Phytochemical profiling and investigation of antioxidant, anti-proliferative, and antibacterial properties in spontaneously grown Sicilian sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) fruits

This study aimed to assess the phytochemical profile and associated functional properties of sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) fruits harvested from wild plants in Sicily. Chemical characterization unveiled exceptionally high levels of polyphenols (10.99 g GAE/100 g DW), including substantial quantities of proanthocyanidins (61.577 mg PACE/100 g DW), and identified 82 phytochemicals belonging to various flavonoid classes. The hydroalcoholic extract from Sicilian sumac exhibited remarkable redox-active properties, providing antioxidant protection in a cell-based model of lipid peroxidation (CAA50: 1.116 μg/mL). Additionally, it displayed significant antiproliferative activity against four human tumor epithelial cell lines with GI50 values ranging from 31.08 to 149.74 μg/mL and robust antibacterial activity against major foodborne pathogens (MIC: 12.5–25.0 mg/mL). Our findings highlight Sicilian sumac fruit as a rich source of phytochemicals that positively contribute to the cellular redox state even when consumed in small quantities. Additionally, its diverse bioactivities indicate potential applications across food and non-food sectors

Impact of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations on sustained virologic response in HCV-infected patients: Results from the GUARD-C Cohort

BACKGROUND: Despite the introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, peginterferon alfa/ribavirin remains relevant in many resource-constrained settings. The non-randomized GUARD-C cohort investigated baseline predictors of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations (sr-RD) and their impact on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients receiving peginterferon alfa/ribavirin in routine practice. METHODS: A total of 3181 HCV-mono-infected treatment-naive patients were assigned to 24 or 48 weeks of peginterferon alfa/ribavirin by their physician. Patients were categorized by time-to-first sr-RD (Week 4/12). Detailed analyses of the impact of sr-RD on SVR24 (HCV RNA <50 IU/mL) were conducted in 951 Caucasian, noncirrhotic genotype (G)1 patients assigned to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin for 48 weeks. The probability of SVR24 was identified by a baseline scoring system (range: 0-9 points) on which scores of 5 to 9 and <5 represent high and low probability of SVR24, respectively. RESULTS: SVR24 rates were 46.1% (754/1634), 77.1% (279/362), 68.0% (514/756), and 51.3% (203/396), respectively, in G1, 2, 3, and 4 patients. Overall, 16.9% and 21.8% patients experienced 651 sr-RD for peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, respectively. Among Caucasian noncirrhotic G1 patients: female sex, lower body mass index, pre-existing cardiovascular/pulmonary disease, and low hematological indices were prognostic factors of sr-RD; SVR24 was lower in patients with 651 vs. no sr-RD by Week 4 (37.9% vs. 54.4%; P = 0.0046) and Week 12 (41.7% vs. 55.3%; P = 0.0016); sr-RD by Week 4/12 significantly reduced SVR24 in patients with scores <5 but not 655. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, sr-RD to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin significantly impacts on SVR24 rates in treatment-naive G1 noncirrhotic Caucasian patients. Baseline characteristics can help select patients with a high probability of SVR24 and a low probability of sr-RD with peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin

Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P &lt; 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P &lt; 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P &lt; 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P &lt; 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation

New solutions for the automatic early detection of diseases in vineyards through ground sensing approaches integrating LiDAR and optical sensors

