Nanotechnology advances towards development of targeted-treatment for obesity

Obesity through its association with type 2 diabetes (T2D), cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), poses a serious health threat, as these diseases contribute to high mortality rates. Pharmacotherapy alone or in combination with either lifestyle modifcation or surgery, is reliable in maintaining a healthy body weight, and preventing progression to obesity-induced diseases. However, the anti-obesity drugs are limited by non-specifcity and unsustainable weight loss efects. As such, novel and improved approaches for treatment of obesity are urgently needed. Nanotechnology-based therapies are investigated as an alternative strategy that can treat obesity and be able to overcome the drawbacks associated with conventional therapies. The review presents three nanotechnology-based anti-obesity strategies that target the white adipose tissues (WATs) and its vasculature for the reversal of obesity. These include inhibition of angiogenesis in the WATs, transformation of WATs to brown adipose tissues (BATs), and photothermal lipolysis of WATs. Compared to conventional therapy, the targeted-nanosystems have high tolerability, reduced side efects, and enhanced efcacy. These efects are reproducible using various nanocarriers (liposomes, polymeric and gold nanoparticles), thus providing a proof of concept that targeted nanotherapy can be a feasible strategy that can combat obesity and prevent its comorbiditie

THE ACETONE EXTRACT FROM DRIED MATERIALS OF COMMELINA BENGHALESIS HAVE ENHANCED EFFECT ON THE CANCEROUS JURKATS T-CELLS

Cancer is one of the major human diseases and causes considerable suffering and economic loss worldwide. Development of safe products for the prevention and treatment of all human cancers is needed. Because of plant safety, there has been growing interest in the beneficial health effects of medicinal plants, with the presence of phenolic antioxidants believed to have the protective mechanisms. Plants have been demonstrated to be a very viable source of clinically relevant anticancer compounds. Commelina benghalesis is one of the commonly used medicinal plants in China, Ethopia and in South Africa. The objective of the study was to examine the antioxidant activity, its phenolic content and the effect it might have on the Jurkats T-cell line using the fresh and the dried extracts. The dried and the fresh stems of C. benghalensis were extracted with acetone using a soxhlet method and concentrated to dryness with rotary evaporator. The total phenolic content of the extracts was determined by Folin–Ciocalteu method and antioxidant activity was assayed using DPPH method. The total phenolic contents and antioxidant activity of the extracts as tannic acid equivalents were found to be highest in fresh extract. Trypan blue exclusion dye results demonstrated that the dried acetone extracts had inhibited cell proliferation more. The inhibition was in a dose-dependent manner. Acknowledgements: NRF and University of Limpopo Research offic

Phytonanotherapy for the Treatment of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, is a steatotic liver disease associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS), especially obesity, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertriglyceridemia. MASLD in 43–44% of patients can progress to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), and 7–30% of these cases will progress to liver scarring (cirrhosis). To date, the mechanism of MASLD and its progression is not completely understood and there were no therapeutic strategies specifically tailored for MASLD/MASH until March 2024. The conventional antiobesity and antidiabetic pharmacological approaches used to reduce the progression of MASLD demonstrated favorable peripheral outcomes but insignificant effects on liver histology. Alternatively, phyto-synthesized metal-based nanoparticles (MNPs) are now being explored in the treatment of various liver diseases due to their unique bioactivities and reduced bystander effects. Although phytonanotherapy has not been explored in the clinical treatment of MASLD/MASH, MNPs such as gold NPs (AuNPs) and silver NPs (AgNPs) have been reported to improve metabolic processes by reducing blood glucose levels, body fat, and inflammation. Therefore, these actions suggest that MNPs can potentially be used in the treatment of MASLD/MASH and related metabolic diseases. Further studies are warranted to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of phytonanomedicine before clinical application