Glyoxalase I Assay as a Possible Tool for Evaluation of Biological Activity of Antioxidant-Rich Plant Extracts.

The health-promoting properties of natural plant bioactive compounds are mainly attributable to their ability to counteract oxidative stress. This is considered a major causative factor in aging and aging-related human diseases, in which a causal role is also ascribed to dicarbonyl stress. This is due to accumulation of methylglyoxal (MG) and other reactive dicarbonyl species, leading to macromolecule glycation and cell/tissue dysfunction. The glyoxalase (GLYI) enzyme, catalyzing the rate-limiting step of the GSH-dependent MG detoxification pathway, plays a key role in cell defense against dicarbonyl stress. Therefore, the study of GLYI regulation is of relevant interest. In particular, GLYI inducers are important for pharmacological interventions to sustain healthy aging and to improve dicarbonyl-related diseases; GLYI inhibitors, allowing increased MG levels to act as proapoptotic agents in tumor cells, are of special interest in cancer treatment. In this study, we performed a new in vitro exploration of biological activity of plant bioactive compounds by associating the measurement of their antioxidant capacity (AC) with the evaluation of their potential impact on dicarbonyl stress measured as capability to modulate GLYI activity. AC was evaluated using TEAC, ORAC, and LOX-FL methods. The GLYI assay was performed using a human recombinant isoform, in comparison with the recently characterized GLYI activity of durum wheat mitochondria. Different plant extracts were tested, obtained from plant sources with very high phytochemical content ('Sun Black' and wildtype tomatoes, black and 'Polignano' carrots, and durum wheat grain). Results showed high antioxidant properties of the tested extracts, associated with different modes (no effect, activation, and inhibition) and effectiveness in modulating both GLYI activity sources. Overall, results indicate the GLYI assay as an advisable and promising tool for researching plant foods as a source of natural antioxidant compounds acting as GLYI enzymatic regulators to be used for dietary management associated the treatment of oxidative/dicarbonyl-promoted diseases.

Comparison of the Peel-Associated Epiphytic Bacteria of Anthocyanin-Rich "Sun Black" and Wild-Type Tomatoes under Organic and Conventional Farming.

Tomatoes are among the most consumed vegetables worldwide and represent a source of health-beneficial substances. Our study represents the first investigating the peel-associated epiphytic bacteria of red and purple (anthocyanin-rich) tomatoes subjected to organic and conventional farming systems. Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum (relative abundances 79-91%) in all experimental conditions. Enterobacteriaceae represented a large fraction (39.3-47.5%) of the communities, with Buttiauxella and Atlantibacter as the most represented genera. The core microbiota was composed of 59 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), including the majority of the most abundant ones. The occurrence of the most abundant OTUs differed among the experimental conditions. OTU 1 (Buttiauxella), OTU 2 (Enterobacteriales), and OTU 6 (Bacillales) were higher in red and purple tomatoes grown under organic farming. OTU 5 (Acinetobacter) had the highest abundance in red tomatoes subjected to organic farming. OTU 3 (Atlantibacter) was among the major OTUs in red tomatoes under both farming conditions. OTU 7 (Clavibacter) and OTU 8 (Enterobacteriaceae) had abundances ≥1% only in red tomatoes grown under conventional farming. PCA and clustering analysis highlighted a high similarity between the bacterial communities of red and purple tomatoes grown under organic farming. Furthermore, the bacterial communities of purple tomatoes grown under organic farming showed the lowest diversity and evenness. This work paves the way to understand the role of nutritional superior tomato genotypes, combined with organic farming, to modulate the presence of beneficial/harmful bacteria and supply healthier foods within a sustainable agriculture.

