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Marine Drugs May 2021Air pollution has recently become a subject of increasing concern in many parts of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that nearly 4.2 million early...
Air pollution has recently become a subject of increasing concern in many parts of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that nearly 4.2 million early deaths are due to exposure to fine particles in polluted air, which causes multiple respiratory diseases. Algae, as a natural product, can be an alternative treatment due to potential biofunctional properties and advantages. This systematic review aims to summarize and evaluate the evidence of metabolites derived from algae as potential anti-inflammatory agents against respiratory disorders induced by atmospheric particulate matter (PM). Databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed were systematically searched for relevant published full articles from 2016 to 2020. The main key search terms were limited to "algae", "anti-inflammation", and "air pollutant". The search activity resulted in the retrieval of a total of 36 publications. Nine publications are eligible for inclusion in this systematic review. A total of four brown algae (, , and ) with phytosterol, polysaccharides and polyphenols were reported in the nine studies. The review sheds light on the pathways of particulate matter travelling into respiratory systems and causing inflammation, and on the mechanisms of actions of algae in inhibiting inflammation. Limitations and future directions are also discussed. More research is needed to investigate the potential of algae as anti-inflammatory agents against PM in in vivo and in vitro experimental models, as well as clinically.
Topics: Air Pollutants; Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Humans; Particulate Matter; Phaeophyceae; Respiratory Tract Diseases
PubMed: 34070821
DOI: 10.3390/md19060317 -
Orthodontics & Craniofacial Research Feb 2022The aim of this systematic review was (i) to determine the role of muscular traction in the occurrence of skeletal relapse after advancement BSSO and (ii) to investigate... (Review)
Review
The aim of this systematic review was (i) to determine the role of muscular traction in the occurrence of skeletal relapse after advancement BSSO and (ii) to investigate the effect of advancement BSSO on the perimandibular muscles. This systematic review reports in accordance with the recommendations proposed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Electronic database searches were performed in the databases MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library. Inclusion criteria were as follows: assessment of relapse after advancement BSSO; assessment of morphological and functional change of the muscles after advancement BSSO; and clinical studies on human subjects. Exclusion criteria were as follows: surgery other than advancement BSSO; studies in which muscle activity/traction was not investigated; and case reports with a sample of five cases or fewer, review articles, meta-analyses, letters, congress abstracts or commentaries. Of the initial 1006 unique articles, 11 studies were finally included. In four studies, an intervention involving the musculature was performed with subsequent assessment of skeletal relapse. The changes in the morphological and functional properties of the muscles after BSSO were studied in seven studies. The findings of this review demonstrate that the perimandibular musculature plays a role in skeletal relapse after advancement BSSO and may serve as a target for preventive strategies to reduce this complication. However, further research is necessary to (i) develop a better understanding of the role of each muscle group, (ii) to develop new therapeutic strategies and (iii) to define criteria that allow identification of patients at risk.
Topics: Humans; Mandible; Mandibular Advancement; Osteotomy; Recurrence; Sitosterols; Traction
PubMed: 33938136
DOI: 10.1111/ocr.12488 -
Critical Reviews in Food Science and... 2022Dietary guidelines for many Western countries base their edible oil and fat recommendations solely on saturated fatty acid content. This study aims to demonstrate which...
Dietary guidelines for many Western countries base their edible oil and fat recommendations solely on saturated fatty acid content. This study aims to demonstrate which nutritional and bioactive components make up commonly consumed edible oils and fats; and explore the health effects and strength of evidence for key nutritional and bioactive components of edible oils. An umbrella review was conducted in several stages. Food composition databases of Australia and the United States of America, and studies were examined to profile nutrient and bioactive content of edible oils and fats. PUBMED and Cochrane databases were searched for umbrella reviews, systematic literature reviews of randomized controlled trials or cohort studies, individual randomized controlled trials, and individual cohort studies to examine the effect of the nutrient or bioactive on high-burden chronic diseases (cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, cancer, mental illness, cognitive impairment). Substantial systematic literature review evidence was identified for fatty acid categories, tocopherols, biophenols, and phytosterols. Insufficient evidence was identified for squalene. The evidence supports high mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acid compositions, total biophenol content, phytosterols, and possibly high α-tocopherol content as having beneficial effects on high-burden health comes. Future dietary guidelines should use a more sophisticated approach to judge edible oils beyond saturated fatty acid content.
