In Vivo and In Vitro Genotoxic and Epigenetic Effects of Two Types of Cola Beverages and Caffeine: A Multiassay Approach

Genotoxic effects of caffeine in female mice exposed during pregnancy and lactation period and their offspring

Caffeine is a widely consumed substance, and there is a discussion about its effects when ingested by women during pregnancy and lactation. We aimed to identify the genotoxic effects of caffeine in female mice that consumed it during pregnancy and lactation periods and its consequences in their offspring. Thirty-six couples of Swiss mice received water or caffeine (0.3 and 1.0 mg/mL) treatment during pregnancy and lactation. The male and female offspring were divided into 12 groups according to the treatment administered to the female mice. Genotoxicity was assessed using the comet assay and the micronucleus test. Both doses of caffeine showed genotoxic effects in pregnant and lactating mice groups compared to groups not administered caffeine. In relation to offspring, it can be observed that females and males of the offspring had low weight in early life. In both female and male offspring, genotoxicity was detected in the blood, liver, and kidney tissues. Thus, from the present study, we can suggest that the caffeine consumed by female mice during the periods of pregnancy and lactation led to genotoxic effects in their offspring.

Toxicological and Nutraceutical Screening Assays of Some Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are food additives worldwide used instead of fructose or glucose in many diet beverages. Furthermore, diet beverages intake has been increasing every year. Thus, some food agencies should regulate it based on toxicological studies. Debates and controversial results are demonstrated, and authority can revise its decision on the basis of new data reporting toxicological effects since cyclamate has been forbidden in some countries. Therefore, the aim of this study was to report new data about the toxicity of acesulfame-k, aspartame, and cyclamate, which are useful for authority agencies, determining the toxic potential and nutraceutical capabilities of these compounds. The toxicity, antitoxicity, genotoxicity, antigenotoxicity, and life expectancy assays were carried out in Drosophila as an in vivo model. In addition, in vitro HL-60 line cell was used to evaluate the chemopreventive activity determining the cytotoxic effect and the capability of producing DNA damage due to internucleosomal fragmentation or DNA strand breaks. Furthermore, the methylated status of these cancer cells treated with the tested compounds was assayed as a cancer therapy. Our results demonstrated that all tested compounds were neither toxic nor genotoxic, whereas these compounds resulted in antigenotoxic and cytotoxic substances, except for cyclamate. Aspartame showed antitoxic effects in Drosophila. All tested compounds decreased the quality of life of this in vivo organism model. Acesulfame-k, aspartame, and cyclamate induced DNA damage in the HL-60 cell line in the comet assay, and acesulfame-k generally increased the methylation status. In conclusion, all tested artificial sweeteners were safe compounds at assayed concentrations since toxicity and genotoxicity were not significantly induced in flies. Moreover, Aspartame and Cyclamate showed protective activity against a genotoxin in Drosophila Regarding nutraceutical potential, acesulfame-k and aspartame could be demonstrated to be chemopreventive due to the cytotoxicity activity shown by these compounds. According to DNA fragmentation and comet assays, a necrotic way could be the main mechanism of death cells induced by acesulfame-k and aspartame. Finally, Acesulfame-K hypermethylated repetitive elements, which are hypomethylated in cancer cells resulting in a benefit to humans.

Safety and Protective Activities of Manufactured Alcohol-Free Beers

Nowadays, a general interest in improving health in order to achieve better conditions of life is increasing. Diet is a complex factor affecting health conditions. We analysed the biological activities of three types of alcohol-free lager beer (a blond, a pale-blond and a stout beer) as well as epicatechin gallate (ECG) as one of their most abundant phenols with the aim of revealing them as nutraceuticals. For that purpose, we carried out safety and protective assays of the tested substances in the well-known Drosophila melanogaster animal model. Moreover, chemoprevention studies on human leukaemia cells (HL-60) in an in vitro model were carried out to evaluate the viability and genomic damage potential of the studied compounds on the tumour cell line. Results suggest the safety properties of all compounds, although pale-blond and stout beer only showed genotoxic activity at the lowest concentrations assayed. Moreover, alcohol-free beers and phenols were able to protect against H2O2 oxidative damage as well as to induce an increase in longevity with an improvement of the quality of life in the in vivo animal model assayed. Promising results were obtained with the alcohol-free beers and ECG in the in vitro assays with human leukaemia cells as they inhibited the tumour cells’ growth, induced DNA damage and modified the methylation status of such a cancer cell line. To sum up, alcohol-free beers should be of interest not only because of their reduced calories and isotonic properties but because they can be recognised as nutraceutical substances.

