Formulation of More Efficacious Curcumin Delivery Systems Using Colloid Science: Enhanced Solubility, Stability, and Bioavailability

Curcumin is a bioactive constituent isolated from turmeric that has historically been used as a seasoning, pigment, and herbal medicine in food. Recently, it has become one of the most commonly studied nutraceuticals in the pharmaceutical, supplement, and food areas because of its myriad of potential health benefits. For instance, it is claimed to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiparasite, and anticancer activities when ingested as a drug, supplement, or food. Toxicity studies suggest that it is safe to consume, even at relatively high levels. Its broad-spectrum biological activities and low toxicity have meant that it has been widely explored as a nutraceutical ingredient for application in functional foods. However, there are several hurdles that formulators must overcome when incorporating curcumin into commercial products, such as its low water solubility (especially under acidic and neutral conditions), chemical instability (especially under neutral and alkaline conditions), rapid metabolism by enzymes in the human body, and limited bioavailability. As a result, only a small fraction of ingested curcumin is actually absorbed into the bloodstream. These hurdles can be at least partially overcome by using encapsulation technologies, which involve trapping the curcumin within small particles. Some of the most commonly used edible microparticles or nanoparticles utilized for this purpose are micelles, liposomes, emulsions, solid lipid particles, and biopolymer particles. Each of these encapsulation technologies has its own benefits and limitations for particular product applications and it is important to select the most appropriate one.

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Stable, Monodisperse, and Highly Cell-Permeating Nanocochleates from Natural Soy Lecithin Liposomes

Pharmaceutics ◽

10.3390/pharmaceutics11010034 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 34 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Martina Asprea ◽

Francesca Tatini ◽

Vieri Piazzini ◽

Francesca Rossi ◽

Maria Bergonzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Calcium Ions ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Water Solubility ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Wide Spectrum ◽

Soy Lecithin ◽

3T3 Fibroblasts ◽

Therapeutic Value ◽

Alkaline Conditions

(1) Background: Andrographolide (AN), the main diterpenoid constituent of Andrographis paniculata, has a wide spectrum of biological activities. The aim of this study was the development of nanocochleates (NCs) loaded with AN and based on phosphatidylserine (PS) or phosphatidylcholine (PC), cholesterol and calcium ions in order to overcome AN low water solubility, its instability under alkaline conditions and its rapid metabolism in the intestine. (2) Methods: The AN-loaded NCs (AN–NCs) were physically and chemically characterised. The in vitro gastrointestinal stability and biocompatibility of AN–NCs in J77A.1 macrophage and 3T3 fibroblasts cell lines were also investigated. Finally, the uptake of nanocarriers in macrophage cells was studied. (3) Results: AN–NCs obtained from PC nanoliposomes were suitable nanocarriers in terms of size and homogeneity. They had an extraordinary stability after lyophilisation without the use of lyoprotectants and after storage at room temperature. The encapsulation efficiency was 71%, while approximately 95% of AN was released in PBS after 24 h, with kinetics according to the Hixson–Crowell model. The in vitro gastrointestinal stability and safety of NCs, both in macrophages and 3T3 fibroblasts, were also assessed. Additionally, NCs had extraordinary uptake properties in macrophages. (4) Conclusions: NCs developed in this study could be suitable for both AN oral and parental administration, amplifying its therapeutic value.

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A Gift of Good Health from Mother Nature: Presenting Moringa oleifera, a Plant with Multiple Anticancer Activities

Asian Journal of Organic & Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.14233/ajomc.2021.ajomc-p350 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 284-291

Author(s):

Madhushree Das Sarma

Keyword(s):

Moringa Oleifera ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Good Health ◽

Anticancer Activities ◽

Nutritional Values ◽

Low Concentrations ◽

The World ◽

Low Toxicity ◽

Different Parts ◽

Moringa Oleifera Lam

Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) is a multifarious beneficial tree and widely cultivated in the tropical and subtropical regions all over the world. All parts of this plants are edible and used as a plentiful source of phytochemicals with high nutritional values. Since antiquity, this plant was recognized as a panacea for the treatment of several ailments in ethnomedicinal system. In last few decades, this fact is further reconfirmed by various scientific research works in which the plant was found to show broad spectrum of biological activities including antioxidant, anti-inammatory, antiurolithic, antimicrobial, anangesic, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, antiproliferative, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, etc. Different parts of this plant exhibited significant inhibitory activity against a variety of cancer cells at moderate to low concentrations and also possess low toxicity in normal cells. This review mainly focuses a brief overview on the anticancer profile of this wonderful tree.

