Ifanosine: Olea europaea L. and Hyphaene thebaica L. combination, from traditional utilization to rational formulation: Preclinical and clinical efficacy on hypertensives patients.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Olea europaea L. and Hyphaene thebaica L. are commonly employed by traditional healers in Africa for treating and preventing hypertension, either individually or in a polyherbal preparation (Ifanosine). AIM OF THE STUDY: The primary aim was to assess the antihypertensive effects of Olea europaea L. leaves aqueous extract (OEL), Hyphaene thebaica L. mesocarp extract (HT), and the Ifanosine on isolated rat aorta rings. The secondary objective was to evaluate the clinical benefits of a new oral formulation of Ifanosine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In vitro studies using an isometric transducer examined the antihypertensive effects of HT, OEL, and Ifanosine on rat aorta. Ussing chambers technic were employed to measure mucosal to serosal fluxes and total transepithelial electrical conductance (Gt) to assess the intestinal bioavailability of HT, OEL, and Ifanosine. HPLC was utilized to determine the phytochemical composition of OEL and HT extracts. Subchronic toxicity investigations involved two groups of rats, treated with either water (control) or Ifanosine at 5 g/kg for 28 days. Clinical benefits of the new Ifanosine formulation were evaluated in an observational study with 32 hypertensive patients receiving a fixed oral dose of 3.5 mg three times a day for 30 days. RESULTS: Aqueous extracts induced dose-dependent relaxation of rat aorta rings, with HT and OEL having higher IC50 values than Ifanosine (IC50 = 44.76 ± 1.35 ng/mL, 58.67 ± 1.02 ng/mL, and 29.46 ± 0.26 ng/mL, respectively). The pA2 values of OEL and HT were 1 and 0.6, respectively, while Ifanosine was 0.06. Intestinal bioavailability studies revealed better Prazosin bioavailability than plant extracts. Toxicological studies demonstrated the safety of Ifanosine, supported by histological examinations and biochemical parameters in rat blood. Biochemical analyses indicated flavonoids and phenolic acids as dominant active constituents. Clinical benefits in humans included reduced SBP, DBP, LDL-c, VLDL-c, and TAG, and increased HDL-c without overt adverse effects. CONCLUSION: This study validates the traditional use of OEL and HT for hypertension and advocates for alternative and combinatorial polyphytotherapy (ACP) to enhance traditional remedies.

Obtaining New Candidate Peptides for Biological Anticancer Drugs from Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Human and Bovine Hemoglobin.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of bovine and human hemoglobin generates a diversity of bioactive peptides, mainly recognized for their antimicrobial properties. However, antimicrobial peptides stand out for their ability to specifically target cancer cells while preserving rapidly proliferating healthy cells. This study focuses on the production of bioactive peptides from hemoglobin and evaluates their anticancer potential using two distinct approaches. The first approach is based on the use of a rapid screening method aimed at blocking host cell protein synthesis to evaluate candidate anticancer peptides, using Lepidium sativum seed germination as an indicator. The results show that: (1) The degree of hydrolysis (DH) significantly influences the production of bioactive peptides. DH levels of 3 to 10% produce a considerably stronger inhibition of radicle growth than DH 0 (the native form of hemoglobin), with an intensity three to four times greater. (2) Certain peptide fractions of bovine hemoglobin have a higher activity than those of human hemoglobin. (3) The structural characteristics of peptides (random coil or alpha helix) play a crucial role in the biological effects observed. (4) The α137-141 peptide, the target of the study, was the most active of the fractions obtained from bovine hemoglobin (IC50 = 29 ± 1 µg/mL) and human hemoglobin (IC50 = 48 ± 2 µg/mL), proving to be 10 to 15 times more potent than the other hemoglobin fractions, attributed to its strong antimicrobial potential. The second approach to assessing anticancer activity is based on the preliminary in vitro analysis of hydrolysates and their peptide fractions, with a focus on the eL42 protein. This protein is of major interest due to its overexpression in all cancer cells, making it an attractive potential target for the development of anticancer molecules. With this in mind, astudy was undertaken using a method for labeling formylase (formyl-methionyl-tRNA transformylase (FMTS)) with oxidized tRNA. This approach was chosen because of the similarities in the interaction between formylase and the eL42 protein with oxidized tRNA. The results obtained not only confirmed the previous conclusions but also reinforced the hypothesis that the inhibition of protein synthesis plays a key role in the anticancer mechanism of these peptides. Indeed, the data suggest that samples containing α137-141 peptide (NKT) and total hydrolysates may have modulatory effects on the interaction between FMTS and oxidized tRNA. This observation highlights the possibility that the latter could influence molecular binding mechanisms, potentially resulting in a competitive situation where the ability of substrate tRNA to bind efficiently to ribosomal protein is compromised in their presence. Ultimately, these results suggest the feasibility of obtaining candidate peptides for biological anticancer drugs from both human and bovine hemoglobin sources. These scientific advances show new hope in the fight against cancer, which affects a large number of people around the world.

