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Pharmaceuticals
Special Issues
Natural Products for the Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases
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Natural Products for the Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2024 | Viewed by 3882

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carlos Vaamonde-García

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Grupo de Investigación en Reumatología y Salud (GIR-S), Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Interests: chondrocytes; osteoarthritis; diabetes; aging; inflammation; hydrogen sulphide; brown algae
Dr. María Carmen De Andrés

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Unidad de Epigenética, Grupo de Investigación en Reumatología (GIR), Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de A Coruña (INIBIC), Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de A Coruña (CHUAC), Sergas, 15006 A Coruña, Spain.
Interests: epigenetics; osteoarthritis; nutraceuticals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rheumatic diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders mainly affecting joints and other surrounding tissues, but in some cases even organs. Some of these pathologies are among the most common diseases worldwide; however, many of them are chronic conditions with no cure.

Since there are more than 200 different diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system, their treatments are also varied in nature. Nevertheless, the main goals are management and relief of pain, reducing inflammation in affected tissues, reduction and prevention of joint damage, and preservation of joint mobility. With these aims, the used medications include analgesics, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Agents (NSAIDs), steroids, Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs), and biologic response modifiers. Unfortunately, prolonged administration of NSAIDs, steroids, and DMARDs is commonly associated with deleterious side effects.

Therefore, in the pursuit of new and safer approaches for rheumatic disease management, natural products have gained a great interest within food and non-food sectors due their healthy properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and other qualities related to joint health. Thus, a growing number of studies suggest the benefits of supplementation with nutritional and herbal components, such as phenolics, flavonoids, and carotenoids, as well as different diets such as the vegan or traditional Mediterranean diets.

Herein, this Special Issue invites all researchers and clinicians to publish works concerning the use of natural bioactive compounds as a complementary and alternative treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. 

Dr. Carlos Vaamonde-García
Dr. María Carmen De Andrés
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mediterranean diet
  • flavonoids
  • phenolic compounds
  • carotenoids
  • oils
  • fatty acids
  • herbal byproducts
  • arthritis
  • osteoarthritis
  • systemic lupus erythematosus, gout