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Effects of Phlorotannins on Organisms: Focus on the Safety, Toxicity, and Availability of Phlorotannins

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10020452 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 452 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bertoka Fajar Surya Perwira Negara ◽

Jae Hak Sohn ◽

Jin-Soo Kim ◽

Jae-Suk Choi

Keyword(s):

Biological Activities ◽

Companion Animals ◽

Chemical Characterization ◽

Anticancer Activities ◽

Systematic Analysis ◽

Brown Seaweeds ◽

Molecular Weights ◽

Online Databases ◽

Low Toxicity ◽

Safety And Toxicity

Phlorotannins are polyphenolic compounds produced via polymerization of phloroglucinol, and these compounds have varying molecular weights (up to 650 kDa). Brown seaweeds are rich in phlorotannins compounds possessing various biological activities, including algicidal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anticancer activities. Many review papers on the chemical characterization and quantification of phlorotannins and their functionality have been published to date. However, although studies on the safety and toxicity of these phlorotannins have been conducted, there have been no articles reviewing this topic. In this review, the safety and toxicity of phlorotannins in different organisms are discussed. Online databases (Science Direct, PubMed, MEDLINE, and Web of Science) were searched, yielding 106 results. Following removal of duplicates and application of the exclusion criteria, 34 articles were reviewed. Phlorotannins from brown seaweeds showed low toxicity in cell lines, invertebrates, microalgae, seaweeds, plants, animals (fish, mice, rats, and dogs), and humans. However, the safety and toxicity of phlorotannins in aquaculture fish, livestock, and companion animals are limited. Further studies in these organisms are necessary to carry out a systematic analysis of the safety and toxicity of phlorotannins and to further identify the potential of phlorotannins as functional foods, feeds, and pharmaceuticals.

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Click Reactions in Chemistry of Triterpenes - Advances Towards Development of Potential Therapeutics

Current Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/0929867324666171009122612 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (5) ◽

pp. 636-658 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Jan Pokorny ◽

Lucie Borkova ◽

Milan Urban

Keyword(s):

Biological Activities ◽

Synthetic Approach ◽

Clinical Use ◽

New Approach ◽

Click Reactions ◽

Drug Candidates ◽

The Past ◽

Low Toxicity ◽

New Compounds ◽

Potential Therapeutics

Triterpenoids are natural compounds with a large variety of biological activities such as anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antiparazitic, antiinflammatory and others. Despite their low toxicity and simple availability from the natural resources, their clinical use is still severely limited by their higher IC50 and worse pharmacological properties than in the currently used therapeutics. This fact encouraged a number of researchers to develop new terpenic derivatives more suitable for the potential clinical use. This review summarizes a new approach to improve both, the activity and ADME-Tox properties by connecting active terpenes to another modifying molecules using click reactions. Within the past few years, this synthetic approach was well explored yielding a lot of great improvements of the parent compounds along with some less successful attempts. A large quantity of the new compounds presented here are superior in both activity and ADME-Tox properties to their parents. This review should serve the researchers who need to promote their hit triterpenic structures towards their clinical use and it is intended as a guide for the chemical synthesis of better drug candidates.

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Structure and Activity of Pentacyclic Triterpenes Codrugs. A Review

Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1389557521666210105110848 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 ◽

Author(s):

Justyna Żwawiak ◽

Anna Pawełczyk ◽

Dorota Olender ◽

Lucjusz Zaprutko

Keyword(s):

Biological Activities ◽

Anticancer Activities ◽

Drug Molecule ◽

Pentacyclic Triterpene ◽

Formation Pathway ◽

Chemical Systems ◽

Drug Molecules ◽

Wide Range ◽

Anti Hiv ◽

Structure And Activity

: Triterpenes are a wide and important group of compounds that have several promising pharmacological properties, such as hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-HIV, antioxidant, or anticancer activities. Such potent substances can be successfully incorporated in more complex chemical systems e.g. codrugs or pro-drugs that have better pharmacological profile. The codrug is connected with a drug formation pathway to chemically cohere at least two drug molecules to improve positive therapeutic efficiency or decrease side effects. The codrug can be cleaved in the organism to generate effective compounds previously used as substrates. This article presents an overview of codrugs that consist of pentacyclic triterpene moiety that is chosen as a basic codrug moiety due to their wide range of vital activities and another drug molecule fragment. It was found that triterpenoid codrugs are characterized by a wide range of biological activities. However, most of them have anticancer potency.