Role of Glucosinolates in the Nutraceutical Potential of Selected Cultivars of Brassica rapa

Brassica rapa L. subsp. rapa (turnip greens), a traditionally consumed vegetable, is well-known due to its high content of glucosinolates, which are secondary metabolites with a positive biological activity for human health. Our hypothesis has been based on the relation between B. rapa glucosinolate content and its healthy properties, and our aim is to establish guidelines for safe B. rapa vegetable consumption. Three B. rapa cultivars (143N5, 143N7 and 163N7) have been characterized by HPLC analysis of purified extracts from leaf samples in order to determine their glucosinolate content and to relate this content to beneficial effects on DNA protection, lifespan extension and chemoprevention. In order to ascertain the heath properties in vitro and in vivo, toxicity activities were assayed in the Drosophila melanogaster and leukaemia cell models; genomic safety was also assessed in both models using genotoxicity, fragmentation and comet assay. The Drosophila model has also been used to study the antioxidative activity and the longevity induction. Our results showed a relationship between B. rapa glucosinolate content and its safety and benefices in its consumption. Gluconapin, the main B. rapa glucosinolate, was directly related with these wholesome effects. The relevant conclusion in the present research is focused on B. rapa cultivar 163N7 due to its high gluconapin content and low progoitrin content, which exert anti-cancer and DNA protection properties and could be recommended as being safe and healthy for human consumption.

Health-Promoting Properties of Borage Seed Oil Fractionated by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extraction

Borage (Borago officinalis L.) seed oil is an important source of γ–linolenic acid, which is normally used as a treatment against different pathologies. Since the fractionation of this interesting seed oil has many environmental, economic and biological benefits, two borage fractionation techniques after extraction with CO₂ under supercritical conditions have been studied: precipitation in two cyclone separators and countercurrent extraction column. Both techniques have successfully collected free fatty acids in one fraction: (i) two separators set up in series obtained the highest concentration of free fatty acids in separator 2 at 90 bar/40 °C; (ii) when countercurrent extraction column was used, the acidity index of the raffinate stream was independent from the operating conditions (2.6 ± 0.5%). Furthermore, the composition of the fatty acids, as well as their antioxidant and cytotoxic activities, were determined. The profile of the fatty acids obtained by either of these two methods remained unaltered, so that the crude oil exhibited improved antioxidant and cytotoxic properties. All the extracts obtained in the two cyclone separators at the same pressure/temperature conditions displayed high tumouricidal activity against HL 60 promyelocytic leukaemia cells, even if the extracts at 50% concentration from separator 2 presented a lower inhibitory activity (IC₅₀). The extracts from separator 2 at 90 bar/40 °C exhibited the highest anti-proliferative activity at low doses (IC₅₀ of 0.3 μL/mL for the trypan blue exclusion test). To reach the lethal dose—IC₅₀—with the product obtained through countercurrent column fractionation, a concentration of 2 μL/mL of crude borage oil raffinate was required.

High sugar content and body mass index: modelling pathways around the first 1000 d of life, BRISA cohort

OBJECTIVE

Few studies are focused on sugar consumption around the first 1000 d of life. Thus, this work modelled the pathways linking the consumption of sugary drinks in pregnancy and maternal pre-gestational BMI to early child’s exposure to products with high sugar content and to BMI z-score in the second year of life.

DESIGN

BRISA cohort, São Luís, Brazil was used from the baseline to the follow-up at the second year of life.

SETTING

A theoretical model was constructed to analyse associations between variables from prenatal period (socio-economic status, age, frequency of sugary drinks consumption during pregnancy and pre-gestational BMI), birth weight, exclusive breast-feeding and two outcomes: higher calories from products with added sugar as a percentage of the total daily energy intake and BMI z-score at follow-up at the first 2 years of life, using structural equation modelling.

PARTICIPANTS

Data of pregnant women (n 1136) and their offspring.

RESULTS

Higher pre-gestational BMI (standardised coefficient (SC) = 0·100; P = 0·008) and higher frequency of sugary drinks consumption during pregnancy (SC = 0·134; P < 0·001) resulted in high percentage of daily calories from products with added sugar in the second year of child, although no yet effect was observed on offspring weight at that time.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal obesity and sugary drinks consumption in pregnancy increased the risk of early exposure (before to 2 years) and high exposure of child to added sugar, showing perpetuation of the unhealthy dietary behaviours in the first 1000 d of life.

