Effects of plant-based Korean food extracts on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated production of inflammatory mediators in vitro

Diet Quality Is Low and Differs by Sex in People with HIV

Background

People with HIV (PWH) are at risk for developing metabolic comorbidities driven, in part, by immune activation/inflammation. Little is known about diet quality, a potential modifiable factor in PWH.

Objectives

This study aimed to explore diet quality in terms of conformance with US dietary guidelines by calculating Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI) scores among adults with and without HIV in Boston, MA, and determine associations with HEI and markers of immune activation/inflammation.

Methods

One-hundred and three HIV-infected [50 women, 53 men; mean ± SD age: 47 ± 7 y; body mass index (BMI, in kg/m2): 26 ± 5] and 38 uninfected adults (17 women, 21 men; age: 46 ± 7 y; BMI: 28 ± 4) were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Participants who completed a 4-d food record from which HEI could be calculated were included. HEI was compared between participants with and without HIV, within HIV-infected participants stratified by sex, and by HIV serostatus and sex. In the HIV group, predictors of HEI were determined in multivariable modeling. Univariate associations with diet quality and inflammation/immune markers were assessed.

Results

The HEI score was 51.3 in the HIV-infected participants and 57.3 in the HIV-uninfected participants (P = 0.052). In the comparison by HIV serostatus and sex, HIV-infected women had significantly lower HEI (49.2) compared with HIV-infected men (55.7) (P = 0.005) and HIV-uninfected men (61.8) (P = 0.002). Adjusting for potential confounding factors, sex remained an independent predictor of HEI in HIV (P = 0.02). In the HIV group, higher log HEI was associated with lower concentration of the immune activation marker sCD14 (P = 0.009).

Conclusions

Diet quality tended to be lower in HIV-infected individuals compared with HIV-uninfected individuals and was lower among HIV-infected women compared with HIV-infected men, and HIV-uninfected men. There may also be an association with diet quality and sCD14 in PWH. Future prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings and determine whether improving diet quality is a useful strategy to reduce metabolic abnormalities in this population. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00455793.

Dietary patterns reflecting healthy food choices are associated with lower serum LPS activity

Gram-negative bacteria-derived lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are associated with various negative health effects. Whether diet is associated with LPS, is an understudied phenomenon. We investigated the association between diet and serum LPS activity in 668 individuals with type 1 diabetes in the FinnDiane Study. Serum LPS activity was determined using the Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate assay. Diet was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) section of a diet questionnaire and a food record. The food record was used to calculate energy, macronutrient, and fibre intake. In a multivariable model, energy, macronutrient, or fibre intake was not associated with the LPS activity. Using factor analysis, we identified seven dietary patterns from the FFQ data (“Sweet”, “Cheese”, “Fish”, “Healthy snack”, “Vegetable”, “Traditional”, and “Modern”). In a multivariable model, higher factor scores of the Fish, Healthy snack, and Modern patterns predicted lower LPS activity. The validity of the diet questionnaire was also investigated. The questionnaire showed reasonable relative validity against a 6-day food record. The two methods classified participants into the dietary patterns better than expected by chance. In conclusion, healthy dietary choices, such as consumption of fish, fresh vegetables, and fruits and berries may be associated with positive health outcomes by reducing systemic endotoxaemia.

Pro-inflammatory and toxicological evaluation of Hepacare® in mice

Objectives

Hepacare^® is a widely marketed herbal formulation in Nigeria for treating chronic liver ailments. This study evaluated the safety, as well as pro-inflammatory and genotoxicity effects, of Hepacare^® in mice.

Methods

The effect of the formulation was estimated in a 28-day study where 25 mice were divided into five groups, and Hepacare^® was orally administered at 250, 500, 750 and 2500 mg/kg body weight. The biochemical and haematological parameters were determined, organ weights were estimated and histopathology was also conducted. mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α and IL-6 was estimated by RT-PCR in acute toxicity experiments.

Results

The LD₅₀ was calculated at 3807.89 mg/kg body weight in mice. There was a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the ALP activity in the 750 mg/kg treated group, while the 2500 mg/kg group exhibited significant increases in their AST, ALT, ALP, total bilirubin and total protein levels compared with the control group. However, there was a significant dose related increase in monocytes counts in the groups treated with 750 and 2500 mg/kg. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA expression in the genotoxicity studies in all of the treatment groups compared with the control. However, several hepatic and nephro-pathological derangements were observed in the groups treated with higher doses of the formulation.

Conclusions

The study established that the herbal formulation may not induce significant pro-inflammatory toxic responses and genotoxic effects, but prolonged intake of higher doses may cause severe biochemical and clinical abnormalities.

Markers of systemic exposures to products of intestinal bacteria in a dietary intervention study

PURPOSE

Systemic exposures to intestinal bacteria may play a role in the etiology of the chronic, low-grade inflammation that is associated with western diets. Production of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) is one biomarker of increased exposures to intestinal bacteria. This study evaluated whether changes in diet quality could affect serum LBP.

METHODS

This was a randomized, controlled trial of Mediterranean and Healthy Eating diets over 6 months in 120 healthy subjects at increased risk of colon cancer. Blood samples obtained before and after intervention were analyzed for LBP, branched-chain fatty acids characteristic of intestinal bacteria, micronutrients and cytokines. Data were analyzed for changes in LBP over time and for predictors of LBP.

RESULTS

Serum concentrations of branched-chain bacterial fatty acids declined significantly in both diet groups. However, there was no significant change in mean serum LBP concentrations with either diet intervention. In serum, LBP was positively associated with CRP and negatively associated with carotenoids both before and after intervention. After intervention, LBP was predicted positively by both CRP and bacterial fatty acid concentrations in serum, and negatively by serum carotenoids and the ω3/ω6 fatty acid ratio. This model accounted for 30 % of the inter-individual variation in serum LBP after intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that dietary intervention over 6 months was insufficient to alter serum LBP. The relationships with inflammation-related markers, however, indicate that anti-inflammatory strategies other than changes in diet quality, such as weight loss or improved fitness, may have more potential for reducing systemic markers of LPS exposures in well-nourished populations.