Natural product-based radiopharmaceuticals:Focus on curcumin and its analogs,flavonoids,and marine peptides

Natural products provide a bountiful supply of pharmacologically relevant precursors for the development of various drug-related molecules,including radiopharmaceuticals.However,current knowledge regarding the importance of natural products in developing new radiopharmaceuticals remains limited.To date,several radionuclides,including gallium-68,technetium-99m,fluorine-18,iodine-131,and iodine-125,have been extensively studied for the synthesis of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals.The availability of various radiolabeling methods allows the incorporation of these radionuclides into bioactive molecules in a practical and efficient manner.Of the radiolabeling methods,direct radioiodination,radiometal complexation,and halogenation are generally suitable for natural products owing to their simplicity and robustness.This review highlights the pharmacological benefits of curcumin and its analogs,flavonoids,and marine peptides in treating human pathologies and provides a perspective on the potential use of these bioactive compounds as molecular templates for the design and development of new radiopharmaceuticals.Additionally,this review provides insights into the current strategies for labeling natural products with various radionuclides using either direct or indirect methods.

Effect of Gastrointestinal Protease Digestion on Bioactivity of Marine Peptides

Focus in nutritional science has turned towards components in, or added to, foods that may possess health beneficial activities beyond the classical nutritional value, namely functional food. Bioactive peptides are examples of such components. In vitro studies on bioactivities have mainly been executed without concerning subsequent digestion after intake and the aim of this work was hence to investigate how the in vitro antioxidative, antihypertensive and caspase activating activities of peptides are affected by digestion with gastrointestinal （GI） proteases. Five different fish protein hydrolysates were chosen to study the effect of in vitro digestion on bioactivity. The protein concentration decreased in all samples during digestion and the molecular weight distribution of the peptides shifted towards lower values. Thus, in vitro digestion with GI proteases resulted in a further degradation of the peptides obtained by hydrolysis. The antihypertensive effect increased in all samples after digestion with GI proteases whereas the antioxidative capacity decreased. The effect on the caspase activity depended on the proteases used in the preparation of hydrolysates. In conclusion, the caspase activity and antihypertensive activity are maintained during digestion with GI proteases, while the antioxidative capacity seems to be reduced.

Review on marine collagen peptides induce cancer cell apoptosis,necrosis,and autophagy by reducing oxidized free radicals

Marine collagen peptides(MCPs)are natural products prepared by hydrolyzing marine collagen protein through a variety of chemical methods or enzymes.MCPs have a range of structures and biological activities and are widely present in marine species.MCPs also have a small molecular weight,are easily modified,and absorbed by the body.These properties have attracted great interest from researchers studying antioxidant,anti-tumor,and anti-aging activities.MCPs of specific molecular weights have significant anti-tumor activity and no toxic side effects.Thus,MCPs have the potential use as anti-cancer adjuvant drugs.Free radicals produced by oxidation are closely related to human aging,cancer,arteriosclerosis,and other diseases,but their relationship with cancer is not well known.In this review,we focus on the antioxidant properties of MCPs in the treatment of cancer,highlighting their antioxidant molecular structure and potential for clinical practice.

Effect of Marine Collagen Peptides on Markers of Metabolic Nuclear Receptors in Type 2 Diabetic Patients with/without Hypertension

Objective To explore Effects of marine collagen peptides （MCPs） on markers of metablic nuclear receptors, i.e peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor （PPARs）, liver X receptor （LXRs） and farnesoid X receptor （FXRs） in type 2 diabetic patients with/without hypertension. Method Study population consisted of 200 type 2 diabetic patients with/without hypertension and 50 healthy subjects, all of whom were randomly assigned to MCPs-treated diabetics （n=50）, placebo-treated diabetics （n=50）, MCPs-treated diabetics with hypertension （n=50）, placebo-treated diabetics with hypertension （n=50）, and healthy controls （n=50）. MCPs or placebo （water-soluble starch） were given daily before breakfast and bedtime over three months. Levels of free fatty acid, cytochrome P450, leptin, resistin, adiponectin, bradykinin, NO, and Prostacyclin were determined before intervention, and 1.5 months, and 3 months after intervention. Hypoglycemia and the endpoint events during the study were recorded and compared among the study groups. Result At the end of the study period, MCPs-treated patients showed marked improvement compared with patients receiving placebo. The protection exerted by MCPs seemed more profound in diabetics than in diabetics with hypertension. In particular, after MCPs intervention, levels of free fatty acid, hs-CRP, resistin, Prostacyclin decreased significantly in diabetics and tended to decrease in diabetic and hypertensive patients whereas levels of cytochrome P450, leptin, NO tended to decrease in diabetics with/without hypertension. Meanwhile, levels of adiponectin and bradykinin rose markedly in diabetics following MCPs administration. Conclusion MCPs could offer protection against diabetes and hypertension by affecting levels of molecules involved in diabetic and hypertensive pathogenesis. Regulation on metabolic nuclear receptors by MCPs may be the possible underlying mechanism for its observed effects in the study. Further study into its action may shed light on development of new drugs based on bioactive peptides from marine sources.