This study explores the neuropharmacological potential of various molecular and amino acid components derived from Syzygium aromaticum (clove), an aromatic spice with a long history of culinary and medicinal use. Key bioactive compounds such as eugenol, α-humulene, β-caryophyllene, gallic acid, quercetin, and luteolin demonstrate antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties by scavenging free radicals, modulating calcium channels, and reducing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Moreover, gallic acid and asiatic acid may exhibit protective effects, including neuronal apoptosis inhibition, while other useful properties of clove phytocompounds include NF-κB pathway inhibition, membrane stabilization, and suppression of pro-inflammatory pathways, possibly in neurons or other relevant cell types, further contributing to neuroprotection and cognitive enhancement. Amino acid analysis revealed essential and non-essential amino acids such as aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, and arginine in various clove parts (buds, fruits, branches, and leaves). These amino acids play crucial roles in neurotransmitter synthesis, immune modulation, antioxidant defense, and metabolic regulation. Collectively, these bioactive molecules and amino acids contribute to clove’s antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neurotrophic, and neurotransmitter-modulating effects, highlighting its potential as a preventive and therapeutic candidate for neurodegenerative disorders. While preliminary preclinical studies support these neuroprotective properties, further research, including clinical trials, is needed to validate the efficacy and safety of clove-based interventions in neuroprotection.

The study of antioxidants is of pivotal importance in biomedicine as these molecules could be involved in biological pathways associated with disease. The identification of new antioxidants together with the acquisition of a deeper knowledge on their biology, could lead to the use of these compounds as drugs for innovative treatments. Plants are an important reservoir of phytodrugs that in many cases can be isolated with good extraction yields directly from the vegetal source and are often endowed with a low toxicity profile. Georgia, a country situated on the Black Sea coast in the Caucasus region at the intersection of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, is renowned for its unique woodland habitats and immense biological diversity due to the great variety of climate zones and landscapes. Many wild plants in the area are used as remedies for a number of illnesses in the local traditional medicine. However, the scientific knowledge of these sources of natural drugs and of their molecular components is still far from exhaustive. Therefore, with the present work we reviewed the scientific literature on some of the main Georgian medicinal plants and found that several species are a valuable source of hydrophilic and hydrophobic antioxidants, endowed in some cases with a high ROS-scavenging ability. The analysis of the literature also demonstrated that most of the medicinal extracts and compounds isolated from these plants are beneficial in suppressing multiple diseases in vitro. This review will provide information for scientists looking to develop secure plant-based pharmaceuticals as well as a rationale for using Georgian medicinal plants for the treatment of a range of diseases.

This study explores the neuropharmacological potential of various molecular and amino acid components derived from Syzygium aromaticum (clove), an aromatic spice with a long history of culinary and medicinal use. Key bioactive compounds such as eugenol, α -humulene, β -caryophyllene, gallic acid, quercetin, and luteolin demonstrate antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties by scavenging free radicals, modulating calcium channels, and reducing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Moreover, gallic acid and asiatic acid exhibit protective effects, including apoptosis inhibition, while other useful properties of clove phytocompounds include NF-κB pathway inhibition, membrane stabilization, and suppression of pro-inflammatory pathways, further contributing to neuroprotection and cognitive enhancement. Amino acid analysis revealed essential and non-essential amino acids such as aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, and arginine in various clove parts (buds, fruits, branches, and leaves). These amino acids play crucial roles in neurotransmitter synthesis, immune modulation, antioxidant defense, and metabolic regulation. Collectively, these bioactive molecules and amino acids contribute to clove’s antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neurotrophic, and neurotransmitter-modulating effects, highlighting its potential as a preventive and therapeutic candidate for neurodegenerative disorders. While preliminary preclinical studies support these neuroprotective properties, further research, including clinical trials, is needed to validate the efficacy and safety of clove-based interventions in neuroprotection.

