An appraisal of the therapeutic value of lycopene for the chemoprevention of prostate cancer: A nutrigenomic approach

The role of lycopene for the amelioration of glycaemic status and peripheral antioxidant capacity among the Type II diabetes mellitus patients: a case-control study

BACKGROUND

The use of lycopene as a complementary medicine for Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is limited and controversial. This study evaluated the effect of lycopene intake on the changes of glycaemic status and antioxidant capacity among the T2DM patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This case-control study involved the participation of 87 patients and 122 healthy individuals. Lycopene intake was assessed by using a food frequency questionnaire. The peripheral antioxidant capacity among the T2DM patients was evaluated. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) were measured as indications of glycaemic status.

RESULTS

Peripheral antioxidant capacity was significantly lower in the T2DM group. Direct positive correlations were found between the lycopene intake and peripheral antioxidant level among the T2DM patients. Contrarily, HbA1c and FPG levels decreased significantly with the higher lycopene intake.

CONCLUSIONS

T2DM patients with a higher lycopene intake showed a greater peripheral antioxidant capacity and better glycaemic control. Lycopene may act to ameliorate oxidative stress and improve the pathophysiology of T2DM.

Supercritical CO2 extraction of lycopene from pink grapefruit (Citrus paradise Macfad) and its degradation studies during storage

Lycopene was extracted from pink grapefruit using SC-CO₂ and rice bran oil as co-solvent. Response surface methodology was employed to evaluate the individual and interactive effects of three process parameters varied at five levels i.e. pressure (250, 300, 375, 450 & 500 bar), temperature (55, 60, 70, 80 & 85 °C), and extraction time (60, 90, 135, 180 & 210 min). Single optimum point for multiple response variables was achieved at 325 bar, 64 °C, and 143 min with overall desirability of 0.92 at which 70.52 ± 3.65% (lycopene extraction efficiency) and 11154 ± 148 ppm (γ-oryzanol) were predicted. Extraction temperatures of more than 80 °C and time beyond 180 min led to the isomerization of lycopene. Lycopene storage at 3 °C, 10 °C, & 25 °C showed average k and half-life values as 0.018, 0.030, & 0.075 and 40, 23, & 9 days, respectively for first-order degradation kinetics; depicting faster degradation at higher storage temperatures.

Dietary Factors and Prostate Cancer Development, Progression, and Reduction

Due to the constantly increasing number of cases, prostate cancer has become one of the most important health problems of modern societies. This review presents the current knowledge regarding the role of nutrients and foodstuff consumption in the etiology and development of prostate malignancies, including the potential mechanisms of action. The results of several in vivo and in vitro laboratory experiments as well as those reported by the clinical and epidemiological research studies carried out around the world were analyzed. The outcomes of these studies clearly show the influence of both nutrients and food products on the etiology and prevention of prostate cancer. Consumption of certain nutrients (saturated and trans fatty acids) and food products (e.g., processed meat products) leads to the disruption of prostate hormonal regulation, induction of oxidative stress and inflammation, and alteration of growth factor signaling and lipid metabolism, which all contribute to prostate carcinogenesis. On the other hand, a high consumption of vegetables, fruits, fish, and whole grain products exerts protective and/or therapeutic effects. Special bioactive functions are assigned to compounds such as flavonoids, stilbenes, and lycopene. Since the influence of nutrients and dietary pattern is a modifiable risk factor in the development and prevention of prostate cancer, awareness of the beneficial and harmful effects of individual food ingredients is of great importance in the global strategy against prostate cancer.

Transcriptome analysis reveals the potential mechanism of dietary carotenoids improving antioxidative capability and immunity of juvenile Chinese mitten crabs Eriocheir sinensis

Carotenoids are known to be involved in the regulation of the antioxidative capability, immune response and stress resistance in crustacean species; however, very limited information is available on their underlying molecular mechanisms. This study performed transcriptome sequencing of hemolymph and hepatopancreas of juvenile Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) that fed with three diets, i.e. diet A containing 90 mg kg^-1 dry weight of astaxanthin, diet B containing 200 mg kg^-1 dry weight of β-carotene and control diet without supplementation of dietary carotenoids. The results showed that there were 2955 and 497 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the hemolymph between the astaxanthin treatment and control groups, and between the β-carotene treatment and control groups, respectively. Moreover, compared with the control group, 833 and 1886 DEGs were obtained in the hepatopancreas of the astaxanthin treatment and the β-carotene treatment groups, respectively. The DEGs in the three groups were enriched in 255 specific KEGG metabolic pathways according to KEGG enrichment analysis. Through this study, a series of key genes involved in Nrf2 signalling, ROS production, intracellular antioxidant enzymes and chaperones were significantly affected by dietary carotenoids. Dietary carotenoids also significantly altered the expression levels of immune-related molecules associated with signal transduction, prophenoloxidase cascade, apoptosis, pattern recognition proteins/receptors and antimicrobial peptides. In conclusion, this transcriptomic study provides valuable information for understanding the molecular mechanism and potential pathway of dietary carotenoids improved the antioxidative capability and immunity of juvenile E. sinensis.

