Diterpenes of Coffea seeds show antifungal and anti-insect activities and are transferred from the endosperm to the seedling after germination.

Species of the genus Coffea accumulate diterpenes of the ent-kaurane family in the endosperm of their seeds, of which cafestol and kahweol are the most abundant. The diterpenes are mainly stored in esterified form with fatty acids, mostly palmitate. In contrast to the numerous studies on their effects on human health and therapeutic applications, nothing was previously known about their biological and ecological role in planta. The antifungal and anti-insect activities of cafestol and cafestol palmitate were thus investigated in this study. Cafestol significantly affected the mycelial growth of five of the six phytopathogenic fungi tested. It also greatly reduced the percentage of pupation of larvae and the pupae and adult masses of one of the two fruit flies tested. By contrast, cafestol palmitate had no significant effect against any of the fungi and insects studied. Using confocal imaging and oil body isolation and analysis, we showed that diterpenes are localized in endosperm oil bodies, suggesting that esterification with fatty acids enables the accumulation of large amounts of diterpenes in a non-toxic form. Diterpene measurements in all organs of seedlings recovered from whole seed germination or embryos isolated from the endosperm showed that diterpenes are transferred from the endosperm to the cotyledons during seedling growth and then distributed to all organs, including the hypocotyl and the root. Collectively, our findings show that coffee diterpenes are broad-spectrum defence compounds that protect not only the seed on the mother plant and in the soil, but also the seedling after germination.

The Efficacy and Safety of Hemospray for the Management of Gastrointestinal Bleeding: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

GOALS/BACKGROUND: Hemospray is a new hemostatic powder recently approved for endoscopic hemostasis in gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Data are limited in terms of its clinical outcomes, and its role in the treatment algorithm of GI bleeds. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the clinical performance of Hemospray in the management of GI bleeding. STUDY: We searched multiple databases from inception through March 2019 to identify studies that reported on the clinical outcomes of Hemospray in GI bleeding. The primary outcome was pooled rates of clinical success after the application of Hemospray in GI bleeding. The secondary outcomes were pooled rebleeding rates and adverse events after use of Hemospray. RESULTS: A total of 19 studies, 814 patients, of which 212 patients were treated with Hemospray as monotherapy, and 602 patients were treated with Hemospray with conventional hemostatic techniques. Overall pooled clinical success after the application of Hemospray was 92% [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 87%-96%; I2=70.4%]. Overall pooled early rebleeding rates after application of Hemospray was 20% (95% CI, 16%-26%; I2=54%). Overall pooled delayed rebleeding rates after the application of Hemospray was 23% (95% CI, 16%-31%; I2=34.9%). There was no statistical difference in clinical success (RR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.96-1.08; P=0.34) and early rebleeding (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.75-1.07; P=0.214) in studies that compared the use of Hemospray as monotherapy versus combination therapy with conventional therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Hemospray is highly effective in achieving immediate hemostasis in gastrointestinal bleeding. However, due to significantly high rebleeding rates, Hemospray is not suited for definitive long-term therapy.