0 Glyconutrients

The increasing frequency and severity of healthcare-associated outbreaks caused by bacterium Clostridium difficile have been linked to the widely used...

This Medical News article discusses whether trehalose, a sugar manufactured from cornstarch used to sweeten and texturize foods, has contributed to the emergence of epidemic strains of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).

National Institute for Health Research. Gut model experiments only: Hayashibara Co. Ltd.

Learn more about this infectious disease that is becoming more common and often affects older adults in a health care facility, often after antibiotic use.

Rough notes from the webinar The Scientist: Precision Medicine Learning Lessons from the Microbiome (now available online)

C.Difficile sickens 500,000 every year. It contributes to the death of up to 30,000. Discover what you can do to prevent, treat and understand c diff

Bile acids, which are altered by bacteria normally living in the large intestine, inhibit the growth of Clostridium difficile, new research indicates. The work sheds light on the ways in which some commonly used antibiotics can promote C. diff infections by killing off the bile acid-altering microbes.

Abstract. In a case–control study of patients with Clostridium difficile infection, we found no statistically significant association between the presence of tr

Aloe vera healed wounds earlier than untreated rats with gradual improvement in wound areas and collagen content. Aloe vera also improved the expression of IGF-1 and VEGF in skin and bone marrow indicating improvement in angiogenesis. RT- PCR analysis showed increased expression of genes for chemota …

Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. (Aloe barbadensis Mill) Liliaceae, succulent plant native to northern Africa, is presently cultivated in many regions of the world. Traditionally, its inner part of parenchyma, which contains aloe gel, was used for the treatment ...

There is a growing interest in butyrate because its impact on epigenetic mechanisms will lead to more specific and efficacious therapeutic strategies for the presentation and treatment of different disease ranging from genetic/metabolic conditions to neurological degeneration disorders. The dietary natural source of butyrate through a high fiber diet or butyrate produced by fermentation of non-digestive fiber, such as acemannan in Aloe Vera leaf gel, is a highly appealing approach to present a simple and relatively low risk method to potentially improve outcomes in aged people with brain troubles. In this review, we will discuss the pharmacological effects of butyrate as a histone deacetylase inhibitor to an insulin resistance and energy expenditure, and as pro-drugs to ulcerative colitis and cancer, and the gut-liver axis in pre-clinical treatment.

Chitosan, sodium alginate and gel of Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) were employed for the preparation of polyelectrolyte complexes at pH 4 and 6.…

An allergic reaction occurs when the immune system overreacts to harmless substance called allergen that gains access to the body. Food allergy is a hypersensitive immune reaction to food proteins and the number of patients with food allergy has recently increased. Aloe Vera is used for wellness and …

Aloe vera has been used as folk medicine for a host of therapeutic indications of which the inner gel is the component extensively used and studied. Proponents of the use of this plant suggest that it is easily available, economical, and have fewer side effects compared to commercial drug compounds. However, the active constituents and their exact mechanisms have yet to be fully elucidated. This review focuses on the identification of the active constituents and their functional mechanism in the areas of anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and antibacterial. Preliminary evidence was found to support the antidiabetic effect which extended to the early stages of the disease with no adverse effects at the dosages used. Although topical application for its anti-inflammatory effect may be delayed and minute, oral administration has shown a significant response. However, too high a dose has been linked with an initial inflammatory reaction. Favorable response to the gel has also been demonstrated to support the use of A. vera in wound-healing and as an antibacterial agent, although limited to simple, uncomplicated wounds. Different active constituents such as acemannan and aloin have been suggested for the effects of the plant and this may be interpreted as synergism among different compounds rather than the action of a single compound. Until robust evidence is available, the plant should only be used as an adjunct to other well-established evidence-based treatment modalities.