[Efficacy and safety of black tomato concentrate in the treatment of erectile dysfunction: A prospective randomized controlled open trial].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of black tomato concentrate (BTC), which is rich in polyphenols, in the treatment of ED. METHODS: We conducted a prospective randomized open clinical study of 150 ED patients from December 2018 to February 2020, and treated the them with placebo (n = 50), BTC (n = 50) and Compound Xuanju Capsules (CXC) (n = 50), respectively, all for 8 weeks. Before and at 4 and 8 weeks after treatment, we obtained the scores of the patients on IIEF-5, Erection Hardness Score (EHS), Sexual Encounter Profile (SEP-2,3) and General Assessment Questionnaire (GAQ-1,2), related biochemical indexes and the T level, followed by comparison among the three groups. RESULTS: Totally, 120 of the patients completed the clinical trial, 37 in the placebo, 43 in the BTC and 40 in the CXC group. There were no statistically significant differences among the placebo, BTC and CXC groups in the baseline scores on IIEF-5 (12.03 �� 3.50 vs 11.70 �� 3.80 vs 11.42 �� 3.82), EHS, and SEP-2,3 (P > 0.05). At 8 weeks after treatment, the patients in the BTC group showed significant improvement in IIEF-5 (15.67 �� 3.63), EHS, SEP-2,3 and GAQ-1 positive response compared with those in the placebo group (P < 0.05) and similar improvement to that in the CXC group in IIEF-5 (15.67 �� 3.63 vs 15.65 �� 3.87), EHS, SEP-2,3 and GAQ-1,2 (P > 0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed in the incidence of adverse reactions among the placebo, BTC and CXC groups (4.7% vs 2.7% vs 5.0%, P > 0.05), and the symptoms were significantly relieved in the BTC group after change of the administration time to after meal. CONCLUSION: Black tomato concentrate is comparable to Compound Xuanju Capsules and better than placebo (P < 0.05) in improving the IIEF-5, EHS and SEP-2,3 scores of ED patients. And, with a high safety, it can be used as an alternative treatment of ED.

