Holistic Health Articles and Research Related to Herbal Medicines, Foods and Phytochemicals

Sunday, 18 August 2019

Herbal Ashwagandha, the Potential Anti Colon Cancer Functional Remedy

By Kyle J. Norton

Cancer is a group of chronic diseases caused by irregular cell growth in the tissue of a specific organ due to the alternation of cell DNA.

Colon cancer is a chronic condition characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in the colon tissue.

Most cases of colon cancer start with the alternation of cells DNA in the cells on the surface of the inner lining colon tissue before proliferating into deeper tissues to form a tumor through abnormal cell cycle division.

The colon formed a part of the digestive system is involved in the absorption of water from the small bowel contents and broken down of certain materials in the feces into substances of which some of them to be reabsorbed and reused by the body.

Colon cancer is relatively very common, slowly growing and progressing cancer.

According to the statistics provided by the American Cancer Society, in 2019, colorectal cancer including colon and rectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States.

In 2019, 101,420 people in the US will be diagnosed with colon cancer.

Most common symptoms of colon cancer are a persistent change in your bowel habits, including diarrhea or constipation, blood in your stool, persistent abdominal discomforts, such feeling that your bowel doesn't empty completely accompanied by some general symptoms shared by other types of cancer.

The exact causes of colon cancer are unknown. However, out of many risk factors associated with the onset of the disease, aging may have a strong implication involved in cancer, as the most cases of the colon are found in the older population.

Dr. O Ng and colleagues in a joint study led by the University of Nottingham wrote, "The prevalence of colorectal cancer is increasing in the elderly. We examined the treatment and outcomes in our institution of patients aged over 85 years with proven colorectal adenocarcinoma".

Ashwagandha also is known as Withania somnifera is a nightshade plant in the genus of Withania, belonging to the family Solanaceae, native to the dry parts of India, North Africa, Middle East, and the Mediterranean. The herbal medicine has been considered as Indian ginseng and used in Ayurvedic medicine over 3000 years to treat tumors and tubercular glands, carbuncles, memory loss, and ulcers and considered as anti-stress, cognition-facilitating, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging herbal medicine.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of colon cancer with no side effect, researchers examined the effects of Withaferin-A, a withanolide derived from the leaf extract of W. somnifera, anti-colon tumor activity.

On human colorectal cancer (HCT116) cells, the phytochemical not only inhibited the proliferation but also the migration of the tested cancer cells in a concentration-dependent manner.

In other words, Withaferin-A exhibited cells cycle arrest and blocking cancer cell spreading.

Furthermore, administration of withaferin-A attenuated the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines activated by protein (STAT3) associated with the development and progression of colon cancer.

On HCT116 cells xenograft tumors and generated in Balb/c nude mice, withaferin-A showed a strong activity in which significant decrease in the volume and weight of tumors, compared to untreated controls.

Based on the finding, researchers said, "The present study suggests that withaferin-A holds the potential to be developed as a small molecule inhibitor of STAT3 for the treatment of HCT116".

Taken altogether, Ashwagandha may be considered a functional herb for the prevention and an adjunct therapy combined with the primary medicine for the treatment of colon cancer in vitro and vivo.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How-To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Withaferin-A Inhibits Colon Cancer Cell Growth by Blocking STAT3 Transcriptional Activity by Choi BY1, Kim BW. (PubMed)
(2) Immunomodulatory effects of Withania somnifera on azoxymethane-induced experimental colon cancer in mice by Muralikrishnan G1, Dinda AK, Shakeel F. (PubMed)
(3) Colorectal cancer outcomes in patients aged over 85 years by O Ng,1 E Watts,2 CA Bull,2 R Morris,3 A Acheson,2 and A Banerjea. (PMC)

Onion in the Prevention and Treatment of type 2 diabetes

By Kyle J. Norton

Diabetes is a chronic medical condition caused by insufficient insulin entering the bloodstream.

Type 2 diabetes (acquired diabetes), is a condition caused by either the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin, or the insulin does not work properly due to dysfunction of the insulin receptors.

In other words, type 2 diabetes is associated with the levels of insulin that were either blocked by the clog-up of the insulin receptors by fat and cholesterol or the death of beta cells which produce insulin in the pancreas.

Epidemiologically, most common symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, stomach pain, heartburn, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, and vomiting.