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Physicochemical Characterization and Antinociceptive Effect of β-cyclodextrin/Lippia pedunculosa Essential Oil in Mice

Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry ◽

10.2174/1568026618666180607081742 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 797-807 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Paula dos Passos Menezes ◽

Francielly de Oliveira Araujo ◽

Tatianny Araujo Andrade ◽

Igor Araujo Santos Trindade ◽

Heitor Gomes de Araujo-Filho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Essential Oil ◽

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Water Solubility ◽

Therapeutic Potential ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Antinociceptive Effect ◽

Physicochemical Characterization ◽

Good Tool ◽

Main Challenge ◽

Higher Temperature

Background: Some research studies have shown that Lippia pedunculosa essential oil (EOLP) has interesting biological activities. However, its low water solubility is the main challenge to achieve its therapeutic potential. In this context, Cyclodextrins (CDs) have been widely used in order to overcome this problem due to your capability to improve the physicochemical properties of drugs. Objective: In this perspective, the main goal of this study was to investigate how the improvement of the physicochemical properties of inclusion complexes (EOLP and β-CD) enhance the antinociceptive effect in mice. Methods: To achieve that, we prepared samples by Physical Mixture (PM), Paste Complexation (PC) and Slurry Complexation (SC) methods, followed by their physicochemical characterization. In addition, it was evaluated if the use of β-CD enhances the antinociceptive effect of EOLP in mice. Results: The analysis showed that rotundifolone (72.02%) was the major compound of EOLP and we found out based on DSC results that β-CD protected it from oxidation. In addition, TG techniques demonstrated that the best inclusion methods were PC and SC, due to their greater weight loss (10.8 and 11.6%, respectively) in the second stage (171-312°C), indicating that more complexed oil was released at the higher temperature than oil free. Other characteristics, such as changes in the typical crystalline form, and reduced particle size were observed by SEM and laser diffraction, respectively. The SC was the most effective complexation method, once the presence of rotundifolone was detected by FTIR. Based on that, SC method was used in all mice tests. In this regard, the number of paw licks was reduced for both compounds (all doses), but EOLP was more effective in reducing the nociceptive behavior. Conclusion: Therefore, CDs seem not to be a good tool to enhance the pharmacological properties of EOs rich in peroxide compounds such as rotundifolone.

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Plant-Derived Nano and Microvesicles for Human Health and Therapeutic Potential in Nanomedicine

Pharmaceutics ◽

10.3390/pharmaceutics13040498 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 498

Author(s):

Mariaevelina Alfieri ◽

Antonietta Leone ◽

Alfredo Ambrosone

Keyword(s):

Therapeutic Potential ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Plant Biotechnology ◽

Bioactive Metabolites ◽

Anticancer Activities ◽

Long Distance ◽

In Vivo Models ◽

Therapeutic Tools

Plants produce different types of nano and micro-sized vesicles. Observed for the first time in the 60s, plant nano and microvesicles (PDVs) and their biological role have been inexplicably under investigated for a long time. Proteomic and metabolomic approaches revealed that PDVs carry numerous proteins with antifungal and antimicrobial activity, as well as bioactive metabolites with high pharmaceutical interest. PDVs have also been shown to be also involved in the intercellular transfer of small non-coding RNAs such as microRNAs, suggesting fascinating mechanisms of long-distance gene regulation and horizontal transfer of regulatory RNAs and inter-kingdom communications. High loading capacity, intrinsic biological activities, biocompatibility, and easy permeabilization in cell compartments make plant-derived vesicles excellent natural or bioengineered nanotools for biomedical applications. Growing evidence indicates that PDVs may exert anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anticancer activities in different in vitro and in vivo models. In addition, clinical trials are currently in progress to test the effectiveness of plant EVs in reducing insulin resistance and in preventing side effects of chemotherapy treatments. In this review, we concisely introduce PDVs, discuss shortly their most important biological and physiological roles in plants and provide clues on the use and the bioengineering of plant nano and microvesicles to develop innovative therapeutic tools in nanomedicine, able to encompass the current drawbacks in the delivery systems in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical technology. Finally, we predict that the advent of intense research efforts on PDVs may disclose new frontiers in plant biotechnology applied to nanomedicine.

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Nanoformulations for Delivery of Pentacyclic Triterpenoids in Anticancer Therapies

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26061764 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (6) ◽

pp. 1764

Author(s):

Anna Kaps ◽

Paweł Gwiazdoń ◽

Ewa Chodurek

Keyword(s):

Water Solubility ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Premature Mortality ◽

