Stress, Natural Antioxidants and Future Perspectives

Stress can exist by a variety of daily challenges related to obesity, other eating disorders, long-term health issues and immune system suppression. Free radicals derived from oxygen, called reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species and similarly antioxidants are part of the body’s natural functioning. Oxidative stress occurs when free radicals and antioxidants are out of balance. The prooxidant-antioxidant balance is assessed by determination of both oxidant and antioxidant status, which can be measured simultaneously in blood and tissue. Dietary or natural antioxidants play an important role in helping the endogenous antioxidants in scavenging the excess of free radicals. Antioxidant supplements include several important substances such as beta carotene, lutein, phycocyanin and zeaxanthin, which are rich in vegetables, fruits and natural foods. All these contents have a key role in growth, immunity and lifetime quality. Still, high dose of the natural foods can cause the organism, not to assimilate the wastes by the mechanism. In this chapter, we’ll inquire to explain the oxidative and antioxidative mechanisms and balance via importance of the natural antioxidants to life quality. For this purpose, oxidative stress, related diseases, antioxidants and their importance will be reviewed, and the correlation between natural antioxidants and health will be presented

A Prominent Superfood: Spirulina platensis

Our planet’s resources have been declining, as you know. The life qualities of humans have also changed a little because of their economy, nutrition, sports, and family life. Therefore, more alternative resources are being sought after by humans. Also, in the food supply for animals, scientists have been researching different and alternative supplements for growth performance, immunity, reproduction, and metabolism. Spirulina platensis and its contents have been linked to a nutritional component in both human and animal health and welfare. Growth and immunomodulation properties of this supplement have been widely studied in animals and humans, recently. Nowadays, nutritional specifics of S. platensis are a main focus for researchers. S. platensis is a single-cell protein due to its rich components, such as protein, essential amino acids, fatty acids, antioxidant pigments, carotenoids, beta-carotene, and phycocyanin. Today, researchers study the nutritional quality and investigate the effects of S. platensis on growth, immunity, antioxidant, antitoxicologic, anticancerogenic, cholesterol and glucose metabolism, and fertility. For these reasons, S. platensis may be acceptable as an alternative and/or superfood for the next generation. So, we review this information regarding S. platensis using historical background, literature reviews, qualitative studies, and microscopic appearances in this chapter

The influence of phytogenic additive on the antioxidant capacity, immunity and liver functions in stress-induced male rats

Global animal feeding strategies have been modified due to several ecosystem changes that cause stress and decline in health, growth, and yields. According to the literature, natural additives have been fundamental to animal health from day to day. The present study measured changes in antioxidant status, immunity, liver functions and organ weights tested under stress conditions to determine whether dietary supplementation with phytogenic additive could provide beneficial effects. Forty-eight adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly separated into four groups; Control(C), Stress(S), Treatment(Tr), Treatment and Stress(TrS). Rats in groups Tr and TrS received phytogenic additive by adding into water (2mL/L) 5days a week for 28days. All rats were exposed to prolonged light phase conditions (18h light: 6h dark) for 14 days. Also, two chronic stresses, isolation and crowded environments, were applied to animals in the Stress and TrS groups. There was a significant decline in the oxidant status in untreated stress group, while phytogenic additive fed rats maintained a significantly higher total antioxidant status. This study also showed a significant increase in IL-4 and decrease in IFN-γ in the untreated Stress group compared to the Control group. There were increases in liver enzymes in the Stress group in comparison to the Control group. After the phytogenic treatment, there was an increase in the weight of the liver, intestine, brain and testes. In conclusion, this study showed that supplementation of phytogenic additive containing milk thistle and artichoke with choline, carnitine, vitamin E and melatonin describes the protective effects on antioxidant status, immunological parameters and liver functions under mixed stress conditions

Role of essential oils in antioxidant capacity and immunity in a rat model of mixed stress