Flavescence dor\ue9e and Esca are two of the most important diseases that can affect grapevine. These diseases, if not properly treated in time, are the cause of vegetative stress or death of the attacked plant, with the consequence of losses in production as well as a rising risk of propagation to the closer grapevines. Nowadays, the detection of Flavescence dor\ue9e and Esca is carried out manually through visual surveys usually done by agronomists. These activities require enormous amount of time. Up to now, a solution for a fast and early disease detection of these bacterial and fungal attack was not yet developed. Aim of this research was to test if the use of sensors typically employed in precision agriculture and robotics, mounted on different vehicles, can be a useful tool for crop monitoring purposes, principally for the recognition of disease symptoms. Therefore, two prototypes of a mobile laboratory, the ByeLab (Bionic eye laboratory) and the ATVLAB, equipped with sensors, were tested on vineyards. The ByeLab is a remote controlled tracked vehicle, able to move between vineyards rows in an easy way also in case of difficult terrain conditions (such as slope or mud). An aluminum frame, specifically designed, was installed on the Byelab. Here, two Lidar sensors (one on the top and the other on the bottom) and six multispectral sensors (three per side, placed at different height) are fixed, respectively on frontal and lateral sides. Thanks to these sensors, the volume of the monitored grapevines and their NDVI were assessed. All the collected values are geo-localized thanks to the presence of a RTK-GNSS receiver, mounted on the top of the frame. Indeed, on the ATV-LAB only two multispectral sensors, one per side and positioned at the same height, and a RTK-GNSS receiver were installed on a support placed frontally. Both vehicles were equipped with a data-logger, in order to store all the collected data. With the aim to identify the grapevine diseases with these two solutions, a visive survey was also conducted to obtain a reference for a comparison. Through this survey, the presence of Flavescence dor\ue9e and Esca were assessed and classified according to the stage of the infection. Also the empty spaces along the row, due to missing plants or to the presence of rootstocks, were monitored. From the comparison among manual survey and the assessed NDVI collected by the ByeLab and by the ATVLAB, the preliminary results show a capability of these systems to detect respectively 80% and 40% of the low vigor condition, as well as diseases and plant absence. From these preliminary results, the ByeLab shows a pretty good capability to identify the presence of low vigor condition along the row

Biological Activity and Metabolomics of <i>Griffonia simplicifolia</i> Seeds Extracted with Different Methodologies

Griffonia simplicifolia, a tropical plant endemic to West Africa, is highly regarded for its significant pharmacological potential. The objective of this study was to evaluate the metabolomic profile and to explore the antioxidant properties, antiproliferative activity, and antimicrobial potential of G. simplicifolia seed extracts obtained through either maceration, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), or Soxhlet extraction using water, acetone, methanol and ethanol as solvents. Overall, methanol possessed superior total extraction efficiency. HPLC analyses confirmed the efficacy of acetone and ethanol as optimal solvents for the extraction of flavonoids and flavan-3-ols, whereas MAE exhibited enhanced effectiveness in extracting N-containing compounds, including 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP). HPLC-MS analyses identified forty-three compounds, including thirty-four phenolic compounds and nine N-containing molecules. Isomyricitrin, taxifolin and a flavonol glucuronide were the main polyphenols, whereas 5-HTP was the main N-containing compound. Hydroalcoholic G. simplicifolia extracts showed the highest radical scavenging and metal-reducing antioxidant power, suggesting that most of the contribution to antioxidant activity depends on the more polar bioactive compounds. G. simplicifolia extracts showed dose-dependent antiproliferative activity against three distinct cancer cell lines (HeLa, HepG2, and MCF-7), with notable variations observed among both the different extracts and cell lines and divergent GI50 values, emphasizing substantial discrepancies in cell sensitivity to the various extracts. Furthermore, G. simplicifolia extracts revealed antibiotic activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Our results highlight the potential of G. simplicifolia phytochemicals in the development of functional foods, nutraceuticals, and dietary supplements

Recycling wastes from Rubus idaeus by-products: sourdough bread production as a new end-use of exhausted seeds still containing active compounds

In the past few years, in light of the European Commission’s directives on environmental sustainability, the food industries and academic research institutes focused their attention on the use of plant waste and by- products as ingredients to improve the nutritional value of foods. In this work, the agro-industrial waste from cold pressing of Rubus ideaus seeds (WRS) was explored as a valuable food ingredient in bread production. Bread making trials were performed under laboratory conditions using a mix of wheat flour and semolina (1/1) and sourdough as fermenting agent. Two experimental bread productions (5-WRS and 10-WRS) were obtained replacing wheat flour/semolina with WRS at 5 and 10 % (w/w), while control production (CTR) was WRS free. WRS did not negatively affect sourdough LAB starter development and their cell densities reached almost 108 CFU/g at the end of fermentation. Illumina technology identified 14 taxonomic groups, and lactobacilli constituted the major group of the mature sourdough (75.91 % of relative abundance (RA)) and doughs (82.08 – 88.76 % RA). WRS decreased the volume and increased crust and crumb redness of the final breads. The replacement of wheat flour/semolina with WRS at 5 and 10 % (w/w) significantly increased the functional value of breads, in term of content of polyphenolic compounds, proanthocyanidins content and antioxidant activity. In particular, these functional properties increased until 25 % in bread, confirming the thermal stability of WRS. The addition of WRS did not spoil the sensory traits of breads, but the highest values of overall satisfaction were displayed by 5 % (w/w) WRS enriched breads. This work clearly indicated that the addition of WRS in bread production represents a promising strategy to increase the antioxidant activity in cereal-based fermented products

Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant, Antiproliferative, and Antimicrobial Properties of Rubus idaeus Seed Powder

In the context of the contemporary research on sustainable development and circular economy, the quest for effective strategies aimed at revaluation of waste and by-products generated in industrial and agricultural production becomes important. In this work, an ethanolic extract from red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) seed waste (WRSP) was evaluated for its phytochemical composition and functional properties in term of antioxidative, antiproliferative, and antimicrobial activities. Chemical composition of the extract was determined by both HPLC-ESI-MS/MS and spectrophotometric methods. Phytochemical analysis revealed that flavan-3-ols and flavonols were the major phenolic compounds contained in WRSP. The extract demonstrated very high radical-scavenging (4.86 &plusmn; 0.06 &micro;mol TE/DW) and antioxidant activity in a cell-based model (0.178 &plusmn; 0.03 mg DW/mL cell medium). The WRSP extract also exhibited antiproliferative activity against three different epithelial cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HepG2, and HeLa cells) in a dose-dependent manner. Finally, microbiological assays showed the absence of colonies of bacteria and microscopic fungi (yeasts and molds) and revealed that the WRSP extract has a large inhibition spectrum against spoilage and pathogenic bacteria, without inhibitory activity against pro-technological bacteria. In conclusion, the obtained results show that WRSP is a rich source of phytochemical compounds exerting interesting biological activities. For these reasons WRSP could find applications in the nutritional, nutraceutical, and pharmacological fields

Rubus idaeus by-products: sustainable improvement of the antioxidant value of sourdough bread by a new end-use of exhausted seeds still containing bioactive compounds

In the quest to find effective strategies for reducing food waste impact, plant-food wastes and by-products have been considered as potential sources of ingredients to improve food quality. In this work, we explored the suitability of waste from cold pressing of Rubus ideaus seeds (WRSP) as functional ingredient in bread. Fortified bread was produced replacing wheat flour/semolina mixture with 5% or 10% WRSP. WRSP did not affect sourdough lactic acid bacteria starters development since their cell densities reached levels around 108 CFU/g at the end of fermentation. Illumina data showed the dominance of lactobacilli in the obtained doughs (82.08–88.76% of relative abundance). Concerning functional properties, our results indicated that WRSP inclusion significantly increases the content of polyphenolic compounds, particularly proanthocyanins, and the antioxidant activity of both functionalized doughs and final breads. Specifically, the substitution of 5% or 10% of the flour/semolina mixture with WRSP, as compared to the control dough, resulted in a two- to threefold increase in the total polyphenolic content and in a three- to fourfold increase in metal-reducing potential. Finally, compared to the control bread, breads enriched with WRSP exhibited enhanced redness in both the crust and crumb, and in terms of sensory qualities, they obtained higher appreciation from evaluators

End of life care in children and adolescents with cancer: perspectives from a French pediatric oncology care network

International audienceBackground: In developed countries, cancer remains the leading cause of pediatric death from illness after the neonatal period. Objective: To describe the end-of-life care characteristics of children and adolescents with solid tumors (ST) or hematologic malignancies (HM) who died from tumor progression in the Île-de-France area. Methods: This is a regional, multicentric, retrospective review of medical files of all children and adolescents with cancer who died over a 1-year period. Extensive data from the last 3 months of life were collected. Results: A total of 99 eligible patients died at a median age of 9.8 years (range, 0.3–24 years). The most frequent terminal symptoms were pain (n = 86), fatigue (n = 84), dyspnea (n = 49), and anorexia (n = 41). Median number of medications per patient was 8 (range, 3–18). Patients required administration of opioids (n = 91), oxygen (n = 36), and/or sedation (n = 61). Decision for palliative care was present in all medical records and do-not-resuscitate orders in 90/99 cases. Symptom prevalence was comparable between children and adolescents with ST and HM. A wish regarding the place of death had been expressed for 64 patients and could be respected in 42 cases. Death occurred in hospital for 75 patients. Conclusions: This study represents a large and informative cohort illustrating current pediatric palliative care approaches in pediatric oncology. End-of-life remains an active period of care requiring coordination of multiple care teams