Robert Nash, Ph.D., will discuss the anti-inflammatory properties of the patented iminosugar ido-BR1 (brand name: Q-actin™) at the Centre of Natural Products Discovery (CNPD) Annual Conference on March 2-4 at Liverpool John Moores University (UK). More information about the CNPD conference is available here.
Dr. Nash is the founder of PhytoQuest Ltd, a research and development company, and a world-renowned researcher in the field of phytochemistry. He is a pioneer in the study of iminosugars, a novel type of biologically active carbohydrate with a wide range of medicinal properties.
Iminosugars differ from other glucose molecules. A nitrogen atom has replaced the oxygen atom in the ring of the molecular structure, which can significantly affect certain cellular functions. For example, ex vivo research shows that the iminosugar ido-BR1 ((2R,3R,4R,5S)-3,4,5-trihydroxypiperidine-2-carboxylic acid, which is extracted from select cucumbers (Cucumis sativus L.), reduces LPS-induced Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α), an inflammatory cytokine that can increase metalloproteinases, enzymes that lead to a breakdown in cartilage.
In addition, ido-BR1 also inhibits α-L-iduronidase and sialidases, enzymes involved in the inflammatory process that can enable microorganisms to degrade glycosaminoglycans that support connective tissues, including articular cartilage and tendons.
Another anti-inflammatory mechanism of ido-BR1 that Dr. Nash has discovered is its ability to reduce the production of hyaluronic acid and its binding to CD44, which dampens recruitment of leukocytes to inflammatory sites in the body.