Rene Delgado Hernandez

• PhD Biological Sciences
• Lecturer at University of Barcelona

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of global mortality, accounting for 32% of deaths in 2019. Plant-based extracts, rich in bioactive compounds, have significantly contributed to modern medicine, offering therapeutic potential for various diseases. However, their use is limited by possible side effects, drug interactions, and a lack of c...

This unique volume draws on the rich culture, folklore and environment of medicinal plants in Ecuador, which includes the important rain forest region. This country has rich plant resources and a large diversity of plants. In particular, the Biotechnological Research Center of Ecuador, CIBE, is an important center of plant research and biodiversity...

Objective The present study evaluated the antinociceptive activity of Calendula officinalis L. (Ca) cream on inflammatory hypernociception. Methods Creams with different Ca concentrations were tested for their ability to ameliorate pain-related behavior and edema in rats using formalin test, carrageenan (Cg)-induced acute inflammation model, brady...

Context: Malva spp. have been widely used in the world as traditional remedies. In Ecuadorian markers Malva sylvestris and Malva pseudolavatera are the species most commercialized. However, the scientific information about M. pseudolavatera is little. Aims: To determine the chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of the aqueous extracts of th...

Context: Several experimental results and clinical reports using Mangifera indica L extract (MSBE) suggest its potential utility in osteoarthritis (OA) mixed pain. Aims: To examine the possible therapeutic effects and safety of supplementation on osteoarthritis (OA) pain. Methods: Fifty patients with painful knee OA who had undergone a year of co...

Objectives: ABCB1 gene polymorphisms can modify P-glycoprotein function with clinical consequences. Methods: The 3435C>T polymorphism prevalence was analyzed using oligonucleotide probes and next-generation sequencing in 421 unrelated healthy individuals living in Cuba. Data were stratified by gender, ethnic background and residence. The genotyp...

In spite of the current advances and achievements in cancer treatments, colorectal cancer (CRC) persists as one of the most prevalent and deadly tumor types in both men and women worldwide. Drug resistance, adverse side effects and high rate of angiogenesis, metastasis and tumor relapse remain one of the greatest challenges in long-term management...

The current study was designed to evaluate the transient antinociceptive interaction between amitriptyline and paracetamol in the formalin test. In addition, considering other long-term neuroprotective mechanisms of these drugs, we hypothesized that this combination might exert some synergistic effects on neuropathic pain linked with its possible a...

Introducción: Las plantas son una parte fundamental de los sistemas de medicina. Para contar con una fuente vegetal como alternativa terapéutica, es indispensable demostrar científicamente su utilidad. Las especies Clusia minor L., Caesalpinia bahamensis Lam., Murraya paniculata L, Phania matricarioides (Spreng.) Griseb. y Lippia alba Mill, que cre...

Cerebral ischemia constitutes the most frequent type of cerebrovascular disease. The reduction of blood supply to the brain initiates the ischemic cascade starting from ionic imbalance to subsequent glutamate excitotoxicity, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, eventually causing neuronal death. Previously, the authors have demonstrated the in v...

Context: JM-20 is a hybrid synthetic molecule, which is based on a multimodal drug design paradigm for cerebrovascular disease. In addition to its neuroprotective effects, JM-20 also decreased sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced mechanical hypersensitivity in rats. JM-20 has a strong mitoprotective ability, and its effects could...

The aim of this work was to identify the main chemical constituents and to evaluate the antilithiatic activity of the aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts of stems of Caesalpinia bahamensis Lam. Fractionation and isolation of constituents from the hydroalcoholic extract was carried out by flash chromatography and semi-preparative liquid chromatograp...

Marine plants have become an inexhaustible reservoir of new phytopharmaceuticals for cancer treatment. We demonstrate in vitro/in vivo antitumor efficacy of a standardized polyphenol extract from the marine angiosperm Thalassia testudinum (TTE) in colon tumor cell lines (RKO, SW480, and CT26) and a syngeneic allograft murine colorectal cancer model...

The present study examines the possible effect of the novel hybrid molecule JM-20 (3-ethoxycarbonyl-2-methyl-4-(2-nitrophenyl)-411-dihydro-1H-pyrido[2,3-b] [1,5] benzodiazepine) on pain-related behaviours in a persistent pain model (5% formalin test) and in the neutrophil migration events during the inflammatory process. It further introduces JM-20...

