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Food Research International (Ottawa,... Jul 2024Several studies have linked the intake of lycopene and/or tomato products with improved metabolic health under obesogenic regime. The aim was to evaluate the...
Several studies have linked the intake of lycopene and/or tomato products with improved metabolic health under obesogenic regime. The aim was to evaluate the differential impact of supplementations with several tomato genotypes differing in carotenoid content and subjected to different irrigation levels on obesity-associated disorders in mice. In this study, 80 male C57BL/6JRj mice were assigned into 8 groups to receive: control diet, high fat diet, high fat diet supplemented at 5 % w/w with 4 tomato powders originating from different tomato genotypes cultivated under control irrigation: H1311, M82, IL6-2, IL12-4. Among the 4 genotypes, 2 were also cultivated under deficit irrigation, reducing the irrigation water supply by 50 % from anthesis to fruit harvest. In controlled irrigation treatment, all genotypes significantly improved fasting glycemia and three of them significantly lowered liver lipids content after 12 weeks of supplementation. In addition, IL6-2 genotype, rich in β-carotene, significantly limited animal adiposity, body weight gain and improved glucose homeostasis as highlighted in glucose and insulin tolerance tests. No consistent beneficial or detrimental impact of deficit irrigation to tomato promoting health benefits was found. These findings imply that the choice of tomato genotype can significantly alter the composition of fruit carotenoids and phytochemicals, thereby influencing the anti-obesogenic effects of the fruit. In contrast, deficit irrigation appears to have an overall insignificant impact on enhancing the health benefits of tomato powder in this context, particularly when compared to the genotype-related variations in carotenoid content.
Topics: Solanum lycopersicum; Animals; Male; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Obesity; Genotype; Mice; Diet, High-Fat; Carotenoids; Fruit; Water; Agricultural Irrigation; Blood Glucose; Adiposity
PubMed: 38823883
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.114512 -
Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of... Jun 2024Methotrexate (MTX) is a folic acid reductase inhibitor that manages various malignancies as well as immune-mediated inflammatory chronic diseases. Despite being... (Review)
Review
Methotrexate (MTX) is a folic acid reductase inhibitor that manages various malignancies as well as immune-mediated inflammatory chronic diseases. Despite being frequently prescribed, MTX's severe multiple toxicities can occasionally limit its therapeutic potential. Intestinal toxicity is a severe adverse effect associated with the administration of MTX, and patients are significantly burdened by MTX-provoked intestinal mucositis. However, the mechanism of such intestinal toxicity is not entirely understood, mechanistic studies demonstrated oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions as key factors that lead to the development of MTX-induced intestinal injury. Besides, MTX causes intestinal cells to express pro-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), which activate nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). This is followed by the activation of the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of the transcription3 (JAK/STAT3) signaling pathway. Moreover, because of its dual anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties, nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2/heme oxygenase-1 (Nrf2/HO-1) has been considered a critical signaling pathway that counteracts oxidative stress in MTX-induced intestinal injury. Several agents have potential protective effects in counteracting MTX-provoked intestinal injury such as omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, taurine, umbelliferone, vinpocetine, perindopril, rutin, hesperidin, lycopene, quercetin, apocynin, lactobacillus, berberine, zinc, and nifuroxazide. This review aims to summarize the potential redox molecular mechanisms of MTX-induced intestinal injury and how they can be alleviated. In conclusion, studying these molecular pathways might open the way for early alleviation of the intestinal damage and the development of various agent plans to attenuate MTX-mediated intestinal injury.
PubMed: 38822868
DOI: 10.1007/s00210-024-03164-x -
Anticancer Research Jun 2024Breast cancer remains a global health challenge, prompting a search for preventive strategies beyond conventional approaches. This review explores the potential of... (Review)
Review
Breast cancer remains a global health challenge, prompting a search for preventive strategies beyond conventional approaches. This review explores the potential of specific micronutrients, including antioxidants, vitamins, and probiotics, in breast cancer prevention. Through an extensive literature search encompassing PubMed up to March 2024, 14 micronutrients emerged with promising roles in breast cancer prevention. These include five vitamins: folate, vitamin D, vitamin B6, beta carotene, and vitamin C and nine other micronutrients: curcumin, piperine, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, quercetin, sulforaphane, indole-3-carbinol, lactobacillus, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and lycopene. Understanding the efficacy of these micronutrients could pave the way for personalized preventive interventions, offering new avenues for reducing breast cancer incidence and improving public health outcomes.
