Therapeutic Perspectives on Chia Seed and Its Oil: A Review.

The attraction of novel foods proceeds alongside epidemic cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and related risk factors. Dieticians have identified chia (Salvia hispanica) as a product with a catalog of potential health benefits relating to these detriments. Chia is currently consumed not only as seeds, but also as oil, which brings about similar effects. Chia seeds and chia seed oil are used mainly as a food commodity and the oil is also used popularly as a dietary ingredient used in various dietary supplements available in the U. S. market. Chia seed is rich in α-linolenic acid, the biological precursor to eicosapentaenoic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, and docosahexaenoic acid. Because the body cannot synthesize α-linolenic acid, chia has a newfound and instrumental role in diet. However, the inconclusive nature of the scientific community's understanding of its safety warrants further research and appropriate testing. The focus of this work is to summarize dietary health benefits of S. hispanica seed and oil to acknowledge concerns of adverse events from its ingestion, to assess current research in the field, and to highlight the importance of quality compendial standards to support safe use. To achieve this end, a large-scale literature search was partaken on the two well-known databases, PubMed and SciFinder. Hundreds of articles detailing such benefits as decreased blood glucose, decreased waist circumference and weight in overweight adults, and improvements in pruritic skin and endurance in distance runners have been recorded. These benefits must be considered within the appropriate circumstances.

Plasmodium falciparum Thioredoxin Reductase (PfTrxR) and Its Role as a Target for New Antimalarial Discovery.

The growing resistance to current antimalarial drugs is a major concern for global public health. The pressing need for new antimalarials has led to an increase in research focused on the Plasmodium parasites that cause human malaria. Thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), an enzyme needed to maintain redox equilibrium in Plasmodium species, is a promising target for new antimalarials. This review paper provides an overview of the structure and function of TrxR, discusses similarities and differences between the thioredoxin reductases (TrxRs) of different Plasmodium species and the human forms of the enzyme, gives an overview of modeling Plasmodium infections in animals, and suggests the role of Trx functions in antimalarial drug resistance. TrxR of Plasmodium falciparum is a central focus of this paper since it is the only Plasmodium TrxR that has been crystallized and P. falciparum is the species that causes most malaria cases. It is anticipated that the information summarized here will give insight and stimulate new directions in which research might be most beneficial.