Progress in the Understanding of the Key Pharmacophoric Features of the Antimalarial Drug Dihydroartemisinin: An Experimental and Theoretical Charge Density Study

The accurate, experimental charge density distribution, ρ( r ), of the potent antimalarial drug dihydroartemisinin (DHA) has been derived for the first time from single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction data at T=100(2) K. Gas‐phase and solid‐state DFT simulations have also been performed to provide a firm basis of comparison with experimental results. The quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) has been employed to analyse the ρ( r ) scalar field, with the aim of classifying and quantifying the key real‐space elements responsible for the known pharmacophoric features of DHA. From the conformational perspective, the bicyclo[3.2.2]nonane system fixes the three‐dimensional arrangement of the 1,2,4‐trioxane bearing the active O? O redox centre. This is the most nucleophilic function in DHA and acts as an important CH???O acceptor. On the contrary, the rest of the molecular backbone is almost neutral, in accordance with the lipophilic character of the compound. Another remarkable feature is the C? O bond length alternation along the O‐C‐O‐C polyether chain, due to correlations between pairs of adjacent C? O bonds. These bonding features have been related with possible reactivity routes of the α‐ and β‐DHA epimers, namely 1) the base‐catalysed hemiacetal breakdown and 2) the peroxide reduction. As a general conclusion, the base‐driven proton transfer has significant non‐local effects on the whole polyether chain, whereas DHA reduction is thermodynamically favourable and invariably leads to a significant weakening (or even breaking) of the O? O bond. The influence of the hemiacetal stereochemistry on the electronic properties of the system has also been considered. Such findings are discussed in the context of the known chemical reactivity of this class of important antimalarial drugs.     

Pyrrolic Tripodal Receptors for the Molecular Recognition of Carbohydrates: Ditopic Receptors for Dimannosides

Synthetic ditopic receptors, designed for the molecular recognition of dimannosides, have been prepared by bridging two monotopic units effectively recognizing mannosides with linkers of the appropriate size and flexibility, endowed with hydrogen‐bonding groups. Affinities toward the α and β glycosides of the biologically relevant Manα(1–2)Man disaccharide were measured by NMR spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) in polar organic media (30–40 % DMF in chloroform). Significant selectivities and affinities in the micromolar range were observed in most cases, with two newly designed receptors being the most effective receptors of the set, together with a distinct preference of the dimannosides for the (S) enantiomer of the receptor in all cases. A 3D view of the recognition mode was elucidated by a combined NMR spectroscopic/molecular modeling approach, showing the dimannoside included in the cleft of the receptor. Compared to the monotopic precursors, the ditopic receptors showed markedly improved recognition properties, proving the efficacy of the modular receptor design for the recognition of disaccharides.     

Structure‐Based Optimization of the Terminal Tripeptide in Glycopeptide Dendrimer Inhibitors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms Targeting LecA

The galactopeptide dendrimer GalAG2 ((β‐Gal‐OC₆H₄CO‐Lys‐Pro‐Leu)₄(Lys‐Phe‐Lys‐Ile)₂Lys‐His‐Ile‐NH₂) binds strongly to the Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) lectin LecA, and it inhibits PA biofilms, as well as disperses already established ones. By starting with the crystal structure of the terminal tripeptide moiety GalA‐KPL in complex with LecA, a computational mutagenesis study was carried out on the galactotripeptide to optimize the peptide–lectin interactions. 25 mutants were experimentally evaluated by a hemagglutination inhibition assay, 17 by isothermal titration calorimetry, and 3 by X‐ray crystallography. Two of these tripeptides, GalA‐KPY (dissociation constant (K_D)=2.7 μM ) and GalA‐KRL (K_D=2.7 μM ), are among the most potent monovalent LecA ligands reported to date. Dendrimers based on these tripeptide ligands showed improved PA biofilm inhibition and dispersal compared to those of GalAG2 , particularly G2KPY ((β‐Gal‐OC₆H₄CO‐Lys‐Pro‐Tyr)₄(Lys‐Phe‐Lys‐Ile)₂Lys‐His‐Ile‐NH₂). The possibility to retain and even improve the biofilm inhibition in several analogues of GalAG2 suggests that it should be possible to fine‐tune this dendrimer towards therapeutic use by adjusting the pharmacokinetic parameters in addition to the biofilm inhibition through amino acid substitutions.     

