Protective Effect of Proanthocyanidins from Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae Rhamnoides L.) Seed against Visible Light-Induced Retinal Degeneration in Vivo

Nonionizing Electromagnetic Irradiations; Biological Interactions, Human Safety

Human is usually exposed to environmental radiation from natural and man-made sources. Therefore, it is important to investigate the effects of exposure to environmental radiation, partly related to understanding and protecting against the risk of exposure to environmental radiation with beneficial and adverse impacts on human life. The rapid development of technologies causes a dramatic enhancement of radiation in the human environment. In this study, we address the biological effects caused by different fractions of non-ionizing electromagnetic irradiation to humans and describe possible approaches for minimizing adverse health effects initiated by radiation. The main focus was on biological mechanisms initiated by irradiation and represented protection, and safety approaches to prevent health disorders.

Combination of Lactobacillus fermentum NS9 and aronia anthocyanidin extract alleviates sodium iodate-induced retina degeneration

It is important to explore the effective approaches to prevent dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In this study, significantly decreased full-field electroretinograms wave amplitudes and disordered retina structures were detected in rat retinas of sodium iodate induced dry AMD model. Six a- and b-wave amplitudes and the antioxidant activities were significantly increased, and the outer nuclear layer thickness was significantly improved in the rat retinas treated with the combination of Lactobacillus fermentum NS9 (LF) and aronia anthocyanidin extract (AAE) compared with the model. The effects were much better than the treatment with AAE alone. The proteomics analysis showed the expressions of α-, β- and γ-crystallins were increased by 3-8 folds in AAE treated alone and by 6-11 folds in AAE + LF treatment compared with the model, which was further confirmed by immuno-blotting analysis. Analysis of gut microbial composition indicated that higher abundance of the genus Parasutterella and species P. excrementihominis was found in the AAE + LF treatment compared with the other groups. The results indicated that the combined treatment of AAE + LF is a potential way to prevent the retina degeneration which is significantly better than the AAE treated alone.

A Review on Berry Seeds—A Special Emphasis on Their Chemical Content and Health-Promoting Properties

Berries are important components of the human diet, valued for their high content of nutrients and active compounds. Berry seeds are also important objects of scientific investigation as, in some cases, they can have a higher concentration of certain phytochemicals than other parts of the fruit. Moreover, they are often byproducts of the food industry that can be reused to make oil, extracts, or flour. We have reviewed available literature related to the chemical content and biological activity of seeds from five different berry species—red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L. and Rubus coreanus Miq.), strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa), grape (Vitis vinifera L.), sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.), and cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.). We have searched various databases, including PubMed, Web of Knowledge, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. Last search was conducted on 16.01.2023. Various preparations from berry seeds are valuable sources of bioactive phytochemicals and could be used as functional foods or to make pharmaceuticals or cosmetics. Some products, like oil, flour, or extracts, are already available on the market. However, many preparations and compounds still lack appropriate evidence for their effectiveness in vivo, so their activity should first be assessed in animal studies and clinical trials.

Extract from Sea Buckthorn Seeds-A Phytochemical, Antioxidant, and Hemostasis Study; Effect of Thermal Processing on Its Chemical Content and Biological Activity In Vitro

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is a small tree, valued for its medicinal properties throughout the ages. Sea buckthorn berries and leaves are a known source of phytochemicals and have been used in the treatment of inflammation, oedema, hypertension, ulcers, and wounds in folk medicine. Sea buckthorn seeds are natural dietary sources of various bioactive compounds as well, but the number of studies on their content and biological properties is still insufficient. For the first time, we examined the phytochemical content and biological activity of sea buckthorn seeds in vitro. We have studied the effect of two extracts-from regular (no thermal processing) and roasted (thermally processed) sea buckthorn seeds-on the levels of oxidative stress induced by H₂O₂/Fe²⁺ in plasma, coagulation times, and white thrombus formation (measured by Total Thrombus-formation Analysis System-T-TAS). We observed that sea buckthorn seeds contain diverse flavonoids, mostly glycosides of isorhamnetin, kaempferol, and quercetin, as well as smaller amounts of proanthocyanidins and catechin, triterpenoid saponins, and a number of unidentified polar and hydrophobic compounds. Both extracts inhibited lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation, but only the extract from roasted seeds decreased oxidation of thiol groups in plasma treated with H₂O₂/Fe²⁺. They did not alter coagulation times, but the extract from roasted seeds at the highest concentration (50 µg/mL) prolonged the time needed for white thrombus formation. The results indicate that sea buckthorn seeds have antioxidant activity that is not impaired by thermal processing and possess anticoagulant potential, but more research is needed in order to ascertain which compounds are responsible for these effects, especially in in vivo models.

