α-Lipoic acid ameliorates altered colonic contractility and intestinal transit in STZ-diabetic rats

279-282α-Lipoic acid treatment (100 mg/kg/day for 2 weeks after 6 weeks of untreated diabetes) of streptozotocin diabetic rats partially but significantly reversed both reduced contractile response of distal colon to acetylcholine and delayed transit of charcoal meal in small intestine compared to diabetic control. These effects of α-Lipoic acid were associated with complete reversal of diabetes induced increased plasma lipid peroxidation level. α-Lipoic acid had no effect on any of the parameters measured in non-diabetic rats. These findings demonstrate contribution of oxidative stress in the development of physiological changes of gut in diabetes

In Vitro Antidiabetic Effects of Isolated Triterpene Glycoside Fraction from Gymnema sylvestre

A triterpene glycoside (TG) fraction isolated and purified from ethanolic extract of Gymnema sylvestre (EEGS) was investigated for blood glucose control benefit using in vitro methods. The HPLC purified active fraction TG was characterized using FTIR, LC-MS, and NMR. The purified fraction (TG) exhibited effective inhibition of yeast α-glucosidase, sucrase, maltase, and pancreatic α-amylase with IC50 values 3.16 ± 0.05 μg/mL, 74.07 ± 0.51, 5.69 ± 0.02, and 1.17 ± 0.24 μg/mL, respectively, compared to control. TG was characterized to be a mixture of triterpene glycosides: gymnemic acids I, IV, and VII and gymnemagenin. In vitro studies were performed using mouse pancreatic β-cell lines (MIN6). TG did not exhibit any toxic effects on β-cell viability and showed protection against H2O2 induced ROS generation. There was up to 1.34-fold increase in glucose stimulated insulin secretion (p<0.05) in a dose-dependent manner relative to standard antidiabetic drug glibenclamide. Also, there was further one-fold enhancement in the expression of GLUT2 compared to commercial standard DAG (deacylgymnemic acid). Thus, the present study highlights the effective isolation and therapeutic potential of TG, making it a functional food ingredient and a safe nutraceutical candidate for management of diabetes

Optimum blend of chitosan and poly-(ε-caprolactone) for fabrication of films for food packaging applications

The present work deals with the preparation and characterization of the chitosan and poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) solution-casted blended films in various proportions (chitosan–PCL ratio 90:10, 80:20, and 70:30). The films were casted and dried at 55 °C, which were characterized based on the mechanical, barrier, thermal, and microscopic properties. The film prepared from chitosan to PCL ratio 80:20 resulted in increase percentage elongation by 20.56% as compared to pure chitosan film. Fourier transform infrared spectrum indicated a shift in peak of absorption from 1743.9 to 1724.8 cm−1 due to carbonyl group of PCL indicating the miscibility and interaction between the PCL and chitosan. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that PCL appeared as a co-continuous phase with chitosan for ratio 80:20, confirmed the interaction between chitosan and PCL. The above study indicated that the properties of chitosan films can be modified with the addition of PCL and may find its versatile use in food packaging