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Quarterly published in print and online "Inventi Impact: Nutraceuticals" publishes high quality unpublished as well as high impact pre-published research and reviews catering to the needs of researchers and professionals. The journal covers all the areas in the growing field of nutraceuticals and functional food. Articles pertaining to following are particularly welcome: antioxidants and ageing; dietary fibre, prebiotics and probiotics; functional lipids and peptides; vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements; molecular nutrition and other aspects of disease prevention and treatment.
Background\r\nDown syndrome (DS) neurons are more susceptible to oxidative stress and previous studies have shown that vitamin E was able to reduce oxidative stress and improve DS neurons'' viability. Therefore, this study was done to investigate the protective role of ?-tocotrienol (?T3) in DS neurons from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) -induced oxidative stress. The pro-apoptosis tendency of ?T3 was compared to a-tocopherol (aT) in non-stress condition as well.\r\nMethods\r\nPrimary culture of DS and euploid neurons were divided into six groups of treatment: control, H2O2, ?T3 pre-treatment with H2O2, ?T3 only, aT pre-treatment with H2O2 and aT only. The treatments were assessed by MTS assay and apoptosis assay by single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) apoptosis ELISA assay, Hoechst and Neu-N immunofluorescence staining. The cellular uptake of ?T3 and aT was determined by HPLC while protein expressions were determined by Western blot. Comparison between groups was made by the Student''s t test, one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni adjustment as well as two-way ANOVA for multiple comparisons.\r\nResults\r\nOne day incubation of ?T3 was able to reduced apoptosis of DS neurons by 10%, however ?T3 was cytotoxic at longer incubation period (14 days) and at concentrations = 100 �µM. Pre-treatment of aT and ?T3 only attenuate apoptosis and increase cell viability in H2O2-treated DS and euploid neurons by 10% in which the effects were minimal to maintain most of the DS cells'' morphology. ?T3 act as a free radical scavenger by reducing ROS generated by H2O2. In untreated controls, DS neurons showed lower Bcl-2/Bax ratio and p53 expression compared to normal neurons, while cPKC and PKC-d expressions were higher in DS neurons. On the other hand, pre-treatment of ?T3 in H2O2-treated DS neurons have reduced Bcl-2/Bax ratio, which was not shown in euploid neurons. This suggests that pre-treatment of ?T3 did not promote DS cell survival. Meanwhile ?T3 and aT treatments without H2O2 as well as pre-treatment of ?T3 and aT induced changes in cPKC and PKC-d expression in DS neurons suggesting interaction of ?T3 and aT with PKC activity.\r\nConclusion\r\nOur study suggests that ?T3 pre-treatment are not sufficient to protect DS neurons from H2O2-induced oxidative assault, instead induced the apoptosis process....
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a widespread public health problem in developing\nnations affecting greatly pregnant and lactating women. To alleviate the\ndeficiency, many strategies were set up by the Cameroonian authorities.\nHowever, the level of VAD is still very high, thus the option of supplementation\nof foods remains a very important option. The aim of this study was to\nevaluate the impact of a food supplementation with komba, a Cameroonian\ntraditional yellow maize cake, on vitamin A status of lactating mothers in\nNgaoundere town. To achieve this, 40 lactating mothers were recruited in four\nhealth facilities of the Ngaoundere town. They were dewormed and subdivided\nin two groups of 20 subjects each and fed for two months. The test\ngroup received 200 g of yellow maize cake while the control group received\n200 g of white maize. 24-hour dietary recall was used to assess their food intake\nduring the study period. Blood sample were collected at the beginning\nand the end of the study and the serum retinol determined. Results show that\nbefore the supplementation, 45% of the women had inadequate level of serum\nretinol in each group. At the end of the 2 months of supplementation, 30% of\nthe control group remained inadequate, while the totality of all the women in\nthe test group had adequate serum retinol levels (â�¥1.05 �¼mol/l). That means\nan improvement of the vitamin A status in the test group. Results also show a\nsignificant (p < 0.05) increase of 36.3% of serum retinol in the test group\nagainst 3.8% in the control group. The women of the test group had more\nchances to see their serum retinol increasing compared to the control group.\nConsumption of yellow maize cake therefore improves the vitamin A status of\nlactating mothers. The population can therefore change their habits to consume\nyellow maize instead of the white maize variety popularly consumed....
