Glyconutrients

Trehalose is a nonreducing disaccharide in which the two glucose units are linked in an alpha,alpha-1,1-glycosidic linkage. This sugar is present in a wide variety of organisms, including bacteria, yeast, fungi, insects, invertebrates, and lower and higher plants, where it may serve as a source of e …

Currently, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the world. Recently, glucosamine and chondroitin have gained popularity for their beneficial effects on cancer. They have already ...

Abstract Background Cancer is associated with early changes in the cardiovascular system (CV) before overt cardiotoxicity. Endothelial dysfunction is induced by chemotherapeutic regimens but there is […]

We present evidence that the 0.5 microm thick gel layer, lining the inner wall of healthy blood vessels, the glycocalyx, is the first line of defence against atherothrombotic disease. All blood vessel linings are coated with this gel, a highly negatively charged structure, rich in anionic sites most …

Purpose: Fucoidan is a dietary supplement which is commonly used by cancer patients. However, despite evidence of positive effects in cell culture environments, there are currently no clinical guidelines for supplementary use of fucoidan in cancer patients. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of fucoidan supplemental use. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using databases including Cochrane Library, JBI, PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL. All original studies on fucoidan for supplemental use in cancer patients were included. The search was made in databases without time restriction. The outcomes included disease progression status, inflammatory markers, nutritional status, adverse effects, and quality of life. The appraisal tool used was JBI-MAStARI. Results: Four studies were included: One randomized controlled trial and three quasi-experimental studies. Meta-analysis was not applied due to the heterogeneity of measurement tools. Overall sample size was 118. Most participants were metastatic colorectal and gastric cancer patients. Two studies revealed a significantly longer survival time and chemotherapy treatment periods with fucoidan use. Positive but insignificant effects of disease control rate, inflammatory markers, nutrition status, fatigue, and financial difficulty were shown in those using fucoidan. Conclusions: The results of this systematic review indicate that the effects of fucoidan were inconsistent with clinical outcomes in metastatic or recurrent cancer patients. Only four studies were included, and heterogeneity in methodologies and relatively small sample sizes limited the research consensus. Although cause and effect between fucoidan and the survival time, disease control or adverse effects could not be confirmed, this study includes the most research on fucoidan in humans.

Aging is associated with an increase in oxidative stress, which damages organs such as the kidney. Trehalose has abundant beneficial activities including antioxidative effects. This study aimed to investigate the effects of trehalose on several antioxidant ...

Ralstonia solanacearum causes bacterial wilt disease, leading to severe crop losses. Xylem sap from R. solanacearum-infected tomato is enriched in the disaccharide trehalose. Water-stressed plants also accumulate trehalose, which increases drought tolerance via abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. Because R. solanacearum-infected plants suffer reduced water flow, we hypothesized that bacterial wilt physiologically mimics drought stress, which trehalose could mitigate. We found that R. solanacearum-infected plants differentially expressed drought-associated genes, including those involved in ABA and trehalose metabolism, and had more ABA in xylem sap. Consistent with this, treating tomato roots with ABA reduced both stomatal conductance and stem colonization by R. solanacearum. Treating roots with trehalose increased xylem sap ABA and reduced plant water use by lowering stomatal conductance and temporarily improving water use efficiency. Trehalose treatment also upregulated expression of salicylic acid (SA)-dependent tomato defense genes; increased xylem sap levels of SA and other antimicrobial compounds; and increased bacterial wilt resistance of SA-insensitive NahG tomato plants. Additionally, trehalose treatment increased xylem concentrations of jasmonic acid and related oxylipins. Finally, trehalose-treated plants were substantially more resistant to bacterial wilt disease. Together, these data show that exogenous trehalose reduced both water stress and bacterial wilt disease and triggered systemic disease resistance, possibly through a Damage Associated Molecular Pattern (DAMP) response pathway. This suite of responses revealed unexpected linkages between plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress and suggested that R. solanacearum-infected plants increase trehalose to improve water use efficiency and increase wilt disease resistance. The pathogen may degrade trehalose to counter these efforts. Together, these results suggest that treating tomatoes with exogenous trehalose could be a practical strategy for bacterial wilt management.

