Preconceptional paternal caloric restriction of high-fat diet-induced obesity in Wistar rats dysregulates the metabolism of their offspring via AMPK/SIRT1 pathway.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a metabolic syndrome where allelic and environmental variations together determine the susceptibility of an individual to the disease. Caloric restriction (CR) is a nutritional dietary strategy recognized to be beneficial as a weight loss regime in obese individuals. Preconceptional parental CR is proven to have detrimental effects on the health and development of their offspring. As yet studies on maternal CR effect on their offspring are well established but paternal CR studies are not progressing. In current study, the impact of different paternal CR regimes in diet-induced obese male Wistar rats (WNIN), on their offspring concerning metabolic syndrome are addressed. METHODS: High-fat diet-induced obese male Wistar rats were subjected to caloric restriction of 50% (HFCR-I) and 40% (HFCR-II) and then they were mated with normal females. The male parent's reproductive function was assessed by sperm parameters and their DNMT's mRNA expression levels were also examined. The offspring's metabolic function was assessed by physiological, biochemical and molecular parameters. RESULTS: The HFCR-I male parents have shown reduced body weights, compromised male fertility and reduced DNA methylation activity. Further, the HFCR-I offspring showed attenuation of the AMPK/SIRT1 pathway, which is associated with the progression of proinflammatory status and oxidative stress. In line, the HFCR-I offspring also developed altered glucose and lipid homeostasis by exhibiting impaired glucose tolerance & insulin sensitivity, dyslipidemia and steatosis. However, these effects were largely mitigated in HFCR-II offspring. Regarding the obesogenic effects, female offspring exhibited greater susceptibility than male offspring, suggesting that females are more prone to the influences of the paternal diet. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight that HFCR-I resulted in paternal undernutrition, impacting the health of offspring, whereas HFCR-II largely restored the effects of a high-fat diet on their offspring. As a result, moderate caloric restriction has emerged as an effective weight loss strategy with minimal implications on future generations. This underscores the shared responsibility of fathers in contributing to sperm-specific epigenetic imprints that influence the health of adult offspring.

Anti-inflammatory potential of turmeric, amla, and black pepper mixture against sepsis-induced acute lung injury in rats.

Acute lung injury (ALI), is a severe inflammatory lung disease. We tested the prophylactic effect of a functional food mix comprising three anti-inflammatory plant products: turmeric, amla, and black pepper (TAB) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI in rats. Two-month-old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: control (C), LPS (5 mg/kg), and LPS with TAB (TAB). After 6 h of LPS injection, the rats were sacrificed by cervical decapitation to collect the lung tissue. Results showed that TAB partially ameliorated LPS-induced increase in circulating inflammatory cytokines (TNFα and IL6) and significantly prevented lung histopathological changes. TAB also suppressed LPS-activated ER stress markers (GRP78, pIRE1, and CHOP) and apoptotic markers (caspase-3 and - 12) in the lung. The anti-inflammatory effects of the TAB support its potential use as an adjuvant to mitigate ALI. Importantly, TAB's ingredients have been used for centuries as part of the diet with limited or no toxic effects.

Oral Toxicity Study for Salmonella Killing Lytic Bacteriophage NINP13076 in BALB/c Mice and Its Effect on Probiotic Microbiota.

Viruses that infect bacteria are emerging as attractive biocontrol agents and biopreservatives for foods. Since these bacteriophages kill the target pathogens by lysis and are also consumed along with food, it is essential to evaluate their collateral toxicity on the probiotic gut microbiota. In this study, we examined the acute oral toxicity of a Salmonella phage isolated from sewage in mice. Acute oral administration of the Salmonella phage for five consecutive days did not show any significant pathological changes in the vital organs like lung, kidneys, heart, liver, and intestine. In addition, growth of typical probiotic microbiota remained unaffected even after incubation up to 24 h with the Salmonella phage. The results of this study clearly showed that oral administration of the lytic Salmonella phage did not have any significant adverse effects on the animals, may not harm the probiotic gut microbiota, and are likely to be safe for use in food preservation.