In the past 50 years or so dietary fiber has become an increasingly significant area of nutritional focus, debate, and research. Advances in food production practices have resulted in more and more refined foods being available and consumed throughout the world and particularly in developed nations such as the United States. While refined foods are typically more palatable to consumers, the content of dietary fiber is greatly reduced. Currently many diseases are believed to be associated with a lack of dietary fiber intake and furthermore significant health benefits are thought possible via increased consumption of many dietary fibers. There is not a well accepted definition for dietary fiber, but most reference the human inability to fully digest fibers, fibers being made up of various monomer units of variable length and some mention plant origin. There are many raw materials/ingredients that can increase the fiber content in foods, each with its own set of functional and sensory characteristics, include acacia gum, beta glucan, cellulose, chitin/chitosan, corn bran, corn fiber, inulin, oat Bran/oat fiber, pea fiber, pectin, polydextrose, psyllium, resistant starch, rice bran, soy fibers, wheat bran, and wheat fiber. These fibers are unique in their functional capability for treatment of number of diseases....
Background: High dietary calcium (Ca) is reported to have anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory properties. Evidence\r\nfor these properties of dietary Ca in animal models of polygenic obesity have been confounded by the inclusion of\r\ndairy food components in experimental diets; thus, effect of Ca per se could not be deciphered. Furthermore,\r\npotential anti-inflammatory actions of Ca in vivo could not be dissociated from reduced adiposity.\r\nMethods: We characterized adiposity along with metabolic and inflammatory phenotypes in diet-induced obese\r\n(DIO) mice fed 1 of 3 high fat diets (45% energy) for 12 wk: control (n = 29), high-Ca (n = 30), or high-Ca + nonfat\r\ndry milk (NFDM) (n = 30).\r\nResults: Mice fed high-Ca + NFDM had reduced body weight and adiposity compared to high-Ca mice (P <\r\n0.001). Surprisingly, the high-Ca mice had increased adiposity compared to lower-Ca controls (P < 0.001).\r\nHyperphagia and increased feed efficiency contributed to obesity development in high-Ca mice, in contrast to\r\nNFDM mice that displayed significantly reduced weight gain despite higher energy intake compared to controls\r\n(P < 0.001). mRNA markers of macrophages (e.g., CD68, CD11d) strongly correlated with body weight in all diet\r\ntreatment groups, and most treatment differences in WAT inflammatory factor mRNA abundances were lost when\r\ncontrolling for body weight gain as a covariate.\r\nConclusions: The results indicate that high dietary Ca is not sufficient to dampen obesity-related phenotypes in\r\nDIO mice, and in fact exacerbates weight gain and hyperphagia. The data further suggest that putative anti-obesity\r\nproperties of dairy emanate from food components beyond Ca....
The menopausal transition, or perimenopause, is characterized by menstrual irregularities,\nvasomotor symptoms, sleep disturbances, mood symptoms, and urogenital tract atrophy. These\nchanges can also affect the quality of life and oneâ??s self-esteem. Hormone replacement therapy\n(HRT) is considered the best option to achieve therapeutic relief of different menopausal symptoms\nbut is usually restricted to moderate or severe symptoms. Moreover, many women refuse HRT for\na variety of reasons concerning the fear of cancer and other adverse effects. According to these\nconsiderations, new topics are emerging: Dissatisfaction with drug costs and conventional\nhealthcare, desire for personalized medicines, and the public perception that â??natural is goodâ?. In\nthis context, nonhormonal therapies are mostly evolving, and it is not unusual that women often\nrequest a â??naturalâ? approach for their symptoms. The aim of this study is to investigate\nnonhormonal therapies that have been identified to reduce the menopausal symptoms....
Pre-obesity is a condition that predisposes to the risk of developing obesity, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and diabetes. Our previous study demonstrated that a Cynara cardunculus (L.) based nutraceutical named Altilix® (Bionap, Italy), containing chlorogenic acid and luteolin extracts, was able to improve several hepatic and cardio-metabolic parameters. Given this background, we conducted a post-hoc analysis of the Altilix® study in order to analyze the supplement’s effects in the subgroup of pre-obesity subjects on anthropometry (weight and waist circumference), glucose metabolism (HbA1C, HOMA-IR, and HOMA-β), lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDLcholesterol and HDL-cholesterol), hepatic functionality (FLI, AST, ALT and AST/ALT), carotidmedia thickness (CIMT) and endothelial function (FMD). Fifty subjects from the original study cohort (which consisted of 100 subjects) were chosen with BMI ≥ 25 and < 30 kg/m2. All subjects received the Altilix® supplement (150 mg/day) or placebo using a computer-based random allocation system. After six months of treatment Altilix® significantly reduced body weight, glycemic, and lipid parameters (total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol) and improved hepatic functionality, CIMT, and FMD. In conclusion, these results confirm that Altilix® supplementation has a significant effect on cardiometabolic parameters not only in obese subjects but also in pre-obesity subjects....
