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Frontiers in Nutrition 2021Medium-chain triacylglycerides (MCTs) are dietary supplements that can induce ketosis without the need for a traditional ketogenic diet or prolonged fasting. They have... (Review)
Review
Medium-chain triacylglycerides (MCTs) are dietary supplements that can induce ketosis without the need for a traditional ketogenic diet or prolonged fasting. They have the potential to marginally delay the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. However, there have been inconsistencies in reports of the MCT dose-response relationship, which may be due to differences in MCT composition, participant characteristics, and other factors that can influence ketone generation. To resolve these discrepancies, we reviewed studies that investigated the ketogenic effect of MCTs in healthy adults. Aside from the treatment dose, other factors that can influence the ketogenic response, such as accompanying meals, fasting duration, and caffeine intake, were assessed. Based on the available literature, four practical recommendations are made to optimize the ketogenic effect of MCTs and reduce unwanted side effects (primarily gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea). First, the starting dose should be either 5 g of octanoic acid [caprylic acid (C8); a component of MCTs] or 5 g of a combination of C8 and decanoic or capric acid (C10; another component of MCTs), and the dose should be progressively increased to 15-20 g of C8. Second, MCTs should be consumed after an overnight fast, without an accompanying meal if tolerable, or with a low-carbohydrate meal. Third, the addition of caffeine may slightly increase the ketogenic response. Fourth, emulsifying the MCTs might increase their ketogenic effect and alleviate side effects.
PubMed: 34888335
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2021.747284 -
Biofilm Dec 2023Antibiotic therapy is the primary treatment for bovine mastitis, but the drawbacks of this strategy include poor cure rate and economic losses from the need to discard...
Antibiotic therapy is the primary treatment for bovine mastitis, but the drawbacks of this strategy include poor cure rate and economic losses from the need to discard milk with antibiotic residues. Unfortunately, few other treatment options are currently available for mastitis. Failure of antibiotic treatments is often attributed to formation of bacterial biofilms and abscesses in the mammary gland tissue, which lead to chronic infections that are difficult to eradicate and drive recurrent disease. A major mastitis-causing pathogen (MCP) associated with biofilms in bovine mastitis is . In this study, we demonstrate that octanoic acid has broad-spectrum microbicidal activity against MCPs and effectively inhibits biofilm formation in milk (>50% inhibition at 3.13 mM). Octanoic acid effectively clears biofilms (95% eradication at 1 minimum bactericidal concentration, MBC) and infrequently induces small colony variants (SCVs) that may cause recurrent mastitis. Additionally, octanoic acid rapidly kills persistent biofilm cells and cells with antibiotic tolerance (within 4 h). In contrast, antibiotics treated at >100 MBC cannot eradicate biofilms but do induce SCVs and antibiotic-tolerant cells. These effects may accelerate the transition from biofilm to chronic infection. Thus, octanoic acid exhibits bactericidal action against biofilms, and it is less likely than antibiotic therapy to induce persistent cells and pathogen tolerance. Moreover, octanoic acid acts additively with antibiotics against , and it attenuates tetracycline-induced virulence factor gene expression in cells. According to these data, octanoic acid may prevent the pathological progression of bovine mastitis and offer a new strategy for treating the condition.
PubMed: 37635811
DOI: 10.1016/j.bioflm.2023.100149 -
Nutrients Jun 2022Background: Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFAs) are a dietary supplement that exhibit interesting properties, due to their smaller molecular size. The acute consumption of...
Background: Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFAs) are a dietary supplement that exhibit interesting properties, due to their smaller molecular size. The acute consumption of MCFAs is expected to enhance exercise performance. However, the short-term effects of MCFAs on endurance performance remains poorly understood. The aim of our study is to evaluate the octanoic acid (C8)-rich diet effect on endurance capacity, and to explore their molecular and cellular effects. Methods: C57BL/6J mice were fed with a chow diet (Control group) or an octanoic acid-rich diet (C8 diet) for 6 weeks. Spontaneous activity, submaximal and maximal exercise tests were carried out to characterize the exercise capacities of the mice. Beta-oxidation and mitochondrial biogenesis pathways were explored in skeletal muscle by RT-qPCR, Western Blot (Quadriceps) and histochemical staining (Gastrocnemius). Results: Mice fed with a C8-rich diet presented a higher spontaneous activity (p < 0.05) and endurance capacities (p < 0.05) than the control, but no effect on maximal effort was observed. They also presented changes in the skeletal muscle metabolic phenotype, with a higher number of the oxidative fibers, rich in mitochondria. At the molecular level, the C8-diet induced an AMPK activation (p < 0.05), associated with a significant increase in PGC1a and CS gene expression and protein levels. Conclusion: Our study provided evidence that C8-enrichment as a food supplementation improves endurance capacities and activates mitochondrial biogenesis pathways leading to higher skeletal muscle oxidative capacities.