Delivery Systems ◽

Pentacyclic Triterpenoids ◽

Anticancer Properties ◽

Oncological Patients ◽

Antitumor Potential ◽

Ring Structures

The search for safe and effective anticancer therapies is one of the major challenges of the 21st century. The ineffective treatment of cancers, classified as civilization diseases, contributes to a decreased quality of life, health loss, and premature mortality in oncological patients. Many natural phytochemicals have anticancer potential. Pentacyclic triterpenoids, characterized by six- and five-membered ring structures, are one of the largest class of natural metabolites sourced from the plant kingdom. Among the known natural triterpenoids, we can distinguish lupane-, oleanane-, and ursane-types. Pentacyclic triterpenoids are known to have many biological activities, e.g., anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. Unfortunately, they are also characterized by poor water solubility and, hence, low bioavailability. These pharmacological properties may be improved by both introducing some modifications to their native structures and developing novel delivery systems based on the latest nanotechnological achievements. The development of nanocarrier-delivery systems is aimed at increasing the transport capacity of bioactive compounds by enhancing their solubility, bioavailability, stability in vivo and ensuring tumor-targeting while their toxicity and risk of side effects are significantly reduced. Nanocarriers may vary in sizes, constituents, shapes, and surface properties, all of which affect the ultimate efficacy and safety of a given anticancer therapy, as presented in this review. The presented results demonstrate the high antitumor potential of systems for delivery of pentacyclic triterpenoids.

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Naphthalimide-Containing BP100 Leads to Higher Model Membranes Interactions and Antimicrobial Activity

Biomolecules ◽

10.3390/biom11040542 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 542

Author(s):

Gustavo Penteado Battesini Carretero ◽

Greice Kelle Viegas Saraiva ◽

Magali Aparecida Rodrigues ◽

Sumika Kiyota ◽

Marcelo Porto Bemquerer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anticancer Agents ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Biological Effects ◽

Membrane Surface ◽

Helical Structure ◽

Helical Conformation ◽

Property A ◽

Cellular Processes ◽

Double Stranded Dna ◽

Low Toxicity

In a large variety of organisms, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are primary defenses against pathogens. BP100 (KKLFKKILKYL-NH2), a short, synthetic, cationic AMP, is active against bacteria and displays low toxicity towards eukaryotic cells. BP100 acquires a α-helical conformation upon interaction with membranes and increases membrane permeability. Despite the volume of information available, the action mechanism of BP100, the selectivity of its biological effects, and possible applications are far from consensual. Our group synthesized a fluorescent BP100 analogue containing naphthalimide linked to its N-terminal end, NAPHT-BP100 (Naphthalimide-AAKKLFKKILKYL-NH2). The fluorescence properties of naphthalimides, especially their spectral sensitivity to microenvironment changes, are well established, and their biological activities against transformed cells and bacteria are known. Naphthalimide derived compounds are known to interact with DNA disturbing related processes as replication and transcription, and used as anticancer agents due to this property. A wide variety of techniques were used to demonstrate that NAPHT-BP100 bound to and permeabilized zwitterionic POPC and negatively charged POPC:POPG liposomes and, upon interaction, acquired a α-helical structure. Membrane surface high peptide/lipid ratios triggered complete permeabilization of the liposomes in a detergent-like manner. Membrane disruption was driven by charge neutralization, lipid aggregation, and bilayer destabilization. NAPHT-BP100 also interacted with double-stranded DNA, indicating that this peptide could also affect other cellular processes besides causing membrane destabilization. NAPHT-BP100 showed increased antibacterial and hemolytic activities, compared to BP100, and may constitute an efficient antimicrobial agent for dermatological use. By conjugating BP100 and naphthalimide DNA binding properties, NAPHT-BP100 bound to a large extent to the bacterial membrane and could more efficiently destabilize it. We also speculate that peptide could enter the bacteria cell and interact with its DNA in the cytoplasm.

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Synthesis and characterization of a new series of thiadiazole derivatives as potential anticancer agents

Heterocyclic Communications ◽

10.1515/hc-2020-0002 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 6-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ulviye Acar Çevik ◽

Derya Osmaniye ◽

Serkan Levent ◽

Begüm Nurpelin Sağlik ◽

Betül Kaya Çavuşoğlu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anticancer Agents ◽

Biological Activities ◽

Cancer Cell Line ◽

Chemotherapeutic Agents ◽

Anticancer Activities ◽

Normal Tissues ◽

H Nmr ◽

Wide Range ◽

Thiadiazole Derivatives ◽

Low Efficiency

AbstractCancer is one of the most common causes of death in the world. Despite the importance of combating cancer in healthcare systems and research centers, toxicity in normal tissues and the low efficiency of anticancer drugs are major problems in chemotherapy. Nowadays the aim of many medical research projects is to discover new safer and more effective anticancer agents. 1,3,4-Thiadiazole compounds are important fragments in medicinal chemistry because of their wide range of biological activities, including anticancer activities. The aim of this study was to determine the capacity of newly synthesized 1,3,4-thiadiazole compounds as chemotherapeutic agents. The structures of the obtained compounds were elucidated using 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and mass spectrometry. Although the thiadiazole derivatives did not prove to be significantly cytotoxic to the tumour tissue cultures, compound 4i showed activity against the C6 rat brain cancer cell line (IC50 0.097 mM) at the tested concentrations.

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