A dietary vegetable, Moringa oleifera leaves (drumstick tree) induced fat cell apoptosis by inhibiting adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Nutritional value and therapeutic potential of Moringa oleifera: a short overview of current research

A member of the Moringaceae family, Moringa Oleifera Lam is a perennial deciduous tropical tree known as the 'Miracle Tree' for its medicinal and nutritional benefits. Food and nutrition are crucial aspects of the development and maintenance of healthy health. Moringa oleifera is a multi-purpose herbal bush that is used as both human food and a medical alternative all over the world. Various parts of the tree are used to treat chronic diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, inflammation, oxidative stress, diabetes, and cancer. Moringa is an excellent source of essential nutrients and has been found to have a significant impact on improving nutritional deficiencies in populations with limited access to food. Moringa oleifera contains essential amino acids, carotenoids, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, proteins, phytochemicals, vitamins, and fibre. Moringa offers nutritional and economic advantages, medicinal and therapeutic uses, and future biological potential for human well-being.

Chronic Consumption of Moringa Leaf Powder (Moringa oleifera) Concentration-Dependent Effects in a Drosophila melanogaster Type 2 Diabetes Model

OBJECTIVE

The metabolic effects of chronic consumption of food laced with different doses of moringa leaf powder (MLP) were assessed using a heteroallelic mutant of the sole insulin receptor gene of Drosophila melanogaster (InR), and the yellow,white (y,w) control stock.

METHODS

The MLP composition was partially determined. Both strains were raised in a standard diet (SD) or in a SD supplemented with different MLP doses (0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 4.0, and 5.5%) until 4-5 days of emergence. Afterward, the total carbohydrate, lipid, glucose, and triacylglyceride levels were measured in the flies. Additionally, survival and weight changes were reported. For metabolic tests, female and male virgin flies were evaluated separately.

RESULTS

Low MLP supplementation improved carbohydrate and glucose levels in the y,w strain. Additionally, the InR-mutant strain reported lower lipid content when subjected to the same regimes. Survival improved in both strains with low MLP doses, while chronic consumption of high MLP doses resulted in triacylglycerides increase, weight gain, and survival reduction.

CONCLUSION

Low doses of MLP supplementation improves some metabolic parameters that affect flies' survival, especially in the y,w strain. Furthermore, the same low doses of MLP treatments also resulted in metabolic improvements in the InR-mutant flies; however, MLP consumption levels should be carefully assessed.

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Astragalin, (3-O-glucoside of kaempferol), isolated from Moringa oleifera leaves modulates leptin, adiponectin secretion and inhibits adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Inhibition of adipogenesis is crucial and is a key area of research to develop antiobesity drugs. In this study, 3-O-glucoside of kaempferol (astragalin) was isolated from Moringa oleifera leaves and evaluated for its lipolytic and antiadipogenic activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Astragalin has substantially reduced the triglycerides content and lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and enhanced the glycerol release in a dose dependent manner. The assay for secreted adipocytokines confirmed that, astragalin at a concentration of 20 µg/mL significantly (p < .01) increased the secretion of adiponectin, but decreased leptin secretion in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In molecular studies, both the mRNA expression and corresponding protein expression of PPAR-γ, C/EBP-α, FAS, and leptin genes were downregulated while that of adiponectin was upregulated in astragalin treated groups. Taken together, astragalin of M. oleifera promotes lipolysis, suppresses adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, and may be considered as an effective candidate to treat obesity aliments.

Nanoemulsion and Encapsulation Strategy of Hydrophobic Oregano Essential Oil Increased Human Prostate Cancer Cell Death via Apoptosis by Attenuating Lipid Metabolism

Origanum vulgare essential oil (EO) is traditionally well-known for its aromatic properties and biomedical applications, including anticancer. This was the first report where oregano essential oil-based nano emulsion (OENE) was synthesized for studying its effects on prostate cancer cell lines (PC3). At first, we have synthesized OENE and characterized using various spectroscopic analyses. The toxicity and inhibitory concentration (IC50) of OENE toward prostate cancer by MTT analysis were performed. The lipid biogenesis mediated, molecular target pathway analyses were performed using fluorescence cellular staining techniques, real-time RT-PCR, or western blotting analysis. OENE showed IC50 at 13.82 µg/mL and significantly induced distinct morphological changes, including cell shrinkage, cell density, and cell shape reduction. In addition, OENE could also significantly decreased lipid droplet accumulation which was confirmed by studying mRNA transcripts of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) (0.31-fold), fatty acid synthase (FASN) (0.18-fold), and sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREPB1) (0.11-fold), respectively. Furthermore, there is a significant upregulation BAX (BCL2 associated X) and caspase 3 expressions. Nevertheless, OENE decreased the transcript level of BCL2 (B-cell lymphoma 2), thus resulting in apoptosis. Overall, our present work demonstrated that OENE could be a therapeutic target for the treatment of prostate cancer and warrants in vivo studies.