Topics: Animals; Caprylates; Diet, High-Fat; Fatty Acids; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mitochondria, Muscle; Muscle, Skeletal; Organelle Biogenesis; Physical Conditioning, Animal; Physical Endurance
PubMed: 35807901
DOI: 10.3390/nu14132721 -
Journal of Food Science and Technology Aug 2022Intensification in synthesis of triglycerides of octanoic acid using a heterogeneous amberlyst-15 catalyst has been investigated with the application of ultrasound under...
UNLABELLED
Intensification in synthesis of triglycerides of octanoic acid using a heterogeneous amberlyst-15 catalyst has been investigated with the application of ultrasound under solvent-free conditions. Further, the frying characteristics of medium-chain triglycerides (tricaprin) are evaluated by deep frying of French fries in various combinations of palm oil and tricaprin. Understanding into the effect of parameters such as the temperature of the reaction (over the range of 40 °C-80 °C), loading of amberlyst-15 (1%-5%) and molar ratio of fatty acid to glycerol (3:1-3:5) along with the ultrasound conditions as duty cycle (40%-90%) and time on the conversion (%) has also been developed. Based on the outcomes of the study, optimum reaction conditions seen are 3:4 as the molar ratio of fatty acid (C8): glycerol, amberlyst-15 loading of 3% and a reaction temperature of 50 °C. It was further observed that the optimum ultrasound conditions required for maximum conversion of 99.8% were 240 W power, 80% duty cycle and 15 min as the ultrasound irradiation time. Under similar conditions, the conventional synthesis resulted in only 20% conversion in 15 min. Reusability studies also established that the acid-resin catalyst was effectively reused for 8 times. The PV, p-AV and TPC of frying oil combination containing higher tricaprin (50:50-palm oil: MCT) was 8.4 ± 0.8, 23.1 ± 0.01 and 29.8 ± 0.01 respectively, which were lowest as compared with other blends indicating the beneficial effects of MCT in frying applications. The work clearly shows that the ultrasound application for the synthesis of triglyceride of octanoic acid gives higher conversion (%) in a less time and also demonstrates that MCT could be a good alternative for deep frying of foods in combination with palm oil to enhance the shelf-life of food.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-022-05379-3.
PubMed: 35872730
DOI: 10.1007/s13197-022-05379-3 -
Brazilian Journal of Microbiology :... Mar 2022In the present investigation, we determined the in vitro antimicrobial activity of eight essential oils (EOs) and three medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) alone and in...
In the present investigation, we determined the in vitro antimicrobial activity of eight essential oils (EOs) and three medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) alone and in combination against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 700698, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 700603, and E. coli FcW5. The interactions between EOs and MCFAs were determined by fractional inhibitory concentration indices. Moreover, mode of action of selected bioactive components was studied by changes in bacterial surface charge, morphology, and membrane integrity assays. Among EOs, carvacrol (CAR), trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC), and thymol (TM) showed strong antimicrobial activity. In combination study, CAR+OA (octanoic acid), CAR+DA (decanoic acid), and TM+OA were observed as the most significant (P≤0.05) which were also confirmed through time-kill plots. Based on these results, CAR+OA were found to be most efficacious in terms of killing time (P≤0.05). Changes in the surface charge, morphology, and membrane integrity upon the combined treatment of CAR+OA were also observed, which ultimately leads to cell death. Results suggest that CAR+OA when used in combination offer a significant (P≤0.05) additive antimicrobial activity against the selected pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, these natural bioactive molecules could be interesting alternatives to conventional therapy for the control of mastitis caused by multi-drug-resistant pathogens in bovine animals to ensure the milk safety.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Caprylates; Cattle; Cymenes; Escherichia coli; Female; Humans; Mastitis; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Oils, Volatile; Pharmaceutical Preparations
PubMed: 34784023
DOI: 10.1007/s42770-021-00639-4 -
Lipids Jul 2022Gastric emptying (GE) is the process of food being processed by the stomach and delivered to the small intestine where nutrients such as lipids are absorbed into the... (Review)
Review
Gastric emptying (GE) is the process of food being processed by the stomach and delivered to the small intestine where nutrients such as lipids are absorbed into the blood circulation. The combination of an easy and inexpensive method to measure GE such as the CO breath test using the stable isotope [ C]octanoic acid with semi-mechanistic modeling could foster a wider application in nutritional studies to further understand the metabolic response to food. Here, we discuss the use of the [ C]octanoic acid breath test to label the solid phase of a meal, and the factors that influence GE to support mechanistic studies. Furthermore, we give an overview of existing mathematical models for the interpretation of the breath test data and how much nutritional studies could benefit from a physiological based pharmacokinetic model approach.