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 864 KiB  
Article
Decreased Risk of Osteoporosis Incident in Subjects Receiving Chinese Herbal Medicine for Sjögren syndrome Treatment: A Retrospective Cohort Study with a Nested Case-Control Analysis
by Chieh-Tsung Yen, Hanoch Livneh, Hua-Lung Huang, Ming-Chi Lu, Wei-Jen Chen and Tzung-Yi Tsai
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(6), 745; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17060745 - 6 Jun 2024
Viewed by 194
Abstract
Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a long-lasting inflammatory autoimmune disease that may cause diverse manifestations, particularly osteoporosis. Though usage of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) can safely manage autoimmune disease and treatment-related symptoms, the relation between CHM use and osteoporosis risk in SS persons is [...] Read more.
Sjögren syndrome (SS) is a long-lasting inflammatory autoimmune disease that may cause diverse manifestations, particularly osteoporosis. Though usage of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) can safely manage autoimmune disease and treatment-related symptoms, the relation between CHM use and osteoporosis risk in SS persons is not yet recognized. With that in mind, this population-level nested case-control study aimed to compare the risk of osteoporosis with and without CHM use. Potential subjects aged 20–70 years, diagnosed with SS between 2001 and 2010, were retrieved from a national health claims database. Those diagnosed with osteoporosis after SS were identified and randomly matched to those without osteoporosis. We capitalize on the conditional logistic regression to estimate osteoporosis risk following CHM use. A total of 1240 osteoporosis cases were detected and randomly matched to 1240 controls at a ratio of 1:1. Those receiving conventional care plus CHM had a substantially lower chance of osteoporosis than those without CHM. Prolonged use of CHM, especially for one year or more, markedly dwindled sequent osteoporosis risk by 71%. Integrating CHM into standard care may favor the improvement of bone function, but further well-designed randomized controlled trials to investigate the possible mechanism are needed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products for the Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases)
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16 pages, 5893 KiB  
Article
Silibinin’s Effects against Methotrexate-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Adjuvant-Induced Arthritis Rat Model
by Ghada Khawaja and Youmna El-Orfali
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(4), 431; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17040431 - 28 Mar 2024
Viewed by 752
Abstract
Methotrexate (MTX) is the first drug of choice to treat several diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. However, its administration is accompanied by severe side effects, most commonly hepatotoxicity. Hence, alternative therapies with a lower toxicity and fewer side effects are needed. This study aimed [...] Read more.
Methotrexate (MTX) is the first drug of choice to treat several diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. However, its administration is accompanied by severe side effects, most commonly hepatotoxicity. Hence, alternative therapies with a lower toxicity and fewer side effects are needed. This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects of silibinin (SIL, natural agent) against MTX-induced hepatotoxicity in an adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rat model. Arthritic rats were treated with SIL (100 mg/kg) and/or methotrexate (2 mg/kg). Non-arthritic rats, arthritic untreated rats, and arthritic rats who received the vehicle were followed in parallel. SIL alleviated the systemic consequences of arthritis by restoring lost weight, decreasing the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and ameliorating joint damage, which was evident both micro- and macroscopically. Additionally, SIL prevented the histopathological alterations in the liver and significantly reduced the liver damage caused by MTX and AIA, as shown by a decrease in the markers of liver damage (ALT and AST). Furthermore, SIL relieved the oxidative stress induced by AIA and MTX in liver tissue by decreasing the lipid peroxidation (MDA) levels and enhancing the antioxidant defense system (GSH levels; catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities). In conclusion, our results suggest that SIL is a potent antioxidant and hepatoprotective agent in arthritic rats. It markedly attenuated the progression and severity of the arthritic disease and eased the oxidative stress in liver tissue by improving the pro-oxidant/antioxidant balance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products for the Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases)
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20 pages, 3455 KiB  
Article
Effects of Oleacein, a New Epinutraceutical Bioproduct from Extra Virgin Olive Oil, in LPS-Activated Murine Immune Cells
by Rocío Muñoz-García, Marina Sánchez-Hidalgo, Tatiana Montoya, Manuel Alcarranza, Juan Ortega-Vidal, Joaquín Altarejos and Catalina Alarcón-de-la-Lastra
Pharmaceuticals 2022, 15(11), 1338; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph15111338 - 28 Oct 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2154
Abstract
The present study was designed to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of the secoiridoid from extra virgin olive oil, oleacein (OLA), deepening into the possible signaling pathways involved in LPS-activated murine peritoneal macrophages. Moreover, we have explored OLA-induced epigenetic changes in histone markers and [...] Read more.
The present study was designed to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of the secoiridoid from extra virgin olive oil, oleacein (OLA), deepening into the possible signaling pathways involved in LPS-activated murine peritoneal macrophages. Moreover, we have explored OLA-induced epigenetic changes in histone markers and related cytokine production in murine LPS-stimulated murine splenocytes. Murine cells were treated with OLA in the presence or absence of LPS (5 μg/mL) for 18 or 24 h. OLA modulated the oxidative stress and the inflammatory response produced by LPS stimulation in murine peritoneal macrophages, by the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, IFN-γ, IL-17 and IL-18) and ROS production and the expression of pro-inflammatory enzymes such as iNOS, COX-2 and m-PGES1. These protective effects could be due to the activation of the Nrf-2/HO-1 axis and the inhibition of JAK/STAT, ERK and P38 MAPKs and inflammasome canonical and non-canonical signaling pathways. Moreover, OLA modulated epigenetic modifications throughout histone methylation deacetylation (H3K18ac) and (H3K9me3 and H3K27me) in LPS-activated spleen cells. In conclusion, our data present OLA as an interesting anti-inflammatory and antioxidant natural compound that is able to regulate histone epigenetic markers. Nevertheless, additional in vivo studies are required to further investigate the beneficial effects of this EVOO secoiridoid, which might be a promising epinutraceutical bioproduct for the management of immune-related inflammatory diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Products for the Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases)
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