Natural Antioxidants and Vitamins Supplementation Shelters Adolescents from Upper Respiratory Tract Infection

Context: Several decades of dietary research recommended the consumption of antioxidants and vitamins rich foods as a protective tool against a broad portfolio of diseasesAims: This study aims to test if oral supplementation of natural antioxidants and vitamins before the winter season, may reduce the occurrence of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in adolescents.Settings and Design: Natural antioxidants and vitamins supplements were given to 90 adolescents (45 males, and 45 females) from an orphanage against a placebo during three months in a double-blind fashion.Methods and Material: Saliva was collected before and after supplementation. The antioxidant activity of saliva was determined in vitro using electrolysis as a free radical generating system. Additionally, total antioxidant activity, glutathione and ascorbic acid levels in the saliva were evaluated before and after supplementation. The URTI frequency was recorded throughout the winter season (3 months).Statistical Analysis: All values were expressed as means ± SEM. Significance of the results was assessed using Student's t-test and Fisher's testResults: Data indicated that only five individuals from the group that received antioxidants and vitamins supplements manifested URTI while 14 adolescents from the non-supplemented group showed symptoms of URTI. Biochemical analysis revealed that the saliva in provenance from the supplemented group exhibited a higher capacity to scavenge free radicals compared to its capacity before supplementation. This supplementation also increased the total antioxidant activity and the levels of both ascorbic acid and glutathione in the saliva. Conclusions: We concluded that oral intake of antioxidants and vitamins protects against URTI through increased antioxidant activity

<i>In vitro</i> antiproliferative activity of saffron extracts against human acute lymphoblastic T-cell human leukemia

16-21<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";mso-bidi-font-family:="" mangal;letter-spacing:-.1pt;mso-ansi-language:en-gb;mso-fareast-language:en-us;="" mso-bidi-language:hi"="" lang="EN-GB">Cancer is still considered as one of the most life threatening cause responsible for a huge number of annual deaths around the world. Particularly, leukemia is difficult to be cured. In this context, free radicals are one of the factors that cause or predispose to cancer. Hence, they should be controlled in the body by prophylactic or curative treatments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiproliferative effect against human acute lymphoblastic T-cell leukemia (Jurkat cell line) of the Lebanese saffron (Crocus sativus L.; Family Iridacea), and to detect which components of saffron are responsible for the growth inhibitor. Lebanese saffron decreased cell growth of Jurkat cells in a dose dependent manner. A mixture of crocin and safranal also decreased the number of Jurkat cells and the IC50 value of this mixture was lower than that of the whole saffron extract.</span

Antioxidant effects of lebanese Crocus sativus L. and its main components, crocin and safranal, on human skeletal muscle cells

International audienceIntroduction: - Crocus sativus L. (C. sativus L.) has gained interest as a potential source of pharmacologically bioactive compounds and is believed to possess antioxidant properties. This study used human myoblast cells to evaluate the protective effects of C. sativus L. extracts, (crocin, and safranal) on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress using human myoblast cells. Methods: - HPLC was used to detect the presence of the active compounds safranal/crocin in the Lebanese C. sativus L. extracts. Their cellular antioxidant property was examined by trypan blue, cell adhesion, immunostaining and cell cycle assays. Transcriptional expression and activities of SOD1/2, GPX1, and catalase were also determined. The ability of C. sativus L. and its main components to modulate myogenic regulatory factors (MyoD, Myf5) was evaluated using RT-PCR assay. Results: - The water/methanol (50:50, v/v) extract of C. sativus L. stigmas were found to contain safranal and crocin, with a high concentration of trans-crocin 3/4 in particular. In vitro, pretreatment (24 h) with safranal exhibited the lowest antioxidant effect whereas pretreatment with C. sativus L. extracts (0.3 µg/ml) and more notably with crocin (0.3 µM) attenuated the toxic impact of H2O2 (50 µM, 24 h) and also restored the capacity of adhesion among LHCN-M2 cells. This protective effect was associated with both a reduction of intracellular reactive oxygen species generation and an up-regulation of antioxidant enzyme activities. Furthermore, crocin pretreatment significantly improved the transcriptional expression of myogenic regulatory genes. Conclusion: - C. sativus L., particularly its main component crocin, was shown to have therapeutic potential against oxidative stress-associated skeletal muscle diseases

