Protective effect of Aronia melanocarpa juice against acrylamide-induced cellular toxicity.

Acrylamide (AA) a widely used industrial chemical is also formed during food processing by the Maillard reaction, which makes its exposure to humans almost unavoidable. In this study, we used Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a model organism to investigate AA toxicity (10 or 20 mM concentration) in eukaryotes. In S. pombe, AA delays cell growth causes oxidative stress by enhancement of ROS production and triggers excitement of the antioxidant defence system resulting in the division arrest. Aronia fruit contains a variety of health-promoting substances with considerable antioxidant potential. Therefore, Aronia juice supplementation was tested to evaluate its protective effect against AA-derived perturbations of the organism. Cell treatment with several Aronia juice concentrations ranging from 0 to 2% revealed the best protective effect of 1 or 2% Aronia juice solutions. Both chosen Aronia juice concentrations alleviated AA toxicity through the improvement of the antioxidant cell capacity and metabolic activity by their strong ROS scavenging property. Efficiency of Aronia juice cell protection is dose dependent as the 2% solution led to significantly higher cellular defence compared with 1%. Due to the high similarity of biological processes of S. pombe with higher eukaryotes, the protective effect of Aronia juice against AA toxicity might also apply to higher organisms.

Phytonutrients of bilberry fruit and saskatoon berry in the prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia.

The epidemiologic studies from the recent years indicate that high consumption of foods rich in bioactive compounds has a positive effect on human health and could diminish the risk of numerous diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, cataracts, and even diseases related to age. From all species of fruit, definitely consumption of berries due to its high content of bioactive constituents prevents the risk of cardiovascular disease, oxidative stress and diabetes. The primary phenolic compounds in berries are flavonoids, particularly the anthocyanins. They have potential preventative and therapeutic effects on many diseases such as cancers, inflammation and cardiovascular diseases, obesity, neurodegenerative pathologies, and muscular degeneration. Bilberry fruits have been an important part of local diets in many countries, including Slovakia. They are valued for their pleasant taste and aroma and are often processed into jams, preserves, juices, and alcoholic beverages. In the last two decades, the Saskatoon berry has been cultivated in many parts of the world for its suitability for various food products and due to its high content of nutrients and polyphenols. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the world's leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Dyslipidemia, which results from one or more abnormalities of blood lipids metabolism, remains a major key factor for progression of CVD and leads to the development of atherosclerotic plaques. The aim of this review is to compare and summarize the research evidence on the potential of bilberries and saskatoon berries with an emphasis on recent studies in humans in improving cardiovascular risk factors especially dyslipidemia.

Effect of short-term consumption of pork supplemented by organic selenium on selenium concentration, antioxidant status, and lipid parameters of consumers.

The aim of the research was to evaluate the impact of consumption of pork enriched with selenium on selenium concentration, antioxidant status and lipid parameters of consumers. The research involved 59 probands in four experiments from the general population of Slovakia. The probands consumed 200 g of enriched meat with organic selenium from pork fed with selenized yeast three times a week during one month. Probands of exp.1 consumed freshly prepared lunch and probands of exp. 2-4 consumed sterilized meat. During the experiment, three blood collections were carried out. After short-term consumption of enriched pork with selenium, concentration of selenium in the blood serum of probands increased significantly in exp. 1 and 4 (P < 0.05). TAS increased significantly after 28 days in exp. 2, 3 and 4 (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001). The level of T-C and TG significantly decreased in exp. 2 and 4 (P < 0.05). HDL-C levels non-significantly increased (P > 0.05) in exp. 1, 3, and 4. The levels of LDL-C significantly decreased in exp. 2 (P < 0.05). These results demonstrated that pork appears to be a suitable component for increase the selenium intake of consumers.

The effect of consumption of pork enriched by organic selenium on selenium status and lipid profile in blood serum of consumers.

The aim of the research was to evaluate the effect of consumption of selenium-enriched pork on selected health indicators of probands. The intake of feed mixture with increased organic selenium at the dose of 0.3 mg.kg-1 probably increases selenium concentration in MSM (musculus semimembranosus). In the pork enriched with organic selenium, the concentration was higher by 1.045 ± 0.10 mg.kg-1 compared with the control group 0.701 ± 0.05 mg.kg-1 at significance P < 0.001. Sixteen participants in the experiment were represented by 8 men at the average age of 41.5 ± 11.9 years and 8 women at the average age of 41.4 ± 7.9 years. All the probands consumed meat enriched with selenium three times a week during one month. By consumption of the enriched pork, there was an increase of the selenium concentration in blood serum of probands traced with selenium increase from 73.19 ± 15.68 µg.L-1 to 73.73 ± 15.13 µg.L-1 (P > 0.05). From the results we can see that consumption of enriched pork with selenium was significantly manifested in lowering of total cholesterol levels, which was associated with LDL cholesterol lowering (P < 0.05). Differences among the HDL cholesterol and triglycerides samples were not significant.

Dietary bioflavonoid quercetin modulates porcine ovarian granulosa cell functions in vitro.

Quercetin is a dietary bioflavonoid used widely as a food supplement and is generally recognized as safe. The aim of this in vitro study was to examine the steroid hormone (progesterone and 17- ß estradiol) release, proliferation (PCNA and cyclin B1) and apoptosis (caspase 3 and p53) of porcine ovarian granulosa cells after the addition of quercetin at concentrations 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 µmol L-1. Progesterone release was stimulated at the concentration 10 µmol L-1. Quercetin neither had any impact on 17-ß estradiol secretion nor on the presence of PCNA. However, a significant enhancement of the occurrence of cyclin B1 was noted except for the lowest concentration 0.01 µmol L-1. Quercetin did not have any influence on the number of granulosa cells containing caspase 3, but at the concentration 10 µmol L-1 it inhibited p53 occurrence. Results confirm the safety of quercetin in porcine ovarian granulosa cell model and further suggest its possible concentration-dependent influence on ovarian functions through pathway that may involve progesterone, cyclin B1 and p53.