Effects of Pasteurization on Antihyperglycemic and Chemical Parameter of Xoconostle (Stenocereus stellatus) Juice

Background and Objective: The antihyperglycemic effect is associated with the pre-hispanic fruit xoconostle or tunillo (Stenocereus stellatus, Pfeiffer and Riccobono). This fruit includes in various varieties, distinguished by color. Xoconostle fruits are highly perishable. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess antihyperglycemic effects of xoconostle juice before (fresh) and after pasteurization. The study focused on the white and red varieties of xoconostle. Material and Methods: In this study, the method involved collecting juice from xoconostle fruits, followed by pasteurization. Chemical, physical and microbial parameters were assessed for the juice and the ability to decrease capillary glucose levels (antihyperglycemic effect) was assessed in male Wistar rats. Results and Conclusion: Pasteurization process led to decreases in total phenolic content of the red variety of xoconostle fruit, while the white variety showed increases in malic acid content. Despite these changes, fresh and pasteurized juices of the two varieties showed lower blood glucose levels, compared to the control group. Red variety demonstrated a stronger antihyperglycemic effect. In conclusion, pasteurization did not affect pharmacological effects of xoconostle juice, making it a viable preservation method without compromising the antihyperglycemic charac-teristics. Results of this research suggest a conservation method which preserve the antihyperglycemic effects while extending its shelf life. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Chemical composition of juice and antihyperglycemic studies in seed of the prehispanic fruit tunillo (Stenocereus stellatus) collected in Oaxaca, Mexico

580-584Tunillo, or pitaya of august (Stenocereus stellatus) is a prehispanic fruit, endemic to the Mixteca region in Mexico and to which a lot of medicinal properties have been associated. However, there are few scientific studies regarding its characterization and use. For these reasons, in this study we carried out a chemical characterization of the juice of four-color variants as well as determine the antihyperglycemic capacity of seed. Physical and chemical characterization were carried out in juice of fruits of Stenocereus after a preselection based on pulp color. Total soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, organic acid and betalains were quantified in juice and antihyperglycemic capacity was measured in seed. Physicochemical parameters in juice were similar in the 4 variants; regarding the content of pigments, the red variant showed the highest values as well as the highest organic acids. However, the white, orange, and red variants showed better antihyperglycemic capacity. Red tunillo is the best candidate for obtaining pigments and its higher organic acids content correlates with its lower acceptance by the local population. The seeds of the white, orange, and red colors showed promising anhyperglycemic capacity, which suggest that they should be considered for the development of antidiabetic treatments. These results contribute to the use of compex matrices considered waste products of the fruits. This would undoubtedly increase their commercial value

Chemical composition of juice and antihyperglycemic studies in seed of the prehispanic fruit tunillo (Stenocereus stellatus) collected in Oaxaca, Mexico

Tunillo, or pitaya of august (Stenocereus stellatus) is a prehispanic fruit, endemic to the Mixteca region in Mexico and to which a lot of medicinal properties have been associated. However, there are few scientific studies regarding its characterization and use. For these reasons, in this study we carried out a chemical characterization of the juice of four-color variants as well as determine the antihyperglycemic capacity of seed. Physical and chemical characterization were carried out in juice of fruits of Stenocereus after a preselection based on pulp color. Total soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, organic acid and betalains were quantified in juice and antihyperglycemic capacity was measured in seed. Physicochemical parameters in juice were similar in the 4 variants; regarding the content of pigments, the red variant showed the highest values as well as the highest organic acids. However, the white, orange, and red variants showed better antihyperglycemic capacity. Red tunillo is the best candidate for obtaining pigments and its higher organic acids content correlates with its lower acceptance by the local population. The seeds of the white, orange, and red colors showed promising anhyperglycemic capacity, which suggest that they should be considered for the development of antidiabetic treatments. These results contribute to the use of compex matrices considered waste products of the fruits. This would undoubtedly increase their commercial value

Novel inhibitors of human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (HsG6PD) affect the activity and stability of the protein

Background: The pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) has received significant attention because of the role of NADPH and R-5-P in the maintenance of cancer cells, which are necessary for the synthesis of fatty acids and contribute to uncontrollable proliferation. The HsG6PD enzyme is the rate-limiting step in the oxidative branch of the PPP, leading to an increase in the expression levels in tumor cells; therefore, the protein has been proposed as a target for the development of new molecules for use in cancer. Methods: Through in vitro studies, we assayed the effects of 55 chemical compounds against recombinant HsG6PD. Here, we present the kinetic characterization of four new HsG6PD inhibitors as well as their functional and structural effects on the protein. Furthermore, molecular docking was performed to determine the interaction of the best hits with HsG6PD. Results: Four compounds, JMM-2, CCM-4, CNZ-3, and CNZ-7, were capable of reducing HsG6PD activity and showed noncompetitive and uncompetitive inhibition. Moreover, experiments using circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy showed that the molecules affect the structure (secondary and tertiary) of the protein as well as its thermal stability. Computational docking analysis revealed that the interaction of the compounds with the protein does not occur at the active site. Conclusions: We identified two new compounds (CNZ-3 and JMM-2) capable of inhibiting HsG6PD that, compared to other previously known HsG6PD inhibitors, showed different mechanisms of inhibition. General significance: Screening of new inhibitors for HsG6PD with a future pharmacological approach for the study and treatment of cancer

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Pharmacological and phytochemical potential study of plants collected in Amecameca, State of Mexico, Mexico

62-67<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";mso-bidi-font-family:="" mangal;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-US">This study involved several plants collected from February to May of 2014 in Amecameca, State of Mexico, Mexico. The collected species were Castilleja tenuiflora Benth., Lupinus campestris Schltdl. & Cam., Salvia gesneriiflora Lindl. & Paxton, Senecio barba-johannis DC., Salvia hispanica L., Stevia monardifolia Kunth, Senecios alignus DC., Zephyranthes verecunda Herb., Asclepias notha W.D. Stevens, Cestrum roseum Kunth, Bouvardia ternifolia (Cav.) Schltdl., Phaseolus coccineus L. The plant material underwent to a qualitative assessment of the present main chemical groups and some secondary metabolites such as caffeic and chlorogenic acid, total phenols and flavonoids. Also, the antioxidant capacity of the collected species was evaluated using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) method. Our results indicated that the plant commonly known as ‘chamiso’ and taxonomically identified as Stevia monardifolia showed promising antioxidant properties (109±11.0 mMEAA). These results correlate with the high content of caffeic and chlorogenic acid (6.1 and 553 ppm, respectively), phenolic compounds (967±36 mEGA/gdw) and total flavonoids (136± 10 mEQ/gdw), which makes this plant an interesting candidate for more specific pharmacological studies.</span

Purification, concentration and recovery of small fragments of DNA from Giardia lamblia and their use for other molecular techniques

Purification of nucleic acids is an essential procedure for most experiments in molecular biology. In this paper, the freeze-squeeze method with some modifications is proposed as an alternative methodology for the purification, concentration and recovery of small DNA fragments from agarose gels. The advantage of this alternative methodology is that it enables the recovery of fragments that are less than 100 bp in length and enables suspension of products in smaller volumes compared to several commercially available kits. In addition, the purified fragments were re-amplified by PCR and used for cloning and sequencing. Moreover, this protocol was used to perform the isolation and identification of microRNAs from Giardia lamblia, as previously reported. This protocol has the advantage of being inexpensive and easy and can be employed for various molecular applications. The advantages of this protocol include • A modified classical method was used for purification of small DNA fragments from G. lamblia. • The modified freeze-squeeze method was more efficient in cleaning up small DNA fragments from agarose gels compared to commercial kits. • The modified method allows concentration and recovery of fragments up to 60 bp in length. • The modified freeze-squeeze method allows re-suspension of the products in volumes of up to 2.5 μL

Functional and Biochemical Analysis of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) Variants: Elucidating the Molecular Basis of G6PD Deficiency

