Numerous specific age-related morbidities have been correlated with low intake and serum levels of tocopherols and tocotrienols. We performed a review in order to evaluate the extant evidence ...regarding: (1) the association between intake and serum levels of tocopherols and tocotrienols and age-related pathologies (osteoporosis, sarcopenia and cognitive impairment); and (2) the optimum diet therapy or supplementation with tocopherols and tocotrienols for the treatment of these abnormalities. This review included 51 eligible studies. The recent literature underlines that, given the detrimental effect of low intake and serum levels of tocopherols and tocotrienols on bone, muscle mass, and cognitive function, a change in the lifestyle must be the cornerstone in the prevention of these specific age-related pathologies related to vitamin E-deficient status. The optimum diet therapy in the elderly for avoiding vitamin E deficiency and its negative correlates, such as high inflammation and oxidation, must aim at achieving specific nutritional goals. These goals must be reached through: accession of the elderly subjects to specific personalized dietary programs aimed at achieving and/or maintaining body weight (avoid malnutrition); increase their intake of food rich in vitamin E, such as derivatives of oily seeds (in particular wheat germ oil), olive oil, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, and cereals rich in vitamin E (such as specific rice cultivar rich in tocotrienols) or take vitamin E supplements. In this case, vitamin E can be correctly used in a personalized way either for the outcome from the pathology or to achieve healthy aging and longevity without any adverse effects.
Dietary supplementation based on sea buckthorn and rosehip oils with added chokeberry extract was studied. We added the dietary supplement to the feed mixtures for laboratory animals. The possible ...toxicological effects and hypocholesterolemic, hepatoprotective activity of the dietary supplement in vivo were studied. After the observation period (6 weeks), no significant changes were found in the mass of organs and blood serum of laboratory animals (
> 0.05). However, there was a decrease in hypercholesterolemic indicators. Regular consumption of sea buckthorn and rosehip oils with added chokeberry extract (dietary supplement "ESB-1") by laboratory animals inhibited the activity of liver enzymes and increased the antioxidant activity of blood serum (after the subcutaneous injection of sunflower oil/oil solution of carbon tetrachloride) but was not sufficient to bring them to physiological standards. The hypocholesterolemic and antioxidant properties of our dietary supplement already allow us to consider it a component of functional food products or a dietary supplement base. However, the full range of its biologically active properties, including the hepatoprotective function and regulation of metabolic disorders, has not been studied yet, which sets the direction of further research in vivo models and clinical practice to confirm its effectiveness in humans.
The present study discusses foods for professional athletes since sports nutrition is the foundation of effective performance. A dietary supplement complex designed for ski orienteers, swimmers, road ...cyclists, and biathletes is described. The composition of the dietary supplement complex with directed influence on metabolic processes, intensity, and training load is given. All the ingredients for this complex are selected, taking into account their synergistic effect and safety. The manufacturing process, with its gentle process conditions like granulation at 40 °C, drying at 60 °C, and a relatively short manufacturing time, ensures the safety of biologically active ingredients and their functional properties. The manufacturing company is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certified and meets the General Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements. The clinical trials were undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of the dietary supplement complex. The findings indicate increased adaptation to training, enhanced recovery, and balanced emotional state. The benefits of adding the dietary supplement complex to eating plans of sportsmen are listed.
•Patients with chronic illnesses represent a segment of adults among whom intake of supplements is particularly prevalent.•Previous studies have shown that intake of different dietary supplements to ...improve perceived quality of life of patients.•Our patients reported better emotional life quality (on PDQ-39 instrument) after blackcurrant anthocyanin intake.•Our findings reiterate the high prevalence of supplement intake among PD patients.•Due to the small sample, findings need to be interpreted with caution.