Comparison of the Bioactive Properties of Human and Bovine Hemoglobin Hydrolysates Obtained by Enzymatic Hydrolysis: Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Potential of the Active Peptide α137-141.

This study focuses on the enzymatic hydrolysis of hemoglobin, the main component of cruor that gives blood its red color in mammals. The antibacterial and antioxidant potentials of human hemoglobin hydrolysates were evaluated in comparison to bovine hemoglobin. The results showed strong antimicrobial activity of the peptide hydrolysates against six bacterial strains, independent of the initial substrate concentration level. The hydrolysates also showed strong antioxidant activity, as measured by four different tests. In addition, the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the human and bovine hemoglobin hydrolysates showed little or no significant difference, with only the concentration level being the determining factor in their activity. The results of the mass spectrometry study showed the presence of a number of bioactive peptides, the majority of which have characteristics similar to those mentioned in the literature. New bioactive peptides were also identified in human hemoglobin, such as the antibacterial peptides PTTKTYFPHF (α37-46), FPTTKTYFPH (α36-45), TSKYR (α137-141), and STVLTSKYR (α133-141), as well as the antioxidant TSKYR (α137-141). According to these findings, human hemoglobin represents a promising source of bioactive peptides beneficial to the food or pharmaceutical industries.

Potential of Human Hemoglobin as a Source of Bioactive Peptides: Comparative Study of Enzymatic Hydrolysis with Bovine Hemoglobin and the Production of Active Peptide α137-141.

Cruor, the main component responsible for the red color of mammalian blood, contains 90% haemoglobin, a protein considered to be a rich source of bioactive peptides. The aim of the present study is to assess the potential of human hemoglobin as a source of bioactive peptides, compared with bovine hemoglobin, which has been extensively studied in recent years. More specifically, the study focused on the α137-141 fragment of bovine haemoglobin (TSKYR), a small (653 Da) hydrophilic antimicrobial peptide. In this work, the potential of human hemoglobin to contain bioactive peptides was first investigated in silico in comparison with bovine hemoglobin-derived peptides using bioinformatics tools. The blast results showed a high identity, 88% and 85% respectively, indicating a high similarity between the α and ß chains. Peptide Cutter software was used to predict cleavage sites during peptide hydrolysis, revealing major conservation in the number and location of cleavage sites between the two species, while highlighting some differences. Some peptides were conserved, notably our target peptide (TSKYR), while others were specific to each species. Secondly, the two types of hemoglobin were subjected to similar enzymatic hydrolysis conditions (23 °C, pH 3.5), which showed that the hydrolysis of human hemoglobin followed the same reaction mechanism as the hydrolysis of bovine hemoglobin, the 'zipper' mechanism. Concerning the peptide of interest, α137-141, the RP-UPLC analyses showed that its identification was not affected by the increase in the initial substrate concentration. Its production was rapid, with more than 60% of the total α137-141 peptide production achieved in just 30 min of hydrolysis, reaching peak production at 3 h. Furthermore, increasing the substrate concentration from 1% to 10% (w/v) resulted in a proportional increase in α137-141 production, with a maximum concentration reaching 687.98 ± 75.77 mg·L-1, approximately ten-fold higher than that obtained with a 1% (w/v) concentration. Finally, the results of the UPLC-MS/MS analysis revealed the identification of 217 unique peptides in bovine hemoglobin hydrolysate and 189 unique peptides in human hemoglobin hydrolysate. Of these, 57 peptides were strictly common to both species. This revealed the presence of several bioactive peptides in both cattle and humans. Although some had been known previously, new bioactive peptides were discovered in human hemoglobin, such as four antibacterial peptides (α37-46 PTTKTYFPHF, α36-45 FPTTKTYFPH, α137-141 TSKYR, and α133-141 STVLTSKYR), three opioid peptides (α137-141 TSKYR,ß31-40 LVVYPWTQRF,ß32-40, VVYPWTQRF), an ACE inhibitor (ß129-135 KVVAGVA), an anticancer agent (ß33-39 VVYPWTQ), and an antioxidant (α137-141 TSKYR). To the best of our knowledge, these peptides have never been found in human hemoglobin before.