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BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Sep 2023Vitellaria paradoxa is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases in tropical countries; however, nothing is known about its anti-trypanosomal...
BACKGROUND
Vitellaria paradoxa is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases in tropical countries; however, nothing is known about its anti-trypanosomal activity. Human African trypanosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease of Sub-Saharan Africa's poorest rural regions, and the efficacy of its treatment remains a challenge. This study investigates the as-yet-unknown trypanocidal activity of this plant.
METHODS
V. paradoxa, commonly known as shea tree, was selected for study based on an ethnobotanical investigation. Ultrasonicated extracts from bark and seeds were successively treated with ethyl acetate and water. Column chromatography, NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry were used to identify isolated compounds. Purified trypanosomes (Trypanosoma brucei brucei) were incubated with serial dilutions of the extracts and isolated compounds at 37 °C in 5% CO for 24 h. Parasite viability was evaluated under a microscope.
RESULTS
The ethyl acetate extracts of the bark showed the higher in vitro trypanocidal activity against T. brucei brucei with median inhibitory concentration (IC) of 3.25 µg/mL. However, the triterpene 1α,2β,3β,19α-tretrahydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid and the pentadecanoic acid isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the seeds showed in vitro trypanocidal activity with IC of 11.30 and 70.1 µM, respectively.
CONCLUSION
The results obtained contribute to the validation of the traditional medicinal use of V. paradoxa. Our results encourage further investigations of this plant, mainly with respect to its in vivo efficacy and toxicity.
Topics: Humans; Plants, Medicinal; Plant Extracts; Trypanocidal Agents; Trypanosoma brucei brucei
PubMed: 37770899
DOI: 10.1186/s12906-023-04175-6 -
Microorganisms Sep 2023Rhizosphere microorganisms and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by them take part in the regulation of the chemotaxis of nematodes. A total of 150 strains...
Rhizosphere microorganisms and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by them take part in the regulation of the chemotaxis of nematodes. A total of 150 strains of rhizosphere bacteria were screened via a chemotaxis experiment with . Some isolates affected the behavior of the nematodes, including attraction, randomness, and repulsion. Volatile metabolites produced via the selected bacteria were associated with the chemotaxis of nematodes. was highly attracted to decanal. In addition, dimethyl disulfide, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, pentadecanoic acid, and palmitic acid were found to attract weakly . Furthermore, the chemotaxis of was tested in a pot experiment. The bacteria sp. 1-50, 2-35, 5-14, 6-4, and VOC decanal could regulate the movement of M. incognita in the pot with or without plants. The results provide insights into rhizosphere microorganisms and their VOCs and how they regulate the chemotaxis of the nematodes.
PubMed: 37764115
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11092271 -
Annals of Nuclear Medicine Jan 2024The purpose of this practice recommendation is to specifically identify the critical steps involved in performing and interpreting I-β-methyl-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic...
The purpose of this practice recommendation is to specifically identify the critical steps involved in performing and interpreting I-β-methyl-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and measurement of washout rate (WR) from the heart. This document will cover backgrounds, patient preparation, testing procedure, visual image interpretation, quantitation methods using planar and SPECT studies, and reporting of WR. The pitfall and some tips for the calculation of I-BMIPP WR are also included. The targets of global and regional WR calculation include ischemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy, an emerging rare heart disease.
Topics: Humans; Heart; Fatty Acids; Iodobenzenes; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Myocardium
PubMed: 37691078
DOI: 10.1007/s12149-023-01863-8 -
Nutrients Jul 2023Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) during pregnancy are associated with disrupted metabolic programming among offspring at birth and later growth. We examined plasma...
Saturated fatty acids (SFAs) during pregnancy are associated with disrupted metabolic programming among offspring at birth and later growth. We examined plasma phospholipid SFAs in early pregnancy and fetal growth throughout pregnancy. We enrolled 321 pregnant women from the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies-Singleton Cohort at gestational weeks 8-13. Ultrasonogram schedules were randomly assigned to capture weekly fetal growth. We measured plasma phospholipid SFAs at early pregnancy using blood samples and modeled fetal growth trajectories across tertiles of SFAs with cubic splines using linear mixed models after full adjustment. We then compared pairwise weekly fetal growth biometrics referencing the lowest tertile in each SFA using the Wald test. We found that even-chain and very long even-chain SFAs were inversely associated, whereas odd-chain SFAs were positively associated with fetal weight and size. Compared with the lowest tertile, the highest tertile of pentadecanoic acid (15:0) had a greater fetal weight and size, starting from week 13 until late pregnancy (at week 39: 3429.89 vs. 3269.08 g for estimated fetal weight; 328.14 vs. 323.00 mm for head circumference). Our findings could inspire future interventions using an alternative high-fat diet rich in odd-chain SFAs for optimal fetal growth.
