Generation of particle assemblies mimicking enzymatic activity by processing of herbal food: The case of rhizoma polygonati and other natural ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine
Benassi E. Fan H. Sun Q. Dukenbayev K. Wang Q. Shaimoldina A. Tassanbiyeva A. Nurtay L. Nurkesh A. Kutzhanova A. Mu C. Dautov A. Razbekova M. Kabylda A. Yang Q. Li Z. Amin A. Li X. Xie Y.
21 April 2021Royal Society of Chemistry
Nanoscale Advances
2021#3Issue 82222 - 2235 pp.
Processed herbs have been widely used in eastern and western medicine; however, the mechanism of their medicinal effects has not yet been revealed. It is commonly believed that a central role is played by chemically active molecules produced by the herbs metabolism. In this work, processed rhizoma polygonati (RP) and other herbal foods are shown to exhibit intrinsic phosphatase-like (PL) activity bounded with the formation of nano-size flower-shaped assembly.Viaquantum mechanical calculations, an enzymatic mechanism is proposed. The enzymatic activity may be induced by the interaction between the sugar molecules distributed on the surface of the nanoassemblies and the phosphatase substrateviaeither a hydroxyl group or the deprotonated hydroxyl group. Meanwhile, the investigation was further extended by processing some fresh herbs and herbal food through a similar protocol, wherein other enzymatic activities (such as protease, and amylase) were observed. The PL activity exhibited by the processed natural herbs was found to be able to effectively inhibit cancer cell growthviaphosphatase signaling, possibly by crosstalk with kinase signaling or DNA damage by either directly binding or unwinding of DNA, as evidenced by high-resolution atomic-force microscopy (HR-AFM). In this work, the neologism herbzyme (herb + enzyme) is proposed. This study represents the first case of scientific literature introducing this new term. Besides the well-known pharmacological properties of the natural molecules contained in herbs and herbal food, there exists an enzymatic/co-enzymatic activity attributed to the nanosized assemblies.
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School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi, 832003, China
School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay Batyr Ave, Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
Key Laboratory for Applied Technology of Sophisticated Analytical Instrument of Shandong Province, Shandong Analysis and Test Center, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, China
School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan, 010000, Kazakhstan
Taian Xianlu Food Co Ltd, Taian, China
Sino-German Joint Research Center on Agricultural Biology, State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, China
Huarun Taian Pharmacy Co. Ltd., Taian, China
Biology Department, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, 15551, United Arab Emirates
College, University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, IL, United States
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
School of Sciences and Humanities
Key Laboratory for Applied Technology of Sophisticated Analytical Instrument of Shandong Province
School of Engineering and Digital Sciences
Taian Xianlu Food Co Ltd
Sino-German Joint Research Center on Agricultural Biology
Huarun Taian Pharmacy Co. Ltd.
Biology Department
College
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