However, some patients may also experience symptoms of blurred vision, depression, sleeping difficulties, appetite problems, and emotional stress.

Most common causes of diabetes are

* Metabolic syndrome, the cluster of conditions associated with the risk diabetes, including high blood cholesterol, sugar, and blood pressure.

* Compared to type 2 diabetes, prediabetes is a condition of elevated blood sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

According to statistics, approximately 6 million or 13% of Canadians have prediabetes. Prediabetes if left unmanaged can develop into type 2 diabetes.

* Gestational diabetes, a condition of high blood glucose of pregnant women who are experiencing the symptoms only during pregnancy as a result of hormonal change

* Damage to the pancreas associated with reduced numbers or death of the beta cells.

* Influenza A viruses that commonly cause pancreatitis in naturally and experimentally infected animals.

The onion is a plant in the genus Allium, belonging to the family Alliaceae, a close relation of garlic. It is often called the "king of vegetables" because of its pungent taste and found in a large number of recipes and preparations spanning almost the totality of the world's cultures.

Depending on the variety, an onion can be sharp, spicy, tangy, pungent, mild or sweet.

On finding a potent ingredient for the prevention of diabetes, researchers evaluated the effect of aqueous extract of garlic, white onion, and purple onion on subjects with diabetes.

Elevated levels of α-amylase and α-glucosidase involved in levels of blood glucose were inhibited by the aqueous extract of garlic, purple onion, and white onion in a concentration-dependent manner (0-4 mg/ml).

Additional differentiation also suggested that white onion had significantly (p < .05) stronger inhibitory effect on α-amylase (IC50 = 3.93 mg/mL) compared to those of garlic (IC50 = 8.19 mg/ml) and purple onion (IC50 = 8.27 mg/ml).

Furthermore, all aqueous extracts showed a significant activity to scavenge 2,2- diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH*) free radical and reduce Fe3+ to Fe2+ in a dose-dependent manner.

Based on the findings, researchers concluded, "a possible mechanism by which garlic, white onion, and purple onion exert antidiabetes,,, properties could be through the inhibitory effect on... α-amylase, and α-glucosidase coupled with their ability to prevent lipid peroxidation in the pancreas and heart, which justify their strong antioxidant properties".

In chemical analysis, sulfur compounds including S-methyl cysteine and flavonoids such as quercetin found in onion also are responsible for the hypoglycemic activity.

S-methyl cysteine and flavonoids found in onion not only decreased the levels of blood glucose, serum lipids, oxidative stress but also increased antioxidant enzyme activity and insulin secretion.

More importantly, in preliminarily clinical trials, patients with diabetes safely consumed slices of Allium cepa, including onion exhibited sufficient hypoglycemic activity.

Taken altogether, onion used alone or combined with garlic may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of diabetes, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Inhibitory Effect of Garlic, Purple Onion, and White Onion on Key Enzymes Linked with Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension by Oboh G1, Ademiluyi AO1, Agunloye OM1, Ademosun AO1, Ogunsakin BG. (PubMed)
(2) Spice plant Allium cepa: dietary supplement for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus by Akash MS1, Rehman K2, Chen S. (PubMed)

Bromelain, a Natural Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Constipation

By Kyle J. Norton

Constipation is a condition of hard and dry stool that are infrequent or hard to pass.

Acute constipation caused by staying in a sitting position for long periods of time that kinks up the colon and restrain stool from passing through can be reversed in a few days with or without the use of
a laxative or over the counter medicine

Chronic constipation is a condition characterized by difficult, infrequent, or perceived incomplete evacuation of bowel movements with less than 3 bowel movement a week.

In most cases, chronic constipation with no structural and medical problems is normally caused by long-term an unhealthy diet with low fiber.

Certain medications calcium channel blockers, narcotics are also found to induce constipation.

According to the recommendation of the health professionals, total fiber intake per day is 25-35 grams, depending on your sex, age, and weight for people with or without the condition of constipation.

Some people taking total fiber intake per day is 25-35 grams may experience symptoms of excess colon gas and flatus. In this instance, soluble fiber should be cut down on first before cutting down of insoluble fiber.

More precisely, a high fiber diet must be accompanied by increased fluid intake and moderate exercise for maintaining good colon health against constipation in patients with no structural and medical problem.

