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Introduction: Albizia lebbeck is widely used in traditional Indian folk medicine to treat several inflammatory pathologies, such as asthma and arthritis. Objectives and Methods: The present study aims to scientifically investigate A. lebbeck claimed anti-inflammatory effect using the rat paw edema model. Additionally, a co-occurrence analysis of the available literature from Scopus, Dimensions, PubMed, and lens.com databases was conducted using network and overlay visualization (VOS viewer) to present a detailed bibliometric and scientometric analysis concerning its potent anti-inflammatory potential and to explore the existing knowledge gaps and the required future research directions. Results: The in vivo results revealed that A. lebbeck (100 mg/kg) reduced significantly the edema volume by 37.27% and 31.43% compared to the carrageenan/diclofenac group (35.90% and 51.79%) after 1 and 3 hrs of carrageenan injection, respectively. This observed anti-inflammatory potential represents 103.8% (1 hr) and 60.7% (3 hrs) of diclofenac sodium efficacy. Luteolin and kaempferol were detected in the extract under investigation and they contribute to the proven anti-inflammatory potential. Networking analysis revealed that the Journal of Ethnopharmacology is the most productive publisher concerning A. lebbeck anti-inflammatory potential. The publication volume showed steady growth, increasing from 65 documents in 2015 to 182 in 2025, with notable peaks observed in 2021 and 2024. Over half of these publications were original research articles, with Biomedical and clinical sciences being the leading subject area. Terms such as terpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, and tannins are common search terms exhibited strong associations with A. lebbeck anti-inflammatory properties. Conclusions: This study scientifically supports the traditional anti-inflammatory use of A. lebbeck and recommends further mechanistic studies on its isolated phytochemicals to link this potent activity with the bioactive compounds. Detailed clinical studies are urgently needed to confirm its efficacy and therapeutic potential.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by persistent synovial inflammation, cartilage degradation, and progressive joint dysfunction. Conventional therapies, while effective in slowing disease progression, are limited by adverse effects, incomplete remission, and high costs. Natural products, such as Curcuma longa (turmeric), offer a promising alternative due to their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and multi-target pharmacological properties. In this study, a network pharmacology and computational approach was employed to investigate the multi-target therapeutic potential of Curcuma longa against RA. A curated library of non-toxic, drug-like phytochemicals with reported anti-RA activity was developed through data mining and filtered using ADMET screening, yielding 111 compounds. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with RA were identified via meta-analysis of synovial tissue microarray datasets GSE55457 and GSE55235, resulting in 1,473 DEGs. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed key RA-associated pathways, and a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis identified 31 hub genes. Compound–target mapping highlighted significant interactions between Curcuma longa phytochemicals and RA-associated hub genes, with MMP13 emerging as a central therapeutic target due to its critical role in extracellular matrix degradation, cartilage erosion, and joint destruction. Molecular docking studies demonstrated strong binding affinities (< –8 kcal/mol) of lead compounds, including cyclocurcumin, curcumin, and (1E,4E)-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1,4-pentadiene-3-one, to MMP13, mediated via hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations over 200 nanoseconds confirmed the stability of these ligand–protein complexes, supporting their potential inhibitory effects on matrix degradation pathways. Overall, this study provides mechanistic insights into the multi-target, multi-pathway modulation of RA by Curcuma longa phytochemicals. Cyclocurcumin and curcumin derivatives are highlighted as promising candidates for further in vitro and in vivo validation, paving the way for their development as adjunct or alternative therapeutic agents in RA management.

