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Cited by 24Ocular Surface and Contact LensAdvanced Drug Delivery SystemsCorneal Surgery and Treatments

GlicoPro, Novel Standardized and Sterile Snail Mucus Extract for Multi-Modulative Ocular Formulations: New Perspective in Dry Eye Disease Management

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Mencucci, Rita, Strazzabosco, Giovanni, Cristofori, Virginia, Alogna, Andrea, Bortolotti, Daria, Gafà, Roberta, Cennamo, Michela, Favuzza, Eleonora +3 more·2021·Pharmaceutics
DOI 10.3390/pharmaceutics13122139PMC PMC8708832
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Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the mucoadhesive and regenerative properties of a novel lubricating multimolecular ophthalmic solution (GlicoPro®) extracted from snail mucus and its potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic role in the management of dry eye disease (DED). GlicoPro bio-adhesive efficacy was assessed using a lectin-based assay, and its regenerative properties were studied in a human corneal epithelial cell line. In vitro DED was induced in human corneal tissues; the histology and mRNA expression of selected genes of inflammatory and corneal damage biomarkers were analyzed in DED tissues treated with GlicoPro. A higher percentage of bio-adhesivity was observed in corneal cells treated with GlicoPro than with sodium hyaluronate-based compounds. In the scratch test GlicoPro improved in vitro corneal wound healing. Histo-morphological analysis revealed restoration of cellular organization of the corneal epithelium, microvilli, and mucin network in DED corneal tissues treated with GlicoPro. A significant reduction in inflammatory and ocular damage biomarkers was observed. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis identified an endogenous opioid, opiorphin, in the peptide fraction of GlicoPro. In conclusion, GlicoPro induced regeneration and bio-adhesivity in corneal cells; moreover, considering its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, this novel ophthalmic lubricating solution may be an innovative approach for the management of DED.

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  • Different authors provide somewhat or even quite different criteria of acceptability for standardization of snail mucus from H. aspersa.

    “Concerning the standardization of snail mucus from H. aspersa, it is worth paying attention to the fact that different authors [27,28,29,33,37] provide somewhat or even quite different criteria of acceptability (Table 1).”

    From Chemical Variability and Biological Potential of Cornu aspersum Mucus as a Source for the Development of New Cosmetic and Pharmaceutical Products (2025) · cites this paper as [37]

    The Results (section 3.1; page unavailable) say that specific analyses allowed standardization of this paper’s H. aspersa mucus extract, GlicoPro, and the Methods (section 2.2) describe what was measured. The paper therefore supplies one approach to characterization, but the passages do not give acceptability criteria or compare them with those of other authors. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Mencucci, R., Strazzabosco, G., Cristofori, V., Alogna, A., Bortolotti, D., Gafà, R., Cennamo, M., Favuzza, E., Trapella, C., Gentili, V., & Rizzo, R.
Affiliations
  • Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi (IT)
  • University of Ferrara (IT)
Corresponding author
  • Mencucci, Rita
  • Rizzo, Roberta
ORCID
Venue
Pharmaceutics
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2021-12-13
Volume
13
Issue
12
Pages
2139
ISSN
1999-4923 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/pharmaceutics13122139
PMC
PMC8708832
OpenAlex
W4200592319
Cited by
24
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1
FWCI
2.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Pharmaceutics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Institutional Research Information System University of Ferrara (University of Ferrara) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • FB Vision (NA)
  • HelixPharma srl (NA)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ocular Surface and Contact Lens
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Advanced Drug Delivery Systems
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Corneal Surgery and Treatments
Keywords
dry eye, corneal epithelial wound healing, bioadhesion, anti-inflammatory activity, opiorphin, corneal regeneration, corneal epithelium, ophthalmic preparations

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