Ligilactobacillus animalis 506 Protects the Intestinal Barrier from the Damaging Effects of Enteric Pathogens and Deoxynivalenol.

This study investigated the impact of L. animalis 506 on gut barrier integrity and regulation of inflammation in vitro using intestinal epithelial cell lines. Caco-2 or HT29 cell monolayers were challenged with enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) or a ruminant isolate of Salmonella Heidelberg in the presence or absence of one of six probiotic Lactobacillus spp. strains. Among these, L. animalis 506 excelled at exerting protective effects by significantly mitigating the decreased transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) as assessed using area under the curve (AUC) (p < 0.0001) and increased apical-to-basolateral fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) dextran translocation (p < 0.0001) across Caco-2 cell monolayers caused by S. Heidelberg or ETEC, respectively. Similarly, L. animalis 506 and other probiotic strains significantly attenuated the S. Heidelberg- and ETEC-induced increase in IL-8 from HT29 cells (p < 0.0001). Moreover, L. animalis 506 significantly counteracted the TEER decrease (p < 0.0001) and FITC dextran translocation (p < 0.0001) upon challenge with Clostridium perfringens. Finally, L. animalis 506 significantly attenuated DON-induced TEER decrease (p < 0.01) and FITC dextran translocation (p < 0.05) and mitigated occludin and zona occludens (ZO)-1 redistribution in Caco-2 cells caused by the mycotoxin. Collectively, these results demonstrate the ability of L. animalis 506 to confer protective effects on the intestinal epithelium in vitro upon challenge with enteric pathogens and DON known to be of particular concern in farm animals.

Unravelling Effects of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Extract on Hepatic Fat Accumulation and Plasma Lipid Profile in Rats Fed a High-Fat Western-Style Diet.

The objective of the study was to investigate the preventive effect on obesity-related conditions of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) extract (RE) in young, healthy rats fed a high-fat Western-style diet to complement the existing knowledge gap concerning the anti-obesity effects of RE in vivo. Sprague Dawley rats (71.3 ± 0.46 g) were fed a high-fat Western-style diet (WD) or WD containing either 1 g/kg feed or 4 g/kg feed RE for six weeks. A group fed standard chow served as a negative control. The treatments did not affect body weight; however, the liver fat percentage was reduced in rats fed RE, and NMR analyses of liver tissue indicated that total cholesterol and triglycerides in the liver were reduced. In plasma, HDL cholesterol was increased while triglycerides were decreased. Rats fed high RE had significantly increased fasting plasma concentrations of Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Proteomics analyses of liver tissue showed that RE increased enzymes involved in fatty acid oxidation, possibly associated with the higher fasting GLP-1 levels, which may explain the improvement of the overall lipid profile and hepatic fat accumulation. Furthermore, high levels of succinic acid in the cecal content of RE-treated animals suggested a modulation of the microbiota composition. In conclusion, our results suggest that RE may alleviate the effects of consuming a high-fat diet through increased GLP-1 secretion and changes in microbiota composition.

Validation of the Danish version of the Second Victim Experience and Support Tool.

OBJECTIVE: Health-care professionals (HCPs) who are involved in an unanticipated adverse patient event, a medical error or a patient-related injury can become second victims. Being a second victim can lead to various symptoms, affecting the well-being of HCPs and possible turnover intentions or absenteeism. An increasing number of hospitals have implemented a second-victim support programme. To achieve unique insights into what works and what does not work in second-victim support programmes, HCPs' perceptions are needed. The aim of this study was to translate the Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (SVEST) into Danish and test the psychometric properties of the Danish version (D-SVEST). METHODS: The SVEST self-administered questionnaire was translated into Danish following the World Health Organization's guidelines. Assessments of the content validity, construct validity and internal consistency were performed based on 171 participants. RESULTS: The study demonstrated that the D-SVEST is content valid and fits the a priori defined structure. Yet, four items revealed unacceptable factor loadings (<0.4) and item-rest correlations <0.3. All Cronbach's alpha estimates for these five dimensions exceeded 0.70. The dimensions on colleague and institutional support did not contribute to the validity. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the D-SVEST is considered relevant and valid for measuring second-victim experiences and the adequacy of support resources. However, we recommend a modification of items 9 and 25 to enhance the measurement scale in a Danish context. The D-SVEST can be used by health-care management at Danish hospitals.

Mucopenetrating polymer - Lipid hybrid nanovesicles as subunits in alginate beads as an oral formulation.

