Piper species are aromatic plants used as spices in the kitchen, but their secondary metabolites have also shown biological effects on human health. These plants are rich in essential oils, which can be found in their fruits, seeds, leaves, branches, roots and stems. Some Piper species have simple chemical profiles, while others, such as Piper nigrum, Piper betle, and Piper auritum, contain very diverse suites of secondary metabolites. In traditional medicine, Piper species have been used worldwide to treat several diseases such as urological problems, skin, liver and stomach ailments, for wound healing, and as antipyretic and anti-inflammatory agents. In addition, Piper species could be used as natural antioxidants and antimicrobial agents in food preservation. The phytochemicals and essential oils of Piper species have shown strong antioxidant activity, in comparison with synthetic antioxidants, and demonstrated antibacterial and antifungal activities against human pathogens. Moreover, Piper species possess therapeutic and preventive potential against several chronic disorders. Among the functional properties of Piper plants/extracts/active components the antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, and neuropharmacological activities of the extracts and extract-derived bioactive constituents are thought to be key effects for the protection against chronic conditions, based on preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies, besides clinical studies. Habitats and cultivation of Piper species are also covered in this review. In this current work, available literature of chemical constituents of the essential oils Piper plants, their use in traditional medicine, their applications as a food preservative, their antiparasitic activities and other important biological activities are reviewed.

Piper Species: A Comprehensive Review on Their Phytochemistry, Biological Activities and Applications.

Multipotential stromal cells (MSCs) have been touted to provide an alternative to conservative procedures of therapy, be it heart transplants, bone reconstruction, kidney grafts, or skin, neuronal and cartilage repair. A wide gap exists, however, between the number of MSCs that can be obtained from the donor site and the number of MSCs needed for implantation to regenerate tissue. Standard methods of MSC expansion being followed in laboratories are not fully suitable due to time and age-related constraints for autologous therapies, and transplant issues leave questions for allogenic therapies. Beyond these issues of sufficient numbers, there also exists a problem of MSC survival at the graft. Experiments in small animals have shown that MSCs do not persist well in the graft environment. Either there is no incorporation into the host tissue, or, if there is incorporation, most of the cells are lost within a month. The use of growth and other trophic factors may be helpful in counteracting these twin issues of MSC expansion and death. Growth factors are known to influence cell proliferation, motility, survival and morphogenesis. In the case of MSCs, it would be beneficial that the growth factor does not induce differentiation at an early stage since the number of early-differentiating progenitors would be very low. The present review looks at the effect of and downstream signaling of various growth factors on proliferation and survival in MSCs.

Growth factor regulation of proliferation and survival of multipotential stromal cells

A stem cell-based approach to cartilage repair

This article is a comprehensive review of the literature pertaining to the antidepressant effects and mechanisms of regular tea consumption. Meta-data supplemented with recent observational studies were first analyzed to assess the association between tea consumption and depression risk. The literature reported risk ratios (RR) were 0.69 with 95% confidence intervals of 0.62–0.77. Next, we thoroughly reviewed human trials, mouse models, and in vitro experiments to determine the predominant mechanisms underlying the observed linear relationship between tea consumption and reduced risk of depression. Current theories on the neurobiology of depression were utilized to map tea-mediated mechanisms of antidepressant activity onto an integrated framework of depression pathology. The major nodes within the network framework of depression included hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hyperactivity, inflammation, weakened monoaminergic systems, reduced neurogenesis/neuroplasticity, and poor microbiome diversity affecting the gut–brain axis. We detailed how each node has subsystems within them, including signaling pathways, specific target proteins, or transporters that interface with compounds in tea, mediating their antidepressant effects. A major pathway was found to be the ERK/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway, up-regulated by a number of compounds in tea including teasaponin, L-theanine, EGCG and combinations of tea catechins and their metabolites. Black tea theaflavins and EGCG are potent anti-inflammatory agents via down-regulation of NF-κB signaling. Multiple compounds in tea are effective modulators of dopaminergic activity and the gut–brain axis. Taken together, our findings show that constituents found in all major tea types, predominantly L-theanine, polyphenols and polyphenol metabolites, are capable of functioning through multiple pathways simultaneously to collectively reduce the risk of depression.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/6/1361/pdf

Mechanisms Underlying the Anti-Depressive Effects of Regular Tea Consumption

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) secrete many cytokines, proteins, growth factors, and extracellular vesicles with beneficial outcomes that can be used in regenerative medicine. It has great potential, and the development of new treatment strategies using the ASCs secretome is of global interest. Besides cytokines, proteins, and growth factors, the therapeutic effect of secretome is hidden in non-coding RNAs such as miR-21, miR-24, and miR-26 carried via exosomes secreted by adequate cells. The whole secretome, including ASC-derived exosomes (ASC-exos) has been proven in many studies to have immunomodulatory, proangiogenic, neurotrophic, and epithelization activity and can potentially be used for neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, respiratory, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases as well as wound healing treatment. Due to limitations in the use of stem cells in cell-based therapy, its secretome with emphasis on exosomes seems to be a reasonable and safer alternative with increased effectiveness and fewer side effects. Moreover, the great advantage of cell-free therapy is the possibility of biobanking the ASCs secretome. In this review, we focus on the current state of knowledge on the use of the ASCs secretome in stem cell-free therapy.

https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/11/6/878/pdf

Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Secretome and Its Potential Application in “Stem Cell-Free Therapy”

Aging is a natural process in humans as accumulation of oxygen-derived free radicals which leads to the activation of hyaluronidase, collagenase and elastase, that can further contribute to cellular and tissue damage. Bioactive compounds from plants have been used as antioxidant that might inhibit aging processes as well. This study aimed to determine antioxidant and anti aging properties of Oryza sativa Extract (OSE), and its compounds, vanillin and coumaric acid. The phytochemical analysis of OSE was performed with Farnsworth modified method. Antioxidant activities were performed by measurement of 2,2-diphenyl 1-pichylhydazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenger, Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) reducing activity, while anti aging assay were observed through inhibitory of elastase, collagenase, and hyaluronidase activities. Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of terpenoids and saponins in high level. OSE showed lowest DPPH activity (IC 50 = 314.51 μg/mL) compared to vanillin (IC 50 = 283 μg/mL) and coumaric acid (IC 50 = 255.69 μg/mL). In ABTS assay, OSE resulted lowest activity(IC 50 = 145.67 μg/mL), compared to vanillin (IC 50 = 4.96 μg/mL) and coumaric acid (IC 50 = 1.67 μg/mL). OSE also showed the lowest FRAP-reducing activity (21.26 μM Fe(II)/μg), compared to vanillin (35.05 μM Fe(II)/μg) and coumaric acid (48.52μM Fe(II)/μg). OSE showed the lowest collagenase, elastase, and hyaluronidase inhibitory activity (IC 50 = 816.78,107.51, and 203.13 μg/mL), compared to vanillin (IC 50 = 16.27, 14.46, 45.23 μg/mL respectively) and coumaric acid (IC 50 = 146.89, 25.38, 8.21 μg/mL respectively). In summary, OSE possess the lowest antioxidant and anti aging activities compared to vanillin and coumaric acid.

http://www.informaticsjournals.com/index.php/jnr/article/download/7220/7336

Antioxidant and Anti Aging Assays of Oryza Sativa Extracts, Vanillin and Coumaric Acid

Skin aging is a complex biological process due to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Free radical oxidative is one of extrinsic factors that induce activation of collagenase, elastase and hyaluronidase. Natural product from plants has been used as antioxidant and antiaging. This study aimed to evaluate antioxidant and antiaging properties of Hibiscus sabdariffa extract (HSE) and its compounds including myricetin, ascorbic acid, and β carotene. The phytochemical of H. sabdariffa was determined using modified Farnsworth method and presence of phenols, flavonoids and tannins were in moderate content, whereas triterpenoids and alkaloids were in low content. Total phenolic content performed using Folin-Ciocalteu method, was 23.85 μg GAE/mg. Quantitative analysis of myricetin, β-carotene, and ascorbic acid of HSE was performed with Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) that shows 78.23 μg/mg myricetin, 0.034 μg/mg β-carotene, whilst ascorbic acid was not detected. HSE has lower activity on DPPH (IC50 = 195.73 μg/mL) compared to β-carotene, the lowest in ABTS assay (IC50 = 74.58 μg/mL) and low activity in FRAP assay (46.24 μM Fe(II)/μg) compared to myricetin, β-carotene. Antiaging was measured through inhibitory activity of collagenase, elastase, and hyaluronidase. HSE had weakest collagenase inhibitory activity (IC50= 750.33 μg/mL), elastase inhibitory activity (103.83 μg/mL), hyaluronidase inhibitory activity (IC50 = 619.43 μg/mL) compared to myricetin, β-carotene, and ascorbic acid. HSE contain higher myricetin compared to β-carotene. HSE has moderate antioxidants and lowest antiaging activities. Myricetin is the most active both antioxidant and antiaging activities.