Topics: Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Dietary Fats; Fats; Fatty Acids; Humans; Nutrients; Phytosterols; Plant Oils
PubMed: 33706623
DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1882382 -
Nutrients Jan 2021Conclusive data on the effectiveness of dietary interventions in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) management are unavailable. Whether this is due to a...
BACKGROUND
Conclusive data on the effectiveness of dietary interventions in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) management are unavailable. Whether this is due to a true lack of effects or biases in intervention designs remains unsettled. We systematically assessed the impact on LDL-C of published dietary randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted among individuals with HeFH in relation to their design and risk of bias.
METHODS
We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase in November 2020 to identify RCTs that assessed the impact of: (1) food-based interventions; (2) dietary counseling interventions; or (3) dietary supplements on LDL-C in individuals with HeFH. We evaluated the risk of bias of each study using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 method.
RESULTS
A total of 19 RCTs comprising 837 individuals with HeFH were included. Of those, five were food-based interventions, three were dietary counseling interventions and 12 were dietary supplement-based interventions (omega-3, = 3; phytosterols, = 7; guar gum, = 1; policosanol, = 1). One study qualified both as a food-based intervention and as a dietary supplement intervention due to its factorial design. A significant reduction in LDL-C levels was reported in 10 RCTs, including eight dietary supplement interventions (phytosterols, = 6, omega-3, = 1; guar gum, = 1), one food-based intervention and one dietary counseling intervention. A total of 13 studies were judged to have some methodological biases in a way that substantially lowers confidence in the results. Studies at low risk of biases were more likely to report significant reductions in LDL-C concentrations, compared with studies at risk of bias (chi-square statistic: 5.49; = 0.02).
CONCLUSION
This systemic review shows that the apparent lack of effectiveness of diet manipulation in modulating plasma levels of LDL-C among individuals with HeFH is likely due to biases in study designs, rather than a true lack of effects. The likelihood of reporting significant reductions in LDL-C was associated with the concurrent risk of bias.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; Cholesterol, LDL; Counseling; Diet; Dietary Supplements; Female; Heterozygote; Humans; Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II; Lipids; Male; Middle Aged; Publication Bias
PubMed: 33561083
DOI: 10.3390/nu13010235 -
Critical Reviews in Food Science and... 2022Phytosterols and phytostanols are natural products present in vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds, or added to consumer food products whose intake is inversely associated... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Phytosterols and phytostanols are natural products present in vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds, or added to consumer food products whose intake is inversely associated with incidence and prognosis of several cancers. Randomized cancer prevention trials in humans are unfeasible due to time and cost yet the cellular processes and signaling cascades that underpin anti-cancer effects of these phytochemicals have been explored extensively in vitro and in preclinical in vivo models. Here we have performed an original systematic review, meta-analysis, and qualitative interpretation of literature published up to June 2020. MEDLINE, Scopus, and hand-searching identified 408 unique records that were screened leading to 32 original articles that had investigated the effects of phytosterols or phytostanols on cancer biology in preclinical models. Data was extracted from 22 publications for meta-analysis. Phytosterols were most commonly studied and found to reduce primary and metastatic tumor burden in all cancer sites evaluated. Expression of pAKT, and markers of metastasis (alkaline phosphatase, matrix metalloproteases, epithelial to mesenchymal transcription factors, lung and brain colonization), angiogenesis (vascular endothelial growth factor, CD31), and proliferation (Ki67, proliferating cell nuclear antigen) were consistently reduced by phytosterol treatment in breast and colorectal cancer. Very high dose treatment (equivalent to 0.2-1 g/kg body weight not easily achievable through diet or supplementation in humans) was associated with adverse events including poor gut health and intestinal adenoma development. Phytosterols and phytostanols are already clinically recommended for cardiovascular disease risk reduction, and represent promising anti-cancer agents that could be delivered in clinic and to the general population at low cost, with a well understood safety profile, and now with a robust understanding of mechanism-of-action.
