Evaluation of Sechium edule fruit attenuation impact on the cardiomyopathy of the STZ-induced diabetic rats.

Sechium edule, commonly known as chayote is known for its low glycemic index, high fiber content, and rich nutritional profile, which suggests it may be beneficial for individuals with diabetes. While research specifically examining the impact of chayote on diabetes is limited, this study screened its biological impacts by using different biomarkers on streptozotocin-induced diabetic (STZ-ID) rats. The ethanolic extract of the Sechium edule fruits was assessed for different phytochemical, biochemical, and anti-diabetic properties. In the results, chayote extract had high phenolic and flavonoid contents respectively (39.25 ± 0.65 mg/mL and 12.16 ± 0.50 mg/mL). These high phenolic and flavonoid contents showed high implications on STZ-ID rats. Altogether 200 and 400 mg/kg of the extract considerably reduced the blood sugar level and enhanced the lipid profile of the STZ-ID rats. Additionally, they have decreased blood urea and serum creatinine levels. Besides, the levels of SGOT, SGPT, LDH, sodium, and potassium ions were significantly lowered after the administration period. More importantly, the electrocardiogram (ECG) parameters such as QT, RR, and QTc which were prolonged in the diabetic rats were downregulated after 35 days of administration of S. edule extract (400 mg/kg). And, the histological examination of the pancreas and kidney showed marked improvement in structural features of 200 and 400 mg/kg groups when compared to the diabetic control group. Where the increase in the glucose levels was positively correlated with QT, RR, and QTc (r2 = 0.76, r2 = 0.76, and r2 = 0.43) which means that ECG could significantly reflect the diabetes glucose levels. In conclusion, our findings showed that the fruit extract exerts a high potential to reduce artifacts secondary to diabetes which can be strongly suggested for diabetic candidates. However, there is a need to study the molecular mechanisms of the extract in combating artifacts secondary to diabetes in experimental animals.

Potential bioactivity of Phoenix dactylifera fruits, leaves, and seeds against prostate and pancreatic cancer cells.

The use of functional foods' phytochemicals in the chemoprevention of different cancer diseases has become one of the hot scientific areas in the clinical nutrition field. For instance, the Khalas palm cultivar (KPC; Phoenix dactylifera) is one of the natural sustainable resources that have high bioactivity and functionality. This study aimed to investigate the antiproliferative activity and mode of action of KPC's different parts on prostate (Pc3) and pancreatic (panc1) cancer cells at a molecular level. In the methods, KPC's leaves, seeds, and fruits' chemical composition and phytochemical analysis were analyzed. Also, the cytotoxic effects of each extract were assessed against pc3 and panc1 cell lines. Besides, induction of apoptosis, cell cycle analysis, and gene expression of both Cap3 and Cap9 were studied. The obtained results indicated that KPC leaves extract exhibited the highest significant (P < 0.01) anti-proliferation activity against the utilized cancer cell lines compared to fruits and seeds extracts. Also, there were significant (P < 0.05) differences in the phenolic contents, flavonoid of compounds, and antioxidant power of the leaves when compared to the seeds and fruits. Additionally, the highest cytotoxic effect (lowest IC50) was recorded with leave extract than seeds and fruits. Meanwhile, the seeds extract induced (P < 0.05) the apoptosis and arrested cells in the G2/M phase as well as up-regulated the gene expression of the apoptotic-related genes (Casp3 and Casp9) compared to the control group. In conclusion, this study showed that the presence of bioactive components in the KPC different parts extracts have the significant ability to induce the apoptotic pathway that could down-regulate the proliferation of prostate (pc3) and pancreatic (panc1) cancer cells. The pathway mechanism of action was induced by the phytol molecule presented in its leaves extract.

RT-qPCR for Fecal Mature MicroRNA Quantification and Validation.

By routinely and systematically being able to perform quantitative stem-loop reverse transcriptase (RT) followed by TaqMan® minor-groove binding (MGB) probe, real-time quantitative PCR analysis on exfoliated enriched colonocytes in stool, using human (Homo sapiens, hsa) micro(mi)RNAs to monitor changes of their expression at various stages of colorectal (CRC) progression, this method allows for the reliable and quantitative diagnostic screening of colon cancer (CC). Although the expression of some miRNA genes tested in tissue shows less variability in normal or cancerous patients than in stool, the noninvasive stool by itself is well suited for CC screening. An miRNA approach using stool promises to offer more sensitivity and specificity than currently used genomic, methylomic, or proteomic methods for CC screening.To present an application of employing miRNAs as diagnostic markers for CC screening, we carried out global microarray expression studies on stool colonocytes isolated by paramagnetic beads, using Affymetrix GeneChip miRNA 3.0 Array, to select a panel of miRNAs for subsequent focused semiquantitative PCR analysis studies. We then conducted a stem-loop RT-TaqMan® MGB probes, followed by a modified real-time qPCR expression study on 20 selected miRNAs for subsequent validation of the extracted immunocaptured total small RNA isolated from stool colonocytes. Results showed 12 miRNAs (miR-7, miR-17, miR-20a, miR-21, miR-92a, miR-96, miR-106a, miR-134, miR-183, miR-196a, miR-199a-3p, and miR214) to have an increased expression in stool of CC patients, and that later TNM stages exhibited more increased expressions than adenomas, while 8 miRNAs (miR-9, miR-29b, miR-127-5p, miR-138, miR-143, miR-146a, miR-222, and miR-938) showed decreased expressions in stool of CC patients, which becomes more pronounced as the cancer progresses from early to late TNM stages (0-IV).

Role of Melt Curve Analysis in Interpretation of Nutrigenomics' MicroRNA Expression Data.

This article illustrates the importance of melt curve analysis (MCA) in interpretation of mild nutrogenomic micro(mi)RNA expression data, by measuring the magnitude of the expression of key miRNA molecules in stool of healthy human adults as molecular markers, following the intake of Pomegranate juice (PGJ), functional fermented sobya (FS), rich in potential probiotic lactobacilli, or their combination. Total small RNA was isolated from stool of 25 volunteers before and following a three-week dietary intervention trial. Expression of 88 miRNA genes was evaluated using Qiagen's 96 well plate RT2 miRNA qPCR arrays. Employing parallel coordinates plots, there was no observed significant separation for the gene expression (Cq) values, using Roche 480® PCR LightCycler instrument used in this study, and none of the miRNAs showed significant statistical expression after controlling for the false discovery rate. On the other hand, melting temperature profiles produced during PCR amplification run, found seven significant genes (miR-184, miR-203, miR-373, miR-124, miR-96, miR-373 and miR-301a), which separated candidate miRNAs that could function as novel molecular markers of relevance to oxidative stress and immunoglobulin function, for the intake of polyphenol (PP)-rich, functional fermented foods rich in lactobacilli (FS), or their combination. We elaborate on these data, and present a detailed review on use of melt curves for analyzing nutigenomic miRNA expression data, which initially appear to show no significant expressions, but are actually more subtle than this simplistic view, necessitating the understanding of the role of MCA for a comprehensive understanding of what the collective expression and MCA data collectively imply.