Glyconutrients

Background: The putative functions of the cellular prion protein (PrPc) are believed to be associated with cell signaling, differentiation, survival, and cancer progression. With respect to cancer development and progression, elevations and mutations of PrPc expression have been shown to increase the risk for malignancy and metastasis in breast and colorectal cancer. Since both natural supplements and direct regulation of PrPc expression contribute to inhibition of cancer progression and growth, we hypothesized that knockdown of PrPc could lead to an enhanced synergic effect on the inhibition of cancer growth by fucoidan. Materials and Methods: PrPc expression was suppressed in HT29 human colon cancer cells by utilizing small-interfering RNA (si-PRNP), and cells were subsequently used to study the antiproliferative and anticancer effects of fucoidan treatment of HT29 human colon cancer cells. Results: Fucoidan treatment significantly inhibited growth and reduced cyclin and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) expression in HT29 colon cancer cells. Furthermore, silencing PrPc expression with si-PRNP amplified the fucoidan-induced changes in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and migration. Intraperitoneal injection of si-PRNP with fucoidan reduced proliferation and tumor volume in Balb/c nude mice. This enhanced antitumor efficacy was associated with decreased angiogenesis. Conclusion: Combination of fucoidan with silencing of PrPc has a synergic effect on the inhibition of HT29 colon cancer cell growth. Furthermore, we provide evidence for the therapeutic application of PrPc silencing with other anticancer drugs for cancer.

Nowadays, there is great interest in Aloe vera as a potential source of functional food supplements. This could probably be attributed to the presence…

During an investigation of subvisible particles found in lyophilized formulations of intravenous immunoglobulin, we used resonant mass measurement tec…

Gum Arabic (GA) is a mixture of polysaccharides and glycoproteins secreted from Acacia senegal, Acacia seyal, and Acacia nilotica trees’ stems. The hi…

Accumulating studies showed that the beneficial actions of polysaccharides were closely associated with an improvement of the gut microbiota, but mechanisms that link polysaccharides and gut microbiota alterations are ill defined. Alginate from Laminaria japonica (LJP-A) can avoid being digested by the upper

Our findings indicate that trehalose may be a useful saccharide for good health because of properties that do not stimulate rapid increases in blood glucose and excessive secretion of insulin and GIP promoting fat accumulation.

Study Design: This is an experimental study using an animal model. Objectives: Disk degeneration is a common cause of low back pain. However, few attempts have ...

CAB Direct platform is the most thorough and extensive source of reference in the applied life sciences, incorporating the leading bibliographic databases CAB Abstracts and Global Health

Aloe vera is a well known medicinal plant which thrives in varied agro-climates. It was native to Northern Africa, but now it is widely distributed th…

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the top viral cause of birth defects worldwide, and current therapies have high toxicity. We previously reported that the mTOR-independent autophagy-inducing disaccharide trehalose inhibits HCMV replication in multiple cell types. Here, we examine the mechanism of inh …

Lafora disease (LD) is one of the progressive and fatal forms of a neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by teenage-onset myoclonic seizures. Neuropathological changes in LD include the formation of abnormal glycogen as Lafora bodies, gliosis, and neuroinflammation. LD is caused by defects in the gene coding for phosphatase (laforin) or ubiquitin ligase (malin). Mouse models of LD, developed by targeted disruption of these two genes, develop most symptoms of LD and show increased susceptibility to induced seizures. Studies on mouse models also suggest that defective autophagy might contribute to LD etiology. In an attempt to understand the specific role of autophagy in LD pathogenesis, in this study, we fed LD animals with trehalose, an inducer of autophagy, for 3 months and looked at its effect on the neuropathology and seizure susceptibility. We demonstrate here that trehalose ameliorates gliosis, neuroinflammation, and endoplasmic reticulum stress and reduces susceptibility to induced seizures in LD animals. However, trehalose did not affect the formation of Lafora bodies, suggesting the epileptic phenotype in LD could be either secondary to or independent of Lafora bodies. Taken together, our results suggest that autophagy inducers can be considered as potential therapeutic molecules for Lafora disease.

Blood Coagulation & Fibrinolysis is an international fully refereed journal that features review and original research articles on all clinical, laboratory and experimental aspects of haemostasis and thrombosis. The journal is devoted to publishing significant developments worldwide in the field of blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, thrombosis, platelets and the kininogen-kinin system, as well as dealing with those aspects of blood rheology relevant to haemostasis and the effects of drugs on haemostatic components.

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 ...

