Discrepancy between Knowledge and Perceptions of Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake Compared with the Omega-3 Index

Little is known about the relationship between perceptions of nutrient adequacy and biomarkers of nutrition status. This cross-sectional study of U.S. and German adults (n = 200;18-80 years) compared dietary practices, knowledge, and beliefs of omega-3 fatty acids (O3-FA) with the omega-3 index (O3-I), an erythrocyte-based biomarker associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. More than half of adults believed that O3-FAs are beneficial for heart and brain health and could correctly identify the food sources of O3-FA. However, the mean O3-I in the U.S. (4.3%) and Germany (5.5%) puts the majority of adults sampled (99%) in intermediate or high CVD-risk categories. More Americans were considered at high CVD-risk (40%) when compared with Germans (10%). In the U.S., but not Germany, women had a significantly higher O3-I than men (4.8% vs. 3.8%, p < 0.001). In the intermediate CVD-risk group, about one-third of adults in both countries (30% in the U.S. and 27% in Germany) believed their diet was adequate in O3-FA. Notably, mean O3-I concentrations did not significantly differ with dietary perceptions of adequacy. More adults in Germany (26%) than in the U.S. (10%) believed that dietary supplements are needed to achieve a balanced diet. In spite of adequate knowledge about food sources and a consistent belief that O3-FA are important for health, very few participants had O3-I concentrations in the range for CVD protection

Analytical tools used to distinguish chemical profiles of plants widely consumed as infusions and dietary supplements: artichoke, milk thistle and borututu

Artichoke, borututu and milk thistle are three medicinal plants widely consumed as infusions or included in dietary supplements (e.g., pills and syrups). Despite their high consumption, studies on nutritional value and primary metabolites are scarce, being only reported the composition in secondary metabolites such as phenolic compounds. Therefore, their nutritional value was assessed and analytical tools (liquid and gas chromatography coupled to different detectors) were used to distinguish the chemical profiles namely in hydrophilic (sugars and organic acids) and lipophilic (fatty acids and tocopherols) compounds. Chromatographic techniques are important analytical tools used in the identification and quantification of several molecules, also being a standard requirement to distinguish different profiles. Borututu gave the highest energetic value with the highest content of carbohydrates and fat, sucrose and total sugars, shikimic and citric acids, α-, β-, δ- and total tocopherols. Artichoke had the highest ash and protein contents, oxalic acid, SFA (mainly palmitic acid acid), and γ-tocopherol, as also the best n6/n3 ratio. Milk thistle showed the highest levels of fructose and glucose, quinic acid and total organic acids, PUFA, mainly linoleic acid, and the best PUFA/SFA ratio. The hydrophilic compounds identified in the studied plants, mostly sugars, are the responsible for the energetic contribution of their widely consumed infusions. Otherwise, the bioactivity of lipophilic compounds namely, unsaturated fatty acids and tocopherols, is lost in those preparations but can be recovered in dietary supplements based on the plants. As far as we know this is the first report on detailed composition of molecules with nutritional features.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support to the research centre CIMO (PEst-OE/AGR/UI0690/2011)

Gene Expression and Biological Pathways in Tissue of Men with Prostate Cancer in a Randomized Clinical Trial of Lycopene and Fish Oil Supplementation

Studies suggest that micronutrients may modify the risk or delay progression of prostate cancer; however, the molecular mechanisms involved are poorly understood. We examined the effects of lycopene and fish oil on prostate gene expression in a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.Eighty-four men with low risk prostate cancer were stratified based on self-reported dietary consumption of fish and tomatoes and then randomly assigned to a 3-month intervention of lycopene (n = 29) or fish oil (n = 27) supplementation or placebo (n = 28). Gene expression in morphologically normal prostate tissue was studied at baseline and at 3 months via cDNA microarray analysis. Differential gene expression and pathway analyses were performed to identify genes and pathways modulated by these micronutrients.Global gene expression analysis revealed no significant individual genes that were associated with high intake of fish or tomato at baseline or after 3 months of supplementation with lycopene or fish oil. However, exploratory pathway analyses of rank-ordered genes (based on p-values not corrected for multiple comparisons) revealed the modulation of androgen and estrogen metabolism in men who routinely consumed more fish (p = 0.029) and tomato (p = 0.008) compared to men who ate less. In addition, modulation of arachidonic acid metabolism (p = 0.01) was observed after 3 months of fish oil supplementation compared with the placebo group; and modulation of nuclear factor (erythroid derived-2) factor 2 or Nrf2-mediated oxidative stress response for either supplement versus placebo (fish oil: p = 0.01, lycopene: p = 0.001).We did not detect significant individual genes associated with dietary intake and supplementation of lycopene and fish oil. However, exploratory analyses revealed candidate in vivo pathways that may be modulated by these micronutrients.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00402285

Optoacoustic imaging and staging of arthritic inflammation.

