Editorial Bioactive Natural Molecules and Traditional...

EditorialBioactive Natural Molecules and Traditional Herbal Medicine inthe Treatment of Airways Diseases

Alexandre de Paula Rogerio,1 Troy Carlo,2 and Sergio R. Ambrosio3

1Departamento de Clınica Medica, Laboratorio de Imunofarmacologia Experimental (LIFE), Instituto de Ciencias da Saude,Universidade Federal do Triangulo Mineiro (UFTM), 38025-350 Uberaba, MG, Brazil2Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Division, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA3Nucleo de Pesquisa em Ciencias e Tecnologia, Universidade de Franca, 14404-600 Franca, SP, Brazil

Correspondence should be addressed to Alexandre de Paula Rogerio; [email protected]

Received 19 June 2016; Accepted 19 June 2016

Copyright © 2016 Alexandre de Paula Rogerio et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work isproperly cited.

The use of herbal medicines has been documented through-out recorded history including Assyrian clay tablets(2000 BC) and the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus (1550 BC) andin Ayurveda works from 900 BC. In addition, Hippocrates,Dioscorides, Galen, Paracelsus, and Arab scholars in Europekept detailed notes regarding the use of medicinal plants. Inthe modern era, the research of natural bioactive moleculesbegan with the isolation of morphine from opium latex in1805 by Serturner. A famous bioactive compound isolatedfrom plants, salicylic acid, was isolated from willow bark inthe 19th century. In 1900, Bayer patented a derivative of thecompound to treat pain and inflammation and sold it underthe brand name aspirin. Numerous other natural compoundshave been discovered and used for the treatment of diseases.

Considerable progress has been made in the understand-ing of genetic and immunological factors that contribute tothe development of airway disorders such as asthma, chronicobstructive pulmonary disease, and acute lung injury. Unfor-tunately, current therapies and treatments for airway disor-ders have not advanced dramatically despite our increasedknowledge base. Traditional herbal medicine and bioactivenatural products are being used as therapeutic substitutes oras complementary treatments to augment existing therapies.Thenatural compounds found in thesemay have the potentialto form the basis of newdrugs for the treatment of diseases. Inthis special issue, we took a particular interest in reviews andoriginal papers that investigate the effects of bioactive naturalmolecules and traditional herbal medicines in clinical and

preclinical (cellular or animal models) studies in preventionand treatment of airways diseases.

Allergic asthma is an airway inflammatory disordercoordinated by CD4+ T cells with Th2 phenotype. The maincharacteristics of asthma are airway hyperresponsiveness,eosinophilic inflammation, and hypersecretion of mucus.Typical asthma treatments include 𝛽

2-agonists and inhaled

or systemic corticosteroids. In addition, inhibitors of LTsynthesis (such as zileuton, which directly inhibits 5-LO)or CysLT1 antagonists (such as montelukast, zafirlukast, andpranlukast) may also be used as complementary therapies totreat asthma, reducing the requirement for corticosteroids.Although the drugs described above have potent effects whenused individually or in combination, they also have adverseside effects that limit their long-term use.Thus, it is necessaryto develop new compoundswith similar therapeutic potentialand less adverse effects for the continuous treatment ofairway diseases. In an ongoing search for bioactive plant-derived natural products, several groups, including some ofthis special issue, have successfully employed experimentalmethods to screen plant extracts and isolate compounds forpharmacological activity.

Ferulic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic acid) isfound in a wide array of plants, including fruits and vegeta-bles, and in beverages such as coffee and beer. Ferulic aciddemonstrates antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activitiessuggesting a therapeutic potential to treat several diseasessuch as arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease.

Hindawi Publishing CorporationEvidence-Based Complementary and Alternative MedicineVolume 2016, Article ID 9872302, 3 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/9872302

2 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Using a classical allergic airway inflammation model inmice (induced by ovalbumin) C.-C. Lee et al. demonstratedferulic acid reducedmost phenotypes associated with asthmaincluding IgE and IgG1 production, airway hyperactivity, air-way inflammation, chemokine (eotaxin), and cytokines (IL-4,IL-5, IL-13, and TNF-𝛼) amounts in bronchoalveolar lavages.In addition, ferulic acid increased IFN-𝛾 (an inhibitor ofTh2immune response) and IL-12 (inductor of differentiation ofnaive T cells toward the Th1 phenotype) production as wellas reduced proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-𝛼, IL-1𝛽, andIL-6) production by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated bone-marrow-derived dendritic cells. This effect was associatedwith the ability of ferulic acid polarize Th1 cells (increasingIFN-𝛾) increasing expression level of Notch ligand Delta-like 4 (Dll4) and reducing the Jagged1 mRNA synthesis byLPS-stimulated dendritic cells. In addition, expression ofMHC class II and CD40 molecules during dendritic cellsmaturation was increased. In a mixed lymphocyte reactionassay, ferulic acid induces proliferation of T cells with anassociated increase of IFN-𝛾 and reduction of IL-5 suggestingthat ferulic acid possesses an antiallergic effect by restoringTh1/Th2 imbalance by modulating dendritic cells function.

