Painful oral vesiculoerosive diseases (OVD) include lichen planus, pemphigus vulgaris, mucous membrane pemphigoid, erythema multiforme, and recurrent aphthous stomatitis. OVD lesions have an immunopathic cause. Treatment is aimed at reducing the immunologic and the following inflammatory response. The mainstay of OVD management is topical or systemic corticosteroids to include topical triamcinolone, fluocinonide, and clobetasol, whereas systemic medications used in practice can include dexamethasone, prednisone, and prednisolone. Oral herpetic lesions can be primary or recurrent. If management is desired, they can be treated by topical or systemic antiviral drugs. Topical antiviral creams include prescription acyclovir, penciclovir and over-the-counter docosanol.

The inhibition of α-glucosidase and α-amylase is a clinical strategy for the treatment of type II diabetes, and herbal medicines have been reported to credibly alleviate hyperglycemia. Our previous study has reported some constituents from plant or herbal sources targeted to α-glucosidase and α-amylase via molecular docking and enzymatic measurement, but the hypoglycemic potencies in cell system and mice have not been validated yet. This study was aimed to elucidate the hypoglycemic efficacy of docking selected compounds in cell assay and oral glucose and starch tolerance tests of mice. All test compounds showed the inhibition of α-glucosidase activity in Caco-2 cells. The decrease of blood sugar levels of test compounds in 30 min and 60 min of mice after OGTT and OSTT, respectively and the decreased glucose levels of test compounds were significantly varied in acarbose. Taken altogether, in vitro and in vivo experiments suggest that selected natural compounds (curcumin, antroquinonol, HCD, docosanol, tetracosanol, rutin, and actinodaphnine) via molecular docking were confirmed as potential candidates of α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors for treating diabetes.

The present study was aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of bioactive compounds synthesized from vermicast isolated actinomycetes species. Specifically, the synthesized bioactive compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against selected Gram + ve and Gram - ve human pathogenic bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus circulans, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Escherichia coli. Interestingly, a total of five different actinomycetes species were recovered from vermicasts. More interestingly, among these potential actinomycetes species, the bioactive compounds synthesized by isolate AS9 showed a significant antibacterial activity and its mean zone of inhibition was found at 11.3 ± 1.6 mm, 9.5 ± 0.91 mm, and 9.9 ± 1.71mm against S. aureus, B. subtilis, and B. circulans, respectively. Furthermore, according to antibacterial activity and spectrum broadness, three of the actinomycetes strains were selected and characterized by conventional methods. Subsequently, the bioactive compound profiling of these isolated actinomycetes strains performed through GC-MS analysis indicating the presence of the bioactive compounds including 3, octadecene (E), behnic alcohol phenol, 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethyl ethyl) 1-nonadecene, 1-heneicosanol, milbemycin 3-eicosene (E), and 1-docosanol.

This work reports on the oxidation of long-chain aliphatic alcohols catalyzed by a stabilized alcohol dehydrogenase from S. cerevisiae (yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH)). In particular, the oxidation of the fatty alcohol tetracosanol (C24H50O) to yield lignoceric acid (C23H47COOH) was studied. The immobilization of YADH onto glyoxyl agarose supports crosslinked with a polymer (polyethylenimine) produced a highly stable catalyst (60-fold higher than the soluble enzyme at 40 °C). Aliphatic alcohols with different chain lengths (ranging from 2 to 24 carbons) were studied as substrates for YADH. The activity of YADH with aliphatic alcohols with a chain length higher than five carbon atoms is reported for the first time. The activities obtained with the immobilized YADH were all similar in magnitude, even with long-chain fatty alcohols such as docosanol and tetracosanol. As far as the oxidation of tetracosanol is concerned, the best values of reaction rate and substrate conversion were obtained at pH = 8.2 and T = 58 °C. At these conditions, the soluble enzyme inactivated rapidly, precluding its use in batch reaction. However, using the immobilized YADH, up to three sequential reaction batches were performed by recovering the catalyst after each batch. Several applications in the green oleochemical industry, e.g., for making plasticizers, lubricants, detergents, and personal care products, may benefit from having novel and stable biocatalysts able to oxidize long-chain fatty alcohols.

Docosanol is an over-the-counter topical agent that has proved to be one of the most effective therapies for treating herpes simplex labialis. However, the mechanism by which docosanol suppresses lesion formation remains poorly understood. To elucidate its mechanism of action, we investigated the uptake of docosanol in living cells using coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy. Based on direct visualization of the deuterated docosanol, we observed highly concentrated docosanol inside living cells 24 h after drug treatment. In addition, different spatial patterns of drug accumulation were observed in different cell lines. In keratinocytes, which are the targeted cells of docosanol, the drug molecules appeared to be docking at the periphery of the cell membrane. In contrast, the drug molecules in fibroblasts appeared to accumulate in densely packed punctate regions throughout the cytoplasm. These results suggest that this molecular imaging approach is suitable for the longitudinal tracking of drug molecules in living cells to identify cell-specific trafficking and may also have implications for elucidating the mechanism by which docosanol suppresses lesion formation.

Production of chemicals and biofuels through microbial fermentation is an economical and sustainable alternative for traditional chemical synthesis. Here we present the construction of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae platform strain for high-level production of very-long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA)-derived chemicals. Through rewiring the native fatty acid elongation system and implementing a heterologous Mycobacteria FAS I system, we establish an increased biosynthesis of VLCFAs in S. cerevisiae. VLCFAs can be selectively modified towards the fatty alcohol docosanol (C22H46O) by expressing a specific fatty acid reductase. Expression of this enzyme is shown to impair cell growth due to consumption of VLCFA-CoAs. We therefore implement a dynamic control strategy for separating cell growth from docosanol production. We successfully establish high-level and selective docosanol production of 83.5 mg l-1 in yeast. This approach will provide a universal strategy towards the production of similar high value chemicals in a more scalable, stable and sustainable manner.

Medications should be employed with caution in women of childbearing age who are pregnant or considering pregnancy. Compared to oral or parenteral agents, topical medications have limited systemic absorption and are deemed safer. However, their safety profile must be assessed cautiously due to the limited available data. In this article, we aggregate human and animal studies to provide recommendations on utilizing topical antiviral and antifungal medications in pregnancy. For antiviral medications, acyclovir and trichloroacetic acid are safe to use in pregnancy. Docosanol, imiquimod and penciclovir are likely safe, but should be utilized as second-line agents. Podofilox and podophyllin resin should be avoided. For antifungal medications, clotrimazole, miconazole and nystatin are considered first-line agents. Butenafine, ciclopirox, naftifine, oxiconazole and terbinafine may be utilized after the above agents. Econazole should be avoided during the first trimester and used sparingly during 2nd and 3rd trimester. Ketoconazole and selenium sulphide are likely safe, but should be employed in limited areas for brief periods.