The complexity of the ischemic cascade is based on the integrated crosstalk of every cell type in the neurovascular unit. Depending on the features of the ischemic insult, several cell death mechanisms are triggered, such as apoptosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis/oxytosis, ETosis or pyroptosis, leading to reactive astrogliosis. However, emerging evide...

Homoisoflavonoids constitute a rare subclass of flavonoids restricted to only some plant species, including members of the genus Caesalpinia. This research focused on homoisoflavonoids from Caesalpinia bahamensis Lam., Fabaceae, a medicinal plant used in Cuban traditional medicine and known as “brasilete.” An hydroalcoholic extract was prepared fro...

Sarmiento-Tomalá GM, Miranda-Martínez M, Chóez-Guaranda IA, Gutiérrez-Gaitén YI, Delgado-Hernández R, Carrillo-Lavid G. 2020. Pharmacognostic, chemical and mucolytic activity study of Malva pseudolavatera Webb & Berthel. and Malva sylvestris L. (Malvaceae) leaf extracts, grown in Ecuador. Biodiversitas 21: 4755-4763. Among the cultivated and/or nat...

Sarmiento-Tomalá G, Santos-Ordóñez E, Miranda-Martínez M, Pacheco-Coello R, Scull-Lizama R, Gutiérrez-Gaitén Y, Delgado-Hernández R. 2020. Short Communication: Molecular barcode and morphology analysis of Malva pseudolavatera Webb & Berthel and Malva sylvestris L from Ecuador. Biodiversitas 21: 3554-3560. In Ecuador, several plant species are used...

Cancer is still a major public health burden because its incidence and mortality continue to increase worldwide. The limited treatment options for patients with advanced stages, the severe toxicity, the onset of multiple drug resistance and the high costs of current anticancer therapies favor poor prognosis and high mortality rates. Thus, the ident...

XVII Colombian Congress of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, XXII Latin American Congress of Pharmacology (LATINFARMA 2019). From Biodiversity to Pharmacology: Dialogue of Knowledge. Convention Center, Universidad Libre, Valle del Lili, Santiago de Cali, Colombia. September 26-29, 2019

Osteoarthritis (OA) pain has been proposed to be a mixed pain state, because in some patients, central nervous system factors are superimposed upon the more traditional peripheral factors. In addition, a considerable amount of preclinical and clinical evidence has shown that, accompanying the central neuroplasticity changes and partially driven by...

The present invention relates to chemistry, pharmaceutics, and in particular to the production of formulations from derivatives of phenol compounds or polyphenol compounds and from derivatives of phenol compounds or polyphenol compounds combined with tricyclic systems of the type having benzodiazepines fused to derivatives of 1,4-dihydropyridines w...

XVII Colombian Congress of Pharmacology and Therapeutics XXII Latin American Congress of Pharmacology (LATINFARMA 2019) From Biodiversity to Pharmacology: Dialogue of Knowledge Convention Center, Universidad Libre, Valle del Lili, Santiago de Cali, Colombia September 26-29, 2019 Conference Proceedings jppres_pdf_free [3.2 Mb] DOI: https://doi.org/...

Advanced metastatic melanoma, one of the most aggressive skin malignancies, is currently without reliable therapy. The process of angiogenesis is crucial for progression and metastasis of the majority of solid tumors including melanomas. Therefore, new therapies are urgently needed. Mangiferin is a naturally occurring glucosylxanthone which exerts...

The etiology of Parkinson’s disease is not completely understood and is believed to be multifactorial. Neuronal disorders associated to oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are widely considered major consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the synthetic arylidenmalonate derivative 5-(3,4-dihydroxybenzylidene)...

Mangiferin, a poorly water soluble compound, was processed via a dry amorphisation technique (ball milling) in combination with mesoporous silica to enhance the solubility of mangiferin. The amorphous samples were prepared by mixing 1:1 (w/w) Syloid (R) XDP 3050 silica-mangiferin mixtures using a planetary mono mill at different milling speeds and...

Stroke is frequently associated with severe neurological decline and mortality, and its incidence is expected to increase due to aging population. The only available pharmacological treatment for cerebral ischemia is thrombolysis, with narrow therapeutic windows. Efforts aimed to identify new therapeutics are crucial. In this study, we look into pl...

Context: Caesalpinia bahamensis Lam. is a medicinal plant used by the Cuban population to treat renal and hepatic diseases. However, this species lacks scientific studies that support its biological applications. Aims: To evaluate the chemical composition and the antioxidant capacity of fractions obtained from the stem of Caesalpinia bahamensis Lam...

