Search Results (3)

Seeds contain a variety of phytochemicals that exhibit a wide range of biological activities. Plant-derived compounds are often investigated for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, hypoglycemic, anti-hypercholesterolemic, anti-hypertensive, anti-platelet, anti-apoptotic, anti-nociceptive, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, hepatoprotective, or neuroprotective properties. In this review, we have described the chemical content and biological activity of seeds from eight selected plant species—blackberry (Rubus fruticosus L.), black raspberry (Rubus coreanus Miq.), grape (Vitis vinifera L.), Moringa oleifera Lam., sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.), Gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Sprenger), hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), and sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L). This review is based on studies identified in electronic databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, and SCOPUS. Numerous preclinical, and some clinical studies have found that extracts, fractions, oil, flour, proteins, polysaccharides, or purified chemical compounds isolated from the seeds of these plants display promising, health-promoting effects, and could be utilized in drug development, or to make nutraceuticals and functional foods. Despite that, many of these properties have been studied only in vitro, and it’s unsure if their effects would be relevant in vivo as well, so there is a need for more animal studies and clinical trials that would help determine if they could be applied in disease prevention or treatment. Full article

Oral delivery of insulin has always been a challenging task due to harsh gut environment involving variable pH and peptidase actions. Currently, no Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved oral insulin formulation is commercially available, only intravenous (IV) or subcutaneous (SC) routes. Therefore, it is really cumbersome for diabetic patients to go through invasive approaches for insulin delivery on daily basis. In the present study, a novel pH-responsive hydrogel nanocomposite (NC) system was developed and optimized for safe oral delivery of insulin. Black seed polysaccharide extract-based hydrogel (BA hydrogel) was formulated by free radical polymerization and loaded with insulin. Blank BA hydrogel was also incorporated with insulin-loaded montmorillonite nanoclay (Ins-Mmt) to form an Ins-Mmt-BA hydrogel NC and compared with the insulin-loaded hydrogel. Swelling, sol-gel analysis and in vitro release studies proved that Ins-Mmt-BA6 hydrogel NC has the best formulation, with 96.17% maximum insulin released in 24 h. Kinetic modeling applied on insulin release data showed the Korsemeyer-Peppas model (R² = 0.9637) as the best fit model with a super case II transport mechanism for insulin transport (n > 0.89). Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) Spectroscopy, Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Powdered X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis results also confirmed successful development of a hydrogel NC with no significant denaturation of insulin. Toxicity results confirmed the safety profile and biocompatibility of the developed NC. In vivo studies showed a maximum decrease in blood glucose levels of 52.61% and percentage relative bioavailability (% RBA) of 26.3% for an Ins-Mmt-BA hydrogel NC as compared to BA hydrogels and insulin administered through the SC route. Full article

Fruit extracts from black currants (Ribes nigrum L.) are traditionally used for treatment of gastritis based on seed polysaccharides that inhibit the adhesion of Helicobacter pylori to stomach cells. For detailed investigations an arabinogalactan protein (F2) was isolated from seeds and characterized concerning molecular weight, carbohydrate, amino acid composition, linkage, configuration and reaction with β-glucosyl Yariv. Functional testing of F2 was performed by semiquantitative in situ adhesion assay on sections of human gastric mucosa and by quantitative in vitro adhesion assay with FITC-labled H. pylori strain J99 and human stomach AGS cells. Bacterial adhesins affected were identified by overlay assay with immobilized ligands. ¹²⁵I-radiolabeled F2 served for binding studies to H. pylori and interaction experiments with BabA and SabA. F2 had no cytotoxic effects against H. pylori and AGS cells; but inhibited bacterial binding to human gastric cells. F2 inhibited the binding of BabA and fibronectin-binding adhesin to its specific ligands. Radiolabeled F2 bound non-specifically to different strains of H. pylori; and to BabA deficient mutant. F2 did not lead to subsequent feedback regulation or increased expression of adhesins or virulence factors. From these data the non-specific interactions between F2 and the H. pylori lead to moderate antiadhesive effects. Full article