Dietary carotenoids in cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy: A review of emerging evidence

In recent years, natural products have reemerged as biotherapeutic options, with several dietary carotenoids, viz. astaxanthin, fucoxanthin, siphonaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, α-carotene, β-carotene, and lycopene, developing as potential candidates for chemoprevention and chemotherapeutics of breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers. The potent cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects of carotenoids against various cancer cells are mediated by a wide range of molecular mechanisms modulating oxidative stress and redox balance, mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and other cellular signaling proteins, transcription factors, caspase cascade pathways of apoptosis, cell cycle progression and proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC), and multidrug resistance (MDR). This review discusses recent evidence demonstrating the crucial roles of carotenoids in these cellular and molecular events of cancer cell cytotoxicity. In addition, recent case-control and cohort studies are discussed to support the potential role of carotenoids in cancer prevention and therapy.

A whole-food approach to the in vitro assessment of the antitumor activity of gazpacho

Gazpacho is a traditional cold soup of the Mediterranean diet consisting of a main base of fresh pureed tomato and other vegetables. Tomato and tomato products have demonstrated chemopreventive activity against several types of cancer through in vitro studies, and in animal and clinical research. Here we have applied a whole-food approach for the preclinical assessment of the antitumor potential of gazpacho. Colon cancer cells (HT-29) were exposed to growing concentrations of gazpacho previously digested in vitro to simulate the delivery of bioactive molecules to colon cells after food consumption. The cytotoxicity of gazpacho ingredients was also tested in independent experiments. Programmed cell death by apoptosis was detected by using a multiparametric analysis that combines image-based bright-field and fluorescence cytometry, intracellular ATP level determination and enzymatic activity of caspase-3/7. Modulation of gene expression of key regulatory genes (p53, Bcl-2, BAX, and cyclin D1) was also investigated. Our cytotoxicity data showed that in vitro digestion of samples allowed the delivery of bioactive levels of antitumor phytochemicals to cultured cells. Controlled experiments showed significant repetitive dose and time-response cytotoxicity of gazpacho. Gazpacho digestates caused net cell death of cultures suggesting synergic activity among phytochemicals from its vegetable ingredients. Multiparametric and genetic analyses showed that gazpacho digestates can trigger colon cancer cells death by apoptosis through the activation of caspase cascade. Our results show that coupled in vitro methodology employed can be applied to investigate the antitumor potential of complex food matrixes or combinations of foods in the diet.

Binding to Bovine Serum Albumin Protects β-Carotene against Oxidative Degradation

Binding to bovine serum albumin (BSA) was found to protect β-carotene (β-Car) dissolved in air-saturated phosphate buffer solution/tetrahydrofuran (9:1, v/v) efficiently against photobleaching resulting from laser flash excitation at 532 nm. From dependence of the relative photobleaching yield upon the BSA concentration, an association constant of Ka = 4.67 × 10(5) L mol(-1) for β-Car binding to BSA was determined at 25 °C. Transient absorption spectroscopy confirmed less bleaching of β-Car on the microsecond time scale in the presence of BSA, while kinetics of triplet-state β-Car was unaffected by the presence of oxygen. The protection of β-Car against this type of reaction seems accordingly to depend upon dissipation of excitation energy from an excited state into the protein matrix. Static quenching of BSA fluorescence by β-Car had a Stern-Volmer constant of Ksv = 2.67 × 10(4) L mol(-1), with ΔH = 17 kJ mol(-1) and ΔS = 142 J mol(-1) K(-1) at 25 °C. Quenching of tryptophan (Trp) fluorescence by β-Car suggests involvement of Trp in binding of β-Car to BSA through hydrophobic interaction, while the lower value for the Stern-Volmer constant Ksv compared to the binding constant, Ka, may indicate involvement of β-Car aggregates. Bound β-Car increased the random coil fraction of BSA at the expense of α-helix, as shown by circular dichroism, affecting the β-Car configuration, as shown by Raman spectroscopy.

Efeito do tratamento enzimático sobre a viscosidade e os teores de fibra e pectina em suco de pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L.)

Resumo O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito do tratamento enzimático, utilizando enzimas comerciais, sobre o comportamento reológico e o teor de fibras e pectina do suco de pitanga. Foram avaliadas diferentes combinações de pectinase (Pectinex Ultra SP-L) e celulase (Cellubrix-L), totalizando 0,1%, em massa, de enzima. Os resultados encontrados indicaram baixo valor de pectina (<0,003%) e significativa redução no teor de fibras após tratamento enzimático, sendo que a aplicação combinada de 0,025% de pectinase com 0,075% de celulase provocou a maior redução no teor de fibras e, consequentemente, menor viscosidade do suco. Ao mesmo tempo, uma aplicação igual ou superior a 0,05% de Pectinex Ultra SP-L foi necessária para resultar nas menores concentrações de pectina. A aplicação combinada de celulase e pectinase resultou em suco com menor viscosidade, cujo comportamento reológico foi próximo ao Newtoniano. No entanto, o modelo Lei da Potência seria o mais indicado para uso em modelagens matemáticas.