Protective role of yeast beta-glucan on lead acetate-induced hepatic and reproductive toxicity in rats

β-glucan nanoparticles alleviate acute asthma by suppressing ferroptosis and DNA damage in mice

Asthma is a severe respiratory disease marked by airway inflammation, remodeling, and oxidative stress. β-Glucan (BG), a polysaccharide constituent of fungal cellular structures, exhibits potent immunomodulatory activities. The investigational focus was on the anti-asthmatic and anti-ferroptotic properties of beta-glucan nanoparticles (BG-NPs) in a murine model of allergic asthma induced by ovalbumin (OVA). BG was extracted from Chaga mushrooms (Inonotus obliquus), and its BG-NPs were characterized utilizing techniques including FT-IR, UV visible spectroscopy, zeta potential analysis, DLS, XRD, and TEM. The Balb/C mice were allocated into five groups: control, untreated asthmatic, dexamethasone (Dexa)-treated (1 mg/kg), BG-treated (100 mg/kg), BG-NPs-treated (45 mg/kg), and BG-treated (100 mg/kg). Treatment with BG-NPs markedly diminished the entry of inflammatory cells into the respiratory passage, serum IgE concentrations, DNA damage, and markers of oxidative stress through the reduction of malonaldehyde (MDA) levels and enhancing the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). Furthermore, BG-NPs reduced iron deposition and promoted the transcriptional activity of the GPx4 gene in pulmonary cells, attenuating ferroptosis. The results demonstrated that BG-NPs reduced asthma by inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage, and ferroptosis. Our results suggest that BG-NPs could be used as potential treatments for allergic asthma.

Oat Beta-Glucan Dietary Intervention on Antioxidant Defense Parameters, Inflammatory Response and Angiotensin Signaling in the Testes of Rats with TNBS-Induced Colitis

Male infertility represents a significant public health concern. There is a negative impact of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) on the male reproductive system. The aim of this study was to investigate whether oat beta-glucan (OBG) with different molar mass can modulate parameters of antioxidant defense and inflammatory response in the testes of adult Sprague-Dawley rats with TNBS-induced colitis and whether the OBG intervention can modulate the inflammatory response in association with the RAS system. Results: higher testicular superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR) activities and glutathione (GSH) concentration, and lower testosterone (T) level and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, were observed in rats with colitis than in healthy control ones. TNBS-induced colitis resulted in decreased the angiotensin 1-7 (ANG 1-7) level in the testes of rats fed with low-molar mass OBG compared to control animals. Conclusions: although colitis induced moderate pro-oxidant changes in the gonads, it seems plausible that dietary intervention with different fractions of oat beta-glucans mass may support the maintenance of reproductive homeostasis via the stimulation of the local antioxidant defense system.

β-glucan mitigates ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation by preventing oxidative stress and CD8+ T cell infiltration

BACKGROUND

Bronchial asthma is a severe respiratory condition characterized by airway inflammation, remodeling, and oxidative stress. β-Glucan (BG) is a polysaccharide found in fungal cell walls with powerful immunomodulatory properties. This study examined and clarified the mechanisms behind BG's ameliorativeactivitiesin an allergic asthma animal model.

METHOD

BG was extracted from Chaga mushroom and characterized using FT-IR, UV-visible, zeta potential, and 1H NMR analysis. The mice were divided into five groups, including control, untreated asthmatic, dexamethasone (Dexa)-treated (1 mg/kg), and BG (30 and 100 mg/kg)-treated groups.

RESULTS

BG treatment reduced nasal scratching behavior, airway-infiltrating inflammatory cells, and serum levels of IgE significantly. Additionally, BG attenuated oxidative stress biomarkers by lowering malonaldehyde (MDA) concentrations and increasing the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT). Immunohistochemical and flow cytometric analyses have confirmed the suppressive effect of BG on the percentage of airway-infiltrating cytotoxic CD8+ T cells.

CONCLUSION

The findings revealed the role of CD8+ T cells in the pathogenesis of asthma and the role of BG as a potential therapeutic agent for asthma management through the suppression of airway inflammation and oxidative stress.

Protective effect of Agaricus bisporus mushroom against maternal and fetal damage induced by lead administration during pregnancy in rats

INTRODUCTION

Lead (Pb) is a toxic pollutant, which can affect different tissues of the human body. The use of natural elements, as medicinal mushroom can reduce the toxic effects of Pb.

OBJECTIVE

We evaluated, through preclinical tests, the oral co exposures to mushroom Agaricus bisporus (Ab) by gavage and Pb in drinking water, and the capability of Ab be a protective agent for both pregnant rats and their fetuses.

