Characterization of the Sideritis scardica Extract SidTea+TM and Its Effect on Physiological Profile, Metabolic Health and Redox Biomarkers in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.

This study aimed to characterize a Sideritis scardica extract (SidTea+TM) and investigate its effect on the physiological profile, metabolic health and redox status in healthy individuals. The chemical profile and antioxidant potential of the SidTea+TM extract were evaluated by UPLC-HRMS analysis and in vitro cell-free methods. Twenty-eight healthy adults participated in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Participants consumed 1500 mg/day of SidTea+TM or a placebo for 4 weeks. At baseline and post-supplementation, participants were assessed for their anthropometric and physiological profile and provided a resting blood sample. SidTea+TM decreased (p < 0.05) systolic blood pressure (-10.8 mmHg), mean arterial pressure (-4.5 mmHg), resting heart rate (-3.1 bpm) and handgrip strength of the non-dominant limb (-0.8 kg) whereas the placebo decreased (p < 0.05) handgrip strength of the dominant (-5.8 kg) and non-dominant (-3.2 kg) limb. SidTea+TM also resulted in an increase (p < 0.05) in estimated VO2max (+1.1 mL/kg/min) and a reduction (p < 0.05) in γ-GT and SGPT enzymatic activity in serum (-3.7 and -3.3 U/L, respectively). Finally, SidTea+TM increased (p < 0.001) total antioxidant capacity and decreased (p < 0.05) lipid peroxidation levels in plasma. These results indicate that SidTea+TM is a potent and safe to use antioxidant that can elicit positive changes in indices of blood pressure, cardiorespiratory capacity, liver metabolism, and redox status in healthy adults over a 4-week supplementation period.

Grouping groupers in the Mediterranean: Ecological baselines revealed by ancient proteins.

Marine historical ecology provides a means to establish baselines to inform current fisheries management. Groupers (Epinephelidae) are key species for fisheries in the Mediterranean, which have been heavily overfished. Species abundance and distribution prior to the 20th century in the Mediterranean remains poorly known. To reconstruct the past biogeography of Mediterranean groupers, we investigated whether Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) can be used for identifying intra-genus grouper bones to species level. We discovered 22 novel, species-specific ZooMS biomarkers for groupers. Applying these biomarkers to Kinet Höyük, a Mediterranean archaeological site, demonstrated 4000 years of regional Epinephelus aeneus dominance and resiliency through millennia of fishing pressures, habitat degradation and climatic changes. Combining ZooMS identifications with catch size reconstructions revealed the Epinephelus aeneus capacity for growing 30 cm larger than hitherto documented, revising the maximum Total Length from 120 to 150 cm. Our results provide ecological baselines for a key Mediterranean fishery which could be leveraged to define and assess conservation targets.

The Effect of Ceratonia siliqua Supplement on Bone Mineral Density in Ovariectomy-induced Osteoporosis in Rats.

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the effect of Ceratonia siliqua on bone mineral density (BMD) as a non-pharmaceutical alternative treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty mature female Wistar rats were randomly separated into three groups of 10: Control, ovariectomized (OVX), and ovariectomized-plus-C. siliqua (OVX+CS). Total and proximal BMD were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in all groups before ovariectomy, and at 3 and 6 months postoperatively. At the end of the study, the femurs were subjected to a three-point bending test. RESULTS: DEXA revealed no statistically significant difference in absolute values or percentage changes for total tibial BMD between OVX+CS and OVX groups throughout the study. In the proximal tibia, both absolute values and BMD percentage changes from baseline were higher in the OVX+CS group compared to the OVX group after 3 and 6 months of C. siliqua administration. Three-point bending test revealed a significantly higher thickness index in the OVX+CS group compared to the OVX group and a higher cross-sectional area index compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Long-term administration of C. siliqua may be considered a non-pharmaceutical alternative treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis. Further research is required to properly investigate the effects, and suitable treatment dose and schedule.

Exploitation of Vitis vinifera, Foeniculum vulgare, Cannabis sativa and Punica granatum By-Product Seeds as Dermo-Cosmetic Agents.

In the current study, by-product seed pastes (VSPs) from Vitis vinifera, Foeniculum vulgare, Cannabis sativa and Punica granatum, generated during the oil production process, were investigated for their potential exploitation as dermo-cosmetic agent. The extraction pipeline of all the raw materials was developed with emphasis on green methodologies and employed on laboratory scale based on industry-adopted techniques. Two different protocols were applied, Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) and Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE); the by-product pastes were defatted with supercritical CO2 and n-Hexane, respectively. Then, two SFE extracts (CO2 with 10% and 20% of ethanol as co-solvent) and two UAE extracts (with ethanol and ethanol/water 1:1 v/v) were obtained from each raw material. The providing yield range was between 2.6 to 76.3 mg/g raw material. The extracts were analyzed with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Diode Array Detector (HPLC-DAD) and Liquid Chromatography coupled with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometer (LC-HRMS), and the major compounds, were identified. All the extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant and inhibition activity against collagenase, elastase and tyrosinase enzymes. Grapevine by-product extracts found rich in proanthocyanidins and presented the higher inhibition activity. A holistic green experimental methodology is proposed for the obtainment of extracts from significant medicinal plants by-products that provides us with promising results concerning dermo-cosmetic properties, especially for grape seeds extracts.

Recovery of Sesamin, Sesamolin, and Minor Lignans From Sesame Oil Using Solid Support-Free Liquid-Liquid Extraction and Chromatography Techniques and Evaluation of Their Enzymatic Inhibition Properties.

In this study, an integrated process for the recovery of sesamin and sesamolin, two high added-value lignans of sesame oil (SO) was developed, using synchronous extraction and chromatography techniques. The extraction of SO phenolic content was studied using two different extraction techniques: Annular centrifugal extraction (ACE) and centrifugal partition extraction (CPE). The derived data of each experiment were compared in terms of revealing the yields, time, and solvents consumption showing that CPE is the most effective technique, concerning the solvent consumption. The isolation of lignans was achieved using centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) both on semi-preparative and preparative scale. The biphasic system used for this purpose consisted of the following solvents: n-Hex/EtOAc/EtOH/H2O in proportion 2:3:3:2 (v/v/v/v) and direct recovery of the two major lignans sesamin and sesamolin was achieved. In parallel the CPC analysis resulted in the isolation of four minor lignans of sesame oil, i.e., samin, sesamol, sesaminol, and episesaminol. Structure elucidation of isolated lignans was based on HRMS/MS and NMR experiments. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed for quantitative analysis of the obtained extracts to determine the purity of the isolated compounds as well. The results of this study demonstrated that sesamin and sesamolin were recovered in purity higher than 95%, verifying the effectiveness of the purposed separation methodology. Finally, due to the general application of sesame oil in cosmetic industry, all the pure compounds were evaluated for their tyrosinase, elastase, collagenase, and hyaluronidase inhibition activity.

An integrated process for the recovery of high added-value compounds from olive oil using solid support free liquid-liquid extraction and chromatography techniques.

An integrated extraction and purification process for the direct recovery of high added value compounds from extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is proposed by using solid support free liquid-liquid extraction and chromatography techniques. Two different extraction methods were developed on a laboratory-scale Centrifugal Partition Extractor (CPE): a sequential strategy consisting of several "extraction-recovery" cycles and a continuous strategy based on stationary phase co-current elution. In both cases, EVOO was used as mobile phase diluted in food grade n-hexane (feed mobile phase) and the required biphasic system was obtained by adding ethanol and water as polar solvents. For the sequential process, 17.5L of feed EVOO containing organic phase (i.e. 7L of EVOO treated) were extracted yielding 9.5g of total phenolic fraction corresponding to a productivity of 5.8g/h/L of CPE column. Regarding the second approach, the co-current process, 2L of the feed oil phase (containing to 0.8L of EVOO) were treated at 100mL/min yielding 1.03g of total phenolic fraction corresponding to a productivity of 8.9g/h/L of CPE column. The total phenolic fraction was then fractionated by using stepwise gradient elution Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC). The biphasic solvent systems were composed of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol and water in different proportions (X/Y/2/3, v/v). In a single run of 4h on a column with a capacity of 1L, 910mg of oleocanthal, 882mg of oleacein, 104mg of hydroxytyrosol were successfully recovered from 5g of phenolic extract with purities of 85%, 92% and 90%, respectively. CPC fractions were then submitted to orthogonal chromatographic steps (adsorption on silica gel or size exclusion chromatography) leading to the isolation of additional eleven compounds belonging to triterpens, phenolic compounds and secoiridoids. Among them, elenolic acid ethylester was found to be new compound. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), Nuclear magnetic Resonance (NMR) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography - Diode Array Detector (HPLC-DAD) were used for monitoring and evaluation purposes throughout the entire procedure.