In Vivo and In Vitro Assays Evaluating the Biological Activity of Taurine, Glucose and Energetic Beverages

Taurine is one of the main ingredients used in energy drinks which are highly consumed in adolescents for their sugary taste and stimulating effect. With energy drinks becoming a worldwide phenomenon, the biological effects of these beverages must be evaluated in order to fully comprehend the potential impact of these products on the health due to the fact nutrition is closely related to science since the population consumes food to prevent certain diseases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the biological effects of taurine, glucose, classic Red Bull® and sugar-free Red Bull® in order to check the food safety and the nutraceutical potential of these compounds, characterising different endpoints: (i) Toxicology, antitoxicology, genotoxicology and life expectancy assays were performed in the Drosophila melanogaster model organism; (ii) The in vitro chemopreventive activity of testing compounds was determined by assessing their cytotoxicity, the proapoptotic DNA-damage capability to induce internucleosomal fragmentation, the strand breaks activity and the modulator role on the methylation status of genomic repetitive sequences of HL-60 promyelocytic cells. Whereas none tested compounds showed toxic or genotoxic effect, all tested compounds exerted antitoxic and antigenotoxic activity in Drosophila. Glucose, classic Red Bull® and sugar-free Red Bull® were cytotoxic in HL-60 cell line. Classic Red Bull® induced DNA internucleosomal fragmentation although none of them exhibited DNA damage on human leukaemia cells. In conclusion, the tested compounds are safe on Drosophila melanogaster and classic Red Bull® could overall possess nutraceutical potential in the in vivo and in vitro model used in this study. Besides, taurine could holistically be one of the bioactive compounds responsible for the biological activity of classic Red Bull®.

Impact of Hurricane Maria on Drinking Water Quality in Puerto Rico

This study performed a comprehensive assessment of the impact of Hurricane Maria (HM) on drinking water quality in Puerto Rico (PR) by integrating targeted chemical analysis of both inorganic (18 trace elements) and organic trace pollutants (200 micropollutants) with high-throughput quantitative toxicogenomics and in vitro biomarkers-based toxicity assays. Average concentrations of 14 detected trace elements and 20 organic micropollutants showed elevation after HM. Arsenic, sucralose, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), atrazine-2-hydroxy, benzotriazole, acesulfame, and prometon were at significantly (p < 0.05) higher levels in the post-HM than in the pre-HM samples. Thirteen micropollutants, including four pesticides, were only detected in posthurricane samples. Spatial comparison showed higher pollutant and toxicity levels in the samples from northern PR (where eight Superfund sites are located) than in those from southern PR. Distinctive pathway-specific molecular toxicity fingerprints for water extracts before and after HM and at different locations revealed changes in toxicity nature that likely resulted from the impact of HM on drinking water composition. Correlation analysis and Maximum Cumulative Ratio assessment suggested that metals (i.e., arsenic) and PFOA were the top ranked pollutants that have the potential to cause increased risk after HM, providing a possible direction for future water resource management and epidemiological studies.

Food Safety and Nutraceutical Potential of Caramel Colour Class IV Using In Vivo and In Vitro Assays

Nutraceutical activity of food is analysed to promote the healthy characteristics of diet where additives are highly used. Caramel is one of the most worldwide consumed additives and it is produced by heating natural carbohydrates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the food safety and the possible nutraceutical potential of caramel colour class IV (CAR). For this purpose, in vivo toxicity/antitoxicity, genotoxicity/antigenotoxicity and longevity assays were performed using the Drosophila melanogaster model. In addition, cytotoxicity, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, single cell gel electrophoresis and methylation status assays were conducted in the in vitro HL-60 human leukaemia cell line. Our results reported that CAR was neither toxic nor genotoxic and showed antigenotoxic effects in Drosophila. Furthermore, CAR induced cytotoxicity and hipomethylated sat-α repetitive element using HL-60 cell line. In conclusion, the food safety of CAR was demonstrated, since Lethal Dose 50 (LD₅₀) was not reached in toxicity assay and any of the tested concentrations induced mutation rates higher than that of the concurrent control in D. melanogaster. On the other hand, CAR protected DNA from oxidative stress provided by hydrogen peroxide in Drosophila. Moreover, CAR showed chemopreventive activity and modified the methylation status of HL-60 cell line. Nevertheless, much more information about the mechanisms of gene therapies related to epigenetic modulation by food is necessary.

Toxicological Studies of Czech Beers and Their Constituents

BACKGROUND

Czech beers are unique because they are brewed using specific technology at a particular latitude and for being entirely produced in the area of the Czech Republic. The purpose of this work is the evaluation of toxicological effects of a variety of freeze-dried Czech beers, their raw materials (malts, hops and yeast) and processed-beer (wort, hopped wort and young beer).

METHODS

In vivo assays to evaluate the safety and protective effects in the Drosophila melanogaster eukaryotic system, and the in vitro evaluations of chemopreventive and DNA damage activity using the HL-60 tumour human cell line were carried out.

RESULTS

The safe effects for all the analysed substances and general protective effects against H2O2 were shown both at the individual and genomic level in the Drosophila animal model, with some exceptions. Moreover, all the substances were able to inhibit the tumour cell growth and to induce DNA damage in the HL-60 cells at different levels (proapoptotic, single/double strands breaks and methylation status).

