Phylogenomic analysis of Pseudomonas nitroreducens strains FY43 and FY47

Proper identification of strain is essential in understanding the ecology of a bacteria species. The classification of Pseudomonas nitroreducens is still being questioned and revised until now. The novel P. nitroreducens strains FY43 and FY47 used in this study have been reported to show a high level of tolerance to glyphosate. In this study, next-generation sequencing (NGS) and whole genome analysis were used to clarify the delineation of the species. Whole genome analysis showed that P. nitroreducens strains FY43 and FY47 shared high homology to five reference genomes of P. nitroreducens: strain B, Aramco J, NBRC 12694, DF05, and TX01. Phylogenomic and phylogenetic analysis (average nucleotide identity based on BLAST (ANIb), genome-to-genome distance (GGDC) analysis) showed that both P. nitroreducens strains FY43 and FY47 are Pseudomonas nitroreducens members. However, strains DF05 and TX01 were not correctly assigned at the species level for all the analyses. The P. nitroreducens strain DF05 and TX01 should be further investigated for their classification as the correct species classification is the prerequisite for future diversity studies.

In vitro antioxidant, antiglycation, and MGO scavenging effects of Leonurus sibiricus water extract

Recently, extensive research has been conducted to evaluate the inhibitory activity of different plant species on the advanced glycation end products (AGEs). L. sibiricus is a traditional herb that has been used for postpartum confinement meals in Sarawak, Malaysia and pharmacologically possess anti-hemorrhagic, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancer. The aim of this research was to evaluate the antioxidant, anti-AGEs, and preliminary biochemical screening of bioactive component present in L. sibiricus in water extract. Free radical scavenging activity of L. sibiricus was evaluated via DPPH, hydroxyl radical, nitric oxide, lipid peroxidation, chelating capacity, and total phenolic content was evaluated comparing with gallic acid. Inhibition of formation AGEs by L. sibiricus was evaluated using BSA-MGO, BSA-glucose and MGO scavenging assays. Flavonoids, phenols, saponins, alkaloids, phytosterol, and diterpenoids were identified in L. sibiricus extract. It also seems to inhibit early and late formation of AGE and MGO scavenging ability. L. sibiricus was able to inhibit the formation of early and late formation of AGE through the scavenging of the formation of reactive dicarbonyl intermediates and reduce the formation of methylquinoxaline adducts through the scavenge of MGO. The inhibition of AGEs formation by L. sibiricus maybe due its antioxidant property and the presence phytochemical bioactive constituents which has been previously reported to possess antioxidant and anti-AGE activity. Future research is ongoing to identify the adducts formed because of MGO scavenging by L. sibiricus using HPLC.

Hepatitis B virus genomic nucleic acid in the activation and maturation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the etiological agent that causes a self-limiting or chronic infection in the hepatocytes of about 250 million people worldwide. The role of adaptive immune system during HBV infection has been well studied. However, the innate immune system's responses against HBV during the early stage of infection largely remain unclear. In this study, we found that HBV genomic DNA or Salmon Sperm DNA (SSD) was able to induce the innate immune response in the macrophages cell line RAW264.7 but not the hepatocyte cell line, HepG2, indicating that hepatocytes may lack of a functional DNA-sensing pathway and hence are unable to respond to the presence of foreign DNA in the cytosol with type 1 IFN response. Thus, we hypothesized that non-parenchymal cells like the Antigen Presenting Cells (APC) might be crucial in triggering the initial immune response to suppress the virus replication and link the innate and adaptive responses. Using bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDC) as a model, this study demonstrated that HBV genomic DNA is able to induce cytokines like TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-12p40 secretion. We also examined the activation and maturation of BMDCs when exposed to the HBV genomic DNA intracellularly and extracellularly. A significant shift of CD86+ and CD40+ cell populations was observed during extracellular exposure of BMDC to Poly I:C and HBV genomic DNA, indicating that TLRs may be vital in the uptake of the extracellular viral DNA to activate the BMDCs. Moreover, transfection of intracellular nucleic acid stimuli, including HBV genomic DNA as well induced BMDCs maturation. Our findings highlight the critical function of DCs in antiviral response as a potential connection between the innate and adaptive immune systems during HBV pathogenesis. Nevertheless, further study is required to determine the role of cytosol DNA sensing pathway in DCs during HBV infection.