Patients with chronic illnesses represent a segment of adults among whom intake of dietary supplements is particularly prevalent. Previous studies have shown that intake of different dietary supplements to improve perceived quality of life of patients with or without objective improvement in other physiological parameters. We recently conducted an open-label trial of blackcurrant anthocyanin supplementation in patients with PD. Participants were administered the PDQ-39 (a 39-item quality-of-life instrument) before and after blackcurrant supplementation. Patients scored significantly lower in the emotional well-being domain (i.e., reported better emotional quality of life) after blackcurrant anthocyanin supplementation (t9 = −3.97, p = 0.008). It is plausible that the attention our participants received during the study period could have positively affected their mood. It is also possible that a placebo effect of the fruit-derived supplement—often viewed as a healthy alternative to medicines—was in play. Our findings reiterate the high prevalence of supplement intake among PD patients, and the importance of being attentive when caring for patients whether they take supplements or not.
An increased use of herbal dietary supplements has been associated with adverse liver effects such as elevated serum enzymes and liver failure. The safety assessment for herbal dietary supplements is ...challenging since they often contain complex mixtures of phytochemicals, most of which have unknown pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties. Rapid tools are needed to evaluate large numbers of phytochemicals for potential liver toxicity. The current study demonstrates a tiered approach combining identification of phytochemicals in liver toxic botanicals, followed by in silico quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) evaluation of these phytochemicals for absorption (e.g. permeability), metabolism (cytochromes P450) and liver toxicity (e.g. elevated transaminases). First, 255 phytochemicals from 20 botanicals associated with clinical liver injury were identified, and the phytochemical structures were subsequently used for QSAR evaluation. Among these identified phytochemicals, 193 were predicted to be absorbed and then used to generate metabolites, which were both used to predict liver toxicity. Forty-eight phytochemicals were predicted as liver toxic, either due to parent phytochemicals or metabolites. Among them, nineteen phytochemicals have previous evidence of liver toxicity (e.g. pyrrolizidine alkaloids), while the majority were newly discovered (e.g. sesquiterpenoids). These findings help reveal new toxic phytochemicals in herbal dietary supplements and prioritize future toxicological testing.
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•Major phytochemicals in botanicals associated with clinical liver injury were identified.•QSAR models predicted absorption and metabolites of phytochemicals.•QSAR models predicted liver toxicity for both phytochemicals and their metabolites.•In silico prediction identified new phytochemicals that may be responsible for botanical toxicity.•In silico prediction prioritized large numbers of phytochemicals for in vitro and in vivo testing.
Caffeine is a natural psychoactive substance that belongs to a group of chemical compounds called purine alkaloids. Caffeine is found in various plants such as coffee, tea, cocoa, guarana, and yerba ...mate. It is often added to dietary supplements for its ability to increase metabolism and aid in weight loss. To determine the caffeine content in dietary supplements, a novel UHPLC method was developed, compatible with the rules of green analytical chemistry. The developed method used only water and ethanol for sample preparation and chromatographic separation on a short C18 column. The obtained method confirmed that caffeine may be analyzed using only environmentally friendly solvents, ethanol, and water. The developed method is characterized by its low limit of quantitation, equal to 0.047 µg/mL, and good reproducibility (a relative standard deviation lower than 1.1%). The obtained results show that the caffeine content in tested dietary supplements is 4-35% higher than the declared amount in most cases. In comparison, the caffeine content of the drug determined using this method was performed with an accuracy of 0.4% RSD.
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) is extensively used in agricultural, pharmaceutical, textile, and food industries. A new high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with evaporative light ...scattering detection (ELSD) was developed for the quantitative analysis of PVOH products. Pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py–GC/MS) was employed for method verification. The HPLC–ELSD method exhibited acceptable linearity (R
2
> 0.99), with limits of detection and quantitation of 19.43 and 58.88 μg/mL, respectively. Accuracies of 91.16–102.30% were estimated based on recoveries of the intra- and inter-day tests of PVOH. Repeatability and intermediate precision (%RSD) of 1.23–4.45 and 2.18–6.95, respectively, were obtained. The presence of PVOH in the HPLC peaks was further verified using typical indicators of PVOH in Py–GC/MS analysis, such as acetaldehyde, 2,5-dihydrofuran, benzaldehyde, and crotonaldehyde. This novel HPLC method with Py–GC/MS-based verification can be successfully applied for analyzing PVOH in dietary supplement tablets.
