Effect of Arginine and Citrulline Supplements on Cardiovascular Health and Sports Activities: A Narrative Review on Indian Perspective

The use of nutritional supplements (NS) for improving sports performance and health has become popular, and Citrulline and Arginine are the most frequently used supplements in these fields. The global market for dietary supplements has had consistent growth in sales in the last decades. More than half of the individuals use dietary supplement extensively. Present systematic review aims to understand the role of dietary arginine and Citrulline supplements for cardiovascular health and sports performance. The complicated connection between the control of hemodynamic and overall homeostasis and Citrulline and Arginine have been established. Citrulline and Arginine play important role in protecting skeletal as well as health of cardiac muscles and structural integrity and also are involved in many metabolic processes. Arginine has successfully mediated the release of the synthesis of creatinine growth hormone, which significantly increases strength and muscle mass. Also, Arginine is necessary to produce nitric oxide, which promotes skeletal muscle growth and also enhances vascular function. Overall, arginine supplements have a reasonable positive effect on the health of the heart, muscles and bones, as well as on maintaining and escalate exercise capacity. On the other hand, Citrulline can possibly converted into Arginine in many cell types and can effectively make up shortages of Arginine and nitric oxide in various pathological and physiological circumstances. Moreover, Citrulline helps to detoxify ammonia while decreasing stress levels and fatigue and promoting performance of exercise. In order to increase and enhance human athletic activities, both arginine and Citrulline are require

Study of Doppler indices of umbilical artery and middle cerebral artery in pregnancies at and beyond forty weeks of gestation

Background: The optimal management of pregnancies beyond date is still debated. Prolonged pregnancies carry risk to the fetus and routine induction increases the rate of primary cesarean section. Hence as there is evidence that placental reserve diminishes beyond term this study was conducted to know the effect of advanced gestation on Doppler indices and its correlation with perinatal outcome.Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 80 pregnant women who are at or beyond 40 weeks of gestation. Doppler indices of umbilical artery and middle cerebral artery were taken. Data were analyzed with obstetrics and perinatal outcome.Results: Umbilical artery mean RI increased with gestational age (p=0.003). There was no significant difference in PI and S/D ratio in different gestational age groups. Middle cerebral artery Doppler indices did not show any significant difference in different gestational age groups. In abnormal Doppler group, perinatal outcome was also not significantly different, but neonatal intensive care unit admission was increased, which was statistically significant (p=0.007).Conclusions: Vascular resistance in the umbilical artery and middle cerebral artery does not change abruptly when gestation exceeds 280 days. It also cannot be taken as the sole method of fetal surveillance when date is crossed

Application of Diarylhydrazones, Schiff-bases and Their Saturated Derivatives as Multifunctional Inhibitors of Amyloid Self-Assembly

A new class of multifunctional small molecule inhibitors of amyloid self-assembly is described. Several compounds, based on the diarylhydrazone scaffold were designed. Forty-four substituted derivatives of this core structure were synthesized using a variety of benzaldehydes and phenylhydrazines and were characterized. The inhibitor candidates were evaluated in multiple assays, including the inhibition of A fibrillogenesis and the disassembly of preformed fibrils. The hydrazone scaffold showed strong activity in inhibiting the amyloid beta self-assembly. The structure-activity relationship revealed that the substituents on the aromatic rings had considerable effect on the overall activity of the compounds. In order to identify possible functional moieties responsible for the strong effect further related compounds (Schiff-bases and their hydrogenated product, secondary amines) were synthesized and tested in the inhibition of fibril formation by Thioflavin-T Fluorescence spectroscopy and the fibril morphology was followed by Atomic Force Microscopy. The data indicated that the N-N linkage appears important while the importance of the conjugation in the inhibitors could not be confirmed

