Current Issue : April-June Volume : 2023 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 5 Articles
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....
The zebrafish is a popular organism to test the toxicity of compounds. Here, we evaluate the acute and reproductive toxicity of Ormona SI® (OSI) and RC® (ORC), two herbal products developed for menopausal women with tocotrienols, geranylgeraniol, isoflavones, and anthocyanins. The acute toxicity was evaluated by behavioral alterations, lethality, and tissue changes (intestine, liver, kidney) after oral treatment with high product doses (500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg). The reproductive toxicity was evaluated after 21 days of oral treatment with OSI and ORC at 200 mg/kg. Our results show that the LD50 could not be assessed due to the low mortality rate even with the highest dose; the behavioral alterations were not different from those of the group treated only with the vehicle (2% DMSO). The tissue changes were minor in OSI and more severe in ORC at the highest (2000 mg/kg) dose, while no tissue abnormality was observed at 500 mg/kg. In the reproductive assessment, continuous treatment could decrease the maturation of the reproductive cells, which also significantly decreases the egg spawning. This effect was attributed to the estrogenic activity of the isoflavones. In conclusion, the acute toxicity analysis shows that the products did not elicit lethal or sublethal effects observed in the model when used up to 500 mg/kg. Regarding the reproductive toxicity, decreased fertility was observed, which was expected due to the presence of isoflavones (phytoestrogens). Considering that the product is intended for menopausal and postmenopausal women, the presence of isoflavones is beneficial. Further studies should be performed to corroborate these results in mammals....
Background: One of the major threats to human health is malignancy. Treatment regimens usually followed by either chemo or radiotherapy have a wide range of collateral unwanted side effects. Scientists seek alternatives with less or no adverse consequences. Nutraceuticals possess disease-modifying implications in medicine related to Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular, Parkinson’s diseases and malignancy. Apricot oil extract is one such nutraceutical. Its active component is amygdalin, known also as vitamin B.17 or laetrile. It is found in a wide range of vegetable species. Amygdalin is found in high concentration in the kernels of rosaceous fruits such as bitter nuts and apricot kernels. Amygdalin is an aromatic cyanogenic component with a glycoside group. It has a diverse effect on different systems and organs of the body. Recently, it has shown an anticancer potential as it can decompose carcinogenic elements found in the body and kill malignant cells, so it results in cancer growth inhibition. There is a great debate related to the cyanide toxicity of amygdalin. The presented study aims to evaluate apricot oil extract’s impact on squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, HNO97, while testing its safety on non-tumorigenic oral epithelial cells. Results: HNO97 cell line viability was markedly decreased. This may be induced by the upregulation of autophagy, apoptosis enhancement as well as cell cycle arrest. Cancer cell migration was also decreased. Apricot oil caused no significant inhibition of normal OEC viability in low doses. Conclusions: Apricot oil extract from apricot kernel had a notably antitumorigenic impact on oral cancer cells. It may be later subjected to pre- as well as clinical trials....
Bladder cancer is a highly recurrent disease and a common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite recent developments in diagnosis and therapy, the clinical outcome of bladder cancer remains poor; therefore, novel anti-bladder cancer drugs are urgently needed. Natural bioactive substances extracted from marine organisms such as sea cucumbers, scallops, and sea urchins are believed to have anti-cancer activity with high effectiveness and less toxicity. Frondoside A is a triterpenoid glycoside isolated from sea cucumber, Cucumaria frondosa. It has been demonstrated that Frondoside A exhibits anti-proliferative, anti-invasive, anti-angiogenic, anti-cancer, and potent immunomodulatory effects. In addition, CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (CpG-ODN) has also been shown to have potent anti-cancer effects in various tumors models, such as liver cancer, breast cancer, and bladder cancer. However, very few studies have investigated the effectiveness of Frondoside A against bladder cancer alone or in combination with CpG-ODN. In this study, we first investigated the individual effects of both Frondoside A and CpG-ODN and subsequently studied their combined effects on human bladder cancer cell viability, migration, apoptosis, and cell cycle in vitro, and on tumor growth in nude mice using human bladder cancer cell line UM-UC-3. To interrogate possible synergistic effects, combinations of different concentrations of the two drugs were used. Our data showed that Frondoside A decreased the viability of bladder cancer cells UM-UC-3 in a concentrationdependent manner, and its inhibitory effect on cell viability (2.5 μM) was superior to EPI (10 μM). We also showed that Frondoside A inhibited UM-UC-3 cell migration, affected the distribution of cell cycle and induced cell apoptosis in concentration-dependent manners, which effectively increased the sub-G1 (apoptotic) cell fraction. In addition, we also demonstrated that immunomodulator CpG-ODN could synergistically potentiate the inhibitory effects of Frondoside A on the proliferation and migration of human bladder cancer cell line UM-UC-3. In in vivo experiments, Frondoside A (800 μg/kg/day i.p. for 14 days) alone and in combination with CpG-ODN (1 mg/kg/dose i.p.) significantly decreased the growth of UM-UC-3 tumor xenografts, without any significant toxic side-effects; however, the chemotherapeutic agent EPI caused weight loss in nude mice. Taken together, these findings indicated that Frondoside A in combination with CpG-ODN is a promising therapeutic strategy for bladder cancer....
Overweight/obesity is often associated with a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The study aim was to investigate the effects of a nutraceutical supplementation associated to a Mediterranean-hypocaloric-diet (MHD) on ultrasound-liver-steatosis (ULS) grade improvement in overweight/obese patients with NAFLD. A total of 68 subjects (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) with NAFLD were recruited, randomized into 2 groups and treated for 3 months: the Nutraceutical group was treated with MHD plus nutraceutical supplementation (Vitamin E, L-glutathione, silymarin and hepato-active compounds); the Control-group only with a MHD. Anthropometric measurements, body composition, biochemical parameters and Hepatic steatosis index (HSI) were evaluated at baseline and after 3 months; patients with HSI >36 underwent a liver ultrasound to determine liver steatosis grade (3 severe, 2 moderate, 1 mild). In all patients, a significant improvement in nutritional and biochemical parameters was observed after treatment. After treatment, the nutraceutical group showed a significant improvement in hepatic steatosis, either according to ULS-grade (11.1% and 5.6% of patients with mild and moderate liver steatosis, respectively, showed a complete NAFLD regression; 33.3% and 22.2% of patients with moderate and severe liver steatosis, respectively showed a regression to mild liver steatosis), or according to HSI (49.3 ± 10.1 vs. 43.3 ± 9.0, p = 0.01), suggesting that a healthy diet is still the best choice, although the use of specific supplements can enhance the efficacy of dietary intervention in overweight/obese patients with NAFLD....
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