Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2017 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 7 Articles
Background: Characterization of food lipids has triggered the development of applications for the food and health\nindustries. Thus, the lipid profiles of an increasing number of fruits and their seeds have been characterized and\nnumerous bioactive components have been isolated. The bitter gourd seed oil has aroused great interest because\nit contains relevant amounts of conjugated fatty acid �±-eleostearic acid (C18:3 9c11t13t), a positional and geometric\nisomer of �±-linolenic acid. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the phytochemical composition and quality\nparameters of the seed oil of bitter gourd grown in Brazil.\nMethods: Bitter gourd was purchased from CEAGESP (Brazilian company of fresh food storages and warehouses).\nSeeds were lyophilized, and their oil was extracted using the Soxhlet and Folch extraction methods. The profiles\nof fatty acids and phytosterols were analyzed by gas chromatography, and the acidity and peroxide values were\nevaluated by methods of the American Oil Chemistsâ�� Society (AOCS).\nResults: The Soxhlet extraction (40 % w/w) resulted in a higher yield of bitter gourd seed oil than the Folch\nextraction (16 % w/w). For both methods, �±-eleostearic acid (56 and 58 %) was the major lipid in bitter\ngourd seed oil, followed by stearic acid (C18:0; 32 and 27 %). The oil displayed high content of phytosterols\n(886 mg/100 g), mainly �²-sitosterol, and low acidity and peroxide values.\nConclusions: Bitter gourd seed oil from Brazil is an oil of good quality and its high contents of �±-eleostearic\nacid and phytosterols with potential health-beneficial properties make it an attractive plant byproduct....
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is heralded as the next big global epidemic. Hepatic de novo lipogenesis\n(DNL), the synthesis of new fatty acids from non-lipid sources, is thought to play a pivotal role in the development\nof NAFLD. While there is currently no NAFLD-specific therapeutic agent available, pharmaceutical drugs aimed at\nreducing hepatic fat accretion may prove to be a powerful ally in the treatment and management of this disease.\nWith a focus on NAFLD, the present review summarizes current techniques examining DNL from a clinical\nperspective, and describes the merits and limitations of three commonly used assays; stable-label isotope tracer\nstudies, fatty acid indexes and indirect calorimetry as non-invasive measures of hepatic DNL. Finally, the application\nof DNL assessments in the pharmacological and nutraceutical treatment of NAFLD/NASH is summarized. In a\nclinical research setting, measures of DNL are an important marker in the development of anti-NAFLD treatments....
Background: Canine keratoconjunctivitis sicca (cKCS) is an inflammatory eye condition related to a deficiency in the\ntear aqueous fraction. Etiopathogenesis of such disease is substantially multifactorial, combining the individual genetic\nbackground with environmental factors that contribute to the process of immunological tolerance disruption and, as a\nconsequence, to the emergence of autoimmunity disease. In this occurrence, it is of relevance the role of the\nphysiological immune-dysregulation that results in immune-mediated processes at the basis of cKCS. Current\ntherapies for this ocular disease rely on immunosuppressive treatments. Clinical response to treatment frequently\nvaries from poor to good, depending on the clinical-pathological status of eyes at diagnosis and on individual\nresponse to therapy. In the light of the variability of clinical response to therapies, we evaluated the use of an antiinflammatory/\nantioxidant nutraceutical diet with potential immune-modulating activity as a therapeutical adjuvant in\ncKCS pharmacological treatment. Such combination was administered to a cohort of dogs affected by cKCS in which\nthe only immunosuppressive treatment resulted poorly responsive or ineffective in controlling the ocular symptoms.\nResults: Fifty dogs of different breeds affected by immune-mediated cKCS were equally distributed and randomly\nassigned to receive either a standard diet (control, n = 25) or the nutraceutical diet (treatment group, n = 25) both\ncombined with standard immunosuppressive therapy over a 60 days period. An overall significant improvement\nof all clinical parameters (tear production, conjunctival inflammation, corneal keratinization, corneal pigment\ndensity and mucus discharge) and the lack of food-related adverse reactions were observed in the treatment\ngroup (p < 0.0001).\nConclusions: Our results showed that the association of traditional immune-suppressive therapy with the antioxidant/\nanti-inflammatory properties of the nutraceutical diet resulted in a significant amelioration of clinical signs and\nsymptoms in cKCS. The beneficial effects, likely due to the presence of supplemented nutraceuticals in the diet,\nappeared to specifically reduce the immune-mediated ocular symptoms in those cKCS-affected dogs that were poorly\nresponsive or unresponsive to classical immunosuppressive drugs. These data suggest that metabolic changes could\naffect the immune response orchestration in a model of immune-mediated ocular disease, as represented by cKCS....