Five kinds of fucoidans from the brown seaweeds Cladosiphon okamuranus, Sargassum hornery, Kjellmaniella crassifolia (Saccharine sculpera), Nemacystus …

Autophagy is required for neurulation, and autophagy activators with minimal toxicity, such as the natural compound trehalose, a nonreducing disacchar…

Trehalose is revered for its multiple unique impacts on solution properties, including the ability to modulate the salty and bitter tastes of sodium a…

Purpose. To investigate the inhibitory effects of trehalose on malignant melanoma cell growth. Methods. We cultured human malignant melanoma cells in a medium containing trehalose (control/2.5%/5.0%/7.5%/10.0%) and used the MTT assay to evaluate the growth activities. Subsequently, trehalose was topically instilled on subconjunctivally inoculated melanoma cells in F334/NJcl-rmu/rmu rats, followed by a histopathological evaluation of tumor growth. Using flow cytometry, we compared the distribution of the cell cycle, rate of apoptotic cells, and intracellular factors related to the cell cycle in cultured melanoma cells after trehalose treatment. Results. The MTT study showed that proliferation of melanoma cells was significantly inhibited by ≧ 5% of trehalose concentrations in the culture media. Subconjunctivally inoculated melanoma cell masses were significantly smaller in eyes administered trehalose as compared to controls. Flow cytometry analyses demonstrated that the trehalose groups had increased rates of G2/M phase cells and apoptotic cells in the cell culture. These cells also exhibited increased expressions of cell-cycle inhibitory factors. Conclusions. The current results show trehalose inhibits malignant melanoma cell growth by inducing G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, suggesting trehalose as a potential candidate for a topical agent to inhibit proliferation of malignant tumor cells of the ocular surface.

Fucoidan from brown seaweed species, Undaria pinnatifida, has numerous bioactive properties such as antioxidant and anticancer activities. The objecti…

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The antiviral activity in vitro and in vivo and the effect of the immune system of two fucoidan fractions with low molecular weight and different sulfate content from Laminaria japonica (LMW fucoidans) were investigated in order to examine the possible mechanism. In vitro, I-type influenza virus, adenovirus and Parainfluenza virus I were used to infect Hep-2, Hela and MDCK cells, respectively. And 50% tissue culture infective dose was calculated to detect the antiviral activity of two LMW fucoidans. The results indicated that compared with the control group, 2 kinds of LMW fucoidans had remarkable antiviral activity in vitro in middle and high doses, while at low doses, the antiviral activity of 2 kinds of LMW fucoidans was not statistically different from that in the blank control group. And there was no statistically difference between two LMW fucoidans in antiviral activity. In vivo, LMW fucoidans could prolong the survival time of virus-infected mice, and could improve the lung index of virus-infected mice significantly, which have statistical differences with the control group significantly (p < 0.01). However, the survival time of the two LMW fucoidans was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). In this study, it was shown that both of two LMW fucoidans (LF1, LF2) could increase the thymus index, spleen index, phagocytic index, phagocytosis coefficient and half hemolysin value in middle and high doses, which suggested that LMW fucoidans could play an antiviral role by improving the quality of immune organs, improving immune cell phagocytosis and humoral immunity.

Cytotoxicity for cancer cells of fucoidans isolated from 6 brown seaweed species were investigated. All fucoidans showed cytotoxic activity against th …

Neurodegenerative diseases characterized by aberrant accumulation of undigested cellular components represent unmet medical conditions for which the identification of actionable targets is urgently needed. Here we identify a pharmacologically actionable pathway that controls cellular clearance via A …

Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller) is a perennial succulent medicinal plant. It has been used as a traditional or folk medicine for thousands of year…

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious public health issue. Vitamin D is involved in various pathophysiological mechanisms as an immune modulator and the deficiency rate of vitamin D is prevalent in chronic liver disease. Fucoidan exerts anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, antitumor, a …

Fucoidan is a kind of the polysaccharide, which comes from brown algae and comprises of sulfated fucose residues. It has shown a large range of biological activities in basic researches, including many elements like anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-oxidation, anticoagulant, antithrombotic, anti-angiogenic and anti-Helicobacter pylori, etc. Cancer is a multifactorial disease of multiple causes. Most of the current chemotherapy drugs for cancer therapy are projected to eliminate the ordinary deregulation mechanisms in cancer cells. Plenty of wholesome tissues, however, are also influenced by these chemical cytotoxic effects. Existing researches have demonstrated that fucoidan can directly exert the anti-cancer actions through cell cycle arrest, induction of apoptosis, etc., and can also indirectly kill cancer cells by activating natural killer cells, macrophages, etc. Fucoidan is used as a new anti-tumor drug or as an adjuvant in combination with an anti-tumor drug because of its high biological activity, wide source, low resistance to drug resistance and low side effects. This paper reviews the mechanism by which fucoidan can eliminate tumor cells, delay tumor growth and synergize with anticancer chemotherapy drugs in vitro, in vivo and in clinical trials.

