Use of inositol triphosphate for the treatment of inflammations

Abstract: A pharmaceutical composition containing as a pharmaceutically active ingredient at least one isomer of inositol triphosphate (IP₃) in an amount sufficient to reduce the negative effect of lead, mercury, nickel or chromium in the body.

Description: FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to the use of inositol triphosphate in the preparation of a medicament for preventing or alleviating inflammatory conditions. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Even as early as the year 1900, different researchers had reported the finding of the organic phosphate compound phytic acid, i.e. 1.2.3.4.5.6-hexakis (dihydrogenphosphate) myo-inositol (also sometimes called inositol-hexaphosphoric acid) in plants. The content of phytic acid in different plants varies considerably. The content in grain is usually approximately 0.5-2%, with certain exceptions. Polished rice has a level of only 0.1% while wild rice contains as much as 2.2% phytic acid. Beans contain about 0.4-2%, oil plants approximately 2-5% and pollen 0.3-2%. The content of phytic acid in the plant varies during the growth period. The content is also influenced by, among other things, the climate. In the literature there are reports on the presence of inositol pentaphosphate (IP 5 ) and inositol tetraphosphate (IP 4 ) in a few plants. It is further known that phosphate derivatives lower than IP 6 are formed at germination of grain. For instance the final products at the germination are inositol and phosphate. The use of IP 6 has been described in several scientific publications. The majority of the authors of these articles have observed several negative effects on humans and animals when consuming IP 6 or substances containing IP 6 . Feeding dogs with too high an amount of IP 6 gives rise for example to rachitis. In humans lack of zinc and as a consequence thereof slower growth of children has been observed. Anemia has been observed mainly in women. Because of the above mentioned negative effects on the mineral balance in humans and animals, attempts have so far been made to reduce the intake of IP 6 and its derivatives to a minimum. From C.A. Vol. 33 (1939), Abstr. No. 7351, No. 3/4 the use of phosphates including inositol phosphates as an anti-rachitic diet has been reported. No reference is made to specific inositol phosphates and nothing has been said in regard to inflammatory conditions. U.S. patent 4,473,563 discloses the extracorporeal treatment of erythrocytes to incorporate therein inositol phosphates to improve the oxygen supply. Then erythrocytes are separated from drawn blood which has been pumped out of the body for that purpose. After complicated treatment of erythrocytes the latter are re-introduced into the blood. There is no disclosure of administering inositol phosphates directly to the body. In U.S. patent 2,723,938 the use of inositol phosphates is disclosed for stabilizing dispersions of acqueous suspension of penicillin. This ensures that brief simple manual shaking will restore a state of complete and uniform dispersion of the penicillin after prolonged storage. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention it has quite unexpectedly been found that inositol triphosphate (IP 3 ), preferably in salt form, is useful to prevent or alleviate inflammatory conditions. Thus, the use of inositol triphosphate (IP 3 ), preferably in salt form, for preparing a medicament for preventing or alleviating inflammatory conditions has been provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS For production of the isomer or isomers of IP 3 which accomplish the above objective and which is present in the use according to the invention, one or more of the compounds IP 6 , IP 5 or IP 4 or a natural product containing at least one of these compounds can be used as a starting material. In the cases where the starting material is a natural product, one with a content of at least 0.3%, preferably at least 1% of inositol phosphate (IP 6 + IP 5 + IP 4 ) is preferably chosen. Particularly suitable products are beans, bran, pollen and oil plants. The composition used in the present invention should preferably contain at least 10%, most preferably at least 20%, or better yet at least 40% IP 3 calculated on the inositol content of the starting material. As high a level as possible of IP 3 in the composition is aimed at, as IP 3 has the best therapeutic effect according to experiments shown below. The IP 3 isomers present in the composition according to the invention can, for example, be produced by: 1) Enzymatic breakdown starting from IP 4 , IP 5 and/or IP 6 . 2) Chemical hydrolysis starting from IP 4 , IP 5 and/or IP 6 . 3) Chemical synthesis starting, for example, with inositol, IP 1 , IP 2 and phosphate. 4) Enzymatic synthesis starting for example with from inositol, IP 1 , IP 2 and phosphate. 5) Microbiological production (including also hybrid DNA-techniques). 