The co-administration of absorption enhancing agents with macromolecular drugs (e.g., protein and peptide drugs) has been identified as a means to improve the oral bioavailability of these drugs. Absorption-enhancing agents of natural origins have received a great deal of attention due to their sustainable production, in support of green chemistry. In previous studies, certain parts of the Aloe vera leaf (e.g., gel and whole leaf extract) have shown a potential to enhance drug permeation across the intestinal epithelial barrier. The mechanism of the drug-absorption-enhancement action and the capacity for absorption-enhancement of the A. vera gel and whole leaf, were investigated in this study. A clear decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) of Caco-2 cell monolayers exposed to A. vera gel and wholeleaf extract, in various concentrations, indicated the opening of tight junctions between the epithelial cells. The transport of Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran, with a molecular weight of 4 kDa (FD-4), could be enhanced across the Caco-2 cell monolayers, by the A. vera gel and whole-leaf extract, but not the FITC-dextran with larger molecular weights (i.e., 10, 20, and 40 kDa), which indicated a limited drug absorption enhancement capacity, in terms of the molecular size. Accumulation of FD-4 between the Caco-2 cells (and not within the cells), after treatment with the A. vera gel and whole-leaf extract was shown with a confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) imaging, indicating that the paracellular transport of FD-4 occurred after the interaction of the A. vera gel and whole-leaf extract, with the epithelial cell monolayers. Furthermore, changes in the F-actin distribution in the cytoskeleton of the Caco-2 cell monolayers was observed by means of a fluorescence staining, which confirmed tight junction modulation as the mechanism of action for the absorption enhancement effect of the A. vera gel and whole-leaf extract.

Introduction Pharmaceuticals are a large and diverse group of compounds designed to prevent, cure, and treat disease, and improve health [1-2].  Significant fractions of the parent compound are excreted in un-metabolized form or as metabolites (active or inactive) into raw sewage and wastewater

Objective: In the living organisms, deleterious effects produced by ionizing radiations. Human exposure to ionizing radiations increased enormously because of rapid technological advancements. There is a need to protect humans against such effects of ionizing radiation. Protection against the deleterious effects of ionizing radiations by radioprotectors was studied, which may be of great help for human application. Present study was conducted to evaluate the modulating efficacy of prolonged administration of Aloe vera extract against gamma irradiation-induced toxicity in mice. Methods: Animals were given Aloe vera leaf extract orally 1000 mg/kg body weight/d for 15 consecutive days before radiation exposure (0.5, 3 and 5.5 Gy gamma radiation). Results: Mice were autopsied at day ¼, 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 after irradiation to evaluate the radio modulator effect in terms of the hepatosomatic index. Conclusion: Aloe vera extract has a beneficial protective effect against radiation-induced oxidative stress.

Background Acute radiation-induced proctitis (ARP) is the most common side effect following radiotherapy for malignant pelvic disease. This study evaluated the efficacy of Aloe vera ointment in prevention of ARP. Methods Forty-two patients receiving external-beam radiotherapy (RT) for pelvic malignancies were randomized to receive either Aloe vera 3% or placebo topical ointment during radiotherapy for 6 weeks. These patients were evaluated based on the severity (grade 0–4) of the following symptoms weekly: rectal bleeding, abdominal/rectal pain, diarrhea, or fecal urgency. RTOG acute toxicity criteria and psychosocial status of the patients were also recorded weekly. Lifestyle impact of the symptoms, and quantitative measurement of C-reactive protein (CRP), an indicator of systemic inflammation, were also measured. Results The results of present study demonstrated a significant preventive effect for Aloe vera in occurrence of symptom index for diarrhea (p

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

Our health span is to a great extent epigenetically determined by diets, gut environment, lifestyle, and various other environmental factors. Health benefits of long-term ingestion of aloe vera gel with immune modulation of the intestinal microbiota were discussed on congenital heart disease and heart failure. In this review, we demonstrated prophylaxes roles of successive ingestion of aloe vera juice on heart failure. Furthermore we presented three case reports on heart failure patients with aloe vera juice adjuvant.

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The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the possible radioprotective potential of an Aloe vera extract against whole-body X-ray irradiation-induced testicular alterations in mice. Male ...

The efficacy of Aloe vera has been known for various health and disease-related conditions. Butyrate, a well-known epigenetic histone deacetylase inhibitor, is causally implicated in tumorigenesis and tumor angiogenesis. Butyrate was shown to induce cell cycle arrest, differentiation, and apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells. Dietary factors, microbiota composition, and microbiota metabolism are intimately intertwined in a complex network, highlighting the importance of intestinal functions for health maintenance. In the present review, we discuss aloe vera fermentation as a tumor-suppressive process generating microbial-derived butyrate.