Quinoa (
Willd.) is a nutrient-rich grain native to South America and eaten worldwide as a healthy food, sometimes even referred to as a "superfood". Like quinoa grains, quinoa greens (green leaves, ...sprouts, and microgreens) are also rich in nutrients and have health promoting properties such as being antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antiobesity, and cardio-beneficial. Quinoa greens are gluten-free and provide an excellent source of protein, amino acids, essential minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids. Quinoa greens represent a promising value-added vegetable that could resolve malnutrition problems and contribute to food and nutritional security. The greens can be grown year-round (in the field, high tunnel, and greenhouse) and have short growth durations. In addition, quinoa is salt-, drought-, and cold-tolerant and requires little fertilizer and water to grow. Nevertheless, consumption of quinoa greens as leafy vegetables is uncommon. To date, only a few researchers have investigated the nutritional properties, phytochemical composition, and human health benefits of quinoa greens. We undertook a comprehensive review of the literature on quinoa greens to explore their nutritional and functional significance to human health and to bring awareness to their use in human diets.
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Linn. is native to Indo-Pak sub-continent and has high medicinal values in Ayureda. This plant has been used traditionally for the treatment of sciatica, rheumatism, chronic ...fever, diabetes, snakebite, dysentery, cachexia and cancer. Studies have shown many pharmacological properties such as anti-cancer efficacy against Dalton's ascetic lymphoma, cytotoxicity against T-cell leukemia, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic and anti-oxidant effects.
Aim of the study was to explore the anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative potential of N. arbor-tristis.
Ethanol extract of fresh and uncrushed aerial parts of N. arbor-tristis was used in the present study. A new compound nyctanthesin A was isolated following a bioactivity-guided fractionation and chromatographic separations. Its chemical structure was elucidated through spectral studies including 1D, 2D-NMR experiments and HREIMS. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) generation from phagocytes were detected by chemiluminescence technique and Griess method, respectively. TNF-α and TGF-β production was quantified by ELISA. Anti-lymphoma and cytotoxic activities were assessed by alamar blue and MTT assays, respectively. The transcription and protein expression level of Bcl-2, COX-2, p38 MAPK, PDL-1, NF-κB, c-Myc and PNF-κB was performed by qRT-PCR and protein blot assays, respectively.
Petroleum ether insoluble fraction of the ethanol extract of fresh and uncrushed aerial parts of N. arbor-tristis revealed anti-inflammatory potential by inhibiting ROS. A previously undescribed compound nyctanthesin A was isolated from this fraction and characterized by UV, IR, NMR and HREIMS. It showed significant anti-inflammatory property by inhibiting ROS, NO and TNF-α production. The strong anti-proliferative effects on B- cell lymphoma cells, DOHH2 and Raji, revealed its anti-lymphoma potential along with non-toxic profile against BJ and NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells of normal origin. The qRT-PCR results showed marked inhibition of Bcl-2, COX-2, p38 MAPK, PDL-1, c-Myc, NF-κB, and PNF-κB at transcription level in DOHH2 cells with comparatively lesser but significant effects in Raji cells, where the expression of Bcl-2 gene was not affected. The protein expression of PNF-κB in DOHH2 cells was inhibited by 66% (P < 0.05) and COX-2 in both cell lines was inhibited by 50% (P < 0.05) at 60 μg/mL. A moderate non-significant inhibition of TGF-β (∼20%) was observed in both cell lines at 100 μg/mL
Scientific evidences reported here validate the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer potential of the plant.
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•Nyctanthesin A isolated from Nyctanthes arbor-tristis Linn.•Nyctanthesin A modulates the levels of oxidative species and cytokines.•Nyctanthesin A has anti-proliferative effects against lymphoma.•Nyctanthesin A interrupted Bcl-2, c-Myc, P-38 MAPK and NF-κB pathways.•Nyctanthesin A is a potential therapeutic agent for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
We previously described a lipid-accumulating phenotype of estrogen receptor negative (ER
−
) breast cancer cells exemplified by the MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-436 cell lines. These cells had more lipid ...droplets, a higher uptake of oleic acid and LDL, a higher ratio of cholesteryl ester (CE) to triacylglycerol (TAG), and higher expression of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase 1 (ACAT1) as compared to ER
+
MCF-7 breast cancer cells. LDL stimulated proliferation of ER-cells only, and proliferation was reduced by inhibition of ACAT. We hypothesized that storage of exogenous lipids would confer an energetic advantage. We tested this by depriving cells of exogenous lipids and measuring chemotactic migration, an energy-intensive behavior. MDA-MB-231 cells were grown for 48 h in medium with either 5% FBS or 5% lipoprotein-depleted (LD) FBS. Growth in LD medium resulted in visibly reduced lipid droplets and an 85% decrease in cell migration. Addition of LDL to the LD medium dose-dependently restored the ability to migrate in an ACAT-sensitive manner. LDL receptor (LDLR) mRNA was 12-fold higher in MDA-MB-231 cells compared to nontumorigenic ER-MCF-10A breast epithelial cells grown in LD medium. Addition of LDL to the LD medium reduced LDLR mRNA levels in MCF-10A cells only. We asked if ACAT1 activity was associated with the expression of the LDLR in MDA-MB-231 cells. LDLR mRNA in MDA-MB-231 cells was substantially reduced by inhibition of ACAT, demonstrating that high ACAT1 activity permitted higher LDLR expression. This data substantiates the association of lipid accumulation with aggressive behavior in an ER-breast cancer cell line.
