Anti-Inflammatory and Neuroactive Properties of Selected Fruit Extracts

Vaccinium Species-Unexplored Sources of Active Constituents for Cosmeceuticals

The genus Vaccinium is represented by shrubs growing in a temperate climate that have been used for ages as traditional remedies in the treatment of digestive problems, in diabetes, renal stones or as antiseptics due to the presence of polyphenols (anthocyanins, flavonoids and tannins) in their fruits and leaves. Recent studies confirm their marked potential in the treatment of skin disorders and as skin care cosmetics. The aim of this review is to present the role of Vaccinium spp. as cosmetic products, highlight their potential and prove the biological properties exerted by the extracts from different species that can be useful for the preparation of innovative cosmetics. In the manuscript both skin care and therapeutic applications of the representatives of this gender will be discussed that include the antioxidant, skin lightening, UV-protective, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and chemopreventive properties to shed new light on these underestimated plants.

Recent advances in drug treatments for dry eye disease

INTRODUCTION

Dry eye disease (DED) is a common ocular condition with a significant impact on patients' quality of life. Conventional treatments include behavioral changes, tear substitutes, and anti-inflammatory agents; however, recent advances in the understanding of DED pathogenesis have opened the way to the development of novel treatment strategies able to target several pathways involved in the onset and persistence of DED.

AREAS COVERED

Literature search was conducted on PubMed and Scopus around the term 'dry eye disease' and others involving its pathophysiology and therapeutic strategy. The primary focus was on recent drugs approved by FDA or under investigation in phase 3 clinical trials. Google and ClinicalTrials.gov were used for obtaining information about the status of FDA approval and ongoing clinical trials.

EXPERT OPINION

Due to its multifaced pathogenesis, DED management is often challenging, and patients' needs are frequently unmet. Recently, several novel treatments have been either FDA-approved or studied in late-phase trials. These novel drugs target-specific biological components of the ocular surface and reduce inflammation and ocular pain. Additionally, new drug delivery systems allow for increased bioavailability, improve effective dosing, and minimize ocular side effects. These advances in drug therapies show real promise for better management of DED patients.

Fruit and vegetable intake and risk of frailty: A systematic review and dose response meta-analysis

PURPOSE

This systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies was conducted to summarize available findings on the association between fruits and vegetables (FVs) consumption and risk of frailty.

METHODS

Online databases including Medline, Scopus, and Embase were searched to detect related publications up to February 2021. Study selection and data extraction were performed by two investigators working in parallel. In most included studies, frailty was defined according to the Fried criteria. Overall, 14 articles with 18,616 subjects with frailty and 101,969 controls were included. To combined data, a random effect model was used. Dose-response associations were also evaluated.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies (10 cohorts and four cross-sectional) were included. Pooled effect size for the highest versus lowest category of FVs consumption showed an inverse association with risk of frailty (RR _cohort = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.50-0.84; I² = 81%, n = 7). Every one serving (200 g) per day increment in FVs intake was associated with a 14% lower risk of frailty. The risk of frailty decreased linearly up to FVs consumption of 3.5 servings/d, with flattening the curve at higher intake. Pooled analysis regarding fruits and vegetables separately did not indicate a significant association with the risk of frailty. Indeed, the results of the meta-analysis correspond only to the cohort studies. Based on the NutriGrade score, the quality of evidence for a protective effect of FV on frailty was "moderate".

CONCLUSIONS

FVs consumption was associated with a decreased risk of frailty. Further large-scale prospective cohort studies are needed to reach more confident conclusions.

Assessment of the phytochemical profile and antioxidant activities of eight kiwi berry (Actinidia arguta (Siebold & Zuccarini) Miquel) varieties in China

The kiwi berry (Actinidia arguta) is a new product on the market that expanding worldwide acceptance and consumption. This widespread interest has created an increasing demand to identify the nutritional and health benefits of kiwi berry. Many studies are being actively conducted to investigate the composition and health-promoting effects of kiwi berry. In this study, the phytochemical content of free and bound fractions of eight kiwi berry varieties were systematically investigated in order to better understand the potential of this superfood crop. Nine phenolic monomers were identified and quantified by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-PAD. Antioxidant activity was further determined via peroxyl radical scavenging capacity and cellular antioxidant activity assays. The free extracts had higher phytochemical contents and antioxidant activities than the corresponding bound extracts among the eight kiwi berry varieties. Bivariate Pearson's and multivariate correlation analyses showed that antioxidant activities were most related to the total phenolic, flavonoid, vitamin C, and phenolic acids contents. The results provide a theoretical basis for the selection of kiwi berry varieties and the utilization of functional foods.