6) Chemical or enzymatic migration of inositol phosphate or 7) Chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis of substituted inositol phosphate. A combination of two or more of the above mentioned procedures may also be used. According to the invention a procedure where the above mentioned higher inositol phosphates IP 6 , IP 5 and/or IP 4 are broken down enzymatically to IP 3 with phytase enzyme, for instance, is preferred. Phytase enzyme is normally present in all inositol phosphate containing plants and seeds. Because of this it is, according to the invention, usually not necessary to add the enzyme if a natural product is used as starting material. In the cases where the natural product has too low an enzymatic activity or when IP 6 , IP 5 or IP 4 or a mixture of these is used as starting material, a phytase enzyme, for example, from bran is added. A suitable way to treat the natural or crude starting material is to pretreat it, for instance by breakage or removal of outer membrane and removal of unwanted constituents. Thus, when using pollen the allergens should be removed. Thereafter, the material is soaked in water to make the inositol phosphate available for breaking down and to activate the enzyme. In the cases where an extra quantity of enzymes is necessary, this quantity is added at this stage. The enzyme is then allowed to act for so long a time as is necessary for the intended degree of hydrolysis to be achieved. The hydrolysis takes place at a suitable temperature, usually 20-70 o C, preferably 30-40 o C and at optimal pH-level for the phytase present. In order to stop the hydrolysis at the intended level the enzyme may be destroyed or inactivated, for instance by a rapid heating of the hydrolysed starting material. This also ensures that an uncontrolled and undesired continued hydrolysis of IP 3 in the stomach will not continue when the composition is administered. In order to transfer the material to a form which is stable at storage it can suitably be freeze dried. Yeast can be used advantageously as a source of phytase. Preferably baker's yeast is used. When using yeast essentially only one isomer of IP 3 is obtained, namely D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate. The above mentioned procedure, in applicable parts with possible modifications, can be used also when one or more of the compounds IP 6 , IP 5 or IP 4 per se are used as starting material. The pharmaceutical composition according to the invention comprises as a pharmaceutically active ingredient at least one isomer of inositol triphosphate (IP 3 ). It is suitable that the composition according to the invention exists in unit dosage form. Tablets, granulates or capsules are suitable administration forms for such unit dosage. Furthermore, tablets and granulates can easily be surface treated such as to provide an enteric coating to prevent an uncontrolled hydrolysis in the stomach and to bring about a desired absorption in the intestine. Other suitable administration forms are slow release and transdermal administration. A usual pharmaceutically acceptable additive, excipient and/or carrier can be included in the composition. The tablets or granulates can also contain a disintegrant which causes the tablets or the granulates, respectively, to disintegrate easily in the intestine. In certain cases, especially in acute situations, it is preferable to use the unit dosage in the form of a solution for intravenous administration. The pharmaceutical composition can also consist as such of IP 3 solely without any additive, excipient or carrier. If desired, the composition can be free of other inositol phosphates IP 1 , IP 2 , IP 4 , IP 5 and IP 6 . Accordingly, the mixture of IP 3 isomers can have a purity of 90-100%, such as 93-100% or preferably 95-100%. Alternatively, the pharmaceutical composition can consist of or comprise one or more specific IP 3 isomers disclosed hereinafter, each present in substantially pure form. Thus, the different isomers can be isolated from each other in substantially pure form, which means that they have a purity of 80-100%, such as 82-100% or 85-100%, preferably 90-100%. Since the isomers can be produced in pure form they can be mixed in any proportion, of course. The production of IP 3 and the isolation of the different isomers thereof are disclosed in the U.S. patent application 788,829 filed on October 18, 1985 and the equivalent U.K. patent application 2,169,602 for instance. It is in most cases suitable that the IP 3 -isomer or isomers in the composition according to the invention are present in salt form in order not to affect the mineral balance negatively. The salt should preferably consist of a sodium, calcium, zinc or magnesium salt or a mixture of two or more of these salts. Calcium and zinc salts or mixtures of these are especially preferred. The isomer of IP 3 can also partly be present as a salt of one or more physiologically acceptable compounds in the lanthanide series; i.e. La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu. For