CONCLUSIONS

The promising effects shown by freeze-dried Czech beers due to their safety, protection against a toxin, chemopreventive potential and the induction of DNA damage in tumour cells, allow the proposition of Czech beer as a beverage with nutraceutic potential.

Nutraceutic Potential of Two Allium Species and Their Distinctive Organosulfur Compounds: A Multi-Assay Evaluation

This study aimed to evaluate the biological activities of two Allium species (garlic and onion) as well as diallyl disulphide (DADS) and dipropyl disulphide (DPDS) as their representative bioactive compounds in a multi-assay experimental design. The genotoxic, antigenotoxic, and lifespan effects of garlic, onion, DADS, and DPDS were checked in Drosophila melanogaster and their cytotoxic, pro-apoptotic, and DNA-clastogenic activities were analyzed using HL60 tumoral cells. All compounds were non-genotoxic and antigenotoxic against H₂O₂-induced DNA damage with a positive dose-response effect and different inhibition percentages (the highest value: 95% for DADS) at all tested concentrations. Daily intake of Allium vegetables, DADS, or DPDS had no positive effects on flies' lifespan and health span. Garlic and DADS exerted the highest cytotoxic effects in a positive dose-dependent manner. Garlic and DADS exerted a DNA-internucleosomal fragmentation as an index of induced proapoptotic activity on HL60 cells. Allium vegetables and DADS were able to induce clastogenic strand breaks in the DNA of HL60 cells. This study showed the genomic safety of the assayed substances and their protective genetic effects against the hydrogen peroxide genotoxine. Long-term treatments during the whole life of the Drosophila genetic model were beneficial only at low-median concentrations. The chemo-preventive activity of garlic could be associated with its distinctive organosulfur DADS. We suggest that supplementary studies are needed to clarify the cell death pathway against garlic and DADS.

Anti/genotoxic, longevity inductive, cytotoxic, and clastogenic-related bioactivities of tomato and lycopene

The aim of this study was to evaluate some biological activities of tomato as well as lycopene and to consider a new nutraceutic value for this fruit regarding to the protection against genetic damage and as a chemopreventive agent. Genotoxicity, DNA-protection against hydrogen peroxide, and lifespan properties of tomato and lycopene were assessed through wing spot test and longevity assay using the Drosophila in vivo model. Additionally, chemopreventive activity was investigated through cytotoxicity, DNA-fragmentation comet and annexin V FITC/PI assays using HL60 in vitro model. Results showed that: (i) tomato and lycopene are not genotoxic and protect against H₂ O₂ -induced damage; (ii) with respect to the lifespan, tomato and lycopene are harmless at the lowest concentration; (iii) tomato is cytotoxic in a dose-dependent manner, but not lycopene; (iv) tomato and lycopene do not induce internucleosomal DNA-fragmentation although they induce significant clastogenic activity at low level in the leukemia cells. To sum up, tomato is a good candidate to be considered as a nutraceutical substance. Furthermore, synergistic action among other components within tomato matrix could be the cause of the health effects observed in this vegetable, which are not fully explained by lycopene. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 59:427-437, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mothers' intake of sugar-containing beverages during pregnancy and body composition of their children during childhood: the Generation R Study

Background: High intake of sugar-containing beverages (SCBs) has been linked to increased risk of obesity. However, associations of SCB intake during pregnancy with child body composition have been unclear.Objectives: We explored whether SCB intake during pregnancy was associated with children's body mass index (BMI) and detailed measures of body composition. In addition, we examined different types of SCBs (i.e., fruit juice, soda, and concentrate).Design: We included 3312 mother-child pairs of the Generation R Study, a prospective cohort from fetal life onward in the Netherlands. Energy-adjusted SCB intake was assessed in the first trimester with a food-frequency questionnaire. Anthropometric data of the children were collected repeatedly ≤6 y of age, and BMI was calculated. At 6 y of age, we further measured fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. All outcomes were sex- and age-standardized. Associations of SCB intake with children's BMI trajectories and body composition were analyzed with multivariable linear mixed and regression models.Results: Results from linear mixed models showed that, after adjustment for confounders including the SCB intake of the child itself, mothers' total SCB intake was positively associated with children's BMI ≤6 y of age [per serving per day: 0.04 SD score (SDS); 95% CI: 0.00, 0.07 SDS]. In addition, intakes of total SCBs and fruit juice, but not of soda or concentrate, were associated with a higher FMI [total SCBs: 0.05 SDS (95% CI: 0.01, 0.08 SDS); fruit juice: 0.04 SDS (95% CI: 0.01, 0.06 SDS)] of the 6-y-old children. These associations remained significant (P < 0.05) after additional adjustment for gestational weight gain, birth weight, and children's insulin concentrations.Conclusion: Our study suggests that maternal SCB intake during pregnancy is positively associated with children's BMI during early childhood and particularly with higher fat mass.