Obesity-Related Oxidative Stress: the Impact of Physical Activity and Diet Manipulation

Obesity-related oxidative stress, the imbalance between pro-oxidants and antioxidants (e.g., nitric oxide), has been linked to metabolic and cardiovascular disease, including endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are essential for physiological functions including gene expression, cellular growth, infection defense, and modulating endothelial function. However, elevated ROS and/or diminished antioxidant capacity leading to oxidative stress can lead to dysfunction. Physical activity also results in an acute state of oxidative stress. However, it is likely that chronic physical activity provides a stimulus for favorable oxidative adaptations and enhanced physiological performance and physical health, although distinct responses between aerobic and anaerobic activities warrant further investigation. Studies support the benefits of dietary modification as well as exercise interventions in alleviating oxidative stress susceptibility. Since obese individuals tend to demonstrate elevated markers of oxidative stress, the implications for this population are significant. Therefore, in this review our aim is to discuss (i) the role of oxidative stress and inflammation as associated with obesity-related diseases, (ii) the potential concerns and benefits of exercise-mediated oxidative stress, and (iii) the advantageous role of dietary modification, including acute or chronic caloric restriction and vitamin D supplementation

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptome as a mirror of phytochemical variation in complex extracts of Equisetum arvense from America, China, Europe and India

Background: Pattern-oriented chemical profiling is increasingly being used to characterize the phytochemical composition of herbal medicines for quality control purposes. Ideally, a fingerprint of the biological effects should complement the chemical fingerprint. For ethical and practical reasons it is not possible to test each herbal extract in laboratory animals or humans. What is needed is a test system consisting of an organism with relevant biology and complexity that can serve as a surrogate in vitro system. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptome might be used as an indicator of phytochemical variation of closely-related yet distinctly different extracts prepared from a single species of a phytogeographically widely distributed medicinal plant. We combined phytochemical profiling using chromatographic methods (HPTLC, HPLC-PDA-MS/MS) and gene expression studies using Affymetrix Yeast 2.0 gene chip with principal component analysis and k-nearest neighbor clustering analysis to test this hypothesis using extracts prepared from the phytogeographically widely distributed medicinal plant Equisetum arvense as a test case.Results: We found that the Equisetum arvense extracts exhibited qualitative and quantitative differences in their phytochemical composition grouped along their phytogeographical origin. Exposure of yeast to the extracts led to changes in gene expression that reflected both the similarities and differences in the phytochemical composition of the extracts. The Equisetum arvense extracts elicited changes in the expression of genes involved in mRNA translation, drug transport, metabolism of energy reserves, phospholipid metabolism, and the cellular stress response.Conclusions: Our data show that functional genomics in S. cerevisiae may be developed as a sensitive bioassay for the scientific investigation of the interplay between phytochemical composition and transcriptional effects of complex mixtures of chemical compounds. S. cerevisiae transcriptomics may also be developed for testing of mixtures of conventional drugs ("polypills") to discover novel antagonistic or synergistic effects of those drug combinations

Chromatographic Analysis and Anti-Oxidative Property of Naoxinqing Tablet, a Proprietary Preparation of <i>Diospyros Kaki</i> Leaves

The Naoxinqing (NXQ) tablet is a standardised proprietary herbal product containing an extract of persimmon leaves (Diospyros kaki) for the management of cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases. Although previous reports suggested that the efficacy of NXQ is at least partly mediated by its anti-oxidative property, the anti-oxidative effect of the major components of NXQ has not been studied systematically. For quality control purposes, only analytical methods limited to 3 marker analytes have been reported, the extent to which the other components affect efficacy has not been explored. In this study, we developed an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC MS/MS) method for the identification of seven analytes (kaempferol-3-O-glucoside (astragalin), quercetin-3-O-galactoside (hypericin), quercetin-3-O-glucoside (isoquercitin), kaempferol, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (protocatechuic acid), and furan-2-carboxylic acid (pyromucic acid) and quercetin) in the NXQ. This is the first method reported and validated for the quantification of the seven major secondary metabolites in NXQ. The results for the quantified analytes were then compared in 15 different batches of NXQ. The variation observed in the seven components highlights the need to quantify key bioactive components to ensure product consistency. Radical scavenging activity and abundance was used to rank the analytes. The anti-oxidative effects of NXQ were examined using cultured human vascular endothelial cells (EA.hy926). Corrected 2,2-di(4-tert-octylphenyl)-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activity results revealed that quercetin and kaempferol have the strongest anti-oxidant capacity in the extract. Both quercetin and kaempferol significantly inhibited the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced EA.hy926 cell injury and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In conclusion, we established and validated an UPLC-MS/MC method for the analysis of major bioactive components in the NXQ and demonstrated that its anti-oxidative property may play a critical role in cerebrovascular protection

Antiproliferative and apoptotic potential of Chinese medicinal plants against MCF-7 (luminal A), HCC1954 (HER2+) and Hs578t breast cancer cells

Breast cancer is a significant cause of death among women worldwide. Medicinal plant extracts with large amounts of polyphenolic compounds, which are antioxidants, can have an important role in cancer prevention. The purpose of this study is to test in vitro the antiproliferative activities of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of selected Chinese medicinal plants against three human breast cancer cell lines [MCF-7 (luminal A); HCC1954 (HER2+); Hs578t (triple negative)] and one normal cell line [MCF-10A]. The ethanolic extracts of Polygonum cuspidatum, Rheum officinale, Eucomia ulmoides, Lysinachia christinae, Rhizoma Alpinae, Sarcandra glabre, Scutellaria baicalensis, Smilax glabra and Atractyloides macrocephala showed potent anti-cancer activity with little or no toxicity to normal cells. The apoptosis test was carried out for one of the active plant extract (S. baicalensis) and the results were found to be very significant. The plant extracts investigated in this study have significant anticancer activity against the breast cancer cell lines tested. Further investigation is required to isolate and elucidate the structure of the compounds responsible for the observed activity