Beneficial effects of cherry consumption as a dietary intervention for metabolic, hepatic and vascular complications in type 2 diabetic rats

From Orchard to Wellness: Unveiling the Health Effects of Sweet Cherry Nutrients

This review paper explores the multifaceted relationship between sweet cherry nutrients and human health, aiming to uncover the comprehensive impact of these bioactive compounds from orchard to wellness. Furthermore, it highlights how advanced crop techniques can be pivotal in optimizing these beneficial compounds. Synthesizing existing literature, the paper examines the diverse bioactive nutrients in sweet cherries, including antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals, and elucidating their mechanisms of action and potential health benefits. From antioxidant properties to anti-inflammatory effects, the paper elucidates how these nutrients may mitigate chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, and neurodegenerative conditions. Additionally, it explores their role in promoting gastrointestinal health, enhancing exercise recovery, and modulating sleep patterns. The review discusses emerging research on the potential anti-cancer properties of sweet cherry compounds, highlighting their promising role in cancer prevention and treatment. Furthermore, it delves into the impact of sweet cherry consumption on metabolic health, weight management, and skin health. By providing a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of sweet cherry nutrients and their health effects, this paper offers valuable insights for researchers, healthcare professionals, and consumers interested in utilizing nature's bounty for holistic wellness.

Dietary Antioxidants and Natural Compounds in Preventing Thrombosis and Cardiovascular Disease

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to endothelial dysfunction, platelet activation, and coagulation abnormalities, promoting thrombus formation. Given the growing interest in non-pharmacological approaches to modulate oxidative stress, we examine the potential of various dietary interventions and antioxidant supplementation in reducing oxidative damage and preventing thrombotic events. Key dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and ketogenic diets, as well as antioxidant-rich supplements like curcumin, selenium, and polyphenols, demonstrate promising effects in improving oxidative stress markers, lipid profiles, and inflammatory responses. This review highlights recent advances in the field, drawing from in vitro, ex vivo, and clinical studies, and underscores the importance of integrating dietary strategies into preventive and therapeutic approaches for managing thrombosis and cardiovascular health. Further research is needed to better understand long-term effects and personalize these interventions for optimizing patient outcomes.

Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2 Related Factor 2 and Mitochondria Form a Mutually Regulating Circuit in the Prevention and Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome

Significance: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has become a major global public health problem and there is an urgent need to elucidate its pathogenesis and find more effective targets and modalities for intervention. Recent Advances: Oxidative stress and inflammation are two of the major causes of MetS-related symptoms such as insulin resistance and obesity. Nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) is one of the important systems responding to oxidative stress and inflammation. As cells undergo stress, cysteines within Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) are oxidized or electrophilically modified, allowing Nrf2 to escape ubiquitination and be translocated from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, facilitating the initiation of the antioxidant transcriptional program. Meanwhile, a growing body of evidence points out a specific modulation of mitochondrial homeostasis by Nrf2. After nuclear translocation, Nrf2 activates downstream genes involved in various aspects of mitochondrial homeostasis, including mitochondrial biogenesis and dynamics, mitophagy, aerobic respiration, and energy metabolism. In turn, mitochondria reciprocally activate Nrf2 by releasing reactive oxygen species and regulating antioxidant enzymes. Critical Issues: In this review, we first summarize the interactions between Nrf2 and mitochondria in the modulation of oxidative stress and inflammation to ameliorate MetS, then propose that Nrf2 and mitochondria form a mutually regulating circuit critical to maintaining homeostasis during MetS. Future Directions: Targeting the Nrf2-mitochondrial circuit may be a promising strategy to ameliorate MetS, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

Investigating the mechanism of cornel iridoid glycosides on type 2 diabetes mellitus using serum and urine metabolites in rats

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Cornel iridoid glycosides (CIG) are extracted from Corni fructus, a herbal medicine used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat diabetes. However, the antidiabetic effects of CIG and the underlying metabolic mechanisms require further exploration.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study aimed to assess the antidiabetic effects and metabolic mechanism of CIG by performing metabolomic analyses of serum and urine samples of rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was established by administering a low dose of streptozotocin (30 mg/kg) intraperitoneally after 4 weeks of feeding a high-fat diet. The model was evaluated based on several parameters, including fasting blood glucose (FBG), random blood glucose (RBG), urine volume, liver index, body weight, histopathological sections, and serum biochemical parameters. Subsequently, serum and urine metabolomics were analyzed using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion trap-Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap-MS). Data were analyzed using unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA) and supervised orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). Differential metabolites were examined by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathways to explore the underlying mechanisms.

RESULTS

After 4 weeks of treatment with different doses of CIG, varying degrees of antidiabetic effects were observed, along with reduced liver and pancreatic injury, and improved oxidative stress levels. Compared with the T2DM group, 19 and 23 differential metabolites were detected in the serum and urine of the CIG treatment group, respectively. The key metabolites involved in pathway regulation include taurine, chenodeoxycholic acid, glycocholic acid, and L-tyrosine in the serum and glycine, hippuric acid, phenylacetylglycine, citric acid, and D-glucuronic acid in the urine, which are related to lipid, amino acid, energy, and carbohydrate metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirmed the antidiabetic effects of CIG and revealed that CIG effectively controlled metabolic disorders in T2DM rats. This seems to be meaningful for the clinical application of CIG, and can benefit further studies on CIG mechanism.