Topics: Animals; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Neoplasms; Phytosterols
PubMed: 33238719
DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2020.1835820 -
Revista Paulista de Pediatria : Orgao... 2020To carry out a systematic review on the effects of phytosterol supplementation on the treatment of dyslipidemia in children and adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To carry out a systematic review on the effects of phytosterol supplementation on the treatment of dyslipidemia in children and adolescents.
DATA SOURCES
Review in the SciELO, Lilacs, Bireme, PubMed and Web of Science databases, with no time limit. Descriptors: phytosterols or plant sterols and dyslipidemias, hypercholesterolemia, cholesterol, children, adolescent, in English and Portuguese. The articles included were published in Portuguese, English or Spanish and evaluated the effect of phytosterol supplementation in pediatric patients with dyslipidemia. Documents that involved adults or animals, review papers, case studies and abstracts were excluded. Two authors performed independent extraction of articles. Of 113 abstracts, 19 were read in full and 12 were used in this manuscript.
DATA SYNTHESIS
Phytosterol supplementation to reduce cholesterol levels has been shown to be effective in reducing LDL-cholesterol levels by approximately 10%, with reductions above 10% in LDL-cholesterol levels observed after 8 to 12 weeks of intervention. Studies have not shown significant changes in HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Based on the absence of adverse effects, its use seems to be safe and of good tolerance in children and adolescents.
CONCLUSIONS
Phytosterol supplementation seems to be of great therapeutic aid for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia in children and adolescents. Further studies assessing the long-term effect of phytosterol supplementation are necessary.
Topics: Adolescent; Anticholesteremic Agents; Child; Child, Preschool; Cholesterol, LDL; Food, Fortified; Humans; Hypercholesterolemia; Phytosterols; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
PubMed: 33206867
DOI: 10.1590/1984-0462/2021/39/2019389 -
RSC Advances Sep 2020For centuries, species of the genus (Ranunculaceae) have been extensively utilized for their extremely high ornamental and medicinal values. Phytochemical... (Review)
Review
For centuries, species of the genus (Ranunculaceae) have been extensively utilized for their extremely high ornamental and medicinal values. Phytochemical investigations of species have revealed the presence of multiple active ingredients, including diterpenoid alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, phytosterols, fatty acids, and volatile constituents. These chemical constituents are of great research significance due to their novel structures and broad biological activities. This review addresses, for the first time, the chemical constituents of plants and the biological activities of these compounds to facilitate future research.
PubMed: 35515663
DOI: 10.1039/d0ra06811j -
Food Chemistry Feb 2021Consumption of oat and buckwheat have been associated with various health benefits that may be attributed to their nutritional composition. We performed a systematic...
Consumption of oat and buckwheat have been associated with various health benefits that may be attributed to their nutritional composition. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the profile and quantity of bioactive compounds present in oat and buckwheat. Among 154 studies included in final analysis, 113 and 178 bioactive compounds were reported in oat and buckwheat, respectively. Total phytosterols, tocols, flavonoids and rutin content were generally higher in buckwheat, β-glucans were significantly higher in oat, while avenanthramides and saponins were characteristically present in oat. The majority of studies included in current review were published before 2010s. The heterogeneous methodological procedures used across the studies precluded our possibility to meta-analyse the evidence and raises the need for harmonization of separation and extraction methods in future studies. Our findings should further stimulate the exploration of metabolites related to identified phytochemicals and their roles in human health.
Topics: Avena; Fagopyrum; Humans; Phytochemicals
PubMed: 32950005
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127982 -
The use of moist exposed burn ointment (MEBO) for the treatment of burn wounds: a systematic review.Journal of Plastic Surgery and Hand... Dec 2020Moist exposed burn ointment (MEBO) is an oil-based herbal paste, purported to be efficacious in managing burn wounds and more commonly used in Asia and the Middle East....
