Effects of ginseng ingestion on salivary testosterone and DHEA levels in healthy females: An exploratory study

From MDPI via Jisc Publications RouterGinseng is a traditional herbal adaptogen that has been historically used in China and the Far East. Ginsenosides are the active component of ginseng known to exert several actions by targeting “multi-receptor systems”, both extracellular and intracellular. In humans, ginseng effects remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether ginseng can influence salivary androgen levels (testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)) in females. The study followed a parallel partially controlled design. Healthy women (n = 24) were recruited and divided into two groups (A = 20−32 and B = 38−50 years). Volunteers were asked to maintain a food diary pre and post ginseng consumption and collected four salivary samples (7 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 p.m., and 5 p.m.) before and after ingesting 75 mg red Korean ginseng extract per day for seven days. Testosterone and DHEA were then assayed by ELISA methods. Group A’s mean daily salivary testosterone pre ginseng ingestion increased from 76.3 ± 16.6 to 98.4 ± 21.1 pg/mL post ginseng (p 0.01) with significant difference at all time points, and mean daily salivary DHEA increased from 1.53 ± 0.63 to 1.98 ± 0.89 ng/mL post ginseng (p = 0.02). Group B’s mean daily salivary testosterone pre ginseng ingestion was 61.2 ± 16.9 and post ginseng 68.1 ± 11.5 pg/mL (p = 0.132), and daily salivary DHEA increased from 0.91 ± 0.32 to 1.62 ± 0.49 ng/mL post ginseng (p = 0.014) with significant difference at all time points. In conclusion, it appears that ginseng intake significantly increased salivary testosterone levels in the younger women group, but only slightly in the older group. However, DHEA levels in the older women showed a marked and significant increase. These results suggest a potential role for ginseng in modulating salivary androgen levels and that such effect may be more evident in older women where the levels of androgens (DHEA) start to decline. However, it has to be stressed that our results are preliminary and further properly controlled trials are justified.12pubpub

Blurring the boundaries of the Mackintosh room

In this paper we describe a prototype interactive systemsupporting a shared synchronous experience for physical,World Wide Web and virtual reality visitors to anexhibition devoted to the designer and architect C.R.Mackintosh. The system provides awareness betweenvisitors that spans multiple media while also providinglocation- and device-sensitive content to each visitor

Food-Level Analysis to Identify Dietary Choices With the Highest Nutritional Quality and Lowest Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Price

FUNDING This research was funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) and responsive opportunity funding from the Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Nutritional Quality, Environmental Impact and Cost of Ultra-Processed Foods : A UK Food-Based Analysis

This research was funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) and responsive opportunity funding from the Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Cancer-associated fibroblasts from human NSCLC survive ablative doses of radiation but their invasive capacity is reduced

<p>Background: Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs) are significant components of solid malignancies and play central roles in cancer sustainability, invasion and metastasis. In this study we have investigated the invasive capacity and matrix remodelling properties of human lung CAFs after exposure to ablative doses of ionizing radiation (AIR), equivalent to single fractions delivered by stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SART) for medically inoperable stage-I/II non-small-cell lung cancers.</p> <p>Methods: CAFs were isolated from lung tumour specimens from 16 donors. Initially, intrinsic radiosensitivity was evaluated by checking viability and extent of DNA-damage response (DDR) at different radiation doses. The migrative and invasive capacities of CAFs were thereafter determined after a sub-lethal single radiation dose of 18 Gy. To ascertain the mechanisms behind the altered invasive capacity of cells, expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their endogenous inhibitors (TIMPs) were measured in the conditioned media several days post-irradiation, along with expression of cell surface integrins and dynamics of focal contacts by vinculin-staining.</p> <p>Results: Exposing CAFs to 1 × 18 Gy resulted in a potent induction of multiple nuclear DDR foci (> 9/cell) with little resolution after 120 h, induced premature cellular senescence and inhibition of the proliferative, migrative and invasive capacity. AIR promoted MMP-3 and inhibited MMP-1 appearance to some extent, but did not affect expression of other major MMPs. Furthermore, surface expression of integrins α2, β1 and α5 was consistently enhanced, and a dramatic augmentation and redistribution of focal contacts was observed.</p> <p>Conclusions: Our data indicate that ablative doses of radiation exert advantageous inhibitory effects on the proliferative, migratory and invasive capacity of lung CAFs. The reduced motility of irradiated CAFs might be a consequence of stabilized focal contacts via integrins.</p&gt

Endothelial Gata5 transcription factor regulates blood pressure

Despite its high prevalence and economic burden, the aetiology of human hypertension remains incompletely understood. Here we identify the transcription factor GATA5, as a new regulator of blood pressure (BP). GATA5 is expressed in microvascular endothelial cells and its genetic inactivation in mice (Gata5-null) leads to vascular endothelial dysfunction and hypertension. Endothelial-specific inactivation of Gata5 mimics the hypertensive phenotype of the Gata5-null mice, suggestive of an important role for GATA5 in endothelial homeostasis. Transcriptomic analysis of human microvascular endothelial cells with GATA5 knockdown reveals that GATA5 affects several genes and pathways critical for proper endothelial function, such as PKA and nitric oxide pathways. Consistent with a role in human hypertension, we report genetic association of variants at the GATA5 locus with hypertension traits in two large independent cohorts. Our results unveil an unsuspected link between GATA5 and a prominent human condition, and provide a new animal model for hypertension