Viral myocarditis (VMC) is the main cause of sudden acute heart failure and cardiac death in adolescents; however, treatment for VMC is limited. Trehalose is a natural non-reductive disaccharide that protects against cardiovascular diseases by inducing autophagy. The protective effect of trehalose o …

This double-blind, controlled, randomized, three-way cross-over study evaluates the effect of 40 g (D1 group) and 20 g (D2 group) of acacia gum (AG) versus no treatment (NT group) on post-prandial glucose (PPG) levels in normal-weight and overweight subjects. Additionally, post-prandial insulin (PPI) levels as well as the safety and tolerability of gum acacia were assessed. 35 healthy subjects aged 25 - 60 years, body mass index 18.5 kg/m2 - 29.9 kg/m2, received one treatment of 20 g, 40 g, or 0 g of AG each. Glucose and insulin values were determined at -15 min and prior to the intake (time “0”) as well as 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 120, and 180 min after the “0 min” blood draw. The mean PPG levels were lower (34% in D1 group, p = 0.003; 35% in D2 group, p = 0.005) than in the NT group. PPI concentration was statistically significantly lower at all time points except baseline in both treatment groups compared to NT groups. Global benefit and tolerability were rated as “very good” or “good” by 100% of subjects in the treatment groups. This study provides robust evidence of the significant benefits of AG consumption on PPG and PPI levels in healthy subjects. Moreover, very good tolerability was demonstrated.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise combined with glucosamine (OTL) on the apoptosis of chondrocytes of rabbit knee osteoar…

This study aimed to explore the mechanism of fucoidan in chronic kidney disease (CKD)-triggered cognitive dysfunction. The adenine-induced ICR strain CKD mice model was applied, and RNA-Seq was performed for differential gene analysis between aged-CKD and normal mice. As a result, fucoidan (100 and 200 mg kg−1) significantly reversed adenine-induced high expression of urea, uric acid in urine, and creatinine in serum, as well as the novel object recognition memory and spatial memory deficits. RNA sequencing analysis indicated that oxidative and inflammatory signaling were involved in adenine-induced kidney injury and cognitive dysfunction; furthermore, fucoidan inhibited oxidative stress via GSK3β-Nrf2-HO-1 signaling and ameliorated inflammatory response through regulation of microglia/macrophage polarization in the kidney and hippocampus of CKD mice. Additionally, we clarified six hallmarks in the hippocampus and four in the kidney, which were correlated with CKD-triggered cognitive dysfunction. This study provides a theoretical basis for the application of fucoidan in the treatment of CKD-triggered memory deficits.

Polysaccharides from laminaria japonica protect memory abilities and neurogenesis in mice after cranial irradiation through ameliorating neuroinflammation and collagen IV degradation. International Journal of Radiation Biology. Accepted 4 April 2022.

The anti-cancer effects of Aloe vera barbadensis extract C (AVBEC) have been demonstrated in a previous study. However, the specific functional ingred…

Laminaria japonica is a brown alga and is composed primarily of polysaccharides. Fucoidan and laminarin are the major polysaccharides of L. japonica a…

Recently, fucoidan has been proposed for use as a potential anti-inflammatory drug. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of fucoidan in the treatment of ulcerative colitis. We compared the anti-inflammatory effects of fucoidan and fucose induced by dextran sulfate sodium, and the effects of fucoidan and fucose on the gut microbiota of mice. Our results showed that low-dose fucoidan significantly improved weight loss, disease activity index scores, colonic shortening, colonic histopathological damage, intestinal fatty acid binding protein 2 levels, and the expression of Occludin, Claudin-4, and Claudin-1. However, both high-dose fucoidan and fucose did not perform as well as low-dose fucoidan as described above. In addition, 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing showed that low-dose fucoidan significantly increased the abundance of Alloprevotella, and fucose significantly increased Ruminococcaceae, but neither significantly reversed the imbalance in the gut microbiota. Therefore, we inferred that the regulation of fucoidan on colitis has a unique and complex mechanism, and it is not completely dependent on degradation to fucose to relieve ulcerative colitis, nor is it achieved only by regulating the gut microbiota. The mechanism by which fucoidan treats colitis may also include reducing inflammatory cell infiltration and increasing intestinal barrier function.

Trehalose is added in drug formulations to act as fillers or improve aerosolization performance. Its characteristics as a carrier molecule have been explored; however, the fate of trehalose in human airway tissues has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we investigated the fate of nebulized treh …