Animal wellbeing is a balance between environmental stress and nutrition that regulates homeostasis. Augmentation of animal feed with essential oils can promote homeostasis. The present study was designed to observe the biochemical, immunological, and biological effects of daily administration of a mixture of essential oils (EOM) in a stressed rat model. Forty-eight adult male Sprague Dawley rats were  randomly allocated to four groups, namely a control group (C), a stressed group (S), a treated group (Tr), and a stressed group that  received the treatment (TrS). The treatment was applied by adding EOM to the water (0.2 ml/l) three days per week for 28 days. Two  chronic stressors (isolation and crowding) were applied to animals in groups S and TrS. Total oxidant status (TOS) increased in the S group  compared with C, whereas it decreased when fed with EOM. Although TOS was the same in S and C, it increased in Tr compared with C. There was a significant increase in interleukin 4 (IL-4) in S compared with C, and EOM reversed the IL-4 level. Nevertheless, an increase was seen in the weights of the liver, intestine, brain, and testes in TrS compared with S. The increase in water intake was a result of stress, but feeding with EOM decreased water consumption gradually. This study showed that 0.2 ml/l EOM had protective effects on antioxidant status, immunity and liver function, and decreased water consumption under stress conditions

Saccharomyces: Is a Necessary Organism or a Biological Warrior?

Saccharomyces is a eukaryotic organism that possesses approximately 6,000 known genes since 1996. It has long been used for food, bakeries, drinks, and therapeutics due to its many ingredients and its role in several mechanisms. Saccharomyces can be used as an experimental organism for medicinal products in the pharmaceutical industry. Particularly in public health, the use of Saccharomyces in the production of vaccines is remarkable. It has been alleviated that this yeast helps clarify the function of individual proteins in pathogenic viruses. To clarify virus life and host interactions, virus replication systems in Saccharomyces were interested in scientists. The new antiviral strategies with yeasts suggest the biological mechanism of a pathogen virus. Due to the variety of diseases and current epidemic conditions, these organisms play an essential role in prevention and treatment. This chapter will try to update Saccharomyces’ scientific discoveries with the most recent and up-to-date literature

Natural Antioxidants to the Rescue?

Natural antioxidant compounds have different mechanisms of treatment and prevention against various diseases due to their richest ingredients. There are several antioxidants used today, such as phytogenic ingredients, flavonoids, capsaicin, spirulina, beta-glucan, polyphenol etc. Besides the outbreak of diseases, the ability to scavenge oxidative conditions of the natural antioxidants have been notably important. Thereby, therapeutic strategies of diseases have been interested by researchers. Try to seek a kind of effects of natural antioxidants to various diseases, especially viral or pandemic diseases are being important nowadays. This chapter we’ll mention about how to viral or pandemic disease’s effects on oxidative status in both animals and humans, and what kind of phytochemical ingredients would be a positive effect on. At the same time, the latest advances about these natural antioxidant compounds and pharmaceuticals will be critically highlighted and discussed with newest literatures

Is There Still Room to Improve Medicinal Herbs (Functional Herbs) by Gene Editing for Health?

Herbs have a wide variety of chemical compounds that can support food quality, medicines, and biotechnology approaches. Over the years, extensive research has been carried out in genetic engineering of foods, including improving the feasibility of herbs. The story behind the herbal genetic technology relates to food allergy, the pharmaceutical industry, and of course, the growing food shortage that is the biggest nutritional issue of this century. Researchers have highlighted that in genome editing, creating synthetic biology is a good strategy. Furthermore, the production of secondary metabolites in herbs may be enhanced through genetic methods. The researchers investigated the plants’ secondary metabolic pathways as well as their genetic alterations. Yet there are some herbal remedies used in genetic engineering. This chapter begins with a discussion of our studies of functional foods and their effects on human and animal health. Next, we will highlight the importance of genome editing in herbs and methodologies. Additionally, the differences between natural functional foods and genome editing herbs will try to prove efficacy on humans and animals. Consequently, we will attempt to reveal if genomic foods have protective effects on health and particularly on pandemic diseases

28 Months Later: Pandemic Crime in England and Wales to July 2022

By July 2022, violence and sexual offences, and theft from the person, remained statistically significantly lower than expected levels, with burglary, car crime, robbery and shoplifting far below expected levels (but falling within the rapidly expanding 95% confidence intervals). The other six crime categories plus anti social behaviour were at or trending towards expected levels. Recorded crime rates per 10,000 population are in orange, expected rates are dashed, with grey-shaded 95% CIs