Elaeagnus pungens leaves, a flowering plant from theElaeagnaceae family, are used in traditionalChinesemedicineto treat severe asthma, cough, bronchitis, or other respiratorydisorders. Y. Ge et al. evaluated the role of aqueous extracts ofE. lanceolata, E. henryi, and E. pungens to alleviate symptomsin an asthma model (induced by mixture spray of histamineand acetylcholine chloride) in guinea pigs, a tussive model(induced by exposure to aqueous ammonia) in mice, andan expectorant assay (measurement of the concentration ofphenol red photometrically in whole trachea dissected fromanimals) in mice. All extracts demonstrated antiasthmatic,antitussive, and expectorant activities. These effects wereassociated with presence of flavonoids compounds in theleaves.

People with antigen-specific IgE antibodies and mastcells dependent allergic rhinitis can experience early phasesymptoms (such as sneezing and rhinorrhea) within minutesof exposure to the associated allergens. However, such indi-viduals also typically develop the nasal obstruction in latephase symptoms.

Alternative therapies such as aromatherapy have becomemore commonly used in a wide range of health problemsincluding allergic rhinitis patients. Aromatherapy uses puri-fied oils from fragrant plants to help relieve health problemsand improve quality of life in general.

S. Y. Choi and K. Park evaluated the ability of aromather-apy using essential oils obtained from sandalwood, Gera-nium, and Ravensara to alleviate the symptoms perennialallergic rhinitis in adults. They demonstrated the aromather-apy improved total nasal symptom score, especially in nasalobstruction improving quality of life and fatigue in patientswith perennial allergic rhinitis.

Smooth muscle cells play a significant role in the patho-genesis of asthma and are associated with bronchocon-striction, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, inflammation, andairway remodeling. Cortex phellodendri, an herb referred toas Huang Bai, is used in traditional Chinese medicines to

treat dysentery, jaundice, urinary infection, and rheuma-toid arthritis. Berberine, an alkaloid, is the major activeconstituent of C. phellodendri. Berberine was also isolatedfromArgemone ochroleuca (Papaveraceae) and demonstratedrelaxant effect on guinea-pig tracheal smooth muscle.

Using an allergic inflammation model in mice (inducedby ovalbumin) Q.-J. Jiang et al. were able to show thatthe n-butyl alcohol extract isolated from C. phellodendri(which does not contain berberine) inhibited high K+-and acetylcholine-induced precontraction of airway smoothmuscle in tracheal rings from control and asthmatic mice. Inaddition, similar results were obtained from lung slices takenfrom these mice. In follow-up experiments using nifedipine(L-voltage-sensitive Ca

2

+ channel blocker) and Pyr 3 (anTRPC3 and Orai1 channels blocker) the authors were ableto demonstrate that tracheal rings relaxation responses weremediated by L-type Ca

2

+, TRPC3, and/orOrai1 channels.Theauthors suggest that n-butyl alcohol extract ofC. phellodendricould be used in developing new drug for relieving bron-chospasm.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most commoncause of hospitalization in infants and young children inthe world. Currently, there are several potential treatmentsfor RSV infection in development (including vaccines andtherapeutic agents). To date, there is no effective treatmentfor RSV lower respiratory tract infection. L. L. Lin et al. makea review of traditional Chinese medicine as well as bioactivecompounds present in aqueous extracts and formulas derivedfrom traditional Chinese medical herbs with potential to beused in the prevention and treatment of RSV.

Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distresssyndrome (ARDS) are life-threatening syndromes that causehigh morbidity and mortality. They can be caused directlyby lung diseases such as such as pneumonia or aspirationof gastric contents or indirectly by systemic diseases withsepsis, burns, and pancreatitis serving as examples. There isa great therapeutic need for agents that have a clear benefitin ALI/ARDS treatment. ALI is characterized by alveolaredema and uncontrolled neutrophil migration to the lung.Unwanted neutrophil activation can lead to tissue damagethrough the release of proteases, oxidants, and cationicpeptides.

Tanreqing injection (TRQ), a water-soluble naturalextract from five traditional Chinese medicines, Scutel-lariae baicalensis, Fel selenarcti, Cornu naemorhedi, Floslonicerae, and Forsythiae fructus, has demonstrated antibac-terial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory effects. W. Liu et al.using an acute lung injury model in rats induced by LPSdemonstrated that TRQ, administrated by intraperitonealinjection, decreased airways inflammation, mucus produc-tion, and proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-𝛼, IL-1𝛽, IL-6,and IL-8) via regulation of NF-𝜅B, ERK1/2, JNK, and p38MAPK pathways.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the authors across the world fortheir valuable contributions to this special issue as well asthe reviewers for their constructive comments to the papers.

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3

We encourage and appreciate your further support for thisannual/special issue series.

Alexandre de Paula RogerioTroy Carlo

Sergio R. Ambrosio

Submit your manuscripts athttp://www.hindawi.com

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