Creation of combined pessaries with fluconazole and amaranth oil for the treatment of vaginal candidiasis

For many years, fungi have emerged as significant and frequent opportunistic pathogens and nosocomial infections in many different populations at risk. Fungal infections include disease that varies from superficial to disseminated infections which are often fatal. No fungal disease is reportable in Oman. Many cases are admitted with underlying pathology, and fungal infection is often not documented. The burden of fungal infections in Oman is still unknown. Using disease frequencies from heterogeneous and robust data sources, we provide an estimation of the incidence and prevalence of Oman’s fungal diseases. An estimated 79,520 people in Oman are affected by a serious fungal infection each year, 1.7% of the population, not including fungal skin infections, chronic fungal rhinosinusitis or otitis externa. These figures are dominated by vaginal candidiasis, followed by allergic respiratory disease (fungal asthma). An estimated 244 patients develop invasive aspergillosis and at least 230 candidemia annually (5.4 and 5.0 per 100,000). Only culture and microscopy are currently available for diagnosis, so case detection is suboptimal. Uncertainty surrounds these figures that trigger the need for urgent local epidemiological studies with more sensitive diagnostics.

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Low-Density Insulation Blocks and Hardboards from Amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) Stems, a New Perspective for Building Applications

Coatings ◽

10.3390/coatings11030349 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 349

Author(s):

Philippe Evon ◽

Guyonne de Langalerie ◽

Laurent Labonne ◽

Othmane Merah ◽

Thierry Talou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aerial Part ◽

Low Density ◽

Renewable Materials ◽

Fractionation Process ◽

Amaranthus Cruentus ◽

Cosmetic Industry ◽

New Perspective ◽

The One ◽

Promising Source ◽

Amaranth Oil

Nowadays, amaranth appears as a promising source of squalene of vegetable origin. Amaranth oil is indeed one of the most concentrated vegetable oils in squalene, i.e., up to 6% (w/w). This triterpene is highly appreciated in cosmetology, especially for the formulation of moisturizing creams. It is almost exclusively extracted from the liver of sharks, causing their overfishing. Thus, providing a squalene of renewable origin is a major challenge for the cosmetic industry. The amaranth plant has thus experienced renewed interest in recent years. In addition to the seeds, a stem is also produced during cultivation. Representing up to 80% (w/w) of the plant aerial part, it is composed of a ligneous fraction, the bark, on its periphery, and a pith in its middle. In this study, a fractionation process was developed to separate bark and pith. These two fractions were then used to produce renewable materials for building applications. On the one hand, the bark was used to produce hardboards, with the deoiled seeds acting as natural binder. Such boards are a viable alternative to commercial wood-based panels. On the other hand, the pith was transformed into cohesive and machinable low-density insulation blocks revealing a low thermal conductivity value.

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Liposomes Loaded with Unsaponifiable Matter from Amaranthus hypochondriacus as a Source of Squalene and Carrying Soybean Lunasin Inhibited Melanoma Cells

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11081960 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 1960

Author(s):

Erick Damian Castañeda-Reyes ◽

Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia ◽

Fred Joseph Eller ◽

Mark A. Berhow ◽

María de Jesús Perea-Flores ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Particle Size ◽

Unsaponifiable Matter ◽

Encapsulation Efficiency ◽

Inhibitory Concentration ◽

Melanoma Cells ◽

Amaranthus Hypochondriacus ◽

Liposome Formulation ◽

Reported Health ◽

Amaranth Oil ◽

Melanoma Cell Lines

Amaranthus hypochondriacus is a source of molecules with reported health benefits such as antioxidant activity and cancer prevention. The objective of this research was to optimize the conditions for preparing a liposome formulation using amaranth unsaponifiable matter as a source of squalene in order to minimize the particle size and to maximize the encapsulation efficiency of liposomes for carrying and delivering soybean lunasin into melanoma cell lines. Amaranth oil was extracted using supercritical dioxide carbon extraction (55.2 MPa pressure, 80 °C temperature, solvent (CO2)-to-feed (oil) ratio of 20). The extracted oil from amaranth was used to obtain the unsaponifiable enriched content of squalene, which was incorporated into liposomes. A Box–Behnken response surface methodology design was used to optimize the liposome formulation containing the unsaponifiable matter, once liposomes were optimized. Soybean lunasin was loaded into the liposomes and tested on A-375 and B16-F10 melanoma cells. The squalene concentration in the extracted oil was 36.64 ± 0.64 g/ 100 g of oil. The particle size in liposomes was between 115.8 and 163.1 nm; the squalene encapsulation efficiency ranged from 33.14% to 76.08%. The optimized liposome formulation contained 15.27 mg of phospholipids and 1.1 mg of unsaponifiable matter. Cell viability was affected by the liposome formulation with a half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) equivalent to 225 μM in B16-F10 and 215 μM in A-375. The liposomes formulated with lunasin achieved 82.14 ± 3.34% lunasin encapsulation efficiency and improved efficacy by decreasing lunasin IC50 by 31.81% in B16-F10 and by 41.89% in A-375 compared with unencapsulated lunasin.

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Interaction of Candida albicans with genital mucosa: effect of sex hormones on adherence of yeasts in vitro

Canadian Journal of Microbiology ◽

10.1139/m88-042 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 224-228 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Aliza Kalo ◽

Esther Segal

Keyword(s):

Candida Albicans ◽

Hela Cell ◽

Sex Hormones ◽

Hela Cells ◽

Cell Types ◽

Vaginal Candidiasis ◽

Genital Mucosa ◽

Hela Cell Lines ◽

I Cells

Findings from our previous studies revealed a correlation between the level of adherence in vitro of Candida albicans to human exfoliated vaginal epithelial cells (VEC) and the hormonal status of the cell donors. In the present study we investigated the effect of the sex hormones estradiol, estriol, progesterone, and testosterone on the binding of the yeasts to HeLa cell lines and VEC in vitro. Monolayers of HeLa cells were exposed to the hormones and yeasts under controlled conditions. The number of adherent yeasts per square millimetre of HeLa cell monolayers and the percentage of VEC with adherent yeasts was estimated by microscopic counts. The results showed that the tested sex hormones affected at various degrees the adhesion of yeasts to HeLa cells or VEC. Progesterone had the most marked effect, leading to a significant increase in the number of adherent yeasts to HeLa cells or in the percentage of adhesion of VEC. In addition, VEC were separated on Percoll gradients into the two cell types: superficial (S) and intermediate (I), cell types which appear physiologically under increased serum levels of estradiol or progesterone, respectively. Adhesion assays with the separated cell populations revealed an increased binding capacity of the I cells. The finding that progesterone increased the adherence of yeasts to genital mucosa and that VEC of the I type have a higher capacity to adhere the yeasts is compatible with our previous observation that increased numbers of I cells, appearing under high level of progesterone, are found in situations known to have predisposition to vaginal candidiasis. Thus, our data point to a possible involvement of the hormone progesterone in the adherence of C. albicans to genital epithelium.

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