ABSTRACT
Nutraceuticals are experiencing a high-rise use nowadays, which is incomparable to a few years ago, due to a shift in consumers' peculiarity tendencies regarding the selection of alternatives to Western medicine, potential immunity boosters, or gut-health promoters. Nutraceuticals' compositions and actual effects should be proportional to their sought-after status, as they are perceived to be the middle ground between pharma rigor and naturally occurring actives. Therefore, the health benefits via nutrition, safe use, and reduction of potential harm should be the main focus for manufacturers. In this light, this study assess the nutritional profile (proteins, fats, fibers, caloric value, minerals) of a novel formulated nutraceutical, its physico-chemical properties, FTIR spectra, antioxidant activity, anthocyanins content, and potential hazards (heavy metals and microbiological contaminants), as well as its cytotoxicity, adherence, and invasion of bacteria on HT-29 cells, as well as its evaluation of beneficial effect, potential prebiotic value, and duplicity effect on gut microbiota in correlation with Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. The results obtained indicate the growth stimulation of Lb. rhamnosus and the inhibitory effects of E.coli, Ent. Faecalis and Lc. lactis. The interaction between active compounds suggested a modulator effect of the intestinal microbiota by reducing the number of bacteria that adhere to epithelial cells or by inhibiting their growth.
ABSTRACT
Geography is one of the key drivers of the significant variation in the etiopathogenic profile and prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity, therefore geographically based data are fundamental for implementing the appropriate interventions. Presently, the selection criteria of T2DM and obesity patients for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) have not reached a worldwide consensus-highlighting the need for sharing experts' guidance in the preoperative evaluation, choice of the interventional procedure, perioperative management and patient long-term care. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of LSG on T2DM (T2DM) remission in Romanian obese male patients, based on a multiparametric, prospective investigation. We have conducted a randomized controlled study on 41 obese male participants with the body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2, aged 30-65 years, which were randomly divided in two study groups: one receiving conventional treatment and the second undergoing LSG. The clinical and anthropometrical parameters, resting metabolic rate, general biochemical status, adipocytes profile, gastrointestinal hormones levels, proinflammatory, oxidant and antioxidant profiles were determined at three time points: V1 (baseline), V2 (after six months) and V3 (after 12 months). Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood glucose levels, BMI, weight, visceral fat level, HDL-cholesterol, incretin hormones, proinflammatory and the oxidative stress status were significantly improved in the LSG versus conventional treatment group. This is the first study reporting on the evaluation of metabolic surgery impact on Romanian obese male patients with T2DM. Our results confirm that LSG could contribute to T2DM remission in patients with diabesity, but this beneficial effect seems to be critically influenced by the duration of T2DM rather than by the obesity status. Our results show that, in addition to the parameters included in the prediction algorithm, the proinsulin levels, proinsulin/insulin ratio and the visceral fat percentage could bring added value to the assessment of metabolic status.
ABSTRACT
Due to their antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and regenerative activities, culinary herbs have multiple medicinal uses, among which to prevent and treat oral diseases. The whole essential oils (EOs) have multiple advantages over purified components, such as a low probability to select for antimicrobial resistance, synergic effects of different components, and multi-pharmacological activities. In this study, we aimed to evaluate essential oils from Salvia officinalis (sage), Satureja hortensis (summer savory), and Anethum graveolens (dill) using an in vitro analysis of their antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains isolated from the oral cavity of patients with periodontitis; the assays addressed both the planktonic and biofilm growth states and used culture-based approaches. Some of the tested EOs exhibited excellent bactericidal and antibiofilm activity, being active at concentrations as low as 0.08-1.36 mg/mL. Flow cytometry was used to investigate the potential mechanisms of their antibacterial activity and confirmed that the tested EOs act by permeabilizing the bacterial membrane and by inhibiting the activity of the efflux pumps. The immunomodulatory effect of the three EOs was determined by analyzing the gene expression profiles for pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines of the THP-1 cells. The summer savory EO induced a clear proinflammatory effect, while the others did not significantly influence the cytokines profile of the tested cells. Taken together, our results indicate that summer savory EO and, to a lesser extent, sage and dill EOs could be used to inhibit bacteria involved in oral plaque formation and to reduce the expression of genes known to contribute to the inflammatory response using cell culture assessment.