The performance of sodium citrate has been investigated in high-intensity exercises, but fewer studies have addressed the role of citrate in weight-bearing exercises.
Twenty fitness challenge ...athletes, aged 24–32 years, volunteered to participate in this crossover, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Initially, ten athletes were given a placebo and asked to complete a fitness challenge (i.e., chin-ups, squat jumps, dips, walking lunges, sit-ups, and burpees-devil press). Another ten athletes were supplemented with sodium citrate 0.5 g/kg body mass supplements 3 h prior to performing the fitness challenges. The same procedures were completed two days later with the supplement and placebo dextrose groups switched in a cross-over design. Athletes and assessors were blinded for the experimental condition (placebo vs. verum). Lactate levels were measured 5 min after exercise. The athletes' performance on each item of the fitness challenge as well as their lactate levels, were compared. Differences between the means of the measured variables were contrasted using a dependent t-test.
Supplementing sodium citrate substantially improved athletes' performance in all six fitness challenge items (p < 0.05, 0.69<Cohen's d < 2.52, moderate to large). In addition, lactate levels registered after the fitness challenge were lower in the citrate sodium supplementation vs. placebo condition (p = 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.63, moderate).
Acute sodium citrate supplementation may help fitness challengers postpone muscular fatigue and increase performance, potentially via the prevention of lactate accumulation.
The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has revolutionized the provision of health services, often referred to as eHealth, benefiting community pharmacies that can offer new ...services in innovative formats, namely through telepharmacy. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of pharmacy professionals (i.e., pharmacists and pharmacy technicians) on the provision of new services. The study consisted of administering an online questionnaire to pharmacy professionals nationwide. The questionnaire was developed by the research team, based on focus group methodology, from which an inductive analysis led to the categories that made up the dimensions of the survey. Participants were 95 pharmacy professionals with a mean age of 33.69 years old (SD = 10.75). Almost 79% were women. The results show overall receptivity to the development of new services in community pharmacies. Suggestions for the development of the new services, conditions necessary for their implementation, potential obstacles, and strategies to promote adherence to the new services, among others, are identified. The knowledge thus acquired will help community pharmacies to develop innovative solutions in counselling, pharmacotherapy monitoring, and pharmacovigilance, for example, of herb/dietary supplement–drug adverse reactions and interactions. Based on this information, new services can become more accessible, namely through the use of ICTs.
Breeding, preserving, and successfully rearing young animals resistant to various environmental influences is one of the main parameters of effective livestock management. The study aimed to study ...the indicators of natural resistance and the growth rate of calves under the influence of dietary supplements. The studies were carried out on four groups of black-and-white calves, 10 heads each, at the age of 2-5 months. The dairy calves of the control group were fed according to the ration adopted on the farm (basic ration, including cereal-legume hay, whole milk, milk replacer, concentrates, chalk, salt). In addition to the main diet, the animals of the experimental groups were given a dietary supplement. At 2-3, 3-4, and 4-5, months of age, calves were given 12-23, 19-38, and 23-47 g.head-1 of dietary supplement per day, respectively. The article deals with the effect of a forest biomass supplement on the morphophysiological parameters of calves. Biochemical blood analysis and the features of metabolic processes in the bodies of animals are studied. The results indicated that the use of a dietary supplement at a dosage of 30 g/head of cattle per day contributes to the highest increase (9.9%) in live weight gain of experimental animals and an improvement in natural resistance parameters (bactericidal activity of blood serum, phagocytic activity of neutrophils). Based on the data of biochemical and haematological blood tests, the authors conclude that the inclusion of a dietary supplement in the diet of calves has a positive effect on the indices of natural resistance and the course of nitrogen metabolism.
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