Dietary polyphenols modulate intestinal barrier defects and inflammation in a murine model of colitis

Some polyphenols have been shown to promote the tight junction (TJ) barrier in intestinal cells. The present study investigated the ameliorative effects of polyphenols, curcumin, quercetin, naringenin or hesperetin, on experimental colitis with a particular focus on the TJ barrier in mice. Administration of dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) caused severe colon damage, indicated by body weight loss, clinical scores, and colon shortening, and TJ barrier impairment, indicated by FITC-dextran permeability. Supplemental feeding of polyphenols (0.3% (w/w)), curcumin, quercetin, naringenin or hesperetin, partially restored these symptoms although the levels of amelioration differed among the polyphenols tested. Feeding naringenin led to more effective restoration. The feeding of each polyphenol restored the expression of TJ proteins, such as zonula occludens-1, occludin, junctional adhesion molecule-A, and claudin-3, impaired by DSS administration. The colon barrier integrity correlated closely with the level of inflammation. Collectively, supplemental feeding of these polyphenols restores DSS-induced colitis, at least in part, through regulation of the colonic TJ barrier.     

Isolation and tentative identification of a new constituent of bourbon vanilla bean extract

Separation of a fragrant 5-piperidone compound, containing three methyl groups and also of methylbenzoate from bourbon vanilla bean extract was achieved by liquid chromatography and by gas-liquid partition chromatography, respectively.     

Utilization of adzuki bean extract as a natural antioxidant in cured and uncured cooked pork sausages

A commercial adzuki bean extract (AE) was evaluated for antioxidant effectiveness in cured and uncured cooked pork sausages. TBARS values, instrumental color evaluation and sensory panel scores were assessed. For uncured sausages, AE at 0.2% was equally effective as 0.1% butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in reducing TBARS values. Similarly, AE at 0.2% significantly (P<0.01) reduced the TBARS in cured sausages. Incorporation of 0.2% AE into sausages produced higher (P<0.05) CIE lab color a* value and lower (P<0.05) L* and b* values. Sensory panels did not detect any difference in color, odor, taste, flavor, and overall acceptance in uncured pork sausages with addition of 0.2% AE. However, there were adverse changes in the color and odor of cured sausages, even though the taste, flavor, and overall acceptance were similar. Therefore, the results suggest that AE is a potential antioxidant.     

Anti-obesity role of adzuki bean extract containing polyphenols: in vivo and in vitro effects

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of polyphenol‐rich adzuki bean extract on lipid metabolism, triglyceride accumulation and proinflammatory cytokine secretion in vivo and in vitro. RESULTS: For the in vivo study, rats were divided into four groups: group C was fed a control diet, group A was fed the control diet with 1% adzuki bean extract, group CF was fed a high fat diet, and group AF was fed a high fat diet with 1% adzuki bean extract. For the in vitro study, the ability of adzuki bean extract to suppress triglyceride incorporation, glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase activity and inflammatory response was investigated in cultured human adipocytes. Data from the animal study showed that adzuki bean extract improved lipid metabolism in both the normal and high‐fat diet groups. Adzuki bean extract treatment in the high‐fat group resulted in significant reductions in total hepatic lipid accumulation and lipid secretion into the feces. Incubation of adipocytes with adzuki bean extract significantly decreased triglyceride accumulation, glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase activity and inflammatory responses without affecting cell viability. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate that adzuki bean extract has high potential to serve as a natural anti‐obesity agent. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

中药复方提取物对槟榔所致大鼠急性炎症的影响

目的:减弱槟榔造成的炎症损伤,降低食用风险。方法:选择甘草、桔梗、枇杷叶3种中药材,以低、中、高剂量添加并与槟榔提取物共同灌胃大鼠28 d后,在大鼠足跖注射致炎剂,与空白对照组和阳性对照组大鼠比较体重、脏器系数、6 h内足跖肿胀率及炎症因子和炎症介质水平。结果:高剂量组相较于槟榔组可以显著(P<0.05)降低炎症介质前列腺素E₂(PGE₂)、丙二醛(MDA)和一氧化氮(NO)的产生,下调血清促炎因子肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)、白细胞介素-1β(IL-1β)、白细胞介素-6 (IL-6)水平以及促进白细胞介素-10 (IL-10)的释放,并减少肝脏中活性氧(ROS)的产生,且大鼠足跖肿胀率明显(P<0.05)低于空白对照组,与阳性对照组相近。结论:添加多种具有抗炎功效的天然植物提取物与槟榔共同使用可在一定程度上减轻因槟榔加剧的大鼠急性炎症。     

Daily green tea extract supplementation reduces prothrombotic and inflammatory states in dialysis patients

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the most common cause for excess morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) under chronic dialysis. ESRD patients have increased oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction alongside increased levels of inflammation related proteins, which has prompted the exploration of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant treatments to improve outcomes. As green tea is increasingly well recognized for its antioxidant properties, we probed the effect of consumption of 1 capsule daily of green tea as a commercially available, decaffeinated green tea capsule (1 g, catechin content 68 mg) for 6 months on fibrinogen and inflammation in dialysis patients. Chronic hemodialysis patients (N = 25) were recruited and fibrinogen, FDP-D-dimer, high sensitivity (hs) CRP and the mononuclear cell protein expression of p22^phox, were assessed before, i.e. baseline and after 6 months of ingestion of 1 green tea capsule per day. After 6 months of daily green tea capsule ingestion, dialysis patients showed reduced protein expression of p22^phox (p < 0.0001), reduced hsCPR (p = 0.032) and fibrinogen (p = 0.022) levels and increased FDP-D-dimer (p = 0.0019) compared to their values at baseline. These results document lower oxidative stress and inflammation with green tea capsule ingestion and suggest a likely positive impact of green tea treatment on the atherosclerotic process of ESRD patients under dialysis.     

