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Objective: Berry fruits rich in anthocyanins have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Blood phagocytes are an important source of oxidants that contribute to inflammatory response and oxidative stress. We examined the effect of sour cherry consumption on luminol-enhanced whole blood chemiluminescence (LBCL) reflecting oxidants generation by circulating phagocytes in healthy subjects.Methods: Thirty-four and 29 healthy subjects (on a regular diet) consumed 500 g of sour cherries containing 346.5 mg of total anthocyanins or 500 g of anthocyanin-free apples everyday (between 1100 and 1400 hours) for 30 days. Twenty-four volunteers without any dietary intervention served as the control with respect to LBCL changes over the study period. Fasting blood and spot morning urine samples were collected before and after the fruit courses and after the 10-day wash-out period to measure resting and agonist (fMLP)-induced LBCL, blood cell count, concentration of various phenolics, and plasma antioxidant activity.Results: Sour cherries inhibited (p < 0.05) median resting LBCL (by 29.5% and 33.7%) and fMLP-LBCL (by 24.7% and 32.3%) after 30-day consumption and after 10-day wash-out, respectively. No changes in LBCL were noted in the apple consumers and controls. Increased urinary levels of chlorogenic, 4-hydroxyhippuric, and 3-hydroxyhippuric acids occasionally correlated negatively with resting and fMLP-LBCL in sour cherry consumers. Other measured variables did not change in all groups over the study period.Conclusions: The inhibition of resting and agonist-induced LBCL suggests that regular sour cherry consumption may suppress the formation of reactive oxygen species by circulating phagocytes and decrease the risk of systemic imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants. This may be attributed to the anthocyanins in sour cherry and be one of mechanisms of the health-promoting effects of consumption of anthocyanin-rich fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Strawberries can improve oxidants-antioxidants balance and reduce some cardiovascular risk factors in obese subjects. Paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) is a high-density lipoprotein-associated enzyme with antioxidant properties that can protect from coronary artery disease in humans. We examined the effect of strawberry consumption on plasma PON-1 activity and lipid profile in healthy nonobese subjects.Methods: Thirty-one subjects (body mass index [BMI] 24.4 ± 4.0 kg/m(2)) on their usual diet consumed 500 g of strawberry pulp daily for 30 days (first course) and after a 10-day washout the cycle was repeated (second course). Fasting blood and spot morning urine samples were collected before, during, and after each strawberry course (8 time points) for determination of paraoxonase and arylesterase PON-1 activities and lipid profile. Twenty subjects served as controls with respect to cholesterol and PON-1 activities changes over the study period.Results: Strawberries decreased mean plasma paraoxonase PON-1 activity and this effect was more evident after the second course (by 11.6%, p < 0.05) than after the first course (5.4%, p = 0.06), whereas arylesterase activity was constant. Strawberries altered total cholesterol levels (p < 0.05) with a tendency to transiently decrease it (by 5.1%) only after 15 days of the first course. Triglycerides and high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol did not change in response to fruit consumption. No changes in PON-1 activities and lipid profile were noted in controls. Paraoxonase correlated with arylesterase activity (ƿ from 0.33 to 0.46 at the first 7 time points, p < 0.05). This association disappeared at the end of study (ƿ = 0.07) when the strongest inhibition of paraoxonase was noted.Conclusions: Supplementation of the usual diet with strawberries decreased paraoxonase PON-1 activity and did not improve lipid profiles in healthy nonobese subjects. Further studies are necessary to establish the clinical significance of paraoxonase suppression and to define a group of healthy subjects who can benefit from strawberry consumption with respect to cholesterol levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examined the effect of strawberry consumption on decreasing the luminol enhanced whole blood chemiluminescence (LBCL) of fasting blood in health subjects. Thirty-one healthy subjects were put in a 500 grams strawberry pulp diet, in which resting and agonist (fMLP)-induced LBCL, phenolics and plasma antioxidant activity were tested. The findings suggest that adding strawberry on a diet may suppress baseline formation of oxidants by circulating phagocyctes.

The article focuses on a study that determined whether rapid consumption of 1 liter (L) of apple juice raises blood antioxidant capacity and apple polyphenols or fructose-induced elevation of plasma uric acid contributes to post-juice increase of blood antioxidant activity. Blood antioxidant capacity is measured as ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) and serum 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity. Consumption of all juices transiently raised FRAP and serum DPPH-scavenging activity.

