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Most chemotherapeutic drugs for killing cancer cells are highly cytotoxic in normal cells, which limits their clinical applications. Therefore, a continuing challenge is identifying a drug that is hypersensitive to cancer cells but has minimal deleterious effects on healthy cells. The aims of this study were to evaluate the potential of 4β-hydroxywithanolide (4βHWE) for selectively killing cancer cells and to elucidate its related mechanisms. Changes in survival, oxidative stress, DNA damage, and apoptosis signaling were compared between 4βHWE-treated oral cancer (Ca9-22) and normal fibroblast (HGF-1) cells. At 24 h and 48 h, the numbers of Ca9-22 cells were substantially decreased, but the numbers of HGF-1 cells were only slightly decreased. Additionally, the IC50 values for 4βHWE in the Ca9-22 cells were 3.6 and 1.9 µg/ml at 24 and 48 h, respectively. Time-dependent abnormal increases in ROS and dose-responsive mitochondrial depolarization can be exploited by using 4βHWE in chemotherapies for selectively killing cancer cells. Dose-dependent DNA damage measured by comet-nuclear extract assay and flow cytometry-based γ-H2AX/propidium iodide (PI) analysis showed relatively severer damage in the Ca9-22 cells. At both low and high concentrations, 4βHWE preferably perturbed the cell cycle in Ca9-22 cells by increasing the subG1 population and arrest of G1 or G2/M. Selective induction of apoptosis in Ca9-22 cells was further confirmed by Annexin V/PI assay, by preferential expression of phosphorylated ataxia-telangiectasia- and Rad3-related protein (p-ATR), and by cleavage of caspase 9, caspase 3, and poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP). Together, the findings of this study, particularly the improved understanding of the selective killing mechanisms of 4βHWE, can be used to improve efficiency in killing oral cancer cells during chemoprevention and therapy.

The calyxes and fruits of Physalis alkekengi L. var. franchetii (Mast.) Makino (P. alkekengi), a medicinal and edible plant, are frequently used as heat-clearing and detoxifying agents in thousands of Chinese medicine prescriptions. For thousands of years in China, they have been widely used in clinical practice to treat throat disease, hepatitis, and bacillary dysentery. This systematic review summarizes their structural analysis, quality control, pharmacology, and pharmacokinetics. Furthermore, the possible development trends and perspectives for future research studies on this medicinal plant are discussed. Relevant information on the calyxes and fruits of P. alkekengi was collected from electronic databases, Chinese herbal classics, and Chinese Pharmacopoeia. Moreover, information was collected from ancient documents in China. The components isolated and identified in P. alkekengi include steroids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, alkaloids, nucleosides, terpenoids, megastigmane, aliphatic derivatives, organic acids, coumarins, and sucrose esters. Steroids, particularly physalins and flavonoids, are the major characteristic and bioactive ingredients in P. alkekengi. According to the literature, physalins are synthesized by the mevalonate and 2-C-methyl-d-erythritol-4-phosphate pathways, and flavonoids are synthesized by the phenylpropanoid pathway. Since the chemical components and pharmacological effects of P. alkekengi are complex and varied, there are different standards for the evaluation of its quality and efficacy. In most cases, the analysis was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet detection. A pharmacological study showed that the crude extracts and isolated compounds from P. alkekengi had extensive in vitro and in vivo biological activities (e.g., anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, immunosuppressive, antibacterial, anti-leishmanial, anti-asthmatic, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidative, anti-malarial, anti-Alzheimer’s disease, and vasodilatory). Moreover, the relevant anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor mechanisms were elucidated. The reported activities indicate the great pharmacological potential of P. alkekengi. Similarly, studies on the pharmacokinetics of specific compounds will also contribute to the progress of clinical research in this setting.

The extraction of secondary metabolites by water, MeOH:water (8:2) containing NaF, methanol, ethanol and acetone (all of them diluted (7:3) in water)from the different parts (leaves, flowers, stems and roots) of Passiflora caerulea L., Physalis peruviana L. and Solanum muricatum Aiton via decoction and maceration methods was studied. The highest extraction yields were recorded by methanol for decoction and acetone for maceration. The total polyphenol content (TPC) obtained by decoction had the highest TPC contents, and MeOH containing NaF was the best solvent for the extraction of TPC. Maceration was suitable for flavonoid extractions, with ethanol and acetone being the best solvents. In general, the highest levels of TPC and flavonoids were obtained from Passiflora leaves regardless of the solvent or extraction method applied. Furthermore, the roots of Physalis and Solanum showed important levels of these compounds in consonance with the total antioxidant activity (TAA) evaluated in the different organs of the plant in the three species. In this study, the solvents and extraction methods applied were tools that determined significantly the level of extraction of bioactive compounds, showing a different impact on plant organs for each medicinal species studied.

