Single-dose oral quercetin improves redox status but does not affect heat shock response in mice

Exertional heat stroke: nutritional considerations

NEW FINDINGS

What is the topic of this review? The potential role of nutrition in exertional heat stroke. What advances does it highlight? Certain nutritional and dietary strategies used by athletes and workers may exert a protective effect the pathophysiological processes of exertional heat stroke, whereas others may be detrimental. While current evidence suggests that some of these practices may be leveraged as a potential countermeasure to exertional heat stroke, further research on injury-related outcomes in humans is required.

ABSTRACT

Exertional heat stroke (EHS) is a life-threatening illness and an enduring problem among athletes, military servicemen and -women, and occupational labourers who regularly perform strenuous activity, often under hot and humid conditions or when wearing personal protective equipment. Risk factors for EHS and mitigation strategies have generally focused on the environment, health status, clothing, heat acclimatization and aerobic conditioning, but the potential role of nutrition is largely underexplored. Various nutritional and dietary strategies have shown beneficial effects on exercise performance and health and are widely used by athletes and other physically active populations. There is also evidence that some of these practices may dampen the pathophysiological features of EHS, suggesting possible protection or abatement of injury severity. Promising candidates include carbohydrate ingestion, appropriate fluid intake and glutamine supplementation. Conversely, some nutritional factors and low energy availability may facilitate the development of EHS, and individuals should be cognizant of these. Therefore, the aims of this review are to present an overview of EHS along with its mechanisms and pathophysiology, discuss how selected nutritional considerations may influence EHS risk focusing on their impact on the key pathophysiological processes of EHS, and provide recommendations for future research. With climate change expected to increase EHS risk and incidence in the coming years, further investigation on how diet and nutrition may be optimized to protect against EHS would be highly beneficial.

Quercetin and derivatives: useful tools in inflammation and pain management

Inflammation represents a very frequent condition in humans; it is often underestimated, making the problem an increasingly alarming phenomenon. For these reasons, conventional therapies are losing their effectiveness, leaving room for innovative therapies. In this field, natural products showed their efficacy in various diseases; and flavonoids, in particular quercetin, is known for its broad range of activities. In this review, we have highlighted its efficacy in various models of inflammation, focusing also on the activity of its semisynthetic derivatives, and those naturally present in plant extracts. Finally, the analgesic property of quercetin, intrinsically linked to its anti-inflammatory action, has been also evaluated, to investigate about an innovative approach to this interesting natural compound, such as analgesic remedial.

Alleviating exercise-induced muscular stress using neat and processed bee pollen: oxidative markers, mitochondrial enzymes, and myostatin expression in rats

BACKGROUND

The current study was designed to investigate the influence of monofloral Indian mustard bee pollen (MIMBP) and processed monofloral Indian mustard bee pollen (PMIMBP) supplementation on chronic swimming exercise-induced oxidative stress implications in the gastrocnemius muscle of Wistar rats.

METHODS

MIMBP was processed with an edible lipid-surfactant mixture (Captex 355:Tween 80) to increase the extraction of polyphenols and flavonoid aglycones as analyzed by UV spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography-photo diode array. Wistar rats in different groups were fed with MIMBP or PMIMBP supplements at a dose of 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg individually, while being subjected to chronic swimming exercise for 4 weeks (5 d/wk). Various biochemical [superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), malonaldehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), and total protein content], mitochondrial (Complex I, II, III, and IV enzyme activity), and molecular (myostatin mRNA expression) parameters were monitored in the gastrocnemius muscle of each group.

RESULTS

Administration of both MIMBP (300 mg/kg) and PMIMBP (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 300 mg/kg) wielded an antioxidant effect by significantly improving SOD, GSH, MDA, NO, and total protein levels. Further MIMBP (300 mg/kg) and PMIMBP (200 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg) significantly improved impaired mitochondrial Complex I, II, III, and IV enzyme activity. Significant down-regulation of myostatin mRNA expression by MIMBP (300 mg/kg) and PMIMBP (200 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg) indicates a muscle protectant role in oxidative stress conditions.

CONCLUSION

The study establishes the antioxidant, mitochondrial upregulatory, and myostatin inhibitory effects of both MIMBP and PMIMBP in exercise-induced oxidative stress conditions, suggesting their usefulness in effective management of exercise-induced muscular stress. Further, processing of MIMBP with an edible lipid-surfactant mixture was found to improve the therapeutic efficiency of pollen.