The huge health-beneficial potential of polysaccharides encourages the search for novel sources and applications of these compounds. One poorly explored source of polysaccharides is the rose. The content and biological activity of polysaccharides in rose organs is an almost completely unaddressed topic, therefore, polysaccharide-rich extracts (crude polysaccharides, CPLs) from petals, leaves, hips, and achenes of Rosa rugosa Thunb. were studied for their composition and the influence on various cellular processes involved in the development of cancer and other civilization diseases. The study revealed the presence of water-soluble and -insoluble polysaccharides (including β-glucans) and protein-polysaccharide conjugates in rose organs. Rose hips were found to be the most abundant source of polysaccharides. Different polysaccharide-rich extracts showed the ability to inhibit pro-inflammatory enzymes (COX-1, COX-2, hyaluronidase), a radical scavenging effect (against DPPH^• and ABTS^•+), and antiproliferative activity (in the A549 lung and SW480 colon cancer cell lines) in in vitro assays. Therefore, rose crude polysaccharides are very promising and can potentially be used as natural chemopreventive agents.

Armillaria mellea is a commonly harvested and consumed mushroom in Poland. Several activities of polysaccharides from this species have already been reported. However, polysaccharides from A. mellea growing in the wild in Poland have not yet been investigated. This study was conducted to obtain a crude polysaccharide fraction (AmPS) and investigate its chemical composition and biological properties. Our research suggests that A. mellea is a valuable source of polysaccharides, including β-glucans. ¹H NMR and high-performance capillary electrophoresis analysis of AmPS revealed the occurrence of polysaccharides consisted of myo-inositol, mannitol, fucose, galactose, glucose, and mannose. Proteins, uronic acids, and phenolics were present only in trace amounts in the AmPS. The AmPS fraction was found to exhibit strong α-glucosidase inhibitory activity; however, no activity in relation to α-amylase was detected. The fraction was also able to inhibit pro-inflammatory enzymes, i.e., lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase, and hyaluronidase. Moderate antioxidant and antiradical activity of AmPS was revealed by the ORAC and ABTS assay, respectively. The AmPS fraction was found to have antiproliferative potential against gastric and colorectal cancer cell lines (AGS, HT-29). These findings suggest that AmPS may be considered a health-beneficial food ingredient. Since A. mellea is a commonly known edible mushroom with a long tradition of use, its polysaccharides may be considered safe components for direct consumption or production of nutraceuticals.

A new type of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was prepared and comprehensively studied. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analyses indicated that 24 nm AgNPs with narrow size distribution were obtained while Z-potential confirms their good stability. The composites of the obtained AgNPs with nontoxic-nature-inspired hydrogel were formed upon cooling of the aqueous solution AgNPs and C₁₂Ala. The thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) do not show significant shifts in the characteristic temperature peaks for pure and silver-enriched gels, which indicates that AgNPs do not strongly interact with C₁₂Ala fibers, which was also confirmed by SEM. Both AgNPs alone and in the assembly with the gelator C₁₂Ala were almost biologically passive against bacteria, fungus, cancer, and nontumor human cells, as well as zebra-fish embryos. These studies proved that the new inactive AgNPs-doped hydrogels have potential for the application in therapy as drug delivery media.

Rosa rugosa Thunb. (Rosaceae) plantations can provide industrial amounts of roots, which contain many biologically active metabolites. Here, we report the first studies of the chemical composition and pharmacological potential of a crude polysaccharide fraction obtained from R. rugosa roots (CPL-Rx). It was found that the roots contained water-soluble and -insoluble sugars, including a large amount of β-glucans (12.95 ± 0.30 g/100 g). The water-soluble fraction was found to be mostly composed of sugars (28.94 ± 0.01%), uronic acids (2.61 ± 0.41%), and polyphenols (4.55 ± 0.12%). High-performance capillary electrophoresis analysis showed that glucose was the prevalent monosaccharide (64.31%), followed by a smaller amount of galactose (11.77%), fructose (11.36%), and arabinose (4.27%). SDS-PAGE followed by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry revealed the presence of unbound protein identified as protein plastid transcriptionally active 14-Like. CPL-Rx was found to inhibit the activity of pro-inflammatory enzymes (cyclooxygenase and hyaluronidase) and to have antioxidant potential in the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay (0.302 ± 0.01 mmol Trolox/g), DPPH radical scavenging effect (EC₅₀ 3.92 ± 0.12 mg/mg DPPH^•) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay (0.134 ± 0.10 mmol Trolox/g). It also exerted a slight antiproliferative effect on SW480 (colon) and A549 (lung) cancer cell lines. Our research provides the first insights into the composition and pharmacological application of crude polysaccharides from rugosa rose roots. It suggests that CPL-Rx may potentially be used for cosmetic and bio-medical purposes, especially as an antihyaluronidase or chemopreventive agent.

Small molecules containing quinone and/or oxime moieties have been found as promising anti-fungal agents. One of them is 4-AN, a recently reported potent anti-Candida compound, which inhibits the formation of hyphae, decreases the level of cellular phosphoproteome, and finally shows no toxicity towards human erythrocytes and zebrafish embryos. Here, further research on 4-AN is presented. The results revealed that the compound: (i) Kills Candida clinical isolates, including these with developed antibiotic resistance, (ii) affects mature biofilm, and (iii) moderately disrupts membrane permeability. Atomic force microscopy studies revealed a slight influence of 4-AN on the cell surface architecture. 4-AN was also shown to inhibit multiple various protein kinases, a characteristic shared by most of the ATP-competitive inhibitors. The presented compound can be used in novel strategies in the fight against candidiasis, and reversible protein phosphorylation should be taken into consideration as a target in designing these strategies.

An aqueous solution of sodium citrate stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNP) in the presence of N-lauroyl-L-alanine (C₁₂ALA) forms a stable gel. The structure of the gel and the distribution profile of AuNP in it were analyzed. Will nanoparticles separated from each other with sodium citrate behave in the same way in solution and trapped in the gel matrix? Will the spatial limitation of solvent molecules aggregate nanoparticles and destroy their homogeneity? These questions are very important from the point of view of the use of gold nanoparticles, trapped in the gel structure as carriers of drugs in the slow-release process. The lack of homogeneity of this distribution will have a major impact on the rate of release of the appropriate amount of therapeutic drug from the matrix. In this work, we attempt to answer these questions. The performed biological assays revealed that both C₁₂ALA and C₁₂ALA-AuNP show an excellent level of biological neutrality. They might be used as a transporting medium for a drug delivery without affecting the drug’s activity.