Enhanced peroxidase-like activity of 2(3), 9(10), 16(17), 23(24)-octamethoxyphthalocyanine modified CoFe LDH for a sensor array for reducing substances with catechol structure

Improving the catalytic activity of artificial nanozymes to realize the real-time detection of small molecules becomes an important task. Herein, a highly active nanozyme, 2(3), 9(10), 16(17), 23(24)-octamethoxyphthalocyanine (Pc(OH)₈) modified CoFe LDH microspheres (Pc(OH)₈-CoFe LDH) have been prepared by the two-step hydrothermal method. The 3,3',5,5'-tetramylbenzidine (TMB), a chromogenic substrate, was fast oxidized into blue oxTMB by H₂O₂ in the presence of Pc(OH)₈-CoFe LDH, indicating that Pc(OH)₈-CoFe LDH possesses high peroxidase-like activity rather than pure CoFe LDH. The enhancement peroxidase-like activity of the Pc(OH)₈-CoFe LDH is ascribed to the synergistic action between Pc(OH)₈ and CoFe LDH. Experimental results of radical scavenger and fluorescence probe verify that superoxide radical (•O₂^-) plays an important role during the catalytic reaction. Interestingly, the absorption intensity of reaction system has been enhanced largely, due to adding of the reducing substances containing catechol structure. Based on this, the three reducing substances (dopamine, procyanidin B2, catechins) containing catechol structure were distinguished from other reducing substances without catechol structure. Thus, a colorimetric array has been constructed using reaction time as the sensing element to realize the sensitive and selective recognition of catechol structures at a certain concentration.

Effects of Oats, Tartary Buckwheat, and Foxtail Millet Supplementation on Lipid Metabolism, Oxido-Inflammatory Responses, Gut Microbiota, and Colonic SCFA Composition in High-Fat Diet Fed Rats

Coarse cereals rich in polyphenols, dietary fiber, and other functional components exert multiple health benefits. We investigated the effects of cooked oats, tartary buckwheat, and foxtail millet on lipid profile, oxido-inflammatory responses, gut microbiota, and colonic short-chain fatty acids composition in high-fat diet (HFD) fed rats. Rats were fed with a basal diet, HFD, oats diet (22% oat in HFD), tartary buckwheat diet (22% tartary buckwheat in HFD), and foxtail millet diet (22% foxtail millet in HFD) for 12 weeks. Results demonstrated that oats and tartary buckwheat attenuated oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in serum, and significantly increased the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Romboutsia in colonic digesta. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed that the changed bacteria were strongly correlated with oxidative stress and inflammation-related parameters. The concentration of the butyrate level was elevated by 2.16-fold after oats supplementation. In addition, oats and tartary buckwheat significantly downregulated the expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors γ in liver tissue. In summary, our results suggested that oats and tartary buckwheat could modulate gut microbiota composition, improve lipid metabolism, and decrease oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in HFD fed rats. The present work could provide scientific evidence for developing coarse cereals-based functional food for preventing hyperlipidemia.