INDIAN MILLETS (FINGER MILLET, KODO, SORGHUM AND PEARL MILLET): POTENT FUNCTIONAL FOODS AND PROCESSING SCOPES

Millets, a group of small-seeded grasses, are emerging as functional foods with numerous health benefits. With the world facing challenges in agriculture and nutrition, millets offer a promising solution due to their resilience in marginal growing conditions and high nutritional value. Millets are an abundant source of essential macronutrients and micronutrients, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) that are essential for muscle growth and repair. The phytochemicals present in millets, such as phytosterols, polyphenols, and phytoestrogens, act as antioxidants, immunomodulators, and detoxifying agents, potentially preventing age-related diseases like cardiovascular conditions, type-2 diabetes, and cancer. Different millets contain diverse phenolic groups with potent antioxidant capacity. The nutritional characteristics and processing techniques of four common Indian millets - Finger millet, Kodo, Sorghum and Pearl millets are discussed in view of their potential as functional foods for promoting good health. Millets contain resistant starch, that acts as prebiotic, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut and reducing inflammation, helps in the production of desirable metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids in the colon, especially butyrate, which helps to stabilize colonic cell proliferation and thus contributing to overall health. Although millets contain higher levels of antinutrients, some of these compounds also offer antioxidant properties. The use of processing techniques like debranning, soaking, germination, fermentation, and autoclaving can reduce antinutrient content and enhance the bioavailability of essential nutrients and proteins. Future research in the realm of Indian millets could focus on optimizing processing techniques, exploring health impacts, and transforming antinutrients for potential benefits in combating malnutrition and food securit

The Scavenger Receptor MARCO Modulates TLR-Induced Responses in Dendritic Cells

The scavenger receptor MARCO mediates macrophage recognition and clearance of pathogens and their polyanionic ligands. However, recent studies demonstrate MARCO expression and function in dendritic cells, suggesting MARCO might serve to bridge innate and adaptive immunity. To gain additional insight into the role of MARCO in dendritic cell activation and function, we profiled transcriptomes of mouse splenic dendritic cells obtained from MARCO deficient mice and their wild type counterparts under resting and activating conditions. In silico analysis uncovered major alterations in gene expression in MARCO deficient dendritic cells resulting in dramatic alterations in key dendritic cell-specific pathways and functions. Specifically, changes in CD209, FCGR4 and Complement factors can have major consequences on DC-mediated innate responses. Notably, these perturbations were magnified following activation with the TLR-4 agonist lipopolysaccharide. To validate our in silico data, we challenged DC‘s with various agonists that recognize all mouse TLRs and assessed expression of a set of immune and inflammatory marker genes. This approach identified a differential contribution of MARCO to TLR activation and validated a major role for MARCO in mounting an inflammatory response. Together, our data demonstrate that MARCO differentially affects TLR-induced DC activation and suggest targeting of MARCO could lead to different outcomes that depend on the inflammatory context encountered by DC

Protective role of Ipomoea aquatica Forsk. crude extract on rat tissues in the presence of acephate and carbofuran by histopathology and cytometric determination

Ipomoea aquatica Forsk., commonly called water spinach ( ‘kalmi’ in Bengali) is an underexploited local green leafy vegetable having enormous scope as a cheap antioxidant source. The study explores the ameliorative effect of aqueous I. aquatica extract (IAE) in acephate and carbofuran treated Wistar male rats. Aqueous IAE (@ 20 mg/kg body wt.), administered to rats treated with organophosphate acephate (@ 30 mg/kg body wt.) and carbamate carbofuran (@ 0.1 mg /kg body wt.), attenuated the cholinesterase activity in brain, liver and cellular blood and reformed the histological perturbations in the brain cortex as well as the kidney anomalies, to a good extent. The IAE also upregulated the NF-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf-2) and MnSOD gene expression against pesticide toxicity. Hence, results of the present study intervenes into a new approach of justifying the deleterious side effects of pesticides that are commonly used, and how green leafy vegetables can help ameliorate those harmful effects

Protective role of Ipomoea aquatica Forsk. crude extract on rat tissues in the presence of acephate and carbofuran by histopathology and cytometric determination

118-124Ipomoea aquatica Forsk., commonly called water spinach ( ‘kalmi’ in Bengali) is an underexploited local green leafy vegetable having enormous scope as a cheap antioxidant source. The study explores the ameliorative effect of aqueous I. aquatica extract (IAE) in acephate and carbofuran treated Wistar male rats. Aqueous IAE (@ 20 mg/kg body wt.), administered to rats treated with organophosphate acephate (@ 30 mg/kg body wt.) and carbamate carbofuran (@ 0.1 mg /kg body wt.), attenuated the cholinesterase activity in brain, liver and cellular blood and reformed the histological perturbations in the brain cortex as well as the kidney anomalies, to a good extent. The IAE also upregulated the NF-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf-2) and MnSOD gene expression against pesticide toxicity. Hence, results of the present study intervenes into a new approach of justifying the deleterious side effects of pesticides that are commonly used, and how green leafy vegetables can help ameliorate those harmful effects