Creeping fat and gut microbiota in Crohn's disease.

In this article, we explored the role of adipose tissue, especially mesenteric adipose tissue and creeping fat, and its association with the gut microbiota in the pathophysiology and progression of Crohn's disease (CD). CD is a form of inflammatory bowel disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, influenced by genetic predisposition, gut microbiota dysbiosis, and environmental factors. Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in modulating immune response and intestinal inflammation and is associated with the onset and progression of CD.

Natural Coumarin Derivatives Activating Nrf2 Signaling Pathway as Lead Compounds for the Design and Synthesis of Intestinal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs.

Nrf2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2) is a transcription factor related to stress response and cellular homeostasis that plays a key role in maintaining the redox system. The imbalance of the redox system is a triggering factor for the initiation and progression of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Nrf2 and its inhibitor Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) are the main regulators of oxidative stress and their activation has been recognized as a promising strategy for the treatment or prevention of several acute and chronic diseases.

Dietary intervention with avocado (Persea americana Mill.) ameliorates intestinal inflammation induced by TNBS in rats.

Nutritional interventions have been shown to be an interesting approach for the treatment of chronic diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Persea americana Mill. (avocado), is a potential food to be used for the prevention or treatment of intestinal inflammation, due to its nutritional value and pharmacological effects.

Recent Advances in Herbal-Derived Products with Skin Anti-Aging Properties and Cosmetic Applications.

Although aesthetic benefits are a desirable effect of the treatment of skin aging, it is also important in controlling several skin diseases, mainly in aged people. The development of new dermocosmetics has rapidly increased due to consumers' demand for non-invasive products with lower adverse effects than those currently available on the market. Natural compounds of plant origin and herbal-derived formulations have been popularized due to their various safe active products, which act through different mechanisms of action on several signaling pathways for skin aging.

Gut microbiota, inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.

The gut microbiota is a complex community of microorganisms that inhabit the digestive tracts of humans, living in symbiosis with the host. Dysbiosis, characterized by an imbalance between the beneficial and opportunistic gut microbiota, is associated with several gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), represented by ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease; and colorectal cancer (CRC). Dysbiosis can disrupt the mucosal barrier, resulting in perpetuation of inflammation and carcinogenesis.

Modulation of autophagy by an innovative phytocosmetic preparation (Myrothamnus flabelifolia and Coffea arabica) in human fibroblasts and its effects in a clinical randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Background: Autophagy is a natural and evolutionary mechanism that reduces cell toxic components and reutilizes metabolites to provide energy and renew cell function, which is linked to a wide range of age-related diseases, including those that affect the skin. Positive modulation of autophagy is useful to treat skin disorders and new active herbal products are potential candidates as autophagy modulators.

Aims: The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of a phytocosmetic formulation containing Myrothamnus flabellifolia leaf and Coffea arabica seed plant extracts (MflCas) on the ubiquitin-proteasome and autophagy markers in human dermal fibroblasts, and investigate its topical skin effects in a randomized, simple-blind, and placebo-controlled trial.

MicroRNA expression in inflammatory bowel disease-associated colorectal cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNA molecules composed of 19-25 nucleotides that regulate gene expression and play a central role in the regulation of several immune-mediated disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). IBD, represented by ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, is characterized by chronic intestinal inflammation associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). CRC is one of the most prevalent tumors in the world, and its main risk factors are obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, alcoholism, advanced age, and some eating habits, in addition to chronic intestinal inflammatory processes and the use of immunosuppressants administered to IBD patients.

Coumarin Derivatives in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a non-communicable disease characterized by a chronic inflammatory process of the gut and categorized into Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, both currently without definitive pharmacological treatment and cure. The unclear etiology of IBD is a limiting factor for the development of new drugs and explains the high frequency of refractory patients to current drugs, which are also related to various adverse effects, mainly after long-term use. Dissatisfaction with current therapies has promoted an increased interest in new pharmacological approaches using natural products.

A new phytocosmetic preparation from Thymus vulgaris stimulates adipogenesis and controls skin aging process: In vitro studies and topical effects in a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Background: The use of the injectable products for soft tissue augmentation and treatment of skin aging is an uncomfortable, invasive and related to several complications, and chronic reactions, mainly after long-term application. Efforts to develop new topically active anti-aging products with fewer adverse effects are a huge challenge that should be faced.

Aims: We evaluated the anti-aging effects of a phytocosmetic preparation containing Thymus vulgaris associated with lecithin (ThymLec) on the facial wrinkles, expression lines, and face oval remodeling using a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial and in vitro cell culture assays.

Bidens pilosa (Black Jack) Standardized Extract Ameliorates Acute TNBS-induced Intestinal Inflammation in Rats.

is an herb popularly used to treat inflammation, hemorrhoids, fever, and gastric ulcers with reported pharmacological activities and chemical composition that sustain its selection as a potential intestinal anti-inflammatory product. Based on this, we examined the effects of a fatty acid-standardized supercritical preparation on the intestinal inflammatory process induced by trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid in rats, using either preventative or curative treatments. We also investigated the safety of plant extract by acute and sub-chronic toxicological analysis.

I've been robbed! - Can changes in floral traits discourage bee pollination?