Genome sequence and population genomics provide insights into chromosomal evolution and phytochemical innovation of Hippophae rhamnoides

Plants of the Elaeagnaceae family are widely used to treat various health disorders owing to their natural phytochemicals. Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is an economically and ecologically important species within the family with richness of biologically and pharmacologically active substances. Here, we present a chromosome-level genome assembly of seabuckthorn (http://hipp.shengxin.ren/), the first genome sequence of Elaeagnaceae, which has a total length of 849.04 Mb with scaffold N50 of 69.52 Mb and 30 864 annotated genes. Two sequential tetraploidizations with one occurring ~36-41 million years ago (Mya) and the last ~24-27 Mya were inferred, resulting in expansion of genes related to ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, lipid biosynthesis, and fatty acid elongation. Comparative genomic analysis reconstructed the evolutionary trajectories of the seabuckthorn genome with the predicted ancestral genome of 14 proto-chromosomes. Comparative transcriptomic and metabonomic analyses identified some key genes contributing to high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids and ascorbic acid (AsA). Additionally, we generated and analysed 55 whole-genome sequences of diverse accessions, and identified 9.80 million genetic variants in the seabuckthorn germplasms. Intriguingly, genes in selective sweep regions identified through population genomic analysis appeared to contribute to the richness of AsA and fatty acid in seabuckthorn fruits, among which GalLDH, GMPase and ACC, TER were the potentially major-effect causative genes controlling AsA and fatty acid content of the fruit, respectively. Our research offers novel insights into the molecular basis underlying phytochemical innovation of seabuckthorn, and provides valuable resources for exploring the evolution of the Elaeagnaceae family and molecular breeding.

A Fatty Acid Fraction Purified From Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil Has Regenerative Properties on Normal Skin Cells

In recent years, natural product's research gained momentum, fueled by technological advancement and open availability of research data. To date, sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L. [Elaeagnaceae]) plant parts, especially berries, are well characterized and repeatedly tested for antioxidant activity and regenerative properties, in various cell types and tissues. However, fatty acids (FA) have been less investigated in term of biological effects, although, they are important bioactive components of the sea buckthorn fruit and oil. The aim of our work was to determine whether sea buckthorn seed oil is a suitable source of FA with regenerative properties on normal skin cells. Using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (LC-MS), we purified and characterized four fractions enriched in saturated (palmitic) and non-saturated (linoleic, alfa-linolenic, oleic) FA, which were tested for cytotoxicity, cytokine and growth factor production, and regenerative effect on normal keratinocytes and skin fibroblasts. Evidence is presented that the palmitic acid enriched fraction was a suitable sea buckthorn seed oil derived product with cell proliferation properties on both skin cell types.

Procyanidin B2 and rutin in Ginkgo biloba extracts protect human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells from oxidative stress by modulating Nrf2 and Erk1/2 signalling

Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of human retinal diseases. Ginkgo biloba products are widely consumed herbal supplements that contain ingredients with anti-oxidant potentials. However, the active agents in ginkgo biloba extracts (GBE) are unclear. This study assessed the anti-oxidant effects of 19 natural compounds isolated from GBE to provide a rational basis for their use in preventing retinal diseases. The compounds were tested in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells subjected to tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced oxidative stress. Cell viability and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were assessed and flow cytometry was used to delineate the cell death profile. The expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) was activated in RPE cells by t-BHP accompanied with an activation of Erk1/2 signaling. GBE-derived rutin and procyanidin B2 ameliorated t-BHP-induced cell death and promoted cell viability by suppressing intracellular ROS generation. These agents also enhanced Nrf2 expression with activating Erk1/2 signaling in RPE cells. In contrast, the other compounds tested were minimally active and did not prevent the loss of cell viability elicited by t-BHP. The present findings suggest that rutin and procyanidin B2 may have potential therapeutic values in the prevention of retinal diseases induced by oxidative damage.

