Exacerbation of allergic asthma by somatic antigen of Echinococcus granulosus in allergic airway inflammation in BALB/c mice

Background There is ample evidence demonstrating a reverse relationship between helminth infection and immune-mediated diseases. Accordingly, several studies have shown that Echinococcus granulosus infection and hydatid cyst compounds are able to suppress immune responses in allergic airway inflammation. Previous studies have documented the ability of hydatid cysts to suppress aberrant Th2 immune response in a mouse model of allergic asthma. However, there is a paucity of research on the effects of protoscoleces on allergic asthma. Thus, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of somatic antigens of protoscoleces in a murine model of allergic airway inflammation. Methods Ovalbumin (OVA)/aluminum hydroxide (alum) was injected intraperitoneally to sensitize BALB/c mice over a period of 0 to 7 days, followed by challenge with 1% OVA. The treatment group received somatic antigens of protoscoleces emulsified with PBS on these days in each sensitization before being challenged with 1% OVA on days 14, 15, and 16. The effects of somatic antigens of protoscoleces on allergic airway inflammation were evaluated by examining histopathological changes, the recruitment of inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage, cytokine production in the homogenized lung tissue (IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-17, and IFN-γ), and total antioxidant capacity in serum. Results Overall, administration of somatic antigens of protoscoleces exacerbated allergic airway inflammation via increased Th2 cytokine levels in the lung homogenate, recruitment of eosinophils into bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and pathological changes. In addition, total antioxidant capacity and IFN-γ levels declined following the administration of somatic antigens. Conclusions The results revealed that the co-administration of somatic products of protoscoleces with OVA/alum contributed to the exacerbation of allergic airway inflammation in BALB/c mice. Currently, the main cause of allergic-type inflammation exacerbation is unknown, and further research is needed to understand the mechanism of these interactions. Graphical Abstract

The effects of grape seed extract supplementation on exercise-induced oxidative stress in young untrained males

Background and Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of acute aerobic exercise and 14-days grape seed extract supplementation on total antioxidant capacity, lipid peroxidation and muscle cell damage biomarkers in untrained males Materials and Methods: In a randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled study, twenty-two male students (age 19±1 years, weight 67.44±7 kg, BMI 22±2, V̇ O2max 39±2 ml/kg-1 /min-1 ) were randomly assigned to two groups of grape seed extract and placebo (PLA) (GSE: 200 mg/day for two weeks). After subsequent 14-days of supplementation, subjects did a single session of aerobic exercise (running) on treadmill at 75% VO2max for 30 minutes. Blood samples were taken 3 times: prior to supplementation (baseline), 14-days after supplementation, and immediately after exercise (post-exercise). Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and lactate were measured. TAC was determined by ABTs method. The collected data were then analyzed by running analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measure and Bonferroni post-hoc tests as appropriate using SPSS17 at p<0.05. Results: Malondialdehyde, CK, LDH, Lactate were significantly increased after aerobic exercise (p<0.05). Short-term GSE supplementation significantly prevented MDA and CK cascade after exercise compared to PLA (p<0.05) but, it had no significant effect on basal parameters (p>0.05). The exercise had also no significant effect on total antioxidant capacity in any of the groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Aerobic exercise could increase blood oxidative stress biomarkers and GSE supplementation, due to influential antioxidant effect; yet, it could attenuate exercise-induced oxidative stress in men

Rubusoside Reduces Blood Glucose and Inhibits Oxidative Stress by Activating the AMPK Signaling Pathway in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Mice

The current study aimed at investigating the therapeutic effects of rubusoside on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mice models as an alternative hypoglycemic candidate drug. T2DM mice models were established with a combination of streptozotocin (STZ) intraperitoneal injection and high-fat diet. After 10 weeks of rubusoside intragastric administration (100, 200 mg/kg/day) to the mice, the body weight, fasting blood glucose, glucose tolerance, and blood lipids were measured. The liver protein expression levels of p-AMPK, GLUT2, GLUT4 and total antioxidant capacity were also investigated. After 10 weeks of rubusoside administration, the levels of blood glucose and lipids were decreased in T2DM mice. Compared with the model group, rubusoside administration significantly decreased the liver mass-to-body weight ratio, upregulated p-AMPK and GLUT4, and downregulated GLUT2 expression levels in the liver. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and gluathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were increased, and the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) was decreased to reduce oxidative stress in the liver. Liver hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) pathological analysis also showed that rubusoside had a protective effect on T2DM mice liver. These results demonstrate that rubusoside could be used as an anti-diabetic candidate drug, and that its hypoglycemic mechanism might be related to the activation of adenosine 5′-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) to modulate the expression of GLUT2 and GLUT4. Finally, rubusoside could also increase total antioxidant capacity to protect the liver from oxidative stress.

