Plant Extracts and Their Therapeutic Effects

In the modern world we are constantly bombarded by environmental and natural stimuli that can result in oxidative stress. Antioxidant molecules and enzymes help the human body scavenge reactive oxygen species and prevent oxidative damage. Most organisms possess intrinsic antioxidant activity, but also benefit from the consumption of antioxidants from their diet. Leafy green vegetables such as spinach are a well-researched rich source of dietary antioxidant molecules. However, plant cell walls are difficult to digest for many individuals and the bio-accessibility of nutrients and antioxidants from these sources can be limited by the degree of digestion and assimilation. Through a specific enzymatic process, Solarplast^® contains organic spinach protoplasts without the cell wall, which may facilitate higher yield and efficacy of beneficial antioxidant molecules. In this study, analytical techniques coupled to in vitro bioassays were used to determine the potential antioxidant activity of Solarplast^® and determine its antioxidant enzymatic capabilities. Solarplast^® demonstrated superior antioxidant activity when compared to frozen spinach leaves in TOC, FRAP and TEAC antioxidant assays. Several antioxidant enzymes were also increased in Solarplast^®, when compared to frozen spinach. As a functional readout, Solarplast^® attenuated hydrogen peroxide-, ethanol- and acetaminophen-induced increases in oxidative stress and cytotoxicity in both intestinal (HT-29) and liver (HepG2) cell lines. These findings suggest that Solarplast^® may represent a non-GMO, plant-based food supplement to help reduce oxidative stress in the human body. Full article

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, and chemotherapy is an effective treatment. However, chemotherapy often causes adverse side effects such as cardiotoxicity, myelosuppression, immunodeficiency, and osteoporosis. Our study focused on the alleviating effects of Anoectochilus roxburghii extracts (AREs) on the adverse side effects of chemotherapy in mice with breast cancer. We individually evaluated the antioxidant capacity and cytotoxicity of the AREs using DPPH and MTT assays. We also examined the effects of the AREs on intracellular F-actin, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of 4T1 cancer cells before and after doxorubicin (DOX) treatment. Our results showed that ARE treatment enhanced the effects of DOX chemotherapy by promoting cell morphology damage, oxidative stress, and ROS generation, as well as by reducing MMP in the 4T1 breast cancer cells. By using BALB/c mice with breast cancer with DOX treatment, our results showed that the DOX treatment reduced body weight, blood pressure, and heart rate and induced myelosuppression, immunodeficiency, cardiotoxicity, and osteoporosis. After oral ARE treatment of BALB/c mice with breast cancer, the chemotherapeutic effects of DOX were enhanced, and the adverse side effects of DOX chemotherapy were alleviated. Based on the above results, we suggest that AREs can be used as an adjuvant reliever to DOX chemotherapy in BALB/c mice with breast cancer. Full article

The liver is an organ with several important biofunctions, for which there are very few effective and safe preparations that promote the functioning, protection, and regeneration of cells. Sufficiently safe preparations with hepatoprotective activity can be found in plants. The aim of our study was to investigate the chemical composition of an extract made from American cranberry (Oxycoccus macrocarpus (Ait.) Pursh) leaves and its amino-acids preparations as well as their possible hepatoprotective activity. Using the UPLC-MS/MS method, we identified 19 phenolic compounds (8 flavonoids (flavones and flavonols), 4 anthocyanins, 3 hydroxycinnamic acids, and 2 catechins). The prophylactic and therapeutic administration of the American cranberry-leaves extracts led to a decrease in the lipid-peroxidation process during a study of tetrachloromethane acute toxic damage in the liver of rats. As a result of animal studies, the most effective hepatoprotective activity was found in the extract preparations with valine and arginine. Full article

Andrographis paniculata is a herbal plant used in traditional medicinal approaches to treat various ailments and diseases. Methotrexate (MTX) is a clinically used immunosuppressant and anticancer drug. One of the increasing concerns with MTX use is liver toxicity. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential effect of aqueous leaf extract of Andrographis paniculata against methotrexate-induced hepatotoxicity. Wistar albino rats were grouped into five groups, and the drugs were administered. MTX (20 mg/kg b.w.) was intraperitoneally injected into rats on the ninth day alone. Aqueous leaf extract of Andrographis paniculata (500 mg/kg b.w./day) was orally administered for 10 days. We confirmed the beneficial effect of aqueous extracts of Andrographis paniculata on restoring the hepatic enzyme markers, lipid profile, antioxidant level, anti-inflammatory marker (IL-10), anti-apoptosis (bcl-2), significant suppression of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, and IL-6), apoptosis marker (caspase 3) and cellular tissue damage caused by MTX. Overall, we revealed that Andrographis paniculata reduces critical aspects of oxidative stress, inflammatory processes, and apoptosis, thus protecting against methotrexate-induced hepatotoxicity. Full article

Septic shock is defined as a subset of sepsis, which is associated with a considerably high mortality risk. The caspase-11 non-canonical inflammasome is sensed and activated by intracellular lipopolysaccharide (LPS) leading to pyroptosis, it plays a critical role in septic shock. However, there are few known drugs that can control caspase-11 non-canonical inflammasome activation. We report here that goitrin, an alkaloid from Radix Isatidis, shows protective effects in LPS-induced septic shock and significant inhibitory effect in caspase-11 non-canonical inflammasome pathway. Male C57BL/6J were injected intraperitoneally with LPS (20 mg/kg) to induce experimental septic shock. The results demonstrated that the survival rates of mice pretreated with goitrin or Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) inhibitor TKA-242 increased, and LPS-induced hypothermia and lung damage improved by inhibiting inflammatory response. Elucidating the detailed mechanism, we surprisingly found goitrin is really different from TAK-242, it independent of the TLR4 signal activation, but significantly inhibited the activation of caspase-11 non-canonical inflammasome, including cleaved caspase-11 and N-terminal fragment of gasdermin D (GSDMD-NT). Furthermore, with a nonlethal dose of the TLR3 agonist poly(I:C)-primed and subsequently challenged with LPS to induce caspase-11-mediated lethal septic shock, the efficacy of goitrin had been verified. Those results revealed the effect of goitrin in protective against LPS-induced septic shock via inhibiting caspase-11 non-canonical inflammasome, which provided a new therapeutic strategy for clinical treatment of septic shock. Full article