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Abstract Background The hypothalamus plays a pivotal role in numerous mechanisms highly relevant to the maintenance of body homeostasis, such as the control of food intake and energy expenditure. Impairment of these mechanisms has been associated with the metabolic disturbances involved in the pathogenesis of obesity. Since rodent species constitute important models for metabolism studies and the rat hypothalamus is poorly characterized by proteomic strategies, we performed experiments aimed at constructing a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) profile of rat hypothalamus proteins. Results As a first step, we established the best conditions for tissue collection and protein extraction, quantification and separation. The extraction buffer composition selected for proteome characterization of rat hypothalamus was urea 7 M, thiourea 2 M, CHAPS 4%, Triton X-100 0.5%, followed by a precipitation step with chloroform/methanol. Two-dimensional (2-D) gels of hypothalamic extracts from four-month-old rats were analyzed; the protein spots were digested and identified by using tandem mass spectrometry and database query using the protein search engine MASCOT. Eighty-six hypothalamic proteins were identified, the majority of which were classified as participating in metabolic processes, consistent with the finding of a large number of proteins with catalytic activity. Genes encoding proteins identified in this study have been related to obesity development. Conclusion The present results indicate that the 2-DE technique will be useful for nutritional studies focusing on hypothalamic proteins. The data presented herein will serve as a reference database for studies testing the effects of dietary manipulations on hypothalamic proteome. We trust that these experiments will lead to important knowledge on protein targets of nutritional variables potentially able to affect the complex central nervous system control of energy homeostasis.

Abstract Background We have previously shown that either the continuous intake of a palatable hyperlipidic diet (H) or the alternation of chow (C) and an H diet (CH regimen) induced obesity in rats. Here, we investigated whether the time of the start and duration of these feeding regimens are relevant and whether they affect brain glucose metabolism. Methods Male Wistar rats received C, H, or CH diets during various periods of their life spans: days 30-60, days 30-90, or days 60-90. Experiments were performed the 60th or the 90th day of life. Rats were killed by decapitation. The glucose, insulin, leptin plasma concentration, and lipid content of the carcasses were determined. The brain was sliced and incubated with or without insulin for the analysis of glucose uptake, oxidation, and the conversion of [1-14C]-glucose to lipids. Results The relative carcass lipid content increased in all of the H and CH groups, and the H30-60 and H30-90 groups had the highest levels. Groups H30-60, H30-90, CH30-60, and CH30-90 exhibited a higher serum glucose level. Serum leptin increased in all H groups and in the CH60-90 and CH30-90 groups. Serum insulin was elevated in the H30-60, H60-90, CH60-90, CH30-90 groups. Basal brain glucose consumption and hypothalamic insulin receptor density were lower only in the CH30-60 group. The rate of brain lipogenesis was increased in the H30-90 and CH30-90 groups. Conclusion These findings indicate that both H and CH diet regimens increased body adiposity independent treatment and the age at which treatment was started, whereas these diets caused hyperglycemia and affected brain metabolism when started at an early age.

Introduction : The relationship between blood N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels and cardiovascular health is known, but direct evidence that N-3 PUFA levels influence electrocardiographic (ECG) parameters is non-existent. In the study described herein, we investigated the relationship between anthropometric biomarkers and capillary blood PUFAs with ECG outputs in a sample population of healthy pre-menopausal women. Method : Twenty-three consenting females were recruited, with the study power analysis sufficiently demonstrated. Food intake, anthropometric and cardiovascular parameters were obtained. Capillary blood was collected for fatty acid chromatographic analysis. Results : Body mass index, haematocrit, heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and ECG readings all fell within healthy ranges. Principal component analysis-mediated correlations were carried out controlling for combined Components 1 (age, body fat % and waist-to-hip ratio) and 2 (height, HR and MAP) as control variables. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) unequivocally decreased the QRS area under the curve (AUC-QRS) regardless of the impact of control variables, with each unit increase in DHA corresponding to a 2.3-unit decrease in AUC-QRS. Mediation analysis revealed a significant overall effect of DHA on AUC-QRS, with the impact of DHA on R wave amplitude accounting for 77% of the total observed effect. Discussion : Our new findings revealed an inverse relationship between AUC-QRS with capillary blood DHA, suggesting that the association between ventricular mass and its QRS depolarising voltage is mediated by DHA. Our findings bridge a knowledge gap on the relationship between ventricular mass and ventricular efficiency. Further research will confirm whether the relationship identified in our study also exists in diseased patients.

