Effect of quercetin on oxidative stress and liver function in beta-thalassemia major patients receiving desferrioxamine: A double-blind randomized clinical trial

Phytochemicals: Targeting Mitophagy to Treat Metabolic Disorders

Metabolic disorders include metabolic syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular diseases. Due to unhealthy lifestyles such as high-calorie diet, sedentary and physical inactivity, the prevalence of metabolic disorders poses a huge challenge to global human health, which is the leading cause of global human death. Mitochondrion is the major site of adenosine triphosphate synthesis, fatty acid β-oxidation and ROS production. Accumulating evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction-related oxidative stress and inflammation is involved in the development of metabolic disorders. Mitophagy, a catabolic process, selectively degrades damaged or superfluous mitochondria to reverse mitochondrial dysfunction and preserve mitochondrial function. It is considered to be one of the major mechanisms responsible for mitochondrial quality control. Growing evidence shows that mitophagy can prevent and treat metabolic disorders through suppressing mitochondrial dysfunction-induced oxidative stress and inflammation. In the past decade, in order to expand the range of pharmaceutical options, more and more phytochemicals have been proven to have therapeutic effects on metabolic disorders. Many of these phytochemicals have been proved to activate mitophagy to ameliorate metabolic disorders. Given the ongoing epidemic of metabolic disorders, it is of great significance to explore the contribution and underlying mechanisms of mitophagy in metabolic disorders, and to understand the effects and molecular mechanisms of phytochemicals on the treatment of metabolic disorders. Here, we investigate the mechanism of mitochondrial dysfunction in metabolic disorders and discuss the potential of targeting mitophagy with phytochemicals for the treatment of metabolic disorders, with a view to providing a direction for finding phytochemicals that target mitophagy to prevent or treat metabolic disorders.

The effects of iron overload, insulin resistance and oxidative stress on metabolic disorders in patients with β- thalassemia major

Background

Serum lipids and glycemic dysregulation are the known characteristics of β- thalassemia major (β-TM). Here, we evaluated the association of these disorders with insulin resistance (IR), oxidative stress and serum ferritin values in patients with β-TM.

Methods

This case-control study was performed in thalassemia unite of Darab Hospital (Darab, Fars province, Iran) from December 2016 to December 2017. Forty-eight patients with β-TM and 33 healthy individuals were enrolled. Serum fasting blood sugar (FBS), insulin, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), ischemia modified albumin (IMA), and ferritin were measured. The values of HOMA-IR, LDL: TG ratio, atherogenic index (AI), atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), and coronary risk index (CRI) were calculated.

Results

The level of serum ferritin, IMA, FBS, TG, AIP, LDL: TG ratio, and the prevalence of IR (HOMA-IR < 3.8) were significantly higher while TC, LDL-C, HDL-C, and AI were significantly lower in the patients compared to the control group. In patient with β-TM, serum ferritin revealed to have a positive association with serum insulin, HOMA-IR, AI, and CRI levels while serum IMA showed positive association with TG and AIP and inverse association with hypocholesterolemia. HOMA-IR had positive correlation with HDL levels.

Conclusions

Oxidative stress and iron overload are predictors of serum glycemic and lipid dysregulation, suggesting possible beneficial effect of antioxidants and efficient iron chelating therapy in reducing the risk of metabolic disorders in β- thalassemia.

Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus KLDS 1.0207 Exerts Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Effects in vitro and Improves Blood Biochemical Parameters in vivo Against Notable Foodborne Pathogens

Globally, foodborne diseases (FBDs) result in millions of sicknesses and deaths annually. Cumulative evidence suggests that the use of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains could be a viable alternative in inhibiting the activities of foodborne pathogens. This study aims to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and tolerance levels of Lactobacillus bulgaricus KLDS 1.0207 against two notable foodborne pathogens – Escherichia coli ATCC25922 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923. Afterward, a 48 BALB/c mice-trial was used to assess its ameliorative effects on weight and serum biochemical parameters. Results showed that the cell-free supernatant (CFS) of this strain significantly inhibited both pathogens, but these effects were abolished at pH 6.5 and 7.0 (P < 0.05). Also, 6.96 ± 0.02 log CFU mL^–1 of L. bulgaricus KLDS 1.0207 was still viable after three hours in simulated gastric juice and at pH 3.0, indicating that this strain was a potential probiotic candidate. Also, inflammatory activities in RAW264.7 cells were significantly inhibited using 10⁹ CFU mL^–1 of L. bulgaricus KLDS 1.0207 cells (P < 0.05). Significant weight losses were also prevented in the T_LBSA (from 19.42 ± 1.04 to 19.55 ± 0.55 g) and T_LBEC (from 22.86 ± 0.90 to 14.77 ± 9.86 g) groups compared to their respective model groups (T_SA – from 21.65 ± 1.80 to 20.14 ± 1.84, and T_EC – from 21.45 ± 0.82 to 14.45 ± 9.70 g). Besides, there was a slight weight gain in the S. aureus prevention group (T_LBSA) compared to the model group (T_SA). Serum biochemical analyses revealed that the total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and some mineral levels were markedly increased by S. aureus and E. coli administrations but were reversed to normalcy in both prevention groups (T_LBSA and T_LBEC). Interestingly, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, which were initially disrupted in the model groups, were restored in the prevention groups (T_LBSA and T_LBEC). This study presents L. bulgaricus KLDS 1.0207 as a promising probiotic candidate with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, acid, and bile tolerant and lipid-regulating applications. It also gives valuable insights for targeted future in vivo treatment and prevention studies involving other probiotic LAB candidates. Future in vivo studies elucidating specific mechanisms behind the in vitro antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and in vivo ameliorative effects are warranted.