Compounds from wild mushrooms with antitumor potential

For thousands of years medicine and natural products have been closely linked through the use of traditional medicines and natural poisons. Mushrooms have an established history of use in traditional oriental medicine, where most medicinal mushroom preparations are regarded as a tonic, that is, they have beneficial health effects without known negative side-effects and can be moderately used on a regular basis without harm. Mushrooms comprise a vast and yet largely untapped source of powerful new pharmaceutical products. In particular, and most importantly for modern medicine, they represent an unlimited source of compounds which are modulators of tumour cell growth. Furthermore, they may have potential as functional foods and sources of novel molecules. We will review the compounds with antitumor potential identified so far in mushrooms, including low-molecular-weight (LMW, e.g. quinones, cerebrosides, isoflavones, catechols, amines, triacylglycerols, sesquiterpenes, steroids, organic germanium and selenium) and high-molecular-weight compounds (HMW, e.g. homo and heteroglucans, glycans, glycoproteins, glycopeptides, proteoglycans, proteins and RNA-protein complexes)

Dietary compounds that modify bilirubin levels

Bilirubin (BL) is a bile pigment that arises from the catabolism of hemeproteins and it is an important biochemical marker for diagnosis and monitoring of hepatic and hematologic diseases. The high concentration of this metabolite in plasma may be associated with disturbances in production, metabolism and/or excretion. Several in vivo in vitro studies have established the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumoral bilirubin capacity. The main objective was to verify that the effects of certain drugs and nutritional compounds on the metabolism of bilirubin, as well as studying the effects of radical substances in the UGT1A1 gene in addition have also studied the effect of various enzymes on serum bilirubin. The methodology was a detailed search online database, such as Pubmed, NCBI, ScienceDirect and books, a five-month period. Several studies refer four botanical groups as associated to changes in bilirubin concentrations Cruciferae (e.g., broccoli), Rutaceae (citrus), Liliaceae (e.g., onions), and Leguminosae (legumes). In a hyperbilirubinemic condition, the best approach would include the increasing UGT1A1 expression and this can be achieved with foods from the botanical families Cruciferae, Rutaceae, Liliaceae, and Leguminosae. Regulation of UGTs by phytochemicals has been investigated with a focus on cancer prevention numerous inhibitors from plant origin. The strategy to rise SBL, inhibiting UGT1A1 activity appears unreasonable. Several studies show that low serum bilirubin concentrations are associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases, whereas slightly elevated serum bilirubin levels seems to provide protection. The enzymes HO-1 and BLV will also have an important role in the development of therapeutic strategies based on dietary compounds however for these two enzymes there was considerable less information about their inducers and inhibitors. It is proven that the ingestion of certain foods affects the metabolism of bilirubin and the expression of UGT1A1 gene. Thus, it is justified the need for further studies to demonstrate the potential of food to control the maintenance of bilirubin in order to identify possible functional foods.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Physicochemical properties and bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds of dietary fibre concentrates from vegetable by-products

The agro-food industry generates a large volume of by-products, whose revaluation is essential for the circular economy. From these by-products, dietary fibre concentrates (DFCs) can be obtained. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterise (a) the proximal composition by analysing soluble, insoluble and total Dietary Fibre (DF), (b) the physicochemical properties, and (c) the phenolic profile of artichoke, red pepper, carrot, and cucumber DFCs. In addition, the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds was also evaluated after in vitro gastrointestinal and colonic digestions. The results showed that the DFCs had more than 30 g/100 g dw. The water holding and retention capacity of the DFCs ranges from 9.4 to 18.7 g of water/g. Artichoke DFC presented high concentration of phenolic compounds (8340.7 mg/kg) compared to the red pepper (304.4 mg/kg), carrot (217.4 mg/kg) and cucumber DFCs (195.7 mg/kg). During in vitro gastrointestinal digestion, soluble phenolic compounds were released from the food matrix, chlorogenic acid, the principal compound in artichoke and carrot DFCs, and hesperetin-7-rutinoside in red pepper cucumber DFCs. Total phenolic content decreased after in vitro colonic digestion hence the chemical transformation of the phenolic compounds by gut microbiota. Based on the results, DFCs could be good functional ingredients to develop DF-enriched food, reducing food waste.This research was funded by Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Gobierno de Espana: AGLRTI-2018-094268-B-C21

Curved layer path planning on a 5-axis 3D printer

Article publication date: 7 October 2021Purpose – This paper aims to provide an approach to print shell-type objects using a 5-axis printer. The proposed approach takes advantage of the two additional printer degrees of freedom to provide a curved layer path planning strategy. Design/methodology/approach – This paper addresses curved layer path planning on a 5-axis printer. This printer considers movements along the three usual axes together with two additional axes at the printing table (rotation and tilt), allowing to build more complex and reliable objects. Curved layer path planning is considered where polygons obtained from the slicing stage are approximated by linear and cubic splines. The proposed printing strategy consists in building an inner core supporting structure followed by outer curved layers. Findings – The curved layer path planning strategy is validated for shell-type objects by considering a 5-axis printer simulator. An example with an aeronautic object is presented to illustrate the proposed approach. Originality/value – The paper presents an approach to curved layer path planning on a 5-axis printer, for shell-type objects.This work was developed under the FIBR3D project Hybrid processes based on additive manufacturing of composites with long or short fibers reinforced thermoplastic matrix (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016414), supported by the Lisbon Regional Operational Programme 2020, under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Clitocybe alexandri extract induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in a lung cancer cell line: identification of phenolic acids with cytotoxic potential

