Effects of ID-alG™ on weight management and body fat mass in high-fat-fed rats.

Seaweed extract of Ascophyllum nodosum, ID-alG™, was evaluated for its chronic effects on weight management in high-fat-fed Sprague-Dawley rats. ID-alG™ was orally administered daily during 9 weeks at doses of 40 and 400 mg/kg/day with fat-enriched diet (FED) in comparison with two control groups consuming standard diet (negative control) or FED (positive control) and orally treated with vehicle. Body weight, percentage of body fat mass and lipid parameters were measured. After 9 weeks, the oral administration of ID-alG™ at both doses decreased significantly the mean body weight gains (MBWG) of rats submitted to the FED in comparison to the positive control (-6.8% and -11.8%). ID-alG™ at both doses improved significantly the MBWG of rats and decreased significantly the percentage of body fat mass of rats (-9.8% and -19.0%), in comparison to the positive control. In the same way, the triglyceride blood level was also significantly improved for the dose of 400 mg/kg/day (-30.6% vs. +49.9% for the positive control); and the dose of 40 mg/kg/day just lead to a trend. Moreover, in both controls and ID-alG™-treated groups, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL blood levels were not modified. The seaweed extract of Ascophyllum nodosum, ID-alG™, demonstrated beneficial effects on weight management of rats submitted to a high-fat diet.

Diuretic and antioxidant effects of Cacti-Nea, a dehydrated water extract from prickly pear fruit, in rats.

Dehydrated extract of the prickly pear fruit Opuntia ficus indica, Cacti-Nea, was evaluated for its chronic diuretic and antioxidant effects in Wistar rats. Cacti-Nea was orally administered daily for seven days at the dose of 240 mg/kg/day. A positive group was orally treated with hydrochlorothiazide at the dose of 10 mg/kg/day and a control group with vehicle. Daily measurements of body weight, urine volume, and concentration of sodium, potassium and uric acid in urine were performed for each rat. At the end of the study, the blood globular level of glutathione peroxidase was determined. Cacti-Nea significantly increased the urine volumes excreted by rats in comparison with the control group and it showed a trend to reduce significantly the body weight gain of rats. No significant differences were observed in the urine concentration of sodium, potassium and uric acid in comparison with the control group. The chronic diuretic effects of Cacti-Nea were comparable with that of the standard drug hydrochlorothiazide. Chronic oral administration of Cacti-Nea significantly increased the blood globular levels of glutathione peroxidase in comparison with control and hydrochlorothiazide groups. The prickly pear fruit extract Cacti-Nea demonstrated chronic diuretic and antioxidant effects in Wistar rats with respect to the excretion of the metabolites.

The effect of NeOpuntia on blood lipid parameters--risk factors for the metabolic syndrome (syndrome X).

Metabolic syndrome (syndrome X) causes millions of cardiovascular complications and premature deaths every year. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of NeOpuntia, patented, dehydrated, Opuntia ficus-indica leaves, on blood lipid parameters and metabolic syndrome. Opuntia ficus-indica leaves are traditionally consumed as a vegetable. Participants in this monocentric, randomized, placebocontrolled, double-blind, 6-wk study were 68 women, ages 20 to 55 y, with metabolic syndrome and a body mass index between 25 and 40. Fifty-nine subjects completed the study according to the study plan. All volunteers followed wellbalanced diets with controlled lipid input. NeOpuntia or placebo capsules were taken at a dosage of 1.6 g per meal. All 5 syndrome X criteria were measured on days 0, 14, and 42, including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglyceride levels. For the 42 females above 45 y of age, we show a significant increase in HDL-C levels with NeOpuntia and a tendency toward decreased triglyceride levels. At the same time, there was a decrease in HDL-C levels with placebo. Overall, for the entire study population, similar but less pronounced tendencies were demonstrated. Forty-two females taking NeOpuntia with no additional hypolipemic treatment, had a pronounced reduction in LDL cholesterol, especially after day 14. At the study end, 39% of the NeOpuntia group, but only 8% of the placebo group, were no longer diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. Our results indicate an advantage of using NeOpuntia in dietary supplements and functional foods because of improvement of blood lipid parameters associated with cardiovascular risks.

Industrial process proteomics: alfalfa protein patterns during wet fractionation processing.

A proteome reference map of major soluble proteins from Medicago sativa (alfalfa) leaves and stems has been established for the first time. Among 195 spots analyzed by mass spectrometry and N-terminal Edman sequencing, 117 spots were unambiguously identified, representing 87 different proteins. Of these 87 proteins, 13 proteins were directly identified from the partial genome of Medicago sativa, 30 from expressed sequenced tags (ESTs) of the model legume Medicago truncatula and 44 from closely relative species by a cross-species protein identification method. The proteome map of Medicago sativa was then set as a reference to study the major high protein content products that are generated during the wet fractionation process of alfalfa green biomass. Using two-dimensional electrophoresis, we studied the variation of the protein patterns at different steps of the industrial-scale process. We clearly show that the process induces significant changes including chemical modifications, proteolytic events, and heat-shock protein responses. Strikingly, a certain level of cellular regulation is conserved during biomass processing, as exemplified by the induction of some heat shock proteins. Finally, all the results obtained in this proteomic study may help to identify novel products and to improve process designs in alfalfa biomass plants.