Effects of obesity on inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in asthma

Asthma is influenced by environmental factors and obesity, which triggers inflammatory processes that affect airways and give rise to asthmatic condition. Obesity is been associated with low-grade inflammation with the potential of developing several complications including asthma. The origins of asthma and obesity are complex with genetics and environmental factors and among others implicated. The main constituent of obese tissue comprises fat which is chiefly adipocytes. Reactive adipocytes trigger inflammation that has an adverse effect on lung function. Consequently, airways are clogged with inflammatory components leading to asthma. The inflammatory state cause’s macrophages to produce cytokines such as TNF-α which subsequently affect lung function, trigger insulin resistant diabetes and other cardio vascular complications. The mechanism by which the lung changes are characterized by the inflammatory components which triggers oxidative stress markers and pro-inflammatory mediators such as IL-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP). The presence of high oxidative stress markers and pro-inflammatory products exacerbates asthmatic condition. Therefore asthma and obesity result in inflammation that gives rise to oxidative stress, thus these four pathophysiological phenomena are interrelated. This paper reviews the complex relationship between oxidative stress markers and inflammatory markers, especially with regard to evaluation and monitory of respiratory diseases by laboratory methods

Characterization of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity in sorghum grains

Phenolic composition and relative antioxidant activity were investigated in six varieties of sorghum including pigmented and non-pigmented pericarp varieties. Whole grain sorghum extracts were subjected to acidified acetone extraction and were analysed using UHPLC with an attached online ABTS system and Q-TOF LC/MS. Results showed that the black pericarp variety Shawaya short black 1 and the brown pericarp variety IS11316 had the highest total phenolic content (TPC) and total proanthocyanidin content (TPAC), consequently resulting in overall high antioxidant activity. The phenolic compounds that had the highest antioxidant activity in Shawaya and IS11316 were catechin, 1-O-cafferolglycerol-O-glucoside, taxifolin and pentahydroxyflavanone-(3->4)-catechin-7-O-glucoside. Furthermore, comparison of the phenolic profiles has shown that the varieties with higher antioxidant activity generally had higher quantities and more diverse range of polyphenols. Thus, this study indicates that there is no independent compound in sorghum that results in its high antioxidant activity but rather it is the cumulative effect of various phenolic compounds