Purpose: The assay of the ferric reducing ability of tears (FRAT) can be useful for monitoring ocular antioxidant capacity in clinical settings. FRAT diurnal variation was evaluated in healthy subjects and its relation with age, sex, body mass index, and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) were studied. Material and Methods: FRAT of 10-μ l tear samples collected with capillary tubes from 68 healthy subjects (age 10 to 92 yrs, 46 women, 22 men) were measured after 0, 3, 5, and 10 min of incubation with Fe3 +. FRAT diurnal variation was estimated in 11 subjects, with tear samples collected every 4 hr during the day. Comparison of FRAT versus FRAP was determined in 20 subjects. Results: Mean FRAT after 10-min incubation reached 207.7 ± 136.8 μ mol/l. No differences were found between FRAT of men and women. Only donor age correlated with FRAT (ρ = 0.40, p < 0.01). Subjects ≤ 59 years had lower FRAT levels than those age > 59 yrs (179.4 ± 95.4 versus 237.2 ± 151.7 μ mol/l, p < 0.01). For all investigated times of incubation, FRAT was approximately two times lower than FRAP (p < 0.01). FRAT revealed diurnal variation, with the highest value at 08:00 hours, upon awakening. Conclusion: The significance of age-matched controls and the specific time of the day for tears collection should be considered in the trial design and investigations with FRAT as a marker of the ocular antioxidant defense system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective . Candida albicans frequently inhabits the gastrointestinal tract of humans leading to gastrointestinal candidiasis, especially following suppression of gastric acidity, but studies on the relation between this fungal infection and gastric pathology are limited due to lack of convenient animal models resembling Candida infection in humans. Material and methods . We compared the effects of C. albicans and vehicle inoculation on gastric secretion and healing of gastric ulcers induced by acetic acid in rats treated with 1) ranitidine (30 mg kg -1 day -1 s.c.) and 2) aspirin (ASA) (60 mg kg -1 day -1 i.g.) with or without probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus acidophillus . At day 0 and at 4, 15 and 25 days after ulcer induction, the ulcer area, the gastric blood flow (GBF), the quantitative gastric cultures of Candida and the expression of mRNAs for pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNF-α and growth factors EGF and TGFα were assessed in the gastric mucosa. Results . Gastric acid output was reduced by over 40% soon after Candida inoculation and this effect persisted during all time intervals tested. The area of ulcers in control rats significantly decreased at day 15 and the ulcers disappeared almost completely after 25 days of their induction. In contrast, the ulcers were present until day 25 in Candida -inoculated rats followed by a fall in GBF and a rise in plasma gastrin levels, these effects being significantly attenuated by the co-treatment with Lactobacillus . Candidiasis was accompanied by up-regulation of mRNA for IL-1β, TNF-α, EGF and TGFα and a significant increment in plasma IL-1β and TNF-α levels. Conclusions . 1) Persistent colonization with Candida could be achieved in rats treated with antisecretory agents or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ASA; 2) candidiasis reduces gastric acid secretion, while delaying ulcer healing possibly due to the impairment in GBF in the ulcer area and enhanced expression and release of IL-1β and TNFα and 3) probiotic therapy could be useful in the treatment against the deleterious action of fungal infection on the healing of pre-existing gastric ulcers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coexistence of nephrotic syndrome and neoplasm is rarely observed in children. We report the diagnostic and therapeutic problems of a 16-year-old female with nephrotic syndrome, ovarian tumor, and increased levels of tumor markers. She was suspected to have paraneoplastic nephrotic syndrome. After ovarian tumor resection, the nephrotic syndrome remission was not observed, while increased tumor marker levels were noted. The patient's final diagnosis was nephrotic syndrome in the course of primary mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis. In conclusion, nephrotic syndrome in a patient with neoplasia might occur in the course of the primary and nonparaneoplastic glomerulopathy. Elevated serum tumor markers in patients with nephrotic syndrome might be nonspecific because of the stimulation of their production by peritoneal mesothelium, due to transudation to body cavities, that is, ascites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]