Current Nutraceuticals - Volume 3, Issue 2, 2022

Background: Nutraceuticals are products derived from natural sources and are used as therapeutic agents for the management of various health disorders. Several nutraceuticals have been produced from fruits, including wild edible fruits. Azanza garckeana is an example of wild edible fruit belonging to the Malvaceae family. It is a semi-deciduous flowering plant that grows in savanna-wooded grasslands and open forests. It can be found in tropical Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, and some countries of Western Africa. All parts of the plant are useful for medical and economic purposes. There are various traditional claims on the application of various parts of the plant in the management and treatment of diabetes, infertility, aches and pains, hemorrhage, liver and cardiac diseases, etc.

Objective: This article presents a review of the plant Azanza garckeana regarding its botanical description, its traditional relevance economically and medically, and its established nutritional as well as pharmacological relevance based on reported in vitro and in vivo experimental investigations.

Conclusion: Experimental reports on the nutritional and pharmacological potentials of Azanza garckeana are sparse. Therefore, there is a need for extensive research to further establish the plant as a potential candidate for a pharmacological or nutraceutical agent for the management of oxidative stress-related diseases and other human health disorders.

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is a malignant central nervous system tumor. GBM is produced by aggressive proliferation of cells and invasion of normal brain tissue. The current conventional therapies for GBM include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapies which are challenging and produce adverse effects. Thus, polyphenolic nutraceuticals are effective natural compounds for preventing and treating GBM due to their chemoprotective activity. Polyphenols are bioactive, non-nutrient plant chemicals structurally sub-divided into 5 groups; among these groups, phenolics and flavonoids are widely studied as they have lesser side effects and a more significant potential to pass the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB). These polyphenolic nutraceuticals have the potential to advance current GBM treatment options. This review throws light on the anti-cancer efficacy of major polyphenol classes (Phenolic acid, Flavonoids, Stilbenes, Lignans) and discusses their prospective mechanisms of action in GBM.

Background: Since ancient times, human kind has used plants for their flavor and essence and especially for medical purposes; they are also used as food sources. Turkey, due to its geographical location, is home to many varieties of species of medicinal and aromatic plants. Aromatic and medicinal plants produce essential oils in the form of secondary metabolites. These essential oils are being used in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. Due to the various side effects of synthetic agents, the use of essential oils as antimicrobial agents comes to the fore.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the essential oil composition of Thymbra spicata L. var. spicata collected from the Gaziantep Region of Turkey and to evaluate its antimicrobial efficacy against microorganism species commonly encountered in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.

Methods: In this study, the antimicrobial effect of the volatile oil obtained from dried leaves of Thymbra spicata L. var. spicata, traditionally known as Zahter, was investigated. For this purpose, volatile oil was obtained from the leaves of the plant by steam vapor distillation method. Antimicrobial efficacy tests were conducted against microorganisms; Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus hirae, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus hauseri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhimurium, and Candida albicans.

Results: Results of the experiments showed that the volatile oil obtained from Thymbra spicata L. var. spicata had acidal effect on selected pathogenic microorganisms even at low concentrations.

Conclusion: This study showed that the high carvacrol content of the T. spicata L. var. spicata grown in the Gaziantep region of Turkey is a promising source of antimicrobial raw materials in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries.

Background: Recent studies suggest that dipeptide-like tyrosine/phenylalanine-conjugated phenolic amide compounds may contain several biological activities, including anti-inflammatory activity. However, there is currently no information about their transport and biotransformation in monocytes/macrophages involved in inflammation process.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate cell transport and biotransformation of the phenolic amides and esters in monocyte/macrophage-like cells.

Methods: Cell transport and biotransformation of the phenolic amides and esters (N-coumaroylphenylalanine, N-caffeoylphenylalanine, N-feruloylphenylalanine, N-coumaroyltyrosine, N-caffeoyltyrosine, N-feruloyltyrosine, and their O-methyl esters) were investigated in THP-1 cells and PBMCs using HPLC, cellular, and kinetics methods.

Results: In THP-1 cells, the phenolic amides were not transported significantly, but their O-methyl esters were transported significantly (P < 0.02). Also, the transport of the esters was found to be sodium-independent and pH-dependent. Among the tested esters, N-feruloylphenylalanine-O-methyl ester showed the highest uptake (Km of 25 µM), and the uptake was inhibited by PepT1/2 substrate and blocker (GlySar and enalapril) in THP-1 cells. Particularly, enalapril competitively inhibited the uptake with Ki of 560 µM. The data also showed that N-feruloylphenylalanine-O-methyl ester and N-feruloyltyrosine-O-methyl ester could be biotransformed into parent phenolic amides in THP-1 cells. Similarly, these ester compounds were also found to be transported and biotransformed in PBMCs.

Conclusion: The data suggest that dipeptide-like tyrosine/phenylalanine-conjugated phenolic amide esters may be transported and biotransformed in THP-1 cells and PBMCs.

Background: COVID-19 has spread worldwide and become a great cause of economic and social loss. Due to the non-availability of effective medicine/drug, its control has become a difficult task.

Objective: In the present study, the effect of some selected natural plant products was studied on the Hemagglutinin-esterase of the human coronavirus by performing molecular docking.

Methods: Molecular docking study for some selected natural plant products against Hemagglutinin-Esterase (HE) of human coronavirus was performed using the HEX 8.0.0 software.

Results: The free binding energy ranged from -298.14 to -161, with that of curcumin being the highest.

Conclusions: The results suggest that the natural plant products could act as possible anti-viral agents and may be used as natural therapeutic agents.