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

Monday 24 June 2019

Whole Food Tomato Modulates Immune Function to the Body Needs

By Kyle J. Norton

The immune system plays a critical role in the body's defense against infectious organisms and other pathogens.

The immune function can be classified into subsystems, including the innate and adaptive responses.

* The innate responses are the general response of the immune system that can act quickly to destroy invaders, regardless of types of organism.

* The adaptive responses develop slowly on first exposure to a new pathogen slowly. In some cases, it may take a week or so before the responses are effective.

However, due to the quick division of bacteria, (a single bacterium with a doubling time of one hour can produce almost 20 million progeny), therefore, our body is totally depending to the innate immune system to destroy the invader in the first critical hours and days of exposure.

Believe it or not, if the innate immune subsystem cannot destroy the foreign invader in a set of period of time from 3 -8 weeks, it will compromise, leading to low-grade inflammation in facilitating the onset of various diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and arthritis.

Immune modulation is the process to increase and decrease the immune functioning depending on the needs of the body. In people with a weakened immune system, modulation of the immune system are found to enhance immune functioning against the infectious agents.

However, in people with overactive immunity, modulation of the immune function will reduce the risk of the immune system attacking the body tissues.

Tomato is red, edible fruit, genus Solanum, belonging to family Solanaceae, native to South America. Because of its health benefits, the tomato is grown worldwide for the commercial purpose
and often in the greenhouse.

With an aim to find a potential compound with immune modulatory activity, researchers examined the influence of tomato aqueous extract (TAE) on the in vitro inflammatory response.

According to the results observed by the Murine macrophages (RAW264.7 cells), PBLs and HUVECs incubated with TAE, TAE exerted a significant effect in the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as L-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 and chemokines such as CCL2/MCP-1, CCL3/MIP-1α.

In the endothelial cell, TAE reduced ED-associated expression of adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1) associated with the production of inflammation.

In macrophages, the production of pro-inflammatory proteins associated with low-grade inflammation also inhibited the injection of TAE.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "during acute inflammation, TAE enhances cellular alertness and therefore the sensing of disturbed immune homeostasis in the vascular-endothelial compartment. Conversely, it blunts inflammatory mediators in macrophages during chronic inflammation".

In other words, TAE protects the integrity and viability of immune cells by modulating the immune activity depending on the needs of the body.

Furthermore, in a blinded, randomized, cross-over study, male subjects on a low-carotenoid diet consumed 330 ml/day of either tomato juice (37.0 mg/day lycopene) or carrot juice (27.1 mg/day beta-carotene and 13.1 mg/day alpha-carotene) for 2 weeks with a 2-week depletion period after juice intervention, researchers compared the effects of a low-carotenoid diet supplemented with either tomato (providing high amounts of lycopene) or carrot juice (providing high amounts of alpha- and beta-carotene) on immune functions in healthy man.

According to the results from the tested assays, juice consumption showed relatively fast responses in plasma carotenoid concentrations (p < 0.0002) without accompanied by concomitant changes in immune functions.

However, increased plasma carotenoid concentrations after vegetable juice consumption were accompanied by a time-delayed modulation of immune functions in healthy men consuming a low-carotenoid diet.

Precisely, tomato juice modulated the immune function in a delay and concentration-dependent manner.

Taken altogether, tomatoes may be considered supplements for the modulation of immune function based on the body needs, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Tomato Aqueous Extract Modulates the Inflammatory Profile of Immune Cells and Endothelial Cells by Schwager J1, Richard N2, Mussler B3, Raederstorff D. (PubMed)
(2) Supplementation of a low-carotenoid diet with tomato or carrot juice modulates immune functions in healthy men by Watzl B1, Bub A, Briviba K, Rechkemmer G. (PubMed)

Antioxidant Alliin Suppresses Hyperglycemia in Vivo, Scientists Found

By Kyle J. Norton

Hyperglycemia is a medical condition characterized by abnormally high levels of glucose in the bloodstream

Although hyperglycemia is a hallmark in patients with diabetes, the condition can also occur to people without diabetes due to a certain medical condition such as pneumonia in the elderly.

Dr. Yuan, Lin, the lead scientists in the examination of hyperglycemia in patients with an
acute pancreatitis (AP) wrote, "Hyperlipidemia, fatty liver, hypertension, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography treatment, acute hyperglycemia, elevated lactate dehydrogenase, and creatine kinase, decreased calcium, and AB blood type were risk factors for hyperglycemia development after AP".