Mushrooms are a possible rich source of biologically active compounds with potential for drug discovery. The aim of this work was to gain further insight into the citotoxicity mechanism of action of Clitocybe alexandri ethanolic extract against a lung cancer cell line (NCI-H460 cells). The effects on cell cycle profile and levels of apoptosis were evaluated by flow cytometry, and the effect on the expression levels of proteins related to cellular apoptosis was also investigated by Western blot. The extract was characterized regarding its phenolic composition by HPLC-DAD, and the identified compounds were studied regarding their growth inhibitory activity, by sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. The effect of individual or combined compounds on viable cell number was also evaluated using the Trypan blue exclusion assay. It was observed that the Clitocybe alexandri extract induced an S-phase cell cycle arrest and increased the percentage of apoptotic cells. In addition, treatment with the GI50 concentration (concentration that was able to cause 50% of cell growth inhibition; 24.8 µg/ml) for 48h caused an increase in the levels of wt p53, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). The main components identified in this extract were protocatechuic, p-hydroxybenzoic and cinnamic acids. Cinnamic acid was found to be the most potent compound regarding cell growth inhibition. Nevertheless, it was verified that the concomitant use of the individual compounds provided the strongest decrease in viable cell number. Overall, we found evidence for alterations in cell cycle and apoptosis, involving p53 and caspase-3. Furthermore, our data suggests that the phenolic acids identified in the extract are at least partially responsible for the cytotoxicity induced by this mushroom extract

In vitro growth inhibitory activity of the Portuguese wild mushroom Clitocybe alexandri in human tumour cell lines

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Dehydration process influences the phenolic profile, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of Galium aparine L.

Galium aparine L. is a very disseminated plant in temperate zones, commonly known as clivers or bedstraw, belonging to the Rubiaceae family and it is traditionally used for its medicinal applications. In this study, G. aparine hydromethanolic extracts and infusions were prepared from air-dried and freeze-dried samples in order to assess their phenolic profile, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic properties. All the studied extracts revealed a similar phenolic profile, but the hydromethanolic extract obtained from the freeze-dried sample presented the highest concentration of phenolic compounds, followed by the respective infusion and the airdried sample hydromethanolic extract. The major compound detected in the extracts was 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (from 145 to 163 mg/g extract). Regarding the bioactivity, in general, the extracts presenting higher phenolic concentrations also revealed enhanced bioactive properties. The EC50 values obtained in the antioxidant activity assays ranged from 13.5 to 884 μg/mL, with the freeze-dried sample hydromethanolic extract presenting the highest activity (13.5–555 μg/mL). Similar conclusions could be made in terms of antimicrobial properties, with this extract showing the lowest MIC (1.85–15 mg/mL), MBC (3.75–7.5 mg/mL), and MFC (3.75–20 mg/mL) values. None of the extracts revealed cytotoxicity. The results obtained in this study suggested that G. aparine extracts can be a good source of phenolic compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013); to FCT for L. Barros research contract; to FCT for the grant attributed to C. Pereira (SFRH/BPD/122650/2016) through the Programa Operacional Capital Humano (POCH) supported by the European Social Fund and National Funds of MCTES (Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia, e Ensino Superior); and to FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme for financial support through the project 0377_Iberphenol_6_E. The authors are also grateful to the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, grant number 173032 for financial support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bioactive properties of Clitocybe alexandri

Some mushrooms are known to have strong antioxidant capacity [1]. There is an accepted relationship between the physiopathology of several chronic diseases and oxidative stress. Therefore, the use of foods such as those mushrooms with antioxidant capacity, as phytochemical protectors, may be relevant for the prevention of oxidative stress related diseases such as cancer. Additionally, mushrooms have been described as a source of potential antitumour molecules, making them attractive candidates for drug discovery [2,3]. However, there are no such studies on the Portuguese wild mushroom Clitocybe alexandri

Bioactive properties of Clitocybe alexandri

Some mushrooms are known to have strong antioxidant capacity [1]. There is an accepted relationship between the physiopathology of several chronic diseases and oxidative stress. Therefore, the use of foods such as those mushrooms with antioxidant capacity, as phytochemical protectors, may be relevant for the prevention of oxidative stress related diseases such as cancer. Additionally, mushrooms have been described as a source of potential antitumour molecules, making them attractive candidates for drug discovery [2,3]. However, there are no such studies on the Portuguese wild mushroom Clitocybe alexandri

Wild mushrooms Clitocybe alexandri and Lepista inversa: In vitro antioxidant activity and growth inhibition of human tumour cell lines

The in vitro antioxidant and growth inhibitory activity of extracts obtained from two Portuguese wild mushrooms (Clitocybe alexandri and Lepista inversa) was studied in human tumour cell lines. The extracts were phenolic (methanolic and ethanolic) and polysaccharidic (boiling water). The antioxidant activity assays included evaluation of radical-scavenging capacity, reducing power and inhibition of lipid peroxidation measured in liposome solutions. Extract-induced cell growth inhibition was measured in four different tumour cell lines (lung, breast, colon and gastric cancer) using the SRB assay. The polysaccharidic extract oft. inversa was the most potent as antioxidant (EC50 < 1.8 +/- 0.1 mg/ml), while the phenolic ethanolic extract of C alexandri was the most potent as inhibitor of growth of the studied cancer cell lines (Gl(50) <26.0 +/- 1.3 mu g/ml). Together, these activities indicate that these mushrooms are promising sources of bioactive compounds. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved