Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) berries, seeds, leaves, and essential oils: New undiscovered sources of natural compounds with promising health benefits

AbstractMyrtle (Myrtus communis L.) is a typical plant of the coasts of Mediterranean area, which grows spontaneously as a shrub or a small tree. Myrtle berries, leaves, seeds, and essential oils are natural sources of several nutrients and bioactive compounds with marked health effects. In the ancient medicine, it has been indeed used for treating several common diseases, including gastrointestinal, urinary, and skin disorders, whereas currently it is widely employed in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. This review aims to describe the nutritional and the phytochemical compositions of different parts of myrtle plant, as well as their antioxidant activities. In addition, several in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo studies are also presented to give a general overview of the potential effects of myrtle on human health. Finally, a critical analysis of the limitations related to the current research on myrtle is given

Impacts of biomedical hashtag-based Twitter campaign: #DHPSP utilization for promotion of open innovation in digital health, patient safety, and personalized medicine

The open innovation hub Digital Health and Patient Safety Platform (DHPSP) was recently established with the purpose to invigorate collaborative scientific research and the development of new digital products and personalized solutions aiming to improve human health and patient safety. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a Twitter-based campaign centered on using the hashtag #DHPSP to promote the visibility of the DHPSP initiative. Thus, tweets containing #DHPSP were monitored for five weeks for the period 20.10.2020–24.11.2020 and were analyzed with Symplur Signals (social media analytics tool). In the study period, a total of 11,005 tweets containing #DHPSP were posted by 3020 Twitter users, generating 151,984,378 impressions. Analysis of the healthcare stakeholder-identity of the Twitter users who used #DHPSP revealed that the most of participating user accounts belonged to individuals or doctors, with the top three user locations being the United States (501 users), the United Kingdom (155 users), and India (121 users). Analysis of co-occurring hashtags and the full text of the posted tweets further revealed that the major themes of attention in the #DHPSP Twitter-community were related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), medicine and health, digital health technologies, and science communication in general. Overall, these results indicate that the #DHPSP initiative achieved high visibility and engaged a large body of Twitter users interested in the DHPSP focus area. Moreover, the conducted campaign resulted in an increase of DHPSP member enrollments and website visitors, and new scientific collaborations were formed. Thus, Twitter campaigns centered on a dedicated hashtag prove to be a highly efficient tool for visibility-promotion, which could be successfully utilized by healthcare-related open innovation platforms or initiatives

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Data on body weight and liver functionality in aged rats fed an enriched strawberry diet

Here, we present new original data on the effects of strawberry consumption on body weight and liver status of aged rats. Wistar rats aged 19–21 months were fed a strawberry enriched diet prepared by substituting 15% of the total calories with freeze-dried strawberry powder for two months. Body weight, plasma biomarkers of liver injury (alanine transferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase) and liver histological analysis were assessed. These data indicate that strawberry supplementation did not interfere with normal animal maintenance and with liver structure and functionality. For further details and experimental findings please refer to the article “Strawberry consumption improves agingassociated impairments, mitochondrial biogenesis and functionality through the AMP-Activated Protein Kinase signaling cascade” in FOOD CHEMISTRY (Giampieri et al., 2017).European Union (EU) 67930

The effects of pre-harvest and post-harvest factors on the nutritional quality of strawberry fruits: A review

In the last years, the nutritional quality of fruits has been widely evaluated and requested by consumers, mainly because of the health effects they provide. As known, these benefits can be due to micronutrients, as vitamins and minerals, but also to phenolic compounds, as flavonoids and ellagitannins. In this context, strawberries represent a very good choice for a diet low in saturated fats and sodium and, at the same time they are rich in fiber, potassium and other minerals, vitamins, and antioxidant phytochemicals: all elements that are currently considered as the essential constituents of a well-balanced diet. However, the nutritional quality of strawberry fruits can be considerably affected by several pre-harvest and post-harvest conditions, which, in most cases, may decrease the nutrient and the phytochemical contents of this fruit. This paper reviews and updates the current knowledge on the nutritional and phytochemical composition of strawberry, paying particular attention on the role played by the genotype, the maturity, the environment, the storage and the processing on the nutritional quality of this fruit

Anti-inflammatory activities of Italian Chestnut and Eucalyptus honeys on murine RAW 264.7 macrophages.

Tamara Y. Forbes-Hernandez is supported by a "Juan de la CiervaFormacion" post-doctoral contract. APROCAL provided the honeys used in this study. A grant from Regione Calabria and APROCAL supported the study.The aim of this study was to evaluate for the first time the anti-inflammatory effects of chestnut (Castanea sativa) and Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus occidentalis) honeys collected in Italy on murine RAW 264.7 macrophages stressed with the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Pre-treatment with the two honeys markedly decreased apoptosis and stimulated wound healing in macrophages stressed with LPS, where they also reduced the intracellular levels of ROS and nitrite. Additionally, treatment with LPS decreased the levels of glutathione and suppressed the antioxidant enzyme activities, which were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in the presence of the two honeys, through the modulation of Nrf2 expression; in LPS-stressed macrophages, Chestnut or Eucalyptus honeys protected against inflammation by regulating the main inflammatory biomarkers, including TNF-alpha, IL-10 and iNOS, through the decrease of NF-KB expression. Finally, they improved mitochondrial respiration and the main related parameters.Juan de la CiervaFormacion" post-doctoral contractRegione Calabri