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The epidemic of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that started in 2019 has evoked an urgent demand for finding new potential therapeutic agents. In this study, we performed a molecular docking of anti-HIV drugs to refine HIV protease inhibitors and nucleotide analogues to target COVID-19. The evaluation was based on docking scores calculated by AutoDock Vina and top binding poses were analyzed. Our results suggested that lopinavir, darunavir, atazanavir, remdesivir, and tipranavir have the best binding affinity for the 3-chymotrypsin-like protease of COVID-19. The comparison of the binding sites of three drugs, namely, darunavir, atazanavir and remdesivir, showed an overlap region of the protein pocket. Our study showed a strong affinity between lopinavir, darunavir, atazanavir, tipranavir and COVID-19 protease. However, their efficacy should be confirmed by in vitro studies since there are concerns related to interference with their active sites.

Panax ginseng is a common natural product, which is well-known to have a wide range of pharmacological activities in cancer. Its metabolite, compound K (CK), has been reported to have anticancer activity. We aimed to systematically review the literature for evidence of anticancer effects of CK. We conducted a systematic search in eight databases. We included all in vitro and in vivo studies investigating the anticancer effects of CK with no restrictions. Quality assessment was applied by ToxRTool. Fifty-four articles were included in our study. The purity of CK in our included studies was at least 95%. The in vitro studies reported that CK had a potential anticancer activity on several cell lines including human lung cancer cell lines (A549, PC-9), nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line (Hk-1), liver cancer cell line (BEL 7402), and pediatric acute myeloid leukemia cell lines (Kasumi-1, MV4-11). The in vivo studies reported a significant decrease in tumor volume in mice treated with CK. CK is a potential supplementary treatment in cancer chemotherapies. The safety and further clinical trials of CK should be explored for future drug development., Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology, pp.1-29; 2023. doi:10.1111/fcp.12874

Background Despite noticeable improvement in anti-malarial treatment, rapid growth of resistant malaria strains points out the need for continuous development of novel anti-malarials to fight the disastrous infection. Haemozoin is considered as a novel inhibitory pathway for new anti-malarial drugs, therefore, this study aimed to systematically review all articles investigating the correlation between anti-malarial and anti-haemozoin activities of anti-malarial compounds. Methods A literature search was conducted on 22 October 2017 in eight databases for relevant in vitro articles reporting the correlation between anti-malarial and anti-haemozoin of anti-malarial compounds, based on the constructed search terms and inclusion criteria. ToxRtool was used to assess quality of each study. Results A total of ten articles were included in the review. In vitro anti-malarial and anti-haemozoin activity had a good correlation for quinolines for sensitive strains (R2 ranging from 0.66 to 0.95) and xanthones (Spearman ρ = 0.886). However, these correlations were reached after removing some compounds which had non-detectable anti-malarial or anti-haemozoin effects. Other structures (acridines, pyrolidines) showed negligible correlation with Spearman ρ ranging from 0.095 to 0.381 for acridines, and r varying from 0.54 to 0.62 for pyrolidines. Some good correlations were only shown in a logarithmic manner or when the anti-malarial activity was normalized. Conclusion The results raised a relative relationship between anti-haemozoin and in vitro anti-malarial activities. Some studies reported compounds that were effective in the inhibition of haemozoin formation, but failed to inhibit the parasite survival and vice versa. The correlation results in these studies were calculated after these compounds were removed from their analysis. The ability of anti-malarial compounds to accumulate inside the reaction site might strengthen their anti-malarial activity.

Background:Mulberry, including several species belonging to genus Morus, has been widely used as a traditional medicine for a long time. Extracts and active components of mulberry have many positive neurological and biological effects and can become potential candidates in the search for new drugs for neurological disorders.Objectives:We aimed to systematically review the medical literature for evidence of mulberry effects on the central nervous system.Methods:We conducted a systematic search in nine databases. We included all in vivo studies investigating the effect of mulberry on the central nervous system with no restrictions.Results:We finally included 47 articles for quality synthesis. Our findings showed that mulberry and its components possessed an antioxidant effect, showed a reduction in the cerebral infarct volume after stroke. They also improved the cognitive function, learning process, and reduced memory impairment in many animal models. M. alba and its extracts ameliorated Parkinson's disease-like behaviors, limited the complications of diabetes mellitus on the central nervous system, possessed anti-convulsant, anti-depressive, and anxiolytic effects.Conclusion:Mulberry species proved beneficial to many neurological functions in animal models. The active ingredients of each species, especially M. alba, should be deeper studied for screening potentially candidates for future treatments

Losing weight has significant impact on chronic disease management. Orlistat, a lipase inhibitor, has alternative effect for weight controlling. To find more candidates, we conducted a review of chalcone and xanthine derivatives regarding their anti-lipase activity. Eight databases were searched including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (ISI), Virtual Health Library (VHL), System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE), Global Health Library (GHL), EMBASE, and Google Scholar in August 2018. We found chalcone scaffold was more effective on lipase inhibition than xanthine scaffold. Among 19 investigated chalcones, only isoliquiritigenin and licuroside demonstrated an effect on preventing weight gain and increase in the total cholesterol and total triglycerides aside apart from their high activity on inhibiting lipase. Effect and type of inhibition of individual chalcones differed depending on their structure. In addition, very few studies investigated xanthine compounds and their activities were inconsistent. We suggest more studies investigate the ability of chalcones and modifying their structure to find out other compounds with higher efficacy.

Ginsenoside Rh1 is one of major bioactive compounds extracted from red ginseng, which has been increasingly used for enhancing cognition and physical health worldwide. The objective of this study was to review the pharmacological effects of ginsenoside Rh1 in a systematic manner. We performed searches on eight electronic databases including MEDLINE (Pubmed), Scopus, Google Scholar, POPLINE, Global Health Library, Virtual Health Library, the System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe, and the New York Academy of Medicine Grey Literature Report to select the original research publications reporting the biological and pharmacological effects of ginsenoside Rh1 from in vitro and in vivo studies regardless of publication language and study design. Upon applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we included a total of 57 studies for our systemic review. Ginsenoside Rh1 exhibited the potent characteristics of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory effects, and positive effects on the nervous system. The cytotoxic effects of ginsenoside Rh1 were dependent on different types of cell lines. Other pharmacological effects including estrogenic, enzymatic, anti-microorganism activities, and cardiovascular effects have been mentioned, but the results were considerably diverged. A higher quality of evidence on clinical trial studies is highly recommended to confirm the consistent efficacy of ginsenoside Rh1.