Yu Hu

Hyperuricemia (HUA) is a metabolic disorder caused by dysregulated uric acid metabolism and constitutes the principal biochemical basis of gout. Persistent elevation of serum uric acid above the saturation threshold promotes monosodium urate crystal deposition in joints, soft tissues, and the kidneys, triggering inflammation and tissue injury. The rising global prevalence of HUA and gout, together with an evident trend toward younger onset, has imposed an increasing public health burden. Traditional Chinese Medicine has been widely used in their management because of its holistic therapeutic approach and favorable safety profile. Among the bioactive constituents derived from Chinese medicinal materials, saponins have attracted particular attention for their multi-target pharmacological actions. Saponin compounds derived from Chinese medicinal materials exert anti-hyperuricemic and anti-gout effects by modulating purine-metabolizing enzymes, regulating urate transporters, restoring gut microbiota homeostasis, and suppressing inflammatory signaling pathways. This review summarizes the pathogenesis of HUA and gout and synthesizes current evidence on the therapeutic mechanisms of saponins derived from Chinese medicinal materials, providing a theoretical basis for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.

Hydrophobic modification alters the properties of Pluronic F127 to form micelles more efficiently and enhances its drug-loading capacity. However, selecting the appropriate hydrophobic group for modification is laborious. In this paper, we propose an efficient approach for predicting key parameters to select hydrophobic groups for F127 modification prior to synthesis, in order to improve the formability and stability of the micelles. The results of nuclear magnetic resonance and isothermal titration calorimetry were utilized to establish a function for predicting the hydrophile–lipophile balance, critical micelle concentration, and Gibbs free energy of the products based on the structure of raw material. These predicted values can assist us in selecting suitable hydrophobic groups for F127 modification. Subsequently, we successfully tested our method and validated our work using pharmaceutical evaluation methods, such as appearance observation, particle size measurement, drug loading determination, equilibrium binding rate assessment, storage stability testing, and the plotting of accumulation release curves. Therefore, we suggest that our work could provide a model linking the molecular structure to properties, with the purpose of pre-selecting modification products that have advantages in micelle preparation. This can facilitate the application of F127 in preparing nano-micelles.

Owing to high efficacy and safety, natural medicines have found their way into the field of cancer therapy over the past few decades. However, the effective ingredients of natural medicines have shortcomings of poor solubility and low bioavailability. Nanoparticles can not only solve the problems above but also have outstanding targeting ability. Targeting preparations can be classified into three levels, which are target tissues, cells, and organelles. On the premise of clarifying the therapeutic purpose of drugs, one or more targeting methods can be selected to achieve more accurate drug delivery and consequently to improve the anti-tumor effects of drugs and reduce toxicity and side effects. The aim of this review is to summarize the research status of natural medicines’ nano-preparations in tumor-targeting therapies to provide some references for further accurate and effective cancer treatments.