Glyconutrients

Retention after treatment and effective anchorage control are two essential factors in orthodontics. Fucoidan treatment inhibits orthodontic tooth movement and enhances the stability of teeth after m...

Background Cancer metastasis is the main cause leading to disease recurrence and high mortality in cancer patients. Therefore, inhibiting metastasis process or killing metastatic cancer cells by inducing apoptosis is of clinical importance in improving cancer patient survival. Previous studies revealed that fucoidan, a fucose-rich polysaccharide isolated from marine brown alga, is a promising natural product with significant anti-cancer activity. However, little is known about the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in fucoidan-induced cell apoptosis. Principal Findings We reported that fucoidan treatment inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis in cancer cells. Fucoidan treatments resulted in down-regulation of the glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) in the metastatic MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, and of the ER protein 29 (ERp29) in the metastatic HCT116 colon cancer cells. However, fucoidan treatment promoted ER Ca2+-dependent calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) phosphorylation, Bcl-associated X protein (Bax) and caspase 12 expression in MDA-MB-231 cells, but not in HCT116 cells. In both types of cancer cells, fucoidan activated the phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha (p-eIF2α)\CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein (CHOP) pro-apoptotic cascade and inhibited the phosphorylation of inositol-requiring kinase 1 (p-IRE-1)\X-box binding proteins 1 splicing (XBP-1s) pro-survival cascade. Furthermore, CHOP knockdown prevented DNA damage and cell death induced by fucoidan. Conclusion/Significance Fucoidan exerts its anti-tumor function by modulating ER stress cascades. Contribution of ER stress to the fucoidan-induced cell apoptosis augments our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying its anti-tumour activity and provides evidence for the therapeutic application of fucoidan in cancer.

Fucoidan, a sulfated polysaccharide derived from brown seaweeds, has been shown to reduce blood glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity in mice…

Dr. Jennifer Kohler, Associate Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, speaks about her research in intestinal fucose. The Joint Webinar Series is a collaborative effort by GlycoNet and American Chemical Society's Carbohydrate Chemistry Division. The series is sponsored by New England Biolabs. To learn more, visit http://bit.ly/glycowebinar

Background/Aims: The effect of treatment with gum acacia (GA), a prebiotic shown previously to ameliorate chronic kidney disease (CKD), in diabetic and non – diabetic rats with adenine – induced CKD has been investigated using several conventional and novel physiological, biochemical, and histopathological parameters. Methods: Diabetes mellitus was

A poloxamer-pluronic-mastic gum-gum acacia wound dressing

Aloe vera contains multiple pharmacologically active substances which are capable of modulating cellular phenotypes and functions. Aloe vera ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts may be used in eye drops to treat inflammations and other ailments of external parts of the eye such as the cornea.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease. Although mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-bas…

Chitosan, fucoidan, and polyvinyl alcohol are categorized as polymers with biomedical applications. Ampicillin, on the other hand, is considered as an important antibiotic that has shown effectivity in both gram-positive and gram-negative micro-organisms. The aforementioned polymers possess unique p …

Cervical cancer is a public health problem and is well-known as the fourth most common cancer and the fourth major cause of cancer-associated death in women in the developing countries [1].

Gum Arabic (GA), a nutrient from dried exudate of Acacia senegal, is widely used as emulsifier and stabilizer. It stimulates sodium and water absorption in diarrhea. This study explored the effects of GA in colonic tissue. Mice were treated with GA (10% wt/vol) in drinking water and gene array was p …

Our previous study has suggested that the crude polysaccharide obtained from Laminaria japonica by acid assisted extraction (LP-A) have significant bile acid-binding capacity, which probably ascribed to its specific structure characterization. The relationship between structure characterization and bile acid-binding capacity of the purified LP-A fractions are still unknown. This paper conducted a comparison study on the structure characterization and bile acid-binding capacity of three LP-A fractions (LP-A4, LP-A6, and LP-A8). The results indicated that LP-A4, LP-A6, and LP-A8, characterized as mannoglucan, fucomannoglucan, and fucogalactan, had significantly different structure characterization. Furthermore, the bile acid-binding capacity of LP-A8 was obviously higher than the other fractions, which may be attributed to its highly branched structure, abundant sulfate, fucose, and galactose in chemical composition and denser interconnected macromolecule network in molecular morphology. This study provides scientific evidence for the potential utilization of LP-A8 as an attractive functional food supplement candidate for the hyperlipidemia population.

