Regular physical activity reduces the proinflammatory response in older women with diabetes and hypertension in the postmenopausal phase.

Aging in women is characterized by extreme hormonal changes leading them to develop a chronic low-grade inflammation that is linked to the development of systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this scenario, physical activity emerges as an interesting methodology, since it seems to be connected to a decrease in serum levels of some pro-inflammatory cytokines. Nevertheless, most studies evaluate these cytokines in an isolated manner not considering the influence of comorbidities on the responsiveness of participants to the benefits of physical activity. So, this study aimed to assess the influence of physical activity on body composition, anthropometric parameters, lipid profile, and inflammatory markers of diabetic and hypertensive older postmenopausal women. We evaluated 163 women aged from 60 to 80 years, diagnosed with T2DM and SAH that were assisted by the Family Health Units in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil. The pratice of physical activity was measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire with the participants being classified as active or sedentary individuals. Active older women presented better body composition, lipid profile and inflammatory balance. This was connected to a better correlation profile between these factors in active older women, characteristics that were not noticed in sedentary older women. Moreover, IL-17A and the relationship between IL-10 and the other pro-inflammatory cytokines examined was greatly influenced by physical activity. Consequently, physical activity is linked to a global improvement in T2DM and SAH risk factors and with a positive inflammatory modulation in diabetic and hypertensive older women.

Plant-Derived Butters as Lipid Nanocarriers: A Systematic and Prospective Review.

BACKGROUND: Pharmaceutical nanotechnology represents an efficient alternative for the delivery of pharmacologically active plant-derived compounds, considering their protective capacity, oral bioavailability and drug vectorization capacity. In this context, butters obtained from plant seeds have emerged as promising products for the development of pharmacologically active nanostructures. They possess a complex lipid composition, allowing the formation of different emulsion systems with solid cores, since this mixture of different triglycerides is solid at room temperature and body temperature. Therefore, the systematic mapping around the technological development of nanostructures produced from plant-derived butters is potentially valuable for researchers interested in novel alternative formulations for pharmacological therapy, with potential industrial, economic, health and societal impacts. METHODS: Systematic review was carried out by the search of scientific papers and patents deposited in official databases concerning the development of nanostructured pharmaceutical products using plantderived butters as starting material. The publications obtained were subjected to sorting and analysis by applying the following inclusion/exclusion criteria. RESULTS: The Solid Lipid Nanoparticle (SLN) was the type of nanostructure produced in all the analyzed scientific papers, due to the physicochemical characteristics of the lipid constituents of plantderived butters. In this sense, 54% of the articles have reported the use of Cocoa Butter for the production of nanostructures; 28% for Shea Butter; 6% for Cupuacu Butter, 6% for Murumuru Butter and 6% for Bacuri Butter. DISCUSSION: In the technological prospection, only two patents exhibited SLN as an invention based on cocoa butter and on shea butter, respectively. The production methods employed have included: phase inversion temperature, microemulsion, hot high pressure homogenization, high shear homogenization and ultrasonication. CONCLUSION: In light of this prospective review, the encouragement of novel studies in lipids-based nanotechnology is evident, considering the small number of findings so far, in order to stimulate new research involving plant-derived butters from easily cultivated fruits in tropical regions, then stimulating the pharmaceutical development of new therapeutic alternatives using biocompatible and sustainable raw materials.