Effects of administration of Hibiscus sabdariffa aqueous calyx extracts on neonatal programming of metabolic dysfunction

Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) is a plant of the Malvaceae family that has anti-obesity, antihypertensive, hypocholesterolaemic, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties. Dietary manipulations during the suckling period cause precocious maturation of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Events in early life affect the individual‘s metabolic health in later life. This study investigated the effects of early administration of the aqueous calyx extracts of HS on the growth performance, general health and the GIT of neonatal rats and whether it conferred protection or predisposition to the development of metabolic dysfunction in adolescence. The study was carried out in two phases. The first phase was to determine the effects of HS aqueous calyx extracts on the growth performance, metabolic substrates and the development of the neonatal rat GIT. In the second phase, the effects of the early administration of the HSE on the response of the pups to diet induced metabolic dysfunction were investigated. In phase one, forty two 4-day old Sprague Dawley pups of both sexes were randomly assigned to three treatment groups. Each group consisted of 7 males and 7 females. The control group received distilled water at 10ml.kg-1 b.w while the other two groups received either a low (50mg.kg-1) or high dose (500mg.kg-1) of the HS aqueous calyx extracts via oral gavage daily for 9 consecutive days. The rats were euthanased and their tissues harvested and analyzed. Pups that were administered with the high dose HSE had significantly heavier small intestines relative to the body mass when compared to those on the low dose HSE (P<0.01) and the control group (p<0.001). Pups in the high dose HSE group had significantly heavier caeca (p<0.05) than those in the low dose HSE group. In the second phase, eighty five 4-day old Sprague Dawley rat pups were used. They were initially divided randomly into three groups and received similar treatments as in phase one up to postnatal day (PND) 14. There was no intervention from PND14 to PND 21 when the pups were weaned. The rats in each of the treatment groups were further divided into a control group that continued on their normal rat chow diet and a test group that received high fructose (20% w/v) in their drinking water for 30 days in order to induce metabolic dysfunction. Each of the six study groups had at least 5 male and 5 female rats. The male rats in each of the treatment groups gained more body mass than their corresponding female counterparts in the control and treatment groups (p<0.001). Female rats that received high dose HSE in the neonatal period had significantly greater visceral fat pad (p≤0.05) than the males in the groups. There were no negative effects on the rats‘ general health. At the end of the study, features of metabolic syndrome did not manifest in the control or any of the treatment groups. Hibiscus sabdariffa aqueous calyx extracts did not exhibit any long term effects and therefore may be considered safe for consumption in the neonatal age group

Proximate content and lipid profile of seeds from rapanea melanophloeos (the Cape beech) tree

Abstract: Rapanea melanophloeos (Cape beech) is a fruit-bearing tree indigenous to Southern Africa which produces edible fruit. Previous studies have focussed on investigating the nutritional potential of the tree’s fruit pulp. The nutritional potential of R. melanophloeos seeds is unknown. Seed samples obtained from ripe fruit of the Cape beech trees had their proximate analysis and lipid profiling done. The dry matter and ash contributed 91.29 ± 0.00 %, 1.50 ± 0.01 % of the mass of the seed. Whilst the other proximate analytes namely crude fibre, crude protein and ether extract made up 5.71 ± 0.43 % , 10.50 ± 0.49 % and 4.75 ± 0.09 % the mass of the seeds respectively. The fatty acid profile of the seed oil revealed Linoleic acid (50.43 ± 0.38 %) to be the most dominant. R. melanophloeos seeds are not a viable source of nutrients