/pdf/antioxidant-and-antiaging-assays-of-hibiscus-sabdariffa-7ouwmjbngs.pdf

Antioxidant and Antiaging Assays of Hibiscus sabdariffa Extract and Its Compounds

Objective To evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of oolong tea ethanol extract (OTEE) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on lipopolysaccharide-induced murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7). Methods A cytotoxic assay using MTS tetrazolium was conducted to find a nontoxic level of OTEE and EGCG toward RAW 264.7 cells. Interleukins (IL-6, IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and cyclooxigenase-2 (COX-2) levels were measured by ELISA, and nitric oxide (NO) levels measured by a nitrate/nitrite colorimetric assay to determine the inhibition activity of OTEE and EGCG. Results Lipopolysaccharide induction increases NO, COX-2, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α levels compared with the untreated cell (negative control). The positive control, lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 without treatments showed the highest level of all pro-inflammatory cytokines and modulators tested in this study. The positive control was used as standard to obtain OTEE and EGCG inhibition activity toward NO, COX-2, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. OTEE had a higher inhibition activity toward NO, COX-2, IL-6, and IL-1β than EGCG; the reverse was seen for TNF-α. However, both OTEE and EGCG suppressed production of NO, COX-2, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. Conclusions OTEE and EGCG have the potential for use as anti-inflammatory drugs, which is shown by their ability to reduce the production of NO, COX-2, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α in active macrophages.

Anti-inflammatory properties of oolong tea (Camellia sinensis) ethanol extract and epigallocatechin gallate in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells

Growth factors profile in conditioned medium human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (CM-hATMSCs)

In this study, the anti-inflammatory potential of Anredera cordifolia and Piper crocatum extracts on lipopolysaccharide-induced murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) was observed. Cell viability assay was performed with MTS assay. Parameters measured to determine the anti-inflammatory activity were interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, nitric oxide (NO) and IL-6. Both A. cordifolia and P. crocatum at concentration of 50 µg/mL in cell line resulted significant decrease in TNF-α level (250.3 and 242.5 pg/mL respectively). A. cordifolia showed significant decrease in IL-1β level at 50 µg/mL and IL-6 level at 10 µg/mL, whilst P. crocatum  showed significant decrease IL-1β level in three concentrations with lowest level at 50 µg/mL. A. cordifolia showed lowest decrease in NO level at 50 µg/mL but not comparable with normal cells, whilst P. crocatum showed significant decrease in NO level at 50 µg/mL. This research revealed that A. cardi folia and P. crocatum possess the anti-inflammatory potential indicated by the inhibitory activity of the inflammatory mediators including, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and NO. Video Clip of Methodology : Viability Assay: 4 min 8 sec Full Screen Alternate

/pdf/anti-inflammatory-effects-of-anredera-cordifolia-and-piper-49oy0t9kgy.pdf

Ervi Afifah

Papers

Antioxidant and Anti Aging Assays of Oryza Sativa Extracts, Vanillin and Coumaric Acid

Antioxidant and Antiaging Assays of Hibiscus sabdariffa Extract and Its Compounds

Anti-inflammatory properties of oolong tea (Camellia sinensis) ethanol extract and epigallocatechin gallate in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells

Growth factors profile in conditioned medium human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (CM-hATMSCs)

Anti-inflammatory effects of Anredera cordifolia and Piper crocatum extracts on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophage cell line