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Natural Products and Hepatic Health: Lights and Shadows
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Natural Products and Hepatic Health: Lights and Shadows

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 5857

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Rumyana Simeonova

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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Sofia, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: antioxidants; antioxidant activity; lipid peroxidation; oxidative stress; reactive oxygen species
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The health of the liver depends mostly on the processes of bioactivation and detoxification that take place in it. Drug-metabolizing enzyme systems catalyze these biochemical reactions and can be induced or inhibited by a large number of drug molecules or biologically active compounds, i.e. secondary metabolites from plant extracts and other natural products. However, drugs undergo extensive and lengthy preclinical and clinical trials during which the involvement and role of drug-metabolizing enzymes and cellular transporters can be established. Most nutritional supplements and plant extracts do not go through this long and financially draining process, although people consume them in huge quantities, believing that "if they are of natural origin, then they are safe". Large randomized and long-term clinical trials are not conducted with them. The lack of evidence for the efficacy and safety of supplements of natural origin creates a risk in their uncontrolled use, especially in combination with other drugs. We have yet to find out whether branded hepatoprotectors are absolutely harmless and really protect the liver, or whether hepatotoxins do not have a beneficial effect on other organs and systems. The debate has not yet been resolved.

This special issue aims to collect molecular studies on natural compounds relevant to hepatic health. Importantly, the exact active ingredient of natural origin extract must be reported in the submitted research manuscript, since papers describing the effects of mixed extraction from natural origin are not in the scope of the journal.

In this issue, authors are invited to submit original research, reviews, short communications, or clinical cases to collaboratively explore the role of natural products on liver health.

Dr. Rumyana Simeonova
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • drug-herb metabolic interactions
  • hepatotoxic natural products
  • hepatoprotective natural products
  • plant accumulation of hepatotoxins
  • liver metabolizing enzymes
  • liver bioactivation
  • liver detoxification
  • mechanism of liver toxicity
  • mechanisms of liver protection

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3530 KiB  
Article
In Vitro/In Vivo Hepatoprotective and Antioxidant Effects of Defatted Extract and a Phenolic Fraction Obtained from Phlomis Tuberosa
by Magdalena Kondeva-Burdina, Aleksandar Shkondrov, Georgi Popov, Vasil Manov and Ilina Krasteva
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 10631; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241310631 - 25 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1192
Abstract
An in vitro/in vivo hepatotoxicity and hepatoprotection evaluation of a defatted extract and a phenolic fraction from Phlomis tuberosa, administered alone and in a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced metabolic bioactivation model, was performed. The extract and the phenolic fraction were analysed [...] Read more.
An in vitro/in vivo hepatotoxicity and hepatoprotection evaluation of a defatted extract and a phenolic fraction from Phlomis tuberosa, administered alone and in a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced metabolic bioactivation model, was performed. The extract and the phenolic fraction were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine the total flavonoid content, to identify flavonoids and to quantify verbascoside. In addition, total polyphenolics in the samples were expressed as gallic acid equivalents. Applied alone, the extract and the fraction (5, 10 and 50 µg/mL) did not show a statistically significant hepatotoxic effect on isolated rat hepatocytes in vitro. In a CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity model, the samples exhibited a concentration-dependent, statistically significant hepatoprotective effect, which was most pronounced at 50 µg/mL for both. The phenolic fraction exhibited a more pronounced hepatoprotective effect compared to the extract. Data from the in vitro study on the effects of the extract were also confirmed in the in vivo experiment conducted in a CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity model in rats. A histopathological study showed that the animals treated with CCl4 and the extract had an unaltered histoarchitecture of the liver. The effects of the extract were the same as those of silymarin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products and Hepatic Health: Lights and Shadows)
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21 pages, 2776 KiB  
Article
Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Potential of Echinops ritro L. Extracts on Induced Oxidative Stress In Vitro/In Vivo
by Dimitrina Zheleva-Dimitrova, Rumyana Simeonova, Magdalena Kondeva-Burdina, Yonko Savov, Vessela Balabanova, Gokhan Zengin, Alexandra Petrova and Reneta Gevrenova
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(12), 9999; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24129999 - 10 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1665
Abstract
Echinops ritro L. (Asteraceae) is traditionally used in the treatment of bacterial/fungal infections and respiratory and heart ailments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of extracts from E. ritro leaves (ERLE) and flowering heads (ERFE) as antioxidant and hepatoprotective [...] Read more.
Echinops ritro L. (Asteraceae) is traditionally used in the treatment of bacterial/fungal infections and respiratory and heart ailments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of extracts from E. ritro leaves (ERLE) and flowering heads (ERFE) as antioxidant and hepatoprotective agents on diclofenac-induced lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress under in vitro and in vivo conditions. In isolated rat microsomes and hepatocytes, the extracts significantly alleviated oxidative stress by increasing cell viability and GSH levels and reducing LDH efflux and MDA production. During in vivo experiments, the administration of the ERFE alone or in combination with diclofenac resulted in a significant increase in cellular antioxidant protection and a decrease in lipid peroxidation witnessed by key markers and enzymes. A beneficial influence on the activity of the drug-metabolizing enzymes ethylmorphine-N-demetylase and aniline hydroxylase in liver tissue was found. In the acute toxicity test evaluation, the ERFE showed no toxicity. In the ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry analysis, 95 secondary metabolites were reported for the first time, including acylquinic acids, flavonoids, and coumarins. Protocatechuic acid O-hexoside, quinic, chlorogenic and 3, 5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, apigenin; apigenin 7-O-glucoside, hyperoside, jaceosidene, and cirsiliol dominated the profiles. The results suggest that both extracts should be designed for functional applications with antioxidant and hepatoprotective capacity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products and Hepatic Health: Lights and Shadows)
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18 pages, 3591 KiB  
Article
Unraveling the Potential Role of Tecomella undulata in Experimental NASH
by Akshatha N. Srinivas, Diwakar Suresh, Deepak Suvarna, Pankaj Pathak, Suresh Giri, Suman, Suchitha Satish, Saravana Babu Chidambaram and Divya P. Kumar
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3244; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043244 - 7 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2067
Abstract
The pathophysiology of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is complex, owing to its diverse pathological drivers and, until recently, there were no approved drugs for this disease. Tecomella is a popular herbal medicine used to treat hepatosplenomegaly, hepatitis, and obesity. However, the potential role of [...] Read more.
The pathophysiology of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is complex, owing to its diverse pathological drivers and, until recently, there were no approved drugs for this disease. Tecomella is a popular herbal medicine used to treat hepatosplenomegaly, hepatitis, and obesity. However, the potential role of Tecomella undulata in NASH has not yet been scientifically investigated. The administration of Tecomella undulata via oral gavage lowered body weight, insulin resistance, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), triglycerides, and total cholesterol in western diet sugar water (WDSW) fed mice but had no effect on chow diet normal water (CDNW) fed mice. Tecomella undulata improved steatosis, lobular inflammation, and hepatocyte ballooning and resolved NASH in WDSW mice. Furthermore, Tecomella undulata also alleviated the WDSW-induced Endoplasmic Reticulum stress and oxidative stress, enhanced antioxidant status, and thus reduced inflammation in the treated mice. Of note, these effects were comparable to saroglitazar, the approved drug used to treat human NASH and the positive control used in the study. Thus, our findings indicate the potential of Tecomella undulata to ameliorate WDSW-induced steatohepatitis, and these preclinical data provide a strong rationale for assessing Tecomella undulata for the treatment of NASH. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products and Hepatic Health: Lights and Shadows)
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