The effect of iron dextran injection on oral candidiasis symptoms in experimental iron deficiency anemia of laboratory rats

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common type of anemia that causes various health problems and is commonly companied by oral symptoms, including oral thrush from Candida infection. The study assessed the role of iron status in the pathogenicity of oral candidiasis in an animal model. IDA in rats was produced by feeding on iron-free diet (five weeks), followed by inducing oral candidiasis by Candida albicans suspension. After the infection, animal subgroups were treated by intramuscular injection (IM) of iron dextran (ID) at 2 and 4 mg/kg once a week for three weeks and normal saline injection for comparison. Blood parameters test and tongue histopathological study were conducted. The IDA parameters and the oral thrush lesions were detected in experimental rats. IM of 2 mg ID diminished oral white patches and improved blood hemoglobin (14.533 g/dl), serum iron (109.177 μg/dl), and serum ferritin (5.276 ng/ml) and decreased total iron-binding capacity (377.000 μg/dl). Tongue sections showed normal tongue papillae, reduced inflammation and regular keratin deposition on papillae. At a 4 mg dose, despite the improvement in the blood parameters, a mild reduction was found in tongue thrush by less normal appearance of tongue papillae sections, mild inflammatory cells and hyperplasia of squamous epithelium. The study findings indicate that iron status plays a critical role in the treatment of oral thrush infection.

Effect of osmotic dehydration combined with citric acid on bioactive compounds in freeze-dried MD2 pineapple

The use of freeze drying process to prolong the shelf life of food products is considered mainstream in food industries due to its capability to retain the nutritional value. Citric acid and osmotic solution were used as a pre-treatment in this study to produce high-quality dried products. Four treatment groups were observed, including untreated (control), 1% citric acid (CA), 1% CA with 20% sugar solution (CAOD 20%), and 1% CA with 60% sugar solution (CAOD 60%). Physical properties such as moisture content; pH; total soluble solid; colour value; and bioactive compounds, such as vitamin C, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activities were evaluated in freeze-dried pineapples. The result showed that CAOD 60% demonstrated a positive effect, with the least moisture content and the lowest value of colour changes (ΔE) at 5.69 ± 0.04% and 33.76 ± 2.17, respectively, as compared with that of other samples. In terms of phytochemical, the control and CA groups recorded higher retention of vitamin C, TPC, and TFC compared with other osmotic dehydration samples; however, there was no significant effect (p<0.05) on TPC and TFC. Interestingly, CAOD 60% possessed strong antioxidant activity, with the lowest IC50 value of 85.85 ± 5.93. From these findings, it was found that CAOD 60% resulted in positive effect on both the physical qualities and preservation of antioxidant activity, making it a recommended condition for pre-treatment in fruit preservation, which is essential in ensuring both the food security aspect and maintenance of its nutritional value.

Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn fruit derivatives as alternative agents for diabetes mellitus care: A basic insight

This study discusses the effectiveness of methanolic extract and fractions (butanol, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane) of H. sabdariffa Linn fruit towards antidiabetic activities (in vitro). In order to test the efficacy, toxicity and insulin secretion capacity of rat pancreatic β-cell lines (BRIN-BD11) were tested with the methanolic extract and fractions. The outcomes showed that both the extract and the fractions demonstrated significantly lower levels of cytotoxic activities. Furthermore, the methanolic extract and fractions displayed varied sensitivity levels towards insulin release after an incubation period of 30 min. The methanolic extract, at a concentration of 300 µg/mL, significantly stimulated secretion of insulin by 2.85-fold (p<0.001). In addition, butanol, ethyl acetate, and n-hexane fractions revealed a gradual increase in insulin secretion. The stimulated insulin secretion for these fractions had been recorded at 2-fold (p<0.01), 2.67-fold, and 2.31-fold (p<0.001), respectively, at the highest concentrations. The methanolic extract and fractions also appeared to stimulate secretion of insulin with all modulators present, for example, potassium chloride (KCl), insulin secretion inhibitor (verapamil and diazoxide), as well as insulin secretagogue (tolbutamide and isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX)). These results indicate that H. sabdariffa Linn fruit methanolic extract and fractions could indeed be beneficial for future development of antidiabetic drugs.

Palm leaf catechins improved insulin-related pathways in diabetic rats

Catechin-rich oil-palm leaf extract (OPLE) (Elaeis guineensis) was previously demonstrated to possess benefits for diabetes and cardio metabolic health (vasodilation, antioxidant, cardiovascular, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and nephroprotective properties) in animal models. For insights into OPLE anti-diabetic mode-of-action and possible toxicity, the effects of dietary OPLE on insulin-signaling pathways mRNA expressions in the liver, kidney, pancreas, and spleen of normal and diabetic rats were examined. Type-2-Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) were induced by chronic high-fat diet and streptozotocin (35 mg/kg) intraperitoneal injection. The OPLE (100 mg/kg body weight) were fed daily to normal and T2DM-induced rats. The OPLE suppressed hyperglycaemia and excessive weight gain in the T2DM rats, and appeared harmless to normal rats. The OPLE supplementation significantly (p<0.05) modulated the mRNA expressions of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PIK3R1); insulin signaling receptor (INSR); insulin-receptor substrates 1 and 2; and ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase-1 (ENPP1) especially in the livers of normal rats and the spleen of diabetic rats. Results suggested the OPLE probably help prevent diabetes in healthy mammals and ameliorate the immune functions of diabetic mammals. The OPLE improved the antioxidant defence responses, insulin-pathways mRNA expressions in the normal and diabetic rats; suppressed hyperglycaemia and excessive weight gain in T2DM rodents without observable liver or kidney toxicity at the dose used.

