PPAR-α Contributes to the Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Verbascoside in a Model of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Mice

The previous results suggest that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR)-α, an intracellular transcription factor activated by fatty acids, plays a role in control of inflammation. There is persuasive epidemiological and experimental evidence that dietary polyphenols have anti-inflammatory activity. In this regard, it has been demonstrated that verbascoside (VB) functions as intracellular radical scavenger and reduces the microscopic and macroscopic signs of experimental colitis. With the aim to characterize the role of PPAR-α in VB-mediated anti-inflammatory activity, we tested the efficacy of VB in an experimental model of inflammatory bowel disease induced by dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid, comparing mice lacking PPAR-α (PPAR-αKO) with wild type (WT) mice. Results indicate that VB-mediated anti-inflammatory activity is weakened in PPAR-αKO mice, compared to WT controls, especially in the inhibition of neutrophil infiltration, intestinal permeability and colon injury. These results indicate that PPAR-α can contribute to the anti-inflammatory activity of VB in inflammatory bowel disease

Extracts obtained from hoodia gordonii cells lines, their preparation and use

The present invention refers to the preparation and use of the extracts for nutritional, pharmacological and cosmetic purposes. Said extracts are obtained from cell cultures of Hoodia gordonii IRB HGORD 42 having accession number DSMZ: DMS 17433. Furthermore, the present invention concerns the preparation and use of said extracts, for the production of drugs or nutritional or cosmetic substances, such extracts possessing appetite suppressant properties

In Vitro Cell Culture of Rhus coriaria L.: A Standardized Phytocomplex Rich of Gallic Acid Derivatives with Antioxidant and Skin Repair Activity

This study focused on the biological evaluation and chemical characterization of a new ingredient obtained by in vitro cell culture of Rhus coriaria L. An in vitro plant cell culture method permits to cultivate plant in a short period of time and to obtain extract with a high safety profile for the consumer, free from heavy metals, pesticides, aflatoxins, bacterial or fungal contamination. Through the selection of specific cell culture media, it was possible to obtain a Rhus coriaria cell line with a high content of gallic acid derivatives. The Rhus coriaria L. phytocomplex (RC-P), containing 7.6% w/w of acid gallic derivatives, was obtained by drying of plant cell biomass after 14 days of growth in the final selected culture medium. UPLC-ESI-MS and UPLC-DAD analysis allowed to identify numerous gallic acid derivatives, such as galloyl hexose, trigalloyl hexose and high molecular weight galloyl derivatives, and to quantify their overall content. The antioxidant activity of the RC-P was tested by DPPH assay and the wound healing activity was evaluated using a scratch wound healing test on human keratinocytes and fibroblasts. This work showed that RC-P could be a new effective cosmetic ingredient with antioxidant and skin repair activity

C3H Expression Is Crucial for Methyl Jasmonate Induction of Chicoric Acid Production by Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench Cell Suspension Cultures

Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench is one of the most economically important medicinal plants, cultivated worldwide for its high medicinal value and with several industrial applications in both pharmaceutical and food industries. Thanks to its various phytochemical contents, including caffeic acid derivatives (CADs), E. purpurea extracts have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immuno-stimulating properties. Among CADs, chicoric acid is one of the most important compounds which have shown important pharmacological properties. The present research was aimed at optimizing the production of chicoric acid in E. purpurea cell culture. Methyl jasmonate (MeJa) at different concentrations and for different duration of treatments was utilized as elicitor, and the content of total polyphenols and chicoric acid was measured. Several genes involved in the chicoric acid biosynthetic pathway were selected, and their expression evaluated at different time points of cell culture growth. This was performed with the aim of identifying the most suitable putative molecular markers to be used as a proxy for the early prediction of chicoric acid contents, without the need of expensive quantification methods. A correlation between the production of chicoric acid in response to MeJa and an increased response to oxidative stress was also proposed

Phenylpropanoid glycosides from plant cell cultures induce heme oxygenase 1 gene expression in a human keratinocyte cell line by affecting the balance of NRF2 and BACH1 transcription factors.

Phenylpropanoids have several highly significant biological properties in both plants and animals. Four phenylpropanoid glycosides (PPGs), verbascoside (VB), forsythoside B (FB), echinacoside (EC) and campneoside I (CP), were purified and tested for their capability to activate NRF2 and induce phase II cyto-protective enzymes in a human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). All four substances showed similar strong antioxidant and radical-scavenging activities as determined by diphenylpicrylhydrazyl assay. Furthermore, in HaCaT cells, FB and EC are strong activators of NRF2, the nuclear transcription factor regulating many phase II detoxifying and cytoprotective enzymes, such as heme oxygenase 1 (HMOX1). InHaCaT cells, FB and EC (200 microM) induced nuclear translocation of NRF2 protein after 24 h and reduced nuclear protein levels of BACH1, a repressor of the antioxidant response element. FB and EC greatly HMOX1mRNA levels by more than 40-fold in 72 h. Cytoplasmic HMOX1 protein levels were also increased at 48 h after treatment. VB was less active compared to FB and EC, and CP was slightly active only at later times of treatment.We suggest that hydroxytyrosol (HYD) could be a potential bioactivemetabolite of PPGs since HYD, in equimolar amounts to PGGs, is able to both activateHO-1 transcription andmodifyNrf2/Bach1 nuclear protein levels. This is in agreementwith the poor activity of CP,which contains aHYDmoietymodified by an O-methyl group. In conclusion, FB and EC fromplant cell culturesmay provide long-lasting skin protection by induction of phase II cytoprotective capabilities