According to the statistics, in the US, approximately 4 million people have frequent constipation, affecting about 2 percent of Americans. Constipation also is the most common digestive complaint in the US, outnumbering all other chronic digestive conditions.

Some researchers suggested that there is a correlation between aging in the risk of constipation.

Dr. Brenda G. Schuster wrote, "Constipation is a common complaint and challenge for older adults. The prevalence of constipation increases with age and differs among settings. In individuals 65 years of age or older in the community, the prevalence is 26% for women and 16% for men.

And "This rate increases to 34% for women and 26% for men in those 84 years of age and older.For long-term care residents, the prevalence is as high as 80%".

In other words, adults who are 65 years of age are at a higher risk of constipation.

Bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme found in pineapples (Ananas comosus) has been used in traditional medicine as an inflammatory agent and to treat pains, strains, and muscle aches and pains and ease back pain and chronic joint pain, skin diseases, etc.

On finding a natural laxative compound for the treatment of chronic constipation, researchers examined the effect of bromelain (EC 3.4.22.33) isolated and purified from pineapple fruit on constipation.

In rat constipation induced gavage administration of loperamide hydrochloride treated by bromelain, showed significant relief of the high visceral sensitivity and infrequent stools in constipated rats.

Furthermore, bromelain treated rats also reversed the slow gastric emptying and intestinal transit.

Moreover, bromelain relieved constipation in tested rats by stimulating intestinal contraction.

The efficacy of anti-constipation of bromelain was attributed to significantly reverse the decrease of phosphorylation of the 20 kDa regulatory light chain of myosin (p-MLC20) associated with cellular functions such as muscle contraction, mitosis, and cytokinesis. and the expression of MLCK associated with gastro emptying and intestinal transit in constipation-predominant.

In other words, bromelain efficacy on constipation is to promote mechanisms involved in increased gut motility.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "The beneficial effect of pineapple on constipation is partly dependent on fruit bromelain although the fibers and fluid in pineapple juice are also beneficial".

Taken altogether, bromelain may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of chronic constipation, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of bromelain in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Sources
(1) Fruit bromelain ameliorates rat constipation induced by loperamide by Zijuan Zhou‡ a, Liang Wang‡a, Ming Xu‡b, Lianhong Yin, Fang Yang, Simei Huic, Yanlin Yi, Panpan Fenga, Jingyu Wanga, Yuan Lin*b, Jinyong Peng and Dapeng Chen. (the Royal Society of Chemistry)
(3) Constipation in older adults. A stepwise approach to keep things moving by Brenda G. Schuster, Lynette Kosar, and Rejina Kamrul (PMC)

Indicaxanthin Processes Redox Status Property

By Kyle J. Norton

The redox status refers to the balance between the levels of free radicals and other reactive species and antioxidants.

Oxidants or ROS species can be produced by the body cell metabolism or from the external sources such as the air we breathe and the foods we eat.

Free radicals in moderate amount are necessary for the body functioning, inclduing NO for vascular relaxation.

Free radicals are atoms, molecules, or ions with unpaired electrons through chemical bonds with other atoms or molecules during a chemical reaction.

Antioxidants are stable molecules which play a critic role to protect our body against oxidation.

There are 2 types of antioxidants, antioxidants produced by the host are called antioxidant enzymes and antioxidant came from dietary intake.

Under normal conditions, antioxidants produced by the host are good enough to keep the levels of free radicals in check.

Imbalanced levels of free radicals and antioxidants induced oxidative stress, a major cause of many chronic ailments. In other words, free radicals overexpression caused by chain oxidative reaction that induces oxidative stress causes protein, lipid, and DNA, leading to chronic disease including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.

According to Dr. Parvin Mirmiran, and colleagues in the joint study led by the Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, on oxidative stress in patients with metabolic syndrome, wrote, "(By) following a healthy pattern filled with fruits and vegetables ameliorates oxidative stress status and on the contrary, attachment to an unhealthy pattern, characterized by higher intakes of fast foods and processed foods, aggravated the oxidative stress levels in Tehranian individuals suffering from metabolic syndrome".
Therefore, by enhancing antioxidant status in the body through regular physical activity and intake of fruits and vegetables which contain a high amount of dietary antioxidant to offset the free-radical toxic effects, the risk of oxidative stress can be reduced substantially.

Indicaxanthin is phytochemicals in the class of red and yellow indole-derived pigments of Betacyanins, belongings to the group of Betalains found abundantly in beets, chard, etc.