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Incident Prefrailty and Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older People: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Background: There is limited evidence in the literature regarding associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and risk of frailty. Objective: To examine associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and risk of incident frailty and incident prefrailty/frailty. Design: A prospective panel study. Setting and Subjects: 2634 non-frail community-dwelling men and women aged 60 years or older from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Methods: Fruit and vegetable consumption/day was measured using a self-completion questionnaire at baseline. Frailty status was measured at baseline and follow-up was based on modified frailty phenotype criteria. Four-year incident frailty was examined among 2634 robust or prefrail participants, and incident prefrailty/frailty was measured among 1577 robust participants. Results: Multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for age, gender, and other confounders showed that fruit and vegetable consumption was not associated with incident frailty risks among robust or prefrail participants. However, robust participants consuming 5–7.5 portions of 80 g per day (odds ratio (OR) = 0.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.37–0.85, p < 0.01) and 7.5–10 portions per day (OR = 0.46, 95%CI = 0.27–0.77, p < 0.01) had significantly lower risk of incident prefrailty/frailty compared with those consuming 0–2.5 portions/day, whereas those consuming 10 or more portions/day did not (OR = 1.10, 95%CI = 0.54–2.26, p = 0.79). Analysis repeated with fruit and vegetable separately showed overall similar results. Conclusions: Robust older adults without frailty who eat current U.K. government recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption (5–10 portions/day) had significantly reduced risks of incident prefrailty/frailty compared with those who only eat small amount (0–2.5 portions/day). Older people can be advised that eating sufficient amounts of fruit and vegetable may be beneficial for frailty prevention.

Inhibitory effects of cranberry polyphenol and volatile extracts on nitric oxide production in LPS activated RAW 264.7 macrophages

Cranberry volatiles have received little attention for health-promoting properties.

Influence of anti-inflammatory diet and smoking on mortality and survival in men and women: two prospective cohort studies

BACKGROUND

The associations between an anti-inflammatory diet and both all-cause and cause-specific mortality have been studied previously; however, the influence of an anti-inflammatory diet on survival time has not been investigated. Moreover, the potential modification of these associations by smoking status remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

The aims of this study were to examine the associations between an anti-inflammatory diet index (AIDI) and all-cause and cause-specific mortality, to determine the association between the AIDI and differences in survival time and to assess effect modification by smoking status.

METHODS

The study population included 68 273 Swedish men and women (aged 45-83 years) at baseline. The anti-inflammatory potential of the diet was estimated using the validated AIDI, which includes 11 potential anti-inflammatory and five potential pro-inflammatory foods. Cox proportional hazards and Laplace regression were used to estimate hazard ratios and differences in survival time.

RESULTS

During 16 years of follow-up (1 057 959 person-years), 16 088 deaths [5980 due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and 5252 due to cancer] were recorded. Participants in the highest versus lowest quartile of the AIDI had lower risks of all-cause (18% reduction, 95% CI: 14-22%), CVD (20%, 95% CI: 14-26%) and cancer (13%, 95% CI: 5-20%) mortality. The strongest inverse associations between the highest and lowest quartiles of AIDI and risk of mortality were observed in current smokers: 31%, 36% and 22% lower risks of all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality, respectively. The difference in survival time between current smokers in the lowest AIDI quartile and never smokers in the highest quartile was 4.6 years.

CONCLUSION

Adherence to a diet with high anti-inflammatory potential may reduce all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality and prolong survival time especially amongst smokers.

Role of fruits, nuts, and vegetables in maintaining cognitive health

Population aging is leading to an increase in the incidence of age-related cognitive dysfunction and, with it, the health care burden of caring for older adults. Epidemiological studies have shown that consumption of fruits, nuts, and vegetables is positively associated with cognitive ability; however, these foods, which contain a variety of neuroprotective phytochemicals, are widely under-consumed. Surprisingly few studies have investigated the effects of individual plant foods on cognitive health but recent clinical trials have shown that dietary supplementation with individual foods, or switching to a diet rich in several of these foods, can improve cognitive ability. While additional research is needed, increasing fruit, nut, and vegetable intake may be an effective strategy to prevent or delay the onset of cognitive dysfunction during aging.