Topics: Breath Tests; Caprylates; Carbon Isotopes; Gastric Emptying
PubMed: 35799422
DOI: 10.1002/lipd.12352 -
The Journal of Physical Chemistry. C,... May 2022The adsorption of carboxylic acid molecules at the calcite (104) and the muscovite (001) surface was investigated using surface X-ray diffraction. All four investigated...
The adsorption of carboxylic acid molecules at the calcite (104) and the muscovite (001) surface was investigated using surface X-ray diffraction. All four investigated carboxylic acid molecules, hexanoic acid, octanoic acid, lauric acid, and stearic acid, were found to adsorb at the calcite surface. Whereas the shortest two carboxylic acid molecules, hexanoic acid and octanoic acid, showed limited ordering and a flexible, disordered chain, the two longest carboxylic acid molecules form fully ordered monolayers, i.e., these form highly structured self-assembled monolayers. The latter molecules are oriented almost fully upright, with a tilt of up to 10°. The oxygen atoms of the organic molecules are found at similar positions to those of water molecules at the calcite-water interface. This suggests that in both cases, the oxygen atoms compensate for the broken bonds at the calcite surface. Under the same experimental conditions, stearic acid does not adsorb to K and Ca-functionalized muscovite mica because the neutral molecules do not engage in the ionic bonds typical for the mica interface. These differences in adsorption behavior are characteristic for the differences of the oil-solid interactions in carbonate and sandstone reservoirs.
PubMed: 35655936
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c01157 -
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) Jan 2022This study aims to investigate six food additives (octanoic acid, decanoic acid, acesulfame K, aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose) used in foods for the elderly or...
This study aims to investigate six food additives (octanoic acid, decanoic acid, acesulfame K, aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose) used in foods for the elderly or people with dysphagia because of the effect of these food additives on (), which is a keystone pathogen of periodontal diseases. The growth of was inhibited by 5 mM octanoic acid, 1.25 mM decanoic acid, 1.25% acesulfame K, 0.0625% aspartame, 0.03125% saccharin, and 0.625% sucralose. In addition, these food additives showed bactericidal activity for planktonic (5 mM octanoic acid, 5 mM decanoic acid, 0.25% aspartame, 0.25% saccharin, and 5% sucralose). Moreover, biofilm formation was inhibited by 10 mM octanoic acid, 10 mM decanoic acid, 10% acesulfame K, 0.35% aspartame, 0.5% saccharin, and 7.5% sucralose. Moreover, the same concentration of these food additives without aspartame killed in the biofilm. Aspartame and sucralose did not show cytotoxicity to human cell lines at concentrations that affected These findings may be useful in clarifying the effects of food additives on periodontopathogenic bacteria.
PubMed: 35056013
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11010065 -
New Solutions : a Journal of... Aug 2015Perfluorinated alkyl substances have been in use for over sixty years. These highly stable substances were at first thought to be virtually inert and of low toxicity.... (Review)
Review
Perfluorinated alkyl substances have been in use for over sixty years. These highly stable substances were at first thought to be virtually inert and of low toxicity. Toxicity information slowly emerged on perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate. More than thirty years ago, early studies reported immunotoxicity and carcinogenicity effects. The substances were discovered in blood samples from exposed workers, then in the general population and in community water supplies near U.S. manufacturing plants. Only recently has research publication on perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate intensified. While the toxicology database is still far from complete, carcinogenicity and immunotoxicity now appear to be relevant risks at prevalent exposure levels. Existing drinking water limits are based on less complete evidence that was available before 2008 and may be more than 100-fold too high. As risk evaluations assume that untested effects do not require regulatory attention, the greatly underestimated health risks from perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate illustrate the public health implications of assuming the safety of incompletely tested industrial chemicals.
Topics: Alkanesulfonic Acids; Animals; Caprylates; Carcinogenicity Tests; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollutants; Environmental Pollution; Female; Fluorocarbons; Healthy Worker Effect; Humans; Male; Maximum Allowable Concentration; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 26084549
DOI: 10.1177/1048291115590506