Objectives Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is one of the most frequent inflammatory diseases, causing pain and disability in the affected joints. Early diagnosis is essential for the efficiency of symptomatic treatment, and relies on careful clinical, serologic and imaging examinations, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which is both expensive and time consuming. In an effort to provide the biomedical community with a more accessible way to assess arthritis advancement, we investigated the use of multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) in a murine model to visualize the extent of the inflammation in vivo through a L- and P-selectin targeting contrast agent. Methods Collagen induced arthritis mice were used as a rheumatoid arthritis model of the limb. MSOT was performed using a L- and P-selectin targeting contrast agent (dPGS-NIR provided by Mivenion, Germany) to increase contrast of the arthritic joint, and signal intensity ratios between healthy and arthritic legs were calculated. Contrast enhanced MR imaging as well as clinical observation, lymphocyte/granulocyte ratio and histology served as references. Results MSOT using an inflammation targeting contrast agent allowed for accurate diagnosis of inflammation in the mouse joints and for significant differentiation of inflamed to healthy joints (P = 0.023). The arthritis findings on the MSOT images were confirmed by clinical observation, blood analysis, contrast enhanced MRI and ex vivo histological examinations. Conclusion This study demonstrates that the combination of inflammation targeting contrast agent and optoacoustic tomographic imaging present a promising mean for diagnosis and staging of arthritic inflammation

Polyglycerolsulfate functionalized gold nanorods as optoacoustic signal nanoamplifiers for <em>in vivo</em> bioimaging of rheumatoid arthritis.

We have synthesized a targeted imaging agent for rheumatoid arthritis based on polysulfated gold nanorods. The CTAB layer on gold nanorods was first replaced with PEG-thiol and then with dendritic polyglycerolsulfate at elevated temperature, which resulted in significantly reduced cytotoxicity compared to polyanionic gold nanorods functionalized by non-covalent approaches. In addition to classical characterization methods, we have established a facile UV-VIS based BaCl2 agglomeration assay to confirm a quantitative removal of unbound ligand. With the help of a competitive surface plasmon resonance-based L-selectin binding assay and a leukocyte adhesion-based flow cell assay, we have demonstrated the high inflammation targeting potential of the synthesized gold nanorods in vitro. In combination with the surface plasmon resonance band of AuNRs at 780 nm, these findings permitted the imaging of inflammation in an in vivo mouse model for rheumatoid arthritis with high contrast using multispectral optoacoustic tomography. The study offers a robust method for otherwise difficult to obtain covalently functionalized polyanionic gold nanorods, which are suitable for biological applications as well as a low-cost, actively targeted, and high contrast imaging agent for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. This paves the way for further research in other inflammation associated pathologies, in particular, when photothermal therapy can be applied

Eicosanomic profiling reveals dominance of the epoxygenase pathway in human amniotic fluid at term in spontaneous labor

Lipid mediators play an important role in reproductive biology, especially, in parturition. Enhanced biosynthesis of eicosanoids, such as prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and PGF(2)α, precedes the onset of labor as a result of increased expression of inducible cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in placental tissues. Metabolism of arachidonic acid results in bioactive lipid mediators beyond prostaglandins that could significantly influence myometrial activity. Therefore, an unbiased lipidomic approach was used to profile the arachidonic acid metabolome of amniotic fluid. In this study, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry was used for the first time to quantitate these metabolites in human amniotic fluid by comparing patients at midtrimester, at term but not in labor, and at term and in spontaneous labor. In addition to exposing novel aspects of COX pathway metabolism, this lipidomic study revealed a dramatic increase in epoxygenase- and lipoxygenase-pathway-derived lipid mediators in spontaneous labor with remarkable product selectivity. Despite their recognition as anti-inflammatory lipid mediators and regulators of ion channels, little is known about the epoxygenase pathway in labor. Epoxygenase pathway metabolites are established regulators of vascular homeostasis in cardiovascular and renal physiology. Their presence as the dominant lipid mediators in spontaneous labor at term portends a yet undiscovered physiological function in parturition.—Maddipati, K. R., Romero, R., Chaiworapongsa, T., Zhou, S.-L., Xu, Z., Tarca, A. L., Kusanovic, J. P., Munoz, H., Honn, K. V. Eicosanomic profiling reveals dominance of the epoxygenase pathway in human amniotic fluid at term in spontaneous labor