Influence of various iodine supplementation levels and two different iodine species on the iodine content of the milk of cows fed rapeseed meal or distillers dried grains with solubles as the protein source

Supplementation of animal feed with iodine influences the iodine content of milk and therefore, in addition to salt iodination, provides another possibility for improving the human iodine supply. On the other hand, excessive iodine intake by humans through drinking milk must be avoided. Furthermore, the iodine content of milk varies, depending on the presence of iodine antagonists in feed (e.g., glucosinolates in rapeseed) and the applied iodine species. This study evaluated the impact of various feed iodine supplementation levels up to the permitted maximum level, the effect of applying rapeseed compared with a glucosinolate-free ration, and the impact of 2 different iodine species on the iodine content of milk. A total of 32 dairy cows were divided into 4 groups with 8 animals each. Two groups received distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) as the protein source, and the others received rapeseed meal (RSM, 16.5% of total diet). In each case, half the animals received feed supplemented with iodine in the form of potassium iodide, and the other half received feed supplemented with iodine in the form of calcium iodate. Iodine supplementation levels of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 mg/kg of dry matter (DM) were tested in consecutive periods of 21 d each. The milk iodine concentration increased with increasing iodine supplementation of the feed. Rapeseed meal in the ration (0.58 mmol of glucosinolates/kg of diet DM) diminished the milk iodine concentration by up to one-half to one-third of the concentration achieved by DDGS. At iodine supplementation levels of 2 mg/kg of DM and higher, the differences were significant. The application of iodate predominantly resulted in higher milk iodine concentrations compared with iodide, but not significantly in any period. At the highest tested iodine supplementation (5 mg/kg of DM), the milk iodine concentration increased up to 1,464 (iodide) and 1,578 microg/kg (iodate) when feeding DDGS and up to 718 (iodide) and 620 microg/kg (iodate) in the RSM groups. The carry over of iodine from feed into milk amounted to 30 to 56% when using DDGS, and 11 to 25% when using RSM. The maximum level of iodine currently allowed in the feed of dairy cows in Europe could lead to high milk iodine concentrations. As a result, the Tolerable Upper Intake Level in human nutrition could be exceeded. Therefore, this maximum level needs to be reevaluated. In addition to iodine supplementation, the application of RSM in the ration must be considered when estimating the iodine content of milk.

Acetophenones: Highly Active Antiasthmatic Compounds of Plant Origin

In Ayurvedic medicine, Picrorrhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. is used for the treatment of liver and lung diseases. We could identify the phenol glycoside, androsin, as an active compound preventing allergen- and PAF-induced bronchial obstruction in guinea pigs in vivo. The inhalation of androsin and its aglycon, apocynin, was more effective than the oral intake. More than 20 different acetophenones, either newly synthesized or purchased from commercial sources, have been tested in several pharmacological systems. 3,5-Dimethoxy-4-hydroxyacetophenone (Acetosyringenin) is by far the most active compound preventing allergen- and PAF-induced bronchial obstruction by more than 80% after one single dose of 0.5 mg (aerosol).

New perspectives for synergy research with the "omic"-technologies

Synergistic effects, understood as true overadditive effects, are often observed in experimental and clinical studies using phytopharmaceuticals. The introduction of the "omic"-technologies is now opening new perspectives in rationalizing these effects and making use of them in the development of a new generation of phytopharmaceuticals. This review describes possible mechanism of synergistic actions of herbal drugs by mono- and multitargeting and by the activation of signal cascades. It examines the possibilities of the standardization of single and multi component plant extracts and the prediction and assessment of the toxicity and safety of plant extracts with the support of the "omic"-technologies. It further discusses the use of phytopharmaceuticals in the context of an "individualized medicine". It makes proposals how to use the "omic"-technologies to rationalize and develop combination therapies of phytopharmaceuticals and synthetic drugs to minimize adverse reactions (ARs) or improve the therapeutic efficacy. Examples of clinical studies are given which explore already the potential of such co-medications. Modern medical therapy has acknowledged for quite some time the usefulness of combination therapies in the treatment of multifactorial diseases like cancer, cardiovascular or rheumatic diseases. The term "synergy" is rarely used in this context, the combinatory mechanisms of actions seldom completely understood and the potentially occurring adverse reactions feared. A systematic exploitation of synergy effects of phytomedical interventions alone or in combination with synthetic drugs should lead in a long term perspective to the discovery and development of more rational evidence-based interventions in the prevention and therapy of multifactorial diseases and should thereby enrich modern pharmacotherapy.

Heritability of impaired balance: a nationwide cohort study in twins

SUMMARY

In this large population-based twin study, a self-estimated impaired balance, an important risk factor for osteoporotic fractures, had a modest heritability of 0.27. Individual-specific environmental influences seem to be the dominating cause for impaired balance.

INTRODUCTION

The principal causal components of an osteoporotic fracture are falls and weakened bone strength. While bone strength has a strong genetic origin, the heritable influences on impaired balance that contribute to the risk of injurious falls at older age are uncertain.

METHODS

To evaluate the heritability and environmental influence on self-reported impaired balance in older men and women, we used data from a sample of 22,998 Swedish twins, 55 to 99 years of age.

RESULTS

An impaired balance was reported by 2,890 (12.3%) of the twins. The tetrachoric correlation for impaired balance was only slightly lower for like-sex dizygotic twins (0.31) compared to monozygotic twins (0.36). These correlations indicate a modest familial (genetic and shared environmental) influence. Model fitting results indicate that the age- and sex-adjusted heritability for impaired balance was 0.27 (95%CI = 0.01-0.45). Individual-specific environmental influences differed only slightly by sex and age.

CONCLUSION

These results imply that a self-reported impaired balance, an independent risk factor for osteoporotic fractures, has a modestly heritable etiology in older subjects. Our observation can partly explain the previously observed modest heritability for osteoporotic fractures even though there is a high heritability for bone mineral density.

Synergy research: approaching a new generation of phytopharmaceuticals

The longstanding, successful use of herbal drug combinations in traditional medicine makes it necessary to find a rationale for the pharmacological and therapeutic superiority of many of them in comparison to isolated single constituents. This review describes many examples of how modern molecular-biological methods (including new genomic technologies) can enable us to understand the various synergistic mechanisms underlying these effects. Synergistic effects can be produced if the constituents of an extract affect different targets or interact with one another in order to improve the solubility and thereby enhance the bioavailability of one or several substances of an extract. A special synergy effect can occur when antibiotics are combined with an agent that antagonizes bacterial resistance mechanisms. The verification of real synergy effects can be achieved through detailed pharmacological investigations and by means of controlled clinical studies performed in comparison with synthetic reference drugs. All the new ongoing projects aim at the development of a new generation of phytopharmaceuticals which can be used alone or in combination with synthetic drugs or antibiotics. This new generation of phytopharmaceuticals could lend phytotherapy a new legitimacy and enable their use to treat diseases which have hitherto been treated using synthetic drugs alone.

Generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes against Ly alloantigen

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for immune alloantigens controlled by alleles of the Ly system have been induced in vivo. These results were obtained either in a secondary type of response or by treating mice before immunization with a single dose of cyclophosphamide (80 mg/kg).