Association of plasma DNA integrity and long fragment ALU247 in the diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer

DNA Integrity index (DNA Int) and cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) represent promising biomarkers for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) detection. Tumor necrosis produces DNA fractions of different sizes, which contrasts apoptosis in normal tissue that releases smaller and more regular DNA fragments. Using ALU gene primers in quantitative PCR, the amplified cf-DNA is supposed to be either short fragments of 115 bp (ALU 115) or long fragments of 247 bp (ALU 247). ALU levels and DNA Int were determined in the plasma of 30 EOC patients, 30 benign cysts, and 15 healthy individuals. The mean values of DNA Int, ALU115, and ALU247 were elevated in malignant patients (0.51±0.09, 3.93 ng/ul ±1.93, 2.35 ng/ul ±1.1) respectively in comparison to healthy females (0.37±0.05; p < 0.001, 2.56 ng/ul ±0.9; p=0.027, 1.26±0.44; p< 0.01). A significant increase was shown in the mean values of DNA Int and ALU247 of EOC patients compared to those with benign cysts (0.4±0.06, p <0.001; 1.69±0.66, p =0.008) respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) for EOC versus healthy females achieved 0.913 (DNA Int), 0.696 (ALU115), and 0.809 (ALU247) with sensitivities and specificities were (86.7% and 93.3%) for DNA Int, (63.3% and 86.7%) for ALU115 and (76.7% and 86.7%) for ALU247 respectively. Furthermore, comparing patients with EOC versus those with benign cysts gave AUC of 0.834 (DNA Int), 0.564 (ALU115), and 0.681 (ALU247) with sensitivities and specificities were (80% and 80%) for DNA Int, (63.3% and 60%) for ALU115 and (60% and 80%) for ALU247 respectively. Higher DNA Int and plasma ALU247 could help in the assessment of EOC, and their measurements seem to have clinical value in diagnosis.

Physico-chemical properties, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity of five varieties of honey from Saudi Arabia

Wild honey is believed to have plentiful nutritional and health benefits. Numerous studies dealing with the characteristics and biological activities of honey have proved its biological activities. However, little is known about Saudi wild honey. In the current study, the physico-chemical properties, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of five varieties of wild honey collected from different locations in Saudi Arabia were examined. Results showed that, the physico-chemical characteristics of all samples were in compliance with international standards. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of sugar (glucose, fructose and sucrose) was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The analysis exhibited that fructose is the major sugar type in all examined wild honeys, which was found in highest concentration in flowers honey (46 g/100 g), whereas, the lowest fructose concentration was found in Ziziphus honey (36 g/100 g). All monofloral honey showed significant antioxidant activity. Alfalfa honey recorded the highest antioxidant activity, followed by Ziziphus honey, respectively. However, Tamarisk honey recorded the lowest antioxidant activity among honey samples. Honey's antibacterial activity against five microorganisms displayed differing degrees of inhibition. The overall findings indicated that no antifungal activity was seen against Candida albicans. The antibacterial examination of honey samples revealed non-significant activity against all tested bacteria, except with Staphylococcus aureus ATCC BAA 1026, where the Acacia honey exhibited significant activity against this bacterium (p < 0.05), with a mean of inhibition zone of 12.0+0.0 mm and a minimum inhibitory concentration of 12.5%. The results of the other types of honey were statistically non-significant.

Sugar-sweetened beverages induced metabolic syndrome and its reversal using bitter melon extract

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are known to cause metabolic pathologies increasing the risk for Type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disorders. We aimed to determine the effects of chronic sugar intake on lipogenesis and glucose metabolism in mice and study if bitter melon extract (BME) can reverse this effect. BME was prepared using 50% ethanol as solvent, biochemical assays for the estimation of phenolic compounds, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity was performed. Male Swiss albino mice were divided into seven groups (n=6): Control (group-1), Glucose (group-2), Glucose+BME (group-3), Sucrose (group-4), Sucrose+BME (group-5), Fructose (group-6), Fructose+BME (group-7). Each group was induced with 30% wt/vol of respective sugars for 8 weeks, and BME was supplemented (300 mg/kg body weight) to group-3, 5, and 7 along with sugars after 4 weeks of induction. Blood glucose and body weight measurements were performed every week for 8 weeks. Animals were sacrificed and retroperitoneal adipose tissue (RPAT) was collected along with blood for lipid profile estimation. RPAT was stained with hematoxylin & eosin and examined under the microscope for adipocyte cell count/size. Group-3, 5, and 7 presented a significant decrease in the body weight at 8th week when compared to their 4th-week bodyweight, a significant drop in blood glucose and all the lipid profile parameters when compared to their respective control groups, and group-3 and 5 presented a significant reduction in the size of the adipocyte upon treatment with BME. Due to the presence of high phenolic acids, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory property BME has various health benefits and the potential to treat SSB-induced metabolic disorders.