the above mentioned reasons it is also an advantage if the composition contains a surplus or an extra addition of at least one pharmaceutically acceptable salt of calcium, zinc or magnesium with a mineral acid or organic acid. This is especially valuable for older persons who are often deficient in these minerals. The composition according to the present invention can preferably also contain at least one substance containing selenium, an unsaturated fatty acid, such as gamma linoleic acid, vitamin E, vitamin C or a pharmaceutically acceptable organic acid or salt thereof, such as citrate, oxalate, malonate and tartrate. These substances also help to counteract the negative effect of lead, mercury, nickel and/or chromium in the body and/or to give in addition thereto, in certian cases, a desirable effect together with the IP 3 isomer in the composition. The content of selenium in the composition is preferably such that the daily intake is about 0.7-8 µg/kg body weight preferably 0.7-3.3 µg/kg. For vitamin E the corresponding values are about 0.1-2 mg and 0.1-1 mg, respectively. The composition is suitably free from penicillin. The preferred dosage for humans falls within the range of 0.1 to 10 mg IP 3 /day/kg body weight. In animal experiments, no toxic effects were seen after administration of very high doses of IP 3 , 160 mg/kg body weight by intravenous injection to mice or 1600 mg/kg body weight by intraperitoneal injection to mice. The composition used in the present invention contains at least one, sometimes two or more of the following substances, which correspond to the essential IP 3 -isomer or isomers mentioned above: D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate of the formula where X is hydrogen, at least one univalent, divalent or multivalent cation, or a mixture thereof, n is the number of ions, and z is the charge of the respective ion; D-myo-inositol-1.2.5-triphosphate of the formula where X, n and z have the above mentioned meaning; myo-inositol-1.2.3.-triphosphate of the formula where X, n and z have the above mentioned meaning; L-myo-inositol-1.3.4-triphosphate of the formula where X, n and z have the above mentioned meaning; and D-myo-inositol-1.4.5-triphosphate of the formula where X, n and z have the above mentioned meaning. In each of the above formulas n ranges between 6 to 1 inclusive and z ranges from 1 to 6 inclusive. Preferably, n is between 3 to 6 inclusive and z is 3, 2 or 1. Of above isomers D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate is preferred. IP 3 may be the sole pharmaceutically active ingredient in the composition. However, also other pharmaceutically active ingredients can be present therein. The amount of IP 3 should then constitute 5 to 95 or 15 to 80, such as 25 to 60 per cent by weight of said active ingredients. Moreover, the composition can be a multi-vitamin unit containing 2 to 60, such as 2 to 40 or preferably 2 to 25 per cent by weight of IP 3 based on the total weight of pharmaceutically active ingredients. The composition usually contains 0.01-1.5 g, such as 0.05-1.3 or preferably 0.1-1 g of IP 3 . The invention also comprises a method of preventing or alleviating inflammatory conditions. The method comprises administering to a human or an animal an amount of inositol triphosphate sufficient to obtain said prevention or alleviation. The invention is further explained below in connection with embodiment examples of which examples 1-7 show the production of IP 3 and separation thereof into different isomers. In example 8 the manufacture of a solution of a potassium salt of D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate for injection is shown. Example 9 finally describes manufacture of tablets of a calcium salt of D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate. Example 1 Hydrolysis of sodium phytate with wheat phytase and fractionation of a mixture of inositolphosphates. A 1.6 gram quantity of sodium phytate (from corn, Sigma Chemical Co.) was dissolved in 650 ml sodium acetate buffer, pH 5.2. 2.7 gram wheat phytase (EC 3.1.3.26, 0.015 U/mg, from Sigma Chemical Co.) was added and the mixture was incubated at 38 o C. The dephosphorylation was followed by determining the inorganic phosphorus released. After 3 hours when 50% inorganic phosphorus was liberated the hydrolysis was stopped by adding 30 ml ammonia to pH 12. A liquid mixture containing inositolphosphates was obtained. 350 ml of the mixture was passed through an ion-exchange column (Dowex 1, chloride form, 25 mm x 250 mm) and eluted with a linear gradient of hydrochloric acid (0-0.7 N HCl). Aliquots of eluted fractions were completely hydrolyzed in order to determine the contents of phosphorus and inositol. The peaks correspond to different inositolphosphates, i.e. a peak with the ratio of phosphorus to inositol of three to one consists of inositoltriphosphate etc. Two fractions with the ratio of phosphorus to inositol of three to one were obtained. Example 2 Fractionation of inositoltriphosphates. 