Preventive and therapeutic effects of natural products and herbal extracts on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common condition that is prevalent in patients who consume little or no alcohol, and is characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver. The disease is becoming increasingly common with the rapid economic development of countries. Long-term accumulation of excess fat can lead to NAFLD, which represents a global health problem with no effective therapeutic approach. NAFLD is a complex, multifaceted pathological process that has been the subject of extensive research over the past few decades. Herbal medicines have gained attention as potential therapeutic agents to prevent and treat NAFLD due to their high efficacy and low risk of side effects. Our overview is based on a PubMed and Web of Science database search as of Dec 22 with the keywords: NAFLD/NASH Natural products and NAFLD/NASH Herbal extract. In this review, we evaluate the use of herbal medicines in the treatment of NAFLD. These natural resources have the potential to inform innovative drug research and the development of treatments for NAFLD in the future.

The Possibility of Using Fruit-Bearing Plants of Temperate Climate in the Treatment and Prevention of Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most dangerous metabolic diseases. The incidence of this disease continues to increase and is often associated with severe complications. Plants and natural plant products with a healing effect have been successfully used in the treatment of many disease entities since the beginning of the history of herbalism and medicine. At present, great emphasis is placed on the biodiversity of crops and the replacement of the monoculture production system of popular temperate climate plants, such as apple, pear, plum, and vine, with alternative fruit species. Very promising fruit plants are Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas); mulberry (Morus alba); bird cherry (Prunus padus); sour cherry (Prunus cerasus); plants of the genus Amelanchier, Sorbus, and Crategus; medlar (Mespilus germanica); quince (Cydonia oblonga); plants of the genus Vaccinium; and wild roses. When promoting the cultivation of alternative fruit-bearing plants, it is worth emphasizing their beneficial effects on health. This systematic review indicates that the antidiabetic effect of various parts of fruit plants is attributed to the presence of polyphenols, especially anthocyanins, which have different mechanisms of antidiabetic action and can be used in the treatment of diabetes and various complications associated with this disease.

Long-Term High-Fat High-Fructose Diet Induces Type 2 Diabetes in Rats through Oxidative Stress

Long-term consumption of a Western diet is a major cause of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the effects of diet on pancreatic structure and function remain unclear. Rats fed a high-fat, high-fructose (HFHF) diet were compared with rats fed a normal diet for 3 and 18 months. Plasma biochemical parameters and inflammatory factors were used to reflect metabolic profile and inflammatory status. The rats developed metabolic disorders, and the size of the islets in the pancreas increased after 3 months of HFHF treatment but decreased and became irregular after 18 months. Fasting insulin, C-peptide, proinsulin, and intact proinsulin levels were significantly higher in the HFHF group than those in the age-matched controls. Plasmatic oxidative parameters and nucleic acid oxidation markers (8-oxo-Gsn and 8-oxo-dGsn) became elevated before inflammatory factors, suggesting that the HFHF diet increased the degree of oxidative stress before affecting inflammation. Single-cell RNA sequencing also verified that the transcriptional level of oxidoreductase changed differently in islet subpopulations with aging and long-term HFHF diet. We demonstrated that long-term HFHF diet and aging-associated structural and transcriptomic changes that underlie pancreatic islet functional decay is a possible underlying mechanism of T2DM, and our study could provide new insights to prevent the development of diet-induced T2DM.

Diet-induced rodent models of obesity-related metabolic disorders-A guide to a translational perspective

Diet is a critical element determining human health and diseases, and unbalanced food habits are major risk factors for the development of obesity and related metabolic disorders. Despite technological and pharmacological advances, as well as intensification of awareness campaigns, the prevalence of metabolic disorders worldwide is still increasing. Thus, novel therapeutic approaches with increased efficacy are urgently required, which often depends on cellular and molecular investigations using robust animal models. In the absence of perfect rodent models, those induced by excessive consumption of fat and sugars better replicate the key aspects that are the root causes of human metabolic diseases. However, the results obtained using these models cannot be directly compared, particularly because of the use of different dietary protocols, and animal species and strains, among other confounding factors. This review article revisits diet-induced models of obesity and related metabolic disorders, namely, metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A critical analysis focused on the main pathophysiological features of rodent models, as opposed to the criteria defined for humans, is provided as a practical guide with a translational perspective for the establishment of animal models of obesity-related metabolic diseases.