Alleviation of diabetes mellitus through the restoration of ß-cell function and lipid metabolism by Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. extract in obesogenic WNIN/GR-Ob rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. extract has been medicinally used for over 5000 years in different cultures for its curative and therapeutic properties ranging from dermatitis to diabetes. It has been demonstrated to alleviate diabetes through its protective effects on pancreatic islets and by improving insulin secretion. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the simultaneous effect of ethanolic A. vera gel extract on diabetes and obesogenic milieu in Streptozotocin-induced WNIN/GR-Ob mutant obese rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 rats were grouped equally into WNIN/GR-Ob control (received water as a vehicle), WNIN/GR-Ob Diabetic rats (Streptozotocin-35 mg/kg bw), WNIN/GR-Ob Diabetic rats + Sitagliptin (10 mg/kg bw), WNIN/GR-Ob Diabetic rats + A. vera (300 mg/kg bw) and GR-Ob control + A. vera (300 mg/kg bw). After 4 weeks of treatment, fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, Homeostatic Model Assessment - Insulin Resistance and ß-cell function, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, Dipeptidyl peptidase-IV activity, and lipid profiles were studied. In addition, ultrastructural analysis of isolated islets and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry analysis for body composition were also carried out. RESULTS: The A. vera treated group showed a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in triglyceride, Very low-density lipoprotein levels, Triglyceride to High-density lipoprotein ratio as well as fasting blood glucose levels and DPP-IV activity with a concomitant increase in the serum insulin levels. The increase in IR was observed in both WNIN/GR-Ob control and diabetic rats with a significant decrease in ß-cell function in the diabetic rats as per Homeostatic Model Assessment values. Oral administration of A. vera was effective in both reducing Homeostatic Model Assessment-Insulin Resistance and increasing Homeostatic Model Assessment-ß values. Also, the treated group demonstrated preservation of islets and a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the diameter of ß-cell as evident through Scanning electron microscope analysis. The increase in lean body mass was manifested in the treated group with a reduction in Fat percent in comparison with other groups. CONCLUSION: The beneficial effects of A. vera in WNIN/GR-Ob strain may be attributed to its ability to lower lipid profile thus improve insulin sensitivity and/or modulating ß-cell function. Thus, it has great therapeutic potential as an herbal remedy for the treatment of diabetes and associated adverse effects such as obesity. The exact mechanism underlying the observation needs to be investigated further to explore the anti-obesity and anti-diabetic properties of A. vera and advocate its potential application as alternative medicine.

Structural, vibrational and electronic spectroscopic study of 6-hydroxycoumarin using experimental and theoretical methods.

Understanding the photochemical behavior of structural isomers of hydroxycoumarin (HC) having different properties of consequence in biological activities demand spectroscopic information of this class of compounds. Barring 6-hydroxycoumarin (6-HC), other isomers of HC's are well studied spectroscopically. To understand and compare the photochemical activity of 6-HC with other isomers, a detailed study of this molecule has been taken up. For this purpose, electronic, vibrational and structural properties of 6-HC have been studied using ultraviolet absorption and Infrared spectroscopy techniques. Quantum chemical calculations have been performed at DFT/B3LYP level of theory to get the optimized geometry and vibrational frequencies of normal modes to support and analyze experimental data. The detailed vibrational assignments were made on the basis of potential energy distributions. Chemical activity, molecular orbital energies, band gap and hyper-polarizability information have been computed from quantum chemical simulations. NBO analysis helped in understanding the stability of the molecule arising from hyper-conjugative interaction and charge delocalization. UV-Visible spectrum of the compound was recorded in the region 300-600 nm helped in obtaining band gap data of the compound. Molecular Electrostatic Potentials (MESP) were plotted and the respective centers of electrophilic and nucleophilic attacks were predicted with the help of Fukui functions calculations. Further, it was observed that the negative electrostatic potential regions are mainly localized over the oxygen atoms and the positive regions are localized over the benzene ring. Details of the results and analysis of experimental and theoretical spectroscopy studies are presented in this paper.

Pulmonary Scopulariopsis in a chronic tobacco smoker.

A 70-year-old male smoker, with a three-month status of post-balloon angioplasty for ischaemic heart disease, presented with a one-week history of fever, haemoptysis and chest discomfort on coughing. The patient did not report any loss of weight or appetite. On examination, he was febrile. Pulmonary function tests revealed obstructive airway disease. High resolution computed tomography of the lungs revealed fibrosis with bronchiectasis in both the upper lobes, and a spiculating subpleural mass in the posterior aspect of the right lung apex. Subsequent bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) culture yielded the Scopulariopsis species. Our patient was treated with a four-week course of amphotericin B, followed by itraconazole. At the 24-month follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic. Subsequent BAL cultures revealed no fungal growths, and radiological studies showed a regression in the lesion.