Caesalpinia bahamensis Lam. is a medicinal plant widely used by the Cuban population to treat hepatic and renal diseases, peptic ulcer and diabetes. However, the scientific knowledge on this species is limited. The aim of this study is to determine the quality parameters and the preliminary chemical composition of the stem of Caesalpinia bahamensis...

The present study reproduces chronic post-ischemia pain (CPIP), a model of complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS-I), in rats to examine the possible transient and long-term anti-allodynic effect of mangiferin (MG); as well as its potential beneficial interactions with some standard analgesic drugs and sympathetic-mediated vasoconstriction and...

CerebrovasculardiseasesarethethirdcauseofdeathinCuba(1),amongthemcerebralischemiashowsoneofthehighestincidence.Ischemiceventincludesacomplexnetofcellularandmolecularmechanisms,inconstantevolutioninsidetimeandspace(2).Glutamatergicexcitotoxicsignalling,ionicandoxidativeimbalance(3)aswellascentralandperipheralinflammation,areprocessinvolvedinthepatho...

Resumen Context: Caesalpinia bahamensis Lam. is a medicinal plant used by the Cuban population to treat renal and hepatic diseases. However, this species lacks scientific studies that support its biological applications. Aims: To evaluate the chemical composition and the antioxidant capacity of fractions obtained from the stem of Caesalpinia bahame...

Stroke represents one of the first causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. We evaluated the therapeutic potential of a novel semi-synthetic spirosteroid sapogenin derivative "S15" in a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) focal ischemia model in rat. S15-treated rats had significantly reduced infarct volumes and improved neurolog...

Mangiferin is a natural glucosylxanthone widely distributed in higher plants such as Mangifera indica L. and Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bung showing antidiabetic, antitumor, antiviral, antioxidant, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities. The solubility of this compound in water is small, then; we prove to increase the solubility of Mangif...

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a transmembrane active efflux pump for a variety of drugs and the most extensively studied ATP-binding cassette (ABC) coded by MDR1 gene. The importance of P-gp in drug-drug interactions is being identified. ABCB1 polymorphisms also contribute to variability in P-gp function. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MDR1 g...

Introduction: Cancer is a multigenic disease associated to chronic inflammation, which in turn is associated to oxidative stress and neuropathic pain. The main problems of the anti-cancer chemotherapy are their lack of specificity and their serious adverse effects. The identification of biologically active compound from natural products has been a...

Caesalpinia bahamensis Lam is a medicinal plant used by Cuban population to treat renal and hepatic problems; peptic ulcer and diabetes mellitus. The diuretic effect of aqueous extract in rodents has been evaluated with similar results to Furosemide. For other side, 74 compounds have been identified by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry; which we...

Free radicals are important mediators in a number of neurodegenerative diseases and molecules capable of scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) may be a feasible strategy for protecting neuronal cells. In this sense, polyphenols have been studied for their antioxidant effects, KM-34 (5-(3, 4-dydroxyl-benzylidene)-2, 2-dimethyl-1, 3-dioxane-4, 6-D...

Context: Pain processing implicates multiple concurrent mechanisms of nociceptive transmission and modulation. Electroacupuncture (EA) analgesia involves mainly the activation of the endogenous anti-nociceptive systems that modulate pain transmission in addition to the regulation of glial activity and inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the...

Stroke represents one of the first causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. We evaluated the therapeutic potential of a novel semi-synthetic spirosteroid sapogenin derivative "S15" in a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) focal ischemia model in rat. S15-treated rats had significantly reduced infarct volumes and improved neurolog...

Two spirosteroid analogues were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro neuroprotective activities in PC12 cells, against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity and mitochondrial damage in glucose deprivation conditions, as well as their anti-inflammatory potential in LPS/IFNγ-stimulated microglia primary cultures. We also evaluated the in vitro ant...

Despite the great mortality and morbidity of stroke, treatment options remain limited. We previously showed that JM-20, a novel synthetic molecule, possessed a strong neuroprotective effect in rats subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. However, to verify the robustness of the pre-clinical neuroprotective effects of JM-20 to get g...

Context: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) is a common disease that course with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS), mainly in over 50 years-old men. Commonly indicated drugs such as alpha adrenergicblockers are life-treatment with some adverse reactions. Center for Drug Research and Development produce a microencapsulated lipophilic extract of pu...