Metabolism of JWH-015, JWH-098, JWH-251, and JWH-307 in silico and in vitro: a pilot study for the detection of unknown synthetic cannabinoids metabolites

This pilot study was performed to study the main metabolic reactions of four synthetic cannabinoids: JWH-015, JWH-098, JWH-251, and JWH-307 in order to setup a screening method for the detection of main metabolites in biological fluids. In silico prediction of main metabolic reactions was performed using MetaSite^? software. To evaluate the agreement between software prediction and experimental reactions, we performed in vitro experiments on the same JWHs using rat liver slices. The obtained samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight and the identification of metabolites was executed using Mass-MetaSite^? software that automatically assigned the metabolite structures to the peaks detected based on their accurate masses and fragmentation. A comparison between the experimental findings and the in silico metabolism prediction using MetaSite^? software showed a good accordance between experimental and in silico data. Thus, the use of in silico metabolism prediction might represent a useful tool for the forensic and clinical toxicologist to identify possible main biomarkers for synthetic cannabinoids in biological fluids, especially urine, following their administration.

Vibrational study on the interactions between yak keratin fibres and glyoxylic acid

Raman and IR spectroscopy were used to investigate the changes induced in yak hair keratin by the straightening treatment based on glyoxylic acid. The amino acidic residues that appeared involved in the reaction with glyoxylic acid were serine and lysine; the involvement of the latter was deduced by the spectroscopic detection of iminic species, resulting from the reaction between the aminic group of lysine and the carbonyl group of glyoxylic acid. The reaction with glyoxylic acid induced conformational rearrangements that mainly involved the fibre bulk rather than the cuticle. Changes in the average tyrosine environment and its hydrogen‐bonding state were detected: at increasing glyoxylic acid incorporation, the tyrosine residues appeared more exposed, probably because of H‐bond interactions with the COOH group. The distribution of the disulfide bridge conformation was also affected, although no cleavage of the S–S bond was detected, in agreement with the shiny and healthy appearance of the fibres. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In Vitro Effects of Sulforaphane on Interferon-Driven Inflammation and Exploratory Evaluation in Two Healthy Volunteers

Interferonopathies are rare genetic conditions defined by systemic inflammatory episodes caused by innate immune system activation in the absence of pathogens. Currently, no targeted drugs are authorized for clinical use in these diseases. In this work, we studied the contribution of sulforaphane (SFN), a cruciferous-derived bioactive molecule, in the modulation of interferon-driven inflammation in an immortalized human hepatocytes (IHH) line and in two healthy volunteers, focusing on STING, a key-component player in interferon pathway, interferon signature modulation, and GSTM1 expression and genotype, which contributes to SFN metabolism and excretion. In vitro, SFN exposure reduced STING expression as well as interferon signature in the presence of the pro-inflammatory stimulus cGAMP (cGAMP 3 h vs. SFN+cGAMP 3 h p value < 0.0001; cGAMP 6 h vs. SFN+cGAMP 6 h p < 0.001, one way ANOVA), restoring STING expression to the level of unstimulated cells. In preliminary experiments on healthy volunteers, no appreciable variations in interferon signature were identified after SFN assumption, while only in one of them, presenting the GSTM1 wild type genotype related to reduced SFN excretion, could a downregulation of STING be recorded. This study confirmed that SFN inhibits STING-mediated inflammation and interferon-stimulated genes expression in vitro. However, only a trend towards the downregulation of STING could be reproduced in vivo. Results obtained have to be confirmed in a larger group of healthy individuals and in patients with type I interferonopathies to define if the assumption of SFN could be useful as supportive therapy.     

Optimization,Validation and Application of HPLC-PDA Methods for Quantification of Triterpenoids in Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.