Moist exposed burn ointment (MEBO) is an oil-based herbal paste, purported to be efficacious in managing burn wounds and more commonly used in Asia and the Middle East. A PRISMA-compliant systematic review was performed to analyse the evidence for the use of MEBO on burn wounds. Wound healing rate was the primary outcome of interest. PubMed-listed randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the efficacy of MEBO with placebo, standard care or other therapies in the treatment of partial thickness burns in adults and children were eligible for inclusion (November 2019). Six RCTs were eligible. The majority of trials comparing wound healing between MEBO and SSD favoured MEBO (two of three). There may be improved healing in MEBO-treated wounds vs. those treated with povidone-iodine + bepanthenol cream. There was no difference between MEBO and Acquacel Ag, but had faster healing rates than MEBO. However, all evidence was from moderately to poorly reported trials with a high risk of bias, thereby limiting the strength of this evidence. In conclusion, the evidence for MEBO in English-language literature was poor and inconsistent with respect to wound healing rate and analgesis compared to 1% SSD, Acquacel Ag, cream and povidone-iodine + bepanthenol cream. Blinded RCTs comparing MEBO to both placebo and other common topical treatments may further improve the confidence in concluding their analysis. There is some evidence that MEBO is as safe as its comparators as shown by the low complication rate.
Topics: Administration, Topical; Analgesia; Burns; Humans; Ointments; Sitosterols; Wound Healing
PubMed: 32876517
DOI: 10.1080/2000656X.2020.1813148 -
Nutrients Aug 2020Although a cholesterol-lowering diet and the addition of plant sterols and stanols are suggested for the lipid management of children and adults with familial... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Although a cholesterol-lowering diet and the addition of plant sterols and stanols are suggested for the lipid management of children and adults with familial hypercholesterolemia, there is limited evidence evaluating such interventions in this population.
OBJECTIVES
To investigate the impact of cholesterol-lowering diet and other dietary interventions on the incidence or mortality of cardiovascular disease and lipid profile of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.
SEARCH METHODS
Relevant trials were identified by searching US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health Metabolism Trials Register and clinicaltrials.gov.gr using the following terms: diet, dietary, plant sterols, stanols, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and familial hypercholesterolemia.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomized controlled trials evaluating the effect of cholesterol-lowering diet or other dietary interventions in children and adults with familial hypercholesterolemia were included.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two authors independently assessed the eligibility of the included trials and their bias risk and extracted the data which was independently verified by other colleagues.
RESULTS
A total of 17 trials were finally included, with a total of 376 participants across 8 comparison groups. The included trials had either a low or unclear bias risk for most of the assessed risk parameters. Cardiovascular incidence or mortality were not evaluated in any of the included trials. Among the planned comparisons regarding patients' lipidemic profile, a significant difference was noticed for the following comparisons and outcomes: omega-3 fatty acids reduced triglycerides (mean difference (MD): -0.27 mmol/L, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.47 to -0.07, < 0.01) when compared with placebo. A non-significant trend towards a reduction in subjects' total cholesterol (MD: -0.34, 95% CI: -0.68 to 0, mmol/L, = 0.05) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (MD: -0.31, 95% CI: -0.61 to 0, mmol/L, = 0.05) was noticed. In comparison with cholesterol-lowering diet, the additional consumption of plant stanols decreased total cholesterol (MD: -0.62 mmol/L, 95% CI: -1.13 to -0.11, = 0.02) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (MD: -0.58 mmol/L, 95% CI: -1.08 to -0.09, = 0.02). The same was by plant sterols (MD: -0.46 mmol/L, 95% CI: -0.76 to -0.17, < 0.01 for cholesterol and MD: -0.45 mmol/L, 95% CI: -0.74 to -0.16, < 0.01 for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol). No heterogeneity was noticed among the studies included in these analyses.
CONCLUSIONS
Available trials confirm that the addition of plant sterols or stanols has a cholesterol-lowering effect on such individuals. On the other hand, supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids effectively reduces triglycerides and might have a role in lowering the cholesterol of patients with familial hypercholesterolemia. Additional studies are needed to investigate the efficacy of cholesterol-lowering diet or the addition of soya protein and dietary fibers to a cholesterol-lowering diet in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.
Topics: Adult; Anticholesteremic Agents; Cardiovascular Diseases; Child; Cholesterol; Cholesterol, LDL; Clinical Trials as Topic; Diet; Dietary Supplements; Fatty Acids, Omega-3; Female; Heart Disease Risk Factors; Humans; Hyperlipoproteinemia Type II; Male; Phytosterols; Triglycerides
PubMed: 32823643
DOI: 10.3390/nu12082436