Hawthorn fruit increases the antioxidant capacity and reduces lipid peroxidation in senescence-accelerated mice

Hawthorn fruit has long been used as a folk medicine with many medicinal benefits. HPLC analysis revealed that hawthorn fruit extract (HFE) contained 19.86% procyanidin B2, 15.27% epicatechin, 3.10% chlorogenic acid, 2.91% hyperoside, and 1.34% isoquercitrin. Antioxidants are essential for protection of the bodies against the damaging action of free radicals. And we hypothesized that HFE could enhance antioxidant defenses and improve antioxidant status in aged mice. To test this hypothesis, senescence-accelerated mice (SAM) used as an aging animal model were treated with HFE to evaluate the antioxidant effects of HFE in vivo. We found that the activities of antioxidant enzymes, namely, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in serum, liver, and brain of SAM mice increased upon HFE treatment, meanwhile the malondialdehyde (MDA) content declined. Concurrently, the gene expression levels of SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px were up-regulated in liver. Furthermore, the antioxidant potential of HFE was also investigated with different systems such as superoxide anion radical scavenging and reducing power. The results showed that HFE indicated a concentration-dependent antioxidant activity in vitro.     

Effect of mung bean ethanol extract on pro-inflammtory cytokines in LPS stimulated macrophages

The anti-inflammatory effect of mung bean ethanol extract on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated macrophages (J774) was evaluated. The mung bean extract was separated into 5 fractions by normal phase silica gel column chromatography and the mRNA expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines were examined after incubation with each fraction in LPS stimulated macrophages. All pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-12β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) were remarkably decreased in the cells treated with 3.7 mg/mL of F3 fraction. The active F3 fraction did not show any cytotoxcity according to propidium iodide staining and no inhibitory effects on J774 cell proliferation were observed by MTT assay. The active fraction contained gallic acid, vitexin, and isovitexin as major components.     

Studies on yield,extracted leaf protein and deproteinised extract of winged bean grown as a biennial crop

The possible use of the long vegetative growing period of the winged bean, when grown as a biennial crop, as a source of extractable leaf protein was investigated in this study. The dry top yield of the crop during this period increased curvilinearly with time and followed the logistic growth law. A linear decrease with age was noted for the total and protein nitrogen extractability of this crop whereas the nitrogen percentage in dry matter of leaves and the extractable leaf protein yield gave a quadratic response. Unfractionated and heat fractionated proteins extracted from the leaves contained 61.9–85.3% protein, 4.6–12.8% fat, 0.2–4.6% ash, 0.5–2.7% crude fibre and 34.2–43.7 mg 100 g^?1 β-carotene on moisture free basis. The deproteinised juice, left after protein extraction, was also found to be ideally suited as a microbial growth medium for protein rich biomass production.     

Selenomethionine increases proliferation and reduces apoptosis in bovine mammary epithelial cells under oxidative stress

The decline in mammary epithelial cell number as lactation progresses may be due, in part, to oxidative stress. Selenium is an integral component of several antioxidant enzymes. The present study was conducted to examine the effect of oxidative stress and selenomethionine (SeMet) on morphology, viability, apoptosis, and proliferation of bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMEC) in primary culture. Cells were isolated from mammary glands of lactating dairy cows and grown for 3 d in a low-serum gel system containing lactogenic hormones and 0 or 100 μM H₂O₂ with 0, 10, 20, or 50 nM SeMet. Hydrogen peroxide stress increased intracellular H₂O₂ to 3 times control concentrations and induced a loss of cuboidal morphology, cell-cell contact, and viability of BMEC by 25%. Apoptotic cell number more than doubled during oxidative stress, but proliferating cell number was not affected. Supplementation with SeMet increased glutathione peroxidase activity 2-fold and restored intracellular H₂O₂ to control levels with a concomitant return of morphology and viability to normal. Apoptotic BMEC number was decreased 76% below control levels by SeMet and proliferating cell number was increased 4.2-fold. These findings suggest that SeMet modulated apoptosis and proliferation independently of a selenoprotein-mediated reduction of H₂O₂. In conclusion, SeMet supplementation protects BMEC from H₂O₂-induced apoptosis and increased proliferation and cell viability under conditions of oxidative stress.     

