Potential antidepressant effects of a dietary supplement from Huáng qí and its complex in aged senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8 mice.

Healthcare is an emerging industry with significant market potential in the 21st century. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the benefits of tube feeding Huáng qí and its complexes for 8 weeks on 3-month-old senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8 (SAMP8) mice, 48 in total, randomly divided into 3 groups including control, Huáng qí extract [820 mg/kg Body weight (BW)/day], and Huáng qí complexes (6.2 mL /kg BW/day), where each group consisted of males (n = 8) and females (n = 8). Behavioral tests (locomotion test and aging score assessment on week 6, the single-trial passive avoidance test on week 7, and the active shuttle avoidance test on week 8) were conducted to evaluate the ability of the mice to learn and remember. In addition, after sacrificing the animals, the blood and organs were measured for antioxidant and aging bioactivities, including malondialdehyde (MDA) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and catalase activities (CAT), and the effects on promoting aging in SAMP8 mice were investigated. The findings showed that Huáng qí enhanced locomotor performance and had anti-aging effects, with positive effects on health, learning, and memory in SAMP-8 mice (p < 0.05), whether applied as a single agent (820 mg/kg BW/day) or as a complex (6.2 mL/kg BW/day) (p < 0.05). Based on existing strengths, a more compelling platform for clinical validation of human clinical evidence will be established to enhance the development and value-added of astragalus-related products while meeting the diversified needs of the functional food market.

Repurposing Astragalus Polysaccharide PG2 for Inhibiting ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 Spike Syncytial Formation and Anti-Inflammatory Effects.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses a serious threat to global public health. In an effort to develop novel anti-coronavirus therapeutics and achieve prophylactics, we used gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) for drug screening and identified that Astragalus polysaccharide (PG2), a mixture of polysaccharides purified from Astragalus membranaceus, could effectively reverse COVID-19 signature genes. Further biological assays revealed that PG2 could prevent the fusion of BHK21-expressing wild-type (WT) viral spike (S) protein and Calu-3-expressing ACE2. Additionally, it specifically prevents the binding of recombinant viral S of WT, alpha, and beta strains to ACE2 receptor in our non-cell-based system. In addition, PG2 enhances let-7a, miR-146a, and miR-148b expression levels in the lung epithelial cells. These findings speculate that PG2 has the potential to reduce viral replication in lung and cytokine storm via these PG2-induced miRNAs. Furthermore, macrophage activation is one of the primary issues leading to the complicated condition of COVID-19 patients, and our results revealed that PG2 could regulate the activation of macrophages by promoting the polarization of THP-1-derived macrophages into an anti-inflammatory phenotype. In this study, PG2 stimulated M2 macrophage activation and increased the expression levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and IL-1RN. Additionally, PG2 was recently used to treat patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms by reducing the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Therefore, our data suggest that PG2, a repurposed drug, possesses the potential to prevent WT SARS-CoV-2 S-mediated syncytia formation with the host cells; it also inhibits the binding of S proteins of WT, alpha, and beta strains to the recombinant ACE2 and halts severe COVID-19 development by regulating the polarization of macrophages to M2 cells.

Genetic polymorphisms of metabolic enzymes and the pharmacokinetics of indapamide in Taiwanese subjects.

To understand the genetic makeup and impact on pharmacokinetics (PK) in the Taiwanese population, we analyzed the pharmacogenetic (PG) profile and demonstrated its effects on enzyme metabolism using indapamide as an example. A multiplex mass spectrometry method was used to examine the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profile of eight major phases I and II metabolic enzymes in 1,038 Taiwanese subjects. A PG/PK study was conducted in 24 healthy subjects to investigate the possible effects of 28 SNPs on drug biotransformation. Among the genetic profile analyzed, eight SNPs from CYP2A6, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, CYP3A5, and UGT2B7 showed higher variant frequencies than those previously reported in Caucasians or Africans. For instance, we observed 14.7% frequency of the SNP rs5031016 (I471T) from CYP2A6 in Taiwanese, whereas 0% variation was reported in Caucasians and Africans. The PG/PK study of indapamide demonstrated that the polymorphic SNPs CYP2C9 rs4918758 and CYP2C19 rs4244285 appeared to confer lowered enzyme activity, as indicated by increased C max (25% ∼ 64%), increased area under the plasma level-time curves (30~76%), increased area under the time infinity (43% ∼ 80%), and lower apparent clearance values than PK for wild-type indapamide. Our results reinforce the biochemical support of CYP2C19 in indapamide metabolism and identify a possible new participating enzyme CYP2C9. The PG/PK approach contributed toward understanding the genetic makeup of different ethnic groups and associations of enzymes in drug metabolism. It could be used to identify two genetic markers that enable to differentiate subjects with varied PK outcomes of indapamide.

The NAT2 tag SNP rs1495741 correlates with the susceptibility of antituberculosis drug-induced hepatotoxicity.

