Effect of a Phytochemical-Rich Olive-Derived Extract on Anthropometric, Hematological, and Metabolic Parameters

BACKGROUND

Extra virgin olive oil is a fundamental component of the Mediterranean diet. It contains several molecules that sustain human well-being by modulating cellular metabolism and exerting antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-ageing effects to protect normal tissues, and it can exert anti-angiogenic and pro-apoptotic effects on cancer cells. Metabolites found in different parts of the olive tree, including leaves, also possess properties that might help in cancer prevention and promote wellness in aging. Olive mill wastewater (OMWW), a liquid residue produced during olive oil extraction, represents an environmental issue. However, it is rich in phytochemicals with potential beneficial properties. Dietary supplements based on OMWW can be produced for nutritional supplementation with advantages to the ecology.

PURPOSE

This work aims to measure hematochemical, anthropometric, and metabolomic parameters in volunteers taking an OMWW dietary supplement, Oliphenolia® (OMWW-OL).

METHODS

The supplementation of OMWW-OL 25 mL twice daily for 30 days was tested on a pilot cohort of volunteers with characteristics close to metabolic syndrome. Hematochemical, anthropometric, serum biomarkers and serum metabolomic parameters were analyzed before the intervention, at 30 days, and 30 days after stopping consumption.

RESULTS

A total of 29 volunteers were enrolled, and 23 completed the study. The participants' parameters at baseline were measured, and then twice daily at 30 days of treatment and 30 days after assumption discontinuation. Although treatment was with an olive derivative, their weight did not increase. Their body mass index, instead of augmenting, slightly decreased, particularly in the women. Also, hydration increased, especially in the women, while blood pressure, glycemia, and insulin decreased. Cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins, and triglycerides were stable, and LDL levels decreased, while vitamin D levels, alongside calcium, perceptibly increased. Albumin also increased. All the values were in support of an equilibrium, with no damaging effects. By mass spectrometry analysis, we also found favorable changes in the vitamin D/histamine and homocysteine/methionine ratios, an increase in a new metabolite of unknown formula, and the vitamin D/unknown metabolite ratio.

CONCLUSIONS

Supplementation of OMWW-OL has no detrimental effects and might imply the beneficial modulation of several biological parameters. Although this is a small pilot study, with limited potency, it preliminarily suggests that the OMWW extract use could be potentially valuable for people at risk of metabolic syndrome. Some of these parameters could also be relevant in supporting healthy ageing and in cancer prevention.

A case of personalized and precision medicine: Pharmacometabolomic applications to rare cancer, microbiological investigation, and therapy

RATIONALE

Advances in metabolomics, together with consolidated genetic approaches, have opened the way for investigating the health of patients using a large number of molecules simultaneously, thus providing firm scientific evidence for personalized medicine and consequent interventions. Metabolomics is an ideal approach for investigating specific biochemical alterations occurring in rare clinical situations, such as those caused by rare associations between comorbidities and immunosuppression.

METHODS

Metabolomic database matching enables clear identification of molecular factors associated with a metabolic disorder and can provide a rationale for elaborating personalized therapeutic protocols. Mass spectrometry (MS) forms the basis of metabolomics and uses mass-to-charge ratios for metabolite identification. Here, we used an MS-based approach to diagnose and develop treatment options in the clinical case of a patient afflicted with a rare disease further complicated by immunosuppression. The patient's data were analyzed using proprietary databases, and a personalized and efficient therapeutic protocol was consequently elaborated.

RESULTS

The patient exhibited significant alterations in homocysteine:methionine and homocysteine:thiodiglycol acid plasma concentration ratios, and these were associated with low immune system function. This led to cysteine concentration deficiency causing extreme oxidative stress. Plasmatic thioglycolic acid concentrations were initially altered and were used for therapeutic follow-up and to evaluate cysteine levels.

CONCLUSIONS

An MS-based pharmacometabolomics approach was used to define a personalized protocol in a clinical case of rare peritoneal carcinosis with confounding immunosuppression. This personalized protocol reduced both oxidative stress and resistance to antibiotics and antiviral drugs.

Metabolomics Community in Russia: History of Development, Key Participants, and Results

Metabolomics is the latest trend in the “-omics” sciences, of which technologies are widely used today in all life sciences. Metabolomics gave impetus to the description of biochemical processes that occur in many organisms, search for new biomarkers of disease, and laid the foundation for new clinical laboratory diagnostics. The purpose of this review is to show how metabolomics is represented in Russian science, what main research areas were chosen, and to demonstrate the successes and main achievements of Russian scientists in this field. The review is dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Russian metabolomics and also touches on the history of the formation of Russian metabolomics and prospects for the future.

[Ten years of the Russian metabolomics: history of development and achievements]

Metabolomics is one of the omics sciences, the technologies of which are widely used today in many life sciences. Its application influenced the discovery of new biomarkers of diseases, the description of biochemical processes occurring in many organisms, laid the basis for a new generation of clinical laboratory diagnostics. The purpose of this review is to show how metabolomics is represented in the studies of Russian scientists, to demonstrate the main directions and achievements of the Russian science in this field. The review also highlights the history of metabolomics, existing problems and the place of Russian metabolomics in their solution.

Parkinson's Disease: Available Clinical and Promising Omics Tests for Diagnostics, Disease Risk Assessment, and Pharmacotherapy Personalization

Parkinson's disease is the second most frequent neurodegenerative disease, representing a significant medical and socio-economic problem. Modern medicine still has no answer to the question of why Parkinson's disease develops and whether it is possible to develop an effective system of prevention. Therefore, active work is currently underway to find ways to assess the risks of the disease, as well as a means to extend the life of patients and improve its quality. Modern studies aim to create a method of assessing the risk of occurrence of Parkinson's disease (PD), to search for the specific ways of correction of biochemical disorders occurring in the prodromal stage of Parkinson's disease, and to personalize approaches to antiparkinsonian pharmacotherapy. In this review, we summarized all available clinically approved tests and techniques for PD diagnostics. Then, we reviewed major improvements and recent advancements in genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics studies and application of metabolomics in PD research, and discussed the major metabolomics findings for diagnostics and therapy of the disease.

Current pharmacotherapy for obesity

More than one-third of adults in the USA have obesity, which causes, exacerbates or adversely impacts numerous medical comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Despite intensive lifestyle modifications, the disease severity warrants further aggressive intervention, including pharmacotherapy, medical devices and bariatric surgery. Noninvasive anti-obesity drugs have thus now resurfaced as targeted adjunctive therapeutic approaches to intensive lifestyle intervention, bridging the gap between lifestyle and bariatric surgery. In this Review, we discuss FDA-approved anti-obesity drugs in terms of safety and efficacy. As most of these drugs have a mean percentage weight loss reported in clinical trials but individual variations in response rates, a future direction of obesity pharmacotherapy research might include the potential for personalized medicine to target early responders to these anti-obesity drugs.