Crossing the intestinal mucus layer remains a great hurdle in oral drug delivery. The viscous mucus gel protects the body from pathogens but simultaneously traps many types of delivery vehicles, limiting their therapeutic efficacy. We report the assembly of mucopenetrating PEG-based polymer-lipid hybrid vesicles encapsulated in mucoadhesive alginate carriers aiming to increase their residence time in the intestine. The stability of the formulations was evaluated in simulated gastrointestinal conditions, showing negligible subunit leakage in the gastric fluid but a substantial release in the intestinal fluid. Mucopenetration of the free and encapsulated subunits was first demonstrated in vitro in a microfluidic set-up filled with reconstituted porcine mucus and in a mucus-covered co-culture of Caco-2 cells and HT29-MTX-E12 cells. Finally, the free and encapsulated subunits remained adhered in close proximity to the intestinal epithelium after oral administration to rats while the alginate carriers were washed away. In conclusion, the double-encapsulated system with combined mucoadhesive and mucopenetrating properties is a promising alternative drug carrier for oral delivery.

Bitter taste masking of enzyme-treated soy protein in water and bread.

BACKGROUND: Bioactive protein hydrolysates are often very bitter. To overcome this challenge, xylitol, sucrose, α-cyclodextrin, maltodextrin and combinations of these were tested systematically as bitter-masking agents of an enzyme-treated soy protein in an aqueous model and in a bread model. Sensory descriptive analysis was used to reveal the bitter-masking effect of the taste-masking blends on the enzyme-treated soy protein. RESULTS: In water, xylitol, sucrose and maltodextrin reduced bitterness significantly, whereas α-cyclodextrin did not. No significant difference was observed in bitterness reduction between xylitol and sucrose. Both reduced bitterness significantly more than maltodextrin. No interactions between the taste-masking agents affecting bitterness reduction were found. Clearer bitter-masking effects were seen in the aqueous model compared with the bread model. The bitter-masking effects of α-cyclodextrin and maltodextrin were similar between water and bread. The effect of xylitol and sucrose on bitterness suppression varied between the systems. In water, bitterness was negatively correlated with sweetness. In bread, bitterness was negatively correlated with freshness, and maltodextrin significantly reduced bitterness of the enzyme-treated soy protein and increased freshness. CONCLUSION: Bitter-masking effects were generally more discernible in the aqueous model compared with the bread model. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Data for the size of cholesterol-fat micelles as a function of bile salt concentration and the physico-chemical properties of six liquid experimental pine-derived phytosterol formulations in a cholesterol-containing artificial intestine fluid.

The data in this paper are additional information to the research article entiltled "Inhibition of cholesterol transport in an intestine cell model by pine-derived phytosterols" (Yi et al.,2016) [1]. The data derived from the measurement on six liquid formulations of commercial pine-derived phytosterol (CPP) by dynamic light scattering. The data cover micelle size and the zeta-potential for formulations with cholesterol including monoglyceride, oleic acid, and bile salt. The data demonstrate the critical effect of the bile salt concentration on the size of cholesterol-digested fat micelles.

Inhibition of cholesterol transport in an intestine cell model by pine-derived phytosterols.

We have quantified the inhibition of intestinal cholesterol transport by pine-derived phytosterols using an HT29-MTX intestine cell model that forms a mucus layer similar to that in the intestine. An artificial intestinal fluid consisting of digested fat, bile salt, cholesterol, and phytosterols was formulated in order to mimic the conditions in the intestine. The apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) of the positive control, i.e., 0.1mM of cholesterol solubilized in the artificial intestine fluid, was found to be 0.33 (±0.17)×10-6cm/s. When 0.1mM ß-sitosterol was solubilized alongside, Papp was effectively zero, corresponding to a total inhibition of cholesterol transport. A similar strong inhibition was found when commercial pine-derived phytosterols, PinVita™ FSP DuPont, were co-solubilized with cholesterol in the dietary model micelles, leading to Papp=0.06 (±0.06)×10-6cm/s, i.e., 5.5 times lower than the cholesterol positive control. Additionally, the effect of potential oral administration formulations generated by the pine-derived phytosterols was also characterized. The formulations were produced as a liquid formulation of the cholesterol-containing artificial intestine fluid. Six liquid formulations were tested of which four displayed a Papp in the range of 0-0.09×10-6cm/s. The remaining two formulations did not show any inhibition effect on cholesterol transport and even enhanced cholesterol transport. It was furthermore observed that the phytosterols were found in the collected intestine cells but not transported to the basolateral region in the intestinal cell model system.