100 ml of the first fraction obtained in Example 1 with a phosphorus/inositol ratio of three to one was neutralized and precipitated as a bariumsalt after addition of 10% excess of 0.1 M bariumacetate solution. 600 mg of the precipitated salt was dissolved in 50 ml diluted hydrochloric acid. The solution was separated on an ion-exchange column (Dowex 1, chloride form, 25 mm x 2500 mm) with diluted hydrochloric acid as eluent. Aliquots of eluted fractions were analyzed for phosphorus. Three peaks consisting of isomers of inositoltriphosphates could be seen. Example 3 Structural determination of isomers of inositoltriphosphates with NMR. The three peaks obtained in Example 2 were analyzed by H-NMR. Data show that the peaks consist of myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate, myo-inositol-1.2.3-triphosphate and myo-inositol-1.3.4-triphosphate respectively. The second fraction obtained in Example 1 with a phosphorus/inositol ratio of three to one was analyzed by H-NMR. Data show that the fraction consists of myo-inositol-1.2.5-triphosphate. Example 4 Determination of optical isomers of inositoltriphosphate. 20 mg of the compounds determined with NMR according to Example 3 to be myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate and myo-inositol-1.3.4-triphosphate were further chromatographed on a chiral column based on acetylated cellulose (20 mm x 300 mm from Merck) with a mixture of ethanol and water as eluent. The fractions were analyzed with a polarimeter. Each compound consists of one optical isomer, D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate and L-myo-inositol-1.3.4-triphosphate respectively. Example 5 Hydrolysis of sodium phytate with baker's yeast and fractionation of a mixture of inositolphosphates. A 0.7 gram quantity of sodium phytate (from corn, Sigma Chemical Co.) was dissolved in 600 ml sodium acetate buffer pH 4.6. 50 gram of baker's yeast from Jästbolaget, Sweden (dry substance: 28%, nitrogen content: 2%, phosphorus content: 0.4%) was added with stirring and incubation was continued at 45 o C. The dephosphorylation was followed by determining the inorganic phosphorus released. After 7 hours when 50% inorganic phosphorus was liberated the hydrolysis was stopped by adding 30 ml of ammonia to pH 12. The suspension was centrifuged and the supernatent was collected. 400 ml of the supernatent was passed through an ion-exchange column (Dowex 1, chloride form, 25 mm x 250 mm) and eluted with a linear gradient of hydrochloric acid (0-0.7 N HCl). Aliquots of eluted fractions were completely hydrolyzed in order to determine the contents of phosphorus and inositol. The peaks correspond to different inositolphosphates, i.e. a peak with the ratio of phosphorus to inositol of three to one consists of inositoltriphosphates etc. Example 6 Structural determination of isomers of inositoltriphosphate. The fraction obtained in Example 5 with a phosphorus/inositol ratio of three to one was neutralized and evaporated before analysis with H-NMR. Data show that the peak consists of myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate. Example 7 Determination of optical isomers of myo-inositol-triphosphate. The same method was used as described in Example 4 with the difference that 10 mg of the compound determined with NMR according to Example 10 was analyzed. The compound consists of one optical isomer, D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate. Example 8 Solution of potassiumsalt of D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate for injection. 0.5 g of the potassiumsalt of IP 3 and 0.77 g NaCl were dissolved in 98.73 ml of water for injection to form a solution suitable for injection into a person or an animal. Example 9 Tablets of calciumsalt of D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate. Tablets of the calciumsalt of D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate were produced in the following way. 50 g calciumsalt of D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate, 132 g lactose and 6 g acacia were mixed. Purified water was then added to the mixture, whereupon the mixing was continued until a suitable consistency was obtained. The mixture was sieved and dried. Then the mixture was blended with 10 g talcum and 2 g magnesium stearate. The mixture was compressed into tablets each weighing 200 mg. For purposes of further understanding the invention, formulas are given below of the IP 3 isomers of the invention. Formulas are also given for IP 6 , IP 5 , IP 4 and IP 2 . The lower phosphate-esters of myoinositol are named depending on where the phosphoric acid groups are situated on the inositol ring, with the numbering giving as low position numbers as possible. L and D stand for clock-wise and counterclock-wise counting respectively, and are used depending on which result gives the lowest position number. The carbon atom which has an axial phosphoric acid group always has the position number 2. The structural formulas below are simplified to the acid form.