Topics: Humans; Breast Neoplasms; Probiotics; Antioxidants; Female; Vitamins; Micronutrients
PubMed: 38821606
DOI: 10.21873/anticanres.17036 -
Journal of Agricultural and Food... May 2024Atrazine (ATR) is a widely used herbicide worldwide that can cause kidney damage in humans and animals by accumulation in water and soil. Lycopene (LYC), a carotenoid...
Atrazine (ATR) is a widely used herbicide worldwide that can cause kidney damage in humans and animals by accumulation in water and soil. Lycopene (LYC), a carotenoid with numerous biological activities, plays an important role in kidney protection due to its potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The current study sought to investigate the role of interactions between mtDNA and the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in LYC mitigating PANoptosis and inflammation in kidneys induced by ATR exposure. In our research, 350 mice were orally administered LYC (5 mg/kg BW/day) and ATR (50 or 200 mg/kg BW/day) for 21 days. Our results reveal that ATR exposure induces a decrease in mtDNA stability, resulting in the release of mtDNA into the cytoplasm through the mPTP pore and the BAX pore and the mobilization of the cGAS-STING pathway, thereby inducing renal PANoptosis and inflammation. LYC can inhibit the above changes caused by ATR. In conclusion, LYC inhibited ATR exposure-induced histopathological changes, renal PANoptosis, and inflammation by inhibiting the cGAS-STING pathway. Our results demonstrate the positive role of LYC in ATR-induced renal injury and provide a new therapeutic target for treating renal diseases in the clinic.
PubMed: 38820047
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c02820 -
Current Pharmaceutical Design May 2024Inflammation is an individual's physiological response to a sequence of physical, chemical, or infectious stressors acting mainly to provide localized protection....
Inflammation is an individual's physiological response to a sequence of physical, chemical, or infectious stressors acting mainly to provide localized protection. Although inflammation is a protective and thus beneficial process, its excess or prolonged action can be harmful to the body. An increasing number of the population worldwide are changing their lifestyles, which leads to a rise in inflammatory diseases, such as atherosclerosis, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, ulcerative colitis, cancer, and many more. Their treatment is based majorly on the pharmacological approach. However, natural products or bioactive compounds are of great significance in inflammation therapy because they show minimum side effects and maximum bioavailability. Therefore, it is critical to investigate bioactive substances that can modify target functions associated with oxidative stress defense and might be used to achieve various health benefits. This review accentuates the essence of bioactive chemicals used in the treatment of inflammation and other inflammatory illnesses. These bioactive compounds can be of any origin, such as plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, marine invertebrates, etc. Bioactive compounds derived from plant sources, such as glycyrrhizin, lignans, lycopene, resveratrol, indoles, and phenolic and polyphenolic compounds, work mainly by reducing oxidative stress and thereby preventing various inflammatory disorders. A large diversity of these anti-inflammatory bioactive compounds has also been discovered in marine environments, giving rise to an increase in the interest of various scientists in marine invertebrates and microbes. The vast diversity of microbes found in the marine environment represents an enormous supply to extract novel compounds, such as from bacteria, cyanobacteria, fungi, algae, microalgae, tiny invertebrates, etc. In the present review, an attempt has been made to summarize such novel bioactive compounds that help prevent inflammatory responses via different mechanisms of action.