Calcium-free vitrification reduces cryoprotectant-induced zona pellucida hardening and increases fertilization rates in mouse oocytes

Despite the success of embryo cyropreservation, routine oocyte freezing has proved elusive with only around 200 children born since the first reported birth in 1986. The reason for the poor efficiency is unclear, but evidence of zona pellucida hardening following oocyte freezing indicates that current protocols affect oocyte physiology. Here we report that two cryoprotectants commonly used in vitrification procedures, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ethylene glycol, cause a large transient increase in intracellular calcium concentration in mouse metaphase II (MII) oocytes comparable to the initial increase triggered at fertilization. Removal of extracellular calcium from the medium failed to affect the response exacted by DMSO challenge, but significantly reduced the ethylene glycol-induced calcium increase. These results suggest that the source of the DMSO-induced calcium increase is solely from the internal calcium pool, as opposed to ethylene glycol that causes an influx of calcium across the plasma membrane from the external medium. By carrying out vitrification in calcium-free media, it was found that zona hardening is significantly reduced and subsequent fertilization and development to the two-cell stage significantly increased. Furthermore, such calcium-free treatment appears not to affect the embryo adversely, as shown by development rates to the blastocyst stage and cell number/allocation. Since zona hardening is one of the early activation events normally triggered by the sperm-induced calcium increases observed at fertilization, it is possible that other processes are negatively affected by the calcium rise caused by cryoprotectants used during oocyte freezing, which might explain the current poor efficiency of this technique.     

Autophagy is a cell survival program for female germ cells in the murine ovary

It is estimated that infertility affects 15-20% of couples and can arise from female or male reproductive defects. Mouse models have ascribed roles to over 100 genes in the maintenance of female fertility. Although previous models have determined roles for apoptosis in male and female fertility, we find that compromised autophagy within the perinatal ovary, through the loss of Becn1 or Atg7, results in the premature loss of female germ cells. Becn1(+/-) ovaries have a 56% reduction of germ cells compared with control ovaries at post-natal day 1, whereas Atg7(-/-) ovaries lack discernable germ cells at this stage. Thus autophagy appears to be a cell survival mechanism to maintain the endowment of female germ cells prior to establishing primordial follicle pools in the ovary.     

0.1% Nepafenac reduces pain and increases patient comfort during cataract surgery

Purpose

To evaluates analgesic effectiveness of 0.1% nepafenac during cataract surgery.

Pinto bean hull extract supplementation favorably affects markers of bone metabolism and bone structure in mice

Hulls from dry edible beans are rich in phenolic compounds recognized as possessing antioxidant activity. The aim of this study was to characterize antioxidant properties of bean hull extract (BHE) and to determine whether BHE supplementation (at 400 or 800 mg/kg for 3 months) affects serum biochemical markers and bone structure in 12-month-old male C57BL/6 mice. Mice supplemented with 800 mg BHE/kg had lower serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase and parathyroid hormone concentrations than those on control diet or supplemented with 400 mg BHE/kg. BHE supplementation caused slight decrease in oxidized glutathione concentration in blood (P = 0.07). Compared to the control group, BHE supplementation at 800 mg/kg for 3 months improved bone structural indices, bone mineral density and trabecular thickness in the third lumbar vertebra. These results suggest that BHE supplementation may have beneficial effects on bone health in mice by decreasing bone resorption.     

Physicochemical properties and storage stability of spray‐dried soya bean sprout extract

Amylase is a very important enzyme due to its wide food applications. To preserve amylase activity in soya bean sprout extract (SSE), SSEs were spray‐dried with 10% maltodextrin and 0–3% alginic acids, and their physicochemical properties and storage stability were compared with freeze‐dried one. SSE exhibited maximum amylase activity at pH 7.0 and 60 °C, with the most active substrate specificity towards soluble starch. Spray‐dried SSEs exhibited higher water solubility index (WSI) and in vitro relative amylase activity but lower water vapour sorption (WVS) and smaller particle size than freeze‐dried SSE. For spray‐dried SSEs, particle size, WSI and in vitro relative amylase activity increased while WVS decreased with increasing % alginic acid. This study demonstrated that spray drying of SSE, especially with 10% maltodextrin and 2% alginic acid, was effective in keeping amylase active and stable during 7‐week storage at room temperature (25 °C).     

Hyperimmune colostrum alleviates rheumatoid arthritis in a collagen-induced arthritis murine model

Our aging population and the accompanying decline in immune function is a growing concern that may be addressed by finding natural methods to enhance the immunocompetence of our elderly. Bovine milk and colostrum from cows that have been immunized have been shown to provide additional immunoglobulins and other bioactive molecules that enhance immune function. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of hyperimmune bovine colostrum to alleviate the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in a murine model. The collagen-induced arthritis DBA/1J murine model was used for this study. Mice were fed colostrum from immunized cows at either 5 or 10 mg/mouse per day or controls for 49 d. The data showed that the colostrum-fed groups had significantly lower total swelling scores and significantly lower collagen-specific antibody (IgG_2a), inflammation-associated antibody (total IgG), and the inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor α, IL-2, IL-6, and IFN-γ. The results strongly suggest that colostrum from immunized cows may have anti-inflammatory activity in a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis.