In Vitro Bioaccessibility and Effect of Mangifera indica (Ataulfo) Leaf Extract on Induced Dyslipidemia.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of death in the world, and epidemiological evidence points to dietary habits, stress, and obesity as major risk factors promoting pathological conditions like atherosclerosis, hypertension, and thrombosis. Current therapeutic approaches for CVDs rely on lifestyle changes and/or the use of drug agents. However, since the efficacy of such interventions is often limited by poor compliance and/or significant side effects, continued research on new preventive and therapeutic approaches is much needed. Our study is aimed to determine the bioaccessibility, total content of phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity (DPPH·, ABTS·+) of a methanolic extract from Mangifera indica L. leaves (MEM), and its lipid-lowering effect on an induced dyslipidemia model in Wistar rats. Our results showed that mangiferin is the main component of MEM. The extract showed a total content of polyphenol compounds of 575.28 gallic acid equivalents per dry matter basis (GAE/g db), antioxidant activity 77.68 µmol Trolox equivalents per gram (TE/g) db as measured by DPPH· and 20,630 µmol TE/g db by ABTS·+, and 12% of phenolic compounds were bioaccessible, and 100 mg/kg of MEM reduced hyperlipidemia levels induced in Wistar rats. Further study on the potential use of MEM as a nutraceutical to prevent CVDs in high-fat diet consumers is required.

Blue Maize Extract Improves Blood Pressure, Lipid Profiles, and Adipose Tissue in High-Sucrose Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in Rats.

The effect of blue maize extract in factors related to metabolic syndrome (MS) in Wistar rats was investigated. Total polyphenols, monomeric anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity were analyzed in blue maize. MS was induced in Wistar rats fed with high-sucrose (HS) diet for 12 weeks. During a period of 4 weeks, blue maize extract was administrated to HS groups fed with high-sucrose and high-cholesterol-high-sucrose (HS+C) diets. In the blue maize extract administered by orogastric cannulation, the levels of total polyphenols and anthocyanins were 9.97 and 2.92 mg/kg of weight, respectively. HS diet administered during a period of 12 weeks increased significantly systolic blood pressure, serum triglycerides, and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), alterations related to the MS. Abdominal adipose tissue was only increased in the HS + C group. Blue maize extract administration enhanced HDL-C and decreased systolic blood pressure, serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, and epididymal adipose tissue weight. The blue maize may represent a promising nutraceutical option for the treatment of MS.

Impact of Selenium Supplementation in Neutropenia and Immunoglobulin Production in Childhood Cancer Patients.

Essential to human health, selenium (Se) has enzymatic functions of fundamental importance to human biology due to its effects on DNA damage repair, its antioxidant properties, and cancer prevention. The best studied relationships between Se and the immune system is its role in the functions of neutrophils and of lymphocytes. Despite these observations, it is not yet clear by which mechanism Se is able to modify the immune status. This was a double-blind, crossover study: Group 1 received Se and Group 2 received placebo (30 days). After this, Group 1 received placebo and Group 2 received Se (30 days). Every 30 days, blood samples were collected for white blood cell count, red blood cell count, and Ig level measurement (IgA, IgG, IgE, IgM). Of the 36 patients, 17 were suffering from leukemia/lymphomas (LL) and 19 from solid tumors (ST). In the ST group's leukogram, a significant increase in neutrophils was observed after Se usage (P = .0192). During the analyzed period, Se minimized the triggering of neutropenia cases in both groups. IgA and IgG levels in ST patients were significantly higher than those identified in LL patients after Se usage (P = .0051 and P = .0055). For IgA, a significant increase in its production, after Se usage, was observed in the ST group when compared to the LL (P = .0011). The same did not occur to the IgM and IgE immunoglobulins. In our study, the supplementation with Se reduced the neutropenic cases (LL and ST patients) and reduced IgG and IgA levels in LL and increased in ST group.