Claims: The use of inositol triphosphate for the preparing of a medicament for preventing or alleviating inflammatory conditions. The use according to claim 1, wherein said inositoltriphosphate is in salt form. The use according to claim 2, wherein said inositoltriphosphate salt is a salt of sodium, calcium, zinc or magnesium or a mixture of two or more thereof. The use according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the medicament is in tablet or granulated form. The use according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the medicament is in the form of a solution. The use according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the medicament is further comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of mineral acid or organic acid with at least one of calcium, zinc or magnesium. The use according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the medicament is further comprising at least one additive selected from the group consisting of a selenium compound, an unsaturated fatty acid such as gamma linolenic acid, vitamin E, vitamin C and a pharmaceutically acceptable organic acid or salt thereof. The use according to claim 7, wherein said salt is a citrate, oxalate, malonate or tartrate. The use according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the medicament is free from penicillin. The use according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the medicament is containing at least one other pharmaceutically active ingredient in addition to IP 3 . The use according to claim 10, wherein the amount of IP 3 is in the range of 5-95 per cent by weight of the active ingredients. The use according to claim 10, wherein the medicament is a multi-vitamin unit containing 2-60 per cent by weight of IP 3 based on the total weight of pharmaceutically active ingredients. The use according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein the medicament is containing 0.01-1.5 g of IP 3 . The use according to any one of claims 1-13, wherein IP 3 has the formula where three A is OH and three A is OPO 3 2- , X is hydrogen and/or at least one univalent, divalent or multivalent cation; n is the number of ions; and z is the charge of the respective ions. The use according to claim 14, wherein n ranges between 6 to 1 inclusive, z ranges between 1 to 6 inclusive and n is preferably between 3 to 6 inclusive and z is 3, 2 or 1. The use according to claim 14, wherein said IP 3 comprises D-myo-inositol-1.2.6-triphosphate with the formula where X is hydrogen or at least one univalent, divalent or multivalent cation; n is the number of ions; and z is the charge of the respective ion. The use according to claim 14, wherein said IP 3 comprises D-myo-inositol-1.2.5-triphosphate with the formula where X is hydrogen or at least one univalent, divalent or multivalent cation; n is the number of ions; and z is the charge of the respective ion. The use according to claim 14, wherein said IP 3 comprises myo-inositol-1.2.3-triphosphate with the formula where X is hydrogen or at least one univalent, divalent or multivalent cation; n is the number of ions; and z is the charge of the respective ion. The use according to claim 14, wherein said IP 3 comprises L-myo-inositol-1.3.4-triphosphate with the formula where X is hydrogen and/or at least one univalent, divalent or multivalent cation; n is the number or ions; and z is the charge of the respective ion. The use according to claim 14, wherein said IP 3 comprises D-myo-inositol-1.4.5-triphosphate with the formula where X is hydrogen and/or at least one univalent, divalent or multivalent cation; n is the number of ions; and z is the charge of the respective ion. The use according to any one of claims 1-20, wherein the medicament is in a pharmaceutical unit dosage form and further comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, excipient or additive.

Inventors: SIREN MATTI, SIREN, MATTI, Sirén, Matti
Applicants: PERSTORP AB
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A61K31
IPC codes: A61K31