Bioactive effects of citrus flavonoids and role in the prevention of atherosclerosis and cancer

Citrus fruits are the main fruits of the Mediterranean diet and have been long recognized for their beneficial effects on human health. Observational studies have shown a significant association between dietary flavo-noid intake and reduced risk of cardiovascular and malignant diseases. The beneficial effects of citrus fruits on human health appear to be due to their high content in vitamins, minerals and fibers. In particular, the an-tioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities have been indicated as some of the mechanisms through which citrus fruits may thwarts the development of chronic degenerative diseases such as atherosclerosis and can-cer. This review would critically examine the results from numerous studies carried out in order assess the contribute of citrus flavonoids to the prevention of chronic pathological conditions including athero-sclerosis and cancer.

The role of platelets in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis

The participation of platelets in the development of atherothrombosis in acute forms of cardiovascular diseases is generally recognized and well studied, while their significance in the pathogenesis of vascular atherosclerosis, starting from the earliest stages, requires further study. This article analyzes the role of platelets in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Modern views on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, platelet-endothelial interactions, molecular mechanisms of platelet activation, platelet immune function from the point of view of the initial stages of atherogenesis, studies of the effect of antiplatelet therapy in primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerosis are considered. The leading role of platelets in the inflammatory and immune reactions of the human body is indicated, which is realized due to a complex of immune receptors, adhesion molecules and mediators.

Antihyperlipidemic and Antioxidant Capacities, Nutritional Analysis and UHPLC-PDA-MS Characterization of Cocona Fruits (Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal) from the Peruvian Amazon

Cocona fruits are a popular food and medicinal fruit used mainly in the Amazon and several countries of South America for the preparation of several food products such as drinks, jams and milk shakes. In this study five ecotypes of cocona native to Peru have been studied regarding their nutritional and antioxidants values plus antihyperlipidemic activities. Seventy bioactive compounds have been detected in Peruvian cocona ecotypes including several phenolic acids, aminoacids and flavonoids; of those six were spermidines, (peaks 1, 2, 25, 26, 38 and 39), thirteen were aminoacids, (peaks 3,-9, 11-13, 16, 17, 22-24), eighteen flavonoids (peaks 28, 30-32 45,46, 48-53 56, 57, 61 and 64-66), twelve were phenolics (peaks 19, 21, 27, 29, 34, 35, 36, 42, 43, 44, 54, and 59), two carotenoids, (peak 62 and 63), eight were lipid derivatives (peaks 37, 55, 58, 60 and 67-70), one sugar (peak 47), four terpenes (peaks 33, 40, 41 and 47), two amides, (peaks 10 and 18), one aldehyde, (peak 15), and three saturated organic acids, (peaks 4, 5 and 20). Hypercholesterolemic rats administered with pulp of the ecotypes CTR and SRN9 showed the lowest cholesterol and triglyceride levels after treatment (126.74 ± 6.63; 102.11 ± 9.47; 58.16 ± 6.64; 61.05 ± 4.00 mg/dL, for cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein respectively, for the group treated with SRN9 pulp, and 130.09 ± 8.55; 108.51 ± 10.04; 57.30 ± 5.72; and 65.41 ± 7.68 mg/dL, for cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL lipoproteins respectively for the group treated with CTR pulp). The ecotypes proved to be good sources of natural antioxidants and their consumption represent an alternative for the prevention of atherosclerosis.