Obesity and its associated metabolic syndrome continue to be a health epidemic in westernized societies and is\ncatching up in the developing world. Despite such increases, little headway has been made to reverse adverse\nweight gain in the global population. Few medical options exist for the treatment of obesity which points to the\nnecessity for exploration of anti-obesity therapies including pharmaceutical and nutraceutical compounds. Defects\nin brown adipose tissue, a major energy dissipating organ, has been identified in the obese and is hypothesized to\ncontribute to the overall metabolic deficit observed in obesity. Not surprisingly, considerable attention has been\nplaced on the discovery of methods to activate brown adipose tissue. A variety of plant-derived, natural\ncompounds have shown promise to regulate brown adipose tissue activity and enhance the lipolytic and catabolic\npotential of white adipose tissue. Through activation of the sympathetic nervous system, thyroid hormone\nsignaling, and transcriptional regulation of metabolism, natural compounds such as capsaicin and resveratrol may\nprovide a relatively safe and effective option to upregulate energy expenditure. Through utilizing the energy\ndissipating potential of such nutraceutical compounds, the possibility exists to provide a therapeutic solution to\ncorrect the energy imbalance that underlines obesity....
Lipids are the concentrated source of energy, fat soluble vitamins, essential fatty acids, carriers of flavours and many\nbio-active compounds with important role in maintaining physiological functions of biological body. Moringa\noleifera is native to Himalaya and widely grown in many Asian and African countries with seed oil content range\nfrom 35ââ?¬â??40%. Moringa oleifera oil (MOO) has light yellow colour with mild nutty flavour and fatty acids composition\nsuggests that MOO is highly suitable for both edible and non-edible applications. MOO is extremely resistant to\nautoxidation which can be used as an antioxidant for the long term stabilization of commercial edible oils. Thermal\nstability of MOO is greater than soybean, sunflower, canola and cottonseed oils. High oleic contents of MOO are\nbelieved to have the capability of increasing beneficial HDL cholesterol and decreased the serum cholesterol and\ntriglycerides. MOO applications have also been explored in cosmetics, folk medicines and skin care formulations.\nOverall, this review focuses on commercial production status, food applications, antioxidant characteristics, health\nbenefits, thermal stability, fractionation, cholesterol contents, medicinal, nutraceutical action, toxicological\nevaluation, biodiesel production, personal care formulations and future perspectives of the MOO for the stake\nholders to process and utilize MOO as a new source of edible oil for industrial purpose....
Nutraceuticals are natural bioactive products with food value and promising therapeutic properties in several\ndiseases. The use of functional foods and nutraceuticals promotes the quality and length of life in patients suffering with cancer.\nExamples of nutraceuticals of interest includes antioxidant vitamins like vitamin-C and E, carotenoids improves the efficacy of\ncancer therapy by improving immune functions, increasing tumour response to radiation or chemotherapy, decreasing toxicity\nto normal cells. The role of nutraceuticals in new era of 21st century showed enormous awareness and interest because of their\npresumed safety and potential nutritional and therapeutic effects. Healthy diet is very important in today�s lifestyle because\ngood food can protect health, strengthen immune system and fight against cancer and other diseases. Moreover today�s lifestyle\nhabits such as smoking, drinking, a lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet are prone to cancer. The best diet should include\nvariety of vegetables, fruits and whole grains for enhancing the quality and length of life. Altering a diet that includes\nconsumption of beneficial phytochemical as nutraceuticals can influence the balance and availability of dietary chemo\npreventive agents. In chemo preventive approaches, foods containing chemicals that have anticancer properties can be\nsupplemented in diet to prevent precancerous lesions from occurring. This necessitates further understanding of how\nphytochemicals can potently maintain healthy cells. In this study some of the phytochemicals which are proven to have\nanticancer activity are discussed as nutraceuticals....
Background: Adenosine 5ââ?¬â?¢-triphosphate (ATP) serves as a cellular source of energy for metabolic processes. Maintaining high levels of intracellular ATP has the potential to enhance performance. ElevATPââ??¢, a proprietary blend of ancient peat and apple extract, has twice been reported to increase intracellular blood levels of ATP in resting subjects after a single dose per os. More recently, resistance-trained males supplemented with ElevATPââ??¢ for 12 weeks, have shown increased resistancetraining- induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy. For this pilot study, we determined the acute effects of a single dose of ElevATPââ??¢ on the exercise output of subjects with sedentary lifestyles. Methods and findings: Nine healthy subjects were evaluated before, during, and after 20 minute duration stepping exercise in a blinded three-way crossover study of placebo and a single dose of ElevATPââ??¢. Two lots of ElevATPââ??¢ (Lot A and Lot B) were each compared to placebo in all subjects. Four (4) female and five (5) male subjects that did not regularly exercise were evaluated. Mean subject age was 27.3 Ã?± 5.0 years and BMI was 28.97 Ã?± 6.6 kg/mÃ?². ElevATPââ??¢ supplemented subjects (Lot A and Lot B) took a significantly greater number of steps and burned more calories than when treated with placebo. Post-exercise analysis has shown no significant changes in blood lactate or glucose levels between ElevATPââ??¢ (Lota A or Lot B) and placebo treatments. Conclusion: All nine subjects experienced an increase in exercise performance after ingesting a single dose of either of the two tested lots of ElevATPââ??¢, compared to a placebo control....
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