Efficacy and safety of black tomato concentrated sauce in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of black tomato concentrated sauce in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH) with lower urinary tract symptoms(LUTS).Methods:An open, randomized and controlled trial was conducted, and 150 BPH patients with LUTS were randomly assigned to three groups: experimental group(60 cases), placebo group (45 cases) and positive control group(45 cases) in the Department of Urology, Lanzhou University Second Hospital from December 2018 to September 2020.Inclusion criteria: age≥50 years old; first diagnosis of BPH, or interrupted medical treatment of BPH for more than 1 month; maximum urinary flow rate (Q max) <15ml/s; prostate volume (PV)≥20ml; IPSS≥8, QOL≥2. Exclusion criteria: lower urinary tract obstruction not caused by BPH, post-void residual urine volume(PVR) >250 ml; history of acute urinary retention in the last 3 months; prostate nodules and suspected prostate cancer were revealed by digital rectal examination and transrectal B-ultrasoundor; prostate-specific antigen (PSA)≥10 ng/ml; neurogenic bladder, perivous history of bladder, prostate, or urethra operations; suffering from serious heart, lung, liver, kidney and other diseases. The patients in the experimental group were orally treated with black tomato concentrated sauce(30 g/once, 3 times/day). The patients in the placebo group were orally administrated with placebo. In the positive control group, the patients with PV≤30ml were orally treated with tamsulosin(0.2mg/once, 1 time/day), the patients with PV>30ml were orally administrated with tamsulosin and finasteride(5 mg/once, 1 time/day). All enrolled patients were treated for 3 months. At the end of third month, the IPSS, QOL, PV, PVR, Q max, average urinary flow rate(Q ave), total PSA(tPSA), free PSA (fPSA), testosterone(TST) and the incidence of adverse reaction were assessed. Results:128 of 150 cases, including 52 cases in experimental group, 36 cases in placebo group and 40 cases in positive control group, completed the study, the rest was excluded due to not take medication regularly and fail to follow-up. There were no significant differences in baseline parameters among experimental group, placebo group and positive control group ( P>0.05) in age[(63.21±8.61) vs.(62.36±6.32) vs. (63.94±7.78)years old], body mass index[(23.74±3.17) vs. (23.94±3.09) vs. (24.26±2.91)kg/m 2], IPSS[(17.5±6.6) vs. (15.4±5.8) vs. (17.9±6.8)], QOL[4.0(3.0, 4.0) vs. 4.0(3.0, 4.5) vs. 4.0(3.0, 5.0)], Q max [(8.60±3.04) vs. (9.13±2.92) vs. (9.58±3.26) ml/s], Q ave[(4.39±1.69) vs. (4.66±1.76) vs. (4.88±1.60)ml/s], PV [32.00(25.55, 45.40)vs. 30.00(24.45, 38.35)vs. 34.80(27.65, 56.65)ml], PVR[23.50(8.25, 45.75) vs.5.50(0, 47.75) vs. 29.00(0, 84.00)ml], tPSA [1.53(0.89, 3.00) vs. 1.23(0.69, 1.98) vs. 2.23(0.90, 4.15)ng/ml], fPSA [0.37(0.28, 0.76) vs. 0.37(0.22, 0.52) vs. 0.54(0.30, 0.97) ng/ml] and TST[(443.64±156.32) vs. (493.97±176.16) vs. (450.89±135.08)ng/dl]. After 3 months of treatment, the IPSS in experimental group was(9.9±5.7), QOL score 2.0(2.0, 3.0), Q max(11.78±5.24)ml/s, Q ave(5.86±3.00)ml/s, tPSA 1.64(0.96, 3.32)ng/ml and TST (475.91±177.33)ng/dl, which were significantly different compared with pre-treatment( P<0.05). In positive control group, IPSS was (9.0±6.2), QOL 2.0(2.0, 3.0), Q max(11.73±4.50)ml/s, Q ave(6.11±2.53)ml/s, tPSA 1.57(0.80, 3.09)ng/ml, fPSA 0.37(0.24, 0.63)ng/ml and TST (526.11±126.88)ng/dl, which were statistically different compared with pre-treatment( P<0.01). However, there were no significant differences in all the above indexes in placebo control group compared with the baseline( P>0.05). The numerical changes of IPSS, QOL, Q maxand Q ave between experimental group and placebo group had statistically significant differences ( P<0.05). The changes of IPSS, QOL, Q max, Q ave, PV, tPSA, fPSA and TST between positive control group and placebo group had significant differences ( P<0.05). The changes of PV, tPSA and fPSA between positive control group and experimental group had statistically significant differences ( P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions was 5.77% (3/52, including 1 headache and 2 stomach discomfort) in experimental group, 5.56% (2/36, including 1 headache and 1 stomach discomfort) in placebo group, and 10.00%(4/40, including 1 dizzy, 1 nasal obstruction and 2 erectile dysfunction) in positive control group. And there was no statistical difference in the incidence of adverse reactions among three groups ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Black tomato concentrated sauce shows an excellent effect on patients with LUTS/BPH, and improves the quality of life with few adverse events.

Radical Scavenging and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Representative Anthocyanin Groupings from Pigment-Rich Fruits and Vegetables.

Anthocyanins, the naturally occurring pigments responsible for most red to blue colours of flowers, fruits and vegetables, have also attracted interest because of their potential health effects. With the aim of contributing to major insights into their structure-activity relationship (SAR), we have evaluated the radical scavenging and biological activities of selected purified anthocyanin samples (PASs) from various anthocyanin-rich plant materials: two fruits (mahaleb cherry and blackcurrant) and two vegetables (black carrot and "Sun Black" tomato), differing in anthocyanin content (ranging from 4.9 to 38.5 mg/g DW) and molecular structure of the predominant anthocyanins. PASs from the abovementioned plant materials have been evaluated for their antioxidant capacity using Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) and Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assays. In human endothelial cells, we analysed the anti-inflammatory activity of different PASs by measuring their effects on the expression of endothelial adhesion molecules VCAM-1 and ICAM-1. We demonstrated that all the different PASs showed biological activity. They exhibited antioxidant capacity of different magnitude, higher for samples containing non-acylated anthocyanins (typical for fruits) compared to samples containing more complex anthocyanins acylated with cinnamic acid derivatives (typical for vegetables), even though this order was slightly reversed when ORAC assay values were expressed on a molar basis. Concordantly, PASs containing non-acylated anthocyanins reduced the expression of endothelial inflammatory antigens more than samples with aromatic acylated anthocyanins, suggesting the potential beneficial effect of structurally diverse anthocyanins in cardiovascular protection.