Supplement with Cystoseira canariensis promotes an increase of resistance to the maximum load in the grastrocnemius muscle of female rats

Was evaluated the maximum load supported by the grastrocnemius muscle of female rats after the ministering of Cystoseira canariensis, either associated or not to swimming. Twenty-eight young Wistar female rats were used, divided into 4 groups: control (C, n=7); supplement (S, n=7); supplement and swimming (SSw, n=7); swimming (Sw, n=7). Each one pertaining to the groups S and SSw received 20 mg of myostatin inhibitor per day. The swimming consisted in an aerobe protocol, three times in a week, during eight weeks. The right grastrocnemius muscle of each animal was removed and a tension test was performed in an Emic testing machine. The results (Mean&#177;SEM) were evaluated through ANOVA and Tukey test (p<0.05). A significant difference for maximum load (in N) was verified among the groups C (35.41&#177;1.06) and S (39.98&#177;1.15); Sw (27.94&#177;2.19) and S (39.98&#177;1.15); Sw (27.94&#177;2.19) and SSw (37.78&#177;1.28). In relation to the stretching at the maximum limit (in x10-3m) at the maximum load, the group SSw obtained a value (20.68&#177;1.19) significantly greater than the groups C (17.15&#177;1.11), S and Sw (16.11&#177;1.60). There was a significant difference for body weight gain among the groups treated with supplement and supplement associated to the swimming, with smaller values for this last. The myostatin inhibitor either, associated or not to the swimming, promotes an increase of resistance to the maximum load in the tension test in grastrocnemius muscle of young female rats

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

Therapeutic possibilities in the autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophies

Fourteen years ago, the first disease-causing mutation in a form of autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy was reported. Since then the number of genes has been extended to at least 14 and the phenotypic spectrum has been broadened. The generation of mouse models helped to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and also served to study therapeutic possibilities. All autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophies are rare diseases, which is one reason why there have been so very few controlled clinical trials. Other reasons are insufficient natural history data and the lack of standardized assessment criteria and validated outcome measures. Currently, therapeutic possibilities are mainly restricted to symptomatic treatment and the treatment of disease complications. On the other hand, new efforts in translational research and the development of molecular therapeutic approaches suggest that more promising clinical trials will be carried out in autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy in the next several years