Health promoting properties and sensory characteristics of phytochemicals in berries and leaves of sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides)

Sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L., SB), as a multi-functional plant, is widely grown in Asia, Europe and Canada. The berries and leaves of SB contain a diverse array of health-supporting phytochemicals, which are also related to the sensory qualities of berry and berry products. This review summarizes the biologically active key-compounds of the berries and leaves of SB, their health-promoting effects, as well as the contributions to the sensory quality of the berries. The target compounds consist of sugars, sugar derivatives, organic acids, phenolic compounds and lipophilic compounds (mainly carotenoids and tocopherols), which play an important role in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions, as well as in metabolic health. In addition, these compounds contribute to the orosensory qualities of SB berries, which are closely related to consumer acceptance and preference of the products. Studies regarding the bioavailability of the compounds and the influence of the processing conditions are also part of this review. Finally, the role of the sensory properties is emphasized in the development of SB products to increase utilization of the berry as a common meal component and to obtain value-added products to support human health.

Sea Buckthorn and Rosehip Oils with Chokeberry Extract to Prevent Hypercholesterolemia in Mice Caused by a High-Fat Diet In Vivo

Dietary supplementation based on sea buckthorn and rosehip oils with added chokeberry extract was studied. We added the dietary supplement to the feed mixtures for laboratory animals. The possible toxicological effects and hypocholesterolemic, hepatoprotective activity of the dietary supplement in vivo were studied. After the observation period (6 weeks), no significant changes were found in the mass of organs and blood serum of laboratory animals (p > 0.05). However, there was a decrease in hypercholesterolemic indicators. Regular consumption of sea buckthorn and rosehip oils with added chokeberry extract (dietary supplement “ESB-1”) by laboratory animals inhibited the activity of liver enzymes and increased the antioxidant activity of blood serum (after the subcutaneous injection of sunflower oil/oil solution of carbon tetrachloride) but was not sufficient to bring them to physiological standards. The hypocholesterolemic and antioxidant properties of our dietary supplement already allow us to consider it a component of functional food products or a dietary supplement base. However, the full range of its biologically active properties, including the hepatoprotective function and regulation of metabolic disorders, has not been studied yet, which sets the direction of further research in vivo models and clinical practice to confirm its effectiveness in humans.

Potential of sea buckthorn-based ingredients for the food and feed industry – a review

Abstract

Food industries seek to incorporate nutritious ingredients as they could bring added value to the final food products. One of the most interesting options is that sea buckthorn contains high concentrations of vitamin C, carotenoids, tocopherols, and other bioactive compounds, in addition to the unique lipid profile in the berry pulp, seed, and peel. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art of potential applications of sea buckthorn within the food and feed industry based on previously described applications. Products such as cheese, yoghurt or beverages already benefit from its application. Moreover, using sea buckthorn in feed products also derives into higher quality final products (e.g. meat quality, egg quality). Poultry, pig, and fish farming have been studied for that purpose. Despite all the accumulated articles depicted in the present review, the use of this fruit in food product formulation is nowadays scarce. New options for food product development with sea buckthorn are herein discussed.

Graphical abstract

The bioactive components as well as the nutritional and health effects of sea buckthorn

Sea buckthorn (SB), also named sea berry, Hippophae rhamnoides L. or Elaeagnus rhamnoides L., has been used in daily life for centuries with kinds of purposes ranging from a beverage with a pleasant taste and flavor, to an agent for treatment of many disorders and diseases. SB is well known more than just a fruit. So far, a unique mixture of bioactive components was elucidated in SB including flavonoids, phenolic acids, proanthocyanidins, carotenoids, fatty acids, triterpenoids, vitamins and phytosterols, which implied the great medicinal worth of this seaberry. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments, ranged from cell lines to animals as well as a few in patients and healthy volunteers, indicated that SB possessed various biological activities including anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, antioxidant properties, anti-cancer activities, hepato-protection, cardiovascular-protection, neuroprotection, radioprotection, skin protection effect as well as the protective effect against some eye and gastrointestinal sickness. Furthermore, the toxicological results revealed neither the fruits, nor the seeds of SB were toxic. The present review summarizes the unique profile of the chemical compounds, the nutritional and health effects as well as the toxicological properties of SB, which lay the foundation for practical applications of SB in treatment of human diseases.