Obesity is the underlying risk factor for major metabolism complications, including non-alcoholic-fatty liver disease, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. The adipose tissue is a vital ...endocrine organ that plays a role in the synthesis and storage of lipid and, therefore, is a contributory factor to the development and progression of obesity. A growing interest in nutraceuticals suggests that natural products can alleviate the risk factors and may be effective in mitigating obesity.
The objective of this study was to examine the underlying mechanisms of immature ginger on adipocyte differentiation and lipogenesis in a 3T3-L1 cellular model.
Ginger samples, extracted in 80% methanol, were dried and resuspended in DMSO at 50 μg/mL as stock solution. For analysis, the extracted samples were further diluted in media. Effects on adipogenesis were evaluated by determining lipid droplet and triglyceride accumulation, whereas effects on lipogenesis were determined by measuring triglyceride contents and fatty acid profile. The expression of key regulatory genes involved in adipogenesis and lipogenesis was also determined.
Our data indicate that the intracellular lipid accumulation decreased significantly by 15 or 25% on treatment with 25 or 50 μg/mL of ginger extract. Consistent with these data, significantly reduced triglyceride levels by 30 or 50% were observed on 25 or 50 μg/mL treatment with ginger extracts, respectively. In addition, ginger treatment significantly inhibited the differentiation-induced
lipogenesis and Δ9 desaturase activity. Furthermore, ginger treatment reduced adipogenesis genes,
and
, expression by 47 or 64%, respectively, but significantly increased
expression by 60% and adiponectin by 75%. Ginger extracts had no effect on
genes but reduced lipogenesis genes, acyl CoA carboxylase (
) expression by two-fold, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxy kinase 1 (
expression by 50%.
Our findings suggest immature ginger can potentially inhibit lipogenesis pathways by limiting the channeling of glucose carbon in fatty acid synthesis by inhibiting the expression of ACC and glycerol production via inhibiting the expression of PEPCK, which consequently inhibits triglyceride formation.
We determined the phenolic content and anti‐oxidation properties of ginger at different harvesting time and tested its effects on lipid droplet formation and glucose uptake in HepG2 cells. Ginger ...samples at different stages of maturity were harvested every two weeks starting from mid‐October for 16 weeks. Our data indicate that ginger has the highest phenolic contents and superior anti‐oxidation activity when harvested early (immature baby ginger); however, the concentration of phenolic contents and its anti‐oxidation activity were progressively reduced up to 50% as ginger matures. Furthermore, the data indicate that baby ginger extract inhibits lipid accumulation and triglyceride content in oleic acid‐induced HepG2 cells up to 20% in a dose‐dependent manner. Baby ginger exhibited significant inhibition of α‐amylase enzyme activity by 29.5% and ameliorated glucose uptake in HepG2 cell at similar level. Our results suggest that harvesting ginger at an appropriate (early) time may be beneficial for optimizing its biological active contents and qualitative properties. The data also suggest that a regular use of ginger can potentially lower incidences of obesity and diabetes.
6‐gingerol is the primary component in ginger; it is about 15‐fold and 53‐fold higher than 6‐paradol and 6‐shogaol, respectively. Consistent with TPC and antioxidant activity, the highest amount of these major phytochemicals was obtained when harvested at the first week; however, these phenolic compounds were gradually reduced to 50% of originals as ginger matured.