PubMed: 38818920
DOI: 10.2174/0113816128299615240513174041 -
Toxicology May 2024Atrazine (ATR) is one of the most widely utilized herbicides globally and is prevalent in the environment due to its extensive use and long half-life. It can infiltrate... (Review)
Review
Atrazine (ATR) is one of the most widely utilized herbicides globally and is prevalent in the environment due to its extensive use and long half-life. It can infiltrate the human body through drinking water, ingestion, and dermal contact, and has been recognized as an environmental endocrine disruptor. This study aims to comprehensively outline the detrimental impacts of ATR on the endocrine system. Previous research indicates that ATR is harmful to various bodily systems, including the reproductive system, nervous system, adrenal glands, and thyroi d gland. The toxic effects of ATR on the endocrine system and its underlying molecular mechanisms are summarized as follows: influencing the expression of kisspeptin in the HPG axis, consequently affecting steroid synthesis; disrupting DNA synthesis and meiosis, as well as modifying DNA methylation levels, leading to reproductive and developmental toxicity; impacting dopamine by altering Nurr1, VMAT2, and DAT expression, consequently affecting dopamine synthesis and transporter expression, and influencing other neurotransmitters, resulting in neurotoxicity; and changing adipose tissue synthesis and metabolism by reducing basal metabolism, impairing cellular oxidative phosphorylation, and inducing insulin resistance. Additionally, a compilation of natural products used to mitigate the toxic effects of ATR has been provided, encompassing melatonin, curcumin, quercetin, lycopene, flavonoids, vitamin C, vitamin E, and other natural remedies. It is important to note that existing research predominantly relies on in vitro and ex vivo experiments, with limited population-based empirical evidence available.
PubMed: 38815618
DOI: 10.1016/j.tox.2024.153846 -
Food Chemistry May 2024Microbubbles (MBs) were incorporated into calcium chloride solution as a novel freezing medium for immersion freezing of grape tomato. The effects of MB size (39, 43,...
Microbubbles (MBs) were incorporated into calcium chloride solution as a novel freezing medium for immersion freezing of grape tomato. The effects of MB size (39, 43, 48 μm mean diameter), entrapped gas (air, N, CO) and freezing temperature (-10, -15, -20 °C) on the freezing behavior and quality attributes of tomato were investigated. MBs increased the nucleation temperature from -7.4 to -3.5 °C and reduced the onset time of nucleation from 5.8 to 2.9 min at freezing temperature of -20 °C, which facilitated the formation of small ice crystals within tomato. MB-assisted freezing reduced the drip loss by 13.7-17.0% and improved the firmness of tomato, particularly when MB size and freezing temperature decreased. Freezing tomato with air-MBs did not compromise its nutritional quality, using N- and CO-MBs even increased its lycopene content, by 31% and 23%, respectively. The results proved the preservation effect of MBs on fruit during immersion freezing. This study can benefit the fruit and vegetable industry by providing an efficient freezing technology for producing frozen products with high sensory and nutritional quality.
PubMed: 38810460
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139813 -
Journal of the Science of Food and... May 2024Protein hydrolysates (PHs) can enhance plant nitrogen nutrition and improve the quality of vegetables, depending on their bioactive compounds. A tomato greenhouse...
Foliar applications of a Malvaceae-derived protein hydrolysate and its fractions differentially modulate yield and functional traits of tomato under optimal and suboptimal nitrogen application.
BACKGROUND
Protein hydrolysates (PHs) can enhance plant nitrogen nutrition and improve the quality of vegetables, depending on their bioactive compounds. A tomato greenhouse experiment was conducted under both optimal (14 mM) and suboptimal (2 mM) nitrogen (N-NO) conditions. Tomatoes were treated with a new Malvaceae-derived PH (MDPH) and its molecular fractions (MDPH1, >10 kDa; MDPH2, 1-10 kDa and MDPH3, <1 kDa).
RESULTS
Under optimal N conditions, the plants increased biomass and fruit yield, and showed a higher photosynthetic pigment content in leaves in comparison with suboptimal N, whereas under N-limiting conditions, an increase in dry matter, soluble solid content (SSC) and lycopene, a reduction in firmness, and changes in organic acid and phenolic compounds were observed. With 14 mM N-NO, MDPH3 stimulated an increase in dry weight and increased yield components and lycopene in the fruit. The MDPH2 fraction also resulted in increased lycopene accumulation in fruit under 14 mM N-NO. At a low N level, the PH fractions showed distinct effects compared with the whole MDPH and the control, with an increase in biomass for MDPH1 and MDPH2 and a higher pigment content for MDPH3. Regardless of N availability, all the fractions affected fruit quality by increasing SSC, whereas MDPH2 and MDPH3 modified organic acid content and showed a higher concentration of flavonols, lignans, and stilbenes.