Some floral visitors collect nectar by piercing flower external whorls, acting as nectar robbers. They leave robbery vestiges, which can cause changes in floral characteristics, including physical and chemical signals that may influence flower recognition by pollinators. If pollinating bees associate these changes with absence or reduction in nectar volume, they can avoid these flowers, negatively affecting pollination.

Novel topical skin hydration agent containing Anadenanthera colubrina polysaccharide-standardized herbal preparation.

Background: Hydration is an important factor to promote skin barrier function, metabolism, and appearance. In this process, the presence of aquaglyceroporins, envelope and lipid synthesis, and metabolism proteins are essential to provide greater corneocyte cohesion and to form a barrier avoiding transepidermal water loss.

Objective: We evaluated the effects of a new topical pigment-free agent containing an Anadenanthera colubrina polysaccharide-rich dermocosmetic preparation (ACP) on the aquaporin-3 (AQP-3), filaggrin (FLG), involucrin (INV), glucocerebrosidase (GBA), and elongation of very-long-chain fatty acid (ELOVL) proteins production in skin human fragments, as well as on the transepidermal water loss in a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

4-Methylesculetin, a natural coumarin with intestinal anti-inflammatory activity, elicits a glutathione antioxidant response by different mechanisms.

4-methylesculetin (4 ME) is a natural antioxidant coumarin with protective effects on the intestinal inflammation, in which oxidative stress plays a key role in its aetiology and pathophysiology. Based on this, we examined the antioxidant molecular mechanisms involved in the intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of the 4 ME. For this purpose, we investigated the effects of the 4 ME on the modulation of gene expression and antioxidant-related enzyme activities in TNBS model of intestinal inflammation as well as the molecular interaction between 4 ME and glutathione reductase.

Changes in colonic contractility in response to inflammatory bowel disease: Long-term assessment in a model of TNBS-induced inflammation in rats.

Aims: Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic relapsing inflammation that affects the gastrointestinal tract, causing changes in colonic motility. The evolution of these changes is not completely understood and possibly related to symptoms that appear in different degrees of the intestinal inflammation. Therefore, our aim is evaluate during 14 days of assessment aspects of colonic contractility using 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) model of inflammation in rats and associate the inflammatory process with colonic motility.

Sterol-standardized phytopharmaceutical from ground cherry: Corticoid-like properties on human keratinocytes and fibroblasts and its effects in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Background: Topical corticosteroids have been the most commonly prescribed drugs to treat skin inflammation, but their uses can lead to several adverse effects. Nowadays, new pharmacological strategies have been evaluated to improve dermatologic efficacy and reduce adverse effects, including natural products.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of a plant sterol standardized supercritical CO phytopharmaceutical of Physalis angulata L.

Nectar Replaced by Volatile Secretion: A Potential New Role for Nectarless Flowers in a Bee-Pollinated Plant Species.

The presence of nectarless flowers in nectariferous plants is a widespread phenomenon in angiosperms. However, the frequency and distribution of nectarless flowers in natural populations, and the transition from nectariferous to nectarless flowers are poorly known. Variation in nectar production may affect mutualism stability, since energetic resource availability influences pollinators' foraging behavior.

Intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of Ground Cherry ( L.) standardized CO phytopharmaceutical preparation.

Aim: To investigate the effects of Ground Cherry ( L.) standardized supercritical CO extract in trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS) model of rat intestinal inflammation.

Methods: The animals were divided into groups that received vehicle or extract (PACO) orally at the doses 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg daily by 5 d before TNBS damage.

Experimental evidence of heparanase, Hsp70 and NF-κB gene expression on the response of anti-inflammatory drugs in TNBS-induced colonic inflammation.

Aim: Etiopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease is unclear and results from a complex interplay of genetic, microbial, environmental and immune factors. Elucidating the mechanisms that drive IBD depends on the detailed characterization of human inflammatory mediators in animal models. Therefore, we studied how intestinal inflammation affects heparanase, NF-κB and Hsp70 gene expression in rats, and if current intestinal anti-inflammatory drugs (sulphasalazine, prednisolone and azathioprine) act on these expressions.

Experimental evidence of MAP kinase gene expression on the response of intestinal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Aim: The etiopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is unclear and further understanding of the mechanisms that regulate intestinal barrier integrity and function could give insight into its pathophysiology and mode of action of current drugs used to treat human IBD. Therefore, we investigated how intestinal inflammation affects Map kinase gene expression in rats, and if current intestinal anti-inflammatory drugs (sulphasalazine, prednisolone and azathioprine) act on these expressions.

Material And Methods: Macroscopic parameters of lesion, biochemical markers (myeloperoxidase, alkaline phosphatase and glutathione), gene expression of 13Map kinases, and histologic evaluations (optic, electronic scanning and transmission microscopy) were performed in rats with colonic inflammation induced by trinitrobenzenesulphonic (TNBS) acid.

Products for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease: a patent review (2013 - 2014).

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) consists of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and an unspecific IBD. The unclear etiology of IBD is a limiting factor that complicates the development of new pharmacological treatments and explains the high frequency of refractory patients to current drugs, including both conventional and biological therapies. In view of this, recent progress on the development of novel patented products to treat IBD was reviewed.