Db/db mice (carrying a mutation in the gene encoding leptin receptor) show autophagy suppression. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of autophagy inducer trehalose on liver and heart autophagy in db/db mice and to study inflammation dysregulation and the suitability of chitinases’ expression levels as diabetes markers. Thirty-eight male db/db mice and C57/BL mice (control) were used. The db/db model manifested inflammation symptoms: overexpression of TNF-α in the spleen and underexpression of IL-10 in the liver and spleen (cytokine imbalance). Simultaneously, we revealed decreased expression of chitotriosidase (CHIT1) and acid mammalian chitinase (CHIA) in the liver of db/db mice. CHIA expression in db/db mice is significantly lower only in the spleen. Trehalose treatment significantly reduced blood glucose concentration and glycated hemoglobin. Treatment of db/db mice by trehalose was followed by increased autophagy induction in the heart and liver (increased autolysosomes volume density studied by morphometric electron-microscopic method). Trehalose exerted beneficial cardiac effects possibly via increased lipophagy (uptake of lipid droplets). The autophagy activation by trehalose had several positive effects on the heart and liver of db/db mice; therefore, lipophagy activation seems to be a promising therapy for diabetes.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a major cause of irreversible nerve injury and leads to serious tissue loss and neurological dysfunction. Thorough investigation of cellular mechanisms, such as autophagy, is crucial for developing novel and effective therapeutics. We administered trehalose, an mTOR-indep …

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most serious complication of diabetes mellitus. Although some studies have demonstrated that fucoidan can improve DN,…

Bread is a high glycemic index (GI) food with high amounts of readily digestible carbohydrates. Fucoidan refers to a group of sulfated polysaccharides isolated from brown seaweed that has been gaining traction for its many functional properties, including its ability to inhibit starch hydrolases. In this study, fucoidan was added into bread to lower the glycemic index of bread. Fucoidan fortification at 3.0% reduced the starch digestion rate of baked bread by 21.5% as compared to control baked bread. This translated to a 17.7% reduction in the predicted GI (pGI) with 3.0% of fucoidan. Fucoidan was retained in the bread after baking. Although the in vitro bioavailability of fucoidan was negligible, the in vitro bioaccessibility of fucoidan was high, at 77.1–79.8%. This suggested that although fucoidan may not be absorbed via passive diffusion, there is potential for the fucoidan to be absorbed via other modes of absorption. Thus, there is a potential for the use of fucoidan as a functional ingredient in bread to reduce the glycemic potential of bread.

Protective agent for hepatotoxicity is still a great challenge in the management of liver diseases. Aloe vera is a beneficial plant that has been studied for food supplements, cosmetic and herbal medicine. Aloe vera contains many compounds which have a role in body health including polysaccharides, phenolic, flavonoid, terpenoid, amino acid, and several minerals. There have been compelling evidences that natural phytochemicals and their derivatives have hepatoprotective activities. Information of the aloe vera and its mechanism of action for possible hepatoprotective activities, including in silico, in vitro, and in vivo studies were obtained from Pubmed, Science Direct, Scopus, and Google scholar search engines. This current review was focusing on the possible contribution of compounds inside aloe vera gel and the suggestion of its mechanism on protective effect, especially for liver. The complexity of monosaccharides composition, backbone structures, acetyl group, and molecular weight of aloe polysaccharides have possible correlations with its hepatoprotective effect. Most of the hepatoprotective mechanisms of aloe compounds are related to their protective effect against inflammation and oxidative stress. Several compounds may have combination effects or several targets lead to synergistic effects. Keywords: Aloe vera, food supplement, hepatoprotective, liver disease, mechanism of action.

Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia - Diabetes mellitus is defined as prolonged hyperglycemia, which can harm the eyes, kidneys, and cardiovascular and neurological systems. Herbal agents and their...

Aloe vera products, both in food and cosmetics, are becoming increasingly popular due to their claimed beneficial effects, which are mainly attributed to the active compound acemannan. Usually, these end products are based on powdered starting materials. High temperatures during the drying process to obtain the starting materials have several advantages, like shortening the drying time, eliminating toxic aloin and reducing bacterial contamination. Nevertheless, there are two major drawbacks: first, at temperatures of 80 °C or higher, structural changes in acemannan, especially its deacetylation (>46%), are triggered, which does not happen at lower temperatures (14% at 60 °C); secondly, a toxic principle is formed at higher temperatures, resulting in a higher cytotoxicity. Thus, two temperature-dependent but opposing effects cause with a median cytotoxic concentration of CC50 = 0.4× a peak of cytotoxicity at 80 °C; at 60 °C this cytotoxic substance is not formed and at 100 °C aloin is more readily eliminated, resulting in a CC50 = 1.1× and CC50 = 1.4×, respectively. The cytotoxic substance generated by dry heat at 80 °C is not a modified polysaccharide because its polysaccharide-enriched alcohol-insoluble fraction is with CC50 = 0.9× less cytotoxic. Moreover, this substance is polar enough to be washed away with ethanol. Additionally, when Aloe gel is heated at 80 °C under humid conditions (pasteurization), the cytotoxicity does not increase (CC50 = 1.6×). Finally, to produce powdered starting materials from Aloe gel, it is recommended to use temperatures of around 60 °C in order to preserve the acemannan structure (and thus biological activity) and the low cytotoxicity.