A pathway to next-generation mast cell stabilizers identified through the novel Phytomedical Analytics for Research Optimization at scale data platform.
6 affiliations
- 1Laboratory of Pharmacology and Analytics, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University, Honolulu, HI, United States.
- 2Data Analytics Research Team, UN CIFAL Honolulu, Chaminade University, Honolulu, HI, United States.
- 3Undergraduate Program in Biology, Chaminade University, Honolulu, HI, United States.
- 4Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i, Honolulu, HI, United States.
- 5The Adra Institute, Boston, MA, United States.
- 6GB Global Biopharma, Las Vegas, NV, United States.
Abstract
Introduction
Mast cell stabilizers (MCS) have the potential to address unmet therapeutic need in allergy and inflammation management. MCS chronically suppress all arms of the pro-inflammatory mast cell response to stimulation (e.g., histamine, protease, lipid mediators, cytokines and chemokines). They may therefore outperform approaches such as H1, H2 and H4 inhibitors (antihistamines), which block only the acute histamine release by mast cells and leave the rest of the functional response untouched. Despite their potential, current MCS (e.g., cromolyn sodium, tranilast, nedocromil) in clinical use are hindered by poor bioavailability, frequent dosing, long lags to onset of relief, and enigmatic mechanisms of action. MCS have their origins in phytomedicine: cromolyn sodium is the longest standing drug in the class and is a derivatized form of khellin from Ammi visnaga, used as an anti-inflammatory. Other plant-based pharmacopeias may offer candidate 'next-generation' MCS (ngMCS) and in this study we hypothesized that a coupled pharmacoanalytic and in vitro pharmacology approach could be used to identify, prioritize and derisk additional candidate MCS from phytomedical sources for later preclinical and clinical evaluation.Methods
We report a novel data analytics workflow starting with a newly developed plant-based pharmacopeia data platform with >3.5B linkage pathways (country → medical system → formulation → indication → ingredient organism → chemical component → other parameters), covering 22 M sq. miles of biogeography and historical and contemporary timeframes. Additional data layers include druggability indices, target and pathway analyses.Results
The current study validates a subset of candidate phytomedical ngMCS using in silico workflow and in vitro pharmacology, and develops a new harmonic mean-based 'MCS score' for further streamlining of the candidate prioritization process.Discussion
This proof-of-concept study may have particular relevance for complex presentations such as Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) where ngMCS may outperform current management approaches.
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BibTeX
@article{jansen2026pathway,
title = {{A pathway to next-generation mast cell stabilizers identified through the novel Phytomedical Analytics for Research Optimization at scale data platform.}},
author = {C Jansen and B G Rice and B Wooton and J Howard and S Elmasri and T Rivera and L M N Shimoda and A J Stokes and C N Adra and A L Small-Howard and H Turner},
journal = {Frontiers in pharmacology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3389/fphar.2026.1718501},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42876804},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A pathway to next-generation mast cell stabilizers identified through the novel Phytomedical Analytics for Research Optimization at scale data platform.
AU - C Jansen
AU - B G Rice
AU - B Wooton
AU - J Howard
AU - S Elmasri
AU - T Rivera
AU - L M N Shimoda
AU - A J Stokes
AU - C N Adra
AU - A L Small-Howard
AU - H Turner
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - Frontiers in pharmacology
DO - 10.3389/fphar.2026.1718501
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42876804
AB - Introduction Mast cell stabilizers (MCS) have the potential to address unmet therapeutic need in allergy and inflammation management. MCS chronically suppress all arms of the pro-inflammatory mast cell response to stimulation (e.g., histamine, protease, lipid mediators, cytokines and chemokines). They may therefore outperform approaches such as H1, H2 and H4 inhibitors (antihistamines), which block only the acute histamine release by mast cells and leave the rest of the functional response untouched. Despite their potential, current MCS (e.g., cromolyn sodium, tranilast, nedocromil) in clinical use are hindered by poor bioavailability, frequent dosing, long lags to onset of relief, and enigmatic mechanisms of action. MCS have their origins in phytomedicine: cromolyn sodium is the longest standing drug in the class and is a derivatized form of khellin from Ammi visnaga, used as an anti-inflammatory. Other plant-based pharmacopeias may offer candidate 'next-generation' MCS (ngMCS) and in this study we hypothesized that a coupled pharmacoanalytic and in vitro pharmacology approach could be used to identify, prioritize and derisk additional candidate MCS from phytomedical sources for later preclinical and clinical evaluation.Methods We report a novel data analytics workflow starting with a newly developed plant-based pharmacopeia data platform with >3.5B linkage pathways (country → medical system → formulation → indication → ingredient organism → chemical component → other parameters), covering 22 M sq. miles of biogeography and historical and contemporary timeframes. Additional data layers include druggability indices, target and pathway analyses.Results The current study validates a subset of candidate phytomedical ngMCS using in silico workflow and in vitro pharmacology, and develops a new harmonic mean-based 'MCS score' for further streamlining of the candidate prioritization process.Discussion This proof-of-concept study may have particular relevance for complex presentations such as Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) where ngMCS may outperform current management approaches.
SN - 1663-9812
ER -