Hydromethanolic Extracts from Adansonia digitata L. Edible Parts Positively Modulate Pathophysiological Mechanisms Related to the Metabolic Syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome includes a cluster of risk factors for many pathological conditions, including hyperglycemia, abdominal obesity, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. Adansonia digitata L. (also known as baobab) is used in traditional African Medicine and recent studies showed that it improves the metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids. The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of action associated with the beneficial effects of extracts from the edible parts of baobab (fruit pulp, leaves, raw and toasted seeds), evaluating their inhibitory activity against: alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase, angiotensin-converting enzyme, 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, and pancreatic lipase. Baobab fruit pulp and leaf extracts resulted to be the most active ones and were then tested on the differentiation process of SW-872 human liposarcoma cells to mature adipocytes. The addition of these latter extracts did not affect triglyceride accumulation, indicating a neutral impact on this parameter. The findings here reported help to explain the growing amount of evidence on the biological properties of baobab and provide suggestions about their use in food and nutraceutical fields.

Bioavailability and In Vivo Antioxidant Activity of a Standardized Polyphenol Mixture Extracted from Brown Propolis.

Several lines of evidence demonstrate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of propolis, mostly ascribed to its polyphenol content. However, little is known regarding the bioavailability of propolis in acute and prolonged settings of oral administration. In this study, we first determined the content of the main polyphenols in a brown propolis extract obtained using a patented extraction method (Multi Dinamic Extraction-M.E.D.) by RP-HPLC-UV-PDA-MSn analysis, followed by the bioavailability of galangin and chrysin, the most abundant polyphenols in the mixture (7.8% and 7.5% respectively), following acute (single bolus of 500 mg/kg containing about 3.65 mg of the polyphenol mixture) and prolonged (100, 250 and 500 mg/kg body for 30 days) oral administration in 30 male 8 weeks old C57BL/6 wild-type mice. In the acute setting, blood was taken at 30 s and 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45, 60 and 120 min following the oral bolus. In the prolonged setting, blood samples were obtained after 10, 20 or 30 days of administration. At the end of treatment, expression of antioxidant enzymes (superoxyde dismutase, SOD-1; catalase, CAT; glutathione peroxidase, GSS) was evaluated in liver tissue. Following both acute and prolonged administration, neither galangin nor chrysin were detectable in the plasma of mice, whereas the glucuronide metabolite of galangine was detectable 5 min after acute administration. At the end of the prolonged treatment SOD-1 was found to have increased significantly, unlike CAT and GSS. Overall, these data suggest that oral administration of whole brown propolis extract is followed by rapid absorption and metabolization of galangin followed by adaptations of the antioxidant first line defense system.

Metabolite characterization of powdered fruits and leaves from Adansonia digitata L. (baobab): A multi-methodological approach.

The metabolite profiling of extracts from Adansonia digitata L. (baobab) fruit pulp and leaf, and the quantification of their major components, was conducted by means of reverse-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection, coupled to electrospray ion-trap mass spectrometry (RP-HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS) and high field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Water-soluble metabolites from chemical classes including sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and phenolic compounds, were identified, in addition to metabolites soluble in organic solvents such as triacylglycerides, sterols, and fatty acids, and most of these were quantified. The profiling of the primary and secondary metabolites of baobab fruit and leaves addresses the limited knowledge of the chemical composition of baobab, and helps support and explain the growing evidence on its nutritional and biological properties, and provide suggestions about the possible uses of baobab fruit and leaves by food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.

Antidepressive effects of a chemically characterized maqui berry extract (Aristotelia chilensis (molina) stuntz) in a mouse model of Post-stroke depression.

Mood disorders occur in 30% of stroke patients, and of these post-stroke depression (PSD) is the most significant. This study aimed to evaluate the antidepressive-like effects and in vivo antioxidant activity of a chemically characterized maqui berry (Aristotelia chilensis (Molina) Stuntz) extract obtained from an optimized extraction method, on a murine PSD model. The extraction process was optimized to maximize anthocyanin content, and the phytochemical profile of the extract was evaluated using a multi-methodological approach including a liquid chromatographic method coupled with mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The antidepressive-like activity was investigated through despair swimming and tail suspension tests. The in vivo antioxidant activity was evaluated in mouse brain tissue by measuring the activity of antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation products. A number of compounds have been first identified in maqui berry here, including malvidin-glucoside, GABA, choline and trigonelline. Moreover, the results showed that the antidepressive-like activity exerted by the extract, which was found to restore normal mouse behavior in both despair swimming and tail suspension tests, could be linked to its antioxidant activity, leading to the conclusion that maqui berries might be useful for supporting pharmacological therapy of PSD by modulating oxidative stress.

Targeting signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) in human cancer by dietary polyphenolic antioxidants.

Over the course of the last three decades, a large body of evidence has shown that polyphenols, the secondary metabolites occurring in plant foods and beverages, exert protective effects due to their antioxidant activity mediated through different mechanisms ranging from direct radical scavenging and metal chelating activities, to the capacity to inhibit pro-oxidant enzymes and to target specific cell-signalling pathways. In the last decade, dietary components, and polyphenols in particular have gained considerable attention as chemopreventive agents against different types of cancer. The signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) family is a group of cytoplasmic transcription factors which interact with specific sequences of DNA, inducing the expression of specific genes which in turn give rise to adaptive and highly specific biological responses. Growing evidence suggests that, of the seven STAT members identified, STAT3 is over-expressed in many human tumors (i.e. solid tumors and hematological malignancies) promoting the onset and development of cancer in humans by inhibiting apoptosis or by inducing cell proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis. This review article aims to assess the most recent studies on the role of STATs, with focus on STAT3, in oncogenesis, and the promising effects of some polyphenols on STAT expression. Moreover, the mechanisms behind the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of polyphenols which have an influence on STAT expression are discussed, with a focus on their ability to target specific cell-signalling pathways.

Update on Monoterpenes as Antimicrobial Agents: A Particular Focus on p-Cymene.

p-Cymene [1-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-benzene] is a monoterpene found in over 100 plant species used for medicine and food purposes. It shows a range of biological activity including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, anxiolytic, anticancer and antimicrobial effects. This last property has been widely investigated due to the urgent need for new substances with antimicrobial properties, to be used to treat communicable diseases whose diffusion in developed countries has been facilitated by globalization and the evolution of antimicrobial resistance. This review summarizes available scientific data, as reported by the most recent studies describing the antimicrobial activity of p-cymene either alone, or as the main component of plant extracts, as well as addressing the mechanisms of action of cymenes as antimicrobial agents. While p-cymene is one of the major constituents of extracts and essential oils used in traditional medicines as antimicrobial agents, but considering the limited data on its in vivo efficacy and safety, further studies are required to reach a definitive recommendation on the use and beneficial effects of p-cymene in human healthcare and in biomedical applications as a promising candidate to functionalize biomaterials and nanomaterials.