Effects of sialic acid from edible bird nest on cell viability associated with brain cognitive performance in mice

Background: Edible bird nest (EBN) is a natural food product rich in glycoprotein such as sialic acid, which has been reported to improve brain functions. The EBN is widely consumed due to its higher nutritional contents and antioxidant status; however, an interaction of EBN on brain cell metabolic activity and viability are still unclear. Objective: The objectives of this study were to identify the effect of sialic acid from EBN on the cell viability and to determine the appropriate concentration of sialic acid on cognitive performance in mice. Materials and Methods: The viability of pheochromocytoma and neuroblastoma cell lines were tested using the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. For in vivo study, 7-week-old female BALB/c mice were randomly assigned into four treatment groups and were treated with sialic acid for 21 days. At day 22, all mice were tested on cognitive performance by Y-maze test. Results: Treatment concentration of sialic acid extract and sialic acid standard at 60 μg/mL (0.6 ppm) increased cell viability and showed no cytotoxicity effects in pheochromocytoma and neuroblastoma cell lines. In addition, an administration of higher dose of sialic acid at 0.6 ppm in animals improved Y-maze test performance, which they showed significantly higher number of entries and time spent in the novel arm. Conclusion: Thus, the current study shows that the sialic acid extract at 0.6 ppm improved brain cognitive performance in mice associated with an increased viability of pheochromocytoma and neuroblastoma cell lines

The potential use of sialic acid from edible bird’s nest to attenuate mitochondrial dysfunction by in vitro study

Edible bird’s nest (EBN) is one of the expensive functional foods in herbal medicine. One of the major glyconutrients in EBN is sialic acid, which has a beneficial effect on neurological and intellectual capability in mammals. The aims of this research were to study the effects of sialic acid from EBN on cell viability and to determine its effect on mitochondria membrane potential (MtMP) in Caco-2, SK-N-MC, SH-SY5Y, and PC-12 cell lines. Fourteen samples of raw EBN were collected from four different states in Malaysia. The confluency of the epithelial monolayers measurement of the tight junction for all the cell lines was determined using transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), and the sialic acid uptake study in cell lines was determined by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC). The MTT assay was conducted for cell viability study. The MtMP in cell lines was determined using the Mito Probe JC-1 Assay by flow cytometer analysis. We have recorded a statistically significant difference between the uptake of sialic acid from EBN and the standard solution. A higher amount of sialic acid was absorbed by the cells from extract of EBN compared to the standard solution. The amounts of sialic acid uptake in Caco-2, SK-N-MC, SH-SY5Y, and PC-12 cell lines were (0.019 ± 0.001), (0.034 ± 0.006), (0.021 ± 0.002), and (0.025 ± 0.000) µmol/L, respectively. The MTT results indicated that the concentration of sialic acid increased the cell viability and showed no cytotoxicity effects on cell lines when they were exposed to the sialic acid extract and sialic acid standard at all the tested concentrations. The number of active mitochondria was found to be significantly higher in SH-SY5Y cell lines with a 195% increase when treated with sialic acid from EBN. Although many researchers around the globe use SHSY5Y and SK-N-MC for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) study, based on our finding, SH-SY5Y was found to be the most suitable cell line for AD study by in vitro works where it has a known relationship with mitochondrial dysfunction

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

The occurance of oil palm weevil, elaeidobius kamerunicus (order coleoptera) and the productivity of oil palm, elaeis guineensis (Family arecaceae)

Malaysia has the most developed oil palm industry in the world and this affects the overall agriculture development of the country. The oil palm tree in Malaysia is Elaeis guineensis (African oil palm) and the main pollinating agent is Elaeidobius kamerunicus (oil palm weevil). This study was conducted in Bangka Semong oil palm plantation, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak to verify the occurrence of E. kamerunicus in response to the productivity of oil palm. The result from this study showed that there is a low occurrence of male flower inflorescences that anthesis (<1%) from 660 oil palm trees sampled. The occurrence of oil palm weevil is higher in block F compared to A (Mann-Whitney U test). The numbers of fresh fruit bunches sampled were significant different comparing four different blocks (one-way ANOVA). The numbers of weevil presence is positively correlated with the numbers of spikelet based on Spearman Rank Correlation test. However, there are no linear relationships between the presence of weevils and the number of fresh fruit bunches or the average diameter of fruit bunches. The findings of this study could provide the useful information on the relationship between the occurrence of oil palm weevil and productivity. In addition, this study can serve as reference for future studies and knowledge on the biology of these insects which is vital for better management of oil palm yields