On finding a potential compound which processes chemo-activity, researchers examined the effect of Indicaxanthin as a natural chemoactive and chemopreventive agent.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and crossover design included 8 women (23.25±2.95 years old, weight of 54.13±9.05 kg, height of 157.75±0.66 cm and BMI of 21.69±0.66 kg/m2) randomly divided into 2 groups and each group was supplied with either 50 ml OFI, diluted to 170 ml with water, or 170 ml Placebo containing the same concentration of fruit juice ingredients except for Vitamin C and indicaxanthin.

According to the blood samples from women taken before and after the effort test without supplementation (baseline), pre- and post-test, 24 h and 48 h post-test with OFI or Placebo supplementation every day for 3 days before of effort test on a cycle ergometer and continued to take it for 2 consecutive days after testing, free radical H2O2 levels were significantly decreased and total antioxidant capacity (PAT) significantly increase in the OFI group comapred to placebo.

In other words, by comparing the effect on OFI and placebo groups, the antioxidants vitamin C and indicaxanthin may be the major constituents in the induction of the efficacy of OFI in restoring redox balance.

Based on the results, researchers said, " OFI supplementation might be used to restore redox balance after intense exercises in moderately trained women".

Taken altogether, indicaxanthin may be considered a remedy in restoring redox balance after intense exercises in moderately trained women, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Plasma redox response of Sicilian Opuntia Ficus Indica juice in young physically active women by Marianna Bellafiore, Anna Maria Pintaudi, Angelo Cataldo, Dario Cerasola, Alessandro Attanzio, Giuseppe Battaglia, Antonino Bianco, Antonio Palma. (Italian Journal of Anatomy and Embryology)
(2) Effect of dietary patterns on oxidative stress in patients with metabolic syndrome: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study by Parvin Mirmiran, Ph.D. Hoda Hadavi, MSc, Azadeh Mottaghi, Ph.D., and Fereidoun Azizi, MD. (PMC)

Saturday, 17 August 2019

Healthy Legume Navy Bean Reduces the Risk and Onset of Cardiovascular Disease

By Kyle J. Norton

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases involved in the heart or blood vessels. In other words, CVD includes heart disease and stroke

Heart Disease is a medical condition associated with reduced function of the heart in pumping blood to the body through its blood vessels.

In the US, heart disease causes the death of approximately 610,000 Americans every year. More precisely 1 in every 4 deaths in the US is associated with heart disease.

Most cases of heart diseases are caused by high blood pressure that contributes to hardening of the arteries, and high levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) that causes the build-up of plaque in the arteries.

High levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) has been found epidemiologically, associated with an uncontrolled diet with high levels of saturated fat and trans fat, that lead to the formation of atherosclerosis lesions and eventually arterial blockage.

In other words, anything that serves to damage the inner lining of blood vessels and impedes the transportation of oxygen and nutrition to the heart is a risk of heart disease.

A stroke is caused by the interruption or reduction of blood supply to part of the brain that deprives brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients, leading to the death of brain cells.

According to the statistics, every year, more than 795,000 people in the US have a stroke, including the 610,000 cases of new strokes.

Believe it or not, 1 of 4 cases of stroke are in people who have had a previous stroke.

There are similar causes of stroke and heart diseases, but in stroke, the result is more severe. Any delay in rescuing will result in the death of the victim.

The small, white navy bean, also called pea bean or haricot, popular in both dry and green forms, is very popular in Britain and the US, native to Peru. The legume is now grown and consumed across the world, due to their numerous health benefits.

With an aim to find a potential ingredient for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease, researchers examined the navy beans and rice bran effect on regulating blood lipids in adults and children.

The pilot, randomized-controlled, clinical trial included 38 children (10 ± 0.8 years old) with abnormal cholesterol who consumed a snack for 4 weeks containing either: no navy bean or rice bran (control); 17.5 g/day cooked navy bean powder; 15 g/day heat-stabilized rice bran; or 9 g/day navy beans and 8 g/day rice bran.

According to the analysis of the plasma metabolites extracted, navy bean and/or rice bran consumption influenced 71 plasma compounds compared to control (p ≤ 0.05), with lipids representing 46% of the total plasma metabolome.