Most common causes of hyperglycemia are associated with uncontrolled diet, improper use of insulin and skip diabetic medication.

Most common symptoms of hyperglycemia are increased thirst frequent urination, fatigue (weak, and unintended weight loss. In severe cases, some patients may also experience symptoms of headaches, trouble concentrating and blurred vision.

If you have experienced some of the aforementioned symptoms, you may have abnormally elevated high blood sugar.

Untreated hyperglycemia can lead to serious complications requiring emergency care, such as a diabetic coma. Over the long-term, persistently mild hyperglycemia can lead to complications eyes, kidneys, and nerves damage and heart disease and stroke.

By following the guidelines and recommendation in the management of blood glucose accompanied by a healthy and moderate exercise, diabetics may do just fine against hyperglycemia.

Alliin (S-allyl-L-cysteine-S-oxide) is a phytochemical compound sulfoxide,. a derivative of the amino acid cysteine, belonging to the class of sulfur compounds, found abundantly in fresh garlic and onion.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of hyperglycemia, researchers examined the effect of alliin against metabolic risk factors in diet-induced obese (DIO) mice.

Selected C57BL/6J DIO diet-induced obese mice are treated with drinking water with or without alliin (0.1 mg/ml) for 8 weeks.

Oral administration of alliin enhanced glucose homeostasis, increased insulin sensitivity and improved the lipid profile in the DIO mic without affecting the body weight, adiposity or energy balance.

In other words, alliin inhibited hyperglycemia selectively without normalizing the adiposity tissues inappropriate responses of energy intake and energy expenditure.

Based on the tested results, researchers found that the efficacy of alliin in the inhibition of hyperglycemia is partly associated with the modulation of the intestinal microbiota composition, typically decreased Lachnospiraceae and increased Ruminococcaceae.

In order to reveal more information about alliin antihyperglycemic activity, researchers examined the production and therapeutic efficiency of alliin extracted from garlic leaves of plants grown under ex-situ and in situ conditions.

According to the results of alliin aqueous leaf extracts (from ex-situ and in situ grown plants) were given to normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats for five weeks, under in situ conditions, alliin extract lowered the serum glucose, triglycerides, total lipids, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-, and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)-cholesterol in diabetic rats by ~54%, 15%, 14%, 20%, 24%, and 15% compared to 35%, 14%, 10%, 12%, 17% and 11% from the ex situ grown plants.

Furthermore, compared to glibenclamide, the leaf extract of plants lowered serum enzyme levels (alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase) associated with liver oxidative stress toward the normal.

Moreover, The histopathological alteration in pancreas caused by alloxan was also inhibited markedly by leaf extract.

Based on the findings, Dr. Nasim SA, the lead scientist wrote, "These findings demonstrate leaf extract obtained from plants grown under in situ conditions possess higher therapeutic efficiency in comparison with leaf extract obtained from plants grown under ex situ condition".

In other words, geographic growth may influence the therapeutic potential of phytochemicals in plants.

Taken altogether, alliin may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of hyperglycemia, depending on the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of alliin 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

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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) Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effect of S-allyl-cysteine sulfoxide (alliin) in DIO mice by Zhai B1, Zhang C1, Sheng Y1, Zhao C2, He X1,3, Xu W1,3, Huang K1,3, Luo Y. (PubMed)
(2) Alliin obtained from leaf extract of garlic grown under in situ conditions possess higher therapeutic potency as analyzed in alloxan-induced diabetic rats by Nasim SA1, Dhir B, Kapoor R, Fatima S, Mahmooduzzafar, Mujib A. (PubMed)
(3) Risk Factors of Hyperglycemia in Patients After a First Episode of Acute Pancreatitis: A Retrospective Cohort by Yuan L1, Tang M, Huang L, Gao Y, Li X. (PubMed)

Sunday 23 June 2019

Healthy Legume Pinto Bean, the Best to Control Hyperglycemia

By Kyle J. Norton

Hyperglycemia is a condition of abnormally high blood sugar in the bloodstream. Hyperglycemia is a condition characterized by the body which isn't properly using or doesn't make the hormone insulin.

Hyperglycemia is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes associated with diabetic complications caused by uncontrol levels of blood glucose. Another hallmark is insulin resistance.

In other words, poor management of blood glucose is the major cause of hyperglycemia in diabetic patients, including a poor diet, physical inactivity choices, symptoms of medicines intake.

Some patients with diabetes also experience symptoms of hyperglycemia as a result of skipping or not taking enough glucose-lowering medication.