G6PD deficiency is the most common enzymopathy, leading to alterations in the first step of the pentose phosphate pathway, which interferes with the protection of the erythrocyte against oxidative stress and causes a wide range of clinical symptoms of which hemolysis is one of the most severe. The G6PD deficiency causes several abnormalities that range from asymptomatic individuals to more severe manifestations that can lead to death. Nowadays, only 9.2% of all recognized variants have been related to clinical manifestations. It is important to understand the molecular basis of G6PD deficiency to understand how gene mutations can impact structure, stability, and enzymatic function. In this work, we reviewed and compared the functional and structural data generated through the characterization of 20 G6PD variants using different approaches. These studies showed that severe clinical manifestations of G6PD deficiency were related to mutations that affected the catalytic and structural nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) binding sites, and suggests that the misfolding or instability of the 3D structure of the protein could compromise the half-life of the protein in the erythrocyte and its activity

Studies on phytochemical, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycaemic and antiproliferative activities of Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea angustifolia extracts

Context: Echinacea (Asteraceae) is used because of its pharmacological properties. However, there are few studies that integrate phytochemical analyses with pharmacological effects. Objective: Evaluate the chemical profile and biological activity of hydroalcoholic Echinacea extracts. Materials and methods: Density, dry matter, phenols (Folin–Ciocalteu method), flavonoids (AlCl3 method), alkylamides (GC-MS analysis), antioxidant capacity (DPPH and ABTS methods), antiproliferative effect (SRB assay), anti-inflammatory effect (paw oedema assay, 11 days/Wistar rats; 0.4 mL/kg) and hypoglycaemic effect (33 days/Wistar rats; 0.4 mL/kg) were determined in three Echinacea extracts which were labelled as A, B and C (A, roots of Echinacea purpurea L. Moench; B, roots, leaves, flowers and seeds of Echinacea purpurea; C, aerial parts and roots of Echinacea purpurea and roots of Echinacea angustifolia DC). Results: Extract C showed higher density (0.97 g/mL), dry matter (0.23 g/mL), phenols (137.5 ± 2.3 mEAG/mL), flavonoids (0.62 ± 0.02 mEQ/mL), and caffeic acid (0.048 mg/L) compared to A and B. A, B presented 11 alkylamides, whereas C presented those 11 and three more. B decreased the oedema (40%) on day 2 similar to indomethacin. A and C showed hypoglycaemic activity similar to glibenclamide. Antiproliferative effect was only detected for C (IC50 270 μg/mL; 8171 μg/mL; 9338 μg/mL in HeLa, MCF-7, HCT-15, respectively). Discussion and conclusion: The difference in the chemical and pharmacological properties among extracts highlights the need to consider strategies and policies for standardization of commercial herbal extracts in order to guarantee the safety and identity of this type of products

RNAi-Mediated Specific Gene Silencing as a Tool for the Discovery of New Drug Targets in Giardia lamblia; Evaluation Using the NADH Oxidase Gene

The microaerophilic protozoan Giardia lamblia is the agent causing giardiasis, an intestinal parasitosis of worldwide distribution. Different pharmacotherapies have been employed against giardiasis; however, side effects in the host and reports of drug resistant strains generate the need to develop new strategies that identify novel biological targets for drug design. To support this requirement, we have designed and evaluated a vector containing a cassette for the synthesis of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), which can silence expression of a target gene through the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. Small silencing RNAs were detected and quantified in transformants expressing dsRNA by a stem-loop RT-qPCR approach. The results showed that, in transformants expressing dsRNA of 100–200 base pairs, the level of NADHox mRNA was reduced by around 30%, concomitant with a decrease in enzyme activity and a reduction in the number of trophozoites with respect to the wild type strain, indicating that NADHox is indeed an important enzyme for Giardia viability. These results suggest that it is possible to induce the G. lamblia RNAi machinery for attenuating the expression of genes encoding proteins of interest. We propose that our silencing strategy can be used to identify new potential drug targets, knocking down genes encoding different structural proteins and enzymes from a wide variety of metabolic pathways