Nanoemulsified gamma-oryzanol rich fraction blend regulates hepatic cholesterol metabolism and cardiovascular disease risk in hypercholesterolaemic rats

We have reported that a bioactive-rich fraction, called EORY, from a combination of supercritical fluid-extracted rice bran oil and palm oil has abundant gamma-oryzanol, tocopherols and tocotrienol. Moreover, EORY has balanced composition of polyunsaturated:saturated fatty acids, with the potential for hypocholesterolaemic and antioxidant effects. However, the bioactive compounds in EORY are lipophilic and therefore pose bioavailability problems. This study evaluated the cardioprotective effects of orally-administered EORY emulsion and its nanoemulsion (NEORY) on diet-induced hypercholesterolaemic rats. NEORY reduced body weight gain, heart weight, lipid parameters and oxidised LDL, and improved HDL better than EORY and simvastatin. NEORY also significantly increased hepatic mRNA expression of HMGCoA reductase, apolipoprotein A1 and LDLR, and lowered apolipoprotein B and LPL. The effects of NEORY on lipid parameters, lipid peroxidation markers and hepatic cholesterol metabolism suggested that it could regulate the risk of cardiovascular disease, possibly due to increased absorption of gamma-oryzanol, tocopherols and tocotrienol

Characterization of rice bran wax policosanol and its nanoemulsion formulation

Policosanol, a mixture of long-chain alcohols found in animal and plant waxes, has several biological effects; however, it has a bioavailability of less than 10%. Therefore, there is a need to improve its bioavailability, and one of the ways of doing this is by nanoemulsion formulation. Different droplet size distributions are usually achieved when emulsions are formed, which solely depends on the preparation method used. Mostly, emulsions are intended for better delivery with maintenance of the characteristics and properties of the leading components. In this study, policosanol was extracted from rice bran wax, its composition was determined by gas chromatography mass spectrophotometry, nanoemulsion was made, and the physical stability characteristics were determined. The results showed that policosanol nanoemulsion has a nanosize particle distribution below 100 nm (92.56–94.52 nm), with optimum charge distribution (-55.8 to -45.12 mV), pH (6.79–6.92) and refractive index (1.50); these were monitored and found to be stable for 8 weeks. The stability of policosanol nanoemulsion confers the potential to withstand long storage times

Estrogen receptor modulatory effects of germinated brown rice bioactives in the uterus of rats through the regulation of estrogen-induced genes

PURPOSE: The expression of genes regulated by estrogen in the uterus was studied in ovariectomized (OVX) rats treated with germinated brown rice (GBR) bioactives, and compared to Remifemin or estrogen at different doses to identify the regulation of these genes in the uterus and their molecular mechanisms. METHODS: Rats were treated orally with GBR bioactives (phenolics), acylated steryl glucosides (ASG), γ-amino butyric acid (GABA), and γ-oryzanol (ORZ) at 100 and 200 mg/kg, Remifemin (REM) at 10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg, or estrogen (EST) at 0.2 mg/kg. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted from the uterus, and messenger (m)RNA expression of selected genes encoding estrogen receptor-beta (ER-β), calcium-binding protein (CaBP9k), complement protein (C3), heat shock protein 70 kDa (HSP70), and interleukin (IL)-4 receptor were quantified. Similarly, serum steroid hormone concentration was monitored at 2, 4, and 8 weeks after treatments. ER-β antibody binding to the uterus sections was also studied using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The group treated with EST (0.2 mg/kg) upregulated ER-β, C3, and IL-4 receptor genes compared to other groups (P0.05) in the progesterone levels in the OVX untreated group compared to the sham and other treated groups. There was a significant increase at 8 weeks in the level of FSH (P0.05) in serum luteinizing hormone (LH) between the OVX untreated group and other groups. The sham and GBR phenolics treated group showed ER-β reactivity at the glandular epithelium, while the group treated with EST showed immunoreactivity at the glandular, luminal, and stromal epithelium. CONCLUSION: GBR phenolics moderately regulate the expression of ER-β, HSP70, and IL-4 receptor genes, and gave a positive immunoreaction to ER-β antigen in the uterus. ASG regulates the expression of CaBP9k and IL-4 receptor genes, and ORZ regulates the expression of the CaBP9k gene, while GABA at 100 mg/kg regulates the expression of the HSP70 gene. GBR and its bioactives might have an effect on estrogen-regulated genes in the uterus of rats

ANTINUTRIENTS IN HERBAL PRODUCTS: AN ASSESSMENT OF NITRATE, PHYTATE, OXALATE, AND CYANIDE IN COMMONLY CONSUMED HERBAL SNUFFS IN SOKOTO, NIGERIA

