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Although chitooligosaccharides (COS) improve the drawbacks of chitosan, their biological activities in medical applications have not been highly appreciated. The main approach is to synthesise the COS derivatives in order to improve the biological properties of the COS. In this study, ferulic acid (FA) grafted onto COS (FA-COS) were synthesised and their mechanism of anti-inflammatory activity was investigated in the murine macrophage cells. The synthesis conditions of FA-COS were optimised and confirmed that the FA was successfully conjugated onto COS with the grafting effect of 15-34%. FA-COS exhibited anti-inflammatory activities via suppressing of nitric oxide formation, reducing iNOS expression at transcription and translation levels, down-regulation of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1 β genes; NF-κB and MAPKs signalling pathways. These results show anti-inflammatory molecular mechanism of FA-COS that exhibit enormous potential for prevention of inflammatory diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to protect patients' skin against ionizing irradiation during radiotherapy by using astaxanthin-encapsulated nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC-ATX). NLC-ATX was prepared by a combined method of hot homogenization and sonication. Cytotoxicity of NLC-ATX was evaluated by MTT colorimetric assay. The in vitro radioprotection of NLC-ATX for human fibroblast (HF) cells was investigated based on the level of ROS (reactive oxygen species), DNA damage, and cell death caused by X-irradiation. In addition, the in vivo radioprotection was evaluated based on the appearance and histological structure of the irradiated skin. NLC-ATX was successfully prepared, with a mean particle size, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency of 114.4 nm, −34.1 mV, and 85.67%, respectively. Compared to the control, NLC-ATX, at an optimum ATX concentration under in vitro condition, reduced the amount of generated ROS and DNA damage of 81.6% and 41.6%, respectively, after X-radiation, resulting in a significant decrease in cell death by 62.69%. Under in vivo condition, after the 9th day of X-irradiation (equivalent to an accumulated dose of 14 Gy), the dorsal skin of five out of six NLC-ATX-untreated mice exhibited grade-1 skin damage, according to CTCAE v5.0, while treatment with NLC-ATX protected 6/6 mice from acute skin damage. Moreover, on the 28th day after the first X-irradiation, the histological images illustrated that NLC-ATX at an ATX concentration of 0.25 µg/mL exhibited good recovery of the skin, with barely any difference noted in the collagen fibers and sebaceous glands compared to normal skin. NLC-ATX shows potential for application in skin protection against adverse effects of ionizing rays during radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)‐enriched products (GEP) exhibited a wide range of pharmaceutical properties. In this study, anti‐inflammatory activity of GEP from Lactobacillus fermentum‐fermented water solution of rice bran was evaluated on lipopolysaccharide‐activated macrophage model. GABA content in L. fermentum‐fermented rice bran solution was determined up to 1.27 g/L. GEP was shown to inhibit the expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase‐2 enzymes. Moreover, pretreatment of GEP attenuated the generation level of interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐1β, tumor necrosis factor α, and monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1. Especially, the activation of signaling pathways due to nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) and mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPKs) was interrupted in GEP‐exposed cells. Notably, molecular docking result showed a potential binding of GABA to Toll‐like receptor 4 with a binding energy of −3.88 kcal/mol, suggesting the role of GABA in suppression of Toll‐like receptor 4‐MAPK/NF‐κB signaling cascades. As the result, GEP from L. fermentum‐fermented rice bran solution could be suggested as a promising food for suppression of inflammatory responses. Practical applications: GABA‐enriched products have been evidenced to possess various pharmaceutical properties and health beneficial effects. In this study, GABA‐enriched product from L. fermentum‐fermented rice bran solution exhibited the inhibition on inflammatory response in macrophages. Hence, it could be used as a potential ingredient for the mitigation of inflammatory responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate anticancer activity of Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra (BOA) against the proliferation of BGC-823 human gastric cancer cells. Materials and Methods: B. oleracea var. alboglabra was extracted by ethanol 98% at a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:8, (w/v) for 24h at room temperature. The cytotoxic effect of vegetables was examined by MTT assay. The migration of the cancer cells was conducted by wound healing assay and visualized under an inverted microscope. The mRNA expression level was quantified by real time PCR. Major Findings: It was found that ethanol extract of BOA exhibited the inhibitory activity against the proliferation of BGC-823 cells at IC50 value of 217.6 ± 2.8 µg/ml. Moreover, the treatment of BOA extract at concentration of 100 µg/ml for 24 h significantly suppressed the migration of gastric cancer cells into the gap as compared to the untreated cell group. Notably, the cytotoxic effect of BOA extract on human gastric cancer cells was found due to induction of apoptosis, mediating the up-regulation of caspase-8, -9, -3, and Bax in cancer cells. Conclusion: These results indicated that B. oleracea var. alboglabra have the potential inhibitory activity against the development of gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]