Sea buckthorn (SB), also named sea berry, has been used in daily life for centuries with kinds of purposes ranging from a beverage with a pleasant taste and flavor, to an agent for treatment of many disorders and diseases.

Xanthohumol Protects Morphology and Function in a Mouse Model of Retinal Degeneration

Purpose

To investigate whether treatment with xanthohumol (XN), the principal prenylated chalconoid from Humulus lupulus (hops), is protective in a mouse model of light-induced retinal degeneration (LIRD).

Methods

Mice (129S2/SvPasCrl) were intraperitoneally injected with vehicle or XN prior to toxic light exposure and every 3 days thereafter. Retinal function was assessed by electroretinograms at 1, 2, and 4 weeks following toxic light exposure. Visual acuity was tested by optokinetic tracking 1 week and 4 weeks after toxic light exposure. Retina sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for morphologic analysis or by TUNEL. Redox potentials were assessed in retinal tissue by measuring levels of cysteine (CYS), cystine (CYSS), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) using HPLC with fluorescence detection.

Results

Toxic light significantly suppressed retinal function and visual acuity, severely disrupted the photoreceptor cell layer, and significantly decreased the number of nuclei and increased the accumulation of TUNEL-labeled cells in the outer nuclear layer. These effects were prevented by XN treatment. Treatment with XN also maintained GSSG and CYSS redox potentials and the total CYS pool in retinas of mice undergoing toxic light exposure.

Conclusions

XN treatment partially preserved visual acuity and retinal function in the LIRD mouse. Preservation of retinal CYS and of GSSG and CYSS redox potentials may indicate that XN treatment induces an increased antioxidant response, but further experiments are needed to verify this potential mechanism. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report protective effects of XN in a model of retinal degeneration.

Protective Effect of Highly Polymeric A-Type Proanthocyanidins from Seed Shells of Japanese Horse Chestnut (Aesculus turbinata BLUME) against Light-Induced Oxidative Damage in Rat Retina

Retinal tissue is exposed to oxidative stress caused by visible light. Light-damaged rat used in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) studies clarified that antioxidants decrease retinal light damage. Albino rats were exposed to 5000 Lux light for 12 h with oral administration of the polyphenolic compounds fraction (PF) from the seed shells of Japanese horse chestnut (30 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg, and 300 mg/kg body weight: BW). To evaluate the protective effects against light damage, electroretinograms (ERGs), the outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness, the antioxidant activity of plasma, oxidized retinal lipids, and the detection of apoptosis were examined. To reveal their active compounds, PF were separated into an A-type proanthocyanidin (PAF) and a flavonol O-glycosides fraction. The protective effects of these fractions against light damage were compared by measuring the thickness of the ERGs and ONL. Compared with the negative control, the PF group (100 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg BW) significantly suppressed the decrease of the ERG amplitudes and ONL thickness. PF (300 mg/kg BW) induced the elevation of in vivo antioxidant activity, and the suppression of retinal lipid oxidation. PF administration also suppressed apoptotic cell death. The protective effects against light damage were attributable to the antioxidant activity of PAF. The light-induced damage of retinas was protected by oral administration of PF and PAF. Taken together, these compounds are potentially useful for the prevention of the disease caused by light exposure. Highlights: The protective effects of retinal damage by light exposure were evaluated using polyphenolic compounds from the seed shells of Japanese horse chestnut (Aesculus turbinata BLUME) as an antioxidant. Decreases in the electroretinographic amplitude and outer nuclear layer thickness were suppressed by the polyphenolic compounds of the seed shells. Polyphenolic compounds from the seed shells of Japanese horse chestnut inhibited the oxidation of retinal lipids. Highly polymeric A-type proanthocyanidin from the seed shells protected the rat retina from light exposure damage by inhibiting oxidative stress and apoptotic mechanisms.