Rosemary and its protective potencies against COVID-19 and other cytokine storm associated infections: A molecular review

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, medicinal plants have attracted great interest in treatment of human diseases. Rosemary is a well-known medicinal plant which has been widely used for different therapeutic purposes. METHODS: This is a narrative review using databases including PubMed, ISI, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, and google scholar, the most authoritative articles were searched, screened, and analyzed. RESULTS: Rosemary is a natural antioxidant which removes reactive oxygen species from tissues and increases expression on Nrf2 gene. Rosemary and its metabolites reduce inflammation by inhibiting production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, decreasing expression of NF-κB, inhibiting infiltration of immune cells to inflamed sites, and affecting gut microbiome. Besides, rosmarinic acid in rosemary extract has positive effects on renin-angiotensin-system. Rosemary affects respiratory system by reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, muscle spasm, and also through anti-fibrotic properties. Carnosic acid is able to penetrate blood-brain-barrier and act against free radicals, ischemia and neurodegeneration in brain. Cardioprotective effects include correcting lipid profile, controlling blood pressure by inhibition of ACE, prevention of atherosclerosis, and reduction of cardiac muscle hypertrophy. CONCLUSIONS: Accordingly, rosemary supplementation has potential protective effects against COVID-19 and other cytokine storm associated infections, a conclusion that needs more evaluations in the next clinical trials.

Taurisolo®, a Grape Pomace Polyphenol Nutraceutical Reducing the Levels of Serum Biomarkers Associated With Atherosclerosis

Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) is a gut microbiota-derived metabolite recognized as strongly related to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), mainly increasing the risk of atherosclerosis development. Currently, no pharmacological approaches have been licensed for reduction of TMAO serum levels and conventional anti-atherosclerosis treatments only target the traditional risk factors, and the cardiovascular risk (CVR) still persist. This underlines the need to find novel targeted strategies for management of atherosclerosis. In this study we tested the ability of a novel nutraceutical formulation based on grape pomace polyphenols (Taurisolo®) in reducing both the serum levels of TMAO and oxidative stress-related biomarkers in humans (n = 213). After chronic treatment with Taurisolo® we observed significantly reduced levels of TMAO (−49.78 and −75.80%, after 4-week and 8-week treatment, respectively), oxidized LDL (oxLDL; −43.12 and −65.05%, after 4-week and 8-week treatment, respectively), and reactive oxygen species (D-ROMs; −34.37 and −49.68%, after 4-week and 8-week treatment, respectively). On the other hand, no significant changes were observed in control group. Such promising, the results observed allow indicating Taurisolo® as an effective nutraceutical strategy for prevention of atherosclerosis.Clinical Trial Registration: This study is listed on the ISRCTN registry with ID ISRCTN10794277 (doi: 10.1186/ISRCTN10794277).

Effectiveness of Structured Teaching programme on Knowledge regarding Life Style Modifications for the Prevention of Atherosclerosis among Housewives

The study was titled as “effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding life style modifications for the prevention of atherosclerosis among housewives.” The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effectiveness of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding life style modification for the prevention of atherosclerosis and to find out the association between knowledge regarding life style modifications for the prevention of atherosclerosis among housewives with selected demographic variables. Quasi experimental pretest posttest control design was adopted for this study. The study was conducted in a community area of Pallithottam at Kollam district. The sample consisted of 60 housewives. Non-probability convenient sampling technique was used. Data were collected from the housewives to assess their existing level of knowledge by using structured knowledge questionnaire before giving structured teachingprogramme. Post test was conducted one week after administration of structured teaching programme, to assess their level of knowledge. The collected data were tabulated and analysed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that, the mean posttest knowledge score of selected sample in experimental group (14.53) was higher than the mean pretest score (8.47). Since the calculated ‘t’ value (14.43) was greater than the table value (2.05) at 0.05 level of significance, there was statistically significant difference between mean pretest and posttest knowledge scores in experimental group. The mean posttest knowledge score of selected sample in experimental group (14.53) was higher than the mean posttest score (8.47) in the control group. The calculated ‘t’ value (14.43) was greater than the table value (2.05) at 0.05 level of significance. This indicated that there was statistically significant difference between mean pretest and posttest knowledge scores regarding life style modifications for the prevention of atherosclerosis in experimental group. The study concluded that structured teaching programme was effective in improving the knowledge regarding life style modifications for the prevention of atherosclerosis among housewives.