Inflammation and oxidative stress play a key role in the pathophysiology of advanced chronic\nliver disease (ACLD) and portal hypertension (PH). Considering the current lack of effective treatments,\nwe evaluated an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutraceutical rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)\nas a possible therapy for ACLD. We investigated the effects of two-week DHA supplementation\n(500 mg/kg) on hepatic fatty acids, PH, oxidative stress, inflammation, and hepatic stellate cell\n(HSC) phenotype in rats with ACLD. Additionally, the effects of DHA were evaluated in murine\nmacrophages and human HSC. In contrast to vehicle-treated animals, cirrhotic rats receiving DHA\nreestablished a healthy hepatic fatty acid profile, which was associated with an improvement in PH.\nThe mechanisms underlying this hemodynamic improvement included a reduction in oxidative stress\nand inflammation, as well as a marked HSC deactivation, confirmed in human HSC. Experiments\nwith cultured macrophages showed that treatment with DHA protects against pro-inflammatory\ninsults. The present preclinical study demonstrates that a nutraceutical rich in DHA significantly\nimproves PH in chronic liver disease mainly by suppressing inflammation and oxidative stress-driven\nHSC activation, encouraging its evaluation as a new treatment for PH and cirrhosis....
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited retinal dystrophy characterized by progressive\ndegeneration of the visual cells and abnormalities in retinal pigment epithelium, the\nvision is lost slowly, and the final outcome is total blindness. RP primarily affects rods,\nbut cones can also be affected as a secondary effect. Photoreceptor cell death is\nusually triggered by apoptosis, however the molecular mechanisms linking the rod\ndegeneration to the secondary cone death are poorly understood. Possible causes of\nthe secondary cone death are oxidative stress and/ or the release of toxic factors from\ndying rods. The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of nutraceutical molecules\nwith antioxidant properties, on the progression of the disease in an established animal\nmodel of RP, and rd10 mice. We show that chronic treatment per os with a flavanone\n(naringenin) or a flavonol (quercetin) present in citrus fruits, grapes and apples, preserves\nretinal morphology, and ameliorates functionality. These actions are associated with\na significant reduction of stress-oxidative markers, such as the detoxifying enzymes\nSod1 and Sod2. In addition, naringenin and quercetin treatment reduces the levels of\nacrolein staining associated with a reduction of ROS in the cellular environment. The\nstudy demonstrates the beneficial effects of naringenin and quercetin, two molecules\nthat possess antioxidant properties, limiting neurodegeneration, and thus preventing\ncone damage....
Studies suggest that migraine pain has a vascular component. The prevailing dogma is\nthat peripheral vasoconstriction activates baroreceptors in central, large arteries. Dilatation of central\nvessels stimulates nociceptors and induces cortical spreading depression. Studies investigating\nnitric oxide (NO) donors support the indicated hypothesis that pain is amplified when acutely\nadministered. In this review, we provide an alternate hypothesis which, if substantiated, may provide\ntherapeutic opportunities for attenuating migraine frequency and severity. We suggest that in\nmigraines, heightened sympathetic tone results in progressive central microvascular constriction.\nSuboptimal parenchymal blood flow, we suggest, activates nociceptors and triggers headache pain\nonset. Administration of NO donors could paradoxically promote constriction of the microvasculature\nas a consequence of larger upstream central artery vasodilatation. Inhibitors of NO production are\nreported to alleviate migraine pain. We describe how constriction of larger upstream arteries, induced\nby NO synthesis inhibitors, may result in a compensatory dilatory response of the microvasculature.\nThe restoration of central capillary blood flow may be the primary mechanism for pain relief.\nAttenuating the propensity for central capillary constriction and promoting a more dilatory phenotype\nmay reduce frequency and severity of migraines. Here, we propose consideration of two dietary\nnutraceuticals for reducing migraine risk: L-arginine and aged garlic extracts....
Obesity, and resultant health hazards which include diabetes, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome, are worldwide medical problems. Control of diet and exercise are cornerstones of the management of excess weight. Foods with a low glycemic index may reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease as well as their complications. As an alternative to a low glycemic index diet, there is a growing body of research into products that slow the absorption of carbohydrates through the inhibition of enzymes responsible for their digestion. These products include alpha-amylase and glucosidase inhibitors. The common white bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) produces an alpha-amylase inhibitor, which has been characterized and tested in numerous clinical studies. A specific and proprietary product named Phase 2�® Carb Controller (Pharmachem Laboratories, Kearny, NJ) has demonstrated the ability to cause weight loss with doses of 500 to 3000 mg per day, in either a single dose or in divided doses. Clinical studies also show that Phase 2 has the ability to reduce the post-prandial spike in blood glucose levels. Experiments conducted incorporating Phase 2 into food and beverage products have found that it can be integrated into various products without losing activity or altering the appearance, texture or taste of the food. There have been no serious side effects reported following consumption of Phase 2. Gastro-intestinal side effects are rare and diminish upon extended use of the product. In summary, Phase 2 has the potential to induce weight loss and reduce spikes in blood sugar caused by carbohydrates through its alpha-amylase inhibiting activity....
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