Hippophae rhamnoides as novel phytogenic feed additive for broiler chickens at high altitude cold desert

Extremes of climate and hypobaric hypoxia cause poor growth performance in broiler chickens at high altitude. The present study examined the potential of Hippophae rhamnoides extract as phytogenic feed additive for broilers reared at 3500 m above mean sea level (MSL). Higher content of phytomolecules were recorded during characterization of the extract. Immunomodulatory activity of extract was observed in chicken lymphocytes through in-vitro studies. Thereafter, for in vivo study, 105 day old Rhode Island Red (RIR) Cross-bred chicks were randomly distributed in to control and treatments T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, and T6 which were supplemented with H. rhamnoides aqueous extract along with basal diet, at level of 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, and 800 mg/kg body weight of chicken, respectively. Among the experimental groups, birds in the T3 group represent the highest body weight. Furthermore, treatment group birds had shown better physio-biochemical indices as compared to control group birds. Interestingly, lower mortality rate due to ascites and coccidiosis was recorded in treatment groups and therefore, higher net return was observed. Hence, present investigation demonstrated the beneficial effect of H. rhamnoides extract (@200 mg/kg) at high altitude and therefore, may be used in formulation of feed additive for poultry ration.

The beneficial health aspects of sea buckthorn (Elaeagnus rhamnoides (L.) A.Nelson) oil

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL CONTEXT

Plant oils are known to have biological activity. This review paper summarizes the current knowledge of the composition of sea buckthorn (Elaeagnus rhamnoides (L.) A.Nelson) seed and pulp oil and its beneficial health aspects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In vitro and in vivo studies on humans and animals have found sea buckthorn oil to have a variety of beneficial properties to human health, and indicate that it may be a valuable component of human and animal nutrition. Various bioactive substances are present in all parts of sea buckthorn, and these are used traditionally as raw material for health foods and as nutritional supplements. The oil, berries, leaves and bark have medicinal properties, and the fruits have a unique taste; these parts can be processed to make oil, juice, jam, jellies and candies, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

RESULTS

Sea buckthorn oil may be extracted from the seed or the pulp. The mature seeds contain 8-20% oil and the dried fruit pulp about 20-25%, while the fruit residue contains about 15-20% oil after juice extraction. These oils have high concentrations of lipophilic constituents, most commonly unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), phytosterols and vitamins A and E. These components have a multifunctional effect on human health, with the fatty acids playing an important function in modifying cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disorders. The oil also has anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-depressive properties.

CONCLUSION

Sea buckthorn is a unique plant. Its beneficial properties against cardiovascular disorders have been attributed to its high UFA content and range of phytosterols, especially beta-sitosterol. However, its different action on the human organism remain unclear, and further well-controlled, high-quality experiments with human subjects are required to determine the prophylactic and therapeutic doses of sea buckthorn oil for use in clinical studies. Additional studies are also needed to understand the action by which the oil exerts its beneficial properties, i.e. its cardioprotective and anti-cancer activity.

Metabolic discrimination of sea buckthorn from different Hippophaë species by 1H NMR based metabolomics

Sea buckthorn (Hippophaë; Elaeagnaceae) berries are widely consumed in traditional folk medicines, nutraceuticals, and as a source of food. The growing demand of sea buckthorn berries and morphological similarity of Hippophaë species leads to confusions, which might cause misidentification of plants used in natural products. Detailed information and comparison of the complete set of metabolites of different Hippophaë species are critical for their objective identification and quality control. Herein, the variation among seven species and seven subspecies of Hippophaë was studied using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) metabolomics combined with multivariate data analysis, and the important metabolites were quantified by quantitative ¹H NMR (qNMR) method. The results showed that different Hippophaë species can be clearly discriminated and the important interspecific discriminators, including organic acids, L-quebrachitol, and carbohydrates were identified. Statistical differences were found among most of the Hippophaë species and subspecies at the content levels of the aforementioned interspecific discriminators via qNMR and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. These findings demonstrated that ¹H NMR-based metabolomics is an applicable and effective approach for simultaneous metabolic profiling, species differentiation and quality assessment.