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Terpenoids in Treatment of Liver Disease
Published in Dijendra Nath Roy, Terpenoids Against Human Diseases, 2019
Sujan Chatterjee, Debajyoti Patra, Pujita Ghosh, Akash Prasad, Kaustav Dutta Chowdhury
Perillyl alcohol—4-(prop-1-en-2-yl) cyclohex-1-en-1-yl—is a monocyclic monoterpene derived via the MVA pathway in plants. Perillyl alcohol is a constituent of caraway, lavender and lilac oils, cherries, cranberries, sage, spearmint, peppermint, celery seeds and certain other plants (Chen et al. 2015). Perillyl alcohol can be used effectively in treatment of liver injury (Khan et al. 2011). Oxidative stress and inflammation are two major etiological factors that are suggested to play key roles in the development of ethanol-induced liver injury (Khan et al. 2011). The release of pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α and the activation of NF-κB may strongly intensify inflammation and cell damage. Additionally, ROSs also exert significant effect in this whole-cell signalling machinery. Khan et al. (2011) successfully demonstrated that pre-treatment with POH, besides exerting an anti-oxidant activity, might be able to modulate TNF-α release and NF-κB activation in the Wistar rat. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), ALT and LDH and hepatic TBARS were increased significantly by ethanol exposure. Ethanol administration decreased hepatic GSH content and the activity of various anti-oxidant enzymes. In addition, TNF-α production and NF-κB activation were increased after ethanol administration. POH pre-treatment significantly ameliorated ethanol-induced acute liver injury, possibly via inhibition of lipid peroxidation, replenishment of the endogenous enzymatic and non-enzymatic defence systems, and down-regulation of TNF-α and NF-κB (Khan et al. 2011).
Chitosan-coated poly(є-caprolactone) nanocapsules for mucoadhesive applications of perillyl alcohol
Published in Soft Materials, 2022
Larissa Penteado, Vanessa Falchetti Lopes, Thaysa Ksiaskiewcz Karam, Celso Vataru Nakamura, Najeh Maissar Khalil, Rubiana Mara Mainardes
Cancer is the second main cause of death worldwide, and the restricted number of chemotherapeutic drugs leads to the search for new active compounds.(1) A class of naturally occurring compounds in the essential oils of many plants, known as monoterpenes, have demonstrated cytotoxic activity in various cancer models.(2) Studies with the monoterpene limonene and its metabolite, perillyl alcohol (POH), have shown these natural compounds present anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities.(3) The POH has been more efficient, demonstrating therapeutic and chemo-preventive activity against a great variety of cancer.(4–8) However, when POH is orally administered, it may cause undesirable side effects due to first-pass hepatic metabolism, besides its low solubility, which reflects in low bioavailability and thereby results in low biological activity.(9) Some efforts have been made to effectively apply POH, such as clinical trials studies that have demonstrated the application of POH by inhalation in patients with recurrent malignant gliomas. This treatment has been effective; however, a four times daily schedule is applied.(10–13) Hence, considering the pharmacokinetics of POH, its delivery through a prolonged drug delivery system may be promising to improve its efficacy and patient tolerability.