In other words, navy bean intake causes significant changes of 18 plasma lipids compared to only 10 plasma lipids for the rice bran group and 48 lipids compared to only 40 in the rice bran group compared to baseline.

More precisely, the intake of navy bean had a positive impact on blood lipid metabolism in reducing CVD risk in children.

Additional differentiation of the navy bean anti hypercholesterol activity, researchers found that the efficacy of navy bean was attributed to the decrease of free fatty acids associated with metabolic diseases (palmitate and arachidonate) and increase of the relative abundance of endogenous anti-inflammatory lipids.

Based on the results, researchers said, " Findings from this pilot study support the need for investigating the effects of these foods for longer durations to reduce CVD risk".

Taken altogether, navy bean may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease caused by high blood cholesterol, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Navy Bean and Rice Bran Intake Alters the Plasma Metabolome of Children at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease by Li KJ1, Borresen EC1, Jenkins-Puccetti N2, Luckasen G2, Ryan EP. (PubMed)
(2) Heart Diseases- Causes, Symptoms, Types, Preventions & Treatments by Kyle J. Norton
(3) Stroke -- The Causes by Kyle J. Norton

Turmeric Inhibits the Plaque Formation that Cause Gingivitis

By Kyle J. Norton

Gingivitis is a common and mild form of periodontal disease caused by inflammation of the gingiva, leading to symptoms of irritation, redness, and swelling of the gum that lines the base of the teeth.

Gingivitis dental plaques formed around the base of the teeth are sticky biofilm of bacteria associated with the interaction of the food intake and bacteria in the mouth. Over time, if untreated, the condition can lead to periodontitis and advanced periodontitis.

At this early stage, the bone and connective tissue that hold the teeth in place are not yet affected. The problems can be reversed by more frequent and proper brushing and flossing.

Most common cause of gingivitis is poor hygiene. Epidemiologically, risk factors induce the onset of gingivitis are smoking or chewing tobacco. diabetes and long-term use of certain medication including oral contraceptives, steroids, anticonvulsants, calcium channel blockers.

Some people under treatment of chemotherapy may also experience symptoms of gingivitis.

The Colgate Professional in the examined the symptoms advised that if you have experienced some of the symptoms that do not heal themselves in a short time, such as puffy or swollen, or tender, bleeding during brushing or flossing, teeth that look longer due to receded gum, gums that have separated or pulled away, from your teeth, creating a pocket, changes in the way your teeth fit together when you bite, pus coming from between your teeth and gums, and constant bad breath or a bad taste in your mouth, you may have gingivitis.

Turmeric is a perennial plant in the genus Curcuma, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, native to tropical South Asia.

The herb has been used in traditional medicine as anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, colorant, antiseptic, wound healing agent, and for the treatment of flatulence, bloating, and appetite loss, ulcers, eczema, inflammations, etc.

On finding a natural compound that benefits oral health against bacterial infection, researchers compared the efficacy of turmeric mouthwash and chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash in the prevention of gingivitis and plaque formation.

The study included a total of 100 randomly selected subjects with the age between 25 to 35 years having fair and poor gingival index scores and a score >1 for plaque index visited the Department of Periodontology at Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Dental College and Hospital.

According to the gingival index (GI) by Loe and followed by Turesky- Gilmore-Glickman modification of Quigley Hein plaque index (TQHPI) at 0, 14 and 21 days, researchers found that
* There is no significant difference in the mean gingival index (GI) in chlorhexidine mouthwash, compared to turmeric mouthwash

* Both types of mouthwash exerted a significant reduction in the total microbial counts.

* Chlorhexidine and turmeric mouthwash demonstrated a similar effect in the total microbial count.

* Statistically chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash showed significant reduction (p < 0.05) in mean plaque index (PI), compared to turmeric mouthwash.

Based on the findings, researchers concluded, "it can be concluded that chlorhexidine gluconate, as well as turmeric mouthwash, can be effectively used as an adjunct to mechanical plaque control methods in prevention of plaque and gingivitis" and "Chlorhexidine gluconate has been found to be more effective when the antiplaque property was considered".

In other words, turmeric is definitely a good mechanical plaque control, particularly, if the cost is taking into account.