Recent Advances in Drumstick (Moringa oleifera) Leaves Bioactive Compounds: Composition, Health Benefits, Bioaccessibility, and Dietary Applications

Based on the availability of many nutrients, Moringa oleifera tree leaves have been widely employed as nutrients and nutraceuticals in recent years. The leaves contain a small amount of anti-nutritional factors and are abundant in innumerable bioactive compounds. Recently, in several in vivo and in vitro investigations, moringa leaves’ bioactive components and functionality are highlighted. Moringa leaves provide several health advantages, including anti-diabetic, antibacterial, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. The high content of phytochemicals, carotenoids, and glucosinolates is responsible for the majority of these activities as reported in the literature. Furthermore, there is growing interest in using moringa as a value-added ingredient in the development of functional foods. Despite substantial study into identifying and measuring these beneficial components from moringa leaves, bioaccessibility and bioavailability studies are lacking. This review emphasizes recent scientific evidence on the dietary and bioactive profiles of moringa leaves, bioavailability, health benefits, and applications in various food products. This study highlights new scientific data on the moringa leaves containing nutrient and bioactive profiles, bioavailability, health benefits, and uses in various food items. Moringa has been extensively used as a health-promoting food additive because of its potent protection against various diseases and the widespread presence of environmental toxins. More research is needed for utilization as well as to study medicinal effects and bioaccesibility of these leaves for development of various drugs and functional foods.

Potential functionality of β-conglycinin with subunit deficiencies: soy protein may regulate glucose and lipid metabolism

3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes were used to reveal the impact of subunit-deficient β-conglycinin on cell proliferation, cell adipogenesis, and proteomic expression, and to gain insight into the potential of subunit-deficient β-conglycinin's functional characteristics.

The Proliferation and Differentiation of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells in Neovascularization and Angiogenesis

Neovascularization and angiogenesis are vital processes in the repair of damaged tissue, creating new blood vessel networks and increasing oxygen and nutrient supply for regeneration. The importance of Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (ASCs) contained in the adipose tissue surrounding blood vessel networks to these processes remains unknown and the exact mechanisms responsible for directing adipogenic cell fate remain to be discovered. As adipose tissue contains a heterogenous population of partially differentiated cells of adipocyte lineage; tissue repair, angiogenesis and neovascularization may be closely linked to the function of ASCs in a complex relationship. This review aims to investigate the link between ASCs and angiogenesis/neovascularization, with references to current studies. The molecular mechanisms of these processes, as well as ASC differentiation and proliferation are described in detail. ASCs may differentiate into endothelial cells during neovascularization; however, recent clinical trials have suggested that ASCs may also stimulate angiogenesis and neovascularization indirectly through the release of paracrine factors.

Extracts of Moringa oleifera leaves from different cultivation regions show both antioxidant and antiobesity activities

Moringa oleifera is rich in nutrients, such as protein, vitamins, and phytochemicals, and has been used as a traditional remedy. In this study, extracts of M. oleifera leaves from South Korea and Cambodia were evaluated for their antioxidant and antiobesity activities and for food and natural medicine use. The extracts were made using water and ethanol with leaves from South Korea and Cambodia, and then, the ethanol extracts were further fractionated with ethyl acetate. The antioxidant and antiobesity activities of fractionated ethanol extracts were higher than those of water extracts. Although the expression of C/EBPα in 3T3-L1 cell differentiation did not have a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on the M. oleifera leaf extracts, the expression of PPARγ, FAS, and ACC was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner with the M. oleifera leaf extracts. This study shows that M. oleifera leaves from South Korea and Cambodia may be an effective candidate for antiobesity prevention. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Antioxidants and antiobesity factors are important for metabolic syndrome including obesity. Recently, natural antiobesity medication containing polyphenol ingredients has been developed to replace synthetic antiobesity medication, which has various side effects. This study evaluates the antioxidant and antiobesity activities of Moringa oleifera leaves from different cultivation regions. The leaves grow rapidly and leaf extracts contain a large amount of nutrients and phytochemicals, which enables commercial production of the leaves as natural antiobesity medications including functional foods and nutraceuticals.