The 3C-like protease (3CLpro) of SARS-coronavirus mediates the proteolytic processing of replicase polypeptides 1a and 1ab into functional proteins, becoming an important target for the drug development. In this study, Isatis indigotica root extract, five major compounds of I. indigotica root, and seven plant-derived phenolic compounds were tested for anti-SARS-CoV 3CLpro effects using cell-free and cell-based cleavage assays. Cleavage assays with the 3CLpro demonstrated that IC50 values were in micromolar ranges for I. indigotica root extract, indigo, sinigrin, aloe emodin and hesperetin. Sinigrin (IC50: 217 microM) was more efficient in blocking the cleavage processing of the 3CLpro than indigo (IC50: 752 microM) and beta-sitosterol (IC50: 1210 microM) in the cell-based assay. Only two phenolic compounds aloe emodin and hesperetin dose-dependently inhibited cleavage activity of the 3CLpro, in which the IC50 was 366 microM for aloe emodin and 8.3 microM for hesperetin in the cell-based assay.

The 3C-like protease (3CLpro) of SARS-coronavirus mediates the proteolytic processing of replicase polypeptides 1a and 1ab into functional proteins, becoming an important target for the drug development. In this study, Isatis indigotica root extract, five major compounds of I. indigotica root, and seven plant-derived phenolic compounds were tested for anti-SARS-CoV 3CLpro effects using cell-free and cell-based cleavage assays. Cleavage assays with the 3CLpro demonstrated that IC50 values were in micromolar ranges for I. indigotica root extract, indigo, sinigrin, aloe emodin and hesperetin. Sinigrin (IC50: 217 microM) was more efficient in blocking the cleavage processing of the 3CLpro than indigo (IC50: 752 microM) and beta-sitosterol (IC50: 1210 microM) in the cell-based assay. Only two phenolic compounds aloe emodin and hesperetin dose-dependently inhibited cleavage activity of the 3CLpro, in which the IC50 was 366 microM for aloe emodin and 8.3 microM for hesperetin in the cell-based assay.

We evaluated the influence of hesperidin and vitamin C (VitC) on glycemic parameters, lipid profile, and DNA damage in male Wistar rats treated with sucrose overload. Rats were divided into six experimental groups: I-water control; II-sucrose control; III-hesperidin control; IV-VitC control; V-co-treatment of sucrose plus hesperidin; VI-co-treatment of sucrose plus VitC. We measured the levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c, fasting glucose, and glycated hemoglobin (A1C). DNA damage was evaluated in blood and brain cells using the comet assay and the micronucleus test was used to evaluate chromosomal damages in the rat bone marrow. Co-treatment with VitC, but not with hesperidin, normalized the serum glucose. No effect of co-treatments was observed on A1C. The co-treatment with VitC or hesperidin did not influence the lipid profile (p>0.05). Rats co-treated with hesperidin had a significantly lower DNA damage level in blood (p<0.05) and brain (p<0.05). Rats treated with VitC only, but not those co-treated with VitC plus sucrose, had significantly higher DNA damage in brain (p<0.05). No significant differences were observed in the results of micronucleus test (p>0.05). Hesperidin and VitC showed different effects on sucrose and DNA damage levels. While VitC lowered the serum glucose, hesperidin reduced the DNA damage.

Intensive training and exhausting exercise can disrupt innate and acquired immunity. The flavanone hesperidin has shown immunomodulatory properties in physiological and some pathological conditions, and positive effects on exercise-induced oxidative stress. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain whether it also prevents exhausting exercise-induced immune alterations. The aim of this study was to establish the effect of oral hesperidin supplementation on the systemic immune system in rats following an intensive training and exhausting exercise. For this purpose, female Wistar rats were randomized into an intensive training group or a sedentary group. Intensive training was induced by running in a treadmill 5 days per week (including two exhausting tests) for five weeks. Throughout the training period, 200 mg/kg of hesperidin or vehicle was administered by oral gavage three times per week. At the end, blood, thymus, spleen and macrophages were collected before, immediately after and 24 h after an additional final exhaustion test. Hesperidin supplementation enhanced natural killer cell cytotoxicity and the proportion of phagocytic monocytes, attenuated the secretion of cytokines by stimulated macrophages, prevented the leukocytosis induced by exhaustion and increased the proportion of T helper cells in the thymus, blood and spleen. These results suggest that hesperidin can prevent exhausting exercise-induced immune alterations.

The dried, immature fruit of Citrus aurantium L., 'Zhiqiao' in Chinese, has been used to treat cardiovascular diseases in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Naringenin and hesperetin and their glycosides present in considerable amounts (about 10 approximately 15%) in the herb. The aim of this study is to test whether naringenin and hesperetin influence adiponectin expression, which plays an important role in glucose and lipid metabolism with antiatherogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Treatment with naringenin and hesperetin enhanced adiponectin transcription in differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. Both naringenin and hesperetin induced peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)gamma-controlled luciferase expression in a dose-dependent manner (20-160 microM), whereas only naringenin possessed significant activity to activate PPARalpha. These results suggested the two flavonoids might exert antiatherogenic effects partly through activating PPAR and up-regulating adiponectin expression in adipocytes. Our findings give new insight for the molecular explanations for the therapeutic effects of Zhiqiao. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.