly, the lipid-based formulations of magnesium lithospermate B and Pulsatilla chinensis produced an absolute bioavailability greater than 100% indicating the possibility of prolonged systemic circulation. With respect to chemical conjugation, D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) was the most frequently used and significantly improved the bioavailability of its phytoconstituents. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that there is no distinct lipid-based formulation superior to the other. Bioavailability improvements were largely dependent on the nature of the phytoconstituents. This scoping review, however, provided a detailed summary of the most up-to-date evidence on phytoconstituents formulated into lipid preparations and their oral bioavailability. We conclude that a systematic review and meta-analysis between bioavailability improvements of individual phytoconstituents (such as kaempferol, morin and myricetin) in various lipid-based formulations will provide a more detailed association. Such a review will be highly beneficial for both researchers and herbal manufacturers.
Biological Availability , Drug Delivery Systems , Micelles , Plant Preparations/pharmacokinetics , Surface-Active Agents , Administration, Oral , Animals , Emulsions , Humans , Lipids , Plant Preparations/administration & dosage , Solubility
Obesity is a disease growing at an alarming rate and numerous preclinical studies have proven the role of polyphenols in managing this disease. This systematic review explores the prebiotic effect of polyphenols in the management of obesity among animals fed on a high-fat diet. A literature search was carried out in PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Embase databases following the PRISMA guidelines. Forty-four studies reported a significant reduction in obesity-related parameters. Most notably, 83% of the studies showed a decrease in either body weight/visceral adiposity/plasma triacylglyceride. Furthermore, 42 studies reported a significant improvement in gut microbiota (GM), significantly affecting the genera Akkermansia, Bacteroides, Blautia, Roseburia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus, Alistipes, and Desulfovibrio. Polyphenols' anti-obesity, anti-hyperglycaemic, and anti-inflammatory properties were associated with their ability to modulate GM. This review supports the notion of polyphenols as effective prebiotics in ameliorating HFD-induced metabolic derangements in animal models.
The anti-inflammatory property of ratite oils as well as its ability to act as a penetration enhancer makes it an ideal agent to be used in transdermal formulations. The present study aims to develop an effective transfersomal delivery of 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT), an anti-cancer drug, using ratite oil as a carrier agent for the treatment of breast cancer (BC). The 4-OHT transfersomes were prepared with and without ratite oils using soy phosphatidylcholine and three different edge activators (EAs) in five different molar ratios using the rotary evaporation-ultrasonication method. Optimal transfersome formulations were selected using physical-chemical characterization and ex vivo studies. Results from physical-chemical characterization of the developed formulations found sodium taurocholate to be the most suitable EA, which recorded highest entrapment efficiency of 95.1 ± 2.70% with 85:15, (w/w) and lowest vesicle size of 82.3 ± 0.02 nm with 75:25, (w/w) molar ratios. TEM and DSC studies showed that the vesicles were readily identified and present in a nearly perfect spherical shape. In addition, formulations with emu oil had better stability than formulations with ostrich oil. Physical stability studies at 4 °C showed that ratite oil transfersomes were stable up to 4 weeks, while transfersomes without ratite oils were stable for 8 weeks. Ex vivo permeability studies using porcine skin concluded that 4-OHT transfersomal formulations with (85:15, w/w) without emu oil have the potential to be used in transdermal delivery approach to enhance permeation of 4-OHT, which may be beneficial in the treatment of BC.
Drug Carriers , Palaeognathae , Administration, Cutaneous , Animals , Drug Delivery Systems , Liposomes , Oils , Tamoxifen
Oral tamoxifen used in the prevention and treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) (estrogen-positive) patients has limited acceptance, due to its adverse side effects. The efficacy of tamoxifen is related to its major metabolite, 4-hydroxytamoxifen. Local transdermal therapy of 4-hydroxytamoxifen to the breast might avert the toxicity of oral tamoxifen, while maintaining efficacy. We aim to study the skin irritancy, as well as to evaluate the efficacy of the developed transfersome formulations, with/without emu oil, using a syngeneic mouse model of breast cancer. We also quantified tamoxifen/4-hydroxytamoxifen concentrations in blood plasma and performed histopathology. The skin irritancy test showed that the pure emu oil and transfersome formulations with or without the emu oil did not cause skin irritancy in the animals studied. A sensitive and specific LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of tamoxifen and 4-hydroxytamoxifen was developed and validated. Studies on tumor volume and necrosis (histopathology) using the breast cancer mouse model showed that the 4-OHT transfersomal formulations, with and without emu oil, showed comparable efficacy with that of orally administered tamoxifen. However, the transfersomal formulations, with and without emu oil, resulted in significantly lower (10.24 ± 0.07 and 32.45 ± 0.48 ng/mL, respectively) plasma concentrations of 4-hydroxytamoxifen, compared to the oral tamoxifen (TAMX) group (634.42 ± 7.54 ng/mL). This study demonstrated the potential use of emu oil in a local transdermal formulation for the treatment of breast cancer and its reduced adverse effects.
There has been a number of studies looking into an alternative mode of therapy for the treament of breast cancer via 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT) transdermal administration.This systematic review aims to compare the safety and efficacy of a transdermal 4-OHT local therapy and oral tamoxifen (oral-T) on the treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ breast cancer. Through a systematic search of health science databases, eligible trials were located and the end points assessed were Ki-67 labeling index, concentration of 4-OHT in breast adipose tissue (ng/g) and plasma (ng/ml). Revman 5.3 version was used to perfom the meta-analysis. Three trials were identified (n=103), while only two were included for meta analysis. The mean difference between the two studies included were 0.40 and -10.58. Overall the I2 value was 89.0%, (Tau2 =53.86) and the differences between the two trials were statistically significant p=0.002. The meta analysis of the randomized controlled trials showed that the use of local transdermal therapy of 4-OHT gel is more safer than oral-T. However, due to the limited number of studies, the potential use of 4-OHT topical transdermal therapy for the treatment of breast cancer could not be concluded for healthcare professionals.
Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage , Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy , Tamoxifen/analogs & derivatives , Tamoxifen/administration & dosage , Administration, Cutaneous , Administration, Oral , Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacokinetics , Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating/drug therapy , Female , Humans , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Tamoxifen/pharmacokinetics , Tamoxifen/pharmacology