Influence of Plant Extract Addition to Marinades on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Formation in Grilled Pork Meat

Marinating is one of the most common methods of pre-processing meat. Appropriate selection of marinade ingredients can influence the physicochemical properties of the meat and can reduce the level of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the final product. The effects of the inclusion of natural plant extracts such as bay leaf (BL), black pepper (BP), turmeric (TU), jalapeno pepper (JP) and tamarind paste (TA) in marinades on the physicochemical properties of grilled pork neck were studied. The addition of spice extracts to marinades increased the proportion of colour components L* and b*. The use of TU, TA, JP, MX and C marinades lowered the hardness and pH of the meat. The highest phenolic compound levels were observed in the case of the mixture of all extracts (MX) and JP marinades, and the highest total antioxidant capacity was exhibited by the BL and MX marinades. The highest PAH content was recorded in the CON marinade (Σ12PAH 98.48 ± 0.81 µg/kg) and the lowest in the JP marinade (4.76 ± 0.08 µg/kg), which had the strongest, statistically significant reducing effect (95% reduction) on PAH levels. Analysis of correlation coefficients showed a relationship between the total antioxidant capacity of the marinades and the PAH content in grilled pork.

Influence of crop load on the yield and grape quality of Merlot and Vranac (Vitis vinifera L.) varieties in Trebinje vineyard

<p class="042abstractstekst">The aim of this study was to study the impact of crop load on the yield and grape quality of ‘Merlot’ and ‘Vranac’ (<em>Vitis vinifera</em> L.) in Trebinje vineyard. The crop load levels studied in this trial were 9 buds (V1) and 12 buds (V2) per vine at each variety trained on Lenz-Moser bilateral cordon system. The impact was determined by measurements of yield per vine and grape quality characterized by the contents of total soluble solids, titratable acidity, total phenolics, total flavonoids and by total antioxidant capacity. The measured parameters of grape quality of ‘Merlot’ and ‘Vranac’ were not influenced significantly by crop load levels. V2, compared to the V1, showed the potential for increasing grape yield only for Merlot variety under experimental conditions. The results of this study also showed a positive correlation between total phenolics/flavonoids and total antioxidant capacity of grape berries in both varieties, regardless of crop loads applied.</p>

Effect of growing location on anthocyanin content and total antioxidant capacity of haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) berry: A preliminary investigation

The haskap has been successfully cultivated in many geographical zones in Canada. We investigated whether the latitude has any impact on the anthocyanin accumulation and total antioxidant capacity in the haskap berry. The measured quality attributes were compared with that of the blueberry. Haskap ‘Aurora’ berries were collected from Yukon, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia in Canada, and blueberries were collected from Nova Scotia. Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G), the most abundant anthocyanin of haskap berry, the total anthocyanins, the total polyphenols, the soluble solids (°Brix), the pH value, the total antioxidant capacity, and the moisture content were determined. The results revealed that the total anthocyanin, total phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity of the haskap range between 88 to 273 mg C3GE/100 g fresh weight (FW), 256 to 442 mg GAE/100 g of FW, and 27 to 52 µmol TE/g FW, respectively. The liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS) analysis revealed that the C3G contained in the haskap berry is highly dependent on the harvest stage. Among the samples, the haskap berry harvested on July 19, 2019, from the Yukon had the highest C3G content. Interestingly, the total anthocyanin content of the haskap berry is comparable to that of the lowbush blueberry, but higher than the highbush blueberry. A systematic multi-year experiment employing many cultivars and growing locations is recommended to better understand the latitude effect.