No abstract

Auricularia auricula-judae, a nutrient-rich mushroom used in traditional medicine, is a macrofungi that exhibits various biological properties. In this study, we have reported on the mechanisms that promote the wound-healing effects of a water-soluble polysaccharide-rich extract obtained from A. auricula-judae (AAP). AAP contained high amounts of polysaccharides (349.83 ± 5.00 mg/g extract) with a molecular weight of 158 kDa. The main sugar composition of AAP includes mannose, galactose, and glucose. AAP displayed antioxidant activity in vitro and was able to abort UVB-induced intracellular ROS production in human fibroblasts in cellulo. AAP significantly promoted both fibroblast and keratinocyte proliferation, migration, and invasion, along with augmentation of the wound-healing process by increasing collagen synthesis and decreasing E-cadherin expression (All p < 0.05). Specifically, the AAP significantly accelerated the wound closure in a mice skin wound-healing model on day 9 (2.5%AAP, p = 0.031 vs. control) and day 12 (1% and 2.5%AAP with p = 0.009 and p < 0.001 vs. control, respectively). Overall, our results indicate that the wound-healing activities of AAP can be applied in an AAP-based product for wound management.

Black rice is a functional food that is high in anthocyanin content, primarily C3G and P3G. It possesses nutraceutical properties that exhibit a range of beneficial effects on human health. Currently, the spike glycoprotein S1 subunit of SARS-CoV-2 (SP) has been reported for its contribution to pathological inflammatory responses in targeting lung tissue and innate immune cells during COVID-19 infection and in the long-COVID phenomenon. Our objectives focused on the health benefits of the C3G and P3G-rich fraction of black rice germ and bran (BR extract) on the inhibition of inflammatory responses induced by SP, as well as the inhibition of NF-kB activation and the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway in an in vitro model. In this study, BR extract was identified for its active anthocyanins, C3G and P3G, using the HPLC technique. A549-lung cells and differentiated THP-1 macrophages were treated with BR extract, C3G, or P3G prior to exposure to 100 ng/mL of SP. Their anti-inflammatory properties were then determined. BR extract at concentrations of 12.5–100 μg/mL exhibited anti-inflammation activity for both A549 and THP-1 cells through the significant suppression of NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 inflammatory gene expressions and IL-6, IL-1β, and IL-18 cytokine secretions in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05). It was determined that both cell lines, C3G and P3G (at 1.25–10 μg/mL), were compatibly responsible for the significant inhibition of SP-induced inflammatory responses for both gene and protein levels (p < 0.05). With regard to the anti-inflammation mechanism, BR extract, C3G, and P3G could attenuate SP-induced inflammation via counteraction with NF-kB activation and downregulation of the inflammasome-dependent inflammatory pathway proteins (NLRP3, ASC, and capase-1). Overall, the protective effects of anthocyanins obtained from black rice germ and bran can be employed in potentially preventive strategies that use pigmented rice against the long-term sequelae of COVID-19 infection.

Ultraviolet-B (UVB) irradiation causes skin damage via deleterious effects including oxidative stress, inflammation, and collagen degradation. The photoprotective effects of a hyperoside-enriched fraction obtained from Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (H. cordata) on the attenuation of UVB-induced skin aging in human fibroblasts were investigated. The solvent-partition technique was used to establish the hyperoside-enriched fraction of H. cordata (HcEA). The active compounds identified in the H. cordata extracts were hyperoside, quercitrin, chlorogenic acid, and rutin. With regard to the photoprotective effects of H. cordata on UVB-irradiated dermal fibroblasts, HcEA and hyperoside inhibited intracellular ROS production and inflammatory cytokine secretions (IL-6 and IL-8), while increasing collagen type I synthesis along with downregulating MMP-1 gene and protein expressions. Mechanistically, the hyperoside-enriched fraction obtained from H. cordata inhibited UVB-irradiated skin aging through regulation of the MAPK signaling pathway by attenuating the activation of JNK/ERK/c-Jun in human dermal fibroblasts. The hyperoside-enriched fraction of H. cordata exerted potent anti-skin aging properties against UVB exposure. The findings of this study can be applied in the cosmetics industry, as H. cordata extract can potentially be used in pharmaceutical or cosmetic formulations as a photoprotective or anti-skin aging agent.

Resistance to chemotherapy in cancer patients has been correlated to the overexpression of the ATPbinding cassette (ABC) drug transporters including P-glycoprotein (P-gp) that actively efflux chemotherapeutic drugs from cancer cells. We examined the mutidrug resistance reversing property of stemofoline derivatives in drug-resistance human cervical carcinoma (KB-V1) and human leukemic (K562/Adr) cell lines that overexpress P-gp. Didehydrostemofoline and eleven of its derivatives were synthesized and the cytotoxicity and their effect on doxorubicin, vinblastine and paclitaxel sensitivity in drug resistant (KB-V1 and K562/ Adr) and drug sensitive (KB-3-1 and K562) cell lines by a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay were determined. We found that three out of the twelve stemofoline derivatives including OH-A1, NH-B6 and NH-D6 showed commitment efficiency to increase sensitivity to doxorubicin, vinblastine and paclitaxel in KB-V1 cells and increase sensitivity to doxorubicin, and paclitaxel in K562/Adr cells whereas the effects have not been seen in their parental sensitive cancer cell lines (KB-3-1 and K562). These results indicate that stemofoline derivatives reversed P-gp-mediated multidrug resistance in vitro, and thus could be developed as effective chemosensitizers to treat multidrug-resistant cancers. The molecular mechanism of modulation of P-gp would be further determined.