Triterpenoids have regained much attention as promising multi-targeting bioactive agents of natural origin in the treatment of numerous disorders. Due to the high potential for phytopharmaceutical development, accurate qualitative and quantitative analysis of triterpenoids for screening and quality control is required. Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. (lingonberry) raw materials have aroused interest as a rich source of triterpenoids. However, currently, no validated, rapid, and easy-to-perform quantification method is available for the routine control of these compounds in lingonberries. This research aimed at developing and validating HPLC-PDA methods for the determination and screening of triterpenoids in extracts of lingonberry leaves, fruits, and flowers. The developed methods were deemed satisfactory by validation, which revealed acceptable analytical specificity, linearity (r² > 0.9999), precision (RSD < 2%), trueness (94.70–105.81%), and sensitivity (LOD: 0.08–0.65 µg/mL). The real sample analysis demonstrated established methods applicability for quantification of 13 triterpenoids in lingonberries and emphasized differences between raw materials. Lingonberry fruits were distinguished by the richness of ursolic acid; lingonberry flowers by similar profile to fruits, but low content of neutral triterpenoids; whereas lingonberry leaves by the particularly high level of α-amyrin. Thus, the proposed methods proved to be reliable and applicable for quantification and routine analysis of triterpenoids in lingonberry samples.     

Microbial Application to Improve Olive Mill Wastewater Phenolic Extracts

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) contains valuable and interesting bioactive compounds, among which is hydroxytyrosol, which is characterized by a remarkable antioxidant activity. Due to the health claims related to olive polyphenols, the aim of this study was to obtain an extract from OMW with an increased level of hydroxytyrosol by means of microbial enzymatic activity. For this purpose, four commercial adsorbent resins were selected and tested. The beta-glucosidase and esterase activity of strains of Wickerhamomyces anomalus, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were also investigated and compared to those of a commercial enzyme and an Aspergillus niger strain. The W. anomalus strain showed the best enzymatic performances. The SP207 resin showed the best efficiency in selective recovery of hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, oleuropein, and total phenols. The bioconversion test of the OMW extract was assessed by using both culture broths and pellets of the tested strains. The results demonstrated that the pellets of W. anomalus and L. plantarum were the most effective in hydroxytyrosol increasing in phenolic extract. The interesting results suggest the possibility to study new formulations of OMW phenolic extracts with multifunctional microorganisms.     

Tricyclic Pyrazole-Based Compounds as Useful Scaffolds for Cannabinoid CB1/CB2 Receptor Interaction

Cannabinoids comprise different classes of compounds, which aroused interest in recent years because of their several pharmacological properties. Such properties include analgesic activity, bodyweight reduction, the antiemetic effect, the reduction of intraocular pressure and many others, which appear correlated to the affinity of cannabinoids towards CB₁ and/or CB₂ receptors. Within the search aiming to identify novel chemical scaffolds for cannabinoid receptor interaction, the CB₁ antagonist/inverse agonist pyrazole-based derivative rimonabant has been modified, giving rise to several tricyclic pyrazole-based compounds, most of which endowed of high affinity and selectivity for CB₁ or CB₂ receptors. The aim of this review is to present the synthesis and summarize the SAR study of such tricyclic pyrazole-based compounds, evidencing, for some derivatives, their potential in the treatment of neuropathic pain, obesity or in the management of glaucoma.     

From Fish Waste to Value: An Overview of the Sustainable Recovery of Omega-3 for Food Supplements

The disposal of food waste is a current and pressing issue, urging novel solutions to implement sustainable waste management practices. Fish leftovers and their processing byproducts represent a significant portion of the original fish, and their disposal has a high environmental and economic impact. The utilization of waste as raw materials for the production of different classes of biofuels and high-value chemicals, a concept known as “biorefinery”, is gaining interest in a vision of circular economy and zero waste policies. In this context, an interesting route of valorization is the extraction of omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FAs) for nutraceutical application. These fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have received attention over the last decades due to their beneficial effects on human health. Their sustainable production is a key process for matching the increased market demand while reducing the pressure on marine ecosystems and lowering the impact of waste production. The high resale value of the products makes this waste a powerful tool that simultaneously protects the environment and benefits the global economy. This review aims to provide a complete overview of the sustainable exploitation of fish waste to recover ω-3 FAs for food supplement applications, covering composition, storage, and processing of the raw material.