Vacuum-Assisted Sorbent Extraction (VASE) is a novel extraction technique that uses vacuum to facilitate the transfer of volatile compounds from the matrix to the sorbent. This technique was explored for extraction of volatiles from cape gooseberry fruit, for both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Selected extraction parameters were tested: sample size, extraction temperature and time, influence of tissue disintegration on release of volatiles, and also addition of Ag+1 ions in the form of AgNO3 to stop enzymatic formation of volatile compounds. For selected conditions (10 g sample, extraction for 30 min. at 40 °C of volatiles from blended fruit) quantitative aspects were explored. Twenty-two compounds of cape gooseberry were tested. The method was characterized with a very good linearity in a range of 10–5000 µg/kg and good reproducibility. The experiments proved the usefulness of VASE in both volatile profiling and quantitative analyses of cape gooseberry and in prospective other fruit.

Physalis angulata L. belongs to the family Solanaceae and is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions. Physalis angulata leaf and fruit extracts were assessed for in vitro anticancer, antioxidant activity, and total phenolic and flavonoid content. The GC-MS technique investigated the chemical composition and structure of bioactive chemicals reported in extracts. The anticancer activity results revealed a decrease in the percentage of anticancer cells’ viability in a concentration- and time-dependent way. We also noticed morphological alterations in the cells, which we believe are related to Physalis angulata extracts. Under light microscopy, we observed that as the concentration of ethanolic extract (fruit and leaves) treated HeLa cells increased, the number of cells began to decrease.

Disease-carrying insects transmit many of the most serious human diseases. After decades of repeated use of insecticides, all of these vector species have demonstrated the ability to develop resistance to insecticides. This has necessitated the development of more efficient and environmentally safe alternatives in the form of biopesticides. Plants contain a wide range of potential phytochemicals that target a specific target, are rapidly biodegradable, environmentally friendly, and have a variety of therapeutic effects, making them a treasure trove of biological materials. Moreover, this has led to the creation of highly effective new drugs. The present study aims to demonstrate the specific active components in Physalis peruviana calyces that were collected in two consecutive fruiting seasons through UPLC/MS and multivariate data analyses. The extracts were prepared using 70% methanol/water and petroleum ether for each season, then evaluated against disease-carrying vectors, Culex pipiens and Musca domestica . The UPLC/MS analysis resulted in the tentative identification of fifty-four secondary metabolites belonging mainly to flavonoids, phenolic acids, withanolides, triterpenoids, phenyl propanoids, and many others. After various intervals of exposure, plant extracts in this study showed high insecticidal activity against mosquito and housefly larvae, Cx. pipiens, and M. domestica . Data showed that P. peruviana methanol extract (POM) appeared to be most effective (MO%) against Cx. pipiens (LC 50  = 8.18 mg/ml) and M. domestica larvae (LC 50  = 9.87 mg/ml), 24 h post-treatment. The relative toxicity revealed that the old P. peruviana extract (POM) was the most effective in killing larvae, followed by the POP extract, while the modern extracts (PNM and PNP) were less successful on mosquito and housefly larvae. Thus, Physalis peruviana calyx extracts can act as a potential biocontrol agent against certain medical insects.

Physalis alkekengi L. fruit polysaccharides can reduce blood sugar, regulate blood lipids, and improve intestinal flora structure. However, the specific polysaccharide components exerting these effects are unclear. In this study, we extracted, separated, purified, and characterized the P. alkekengi polysaccharides Phy-1a, Phy-1b, and Phy-1c. Ion chromatography showed that Phy-1b was mainly composed of rhamnose, arabinose, galactose, glucose, and xylose at a molar ratio of 3.0:19.8:47.5:20.9:8.8, and Phy-1c was composed of rhamnose, arabinose, galactose, glucose, xylose, mannose, ribose Galactosamine hydrochloride and Glucosamine hydrochloride at a molar ratio of 10.4:7.9:22.8:30.5:4.6:4.4:19.4:3.9:5.8. Neither of these polysaccharides contained uronic acid, indicating their neutral property. Methylation analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that Phy-1b was mainly composed of terminal sugars (1-Araf); 1,5-Araf; 1,4-Xylp; 1-Glcp; 2,4-Rhap; 1,3-Glcp; 1,4-Galp; 1,4-Glcp; 1,3-Galp; 1,6-Glcp; 1,3,6-Glcp; and 1,4,6-Galp at a molar ratio of 5.2:7.1:7.8:13.7:6.3:11.2:7.0:16.3:7.4:6.0:6.8:5.3, with the main chain being →2)-α-L-Rhap-(1→4)-β-d-Galp-(1→4)-β-d-Galp-(1→[3)-β-d-Glcp-(1]2→3)-β-d-Glcp-(1→[4)-β-d-Glcp-(1]2→ and the branched chains being β-L-Araf-(1→5)-β-L-Araf-(1→, β-d-Glcp-(1→4)-β-d-Xylp-(1→ 3)-β-d-Galp-(1→, and β-d-Glcp-(1→6)-β-d-Glcp-(1→. The three fragments, respectively, pass through the O-4 key of →2,4)-α-l-Rhap-(1→, O-6 key of →4,6)-β-d-Galp-(1→, and O-6 of →3,6)-β-d-Glcp-(1→ connected to the main chain. These results provide a reference for enhancing the utilization value of P. alkekengi resources to promote its high-value and efficient processing.