Endometriosis, an emerging disease affecting approximately 25% of women of reproductive age, presents a complex clinical profile, primarily characterized by dysmenorrhea, bleeding, infertility, and chronic inflammation. Currently, the Neuropeptide S Receptor 1 (NPSR1) is the genetically validated therapeutic target for the treatment of endometriosis, as its blockade prevents the binding of its endogenous ligand (neuropeptide S), thereby inactivating intracellular metabolic pathways related to pain and inflammation mechanisms. Natural compounds have served as structural models for the development of new drugs. Based on the mechanism of its selective antagonist SHA-68R, the structural fragment “CNC(=O)N” was searched across various natural product databases, selecting 54 molecules. These were subsequently analyzed through 2D-QSAR of their molecular descriptors to predict antagonist activity (pK_B). Their physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties were evaluated in silico using SwissADME and Deep-pkCSM, along with their interactions with the NPSR1 receptor (retrieved in PDB format from the GPCR database using the code npsr1_human). To predict binding affinity energy (ΔG°), VINA 1.1.2 was used, and the molecules with the best parameters were visualized using the 2D tool in Discovery Studio. Rotihibin B exhibited optimal binding affinity (-8.7 kcal/mol), likely due to the formation of multiple hydrogen bonds. Its physicochemical profile exceeds Lipinski’s parameters, with a suitable pharmacokinetic profile compared to the antagonist SHA-68R. This research proposes this metabolite as a starting molecule for the design of more potent compounds for the treatment of this disease, thereby improving the quality of life for those affected.

Introduction: There is a global concern about COVID-19 long-term impact on multiple domains of life. The WHO has raised concerns regarding the pandemic’s psycho-social and mental health consequences. Many recent articles explored the efficacy of using aromatic plants essential oils (EOs) as promising candidates for management of different mental health issues. Objectives and Methods: A co-occurrence analysis of the available literature from Scopus, Web of science, and PubMed databases was conducted using network and overlay visualization created via VOSviewer software to examine the role of EOs in alleviating mental health crisis in the post-COVID-19 era. Results: The United States and China emerged as the leading contributors to the literature, followed by India and Iran. The authors affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences produced the highest volume of research in this field. The analysis showed a progressive growth in publication volume, rising from 8 documents in 2015 to 27 in 2025, with a significant spike occurring in 2019 and 2020 coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Results revealed that terms such as mental health, stress, depression, insomnia, and anxiety are common search terms in literature and exhibit strong associations with aromatherapy and COVID pandemic. The most frequently used EOs in the context of mental health improvement are lavender(Occurrence 8, TLS 92), bergamot (occurrence 5, TLS 53), peppermint, chamomile and rosemary. EOs exert antidepressant, anxiolytic, and anti-stress effects, which contribute to their therapeutic potential in enhancing psychological well-being. Conclusions: This analysis simplifies the data, enabling researchers to trace past work and outline future directions.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a significant global impact, and current treatments provide limited benefits with frequent side effects. This has prompted growing interest in natural compounds with neuroprotective potential. Mansonone G, a natural compound isolated from Mansonia gagei, is recognized for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study evaluated the effects of Mansonone G on memory using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a preclinical AD model. Cognitive deficits were induced by exposing zebrafish to okadaic acid (OKA, 10 nM) for 4 days. Animals (n = 10 per group) were allocated to six groups: control (DMSO), galantamine (1 mg/L) as a positive control, OKA with DMSO (amnesia model), and OKA with Mansonone G at doses of 1, 3, or 6 μg/L. Mansonone G was administered every three days for 7 days with water renewal. Cognitive performance was assessed by the Y-maze test for spatial memory and locomotor activity and the Novel Object Recognition (NOR) test for recognition memory. OKA exposure significantly impaired memory and recognition (p < 0.0001), while galantamine restored cognitive performance. Treatment with Mansonone G at 3 and 6 μg/L significantly improved spatial memory and object recognition, with p < 0.001 for 3 μg/L and p < 0.00001 for 6 μg/L, and enhanced locomotor activity. The 1 μg/L dose had minimal impact. Mansonone G demonstrated neuroprotective effects by increasing exploratory behavior, improving recognition memory, and restoring cholinergic function in OKA-treated zebrafish, supporting its development as a natural therapeutic candidate for AD.

