Oral Ingestion of Phosphorylated Dextrin Stimulates Antibody Responses in Mice

Bacterial Ghosts of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a Promising Candidate Vaccine and Its Application in Diabetic Rats

Infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) pose a major clinical threat worldwide especially to immunocompromised patients. As a novel vaccine network for many kinds of bacteria, bacterial ghosts (BGs) have recently been introduced. In the present research, using Sponge-Like Reduced Protocol, P. aeruginosa ghosts (PAGs) were prepared to maintain surface antigens and immunogenicity. This is the first study, to our knowledge, on the production of chemically induced well-structured bacterial ghosts for PA using concentrations of different chemicals. The research was carried out using diabetic rats who were orally immunized at two-week intervals with three doses of PAGs. Rats were subsequently challenged either by the oral route or by the model of ulcer infection with PA. In challenged rats, in addition to other immunological parameters, organ bioburden and wound healing were determined, respectively. Examination of the scanning and transmission electron microscope (EM) proved that PAGs with a proper three-dimensional structure were obtained. In contrast to control groups, oral PAGs promoted the generation of agglutinating antibodies, the development of IFN-γ, and the increase in phagocytic activity in vaccinated groups. Antibodies of the elicited PAGs were reactive to PA proteins and lipopolysaccharides. The defense against the PA challenge was observed in PAGs-immunized diabetic rats. The resulting PAGs in orally vaccinated diabetic rats were able to evoke unique humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and to defend them from the threat of skin wound infection. These results have positive implications for future studies on the PA vaccine.

Effects of royal jelly supplementation on glycemic control and oxidative stress factors in type 2 diabetic female: a randomized clinical trial

OBJECTIVE

It has been proposed that royal jelly has antioxidant properties and may improve oxidative stress and glycemic control. Therefore, we investigated the effects of royal jelly supplementation in diabetic females.

METHODS

In this pilot, parallel design randomized clinical trial, 50 female volunteers with type 2 diabetes were randomly allocated to the supplemented (25, cases) and placebo (25, cases) groups, based on random block procedure produced by Random Allocation Software, given a daily dose of 1,000 mg royal jelly soft gel or placebo, respectively, for 8 weeks. Before and after intervention, glycemic control indices, antioxidant and oxidative stress factors were measured.

RESULTS

After royal jelly supplementation, the mean fasting blood glucose decreased remarkably (163.05±42.51 mg/dL vs. 149.68±42.7 mg/dL). Royal jelly supplementation resulted in significant reduction in the mean serum glycosylated hemoglobin levels (8.67%±2.24% vs. 7.05%±1.45%, P=0.001) and significant elevation in the mean insulin concentration (70.28±29.16 pmol/L vs. 86.46±27.50 pmol/L, P=0.01). Supplementation significantly increased erythrocyte superoxidase dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and decreased malondialdehyde levels (P<0.05). At the end of study, the mean total antioxidant capacity elevated insignificantly in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of our findings, it seems that royal jelly supplementation may be beneficial in controlling diabetes outcomes. Further studies with larger sample size are warranted.

Preparation of phosphorylated starch by dry-heating in the presence of pyrophosphate and its calcium-phosphate solubilizing ability

Starch was phosphorylated through dry-heating in the presence of pyrophosphate at various conditions, and the characteristics of phosphorylated starch (PS) were examined. Starch phosphorylation increases as the pH increases from 3 to 6, but diminishes at pH 7. Increased temperatures enhance phosphorylation. Data from (31)P NMR suggests that starch phosphorylation occurs mainly at the C3-OH and C6-OH of the glucose residue. The phosphate linkage is mainly due to monostarch monophosphate. Although starch had almost no calcium phosphate-solubilising capacity, this capacity was markedly enhanced by phosphorylation. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the crystal structure of hydroxyapatite was not present in the calcium phosphate-PS complex.