Kasirawat Sawangrat

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) involves dihydrotestosterone-driven follicular miniaturization compounded by oxidative stress and perifollicular inflammation, while current pharmacotherapies remain limited by adverse effects. Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss., Meliaceae) leaves, a phenolic- and limonoid-rich plant widely used in Southeast Asian traditional medicine, were fermented for seven days with a tri-culture consortium of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Aspergillus niger (TRI-NE) to evaluate whether expanded microbial diversity enhances bioactivity relative to the unfermented extract (UN-NE). TRI-NE significantly increased total phenolic content, rising from 315.30 to 564.70 mg GAE/g by day 7, alongside an overall enhancement of antioxidant capacity across all assays. Moreover, untargeted metabolomics revealed compositional remodeling, with 67.47% of significantly altered metabolite features upregulated after fermentation, including selective enrichment of quercetin despite reductions in other polyphenols. In human hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPCs) and complementary models, TRI-NE consistently outperformed UN-NE, enhancing paracrine-mediated fibroblast proliferation, preserving cell viability under potassium-channel blockade, suppressing lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory nitric oxide production, and attenuating oxidative membrane damage. At the transcriptional level, TRI-NE downregulated androgen metabolism (SRD5A1 and SRD5A2) and pro-regression genes (TGFB1) while upregulating Wnt/β-catenin (CTNNB1), Sonic Hedgehog (SHH, SMO, and GLI1), and angiogenic (VEGF) pathway genes, with effects matching or exceeding standard hair-loss therapeutics. These findings indicate that TRI-NE confers superior bioactivity over the unfermented extract, supporting its potential as a multi-target cosmeceutical candidate for AGA.

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA), the most common form of hair loss, is driven by dihydrotestosterone-mediated follicular miniaturization, oxidative stress, and perifollicular inflammation, requiring multi-target intervention. Coffee pulp is an abundant coffee-processing by-product and a potential source of value-added bioactives relevant to AGA. This study investigated whether fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus plantarum, or their mixed culture could remodel coffee pulp composition and enhance biological activities relevant to AGA. Untargeted metabolomics revealed treatment-dependent metabolic remodeling. LP-CP showed the largest number of significantly altered metabolite features (1020; 666 increased and 354 decreased), whereas MIX-CP exhibited a predominantly upward pattern, with 238 of 283 significantly altered features (84.10%) showing increased abundance relative to the unfermented control. Targeted polyphenol analysis showed MIX-CP contained the highest levels of rosmarinic acid and quercetin. In human hair follicle dermal papilla cells, MIX-CP stimulated proliferation, increased fibroblast proliferation in a conditioned-medium model, partially rescued cell viability under potassium-channel inhibition, and attenuated intracellular reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation more than monoculture-fermented extracts. At the transcriptional level, MIX-CP downregulated androgen metabolism genes SRD5A1 and SRD5A2 alongside pro-regression mediator TGFB1 while upregulating Wnt/β-catenin (CTNNB1), Sonic Hedgehog (SHH, SMO, GLI1), and angiogenic (VEGF) genes, showing transcript-level modulation comparable to standard hair-loss drugs for most targets. These findings position MIX-CP as a promising multi-target cosmeceutical for AGA management, warranting further in vivo validation.

High-density lipoproteins (HDL) play crucial roles in cholesterol homeostasis and have emerged as promising therapeutic targets and drug delivery vehicles. This study developed an optimized protocol for recombinant expression of N-terminal 43-amino acid deleted human apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I∆43) in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) and subsequent reconstitution of HDL-mimetic nanoparticles. Expression optimization revealed that an induction temperature of 37°C, a 3-hour duration, and IPTG concentration of 0.1 mM yielded the highest apoA-I∆43 expression level (~20 mg/L culture). The purified apoA-I∆43 was characterized by LC-MS/MS, confirming a 185-amino acids of the expected 265-amino acid sequence. Reconstituted HDL-mimetic (rHDL) nanoparticles were successfully prepared using apoA-I∆43 and distearoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DSPC). These rHDL nanoparticles exhibited HDL-specific characteristics such as density (1.063-1.21 g/mL) and hydrodynamic diameter (11.7 ± 3.4 nm). This protocol provides a reliable platform for producing apoA-I∆43 for pharmaceutical applications and drug delivery system development.