Antifungal and Phytotoxic Activities of Essential Oils: In Vitro Assays and Their Potential Use in Crop Protection

International audience(1) Background: The use of natural products based on essential oils (EO) is nowadays arousing great interest as an alternative method to control plant pathogens and weeds. However, EO possess low bioavailability and are highly volatile, and their encapsulation in hydroxypropyl-&szlig;-cyclodextrin (HP-&beta;-CD) could be a means to enhance their stability and maintain their bioactivity. Thus, the current study aims at investigating, in the presence and the absence of HP-&beta;-CD, the antifungal and phytotoxic activities of nine EO, distilled from plant species belonging to Alliaceae, Apiaceae, and Cupressaceae families, with considerations for their chemical composition. (2) Methods: EO antifungal activity was assessed by direct contact and volatility assays against Fusarium culmorum, a major phytopathogenic fungi, while phytotoxic effects were evaluated against lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and rye-grass (Lolium perenne L.), by seedling&rsquo;s emergence and growth assays. (3) Results: These EO inhibit fungal growth in both direct contact and volatility assays, with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) ranging from 0.01 to 4.2 g L&minus;1, and from 0.08 up to 25.6 g L&minus;1, respectively. Concerning phytotoxicity, these EO have shown great potential in inhibiting lettuce (IC50 ranging from 0.0008 up to 0.3 g L&minus;1) and rye-grass (IC50 ranging from 0.01 to 0.8 g L&minus;1) seedlings&rsquo; emergence and growth. However, the EO encapsulation in HP-&beta;-CD has not shown a significant improvement in EO biological properties in our experimental conditions. (4) Conclusion: All tested EO present antifungal and phytotoxic activities, with diverse efficacy regarding their chemical composition, whilst no increase of their biological effects was observed with HP-&beta;-CD

Origanum syriacum Essential Oil Chemical Polymorphism According to Soil Type

Background: Origanum syriacum L. is an aromatic plant growing wild in Lebanon. This species is highly used in Lebanese traditional medicine and is a staple food in Lebanese gastronomy. Due to the over-harvesting, this species has become a cultivated crop rather than being collected from the wild. This study aims to evaluate the chemical polymorphism according to soil type. Methods: Plant samples were cultivated in different soil types including manure, potting mix, professional agriculture mixture, vegetable compost, nursery soils, and natural agricultural soil inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. After 16 weeks of culture, fresh shoot biomass was measured. Root colonization rate was evaluated and foliar biomasses were used for essential oil (EO) extraction. EO yield was calculated and the identification of the main chemical compounds of EO samples was performed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography&ndash;mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Results: Our findings revealed that the soil type affects the O. syriacum chemotype. Indeed, the EO samples could be divided into two groups: thymol chemotype group including manure and vegetable compost soils and non-sterilized non-inoculated EO samples, and the thymol/carvacrol chemotype including potting mix, professional agriculture mixture, nursery mixture, sterilized non-inoculated, non-sterilized inoculated, and sterilized inoculated EO samples. These results showed that manure and vegetable compost soils promoted thymol synthesis, whereas potting mix, professional agriculture mixture, and nursery mixture soils were thymol/carvacrol chemotype. Moreover, mycorrhizal inoculation increased carvacrol and reduced thymol productions in comparison to non-inoculated conditions. Additionally, mycorrhizal inoculation showed significant enhancements in mycorrhizal rates and shoot biomass production with respect to the non-sterilized soil. Conclusions: These variations confirm the influence of the edaphic conditions on the chemical components biosynthesis pathways of oregano plants. The results of this investigation could be used for determining optimal soil type, leading to a good quality herb production