Background/Objectives: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), evolutionarily conserved components of innate immunity characterized by their broad-spectrum efficacy and minimal resistance development, are increasingly recognized as promising therapeutic candidates. This review aims to integrate current knowledge concerning natural and synthetic antimicrobial peptides and their therapeutic effectiveness in addressing gastrointestinal infections. Methods: A literature review was performed, evaluating recent peer-reviewed studies on AMPs. The research concentrated on their molecular mechanisms of action, antimicrobial spectrum, and their interactions with standard antibiotics. More in detail, the peptide classes examined herein included defensins, cathelicidins, histatins, and various natural peptides such as lactoferricin, protamines, RegIII, and hepcidin, along with synthetic analogs like WR12, D-IK8, MSI-78, and IMX942. Results: Natural AMPs demonstrated significant antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella spp., and Shigella spp. Beyond direct antimicrobial activity, antimicrobial peptides act as integrated anti-infective agents not only by modulating host–microbiota interactions, but also preserving epithelial barrier integrity, and limiting inflammation, thereby offering a multifaceted strategy to control gastrointestinal infections. On the other hand, synthetic peptides showed improved stability, reduced cytotoxicity, and synergistic interactions with antibiotics, which suggests that they could be used either alone or in combination with other treatments. Conclusions: AMPs constitute a promising category endowed with anti-infective activity, especially for therapy of intestinal diseases, which is attributed to their distinctive anti-infective mechanisms, immune-modulating characteristics, and a relatively low propensity for resistance development compared to conventional antibiotics. However, more clinical trials and improvements to their formulation are needed to translate promising in vitro results into reliable patient outcomes.

Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, and despite significant therapeutic advances over the past decade, a substantial number of patients still progress to a fatal outcome. The initiation and progression of melanoma are strongly influenced by interactions between melanoma cells and other components of the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this review, we focus on the interplay between fibroblasts resident in the tumor microenvironment and tumor cells. In particular, we examine the molecular mechanisms through which melanoma cells induce the transformation of resident fibroblasts into their active form, known as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). We also explore the role of CAFs in shaping the melanoma microenvironment (MME) and in organizing the pre-metastatic niche, a specialized microenvironment that forms in distant organs or tissues to support the survival and expansion of metastatic melanoma cells. Finally, we discuss emerging therapeutic strategies aimed at disrupting the interactions between CAFs, melanoma cells, and other components of the tumor microenvironment to improve treatment outcomes.

Background/Objectives: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), evolutionarily conserved components of innate immunity characterized by their broad-spectrum efficacy and minimal resistance development, are increasingly recognized as promising therapeutic candidates. This review aims to integrate current knowledge concerning natural and synthetic antimicrobial peptides and their therapeutic effectiveness in addressing gastrointestinal infections. Methods: A literature review was performed, evaluating recent peer-reviewed studies on AMPs. The research concentrated on their molecular mechanisms of action, antimicrobial spectrum, as well as on their interactions with standard antibiotics. More in detail, the peptide classes examined herein included defensins, cathelicidins, histatins, and various natural peptides such as lactoferricin, protamines, RegIII, and hepcidin, along with synthetic analogs like WR12, D-IK8, MSI-78, IMX942. Results: Natural AMPs demonstrated significant antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella spp., and Shigella spp. Beyond direct antimicrobial activity, intestinal antimicrobial peptides act as integrated anti-infective agents by modulating host–microbiota interactions, preserving epithelial barrier integrity, and limiting inflammation, thereby offering a multifaceted strategy to control gastrointestinal infections. On the other hand, synthetic peptides showed better stability, less toxicity, and synergistic interactions with antibiotics, which suggests that they could be used either alone or in combination with other treatments. Conclusions: AMPs constitute a promising category endowed with anti-infective activity especially for therapy of intestinal diseases, which is attributed to their distinctive anti-infective mechanisms, immune-modulating characteristics, and a relatively low propensity for resistance development compared to conventional antibiotics. However, more clinical trials and improvements to their formulation are needed to translate promising in vitro results into reliable patient outcomes.