Withanolides constitute one of the most interesting classes of natural products due to their diversity of structures and biological activities. Our recent studies on withanolides obtained from plants of Solanaceae including Withania somnifera and a number of Physalis species grown under environmentally controlled aeroponic conditions suggested that this technique is a convenient, reproducible, and superior method for their production and structural diversification. Investigation of aeroponically grown Physalis coztomatl afforded 29 withanolides compared to a total of 13 obtained previously from the wild-crafted plant and included 12 new withanolides, physacoztolides I−M (9–13), 15α-acetoxy-28-hydroxyphysachenolide C (14), 28-oxophysachenolide C (15), and 28-hydroxyphysachenolide C (16), 5α-chloro-6β-hydroxy-5,6-dihydrophysachenolide D (17), 15α-acetoxy-5α-chloro-6β-hydroxy-5,6-dihydrophysachenolide D (18), 28-hydroxy-5α-chloro-6β-hydroxy-5,6-dihydrophysachenolide D (19), physachenolide A-5-methyl ether (20), and 17 known withanolides 3–5, 8, and 21–33. The structures of 9–20 were elucidated by the analysis of their spectroscopic data and the known withanolides 3–5, 8, and 21–33 were identified by comparison of their spectroscopic data with those reported. Evaluation against a panel of prostate cancer (LNCaP, VCaP, DU-145, and PC-3) and renal carcinoma (ACHN) cell lines, and normal human foreskin fibroblast (WI-38) cells revealed that 8, 13, 15, and 17–19 had potent and selective activity for prostate cancer cell lines. Facile conversion of the 5,6-chlorohydrin 17 to its 5,6-epoxide 8 in cell culture medium used for the bioassay suggested that the cytotoxic activities observed for 17–19 may be due to in situ formation of their corresponding 5β,6β-epoxides, 8, 27, and 28.

Collagen, the most abundant structural protein in animals, is fundamental for tissue integrity and regeneration. Conventional mammalian sources face limitations related to sustainability, safety, and ethical concerns, underscoring the need for alternative biomaterials. Marine organisms, particularly jellyfish, offer a promising eco-friendly collagen source. In this study, collagen and collagen-derived peptides were extracted from the cnidarian Physalia physalis and biochemically characterized. Circular dichroism demonstrated partial loss of triple-helix structure, while SDS-PAGE revealed type I collagen related α-chains together with low-molecular-weight fragments. The hydrolyzed collagen fractions exhibited keratinocyte and fibroblast cytocompatibility and increased keratinocyte migration. Moreover, P. physalis-derived peptides modulated inflammatory cytokine release in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages reducing tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α by 38% and increasing interleukin (IL)-10 by 29%. Based on these results, a stable bioactive serum formulation incorporating P. physalis collagen peptides was developed. Overall, this work demonstrates that bioactive peptides from P. physalis possess immunomodulatory and regenerative potential and represent a promising new marine resource for cosmetic applications.

Physalis peruviana is a native evergreen plant from the Andean region. It is also commonly known as goldenberry and gooseberry in English-speaking countries. P. peruviana fruit is a globose berry, yellowish in color, which has a pleasant smell and taste. In addition, fruits of this plant have been identified as a priority part for commercialization (also for their food products: wine, jam, and juice). The health benefits of P. peruviana are related to the content of various bioactive chemical compounds, including withanolides, phenolic compounds (especially flavonoids), alkaloids, sucrose ester, and others such as vitamins, especially carotenoids, and physalins. The aim of the present mini-review is to provide an overview of the beneficial potential of P. peruviana fruits and their food products, especially fruit juice, as important components of functional foods.