Proteomic analysis of liver mitochondria of db/db mice treated with grape seed procyanidin B2

Hepatic damage has been recognized as one of the major complications in diabetes mellitus. Our previous studies have verified that grape seed procyanidin B2 (GSPB2) played a protective effect on hepatic damage of diabetes. We used isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation proteomics here to identify the alterant mitochondrial protein profile in diabetic liver and to seek the protective targets of GSPB2. Proteomics found that 171 proteins were upregulated or downregulated in the liver mitochondria of diabetic group compared to the control group. Of these proteins, 61 were normalized after GSPB2 treatment. These back-regulated proteins are involved in the process of fatty acid oxidation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Some differentially expressed proteins were confirmed by western blotting. Our study might help to better understand the mechanism of mitochondrial dysfunction in diabetic liver damage, and provide novel targets for estimating the protective effects of GSPB2. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Grape seed procyanidin B2 (GSPB2), a polyphenolic component found in red wine and grapes, has beneficial effects such as antioxidative stress, antiapoptosis, and cardiovascular protection. We used proteomics here to identify the differentially expressed mitochondrial proteins in diabetic liver after GSPB2 treatment and to seek the protective targets of GSPB2. We found that the differentially expressed proteins were involved in carbon metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid metabolism, citrate cycle, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. These proteins may play a key role in diabetic hepatic damage as functional proteins. Targeting these proteins including apply of GSPB2 could potentially lead to an effective treatment in the diabetic hepatic disease.

Effects of Prunus cerasus L. Seeds and Juice on Liver Steatosis in an Animal Model of Diet-Induced Obesity

The accumulation of adipose tissue increases the risk of several diseases. The fruits-intake, containing phytochemicals, is inversely correlated with their development. This study evaluated the effects of anthocyanin-rich tart cherries in diet-induced obese (DIO) rats. DIO rats were exposed to a high-fat diet with the supplementation of tart cherry seeds powder (DS) and seed powder plus juice (DJS). After 17 weeks, the DIO rats showed an increase of body weight, glycaemia, insulin, and systolic blood pressure. In the DS and DJS groups, there was a decrease of systolic blood pressure, glycaemia, triglycerides, and thiobarbituric reactive substances in the serum. In the DJS rats, computed tomography revealed a decrease in the spleen-to-liver attenuation ratio. Indeed, sections of the DIO rats presented hepatic injury characterized by steatosis, which was lower in the supplemented groups. In the liver of the DIO compared with rats fed with a standard diet (CHOW), a down-regulation of the GRP94 protein expression and a reduction of LC3- II/LC3-I ratio were found, indicating endoplasmic reticulum stress and impaired autophagy flux. Interestingly, tart cherry supplementation enhanced both unfolded protein response (UPR) and autophagy. This study suggests that tart cherry supplementation, although it did not reduce body weight in the DIO rats, prevented its related risk factors and liver steatosis.

High-Fructose Diet-Induced Metabolic Disorders Were Counteracted by the Intake of Fruit and Leaves of Sweet Cherry in Wistar Rats

Numerous studies have indicated that the use of plants rich in bioactive compounds may reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate how the addition of fruit and leaves to high-fructose diet affects lipid metabolism, including the expression of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis and oxidation in the liver and adipose tissue, as well as oxidative stress and inflammation in Wistar rats. The animals were fed with AIN-93G diet, high fructose (HFr) diet, HFr diet with addition of 5% or 10% freeze-dried fruits, and HFr diet with addition of 1% or 3% freeze-dried leaves. The experiment lasted 12 weeks. The results showed that the intake of fruit and leaves of sweet cherry caused the improvement of the liver function, as well as beneficially affected lipid metabolism, among others, by regulating the expression of genes associated with fatty acid synthesis and β-oxidation. Additionally, they exhibited antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In conclusion, the addition of fruit and leaves reduced the adverse changes arising from the consumption of high fructose diet. Therefore, not only commonly consumed fruits, but also leaves can be potentially used as functional foods. These findings may be helpful in prevention and treatment of the obesity-related metabolic diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases.

Sweet Cherry Extract Targets the Hallmarks of Cancer in Prostate Cells: Diminished Viability, Increased Apoptosis and Suppressed Glycolytic Metabolism

The present work evaluated the anticancer properties of sweet cherry (Prunus avium) extract on human prostate cells. Several sweet cherry cultivars from Fundão (Portugal) were methanol-extracted and their phytochemical composition characterized. The Saco "late harvest" extract was highly-enriched in anthocyanins and selected for use in biological assays. Non-neoplastic (PNT1A) and neoplastic (LNCaP and PC3) human prostate cells were treated with 0-2,000 μg/ml of extract for 48-96 h. Cell viability was evaluated by the MTT assay. Apoptosis, oxidative stress, and glycolytic metabolism were assessed by Western blotting and enzymatic assays. Glucose consumption and lactate production were measured spectrophotometrically. Saco cherry extract diminished the viability of neoplastic and non-neoplastic cells, whereas enhancing apoptosis in LNCaP. Cherry extract-treatment also diminished oxidative damage and suppressed glycolytic metabolism in LNCaP cells. These findings widened the knowledge on the mechanisms by which cherry extract modulate cell physiology, demonstrating their broad action over the hallmarks of cancer.