Background: Herbs are major players in present day therapy, especially by the locals. However, there are some secondary metabolites present in them that can act as antinutrients when consumed by humans. Thus, it is important to monitor the levels of antinutreints in herbal snuff to save the public, especially in Sokoto (a state battling with challenges of nutrients deficiency and malnutrition). Objective: The objective of this work was to measure levels of cyanide, nitrate, phytate, and oxalate, in herbal snuff in Sokoto, Nigeria. Methods: Snuffs were brought from Sokoto market and subjected to antinutritional analysis according to standard methods and using reagents/materials of analytical grade. Result: The amount of nitrate present in three herbal snuff brands sold in Sokoto, Nigeria show that, nitrate ranges from 18.81 ± 0.9 mg/100g (found in Hajiya Safiya snuff brand) to 21. 82 ± 0.08 mg/100g (found in Hajiya Aisha snuff brand). The concentrations of phytate in 3 brands of herbal snuffs revealed, the highest value (91.164 ± 0.001 mg/100g) was recorded in Hajiya Aisha, and the lowest (4.05 ± 0.04 mg/100g) was observed in Dr Lambo herbal brand. The concentrations of oxalate show that, the highest level (0.0787 ± 0.059 mg/100g) was found in Dr lambo, and lowest (0.0055 ± 0.0001 mg/100g) observed in Hajiya Aisha snuff. Then, levels of cyanide in herbal snuff show, the highest value (25.68 ± 1.45 mg/ 100g) was recorded in Dr Lambo snuff brand, and the lowest level of cyanide was recorded in Hajiya Safiya (19.32 ± 1.04 mg/ 100g). Conclusion: The snuffs contain the assessed antinutrients at levels that are not likely to pose risk

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Solid Waste Disposal and Extent of Selected Heavy Metals in Fadama Area of Sokoto City, Nigeria

This study was carried out with the purpose of assessing solid waste disposal and levels of heavy metals in Fadama area of Sokoto city. A survey using questionnaire and atomic absorp-tion spectroscopy was employed for the study. The descriptive statistics and X2 test were done. The types of pollution noticed include: land (40.0%), air (40.0%), and water (20.0%). The possible causes of the pollution include, mostly open dumping of solid waste (41.7%), then open defecation (33.3%), and lastly burning (25.0%). Spread of diseases was most (40.0%) perceived effect, then effect on children (20.0%) and gastroenteritis (20.0%). Other effects are: sickness (13.3%) and accidents (6.7%). The efforts to address the waste disposal are: burning (60.0%), pushing it away from road (20.0%) and provision of containers (20.0%). Effort did by the government involves, promising to bring con-tainers (30.0%), and doing nothing (70.0%). Wastes found are: plastics (70.0%), organic and defeca-tions (23.3%), metal and relations. The heavy metals analysis shows, the lead ranges from 5.1 ± 1.2 to 10.0 ± 0.80 (ppm); chromium ranges from 0.59 ± 0.01 to 2.10 ± 0.02 (ppm); zinc ranges from not detected to 0.81 ± 0.3 (ppm); cadmium from 0.25 ± 0.02; and mercury ranges from 0.95 ± 0.02 to 10.20 ± 0.11 (ppm). There is poor waste management in an agricultural area, a trend that can seep harmful chemicals to be taken up by plants to the upward food chain/web, coupled with other harmful ef-fects of waste such as instigation of diseases and environmental degradation

Potential of Neem Leaves on Preservation of Selected Elemental Compositions in Two Tomato Cultivars from Sokoto, Nigeria

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of neem leaves in preserving the mineral elements content of two tomato types from Sokoto state, Nigeria. Healthy, ripe and firm tomato fruits brought from Sokoto City, were selected, cleaned for this study. 5%, 10% and 25% by were prepared by dissolving respective 5g, 10g and 25g neem extracts in 9.5, 9.0 and 7.5 liters of distilled water respectively to preserve tomatoes. The experiment was laid in a completely randomized design. And elements, Na, K, Ca, Mg, and P were determined in the tomatoes after the experiment using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The levels of Na, K, Ca, and P in Daneka after preservation ranges are: 1.1-1.3(ppm), 2.1-2.3 (ppm), 1.0-1.3 (ppm), 0.30-0.34 (ppm), and 0.3200-0.3330 (ppm) respectively. The levels of Na, K, Ca, and P in UTC after preservation ranges are: 1.6-1.10 (ppm), 1.6-1.10 (ppm), 0.10-1.16 (ppm), 0.30-0.35 (ppm), and 0.9997-1.0998 (ppm) respectively; revealing an increasing trend of elemental contents of all the tomato cultivars with an increasing neem concentration. Thus, the neem leaves indicate the capacity to preserve a typical quality parameter of tomatoes, that is concentration of Na, K, Ca, and P elements at p < 0.05 significant level