Secondary bile acids (BAs) and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), two major types of bacterial metabolites in the colon, cause opposing effects on colonic inflammation at chronically high physiological ...levels. Primary BAs play critical roles in cholesterol metabolism, lipid digestion, and host⁻microbe interaction. Although BAs are reabsorbed via enterohepatic circulation, primary BAs serve as substrates for bacterial biotransformation to secondary BAs in the colon. High-fat diets increase secondary BAs, such as deoxycholic acid (DCA) and lithocholic acid (LCA), which are risk factors for colonic inflammation and cancer. In contrast, increased dietary fiber intake is associated with anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects. These effects may be due to the increased production of the SCFAs acetate, propionate, and butyrate during dietary fiber fermentation in the colon. Elucidation of the molecular events by which secondary BAs and SCFAs regulate colonic cell proliferation and inflammation will lead to a better understanding of the anticancer potential of dietary fiber in the context of high-fat diet-related colon cancer. This article reviews the current knowledge concerning the effects of secondary BAs and SCFAs on the proliferation of colon epithelial cells, inflammation, cancer, and the associated microbiome.
Bacterial infections are common in the etiology of human diseases owing to the ubiquity of bacteria. Such infections promote the development of periodontal disease, bacterial pneumonia, typhoid, ...acute gastroenteritis, and diarrhea in susceptible hosts. These diseases may be resolved using antibiotics/antimicrobial therapy in some hosts. However, other hosts may be unable to eliminate the bacteria, allowing them to persist for long durations and significantly increasing the carrier's risk of developing cancer over time. Indeed, infectious pathogens are modifiable cancer risk factors, and through this comprehensive review, we highlight the complex relationship between bacterial infections and the development of several cancer types. For this review, searches were performed on the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases encompassing the entirety of 2022. Based on our investigation, we found several critical associations, of which some are causative:
and
are associated with periodontal disease,
spp.,
,
,
spp., and
are associated with gastroenteritis.
infection is implicated in the etiology of gastric cancer, and persistent
infections present a risk factor for the development of cervical carcinoma, especially in patients with the human papillomavirus (HPV) coinfection.
infections are linked with gallbladder cancer, and
infection is implicated in lung cancer, etc. This knowledge helps identify the adaptation strategies used by bacteria to evade antibiotic/antimicrobial therapy. The article also sheds light on the role of antibiotics in cancer treatment, the consequences of their use, and strategies for limiting antibiotic resistance. Finally, the dual role of bacteria in cancer development as well as in cancer therapy is briefly discussed, as this is an area that may help to facilitate the development of novel microbe-based therapeutics as a means of securing improved outcomes.
Biotechnology is playing a vital alternative role in the production of pharmaceutical plant secondary metabolites to support industrial production and mitigate over-exploitation of natural sources. ...High-value pharmaceuticals that include alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, steroids, among others, are biosynthesized as a defensive strategy by plants in response to perturbations under natural environmental conditions. However, they can also be produced using plant cell, tissue, and organ culture techniques through the application of various in vitro approaches and strategies. In the past decades, efforts were on the clonal propagation, biomass and secondary metabolites production in the in vitro cultures of medicinally important plants that produce these molecules. In recent years, the effort has shifted towards optimizing culture conditions for their production through the application of cell line selection, elicitation, precursor feeding, two-phase co-culture among cell, tissue, and organ culture approaches. The efforts are made with the possibility to scale-up the production, meet pharmaceutical industry demand and conserve natural sources of the molecules. Applications of metabolic engineering and production from endophytes are also getting increasing attention but, the approaches are far from practical application in their industrial production.
Heat stress adversely affects plants growth potential. Global warming is reported to increase in the intensity, frequency, and duration of heatwaves, eventually affecting ecology, agriculture and ...economy. With an expected increase in average temperature by 2–3 °C over the next 30–50 years, crop production is facing a severe threat to sub-optimum growth conditions. Abscisic acid (ABA) and nitric oxide (NO) are growth regulators that are involved in the adaptation to heat stress by affecting each other and changing the adaptation process. The interaction between these molecules has been discussed in various studies in general or under stress conditions; however, regarding high temperature, their interaction has little been worked out. In the present review, the focus is shifted on the role of these molecules under heat stress emphasizing the different possible interactions between ABA and NO as both regulate stomatal closure and other molecules including hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
), hydrogen sulfide (H
2
S), antioxidants, proline, glycine betaine, calcium (Ca
2+
) and heat shock protein (HSP). Exploring the crosstalk between ABA and NO with other molecules under heat stress will provide us with a comprehensive knowledge of plants mechanism of heat tolerance which could be useful to develop heat stress-resistant varieties.
Chonemorpha fragrans
is an endangered medicinal woody climber, regarded among alternative plant sources of camptothecin. Camptothecin is a monoterpene indole anti-cancer alkaloid with annual trade ...value of over three billion U.S. dollars in the recent, and is used in the production of its analog drugs approved for the chemotherapy of cancer of varied types. Effects of plant growth regulators, culture media strength and photoperiodic duration on the micropropagation efficiency of
C. fragrans
from nodal segment explants were studied on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium amended with Thidiazuron (TDZ), Benzylaminopurine (BAP) or Kinetin (Kin). Thidiazuron was more efficient over BAP and Kin when half basal MS medium was used over full or quarter strength. Results of carbon source experiment showed sucrose as the most effective over glucose, fructose, and maltose in the clonal production. Studies on the photoperiodic incubation duration showed 12 h as the best light period and sub or supra-optimal resulted in the production of abnormal and albino micro shoots. Experimental results on the evaluation of physiological, biochemical parameters showed the role of pigment molecules and antioxidant systems in the production of albino micro shoots.