This study aims to investigate the antioxidant and anti-cancer activities of Clerodendrum chinense leaf ethanolic extract. The phenylethanoid glycoside-enriched extract, namely verbascoside and isoverbascoside, was determined in the ethanolic C. chinense leaf extract using the validated HPLC method. The ethanolic extract showed DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging activities with the IC₅₀ values of 334.2 ± 45.48 μg/mL and 1012.77 ± 61.86 µg/mL, respectively, and a FRAP value of 88.73 ± 4.59 to 2480.81 ± 0.00 µM. C. chinense leaf extract exhibited anti-proliferative activity against A549 lung cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with the IC₅₀ value of 340.63 ± 89.43, 210.60 ± 81.74, and 107.08 ± 28.90 µg/mL after treatment for 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively. The IC₅₀ values of verbascoside, isoverbascoside, and hispidulin were 248.40 ± 15.82, 393.10 ± 15.27, and 3.86 ± 0.87 µg/mL, respectively, indicating that the anti-proliferative effects of the C. chinense leaf extract mainly resulted from hispidulin and verbascoside. The selectivity index (SI) of C. chinense leaf extract against A549 lung cancer cells vs. normal keratinocytes were 2.4 and 2.8 after incubation for 24 and 48 h, respectively, suggesting the cytotoxic selectivity of the extract toward the cancer cell line. Additionally, the C. chinense leaf extract at 250 µg/mL induced late apoptotic cells up to 21.67% with enhancing reactive oxygen species (ROS) induction. Furthermore, the lung cancer cell colony formation was significantly inhibited after being treated with C. chinense leaf extract in a dose-dependent manner. The C. chinense leaf extract at 250 µg/mL has also shown to significantly inhibit cancer cell migration compared with the untreated group. The obtained results provide evidence of the anti-lung cancer potentials of the C. chinense leaf ethanolic extract.

Trends in skin and hair treatments focus on natural products due to undesired effects of chemically synthetic ingredients. This study aims to investigate the cosmeceutical effects of Equisetum debile (horsetail) extracts relating to anti-hyperpigmentation via tyrosinase, anti-wrinkle formation via matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and anti-androgenic alopecia via 5α-reductase. Ethanolic extracts were sequentially partitioned into semi-purified fractions hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and methanol insoluble residue. The ethyl acetate fraction possessed the highest total phenolic content (39.24 ± 0.72 mg gallic acid/g), the strongest anti-tyrosinase activities (583.33 ± 23.59 mg kojic acid/g), and potent collagenase inhibitions (IC₅₀ MMP-1 and MMP-2 of 0.82 ± 0.09 and 0.94 ± 0.11 mg/mL, respectively). All extracts showed considerable inhibitions of 5α-reductase ranging from 44.59 ± 0.40 to 83.07 ± 3.46% with the strongest activity from the dichloromethane fraction (1.48 ± 0.06 mg finasteride/g). In conclusion, E. debile extracts exhibit cosmeceutical potentials. This study suggests that the E. debile ethyl acetate fraction could be used as a promising ingredient to organically treat hyperpigmentation and delay the skin aging process. In addition, compared to the current recommended intake of finasteride (1 mg/day) for androgenic alopecia, the dichloromethane fraction is proposed as an alternative source to naturally remediate hair loss.

A sustainable downscaled procedure using smartphone-based colorimetric determination of manganese (Mn(II)) was developed. This novel Mn(II) determination procedure is proposed using a simple, available microwell-plate platform and a smartphone as a detector. This approach is based on the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by periodate using Mn(II) as a catalyst. The catalytic kinetics of Mn(II) under different conditions was investigated to determine the optimum condition where the different catalytic activities of various concentrations of Mn(II) evince. Under the optimum condition, the bluish-green product of oxidized TMB, proportioned to the concentration of Mn(II), was monitored using a smartphone camera, and the color signals were processed using ImageJ Software. The developed procedure showed great selectivity and sensitivity as linearity ranged from 1.8 × 10⁻⁶ to 4.6 × 10⁻⁵ M (0.1 to 2.5 μg/mL). The limits of detection and quantitation were 3.6 × 10⁻⁶ and 1.1 × 10⁻⁵ M (0.2 and 0.6 μg/mL), respectively. The determination of Mn(II) in freshwater samples was demonstrated to assess environmental water quality as an initial model to more easily promote water management according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). The intensity of the red could be successfully applied to evaluate Mn(II) in canals and river water with no significant differences compared with the reference method of Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry at a confidence level of 95%.

Five glutinous purple rice cultivars and non-glutinous purple rice cultivated in different altitudes in the north of Thailand were collected. The samples were extracted using ethanol and determined for anthocyanins using HPLC. The total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities against foodborne pathogens were investigated. The highland glutinous cultivar named Khao’ Gam Luem-Phua (KGLP) extract had significantly high levels of cyanidin 3-O-glucoside, peonidin 3-O-glucoside, delphinidin 3-O-glucoside, TPC, and TFC, as well as exerting a potent antioxidant activity through ABTS assay (524.26 ± 4.63 VCEAC, mg l-ascorbic-ascorbic/g extract), lipid peroxidation (IC₅₀ = 19.70 ± 0.31 µg/mL), superoxide anions (IC₅₀ = 11.20 ± 0.25 µg/mL), nitric oxide (IC₅₀ = 17.12 ± 0.56 µg/mL), a suppression effect on nitric oxide (IC₅₀ = 18.32 ± 0.82 µg/mL), and an inducible nitric oxide synthase production (IC₅₀ = 23.43 ± 1.21 µg/mL) in combined lipopolysaccharide-interferon-γ-activated RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. Additionally, KGLP also exhibited antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella Enteritidis, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. These results indicate that Thai glutinous purple rice cultivated on the highland could be a potent natural source of antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and antimicrobial agents for use as a natural active pharmaceutical ingredient in functional food and nutraceutical products.