Search

Simple Summary: Gastrointestinal parasites (GIPs) coevolved with mammalian hosts over millennia. These parasites produce small molecules, peptides, and proteins not only to evade or combat the host's immune response, but also to protect their host for longer coexistence. The emerging field of parasitomics uses various techniques, databases, and software associated with LC-MS (liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry), NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), and other mass spectrometry platforms to study the polar and lipid molecules produced by GIPs. Recent advancements in AI-assisted tools and databases have significantly advanced this field, offering new insights into host–parasite interactions, immunomodulation and biochemical pathways. As research progresses, parasitomics promises to deepen our understanding of these complex relationships. Gastrointestinal parasites (GIPs) are organisms known to have coevolved for millennia with their mammalian hosts. These parasites produce small molecules, peptides, and proteins to evade or fight their hosts' immune systems and also to protect their host for their own survival/coexistence. The small molecules include polar compounds, amino acids, lipids, and carbohydrates. Metabolomics and lipidomics are emerging fields of research that have recently been applied to study helminth infections, host–parasite interactions and biochemicals of GIPs. This review comprehensively discusses metabolomics and lipidomics studies of the small molecules of GIPs, providing insights into the available tools and techniques, databases, and analytical software. Most metabolomics and lipidomics investigations employed LC-MS, MS or MS/MS, NMR, or a combination thereof. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted software tools and databases have propelled parasitomics forward, offering new avenues to explore host–parasite interactions, immunomodulation, and the intricacies of parasitism. As our understanding of AI technologies and their utilisation continue to expand, it promises to unveil novel perspectives and enrich the knowledge of these complex host–parasite relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, lifelong disorder characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The exact etiology of IBD remains incompletely understood due to its multifaceted nature, which includes genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and host immune response dysfunction. Currently, there is no cure for IBD. This review discusses the available treatment options and the challenges they present. Importantly, we examine emerging therapeutics, such as biologics and immunomodulators, that offer targeted treatment strategies for IBD. While many IBD patients do not respond adequately to most biologics, recent clinical trials combining biologics with small-molecule drugs (SMDs) have provided new insights into improving the IBD treatment landscape. Furthermore, numerous novel and specific therapeutic targets have been identified. The high cost of IBD drugs poses a significant barrier to treatment, but this challenge may be alleviated with the development of more affordable biosimilars. Additionally, emerging point-of-care protein biomarkers from serum and plasma are showing potential for enhancing the precision of IBD diagnosis and prognosis. Several natural products (NPs), including crude extracts, small molecules, and peptides, have demonstrated promising anti-inflammatory activity in high-throughput screening (HTS) systems and advanced artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted platforms, such as molecular docking and ADMET prediction. These platforms are advancing the search for alternative IBD therapies derived from natural sources, potentially leading to more affordable and safer treatment options with fewer side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research is increasingly revealing that inflammation significantly contributes to various diseases, particularly inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is a major medical challenge due to its chronic nature, affecting at least one in a thousand individuals in many Western countries, with rising incidence in developing nations. Historically, indigenous people have used natural products to treat ailments, including IBD. Ethnobotanically guided studies have shown that plant-derived extracts and compounds effectively modulate immune responses and reduce inflammation. Similarly, helminths and their products offer unique mechanisms to modulate host immunity and alleviate inflammatory responses. This review explored the pharmaceutical potential of Aboriginal remedial plants and helminths for treating IBD, emphasizing recent advances in discovering anti-inflammatory small-molecule drug leads. The literature from Scopus, MEDLINE Ovid, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science was retrieved using keywords such as natural product, small molecule, cytokines, remedial plants, and helminths. This review identified 55 important Aboriginal medicinal plants and 9 helminth species that have been studied for their anti-inflammatory properties using animal models and in vitro cell assays. For example, curcumin, berberine, and triptolide, which have been isolated from plants; and the excretory-secretory products and their protein, which have been collected from helminths, have demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity with lower toxicity and fewer side effects. High-throughput screening, molecular docking, artificial intelligence, and machine learning have been engaged in compound identification, while clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) gene editing and RNA sequencing have been employed to understand molecular interactions and regulations. While there is potential for pharmaceutical application of Aboriginal medicinal plants and gastrointestinal parasites in treating IBD, there is an urgent need to qualify these plant and helminth therapies through reproducible clinical and mechanistic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown that seagrasses could possess potential applications in the treatment of inflammatory disorders. Five seagrass species (Zostera muelleri, Halodule uninervis, Cymodocea rotundata, Syringodium isoetifolium, and Thalassia hemprichii) from the Great Barrier Reef (QLD, Australia) were thus collected, and their preliminary antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated. From the acetone extracts of five seagrass species subjected to 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging antioxidant assay, the extract of Z. muelleri had the highest activity (half minimal concentration of inhibition (IC50) = 138 µg/mL), with the aerial parts (IC50 = 119 µg/mL) possessing significantly higher antioxidant activity than the roots (IC50 ≥ 500 µg/mL). A human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) assay with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activation and LEGENDplex cytokine analysis showed that the aerial extract of Z. muelleri significantly reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 by 29%, 74%, and 90%, respectively, relative to the LPS treatment group. The aerial extract was thus fractionated with methanol (MeOH) and hexane fraction, and purification of the MeOH fraction by HPLC led to the isolation of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (1), luteolin (2), and apigenin (3) as its major constituents. These compounds have been previously shown to reduce levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 and represent some of the major bioactive components of Z. muelleri aerial parts. This investigation represents the first study of the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Z. muelleri and the first isolation of small molecules from this species. These results highlight the potential for using seagrasses in treating inflammation and the need for further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]