Individualized Supplementation of Immunoactive Micronutrients and Severity of Upper Respiratory Infection Symptoms-A Randomized Intervention Study.

Certain micronutrients exhibit immunomodulatory effects. However, no intervention has yet investigated the effect of individualized supplementation on the severity of upper respiratory tract infections (URIs). Therefore, we investigated whether a personalized supplementation moderates the incidence and severity of URI. Selenium, zinc, and vitamin D were measured in dried blood spots from 59 healthy participants. Accordingly, a personalized supplement was provided with or without the respective micronutrients. We used WURSS-21 questionnaires to assess the disease status. The blood values converged during the intervention and micronutrients no longer differed between treated and untreated volunteers at the end of the intervention period. The incidence and severity of the illness did not significantly differ between the groups. However, when analyzing the WURSS-21 scores by the intention to treat, the initially randomized treatment arm revealed a significantly higher score than the placebo arm. Upon acute administration, individualized combinations of selenium, zinc and vitamin D do not reduce the number, or contribute to a milder course of URIs. Therefore, supplementation in acute infectious situations seems questionable. Further studies must address the habitual diet in more detail, to better understand the impact of individual micronutrient status on the prevention of URI.

Consumption of Roasted Coffee Leads to Conjugated Metabolites of Atractyligenin in Human Plasma.

Roasted coffee contains atractyligenin-2-O-ß-d-glucoside and 3'-O-ß-d-glucosyl-2'-O-isovaleryl-2-O-ß-d-glucosylatractyligenin, which are ingested with the brew. Known metabolites are atractyligenin, atractyligenin-19-O-ß-d-glucuronide (M1), 2ß-hydroxy-15-oxoatractylan-4α-carboxy-19-O-ß-d-glucuronide (M2), and 2ß-hydroxy-15-oxoatractylan-4α-carboxylic acid-2-O-ß-d-glucuronide (M3), but the appearance and pharmacokinetic properties are unknown. Therefore, first time-resolved quantitative data of atractyligenin glycosides and their metabolites in plasma samples from a pilot human intervention study (n = 10) were acquired. None of the compounds were found in the control samples and before coffee consumption (t = 0 h). After coffee, neither of the atractyligenin glycosides appeared in the plasma, but the aglycone atractyligenin and the conjugated metabolite M1 reached an estimated cmax of 41.9 ± 12.5 and 25.1 ± 4.9 nM, respectively, after 1 h. M2 and M3 were not quantifiable until their concentration enormously increased ≥4 h after coffee consumption, reaching an estimated cmax of 2.5 ± 1.9 and 55.0 ± 57.7 nM at t = 10 h. The data suggest that metabolites of atractyligenin could be exploited to indicate coffee consumption.

Canine pyometra: a model for the analysis of serum CXCL8 in inflammation.

Interleukin-8 (IL-8 or CXCL8) is a highly selective pro-inflammatory chemokine, that is elevated in sera of humans and animals with various inflammatory diseases. CXCL8 is possibly involved in uncontrolled inflammation and the development of a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and sepsis. Nevertheless, its behavior and precise properties in the course of inflammation are not fully understood. Thus, we used naturally occurring canine pyometra as a model of inflammation, in order to examine the behavior of serum CXCL8 in relation to the disease intensity and commonly analyzed inflammatory mediators. Using a commercially available canine ELISA kit, a significant increase of CXCL8 was determined in the serum of 23 dogs with pyometra compared with 35 healthy dogs. Interestingly, serum CXCL8 did not increase in severely diseased patients and behaved contrary to white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils and C-reactive protein (CRP). The measurement of serum CXCL8 may provide valuable information about the extent of ongoing lesions and could be a useful complement for existing laboratory tests.