Context: Ovarian hormone deficiency observed in menopausal women increases the production of reactive oxygen species, which could be im-plicated in central sensitization subjacent in chronic functional pain syn-dromes. Aims: To examine the hyperalgesic state induced by ovariectomy in adult rats and its relation to some oxidative stress outcomes. Me...

Cerebral ischemia is the third most common cause of death and a major cause of disability worldwide. Beyond a shortage of essential metabolites, ischemia triggers many interconnected pathophysiological events, including excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. Here, we investigated the neuroprotective mechanisms of JM-20, a nov...

The leaves of M. indica are used as a source of mangiferin for the pharmaceutical industry. The present study deals with the phytochemical and physicochemical evaluation of different varieties in order to identify the most suitable one. The parameters included in this comparative study are extractable matter, mangiferin content, water content and t...

Context: Pharmacological properties of mangiferin have been reported, but few studies have investigated mangiferin toxicity. Aims: To study the acute and 28-day toxicity effects of mangiferin in rodents. Methods: Single doses of mangiferin were administered by oral or i.p. route or were applied dermally to Sprague-Dawley rats and Balb/C mice. Cli...

JM-20 (3-ethoxycarbonyl-2-methyl-4-(2-nitrophenyl)-4,11-dihydro-1H-pyrido[2,3-b][1,5]benzodiazepine) is a novel benzodiazepine dihydropyridine hybrid molecule, which has been shown to be a neuroprotective agent in brain disorders involving glutamate receptors. However, the effect of JM-20 on the functionality of the glutamatergic system has not bee...

La aproximación multimodal mediante terapias combinadas concebidas con racionalidad farmacodinámica y farmacocinética ofrecen mayor balance eficaciaseguridad en el tratamiento farmacológico del dolor crónico. La evaluación del efecto antihipernociceptivo del extracto de la corteza del árbol del mango (ECAM) y lamangiferina (MG) aislada de este, en...

Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Pharmacology of Natural Products FAPRONATURA 2015 September 21st-25th, 2015; Cuban Society of Pharmacology. Topes de Collantes, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.

This study aimed to assess the effects of a Mangifera indica stem bark extract (MSBE) and mangiferin (MG) on pain-related acute behaviors in the formalin 5% test. Rats received repeated oral MSBE (125–500 mg/kg) once daily for 7 days before formalin injection. Other four groups with the same treatments were performed in order to study the effect of...

Because mitochondrial oxidative stress and impairment are important mediators of neuronal damage in neurodegenerative diseases and in brain ischemia/reperfusion, in the present study, we evaluated the antioxidant and mitoprotective effect of a new promising neuroprotective molecule, JM-20, in mitochondria and synaptosomes isolated from rat brains....

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the possible therapeutic effects and the safety of Mangifera indica extract (Vimang tablets, 300 mg) combined with methotrexate (MTX) on reducing disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Twenty patients with active RA underwent a year of treatment with MTX (12.5 mg/week) associated to non-stero...

The Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmacognosy Research (JPPRes) is an international, specialized and peer-reviewed open access journal, which publishes studies in the pharmaceutical and herbal fields concerned with the physical, botanical, chemical, biological, toxicological properties and clinical applications of molecular entities, active pharmaceutica...

Introduction: Mangiferin has several pharmacological properties, but others remain to be deeply explored, such as antitumor activity since it may serve as adjuvant agent in conventional antitumoral chemotherapy in a combined treatment. Objective: to evaluate the antiproliferative effect of the use of mangiferin alone and in combination with low con...

The present study examines the possible effect of the glucosylxanthone mangiferin (MG) on pain-related behaviors in a tonic acute pain model (formalin test at 5%) and in a chronic constriction injury (CCI) model to clarify the underlying transient and long-term mechanisms. Acute administration of MG (10-100 mg/kg, i.p.) reduced licking/biting exclu...

Context: The spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA-2) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder without specific therapy identified, and it is related to the loss of function in the cerebellum, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and neurotoxic processes. Scientific evidence indicates that Mangifera indica L. aqueous extract (MiE) and its ma...

The Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmacognosy Research (JPPRes) is an international, specialized and peer-reviewed open access journal, which publishes studies in the pharmaceutical and herbal fields concerned with the physical, botanical, chemical, biological, toxicological properties and clinical applications of molecular entities, active pharmaceutica...

Context: The aqueous extract of Mangifera indica L. stem bark (MSBE) shows antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Aims: To test the MSBE in chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve in rats, a classical model of neuropathic pain. Methods: Given the possibility that some clinical effect of MSBE can appear only after it...