Most common symptoms of hyperglycemia are frequent urination, increased thirst, blurred vision, persistent fatigue, and headache.

Believe it or not, untreated or long term persistently hyperglycemia in patients with diabetes has been found to induce serious symptoms such as shortness of breath, confusion, and coma.

Some researchers suggested that by the change of diet with a meal plan help, you can avoid hyperglycemia, such as eating often, watching the intake of sugar and carbohydrates, limiting the use of alcohol, and eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, and whole grains.

Dr. Donna B, the lead scientist wrote, "Management of diabetes and hyperglycemia has become an important quality care indicator in the hospital setting. Multiple health care organizations offer guidelines for glycemic control, including recommendations for medical nutrition therapy (MNT) and consistent-carbohydrate meal plans".

And, "... the rationale for consistent-carbohydrate meal plans and liberalizing the “diabetic diet;” and describes successful mealtime practices to improve coordination of meal delivery with blood glucose monitoring and insulin administration".

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. It 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 hyperglycemia, researchers investigated the glycemic response of bean and rice traditional meals compared to rice alone in adults with type 2 diabetes.

The randomized 4 × 4 crossover trial, included 17 men and women aged 35-70 years with type 2 diabetes randomly assigned to control that received metformin (n = 14) or diet/exercise (n = 3).

The white long grain rice control, pinto beans/rice, black beans/rice, red kidney beans/rice test meals, matched for 50 grams of available carbohydrate, were consumed at breakfast after a 12 hour fast.

According to the blood sample taken, the postprandial net glucose values were significantly lower for the three bean/rice (pinto beans/rice, black beans/rice, red kidney beans/rice test meals) treatments in contrast to the rice control at 90, 120 and 150 minutes.

Furthermore, the incremental area associated with the levels of blood glucose under the curve values was significantly lower for the pinto and black bean/rice meals compared to rice alone, but not for kidney beans.

In other words, not all legumes exhibited the same anti hyperglycemia effects. However, all beans with rice attenuated the glycemic response compared to rice alone.

The results strongly suggested by adding beans such as pinto beans into your traditional diet, hyperglycemia may be preventable.

Based on the findings, researchers wrote, "Promotion of traditional foods may provide non-pharmaceutical management of type 2 diabetes and improve dietary adherence with cultural groups".

Taken altogether, Pinto bean used a combination with rice may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of hyperglycemia, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Phaseolus beans: impact on glycaemic response and chronic disease risk in human subjects by Hutchins AM1, Winham DM, Thompson SV. (PubMed)
(2) Bean and rice meals reduce postprandial glycemic response in adults with type 2 diabetes: a cross-over study by Thompson SV1, Winham DM, Hutchins AM. (PubMed)
(3) The Mealtime Challenge: Nutrition and Glycemic Control in the Hospital by Donna B. Ryan, MPH, RN, RD, CDE and Carrie S. Swift, MS, RD, BC-ADM, CDE. (The American Diabetes Association)

Antioxidant Alliin, The Natural Cardio-Protective Compound

By Kyle J. Norton

The cardioprotective effect is an action including the use of substances such as herbal medicine for the prevention of heart damage.

In other words, substances that processed the activity to protect the heart functioning are considered heart protective agents.

Cardiovascular disease is the diseases associated with blood vessels and the heart. Plaque accumulated on the wall of the artery that causes blockage and reduced blood flow to the heart has been found to induce CVD in many instances, depending on the affected location.

For example, reduced blood flow to the brain can lead to stroke involved in the death of neurons and reduced oxygen-rich blood flow can lead to heart disease involved in heart muscles damage.

In the Western world, due to the promotion of high fat diet-induced over 68% of overweight and obese population in the US, maybe the culprit that causes the rise of cardiovascular disease in the recent year.

Dr. Frank M. Sacks, the lead scientist wrote, " Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading global cause of death, accounting for 17.3 million deaths per year. Preventive treatment that reduces CVD by even a small percentage can substantially reduce, nationally and globally, the number of people who develop CVD and the costs of caring for them".

And, "This American Heart Association presidential advisory on dietary fats and CVD reviews and discusses the scientific evidence, including the most recent studies, on the effects of dietary saturated fat intake and its replacement by other types of fats and carbohydrates on CVD".

The findings strongly suggested following the healthy diet with a higher amount of fruits and vegetable that replace the harmful fats and carbohydrates with moderate exercise, cardiovascular disease is preventable.