CONCLUSION
The molecular weight of the peptides modifies the effect of PHs on plant performance, with different behavior depending on the level of N fertilization, confirming the effectiveness of fractioning processes. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
PubMed: 38804737
DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.13596 -
The Journal of Nutrition May 2024Carotenoids are fat-soluble phytochemicals with biological roles, including UV protective functions in skin. Spectroscopic skin carotenoid measurements can also serve as...
BACKGROUND
Carotenoids are fat-soluble phytochemicals with biological roles, including UV protective functions in skin. Spectroscopic skin carotenoid measurements can also serve as a noninvasive biomarker for carotenoid consumption. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in metabolic genes are associated with human plasma carotenoid concentrations, however their relationships with skin carotenoid concentrations are unknown.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between 13 candidate SNPs with skin and plasma carotenoid concentrations before and after a carotenoid-rich tomato juice intervention.
METHODS
In this randomized, controlled trial, participants (n=80) were provided with lycopene-rich vegetable juice providing low (13.1 mg), medium (23.9 mg), and high (31.0 mg) daily total carotenoid doses for 8-weeks. Plasma carotenoid concentrations were measured by HPLC, and skin carotenoid score was assessed by reflection spectroscopy (Veggie Meter ™) at baseline and the end of study time point. Thirteen candidate SNPs in 5 genes (BCO1, CD36, SCARB1, SETD7, ABCA1) were genotyped from blood using PCR-based assays. Mixed models tested the effects of the intervention, study time point, interaction between intervention and study time point, and SNP genotype on skin and plasma carotenoids throughout the study. Baseline carotenoid intake, BMI, gender, and age are covariates in all models.
RESULTS
The genotype of CD36 rs1527479 (p=0.0490) was significantly associated with skin carotenoid concentrations when baseline and the final week of the intervention were evaluated. Genotypes for BCO1 rs7500996 (p=0.0067) and CD36 rs1527479 (p=0.0018) were significant predictors of skin carotenoid concentrations in a combined SNP model.
CONCLUSIONS
These novel associations between SNPs and skin carotenoid concentrations expand upon the understanding of how genetic variation affects inter-individual variation in skin carotenoid phenotypes in humans. Clinical Trial registered at Clinicaltrials.gov. Trial identifier is NCT03202043.
PubMed: 38797482
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.05.022 -
Nutrients May 2024Recent interest in preventing the development of osteoporosis has focused on the regulation of redox homeostasis. However, the action of lycopene (LYC), a strong natural...
Recent interest in preventing the development of osteoporosis has focused on the regulation of redox homeostasis. However, the action of lycopene (LYC), a strong natural antioxidant compound, on osteoporotic bone loss remains largely unknown. Here, we show that oral administration of LYC to OVX rats for 12 weeks reduced body weight gain, improved lipid metabolism, and preserved bone quality. In addition, LYC treatment inhibited ROS overgeneration in serum and bone marrow in OVX rats, and in BMSCs upon HO stimulation, leading to inhibiting adipogenesis and promoting osteogenesis during bone remodeling. At the molecular level, LYC improved bone quality via an increase in the expressions of FoxO1 and Runx2 and a decrease in the expressions of PPARγ and C/EBPα in OVX rats and BMSCs. Collectively, these findings suggest that LYC attenuates osteoporotic bone loss through promoting osteogenesis and inhibiting adipogenesis via regulation of the FoxO1/PPARγ pathway driven by oxidative stress, presenting a novel strategy for osteoporosis management.
Topics: Animals; Osteogenesis; Adipogenesis; Lycopene; PPAR gamma; Mesenchymal Stem Cells; Female; Ovariectomy; Signal Transduction; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Osteoporosis; Oxidative Stress; Forkhead Box Protein O1; Antioxidants; Reactive Oxygen Species
PubMed: 38794681
DOI: 10.3390/nu16101443