Objective: Starvation have pro-oxidative effect as a consequence of both elevated ROS generation and defeat in neutralization of ROS. Aloe vera juice induced oxidative stress and significantly decreased antioxidant enzymes levels. The main aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of Aloe vera gel extract on oxidative stress status during long period starvationMethod: Twenty-four mature male albino Wistar rats were housed in standard cages. In this study starvation cycle (rats were starved for two days and then were fed for one day) was used. This study was performed during intermediate period (60 days).Animals were divided into four experimental groups (six rats in each group): 1) normal control; 2) starved rats + water/ethanol; 3) starved rats + hydro-alcoholic Aloe vera gel extract (100 mg/kg); 4) starved rats + hydro-alcoholic Aloe vera gel extract (200 mg/kg); 5) Without starvation with hydro-alcoholic Aloe Vera gel extract (100 mg/kg); 6) Without starvation with hydro-alcoholic Aloe Vera gel extract (200 mg/kg). Blood samples were obtained using cardiac puncture. In blood samples, antioxidant enzymes including SOD, GPx and catalase, antioxidant trace elements including copper, zinc and magnesium and antioxidant vitamins including vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin C were measured Results: Plasma levels of antioxidant enzymes (SOD,GPX and catalase) significantly decreased in starved rats + water/ethanol group (P< 0.05). Plasma levels of antioxidant enzymes after treatment with hydro-alcoholic Aloe vera gel extract at doses 100 and 200 mg/kg were significantly increased (P < 0.05). Also, plasma levels of antioxidant enzymes in normal rats (without starvation) after treatment with hydro-alcoholic Aloe vera gel extract at doses 100 and 200 mg/kg were significantly increased (P < 0.05). Plasma levels of Cu, Zn and Mn in normal control group had no significant difference with starved rats + water/ethanol and starved rats + hydro-alcoholic Aloe vera gel extract in 100 and 200 mg/kg dose groups (P > 0.05). Plasma levels of vitamin A and E in normal control group had no significant difference with starved rats + water/ethanol and starved rats + hydro-alcoholic Aloe vera gel extract in the 100 and 200 mg/kg dose groups (P > 0.05). Plasma level of vitamin C significantly decreased in starved rats + water/ethanol group (P < 0.05). Plasma level of vitamin C after treatment with hydro-alcoholic Aloe vera gel extract at doses 100 and 200 mg/kg was significantly increased (P < 0.05). Also, plasma level of vitamin C in normal rats (without starvation)  after treatment with hydro-alcoholic Aloe vera gel extract at doses 100 and 200 mg/kg was significantly increased (P < 0.05)Conclusion:In concluding our results it is shown that intermediate period starvation caused  an increase in oxidative stress via impairing of antioxidant defense and Aloe vera treatment is able  to improve antioxidative defense induced by starvation

The algal polysaccharides laminarin (LAM) and fucoidan (FUC) have potent anti-inflammatory activities in the gastrointestinal tract. Our objective was to examine the impact of prior consumption of LAM and/or FUC on pathology and inflammation following ...

Many degenerative disorder such as Parkinsons, Alzheimers, Huntingtons disease, etc are caused due to the deposition of amyloid fibrils, formed due to the ordered aggregation of misfolded/unfolded proteins. Misfolded or unfolded proteins aggregate mostly through hydrophobic interactions which are unexposed in native state, but become exposed upon unfolding. To counteract amyloid related diseases, inhibition of the protein self assembly into fibril is a potential therapeutic strategy. The study aims at investigating the effect of selected compounds, namely trehalose and magnesium chloride hexahydrate towards inhibition and disaggregation of amyloid fibrils using Hen Egg White Lysozyme as a model. We further attempted to understand the mechanism of action with the help of various biophysical, microscopic as well as computational studies. A common mechanism of action was identified where the selected compounds exert their anti-amyloidogenic effects by altering HEWL conformations characterized by reduction in the beta sheet content and decrease in exposed hydrophobic surfaces. The altered conformation seems to have lesser amyloidogenic propensity leading to inhibition as well as disaggregation of amyloids.

Peritoneal fibrosis (PF) is a severe complication of peritoneal dialysis, but there are few effective therapies for it. Recent studies have revealed a new biological function of trehalose as an autophagy inducer. Thus far, there are few reports regarding the therapeutic effects of trehalose on fibrotic diseases. Therefore, we examined whether trehalose has anti-fibrotic effects on PF. PF was induced by intraperitoneal injection of chlorhexidine gluconate (CG). CG challenges induced the increase of peritoneal thickness, ColIα1 mRNA expression and hydroxyproline content, all of which were significantly attenuated by trehalose. In addition, CG challenges induced a marked peritoneal accumulation of α-SMA+ myofibroblasts that was reduced by trehalose. The number of Wt1+ α-SMA+ cells in the peritoneum increased following CG challenges, suggesting that a part of α-SMA+ myofibroblasts were derived from peritoneal mesothelial cells (PMCs). The number of Wt1+ α-SMA+ cells was also suppressed by trehalose. Additionally, trehalose attenuated the increase of α-SMA and ColIα1 mRNA expression induced by TGF-β1 through Snail protein degradation, which was dependent on autophagy in PMCs. These results suggest that trehalose might be a novel therapeutic agent for PF through the induction of autophagy and the suppression of mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in PMCs.