Abstract:

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) represent a severe complication of diabetes mellitus. Ramulus Mori (Sangzhi) alkaloids (SZ-A), an approved oral medication for type 2 diabetes, have not been explored for their potential to enhance the processes involved in diabetic wound healing. This study aims to investigate SZ-A’s role in diabetic wound healing mechanisms. The in vivo experimentation involves dividing the subjects into NC and SZ-A groups, with SZ-A dosed at 200 and 400 mg/kg, to assess the therapeutic efficacy of SZ-A. The results of the animal studies show that SZ-A intervention accelerates the processes of diabetic angiogenesis and wound healing in a manner dependent on its concentration. Additionally, a pathological model using advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in HUVECs demonstrates SZ-A’s cytoprotective effect. In vitro, SZ-A intervention significantly increases cell proliferation, migration and tube formation, protecting HUVECs from oxidative stress injury induced by AGEs. Mechanistically, SZ-A exerts a protective effect on HUVECs from oxidative stress damage through the activation of the NRF2/HO-1/eNOS signaling pathway. The findings suggest that SZ-A exhibits considerable potential as a promising candidate for treating DFUs, which will aid in more effectively integrating plant-based therapies into clinical settings.

Abstract:

The pharmaceutical sector makes substantial use of food and medicinal plants, both of which have a major role to play in promoting health. These plants’ significant medicinal potential is attributed to their secondary metabolites, which include phenolic compounds which perform anti-inflammatory, anti-hemolytic, antioxidant effects and proteolytic activity. The purpose of this work is to examine the phenolic and protein content of the V. iphionoides methanolic extract, as well as its anti-inflammatory, anti-hemolytic, and antioxidant properties. Additionally, it is being investigated for its proteolytic action and possible effects on some crucial therapeutic enzymes. The extract of V. iphionoides in methanol showed anti-inflammatory effectiveness of 90.67%, anti-hemolytic activity of 92%, and DPPH scavenging capacity of 64%. The total protein content was 10.239 mg/ml and the total phenolic content was 2.03 mg GAE/g. Fourteen phenolic compounds were found using LC-MS/MS analysis, with 3-O-methylquercetin having the greatest concentration (111 µg/mg). The extract has decreasing effect on lipid peroxidation process by measuring MDA levels in all Rat groups treated with the extract and increasing effects on antioxidant enzymes compared to control group. Additionally, the extract demonstrated proteolytic activity, and has an inhibitory action against trypsin and an enhancement activity against chymotrypsin and papain enzymes. Phenolic compounds are among the biomolecules found in the methanolic extract of V. iphionoides. Significant biological activities are also present in it, and they are linked to the phenolic content. Additionally, it exhibits proteolytic action, inhibits the activity of the trypsin enzyme, and increases the activity of the papain and chymotrypsin enzymes, which are therapeutic enzymes.

Abstract:

Ginseng is healthy and traditionally valuable herbal plant in Korea, China, and Japan as well as North America. Indeed, this root has been known to possess a lot of immunopharmacological actions including anti-oxidative, anti-stress, anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anti-obesity effects. Major components of ginseng are known as ginsenosides (or ginseng saponins) and acid polysaccharides as active principles. Immunoregulatory mechanism of ginseng and its active ingredients has been elucidated at the cellular and molecular levels. Thus, macrophages, cytotoxic T cells, and NK cells are known as representative target cells in the regulation of immune responses by ginseng components. Acid polysaccharides were also representative components activating macrophages and NK cells. Ginsenoside (G)-Rb1, G-Rc, and G-Rd are found to suppress inflammatory responses by blocking NF-kB and AP-1 pathways. At the molecular level, we found that diol-type and triol-type saponin-derived metabolites such as Compound K, protopanaxadiol (PPD), and protopanaxatriol (PPT) were found to inhibit or stimulate macrophage functions through suppression or enhancement of transcriptional activation via regulation of the activity of receptor- and non-receptor-type protein tyrosine kinases in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, these results strongly suggest that Korean ginseng is capable of normalizing suppressed or enhanced immune responses by modulation of specific target proteins such as AKT1 and protein tyrosine kinases linked to the activation of NF-kB and AP-1 pathways.

Abstract:

Cross-kingdom herbal miRNA was first reported in 2012. Using a modified herbal extraction protocol, we obtained 73,677,287 sequences by RNA-seq from 245 traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), of which 20,758,257 were unique sequences. We constructed a Bencao (herbal) small RNA (sRNA) Atlas, annotated the sequences by sequence-based clustering, and created a nomenclature system for Bencao sRNAs. The profiles of 21,757 miRNAs in the Atlas were highly consistent with those of plant miRNAs in miRBase. These sRNAs can regulate all human protein-coding genes, with some targets experimentally validated, indicating that plant small RNA plays an important role in life and health as an effective component of traditional Chinese medicine. Although facing controversy due to potential contamination with non-plant sequences and challenges in distinguishing sRNA origins, the Bencao database’s construction involved meticulous selection and annotation processes. The Bencao sRNA Atlas may help Chinese doctors optimize TCM prescriptions and accelerate the drug discovery process for more advanced RNA-based therapeutics. Our research highlights the therapeutic potential of Bencao sRNAs for treating human diseases and provides a new direction for precision medicine derived from traditional herbal sources. Moreover, the decoctosome, a lipo-nano particle consisting of 0.5%–2.5% of the decoction, demonstrated potent medical effects. Meanwhile, Bencao Index, including small-molecule compounds (SM), protein peptides (P), nucleic acid (N), non-nucleic and non-proteinogenic large-molecule compounds (LM) and elements from Mendeleev’s periodic table (E), was first proposed to provide a more comprehensive quality standard measuring herbal medical effects.