Taken altogether, turmeric processed abundantly bioactive compound curcumin may be considered supplements for the plaque formation in orchestrating gingivitis, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of turmeric in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Comparative evaluation of turmeric and chlorhexidine gluconate mouthwash in prevention of plaque formation and gingivitis: a clinical and microbiological study by Waghmare PF1, Chaudhari AU, Karhadkar VM, Jamkhande AS. (PubMed)
(2) What Are The Stages Of Gum Disease? by The Colgate Professional

Lycopene, Protects the Liver Cells Against the Risk of Hepatic Steatosis

By Kyle J. Norton

The liver is the largest internal organ that filters the blood from the digestive tract, before passing them to the rest of the body.

The liver also plays an essential role to produce cholesterol to build a strong cell wall, produce steroid hormones and vitamin D and aid the digestive function in food absorption and detoxify chemicals and metabolizes drugs.

Hepatic steatosis is a medical condition that reduces the function of the liver caused by the accumulation of fat in the liver.

In other words, if the intrahepatic fat of your liver is more than 5% of liver weight, you are considered to have hepatic steatosis. Epidemiologically, over time, untreated hepatic steatosis can lead to liver metabolic dysfunction, inflammation, and advanced forms of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Hepatic steatosis has been found to induce complications in patients with obesity, alcohol intoxication and/or hepatic disorders.

Most common risk factors associated with the onset of hepatic steatosis are insulin resistance or diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, rapid weight loss, using hepatotoxic medications total parenteral nutrition (TPN).

The increased flux of fatty acids to the liver, de novo lipogenesis, and/or reduced clearance through β-oxidation or very-low-density lipoprotein secretion are some mechanisms that cause the accumulation of intrahepatic fat.

Out of many prevalent factors involved in the onset of hepatic steatosis, some researchers suggested that the promotion of the Western diet over the past few decades in the Western world may have a strong and negative impact that accelerates the incidence onset.

Dr. Michael D. Roberts, the lead scientist said, "Six weeks of WD feeding caused hepatic steatosis development as evidenced by the 2.25-fold increase in liver triacylglycerol content,...in adult Brown Norway rats".

And, "sub-chronic WD feeding appears to increase hepatic steatosis development over a 6-week period but only induces select inflammation-related liver transcripts, mostly acute phase response genes".

Lycopene is a phytochemical in the class of carotenoid, a natural pigment with no vitamin A activity found abundantly in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables, such as red carrots, watermelons, and papayas,

Tomatoes provide about 80% of the lycopene in the world diet. In plants, lycopene protects the host against excessive photodamage and perform various functions in photosynthesis.

On finding a potential compound for the prevention of liver disease, researchers examined the effects of lycopene on hepatic steatosis in an animal model.

In a model of high-fat diet rats, lycopene not only showed significant effect against the development of steatohepatitis but also inhibited nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in the promotion of the early stage of liver cancer through its antioxidant activity.

In rats induced NAFLD by a hypercholesterolemic and high-fat diet, according to the tested analysis, after 7 weeks, there are clear differences in the classical antioxidant biomarkers and metabolic pattern associated with the inhibition of NAFLD between the diet and intake of lycopene from tomato juice.

Interestingly, tomato juice administration partially reverted the metabolic pattern from a high-fat diet to a normal diet in metabolites without exhibiting the redox state.

Taken altogether, lycopene found in tomato may be considered supplements for the improvement of liver metabolism against the risk liver disease, pending on the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of lycopene in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months)

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Lipid biomarkers and metabolic effects of lycopene from tomato juice on liver of rats with induced hepatic steatosis by Bernal C1, Martín-Pozuelo G, Lozano AB, Sevilla A, García-Alonso J, Canovas M, Periago MJ. (PubMed)
(2) Lycopene and apo-10'-lycopenoic acid have differential mechanisms of protection against hepatic steatosis in β-carotene-9',10'-oxygenase knockout male mice by Ip BC1, Liu C2, Lichtenstein AH3, von Lintig J4, Wang XD. (PubMed)
(3) Western diet-induced hepatic steatosis and alterations in the liver transcriptome in adult Brown Norway rats by Michael D. Roberts, C. Brooks Mobley, Ryan G. Toedebush, Alexander J. Heese, Conan Zhu,Anna E. Krieger, Clayton L. Cruthirds, Christopher M. Lockwood, John C. Hofheins,Charles E. Wiedmeyer, Heather J. Leidy, Frank W. Booth, and R. Scott Rector. (PMC)