Fermented Camel (Camelus dromedarius) and Bovine Milk Attenuate Azoxymethane-induced Colonic Aberrant Crypt Foci in Fischer 344 Rats

Abstract: Background and Objective: Camel milk is a folk remedy that includes valuable nutrients and bioactive zoochemicals. However, the chemopreventive potential of camel milk against colon carcinogenesis is poorly understood. This study was conducted to investigate the chemopreventive potential of camel (Camelus dromedarius) and bovine milk as well as the impact of fermenting these milks with Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptococcus thermophilus against early colon carcinogenesis as measured by the reduction of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in azoxymethane (AOM)-treated Fischer 344 rats. Methodology: Each of 60 weanling male rats was assigned to one of 6 experimental diet groups: Fermented and unfermented camel milk with AOM, fermented and unfermented bovine milk with AOM and positive (PC, AOM only) and negative (NC, saline vehicle only) control groups. The animals were fed the corresponding diets for 3 weeks and then received two subcutaneous injections of AOM or vehicle for 2 consecutive weeks and they were then placed on the corresponding diets for 11 weeks. At termination, all rats were euthanized, colons were harvested and the ACF counts were determined for all tested groups. Immunohistochemical testing was then performed to examine cell proliferation and apoptosis in the camel milk groups. Results: Significant reductions (p<0.05) (48.4-62.1%) in the total ACF count were observed in the colons of the rats fed all milk diets compared with rats fed on PC. However, significant differences were not observed in the total ACF between the camel and bovine milk diets or between the fermented and unfermented milk diets. In addition, significant changes were not observed in the apoptotic index for the camel milk diet compared with the index values for PC and β-catenin was generally localized to the membrane in all examined specimens. Conclusion: By virtue of its bioactive components, camel milk exhibited a chemopreventive potential against early colon carcinogenesis, however, fermentation did not improve its chemopreventive potential

Impact of diurnal intermittent fasting during Ramadan on inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in healthy people: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Studies on the impact of diurnal intermittent fasting during Ramadan on inflammatory and oxidative stress markers have been limited and yielded contradictory results. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to comprehensively examine changes in inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in healthy people before and after Ramadan. Databases searched were: PubMed/MEDLINE, ProQuest Medical, Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCOhost, Science Direct, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Google Scholar. The reference lists of identified papers were also screened. There was no date restriction for papers. The studied inflammatory markers were: interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP)/high sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP). The studied oxidative stress marker was malondialdehyde (MDA). We identified 12 studies (involving 311 participants) conducted in eight countries: Iran (K = 3), Turkey (K = 2), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K = 2), Jordan (K = 1), the United Arab Emirates (K = 1), Denmark (K = 1), the Netherlands (K = 1), and Indonesia (K = 1). Diurnal fasting during Ramadan resulted in very small reductions in IL-1 (Hedge's g = 0.016), CRP/hs-CRP (Hedge's g = 0.119), and MDA (Hedge's g = 0.219), and small reductions in TNF-α (Hedge's g = 0.371) and IL-6 (Hedge's g = 0.407). These results suggest diurnal intermittent fasting during Ramadan provides some protection against elevated inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. Therefore, it may offer an opportunity to reduce low-grade systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, and subsequent adverse health effects in healthy people. Keywords: Diurnal intermittent fasting, Inflammation, Interleukin-1, Interleukin-6, Malondialdehyde, Oxidative stress, Ramadan, Tumor necrosis factor-