Selective phytochemicals targeting pancreatic stellate cells as new anti-fibrotic agents for chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer

Activated pancreatic stellate cells(PSCs)have been widely accepted as a key precursor of excessive pancreatic fibrosis,which is a crucial hallmark of chronic pancreatitis(CP)and its formidable associated disease,pancreatic cancer(PC).Hence,anti-fibrotic therapy has been identified as a novel therapeutic strategy for treating CP and PC by targeting PSCs.Most of the anti-fibrotic agents have been limited to phaseⅠ/Ⅱclinical trials involving vitamin analogs,which are abundant in medicinal plants and have proved to be promising for clinical application.The use of phytomedicines,as new anti-fibrotic agents,has been applied to a variety of complementary and alternative approaches.The aim of this review was to present a focused update on the selective new potential anti-fibrotic agents,including curcumin,resveratrol,rhein,emodin,green tea catechin derivatives,metformin,eruberin A,and ellagic acid,in combating PSC in CP and PC models.It aimed to describe the mechanism(s)of the phytochemicals used,either alone or in combination,and the associated molecular targets.Most of them were tested in PC models with similar mechanism of actions,and curcumin was tested intensively.Future research may explore the issues of bioavailability,drug design,and nano-formulation,in order to achieve successful clinical outcomes with promising activity and tolerability.

Study on characterization of bio-oil derived from sugarcane bagasse(Saccharum barberi)for application as biofuel

Lignocellulosic biomass especially,sugarcane bagasse Saccharum barberi sp.,appears to be a more suitable material for partial substi-tution of transport fuel(diesel)than Saccharum officinarum sp.,due to its structural similarity to transport fuel(diesel).Besides that,less research has been implemented on this type of species.Bio-oil can be implemented as biodiesel by processing it further using chemical reactions such as hydrodeoxygenation and cracking with zeolite catalyst.Hence,the purpose of this study is to determine the compatibility of pyrolytic bio-oil produced from Saccharum barberi sp.in comparison with S.officinarum sp.for use as transport fuel(diesel)in automotive applications.This purpose can be accomplished by comparing the oil’s bio-physiochemical properties for both species.The experiment is conducted on a bench-scale on which bio-oil of Saccharum barberi sp.is secured from the catalytic pyrolysis process at a temperature of 500°C and heating rate of 50°C/min with the addition of ZSM-Zeolite catalyst.Thermogravimetric analysis of Saccharum barberi sp.reveals that cellulose is more reactive than lignin,evidenced by the high percentage of weight loss at tem-peratures ranging from 251°C to 390°C.The high contents of carbon(40.7%)and hydrogen(6.50%),as well as slight traces of sulphur(0.08%)and nitrogen(0.85%),in bio-oil(Saccharum barberi sp.)indicate that it is conceivable to be partially used for replacement in biofuel production.Overall physiochemical properties reveal that Saccharum barberi sp.shows more potential than S.officinarum sp.Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis reveals that bio-oil consists of high amounts of aromatic hydrocarbon(26.2%),phenol(14.8%)and furfural(13.0%)in comparison to S.officinarum sp.