Human skin is body’s vital organ constantly exposed to abiotic oxidative stress. This can have deleterious effects on skin such as darkening, skin damage, and aging. Plant-derived products having skin-protective effects are well-known traditionally. Triphala, a formulation of three fruit products, is one of the most important rasayana drugs used in Ayurveda. Several skin care products based on Triphala are available that claim its protective effects on facial skin. However, the skin protective effects of Triphala extract (TE) and its mechanistic action on skin cells have not been elucidated in vitro. Gallic acid, ellagic acid, and chebulinic acid were deduced by LC-MS as the major constituents of TE. The identified key compounds were docked with skin-related proteins to predict their binding affinity. The IC50 values for TE on human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) and human keratinocytes (HaCaT) were 204.90 ± 7.6 and 239.13 ± 4.3 μg/mL respectively. The antioxidant capacity of TE was 481.33 ± 1.5 mM Trolox equivalents in HaCaT cells. Triphala extract inhibited hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) induced RBC haemolysis (IC50 64.95 μg/mL), nitric oxide production by 48.62 ± 2.2%, and showed high reducing power activity. TE also rescued HDF from H2O2-induced damage; inhibited H2O2 induced cellular senescence and protected HDF from DNA damage. TE increased collagen-I, involucrin and filaggrin synthesis by 70.72 ± 2.3%, 67.61 ± 2.1% and 51.91 ± 3.5% in HDF or HaCaT cells respectively. TE also exhibited anti-tyrosinase and melanin inhibition properties in a dose-dependent manner. TE increased the mRNA expression of collagen-I, elastin, superoxide dismutase (SOD-2), aquaporin-3 (AQP-3), filaggrin, involucrin, transglutaminase in HDF or HaCaT cells, and decreased the mRNA levels of tyrosinase in B16F10 cells. Thus, Triphala exhibits protective benefits on skin cells in vitro and can be used as a potential ingredient in skin care formulations.

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Bisphenol A (BPA) safety aspects on human health are debated extensively for long time. In the present study, we have studied the toxicity induced by BPA at no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) using HepG2 cells. We report that BPA at 100 nM induced cytotoxicity to HepG2 cells as determined by MTT assay at 0–72 h. The toxicity was result of reduced oxygen consumption and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential associated with decreased ATP production. The BPA treatment resulted in increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) content with decreased glutathione and other antioxidant enzymes. BPA derived toxicity is a concern to human health and alternative non-toxic natural products/derivatives or adjuvants that serve as antidote will be relevant. In this context, Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) a widely used herb to treat arthritis, rheumatism and to improve longevity for time immemorial is investigated for its antidote effect. Ashwagandha supercritical CO2 extract derived Withanolides (ADW) at 100 μg/ml protect HepG2 cells from BPA induced toxicity by suppressing mitochondrial damage and increased ATP production. Further, cellular MDA content was significantly suppressed with increased non-enzymic and antioxidant enzyme activities. These findings derived from the present study suggest the beneficial effect of ADW in mitigating BPA induced mitochondrial toxicity in HepG2 cells.

The present isolation and identification of napthoquinones from roots of Arnebia nobilis Reichb.f. can lead to the discovery of new anti-skin ageing ingredient in colour cosmetics. Four compounds have been isolated and purified by rigorous column chromatography. The compounds are identified as β, β-dimethylacryl alkannin (AN-I), acetoxyisovaleryl alkannin (AAN-II), acetyl alkannin (AN-III) and alkannin (AN-IV) by interpretation of spectroscopic data. This study is the first to report the isolation of Acetoxyisovaleryl alkannin (AAN-II) from A. nobilis. The IC50 values of the compounds, determined in human skin cells (human dermal fibroblasts and human keratinocytes) and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (NIH3T3) varied significantly among the four alkannins. Among the four compounds, β-acetoxyisovaleryl alkannin (AAN-II) significantly inhibited hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced red blood corpuscle haemolysis and cellular senescence in human dermal fibroblasts. Collagen-I, elastin and involucrin syntheses in human dermal fibroblasts or keratinocytes were up regulated by AAN-II. These results support the potential utility of alkannins as novel anti-ageing ingredients.

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An indigenous herbal extract IM-133N containing extracts of Prosopis glandulosa Torr and Symplocos racemosa Roxb were evaluated for potential immunomodulatory effects using RAW264.7 and THP-1 cells. The incubation of the cells for 24 h with IM-133N over a dose range 0-125 mg/ml did not cause cytotoxicity that exceeded 10%. The results indicated that noncytotoxic doses of IM-133N effectively up-regulated iNOS, TNF, IL-6, IL-10, IL-8 and IFN gene expression in both the RAW264.7 and THP-1 cells. The results also indicated IM-133N elicited dose-related increases in nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-production by RAW264.7 or THP-1 cells. These results demonstrated that IM-133N could stimulate NO and induced pro-inflammatory cytokine expression by monocytes/macrophages. As clinical studies have shown IM-133N to be an effective immunomodulator without any adverse effects, the results of the present study provide further support for the potential use of this agent as an immunostimulant or as an immunotherapy adjuvant.

Background In Ayurveda, “ Dashamoolarishta ” is one of the important composite herbal formulations. Mainly, the root and root bark of Oroxylum indicum are used as one of the ingredients in its preparation. This leads to over exploitation of medicinal plants owing, to excessive demand due to population expansion and its perceived importance in traditional herbal remedies. Objective For the conservation of biodiversity, the present investigation had an objective to prepare the extracts of different parts of O. indicum plant and to, compare the chemo-profiles as well as to study the biological activities of the prepared extracts. Materials and methods Hydro-alcoholic (HA) and aqueous (Aq) extracts of various plant parts were prepared and chemical investigation was done with the help of (LC-MS/MS). Further, in vitro biological activities such as immuno-stimulation (IS) using a cytokine bioassay in RAW264.7 and in vitro anticancer in TNF-α ELISA in THP-1 cells were studied. Results The mass spectral profile of the plant revealed the presence of markers such as oroxylin A and chrysin in HA and Aq extracts of stem, leaf, bark and root. Cytokine release and TNF-α secretion was observed in both hydro-alcoholic and aqueous extracts. Conclusion Based on the results from the present study, it can be concluded that it is possible to replace the roots and the bark of O. indicum with the stem of young plants and leaves. It paves a way for the conserving the medicinal plants without uprooting and extinguishing the whole plant.

The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effect of the extract of a well-known hepatospecific polyherbal formulation, Liv.52, in an experimental model of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in rats. Feeding a HFD for 15 weeks resulted in significant impairment of the lipid profile, elevation of hepatic enzyme markers, and insulin resistance in rats. The histological examination of the liver furthermore indicated fibrotic changes and fat deposition in hepatic tissues. The treatment with Liv.52 extract [125 mg/kg body weight per os (b.wt. p.o.)], which was administered from week 9 onward, reversed the HFD-induced changes to a statistically significant extent, compared to the untreated positive control animals. The effect observed with Liv.52 extract was comparable to that of pioglitazone (4 mg/kg b.wt.), a standard drug that is useful in the management of NASH. The treatment with Liv.52 extract significantly reduced steatosis, collagen deposition, and necrosis in hepatic tissues, which indicates its antifibrotic and antinecrotic properties. The results obtained in the present set of experiments indicate that Liv.52 extract effectively reverses metabolic and histological changes associated with HFD-induced NASH.