Alliin (S-allyl-L-cysteine-S-oxide) is a phytochemical compound sulfoxide,. a derivative of the amino acid cysteine, belonging to the class of sulfur compounds, found abundantly in fresh garlic and onion.

On finding a natural ingredient which processes cardioprotective property, researchers examined the synthetic form of S-ally-mercapto captopril (CPSSA), a new stable synthetic compound produced by a chemical reaction between allicin and the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril.

On fructose-induced metabolic syndrome rat model, alliin at 8 mg/kg-day exerted a significant cardioprotective effect by reducing insulin, triglycerides, and homocysteine concentrations.

However, the injection of the same dose had only a slight effect on SBP compared to Captopril (50mg/(kg day)) with only an improvement of blood pressure and homocysteine.

Compared to the treatment with a low dose of CPSSA (5mg/(kg day)) that lowered SBP but did not improve any other measured parameter, a higher dose (50mg/(kg day)) showed a significantly decreased blood pressure, triglycerides, and homocysteine concentrations.

In other words, alliin protected the cardiovascular system in a dose-dependent manner.

Based on the results, researchers said, "the combined molecule CPSSA integrates the anti-hypertensive, lipid-lowering, and homocysteine-reducing effects of both allicin and captopril, making it a potential cardiovascular protective agent".

In order to know more information about alliin cardioprotective activity, researchers looked into eval the capacity of Allium ursinum (wild garlic) leaf lyophilisate (WGLL; alliin content: 0.261%) in cardiovascular damage in hypercholesterolemic rabbits.

The study included New Zealand rabbits divided into three groups: (i) cholesterol-free rabbit chow (control); (ii) rabbit chow containing 2% cholesterol (hypercholesterolemic, HC); (iii) rabbit chow containing 2% cholesterol + 2% WGLL (hypercholesterolemic treated, HCT); for eight weeks.

According to the tested assays, WGLL treatment demonstrated a cardioprotective activity by mediating the increases in fractional shortening, right ventricular function, peak systolic velocity, tricuspidal annular systolic velocity in live animals.

The levels of a protein associated with the generation of antioxidants (heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1)) were increased in HO-1 protein accompanied by a decrease in superoxide dismutase 1(SOD1).

Furthermore, levels of plaques associated with atherosclerosis, plasma ApoB involved in levels of cholesterol and the activity of LDH and CK (creatine kinase) were decreased in the treated rat's group.

Collectively, researchers said, "WGLL has complex cardioprotective effects, suggesting future strategies for its use in prevention and therapy for atherosclerotic disorders".

Taken altogether, alliin may be considered supplements for cardioprotection, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of alliin 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) The effects of S-allylmercaptocaptopril, the synthetic product of allicin and captopril, on cardiovascular risk factors associated with the metabolic syndrome by Oron-Herman M1, Rosenthal T, Mirelman D, Miron T, Rabinkov A, Wilchek M, Sela BA. (PubMed)
(2) Anti-Atherogenic Properties of Allium ursinum Liophylisate: Impact on Lipoprotein Homeostasis and Cardiac Biomarkers in Hypercholesterolemic Rabbits by Bombicz M1,2, Priksz D3,4, Varga B5,6, Gesztelyi R7, Kertesz A8, Lengyel P9, Balogh P10, Csupor D11, Hohmann J12, Bhattoa HP13, Haines DD14, Juhasz B. (PubMed)
(3) Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association by Frank M. Sacks, Alice H. Lichtenstein, Jason H.Y. Wu, Lawrence J. Appel, Mark A. Creager, Penny M. Kris-Etherton, Michael Miller, Eric B. Rimm, Lawrence L. Rudel, Jennifer G. Robinson. (Circulation)

Healthy Food Turmeric Natural Treatment of Pruritus with No Side, Scientists Say

By Kyle J. Norton

Pruritus is a skin condition associated with severe itching of the affected area, particularly in people with dry skin.

The syndrome has been found mostly in older adults due to aging-induced dehydration of the surface of the skin.

Most common symptoms of the affect areas are redness, bumps, spots or blisters, cracked skin leathery or scaly skin due to scratching.

Most common causes of pruritus are associated with the immune system overreaction of the allergens, infection and other medical conditions, leading to the skin inflammation-induced itching.

Therefore by finding out the cause of the condition, pruritus can be treated successfully.

Some researchers suggested that people with psychological problems such as depression, anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder may also trigger the onset of skin itching.

Dr. Hong Liang Tey, the lead scientist in the analysis of the correlation between psychosomatic factors in pruritus said, "Pruritus and psyche are intricately and reciprocally related, with psychophysiological evidence and psychopathological explanations helping us to understand their complex association".