Within the genus Baccharis (Asteraceae), about 50 species collectively known as “Carquejas” are notable for their high content of essential oils and their widespread use in Brazilian folk medicine, particularly for their digestive, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective properties. Despite this extensive use, only Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC. currently has an officially established quality control protocol in Brazil. This protocol, however, relies exclusively on morphological analysis, a restricted approach that is insufficient to ensure the rigorous quality standards required for commercially available products, such as capsules, extracts, and sachets. This study aimed to develop a chemometric exploratory and classification model using the MATLAB toolbox (version R2025a) to analyze hydroalcoholic extracts from five Carqueja species (B. trimera; B. articulata (Lam.) Pers.; B. sagittalis (Less.) DC; B. junciformis DC.; B. pentaptera (Less.) DC.). The dataset comprised 250 mid-infrared Fourier Transform spectroscopy spectra (4000–400 cm⁻¹), with 50 spectra per species. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Squares - Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) were employed to construct the exploratory and classification models, respectively. PCA explained 98,0% of the total variance, allowing clear separation of the five Baccharis species using six principal components. The model with PLS-DA algorithm was built using the same dataset and evaluated through 10-fold Venetian Blinds cross-validation. It achieved a total explained variance of 88,9%, with an overall classification accuracy across classes of 90,0%, and specificity and sensitivity values of 90,0% and 71,0%, respectively, using four latent variables. The most relevant spectral regions contributing to the discrimination were located between 1750 cm⁻¹ and 750 cm⁻¹. Both models, the exploratory and the classification approaches, proved effective in evaluating and highlighting the differences among the Baccharis species, confirming the potential of chemometric tools as an innovative strategy for the quality control and regulatory monitoring of Carqueja-based products.

Serous ovarian cancer (SOC) is among the most aggressive gynecological malignancies, with high mortality due to late diagnosis, therapeutic resistance, and frequent relapse. Identification of novel molecular targets and natural inhibitors is urgently needed to improve treatment outcomes. This in silico study integrated transcriptomic data to identify hub genes in SOC and evaluated phytochemicals as potential inhibitors of the prioritized target protein PSMB7 via molecular docking and ADMET analysis. A meta-analysis of three GEO datasets (GSE27651, GSE36668, GSE54388) identified differentially expressed genes using a log₂ fold-change threshold of ≥2 or ≤−2. Enrichment analysis with Enrichr revealed pathways associated with transcriptional regulation and DNA repair. A protein–protein interaction network constructed in Cytoscape and analyzed using CytoHubba, CentiScape, and MCODE identified hub genes including PSMD13, PSMC3, UBC, UBB, PSMD7, and PSMB7. Based on literature, PSMB7 was prioritized. Its crystal structure (PDB ID: 5LEL, chain A) was prepared by removing water molecules, adding hydrogens, and assigning charges. A library of phytochemicals from PubChem was energy-minimized and docked using AutoDock Vina, and ADMET properties were predicted using SwissADME and pkCSM. Withaferin A (PubChem CID: 265237) showed the strongest binding affinity (−9.265 kcal·mol⁻¹) and stable interactions in the catalytic pocket, with moderate solubility, favorable drug-likeness, and low predicted toxicity. Literature reports Withaferin A as a proteasome inhibitor capable of inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, inhibiting angiogenesis and metastasis, and exerting anti-cancer effects in ovarian and other cancers. Molecular dynamics simulation over 200 ns confirmed the stability of the ligand–protein complex. Future validation will involve in vitro assays on ovarian cancer cell lines to confirm cytotoxicity, apoptosis, proteasome inhibition, and anti-metastatic effects, followed by in vivo studies in xenograft and orthotopic mouse models to assess pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety. These studies will provide essential experimental confirmation of Withaferin A as a natural inhibitor of PSMB7 in SOC.