AGHmatrix: R Package to Construct Relationship Matrices for Autotetraploid and Diploid Species: A Blueberry Example

Progress in the rate of improvement in autopolyploid species has been limited compared with diploids, mainly because software and methods to apply advanced prediction and selection methodologies in autopolyploids are lacking. The objectives of this research were to (i) develop an R package for autopolyploids to construct the relationship matrix derived from pedigree information that accounts for autopolyploidy and double reduction and (ii) use the package to estimate the level and effect of double reduction in an autotetraploid blueberry breeding population with extensive pedigree information. The package is unique, as it can create A-matrices for different levels of ploidy and double reduction, which can then be used by breeders to fit mixed models in the context of predicting breeding values (BVs). Using the data from this blueberry population, we found for all the traits that tetrasomic inheritance creates a better fit than disomic inheritance. In one of the five traits studied, the level of double reduction was different from zero, decreasing the estimated heritability, but it did not affect the prediction of BVs. We also discovered that different depths of pedigree would have significant implications on the estimation of double reduction using this approach. This freely available R package is available for autopolyploid breeders to estimate the level of double reduction present in their populations and the impact in the estimation of genetic parameters as well as to use advanced methods of prediction and selection.

Blueberry Component Pterostilbene Protects Corneal Epithelial Cells from Inflammation via Anti-oxidative Pathway

Blueberries have been recognized to possess protective properties from inflammation and various diseases, but not for eye and ocular disorders. This study explores potential benefits of pterostilbene (PS), a natural component of blueberries, in preventing ocular surface inflammation using an in vitro culture model of human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) exposed to hyperosmotic medium at 450 mOsM. Gene expression was detected by RT-qPCR, and protein production or activity was determined by ELISA, zymography, Western blotting and immunofluorescent staining. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was measured using DCFDA kit. The addition of PS significantly reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators, TNF-α, IL-1 β, IL-6, MMP-2 and MMP-9 in HCECs exposed to hyperosmotic medium. Pre-treatment with PS (5 to 20 μM) suppressed ROS overproduction in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, PS significantly decreased the levels of oxidative damage biomarkers, malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), aconitase-2 and 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG). Importantly, PS was found to rebalance homeostasis between oxygenases and anti-oxidative enzymes by decreasing cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) expression and restoring the activity of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and peroxiredoxin-4 (PRDX4) during hyperosmotic stress. Our findings demonstrate that PS protects human cornea from hyperosmolarity-induced inflammation and oxidative stress, suggesting protective effects of PS on dry eye.

Biochemical Characterization of Dovyalis hebecarpa Fruits: A Source of Anthocyanins with High Antioxidant Capacity

Dovyalis hebecarpa, which is also known as the Ceylon gooseberry, is an attractive exotic purple berry that is produced in the southwest of Brazil with high yields. Current literature lacks information about the nutritional composition and antioxidant capacity of this fruit. As such, this work aimed to evaluate and compare the proximate composition, phytochemical content, and antioxidant capacity of D. hebecarpa over two seasons through the application of a range of different methods, including FRAP, ABTS, and ORAC assays. The proximate composition and biometric parameters were monitored for quality purposes. The results significantly changed between seasons in accordance with variations in rain incidence and average temperatures. The Ceylon gooseberry contained a similar or higher content of anthocyanins (ACY) than other berries commonly consumed in human diet. These ACY were identified at higher levels in the fruit's skin (284 to 351 mg of cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents/100 g of fresh weight [FW]) than in its pulp (49 to 69 mg/100 g of FW). The use of an ORAC assay identified higher antioxidant activity (145 μmol of Trolox equivalents [TE]/g in the skins and 179 μmol of TE/g in the pulp on a FW basis) than all other methods used to determine antioxidant activity. Thus, D. hebecarpa is a rich source of ACY that demonstrates high antioxidant activity against the peroxyl radicals formed in ORAC assay conditions.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Ceylon gooseberry fruit is a source of phytochemicals that could be used in the human diet providing defense against free radicals damage. Moreover, the skins of the fruit, which are not typically consumed, contained higher levels of polyphenols than the pulp. This indicates that the skins of the Ceylon gooseberry may represent a promising source of natural pigments and antioxidants for industrial applications.