And, "Their interaction may be conceptualized and classified into 3 groups: pruritic diseases with psychiatric sequelae, pruritic diseases aggravated by psychosocial factors, and psychiatric disorders causing pruritus".

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 potential ingredient for the treatment of pruritus, researchers examined the anti-allergic effect of Curcuma aromatic's constituents curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin.

In subjects included pruritus by compound 48/80, curcuminoids inhibited the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) reaction induced by the IgE-antigen complex (IAC) and the scratching behavior.

Where passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) is an animal model for Type I allergy.

Furthermore, curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin. also inhibited proteins associated with the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and IgE-antigen complex (IAC) induced RBL-2H3 cells.

Additional analysis of the efficacy of curcuminoids, researchers found that curcumin is the most potent compound followed by demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "curcuminoids, particularly curcumin, can improve the symptoms of allergic diseases, such as anaphylaxis and itching".

Moreover, scientists in the evaluation of an ethanol extract of turmeric ("Curcuma longa") and an ointment of curcumin (its active ingredient) in symptomatic relief in patients with external cancerous lesions found that the application reduced the smell in 90% of the cases and itching in almost all cases.

Both ethanol extract of turmeric and ointment of curcumin also inhibited dry lesions in 70% of the cases, and reduced lesion size and pain in 10% of patients.

Taken altogether, turmeric processed a high number of curcuminoids may be considered supplements for the treatment of pruritus, , 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) Inhibitory effects of curcuminoids on passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction and scratching behavior in mice by Trinh HT1, Bae EA, Lee JJ, Kim DH. (PubMed)
(2) Turmeric and curcumin as topical agents in cancer therapy by Kuttan R, Sudheeran PC, Josph CD. (PubMed)
(3) Psychosomatic factors in pruritus by Hong Liang Tey, MD, Joanna Wallengren, MD and Gil Yosipovitch, MD. (PMC)

Onion, the Best Liver Protective Healthy Food

By Kyle J. Norton

The liver is the largest internal organ and the only organ in the human body that can regenerate itself.

The liver is the first line of the bodily toxin defense by filtering the blood comes from the digestive tract, before passing them to the rest of the body.

The liver also produces cholesterol that plays a critical role in building a strong cell wall, producing steroid hormones and vitamin D and aiding the digestive function in food absorption and detoxifying chemicals and metabolizes drugs.

The hepatoprotective or liver protective effect is an action that maintains the healthy function of the liver against any harmful toxins.

Symptoms of liver diseases include jaundice, abdominal pain, and swelling, swelling in the legs and ankles, itchy skin, dark urine, and pale stool color, and tendency to bruise easily.

There are no exact causes of liver disease. Viruses, toxins, genetics, alcohol, and unknown causes are some prevalent factors found in patients with chronic liver disease, inclduing cancer.

In the US, most cases of liver disease are a result of hepatitis viral infection and autoimmune diseases. Infectious viral hepatitis can produce toxins to protect them against the antioxidant enzymes produced by the host body and prevent the attack of the systematic immune response.

Furthermore, in recent year, excessive alcohol drinking has been found to induce alcoholic liver disease in many parts of Asia and America.

The onion is a plant in the genus Allium, belongings 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 potential compound which processes liver protective activity, researchers examined the effects of onion and garlic extracts on cadmium (Cd)-induced liver oxidative damage in rats.

The study included

* Cd group was challenged with 3CdSO(4).8H(2)O (as Cd; 1.5 mg/kg bw per day per oral) alone, and

* The extract-treated groups were pretreated with varying doses of onion and/or garlic extract (0.5 and 1.0 ml/100 g bw per day per oral) for a week and thereafter co-treated with Cd (1.5 mg/kg bw per day per oral) for 3 weeks.

Based on the tested differentiation, Cd group showed a significant increase in the levels of lipid peroxidation and glutathione S-transferase, whereas antioxidant enzymes such as glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase levels were decreased in the liver.

Furthermore, liver oxidative stress markers such as alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase were also found to increase in the Cd group.

In other words, Cd showed induced oxidative damage in rat liver.

Injection of garlic and onion extract not only inhibited all parameters in the Cd group but also exerted a liver protective effect in a dose-dependent manner.

Based on the findings, researchers wrote, "high dose of onion and a moderate dose of garlic extracts possibly via reduced lipid peroxidation and enhanced antioxidant defense system that is insufficient to prevent and protect Cd-induced hepatotoxicity".