Leafy vegetables occupy a very important place in the human diet, but unfortunately constitute a group of foods which contributes maximally to nitrate consumption by living beings. Under excessive ...application of nitrogen fertilizer, these vegetables can accumulate high levels of nitrate and, upon being consumed by living beings, pose serious health hazards. Therefore, efforts are warranted to minimize the accumulation of nitrate in leafy vegetables and its ingestion by human beings. This review focuses on (i) the contribution of vegetables towards dietary nitrate intake by humans, (ii) the nutritional, environmental and physiological factors affecting nitrate accumulation in plants, (iii) the harmful and beneficial effects of nitrate on human health, and (iv) the strategies that may be followed to minimize the nitrate content in plants and its subsequent consumption by human beings. The risk to human health due to nitrate consumption may be minimized by harvesting vegetables at noon, removal of organs rich in nitrate content and cooking of vegetables in water with a low nitrate content. The European Commission Regulation No. 1822/2005 needs to be followed in order to ensure safe levels of nitrate in plants for human consumption.
Traditionally, medicinal plants have long been used as a natural therapy. Plant-derived extracts or phytochemicals have been exploited as food additives and for curing many health-related ailments. ...The secondary metabolites produced by many plants have become an integral part of human health and have strengthened the value of plant extracts as herbal medicines. To fulfil the demand of health care systems, food and pharmaceutical industries, interest in the cultivation of precious medicinal plants to harvest bio-active compounds has increased considerably worldwide. To achieve maximum biomass and yield, growers generally apply chemical fertilizers which have detrimental impacts on the growth, development and phytoconstituents of such therapeutically important plants. Application of beneficial rhizosphere microbiota is an alternative strategy to enhance the production of valuable medicinal plants under both conventional and stressed conditions due to its low cost, environmentally friendly behaviour and non-destructive impact on fertility of soil, plants and human health. The microbiological approach improves plant growth by various direct and indirect mechanisms involving the abatement of various abiotic stresses. Given the negative impacts of fertilizers and multiple benefits of microbiological resources, the role of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in the production of biomass and their impact on the quality of bio-active compounds (phytochemicals) and mitigation of abiotic stress to herbal plants have been described in this review. The PGPR based enhancement in the herbal products has potential for use as a low cost phytomedicine which can be used to improve health care systems.
The involvement of nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H
S) in countermanding heat-inhibited photosynthetic features were studied in wheat (
L.). Heat stress (HS) was employed at 40 °C after ...establishment for 6 h daily, and then plants were allowed to recover at 25 °C and grown for 30 days. Glucose (Glc) content increased under HS and repressed plant photosynthetic ability, but the application of sodium nitroprusside (SNP, as NO donor) either alone or with sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS, as H
S donor) reduced Glc-mediated photosynthetic suppression by enhancing ascorbate-glutathione (AsA-GSH) metabolism and antioxidant system, which reduced oxidative stress with decreased H
O
and TBARS content. Oxidative stress reduction or inhibiting Glc repression was maximum with combined SNP and NaHS treatment, which was substantiated by 2-4-carboxyphenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (cPTIO) and hypotaurine (HT), scavengers for NO and H
S, respectively. The scavenge of H
S reduced NO-mediated alleviation of HS suggesting of its downstream action in NO-mediated heat-tolerance. However, a simultaneous decrease of both (NO and H
S) led to higher Glc-mediated repression of photosynthesis and oxidative stress in terms of increased H
O
content that was comparable to HS plants. Thus, NO and H
S cooperate to enhance photosynthesis under HS by reducing H
O
-induced oxidative stress and excess Glc-mediated photosynthetic suppression.
Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), two components of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), are painful conditions that affect children and adults. Despite substantial research, there is no ...permanent cure for IBD, and patients face an increased risk of colon cancer. Dietary fiber's health advantages have been thoroughly investigated, and it is recommended for its enormous health benefits. This review article discusses the importance of appropriate fiber intake in managing IBD, emphasizing how optimal fiber consumption can significantly help IBD patients.
The severity of salt stress is alarming for crop growth and production and it threatens food security. Strategies employed for the reduction in stress are not always eco-friendly or sustainable. ...Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) could provide an alternative sustainable stress reduction strategy owning to its role in various metabolic processes. In this study, we have used two strains of PGPR,
(NAIMCC-B-00340) and
Beijerinck 1901 (MCC 2351), either singly or in combination, and studied their effect in the amelioration of salt toxicity in mustard cultivar Pusa Jagannath via its influence on plants' antioxidants' metabolism, photosynthesis and growth. Individually, the impact of
was better in reducing stress ethylene, oxidative stress, photosynthesis and growth but maximal alleviation was observed with their combined application. MDA and H
O
content as indicator of oxidative stress decreased by 27.86% and 45.18% and osmolytes content (proline and glycine-betaine) increased by 38.8% and 26.3%, respectively, while antioxidative enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX and GR) increased by 58.40, 25.65, 81.081 and 55.914%, respectively, over salt-treated plants through the application of
. The combined application maximally resulted in more cell viability and less damage to the leaf with lesser superoxide generation due to higher antioxidative enzymes and reduced glutathione formation (GSH). Considering the obtained results, we can supplement the PGPR in combination to plants subjected to salt stress, prevent photosynthetic and growth reduction, and increase the yield of plants.