Pistacia vera and its Combination with Cisplatin: A Potential Anticancer Candidate by Modulating Apoptotic Genes.

INTRODUCTION: Many bioactive phytochemicals have essential significance for handling various diseases and developing new drugs. The aim was to investigate the anti-tumor activity and the underlying mechanisms of pistachio pericarp extract (PPE) and pistachio kernel extract (PKE) alone and combined with cisplatin (CP) in the treatment of prostate cancer. METHODS: The effects of the PPE, PKE, and CP alone and PPE and PKE in combination with CP (PPE+CP and PKE+CP) on the proliferation of PC-3 cells were determined using the MTT assay. The fold changes of BAX, BCL-2, P53, KLK2, TNF, TGF, and NANOG expression against ß-actin were determined by real-time technique. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and repeated measure tests. RESULTS: These research results indicated that a greater anti-proliferative effect of the PPE and PKE was shown in combination with CP compared with treatments using the PPE and PKE or CP alone. The extracts and Cisplatin in vitro had good synergistic effects on the inhibition of the proliferation of PC-3 cells. The IC50 values of PKE+CP were 4.141, 2.140, and 0.884 ug/mL, and PPE+CP were 2.754, 2.061, and 0.753 ug/mL after 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h treatment, respectively. Also, this result presented that the mRNA expression of BAX and P53 increased, and BCL-2, KLK2, TNF, TGF, and NANOG decreased in PC-3 cells. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of this research showed for the first time the anti-carcinogenesis effects of separately and in the combination of PPE, PKE, and CP on the PC-3 prostate cancer cells via modulating some genes and that it may be nominated for the herbal anti-cancer medications.

Tritrophic effects mediate host suitability for two parasitoids of the carob moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), infesting pistachio kernels.

The carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is an important pest of pistachio causing direct damage to nuts during ripening, and in storage. We examined the tritrophic effects of 5 pistachio cultivars, representing the full range of kernel suitability for E. ceratoniae, on 2 larval parasitoids, Habrobracon hebetor (Say) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a gregarious, synovigenic, idiobiont, ectoparasitoid, and Venturia canescens Gravenhorst (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), a solitary, pro-ovigenic, koinobiont, endoparasitoid. The suitability of pistachio cultivars for development and reproduction of the 2 parasitoids was closely correlated, despite their divergent lifestyles and developmental patterns, and paralleled variation in kernel suitability for host larvae. Although kernels of the most resistant cultivar reduced demographic parameters of the parasitoids, the potential impact on numerical responses was minor. Successful biological control of carob moth within the vulnerable period of nut ripening will likely depend on the functional responses of earlier generations of adult parasitoids emerging from other fruit and nut crops, or those released in an augmentation program.

Reply to Letter to the editor regarding "The effect of pistachio supplementation on metabolic syndrome and its components in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials".

Two researchers (F.B and S.K.F.-P.) reviewed the abstracts and titles of all of the acknowledged research to determine whether it was eligible for inclusion in the present meta-analysis according to the inclusion criteria. The authors included all of the relevant available data from 17 articles on interventional studies. Regarding the objection raised about the effect size calculation, the inclusion of the various effect sizes from 1 study is a routine approach used in numerous meta-analyses, and their inclusion in the study did not impair the accuracy of the findings. The included studies were homogeneous in terms of intervention, outcomes, and participants, and the high rate of heterogeneity between the included studies for the majority of the study outcomes may have derived from the different characteristics of the participant populations, especially differences in their health status. As no study included in the review reported the correlation coefficient between the placebo conditions and the experimental conditions, the authors reanalyzed the data by inputting a moderate correlation coefficient of 0.5. Our study showed that pistachio consumption has a positive effect in terms of reducing the components of metabolic syndrome. In conclusion, this study reanalyzed the data and justified the methods used for showing the positive effect of pistachio consumption on metabolic syndrome components, and the potential for further research to identify the underlying mechanisms and the effects on various populations. The study's protocol was registered, and Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software was used in the statistical analyses. The authors recommend further research to investigate the potential effect of the consumption of pistachios. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42021285424.