Current Oncology, an international, peer-reviewed Open Access journal.

A proprietary preparation of the Japanese seaweed Tasmanian Undaria pinnatifida has inhibitory effects in various Herpes infections.

Hyperlipidemia is associated with increased risk of the development of cardiovascular diseases. Although a great deal of attention has been paid to th…

Objective: Based on anti-inflammatory effects of Aloe vera, the effect of aqueous extract of this plant on brain edema and changes in some pro-inflammatory cytokines was investigated after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Materials and Methods: In this study, adult male Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups: Sham, TBI, vehicle (Veh), and low dose (LA) and high dose (HA) Aloe vera. The vehicle and aqueous extract of Aloe vera were injected intraperitoneally 30 min after induction of diffuse TBI by Marmarou’s method. Brain edema (brain water content), and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and IL-1β levels in serum and brain were measured 24 hr after TBI induction. Results: Increased brain edema by TBI was reduced by both LA and HA (p

Background/Aims: The effect of treatment with gum acacia (GA), a prebiotic shown previously to ameliorate chronic kidney disease (CKD), in diabetic and non – diabetic rats with adenine – induced CKD has been investigated using several conventional and novel physiological, biochemical, and histopathological parameters. Methods: Diabetes mellitus was

Antibiotic treatment, as an important therapeutic intervention, can cause damage to the host microbiome and the intestinal mucosal barrier. In order to find a way to alleviate the side effects of antibiotics, the present study investigated the effects of fucoidan (ANP) isolated from Ascophyllum nodosum on gu

Treatment of many inflammatory diseases involves a chronic use of NSAIDs in large doses increasing acute kidney injury risk. This study was designed t…

Abstract Background Aloe vera is a plant that has been used as an alternative drug. This plant contains various compounds, like anthraquinone, saponin, flavonoid, alkaloid, and tannin that has an antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Both of it were responsible for the infection incident. This study aims to determine the efficacy of Aloe vera sap as an antibacterial against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Methods An experimental study, in vitro using post-test only control group design, has been done at laboratory of Medical Faculty of Sriwijaya University, by examining the antibacterial activity of Aloe vera sap in five different concentration (5%, 10%, 20%, 40%, dan 80%) using well diffusion and solid dillusion method to determine the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). And then continued with the phytocemical screening to determine the compound inside the Aloe vera sap. Results Aloe vera sap were able to kill Staphylococcus aureus at 5% and Eshcerichia coli at 80%. Compatibility test showed that Aloe vera sap with concentration of 10%, 20%, 40%, and 80% are compatible with amoxicillin, therefore 80% is compatible with cefotaxime. This ability due to the compound that it contains, which is alkaloid, flavonoid, tannin, quinone, and saponin. Conclusion Aloe vera sap is effective as an antibacterial against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.   Keyword: Aloe vera sap, antibacterial, efficacy, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli.  

Background. Use of herbal compounds as an intracanal medicament in the field of endodontics has become noteworthy, one of which is the Aloe vera compound whose antibacterial effect has already been proven in the planktonic form of Enterococcus faecalis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the antibacterial effect of Aloe vera on E. faecalis biofilms at the 4th and 6th week of development. Materials and Methods. 130 single root canal teeth without anomalies and caries were used. They were divided into two groups of 65 teeth for four and six weeks of biofilm production. Five samples of each group were examined for confirmation of biofilm formation under an electron microscope. Study groups were investigated with an antimicrobial agent as an intracanal medicament including 20 samples treated with Aloe vera, calcium hydroxide, and phosphate-buffered saline, and biofilm and survival of pathogens were investigated. Dentin chip suspensions were used for colony-forming unit (CFU) counting to estimate remaining E. faecalis counts. Results. The CFU mean in the 4th week subgroup in Aloe vera, phosphate-buffered saline, and calcium hydroxide was 0, 69166.66 ± 31688.58, and 25000 ± 30822.07, and in the 6th week, it was 136.36 ± 323.33, 95000 ± 12247.44, and 27501.66 ± 36570.34, respectively, which showed a significant difference between the used materials (). Conclusion. Aloe vera, in contrast to calcium hydroxide, eliminated 4th and 6th week biofilms and showed remarkable antibacterial properties against E. faecalis biofilm. These results support potency of Aloe vera to use as a natural antimicrobial material in the intracanal medicament.