Topics: Infant, Newborn; Humans; Pregnancy; Female; Phospholipids; Fetal Weight; Birth Cohort; Prospective Studies; Fatty Acids; Fetal Development
PubMed: 37571228
DOI: 10.3390/nu15153287 -
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2023Historically, some edible insects have been processed into a complex of insect and fungus, such as and . Until now, the dynamics of the nutritional changes due to this...
Historically, some edible insects have been processed into a complex of insect and fungus, such as and . Until now, the dynamics of the nutritional changes due to this infection were unclear. This study reveals the dynamic changes in nutritional components of pupa after infection with at post-infection time points of 0 d, 10 d, 20 d, and 30 d. The dynamic analysis of the components at different post-infection times showed that the content of polysaccharides and cordycepin increased with time while the content of fats and chitin decreased. The content of proteins showed a trend of decreasing at the beginning and then increasing. The essential amino acids (EAAs) decreased at the beginning and then increased, and non-essential amino acids (NEAA) changed similarly. The essential amino acid index showed a slight continuous decrease. Although the crude fat decreased dramatically due to the infection, from a value of 30.75% to 7.2%, the infection of . produced five new fatty acids (14-methyl-pentadecanoic acid, docosanoic acid, succinic acid, arachidonic acid, and myristic acid) while the content of the seven fatty acids was greatly reduced after infection. Therefore, after being infected by . and combined with it, the nutritional profile of pupa was changed significantly and there were different characteristics at different infection stages. The above findings provide scientifically fundamental data to understand the nutritional value of the insect-fungus complex as human food and animal feed.
PubMed: 37509888
DOI: 10.3390/foods12142796 -
Frontiers in Nutrition 2023Diets high in glucose or fat contribute to an increased prevalence of the diseases. Therefore, the objective of the current research was to observe and evaluate the...
OBJECTIVE
Diets high in glucose or fat contribute to an increased prevalence of the diseases. Therefore, the objective of the current research was to observe and evaluate the impact of dietary components on different metabolomic profiles in primary tissues of mice.
METHODS
For 8 weeks, diet with high-glucose or-fat was given to C57BL/6 J mice. The levels of metabolites in the primary tissues of mice were studied using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and analyzed using multivariate statistics.
RESULTS
By comparing the metabolic profiles between the two diet groups and control group in mice main tissues, our study revealed 32 metabolites in the high-glucose diet (HGD) group and 28 metabolites in the high-fat diet (HFD) group. The most significantly altered metabolites were amino acids (AAs; L-alanine, L-valine, glycine, L-aspartic acid, L-isoleucine, L-leucine, L-threonine, L-glutamic acid, phenylalanine, tyrosine, serine, proline, and lysine), fatty acids (FAs; propanoic acid, 9,12-octadecadienoic acid, pentadecanoic acid, hexanoic acid, and myristic acid), and organic compounds (succinic acid, malic acid, citric acid, L-(+)-lactic acid, myo-inositol, and urea). These metabolites are implicated in many metabolic pathways related to energy, AAs, and lipids metabolism.
CONCLUSION
We systematically analyzed the metabolic changes underlying high-glucose or high-fat diet. The two divergent diets induced patent changes in AA and lipid metabolism in the main tissues, and helped identify metabolic pathways in a mouse model.
PubMed: 37492592
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1171806 -
Nature Microbiology Aug 2023Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and is characterized by liver inflammation and fat accumulation. Dietary...
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the severe form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and is characterized by liver inflammation and fat accumulation. Dietary interventions, such as fibre, have been shown to alleviate this metabolic disorder in mice via the gut microbiota. Here, we investigated the mechanistic role of the gut microbiota in ameliorating NASH via dietary fibre in mice. Soluble fibre inulin was found to be more effective than insoluble fibre cellulose to suppress NASH progression in mice, as shown by reduced hepatic steatosis, necro-inflammation, ballooning and fibrosis. We employed stable isotope probing to trace the incorporation of C-inulin into gut bacterial genomes and metabolites during NASH progression. Shotgun metagenome sequencing revealed that the commensal Parabacteroides distasonis was enriched by C-inulin. Integration of C-inulin metagenomes and metabolomes suggested that P. distasonis used inulin to produce pentadecanoic acid, an odd-chain fatty acid, which was confirmed in vitro and in germ-free mice. P. distasonis or pentadecanoic acid was protective against NASH in mice. Mechanistically, inulin, P. distasonis or pentadecanoic acid restored gut barrier function in NASH models, which reduced serum lipopolysaccharide and liver pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Overall this shows that gut microbiota members can use dietary fibre to generate beneficial metabolites to suppress metabolic disease.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Inulin; Fatty Acids; Inflammation; Dietary Fiber
PubMed: 37386075
DOI: 10.1038/s41564-023-01418-7