Conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) decrease the breast cancer risk in DMBA-treated rats

The aim of this study was to investigate how supplementation of diet of female Sprague-Dawley rats with different doses of conjugated linoleic acids and for a varied period of time influences breast cancer risk, fatty acids profile and lipids peroxidation in chemically induced mammary tumors. Animals were divided into nine groups with different modifications of diet (vegetable oil, 1.0 or 2.0% of CLA) and period of supplementation, which lasted after (A), before (B) and before and after (BA) carcinogenic agent - 7,12- dimethylbenz[a]anthracene administration at 50th day of life. Mammary adenocarcinomas occurred in all groups, but CLA supplementation decreased the cancer morbidity. Two percent CLA seem to be excessive because of the coexisting cachexia. Two CLA isomers (cis-9, trans-11 and trans-10, cis-12) were detected in tumors but content of rumenic acid was higher. Dietary supplementation significantly influenced some unsaturated fatty acids content (C18:2 n-6 trans, C20:1, C20:5 n-3, C22:2), but the anti- or prooxidant properties of CLA were not confirmed. CLA can inhibit chemically induced mammary tumors development in female rats, but their cytotoxic action seems not to be connected with lipids peroxidation. CLA isomers differ with their incorporation into cancerous tissues and they influence the content of some other fatty acids

Determination of selenium as a biomarker of thyroid cancer by HG-AFS method

A simple and versatile procedure has been developed for the determination of selenium in biological samples for clinical purposes. The procedure consists of microwave sample digestion and the determination of selenium using atomic fluorescence spectrometry with a hydride generation system (HG-AFS). The method allows the determination of selenium in a range of 0.5–100.0 μg L–1 with a detection limit not higher than 0.2 μg L–1 and with good repeatability not exceeding 1%. It was applied for determination of selenium in women’s plasma samples (n = 90) with a suspicion of a thyroid cancer and the control group of women (n = 87). Most of the obtained results were in the range 30.0–60.0 μg L–1 and either did not match the physiological level of selenium in human plasma or indicate moderate selenium deficiency. In the further examinations the thyroid tissues taken from 30 patients were analyzed. In most of the cases the selenium concentration was found to be lower (0.14–1.67 μg g–1 wet weight) than its physiological level in a healthy tissue. On this basis the hypothesis has been drawn that selenium can be considered as an additional marker of the thyroid cancer disease

Influence of brassica sprouts on short chain fatty acids concentration in stools of rats with thyroid dysfunction

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of kohlrabi and broccoli sprouts added to the diet on the concentrations of short-chain fatty acids in feces samples of rats with thyroid dysfunction. Two models of hypothyroidism were used. The first one was based on the diet with iodine deficiency and the second by sulfadimethoxine addition to the animal drinking water. In most cases, the concentrations of acetic acid, propanoic acid and butanoic acid in stool samples obtained from rats with thyroid dysfunction were insignificantly lower than found in the control group. Moreover, almost in all cases the diet enriched with brassica sprouts insignificantly increased the concentration of fatty acids in investigated material. A significant positive correlation between concentrations of butanoic and acetic acids was found in different groups of rats. In conclusion, the addition of broccoli or kohlrabi sprouts in ratís diet may slightly alleviate the decline of concentrations of some fatty acids in the stool of animals with thyroid dysfunction. Long term effects of this phenomenon should be evaluated in future studies

Selenium supplementation of amaranth sprouts influences betacyanin content and improves anti-inflammatory properties via NFκB in murine RAW 264.7 macrophages

Abstract Sprouts contain potent compounds which while influencing crucial transduction pathways in cell reveal anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities. In this study, we report the biological activity for seeds and colourful sprouts of four types of edible amaranth, as amaranth has recently attracted interest due to its appreciable nutritional value. MTT assay conducted for the amaranth seeds and sprouts did not show any adverse effect on the viability of murine RAW 264.7 cells. As amaranth accumulates selenium, the sprouts were supple-mented with this trace element (10 mg/L; 15 mg/L Se as so-dium selenite) while growing. Selenium concentration in sprouts was observed to be significantly correlated with betacyanins content of the tested species. The amounts of Se and betacyanins in sprouts varied for various Amaranth spe-cies. In the present study, Amaranthus cruentus sprouts with the highest betacyanins (19.30 ± 0.57–28.85 ± 2.23 mg of amaranthin/100 g of fresh weight) and high total selenium (22.51 ± 1.57–1044.75 ± 73.08 μg/L in methanol extracts) content prevented NFκB translocation to the cell nucleus and subsequently exerted an anti-inflammatory effect by sig-nificant decreasing inflammatory interleukin 6 production (587.3 ± 34.2–710.0 ± 88.1 pg/mL) in the cell culture of acti-vated RAW 264.7 macrophages (vs LPS control 1520 ± 114 pg/mL)

Dragon fruits as a reservoir of natural polyphenolics with chemopreventive properties

Dragon fruits are a valued source of bioactive compounds with high potential to become a functional food. The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the chemopreventive potential and chemical composition of fruits harvested in Thailand and Israel. The amount of different compounds in water and methanol extracts and antioxidant activity was investigated. Moreover, cytotoxic activity against cancer and normal cells of skin, prostate, and gastrointestinal origin was performed, accompanied by anti-inflammatory assay based on NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophage model. Additionally, the quenching properties of polyphenols from fruits were determined by the interaction of the main drug carrier in blood human serum (HSA). The chemometric analysis was used to reveal the relationships between the determined parameters. Dragon fruits harvested in Israel revealed higher antioxidant properties and total content of polyphenols and betacyanins when compared to those from Thailand. The examined fruits of both origins showed significant cytotoxic activity toward colon and prostate cancer cells, with no toxic effect on normal cells, but also no anti-inflammatory effect. Moreover, a high binding ability to HSA was observed for water extracts of dragon fruits. All these predestine dragon fruits are the candidates for the attractive and chemopreventive elements of daily diet