METHODS

Female Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 5/group): Group I-Control; Group II-Ab 100 mg/kg; Group III-Pb 100 mg/L; Group IV-Ab +Pb -100 mg/kg +100 mg/L. Exposure was performed until the 19th day of gestation. On the 20th day, pregnant rats were euthanized, and the outcomes evaluated were weight gain; hematological profile; biochemical markers; oxidative stress markers; reproductive capacity; and embryo fetal development.

RESULTS

The characterization of mushrooms reveals them to be a valuable source of nutrients. However, Pb ingestion resulted in reduced weight gain and negative impacts on hematological and biochemical parameters. Fortunately, co administration of mushrooms helped to mitigate these negative effects and promote recovery. The mushroom also showed antioxidant activity, improving parameters of oxidative stress. In addition, Ab partially recovered the damage in fetal morphology and bone parameters.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicated that the co administration of Ab improved the toxicity caused by Pb, and the mushroom could be used as a natural alternative as a protective/chelator agent.

The Development of Alginate/Ag NPs/Caffeic Acid Composite Membranes as Adsorbents for Water Purification

Since the water pollution problem still affects the environmental system and human health, the need to develop innovative membranes has become imperious. Lately, researchers have focused on developing novel materials to help diminish the contamination problem. The aim of present research was to obtain innovative adsorbent composite membranes based on a biodegradable polymer, alginate, to remove toxic pollutants. Of all pollutants, lead was chosen due to its high toxicity. The composite membranes were successfully obtained through a direct casting method. The silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and caffeic acid (CA) from the composite membranes were kept at low concentrations, which proved enough to bestow antimicrobial activity to the alginate membrane. The obtained composite membranes were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and microscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DSC). Swelling behaviour, lead ion (Pb²⁺) removal capacity, regeneration and reusability were also determined. Further, the antimicrobial activity was tested against selected pathogenic strains (S. aureus, E. faecalis sp., P. aeruginosa, E. coli and C. albicans). The presence of Ag NPs and CA improves the antimicrobial activity of the newly developed membranes. Overall, the composite membranes are suitable for complex water treatment (removal of heavy metal ions and antimicrobial treatment).

Pb2+-imprinted thermosensitive antibacterial adsorbent derived from sodium alginate and PNIPAM for Pb2+ recovery

Two sodium alginate-based Pb²⁺-imprinted thermosensitive hydrogels (SPIT (without ɛ-PL) and SPPIT (with ɛ-PL)) were synthesized, with sodium alginate and ɛ-polylysine (ɛ-PL) as the matrix, N-isopropylacrylamide as the monomer. Characterization with differential scanning calorimeter, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the aimed structure of the hydrogels. The adsorption capacity of SPIT and SPPIT for Pb²⁺ was 98.64 mg/g and 153.49 mg/g, respectively. Washing the Pb²⁺-loaded adsorbent with 10 °C deionized water, SPIT and SPPIT achieved a desorption efficiency of 94.59 % and 97.51 %, respectively. After 10 cycles of adsorption-desorption process, the adsorption capacity and desorption efficiency remained at about 80-88 % of the original ones, expressing excellent reusability. In a mixture containing eight metal ions (Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Cd²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Fe³⁺), the adsorption capacity of SPIT to Pb²⁺ was 92.49 mg/g, and that of SPPIT was 102.49 mg/g, much higher than that to the other ions (1.50-11.38 mg/g on SPIT, 9.48-27.45 mg/g on SPPIT), showing excellent adsorption selectivity. The introduction of ɛ-PL enhanced the adsorption capacity, antibacterial ability and stability of the hydrogel, ensuring better application potential in real wastewater.

Effects of ultrasound-assisted H2O2 on the solubilization and antioxidant activity of yeast β-glucan

Yeast β-glucan (YG) possess an extensive range of biological activities, such as the inhibition of oxidation, but the poor water solubility of macromolecular YG limits its application. In this study, through the combined degradation of ultrasonic waves and H₂O₂, and the optimization of the main process parameters for solubilizing YG by response surface methodology (RSM), a new product of YG_UH was generated. The molecular weight, structural characteristics and degradation kinetics before and after solubilization were evaluated. The results showed that the optimal solubilization conditions were reaction time: 4 h, ultrasonic power: 3 W/mL, H₂O₂ concentration: 24 %. Under these conditions, ultrasound-assisted H₂O₂ increased the solubility (from 13.60 % to 70.00 %) and reduced molecular weight (from 6.73 × 10⁶ Da to 1.22 × 10⁶ Da). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Congo red (CR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that ultrasound-assisted H₂O₂ increased the conformation's flexibility greatly, without changing the main structure of YG. More importantly, solubilization of YG improved free radical scavenging activity with YG_UH exhibiting the highest levels of DPPH and ABTS⁺ free radical scavenging activity. These results revealed that ultrasound-assisted H₂O₂ degradation could be a suitable way to increase the solubility of YG for producing value-added YG.