BACKGROUND: Earlier studies have demonstrated an association between N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) catalytic activity and the genotype of a recently published tag single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs1495741. There have been no reports on the relationship between the rs1495741 genotype and antituberculosis drug-induced hepatotoxicity (ATDIH) to date. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of the NAT2 tag SNP (rs1495741) in the Taiwanese and its relation to the incidence of ATDIH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 348 tuberculosis patients were enrolled to determine the frequency of NAT2 tag SNP rs1495741 and its relation to the incidence of ATDIH. The conventional NAT2 variants alleles have also been investigated. Furthermore, to evaluate the correlation of NAT2 activity and rs1495741 genotypes, a pharmacokinetic study of isoniazid was also conducted in healthy volunteers. RESULTS: Among the 348 tuberculosis patients, 20 (5.7%) were diagnosed with ATDIH. The frequencies of the three rs1495741 genotypes, viz., AA, AG, and GG, were 24.7, 52.3, and 23.0%, respectively. Significant differences among rs1495741 genotypes and susceptibility to hepatotoxicity were noted (odds ratio=14.068, P<0.05). Moreover, the rs1495741 genotypes showed an association with the isoniazid dosage required for induction of hepatotoxicity. In the pharmacokinetic study, NAT2 activity was strongly associated with genotype categories (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that the three genotypes according to rs1495741 were in good accordance with conventional NAT2 alleles-inferred phenotypes and the tag SNP could be used as a proxy to determine the susceptibility to ATDIH.

Preparing glabridin-in-water nanoemulsions by high pressure homogenization with response surface methodology.

Glabridin is a pharmacological active hydrophobic pyranoisoflavan isolated from licorice. It has low bioavailability and solubility and therefore is difficult to apply for industry use. We investigated the effect of combining caprylic triglyceride with glabridin (2-6%, w/w), emulsifier (3-7%, w/w), and homogenization pressure (70-130 MPa) on the droplet size of glabridin nanoemulsions using response surface methodology by a 3-factor-3-level Box-Behnken design. Oil content, emulsifier content and pressure had a significant effect on droplet size (p < 0.05). The optimal conditions for preparing glabridin nanoemulsions were predicted to be caprylic triglyceride (oil content), 3.7%; emulsifier content, 5.3%, and homogenization pressure, 129 MPa.

N-acetyl-D-galactosamine-specific lectin isolated from the seeds of Carica papaya.

N-Acetyl-D-galactosamine (GalNAc)-specific lectins are of great interest because they have been reported to detect tumor-associated antigens of malignant cells. We isolated a novel lectin from Carica papaya seeds, named C. papaya lectin (CPL). Purification of the lectin involved ammonium sulfate fractionation and DEAE anion exchange and repeated gel filtration chromatography. Inhibition of CPL causing hemagglutination on human erythrocytes showed that the lectin shows specificity to GalNAc and lactose. Surface plasmon resonance further revealed that the lectin possesses high specificity toward GalNAc with a dissociation constant of 5.5 × 10(-9) M. The lectin is composed of 38- and 40-kDa subunits with a molecular mass of ∼804 kDa estimated by size-exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography. Incubation of CPL with Jurkat T cells showed significant induction of IL-2 cytokine, which suggests that CPL has potent immunomodulatory effects on immune cells.

Biologically active components and nutraceuticals in the Monascus-fermented rice: a review.

Monascus-fermented rice has traditionally been used as a natural food colorant and food preservative of meat and fish for centuries. It has recently become a popular dietary supplement because of many of its bioactive constituents being discovered, including a series of active drug compounds, monacolins, indicated as the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors for reducing serum cholesterol level. The controversy of its safety has been provoked because a mycotoxin, citrinin, is also produced along with the Monascus secondary metabolites by certain strains or under certain cultivation conditions. This review introduces the basic production process and addresses on the compounds with bioactive functions. Current advances in avoiding the harmful ingredient citrinin are also discussed.

Randomized Phase II trial of thalidomide alone versus thalidomide plus interferon alpha in patients with refractory multiple myeloma.

The potential synergistic anti-myeloma effect for thalidomide combining with interferon alpha was not yet clear clinically. From March 2001 to January 2004, a total of 28 heavily pretreated multiple myleoma (MM) patients were enrolled in this open-labeled, randomized Phase II study. Patients with refractory MM were randomized to receive either thalidomide alone (200 mg/day up to the maximum dose 800 mg/day, arm B) or the combination of thalidomide and interferon alpha (3 MIU/m(2) subcutaneous injection 3 times weekly, arm A). The objective of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of thalidomide alone to combined regimen. The patients' characteristics were similar between the 2 arms. However, the average treatment duration was significantly longer in the arm B than the arm A (236 days versus 101 days, p = 0.029). Serum levels of paraprotein decline >/= 25 percent were obtained in 6 of 12 patients (50.0 percent) treated with arm B and 3 of the 16 patients (18.8 percent) treated with arm A. The estimated time to event was 7.9 months (95 percent confidence interval [95%CI], 0.5-15.4) for arm B and 1.5 months (95%CI, 0.0-3.4) for arm A (log-rank test, p = 0.0193). The major adverse events in both arms consisted of neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, constipation, somnolence, and skin rash. Our study showed that thalidomide alone was effective and tolerated in patients with relapsed or refractory MM. The thalidomide combined with interferon alpha resulted in a lower frequency of paraprotein response, shorter treatment-duration and 25 percent of patients' refusing rate. It may be concluded that the combined regimen is not well tolerated in our patients and needed to be further evaluated in the future.