Natural products as photoprotection

The rise in solar ultraviolet radiation on the earth's surface has led to a depletion of stratospheric ozone over recent decades, thus accelerating the need to protect human skin against the harmful effects of UV radiation such as erythema, edema, hyperpigmentation, photoaging, and skin cancer. There are many different ways to protect skin against UV radiation's harmful effects. The most popular way to reduce the amount of UV radiation penetrating the skin is topical application of sunscreen products that contain UV absorbing or reflecting active molecules. Based on their protection mechanism, the active molecules in sunscreens are broadly divided into inorganic and organic agents. Inorganic sunscreens reflect and scatter UV and visible radiation, while organic sunscreens absorb UV radiation and then re-emit energy as heat or light. These synthetic molecules have limited concentration according to regulation concern. Several natural compounds with UV absorption property have been used to substitute for or to reduce the quantity of synthetic sunscreen agents. In addition to UV absorption property, most natural compounds were found to act as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory agents, which provide further protection against the damaging effects of UV radiation exposure. Compounds derived from natural sources have gained considerable attention for use in sunscreen products and have bolstered the market trend toward natural cosmetics. This adds to the importance of there being a wide selection of active molecules in sunscreen formulations. This paper summarizes a number of natural products derived from propolis, plants, algae, and lichens that have shown potential photoprotection properties against UV radiation exposure-induced skin damage.

Peptides in pepsin-pancreatin hydrolysates from commercially available soy products that inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in macrophages

The potential of pepsin-pancreatin hydrolysates, from different foods, to inhibit inflammation using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages as an in vitro model was evaluated. Eight different products were digested sequentially with pepsin and pancreatin and were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory properties. Hydrolysates from strawberry-banana soymilk (SBH), mixed berry soymilk (MXH) and vanilla soymilk (SVMH) inhibited the production of nitric oxide (27.9%, 16.4% and 28.6%, respectively), interleukin-1β (26.3%, 39.5% and 21.6%, respectively) and tumour necrosis factor-α (50.2%, 47.5% and 33.3%, respectively). In addition, SBH, MXH and SVMH inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory enzymes: inducible nitric oxide synthase (66.7%, 65.1% and 88.0%, respectively) and cyclooxygenase-2 (62.0%, 69.9% and 40.6%, respectively). Bioactive peptides (RQRK and VIK) were generated. In conclusion, soymilk products can potentially be used to maintain health under inflammatory stress.

The antioxidant level of Alaska's wild berries: high, higher and highest

BACKGROUND

In the last few years, antioxidants have become the stars of the nutritional world. Antioxidants are important in terms of their ability to protect against oxidative cell damage that can lead to conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer and heart disease--conditions also linked with chronic inflammation. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Alaska's wild berries may have the potential to help prevent these diseases.

OBJECTIVE

To discover the antioxidant levels of Alaska wild berries and the ways these antioxidant levels translate when preservation methods are applied to the berry.

DESIGN

This research centred on both the raw berries and products made from the berries. In the first year, a variety of wild berries were tested to discover their oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) in the raw berries. The second level of the research project processed 4 different berries--blueberries, lingonberries, salmonberries, highbush cranberries--into 8 or 9 products made from these berries. The products were tested for both ORAC as well as specific antioxidants.

RESULTS

The Alaska wild berries collected and tested in the first experiment ranged from 3 to 5 times higher in ORAC value than cultivated berries from the lower 48 states. For instance, cultivated blueberries have an ORAC scale of 30. Alaska wild dwarf blueberries measure 85. This is also higher than lower 48 wild blueberries, which had a score of 61. All of the Alaskan berries tested have a level of antioxidant considered nutritionally valuable, ranging from 19 for watermelon berries to 206 for lingonberries on the ORAC scale. With the processed products made from 4 Alaska wild berries, one of the unexpected outcomes of the research was that the berries continued to have levels of antioxidants considered high, despite the effects of commonly used heat-processing techniques. When berries were dehydrated, per gram ORAC values increased.

CONCLUSION

Alaska wild berries have extraordinarily high antioxidant levels. Though cooking lowered the antioxidant level, and adding ingredients such as sugar diluted the antioxidant concentration, products made from berries are high sources of antioxidants.