Risk of urinary tract cancers following arsenic exposure and tobacco smoking: a review.

Bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and kidney cancer, due to their high morbidity and mortality rates, result in significant economic and health care costs. Arsenic exposure affects the drinking water of millions of people worldwide. Long-term exposure to arsenic, even in low concentrations, increases the risk of developing various cancers. Smoking is also one of the leading causes of bladder, prostate and kidney cancers. Accordingly, this research reviews the relationship between arsenic exposure and smoking with three kinds of urinary tract cancers (bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and kidney cancer) due to their widespread concern for their negative impact on public health globally. In this review, we have gathered the most current information from scientific databases [PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, ISI web of science] regarding the relationship between arsenic exposure and tobacco smoking with the risk of bladder, prostate, and kidney cancer. In several studies, a significant relationship was determined between the incidence and mortality rate of the above-mentioned cancers in humans with arsenic exposure and tobacco smoking. The decrease or cessation of smoking and consumption of arsenic-free water significantly declined the incidence of bladder, prostate, and kidney cancers.

In vitro and Pharmacoinformatics-based phytochemical screening for anticancer impacts of pistachio hull essential oil on AGS, PLC/PRF/5, and CACO2 cell lines.

BACKGROUND: The essential oil of pistacia vera (cv. Ohadi) hull (PHEO) was checked using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. It was studied the genes of the wnt pathway with a certain concentration of PHEO on Human gastric cancer (AGS), human hepatocellular carcinoma (PLC/PRF/5), and human colon cancer (CACO2) cell lines. METHODS AND RESULTS: After evaluating the survival rate of cancer cells by MTT test and determining IC50, pistachio hull essential oil (PHEO) was used for 24-hours to treat the cells. After RNA extraction, the expression of wnt pathway genes was evaluated by Real-Time PCR. Considering the crucial role of ß-catenin accumulation and its effect on the progression of gastrointestinal cancers, Western blot analysis was also used to determine the effect of PHEO in protein expression of ß-catenin inhibition. Also, an in silico analysis was carried out to investigate the effect of PHEO extracted compounds on protein expression of ß-catenin and FZD7 inhibition. According to the results, wnt pathway genes were changed in samples treated using PHEO. The results showed the up-regulation of GSK-3ß and down-regulation of Wnt-1, LEF-1, TCF1, and CTNNB1 genes compared to the control. CONCLUSION: We showed inhibition of ß-catenin protein in cancer cell lines. Four compounds of PHEO were suggested to have an inhibition effect on ß-catenin and FZD7. These compounds can be useful in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. Altogether, the inhibitory role of ß-catenin protein can be very effective and can be considered one of the therapeutic goals in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers.

The effect of pistachio supplementation on metabolic syndrome and its components in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

CONTEXT: Several observational and experimental studies have been conducted to evaluate the effects of pistachio intake on metabolic syndrome (MetS); however, the results are inconsistent. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis were performed on data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the effect of pistachio consumption on MetS components. DATA SOURCES: The PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and Web of Science databases were searched from 1986 to 2021. STUDY SELECTION: English-language RCTs on pistachio intake were included that provided outcomes on hypertension, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). DATA EXTRACTION: Results are presented as pooled mean differences (MDs) between intervention and control groups with 95%CI reported for each of the components. RESULTS: Seventeen RCTs including 940 adults met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review and meta-analysis. Pistachio supplementation significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (BP; MD, -2.89 mmHg, 95%CI: -4.11 to -1.67; P < 0.001), triglycerides (MD, -16.76 mg/dL, 95%CI: -16.89 to -16.64; P < 0.001), fasting blood glucose (MD, -3.62 mg/dL, 95%CI: -6.45 to -0.8; P < 0.001,) and increased HDL (MD, 1.43 mg/dL, 95%CI: 1.39 to 1.47; P < 0.001) levels. However, there were not observed considerable changes in waist circumference, diastolic BP, and body mass index. CONCLUSION: The results of this research show that pistachio consumption could improve some MetS components, including systolic blood pressure, triglyceride, fasting blood glucose, and HDL levels, without affecting anthropometric indices and diastolic BP.