Revolutionizing snakebite care with novel antivenoms: Breakthroughs and barriers

Snakebite envenoming (SBE) is a global public health concern, primarily due to the lack of effective antivenom for treating snakebites inflicted by medically significant venomous snakes prevalent across various geographic locations. The rising demand for safe, cost-effective, and potent snakebite treatments highlights the urgent need to develop alternative therapeutics targeting relevant toxins. This development could provide promising discoveries to create novel recombinant solutions, leveraging human monoclonal antibodies, synthetic peptides and nanobodies. Such technologies as recombinant DNA, peptide and epitope mapping phage display etc) have the potential to exceed the traditional use of equine polyclonal antibodies, which have long been used in antivenom production. Recombinant antivenom can be engineered to target certain toxins that play a critical role in snakebite pathology. This approach has the potential to produce antivenom with improved efficacy and safety profiles. However, there are limitations and challenges associated with these emerging technologies. Therefore, identifying the limitations is critical for overcoming the associated challenges and optimizing the development of recombinant antivenoms. This review is aimed at presenting a thorough overview of diverse technologies used in the development of recombinant antivenom, emphasizing their limitations and offering insights into prospects for advancing recombinant antivenoms

Zinc Metalloproteins in Epigenetics and Their Crosstalk

More than half a century ago, zinc was established as an essential micronutrient for normal human physiology. In silico data suggest that about 10% of the human proteome potentially binds zinc. Many proteins with zinc-binding domains (ZBDs) are involved in epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, which regulate transcription in physiological and pathological conditions. Zinc metalloproteins in epigenetics are mainly zinc metalloenzymes and zinc finger proteins (ZFPs), which are classified into writers, erasers, readers, editors, and feeders. Altogether, these classes of proteins engage in crosstalk that fundamentally maintains the epigenome’s modus operandi. Changes in the expression or function of these proteins induced by zinc deficiency or loss of function mutations in their ZBDs may lead to aberrant epigenetic reprogramming, which may worsen the risk of non-communicable chronic diseases. This review attempts to address zinc’s role and its proteins in natural epigenetic programming and artificial reprogramming and briefly discusses how the ZBDs in these proteins interact with the chromatin

Potential benefits and challenges on the use of phytochemicals for obese COVID-19 patients: A review

Background: COVID-19 produces a great burden on obese individuals. Due to the age-long use of medicinal herbs in the management of obesity, their potential against the COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly investigated. This study aims to review phytochemicals or bioactive compounds with the potential of being useful for obese COVID-19 patients. Methods: Using search terms that include pairwise combinations of either COVID-19 or obesity with each of nine selected phytochemicals (epigallocatechin gallate, rutin, astaxanthin, resveratrol, genistein, curcumin, quercetin, ellagic acid, and hesperidin). Relevant articles published from January 2009 to August 2023 were retrieved from PubMed. Results: A total of 43 papers (17 clinical trials, 12 preclinical studies, 3 systemic reviews of randomized controlled trials, and 11 other review papers) met the inclusion criteria and were discussed in this review. These include research articles reporting the anti-COVID-19 properties of the selected phytochemicals, which have previous or recent “clinical evidence” against overweight or obesity Conclusion: Phenolic compounds make up to eight out of the nine selected bioactive compounds and are, therefore, concluded to be the best class of phytochemicals for managing obese COVID-19 patients

Nutrigenomic Effects of White Rice and Brown Rice on the Pathogenesis of Metabolic Disorders in a Fruit Fly Model

Consumption of white rice (WR) has been shown to predispose individuals to metabolic disorders. However, brown rice (BR), which is relatively richer in bioactive compounds, possesses anti-glycaemic and antioxidant effects. In this study, fifteen cultivars of paddy rice that are predominantly consumed in North West Nigeria were analysed for their nutritional composition, bioactive contents and effects on metabolic outcomes in a fruit fly model. Gene expression analyses were conducted on the whole fly, targeting dPEPCK, dIRS, and dACC. The protein, carbohydrate, and fibre contents and bioactives of all BR cultivars were significantly different (p p p dACC and dPEPCK was upregulated, while that of dIRS was downregulated in the WR groups compared to the BR groups. Sex differences (p < 0.05) were observed in the WR groups in relation to the nutrigenomic effects. Our findings confirm metabolic perturbations in fruit flies following consumption of WR via distortion of insulin signalling and activation of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. BR prevented these metabolic changes possibly due to its richer nutritional composition