Co-Treatment of Purified Annatto Oil (Bixa orellana L.) and Its Granules (Chronic®) Improves the Blood Lipid Profile and Bone Protective Effects of Testosterone in the Orchiectomy-Induced Osteoporosis in Wistar Rats.

This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effects of co-treatment with purified annatto oil (PAO) or its granules (GRA, Chronic®) with that of testosterone on the orchiectomy-induced osteoporosis in Wistar rats. After surgery, rats were treated from day 7 until day 45 with testosterone only (TES, 7 mg/kg, IM) or TES + PAO or GRA (200 mg/kg, p.o.). The following parameters were evaluated: food/water intake, weight, HDL, LDL, glucose, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), alkaline phosphatase levels, blood phosphorus and calcium contents, femur weight, structure (through scanning electron microscopy), and calcium content (through atomic absorption spectrophotometry). Our results show that orchiectomy could significantly change the blood lipid profile and decrease bone integrity parameters. Testosterone reposition alone could improve some endpoints, including LDL, TC, bone weight, and bone calcium concentration. However, other parameters were not significantly improved. Co-treatment with PAO or GRA improved the blood lipid profile and bone integrity more significantly and improved some endpoints not affected by testosterone reposition alone (such as TG levels and trabeculae sizes). The results suggest that co-treatment with annatto products improved the blood lipid profile and the anti-osteoporosis effects of testosterone. Overall, GRA had better results than PAO.

Avaliação da atividade imunomoduladora das pectinas in natura e modificadas obtidas de goiabas / Evaluation of immunomodulatory activity of non-modified and modified pectins from guava fruit

As pectinas presentes nas frutas, assim como sua versão modificada, estão entre as biomoléculas mais promissoras no campo da imunomodulação. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o potencial imunomodulador de pectinas obtidas de goiabas verdes e maduras, bem como suas versões modificadas. As goiabas cv. Tailandesas foram avaliadas ao longo do amadurecimento, sendo acompanhadas as alterações da cor da polpa e casca, firmeza, produção de etileno e respiração, perda de massa e o teor de açúcares solúveis. Após a caracterização dos frutos, foram extraídas as pectinas e estas foram caracterizadas quanto ao conteúdo monossacarídico, peso molecular, presença de oligossacarídeos e grau de esterificação. As pectinas in natura de goiaba madura e verde, bem como a versão modificada desta última apresentaram frações de alto e baixo peso molecular, alta proporção de ácido galacturônico e alto teor de esterificação. Por outro lado, as pectinas modificadas derivadas de goiaba madura apresentaram maior desesterificação, com perda de frações de menor peso molecular, menor proporção de ácido galacturônico e baixo teor de esterificação. As pectinas foram incubadas com células THP-1 e RAW 264.7, e apesar da alta viabilidade celular e ausência de efeito citotóxico, resultou em expressiva produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio. De modo geral, as pectinas in natura de goiaba verde e madura, e pectina modificada de goiaba verde promoveram estímulo da produção de citocinas diversas, em especial inflamatórias, como IL-1ß, IL-12, CCL5, CXCL10 e CXCL9, para células THP-1 e IL-10 (antiinflamatória), TNF-α e MCP-1, demonstrando seu potencial imunomodulador, já para células RAW 264.7 as pectinas estimularam a produção de IL-10, TNF-α e MCP-1, demonstrando seu potencial imunomodulador. A pectina modificada derivada da goiaba madura não promoveu a indução significativa de nenhuma citocina. Estes resultados sugerem que as pectinas obtidas a partir de goiabas têm potencial imunomodulador e devem ser estudadas em outros modelos celulares e / ou em concentrações mais altas e modelos in vivo, para que esses benefícios possam realmente ser comprovados

The pectin present in fruits and their modified version are the most promising biomolecules in the immunomodulatory field. This study aimed to evaluate the immunomodulatory potential of pectins obtained from unripe and ripe guavas (Psidium guajava L.) cv. Thailandesa as well as their modified versions. The guavas were characterized during ripening regarding cell wall solubilization, sugar content, firmness, mass loss and ethylene production rate and respiration during 10th following harvest. After fruit characterization, pectins were extracted and characterized for monosaccharide content, molecular weight, presence of oligosaccharides and degree of esterification. Pectins from unripe and ripe guava as well as the modified versions of pectins had high and low molecular weight fractions, a high proportion of galacturonic acid and high esterification content. On the other hand, modified pectins derived from ripe guava showed higher de-esterification, with loss of lower molecular weight fractions, a lower proportion of galacturonic acid and low esterification content. The pectins were incubated with THP-1 and RAW 264.7 cells, and despite the high cell viability and absence of cytotoxic effect, the treatment resulted in the expressive production of reactive oxygen species. In general, pectins from ripe and unripe guava and modified pectin from unripe guava stimulated the production of diverse cytokines, especially inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1ß, IL 12, CCL5, CXCL10, and CXCL9, for THP-1, while IL-10 (anti-inflammatory), TNF-α and MCP-1 were stimulated in RAW 264.7 cells, demonstrating their immunomodulatory potential. Modified pectin derived from ripe guava did not promote any significant induction of the cytokines investigated. These results suggest that pectins obtained from guavas have immunomodulatory potential and deserve a more in-depth investigation using other cellular models and/or use of higher concentrations and in vivo models tests so their immunomodulatory benefits can be prove