Taken altogether, onion may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of liver alcoholic cytotoxicity pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Hepatoprotective effect of quercetin: From chemistry to medicine by Miltonprabu S1, Tomczyk M2, Skalicka-Woźniak K3, Rastrelli L4, Daglia M5, Nabavi SF6, Alavian SM7, Nabavi SM. (PubMed)
(2) Hepatoprotective potentials of onion and garlic extracts on cadmium-induced oxidative damage in rats by Obioha UE1, Suru SM, Ola-Mudathir KF, Faremi TY. (PubMed)

Saturday 22 June 2019

Phytochemical Carotenoids Protects the Eyes of Elderly Against Age-Related Macular Degeneration

By Kyle J. Norton

Age-related macular degeneration is a condition caused by the deterioration of the small central portion of the retina, known as the macula

Macular degeneration happened mostly in adults over 60, is one of the major cause of vision loss.

The exact causes of macular degeneration are not identified. As of today, researchers cannot explain why some elderly are susceptible to macular degeneration while others do not.

However, researchers do know that certain risk factors have been found epidemiologically to induce the risk of macular degeneration including aging, the disease has been found most commonly in people over 50, family history and genetics, race, macular degeneration is more common in Caucasians.

Smoking, obesity and medical condition such as cardiovascular disease are also associated with a higher risk of macular degeneration

There are 2 forms of macular degeneration found in the elderly
* The dry form is caused by the presence of yellow deposits, called drusen under the retina, in the macula. However, the elderly with increased was not at a higher risk of macular degeneration.

* The wet form is caused by the growth of abnormal blood vessels from the choroid, the vascular layer of the eye, underneath the retina.

Compared to the loss of vision of 10% of patients induced by the wet form, most patients of macular degeneration have the dry form which has been found to cause loss of some central vision.

Some researchers suggested that macular degeneration may also be caused by an unhealthy diet. Dr. Martha P. Montgomery wrote, "A 97-item Block food frequency questionnaire was used to gather diet information, and overall diet quality was measured using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) and Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)".

And, "Participants in the highest quartile of diet quality had significantly reduced odds of AMD according to the AHEI score (0.54, 95% confidence interval 0.30 – 0.99) and non-significantly reduced odds of AMD according to the HEI (0.75, 0.41 – 1.38). Odds of AMD were also 51% lower in the highest quartile of fish intake compared to the lowest quartile (odds ratio = 0.49, 0.26 – 0.90)".

These results strongly suggested the risk of AMD is many folds higher in people who follow the Western diet compared to those who follow the Oriental diet.
Carotenoids is a class of mainly yellow, orange, or red fat-soluble pigments, including lycopene and carotene, found abundantly in ripe tomato, pumpkins, carrots, corn, and daffodils.

On finding a potential ingredient for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), researchers examined the beneficial role for carotenoids in the prevention of AMD.

Epidemiologically, in a case-control study by comparing the risk AMD in subjects with late AMD, exudative AMD, and retinal pigment abnormalities with the presence of drusen, and an equal number of control subjects,

*Administration of lutein and zeaxanthin induced serum concentrations were not associated with the risk of AMD.

* Consumption of food sources of lutein and zeaxanthin (carotenoids) was associated with reducing the risk of macular degeneration.

* People with higher levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in the blood have a lower risk of AMD.

However, the reduced risk of lutein and zeaxanthin for AMD when levels of the carotenoids are elevated in the serum or diet was not consistent.

Based on the findings, researchers wrote, "Until scientifically sound knowledge is available we recommend for patients judged to be at risk for AMD to alter their diet to more dark green leafy vegetables, wear UV protective lenses and a hat when outdoors".

Taken altogether, carotenoids, particularly lutein and zeaxanthin may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of age-related macular degeneration, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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

Sources

Sources
(1) The role of the carotenoids, lutein, and zeaxanthin, in protecting against age-related macular degeneration: A review based on controversial evidence by Maneli Mozaffarieh,1 Stefan Sacu,1 and Andreas Wedrich. (PMC)
(2) Overall diet quality and age-related macular degeneration by Martha P. Montgomery, M.H.S., Freya Kamel, Ph.D., M.P.H., Margaret A. Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., Jonathan L. Haines, Ph.D., Eric A. Postel, M.D., Anita Agarwal, M.D., Marie Richards, Ph.D., William K. Scott, Ph.D.,* and Silke Schmidt, Ph.D. (PMC)