Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2019 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
Patterned hair loss (PHL) affects around 50% of the adult population worldwide.\nThe negative impact that this condition exerts on peopleâ??s life quality has boosted the appearance\nof over-the-counter products endowed with hair-promoting activity. Nutraceuticals enriched in\npolyphenols have been recently shown to promote hair growth and counteract PHL. Malus pumila\nMiller cv. Annurca is an apple native to Southern Italy presenting one of the highest contents of\nProcyanidin B2. We have recently shown that oral consumption of Annurca polyphenolic extracts\n(AAE) stimulates hair growth, hair number, hair weight and keratin content in healthy human\nsubjects. Despite its activity, the analysis of the molecular mechanism behind its hair promoting\neffect is still partially unclear. In this work we performed an unprecedented metabolite analysis\nof hair follicles (HFs) in mice topically treated with AAE. The metabolomic profile, based on a\nhigh-resolution mass spectrometry approach, revealed that AAE re-programs murine HF metabolism.\nAAE acts by inhibiting several NADPH dependent reactions. Glutaminolysis, pentose phosphate\npathway, glutathione, citrulline and nucleotide synthesis are all halted in vivo by the treatment of\nHFs with AAE. On the contrary, mitochondrial respiration ... oxidation and keratin production are\nstimulated by the treatment with AAE. The metabolic shift induced by AAE spares amino acids from\nbeing oxidized, ultimately keeping them available for keratin biosynthesis....
Doxorubicin is a highly active antineoplastic agent, but its clinical use is limited because\nof its cardiotoxicity. Although nutraceuticals endowed with anti-inflammatory properties exert\ncardioprotective activity, their bioavailability and stability are inconsistent. In an attempt to address\nthis issue, we evaluated whether bioavailable nanoemulsions loaded with nutraceuticals (curcumin\nand fresh and dry tomato extracts rich in lycopene) protect cardiomyoblasts (H9C2 cells) from\ndoxorubicin-induced toxicity. Nanoemulsions were produced with a high-pressure homogenizer.\nH9C2 cells were incubated with nanoemulsions loaded with different nutraceuticals alone or\nin combination with doxorubicin. Cell viability was evaluated with a modified MTT method.\nThe levels of the lipid peroxidation products malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxy-2-butanone\n(4-HNA), and of the cardiotoxic-related interleukins IL-6, IL-8, IL ... and IL-10, tumor necrosis\nfactor-alpha .... and nitric oxide were analyzed in cardiomyoblasts. The hydrodynamic\nsize of nanoemulsions was around 100 nm. Cell viability enhancement was 35â??40% higher in\ncardiomyoblasts treated with nanoemulsion + doxorubicin than in cardiomyoblasts treated with\ndoxorubicin alone. Nanoemulsions also protected against oxidative stress as witnessed by a\nreduction of MDA and 4-HNA. Notably, nanoemulsions inhibited the release of IL-6, IL-8, IL ... and nitric oxide by around 35â??40% and increased IL-10 production by 25â??27% versus cells\nnot treated with emulsions. Of the nutraceuticals evaluated, lycopene-rich nanoemulsions had\nthe best cardioprotective profile. In conclusion, nanoemulsions loaded with the nutraceuticals\ndescribed herein protect against cardiotoxicity, by reducing inflammation and lipid oxidative stress.\nThese results set the stage for studies in preclinical models....
Obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are growing problems among children and adolescents. There are no reports of changes in\nthe activity of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in children and adolescents with metabolic syndrome especially after supplementation\nwith extract from Aronia melanocarpa. Materials studied included plasma and erythrocytes isolated from peripheral blood\nof patients with MetS and healthy subjects. We have estimated the following parameters: acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and\nbutyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity, lipid peroxidation and lipids levels in plasma, and erythrocytes membrane. In patients\nwith MetS, a significant increase in AChE and BChE activity, higher LDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels, and lower HDLcholesterol\nlevel were observed. Supplementation with A. melanocarpa extract resulted inmild but statistically significant reduction\nof total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triacylglycerol levels and caused an increase in HDL-cholesterol level and a decrease in\nlipid peroxidation in plasma patients withMetS. Additionally, a decrease in lipid peroxidation and cholesterol level and a decrease\nin AChE activity in the erythrocyte membranes after supplementation with A. melanocarpa were noted. Summarizing, an increase\nin AChE and BChE activity and disruption of lipid metabolism in patients with MetS were observed. After supplementation of\nMetS patients with A. melanocarpa extract, a decrease in AChE activity and oxidative stress was noted....
The focus on nanotechnology for improved bioavailability and drug delivery is of increasing\nimportance for control of different human diseases. Therefore, numerous nanoformulations have\nbeen developed for the oral bioavailability of different drugs. This review introduces applications\nof nanomedicine to enhance the biological activities of thymoquinone (TQ) to control different\ndiseases in several in vivo studies as a preliminary investigation for human disease treatment with\nnano-TQ. Nano-TQ effectively augments the anticancer roles of doxorubicin by upregulation of\nP53 and downregulation of Bcl2 and potentiates paclitaxelâ??s apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer\ncells. Moreover, nano-TQ protects against diabetes, inflammation, CNS, and hepatotoxicity, mainly\nby enhancement of organsâ?? antioxidant status. We summarize the pros and cons of several FDA\napproved nanoparticle-based therapeutics and discuss the roadblocks in clinical translation, along\nwith potential nano-TQ strategies to overcome these roadblocks. From this review, we can conclude\nthat nano-TQ may be considered as a promising nutraceutical for human health....
Fermented foods are known for several health benefits, and they are generally used among\nthe Asian people. Microorganisms involved in the fermentation process are most responsible for\nthe final quality of the food. Traditional fermented (spontaneous fermentation) foods are a versatile\nsource of bioactive molecules and bioactive microbes. Several reports are available regarding the\nisolation and characterization of potent strains from traditional fermented foods. A collection of\ninformation for easy literature analysis of bioactive microbes derived from Thai fermented food is\nnot yet available. The current manuscript compiled information on bioactive (antimicrobial- and\nenzyme-producing probiotic) microbes isolated from naturally fermented Thai foods....
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