In northern Chile, such as the Atacama Desert and coastal fog oases, there is a highly specialized biota of lichens adapted to extreme conditions of aridity, UV exposure, and limited nutrients. This work consists of a literature review of the biotechnological potential of compounds present in lichens from arid ecosystems in Chile. Among the most representative families are Ramalinaceae, Pannariaceae, Physciaceae, Parmeliaceae and Cladoniaceae, whose species involved have secondary metabolites with important functional functions and biotechnological applications. Compounds such as tumidulin and ramaline derivatives have demonstrated antioxidant activity and significant antitumor activity in concentrations between 5 µg/mL and 50 µg/mL respectively in the Ramalinaceae family, with a protective role against oxidative stress. In humid microenvironments created by fog, the Pannariaceae family has been associated with the production of psoromic acid, which possess high enzyme inhibitory activity over HMG-CoA reductase (60 µg/mL; 65,18 to 74,81%) and AChE (10 µg/mL; 43,47%) and beneficial effects on free radicals. Physciaceae, adapted to develop on exposed substrates, produces depsidones and depsids with antioxidant activity and ROS-regulating activity. In Parmeliaceae, metabolites such as usnic acid and physiodic acid are antimicrobial and exhibit cytotoxic activity at multiple concentrations and bacteria species/cell lines, while Cladoniaceae provides compounds such as fumarprotocetric acid with anti-inflammatory and bactericidal activities with MIC values of 4.6 μg/mL in Gram (+) bacteria such as Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis, and Gram (-) bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes. These phytochemicals protect against radiation, desiccation and consumption by herbivores, being excellent candidates for the generation of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and natural antioxidants. Combined taxonomic, chemical, and bioanalytical research reveals that the chemical diversity of desert lichens is strongly correlated with habitat and phylogeny. The conservation of lichen biodiversity in desert areas can be proposed as a strategy in biotechnological innovation and in the research of extreme environments.

Grape pomace, generated during wine and juice production, retains nutrients and bioactive compounds, particularly phenolics. Flavonoids, the largest class of phenolics, exhibit antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitumor, and cardioprotective activities. Various extraction techniques have been studied to improve the recovery of these compounds. Pressurized Liquid Extraction (PLE) subjects a solvent to high pressure and temperature, below its critical point, enhancing the solubility and diffusion of bioactive compounds from solid or semi-solid matrices. This study aimed to determine the flavonoid profile of BRS Violeta grape pomace obtained by PLE. Pomace from juice production was dehydrated, milled (20-28 mesh), and extracted using 70% acetone at 10 MPa, a flow rate of 5 mL/min, for 30 minutes. The extracts were analyzed by HPLC-DAD for flavonoid identification and quantification. A total of 16 flavonoids were identified, with hesperidin (0.724 ± 0.006 mg/g), myricetin (0.655 ± 0.005 mg/g), naringenin (0.640 ± 0.001 mg/g), petunidin-3-glucoside (0.615 ± 0.009 mg/g), and procyanidin B2 (0.552 ± 0.001 mg/g) being the most abundant. Of nine anthocyanins analyzed, only two were detected, probably due to their extraction into the juice during processing. Results demonstrate the potential of PLE to recover flavonoids of pharmaceutical interest, particularly myricetin, which also exhibits anti-hyperglycemic activity. These findings indicate that BRS Violeta grape pomace is a promising source of bioactive compounds for health applications and metabolic disorder prevention. Despite the variety’s widespread use in juice production, its pomace phenolic composition remains poorly studied, and this work contributes to filling this knowledge gap.

Introdution: Although praziquantel (PZQ) is being used for treatment of schistosomiasis, the description of regions which harbor Schistosoma strains that are less sensitive to PZQ underscores the need to identify new alternative to treat this disease. Combination therapy has become a promising strategy for several complex diseases which it can increase therapeutic efficacy, reduce toxicity and overcome drug resistance compared with single-drug administrations. Thus, as part of our contribution to developing the strategies for treatment against schistosomiasis, we evaluate the combination of PZQ with a standardized extract of Brazilian red propolis (SEBRP), a resinous bee product that presents several biological effects, on S. mansoni adult worms in vitro. Methods: Adult worms were obtained by perfusion and cultivated in RPMI 1640 medium. Dose– response relationships were established following exposure of adult S. mansoni to SEBRP, PZQ and fixed concentration combinations of SEBRP/PZQ in vitro after 24, 48 and 72 hours. Results: PZQ and SEBRP shows an effective concentration of 50% of 0.045µg/mL and 6.14µg/mL at 72 hours, respectively. PZQ/SEBRP combination showed synergistic effects against adult worms after 72 hours of incubation, with combination index (CI) values lower than 1.0 when adult S. mansoni were simultaneously incubated with both drugs in vitro. Conclusion: Based on these data, it was possible to observe that SEBRP plays an important schistosomicidal action in adult worms. In addition, combination of PZQ/SEBRP may be a promising strategy to treatment for schistosomiasis.