The specific role of dietary fat in breast cancer progression is unclear, although a low-fat diet was associated with decreased recurrence of estrogen receptor alpha negative (ER⁻) breast cancer. ER⁻ ...basal-like MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-436 breast cancer cell lines contained a greater number of cytoplasmic lipid droplets compared to luminal ER⁺ MCF-7 cells. Therefore, we studied lipid storage functions in these cells. Both triacylglycerol and cholesteryl ester (CE) concentrations were higher in the ER⁻ cells, but the ability to synthesize CE distinguished the two types of breast cancer cells. Higher baseline, oleic acid- and LDL-stimulated CE concentrations were found in ER⁻ compared to ER⁺ cells. The differences corresponded to greater mRNA and protein levels of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase 1 (ACAT1), higher ACAT activity, higher caveolin-1 protein levels, greater LDL uptake, and lower de novo cholesterol synthesis in ER⁻ cells. Human LDL stimulated proliferation of ER⁻ MDA-MB-231 cells, but had little effect on proliferation of ER⁺ MCF-7 cells. The functional significance of these findings was demonstrated by the observation that the ACAT inhibitor CP-113,818 reduced proliferation of breast cancer cells, and specifically reduced LDL-induced proliferation of ER⁻ cells. Taken together, our studies show that a greater ability to take up, store and utilize exogenous cholesterol confers a proliferative advantage to basal-like ER⁻ breast cancer cells. Differences in lipid uptake and storage capability may at least partially explain the differential effect of a low-fat diet on human breast cancer recurrence.
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is the longest, most unsaturated, and hence, most oxidizable fatty acid commonly found in nature. The mechanisms behind DHA's many biological functions remain a subject of ...much debate. Here we review one important, but often unstudied, aspect of DHA function, namely, the potential role of its many oxidation products. We divide this review into camps, enzymatic and non-enzymatic oxidations, and report their effects primarily on induction of apoptosis in cancer cells. We conclude that the study of the effects of lipid peroxidation products on biochemical function will be a difficult but highly rewarding area for future studies.
Preventing muscle wasting in certain chronic diseases including cancer is an ongoing challenge. Studies have shown that polyphenols derived from fruits and vegetables shows promise in reducing muscle ...loss in cellular and animal models of muscle wasting. We hypothesized that polyphenols derived from plums (
) could have anabolic and anti-catabolic benefits on skeletal muscle. The effects of a polyphenol-enriched plum extract (PE60) were evaluated in vitro on C2C12 and Colon-26 cancer cells. Data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and we found that treatment of myocytes with plum extract increased the cell size by ~3-fold (
< 0.05) and stimulated myoblast differentiation by ~2-fold (
< 0.05). Plum extract induced total protein synthesis by ~50% (
< 0.05), reduced serum deprivation-induced total protein degradation by ~30% (
< 0.05), and increased expression of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) by ~2-fold (
< 0.05). Plum extract also reduced tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα)-induced nuclear factor κB (NFκB) activation by 80% (
< 0.05) in A549/NF-κB-luc cells. In addition, plum extract inhibited the growth of Colon-26 cancer cells, and attenuated cytotoxicity in C2C12 myoblasts induced by soluble factors released from Colon-26 cells. In conclusion, our data suggests that plum extract may have pluripotent health benefits on muscle, due to its demonstrated ability to promote myogenesis, stimulate muscle protein synthesis, and inhibit protein degradation. It also appears to protect muscle cell from tumor-induced cytotoxicity.
Saturated fatty acids (SFAs), significant components of both enteral/parenteral nutritional formulations (including diet), are linked to cardiovascular disease complications, such as atherosclerosis. ...We investigated whether oleic acid (C18:1n-9) reduces the growth inhibitory and pro-inflammatory effects of the stearic acid (C18:0) in human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC). Stearic acid induced growth inhibition at concentrations less than 50 μM, whereas higher concentrations invoked cytotoxicity. Stearic acid-induced growth inhibition and cytotoxic effects were eradicated upon cosupplementation with oleic acid (25 μM). Oleic acid (as low as 5 μM) also inhibited the stearic acid-induced increase in intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression. Stearic acid-induced phosphorylation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), a transcriptional regulator of ICAM-1, was also reduced by oleic acid. HAECs supplemented with either stearic or oleic acid resulted in cellular incorporation of C18:0 and C18:1n-9, respectively. Stearic acid primarily incorporated into phospholipids without increasing the total fatty acid content in HAECs. In contrast, oleic acid, with or without stearic acid, incorporated into both phospholipids and triglycerides, with a significant increase in total fatty acid amounts in triglycerides. Our data suggest that oleic acid has the ability to reduce the inflammatory effects of long-chain SFAs in HAECs through reducing cellular stearic acid incorporation and NF-κB activation.
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