Mangiferin (1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxy-2-[3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]xanthen-9-one) is a natural, bioactive, glycosylated xanthone isolated from Mangifera indica L. It displays pharmacological activities in different organs and tissues and has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory, antitumoral and antioxidant effects. However, among th...

The ischemic stroke cascade is composed of several pathophysiological events, providing multiple targets for pharmacological intervention. JM-20 (3-ethoxycarbonyl-2-methyl-4-(2-nitrophenyl)-4,11-dihydro-1H-pyrido[2,3-b][1,5]benzodiazepine) is a novel hybrid molecule, in which a benzodiazepine portion is covalently linked to a dihydropyridine ring,...

La prueba de la formalina desencadena un dolor prolongado de moderada intensidad, que mimetiza el observado en humanos con dolor crónico. La electroacupuntura experimental es un proceder parámetro-dependiente, que produce efectos diferentes sobre los sistemas bioquímicos manipulados en condiciones fisiológicas o patológicas. Es influenciada por la...

Mangifera indica L. (mango) stem bark aqueous extract (MSBE) that has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, can be obtained in Cuba. It is rich in polyphenols, where mangiferin is the main component. In this study, we have tested DNA damage and protection effects of MSBE and mangiferin on primary human lymphocytes and lymp...

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) stem bark extract (MSBE) is a natural product with biological properties and mangiferin is the major component. This paper reported the evaluation of the protective effects of MSBE and mangiferin against the toxicity induced in HepG2 cells by tert-butyl hydroperoxide or amiodarone. Nuclear morphology, cell viability, int...

Mangiferin, the main active substance of the mango tree bark (Mangifera indica L.), is known for its use in natural medicine, not only as a health enhancing panacea or adjunct therapeutic, but also for brain functions improvement. In this context, we deemed it worthwhile to establish whether mangiferin could traverse into the brain after systemic a...

The aqueous standard extract of Mangifera indica L stem bark (MSBE) is used as a food supplement in Cuba. In this study, the genotoxic effect of MSBE was measured using different variants of the in vitro Comet assay in human lymphocytes and rat hepatocytes incubated with MSBE at 37C for 1 hour. Lymphocytes were incubated with MSBE for the subcellul...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of oral administration of a novel benzodiazepine derivative, JM-20, on the neurological behavior of different rodent models, focusing on the GABAergic effect. We have also investigated the acute toxicity of oral administration of JM-20 in mice. Methods: Mice or rats received oral a...

Introduction: diosgenin and its derivatives have been described as potent anti-proliferative compounds in several tumor cell lines. However, other structurally-related compounds are reported to exert neuroprotective activity and are also included in food for human consumption. Objective: to evaluate the effect of a novel series of diogesin-derived...

Introduction: diosgenin and its derivatives have been described as potent anti-proliferative compounds in several tumor cell lines. However, other structurally-related compounds are reported to exert neuroprotective activity and are also included in food for human consumption. Objective: to evaluate the effect of a novel series of diogesin-derived...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important mediators in a number of neurodegenerative diseases and molecules capable of scavenging ROS may be a feasible strategy for protecting neuronal cells. We previously demonstrated a powerful iron-chelating action of Guttiferone-A (GA), a naturally occurring polyphenol, on oxidative stress injuries initiated...

Reactive oxygen species favor the reductive state of iron. Antioxidation, by depleting biologically active ferrous iron, could then have a stabilizing effect, akin to hypoxia, on HIF-1α; the process which controls the genetic responses to hypoxia. However, the influence of antioxidation on the hypoxic ventilatory responses (HVR) is unclear. In this...

The aqueous stem bark extract of Mangifera indica L. (MSBE) has been reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. In previous studies, we showed that MSBE and mangiferin, its main component, lower the activity of some cytochrome P-450 (P450) enzymes in rat hepatocytes and human liver microsomes. In the present study, th...

Neuroimmune activation has been proposed as a source of new targets for therapeutic intervention in neuropathic pain. Vimang® is an aqueous extract from Mangifera indica L. (common mango) that is traditionally used in Cuba for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and immunomodulatory properties. In the present case report, we determine it...

It has been accepted that neuroinflammation, oxidative stress and glial activation are involved in the central sensitization underlying neuropathic and inflammatory pain. Vimang® is the brand name of an aqueous extract of Mangifera indica L., Anacardiaceae, traditionally used in Cuba for its antioxidant, antiinflammatory, analgesic, and immunomodul...