Cytokines Modulators in Plants. Chemical and Therapeutics Studies

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction
• Review of literature
  • I- Immunomodulators
  • II- Immunomodulatory plants
  • III- Immunomodulatory natural products
  • IV- Semisynthetic glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives
  • VI- Conclusion
• Material and methods:
  • Material
  • Methods
    • I- Plant material
    • II- Biological assays
    • III- Semisynthesis of 18-β-Glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives
• Results and discussion
  • I- Extraction
  • II- Fractionation
  • III- Semisynthetic derivatization
  • IV- Lymphocyte transformation assay
  • IV- Other biological bioassays
  • V- Isolation and semi-synthesis
• Summary and conclusion
• References

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This master thesis aims to explore the immunomodulatory potential of natural products and their semisynthetic derivatives. It investigates the effects of plant extracts and isolated compounds on lymphocyte transformation and other biological activities, focusing on the role of triterpenoids, particularly glycyrrhetinic acid and its derivatives.

• Immunomodulation by natural products
• Screening of immunomodulatory plant extracts
• Semisynthetic derivatization of glycyrrhetinic acid
• Biological evaluation of immunomodulatory activity
• Investigation of potential mechanisms of action

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

The thesis begins with a comprehensive review of the literature on immunomodulatory agents, including their definitions, mechanisms of action, and testing methods. It then introduces the plant materials used in the study, including a list of selected plants and their traditional uses. The methods section details the procedures for extracting and fractionating plant materials, as well as the biological assays employed to assess immunomodulatory activity, including the lymphocyte transformation assay (LTA), antioxidant assay, and cytotoxicity assay.

The results and discussion section presents the findings of the study, focusing on the immunomodulatory activity of different plant extracts, their fractions, and glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives. It highlights the most active compounds and discusses their structural features in relation to their activity. The chapter also investigates the potential mechanisms of action of the compounds, including their antioxidant and cytotoxic properties. Finally, the thesis concludes by summarizing the key findings and discussing the potential of the investigated compounds as immunomodulators.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The main keywords and focus topics of this thesis include natural immunomodulators, plant extracts, triterpenoids, glycyrrhetinic acid, semisynthetic derivatives, lymphocyte transformation assay (LTA), antioxidant activity, cytotoxic activity, and potential mechanisms of action.