Wound dressings are one of the most used treatments for chronic wounds. Moreover, 3D printing has been emerging as a promising strategy for printing 3D printed wound constructs, being able of manufacturing multi layers, with a solid 3D structure. Although all these promising effects of 3D printed wound constructs, there is still few studies and limited understanding of the interaction of these dressings with skin tissue and their effect on the process of skin wound healing. In this context, the aim of this work was to perform a systematic review of the literature to examine the effects of 3D printed wound constructs on the process of skin wound healing in animal models. The articles were selected from three databases following Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) descriptors "3D printing," "skin," "wound," and "in vivo." After the selection, exclusion and inclusion criteria, nine articles were analyzed. This review confirms the significant benefits of using 3D printed wound constructs for skin repair and regeneration. All the used inks demonstrated the ability of mimicking the structure of skin tissue and promoting cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, and mobility. Furthermore, in vivo findings showed full wound closure in most of the studies, with well-organized dermal and epidermal layers., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Depression and obesity are highly prevalent and are considered inflammatory pathologies; in addition, they are also associated with dietary patterns including types of fatty acids (FA). Changes in the FA composition in the brain are determined by changes in the content and quality of dietary and serum FA. The aim of this study was to verify the relationships between serum-free FA, inflammatory processes and depressive symptoms in obese adolescents. This was a cross-sectional study that analysed a database composed of 138 post-pubertal adolescents. Data regarding the depressive symptoms, body composition, glucose metabolism, lipid profile, FA profile, leptin concentration, as well as adiponectin, IL-A, IL-6, IL-10, TNF- α , C-reactive protein and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels of the subjects were collected. A total of 54·6 % of the adolescents presented with depressive symptoms, and there were positive correlations between depressive symptoms and serum saturated fatty acids (SFA) content, body fat, and inflammatory adipokines, such as leptin, IL-6, and the leptin/adiponectin ratio. Moreover, the content of n -3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms, suggesting that eicosatrienoic acid (C20:2n6) and dihomo- γ -linolenic acid (C20:3 n -6) are independently associated with depressive symptom scores and can be critical predictors of poor mental health in humans. These results point to the relationship between SFA and depressive symptoms in obese adolescents. However, longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the causality between dietary SFA and depression in obese individuals.

The growing rates of obesity worldwide call for intervention strategies to help control the pathophysiological consequences of weight gain. The use of natural foods and bioactive compounds has been suggested as such a strategy because of their recognized antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. For example, polyphenols, especially anthocyanins, are candidates for managing obesity and its related metabolic disorders. Obesity is well known for the presence of metainflammation, which has been labeled as an inflammatory activation that leads to a variety of metabolic disorders, usually related to increased oxidative stress. Considering this, anthocyanins may be promising natural compounds able to modulate several intracellular mechanisms, mitigating oxidative stress and metainflammation. A wide variety of foods and extracts rich in anthocyanins have become the focus of research in the field of obesity. Here, we bring together the current knowledge regarding the use of anthocyanins as an intervention tested in vitro, in vivo, and in clinical trials to modulate metainflammation. Most recent research applies a wide variety of extracts and natural sources of anthocyanins, in diverse experimental models, which represents a limitation of the research field. However, the literature is sufficiently consistent to establish that the in-depth molecular analysis of gut microbiota, insulin signaling, TLR4-triggered inflammation, and oxidative stress pathways reveals their modulation by anthocyanins. These targets are interconnected at the cellular level and interact with one another, leading to obesity-associated metainflammation. Thus, the positive findings with anthocyanins observed in preclinical models might directly relate to the positive outcomes in clinical studies. In summary and based on the entirety of the relevant literature, anthocyanins can mitigate obesity-related perturbations in gut microbiota, insulin resistance, oxidative stress and inflammation and therefore may contribute as a therapeutic tool in people living with obesity., Competing Interests: Author Declarations The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Diet is a critical factor in controlling adiposity and white adipose tissue (WAT) physiology. A high-fat diet (HFD) alters WAT function and affects AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) - a cellular sensor - dysregulating lipolysis and lipid metabolism in adipocytes. Otherwise, AMPK activation may attenuate oxidative stress and inflammation. Interest in natural therapies, such as carotenoid consumption or supplementation, is growing due to their health benefits. Carotenoids are lipophilic pigments present in vegetables and fruits, which cannot be synthesized by the human body. Interventions focused on ameliorating complications induced by a HFD indicate a positive contribution of the carotenoids to the AMPK activation. This review aims to outline the mechanism of carotenoids in the AMPK pathway in adipose tissue and their contribution in regulating adipogenesis. Different carotenoids can act as an agonist of the AMPK signaling pathway, activating upstream kinases, upregulating transcriptional factors, inducing WAT browning, and blocking adipogenesis. In addition, the improvement of some "homeostatic" factors, such as adiponectin, may mediate the AMPK activation induced by carotenoids. With these findings, we encourage clinical trials to confirm the role of carotenoids in the AMPK pathway in a long-term treatment, mainly in obesity cases.

Several factors can impact the gut microbiota, affecting host metabolism and immunity. It implies intestinal barrier disruption and translocation of gut microbiota metabolites to the bloodstream, such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS). LPS is an endotoxin from gram-negative gut bacteria that trigger the activation of the Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) inflammatory pathway and can modulate white adipose tissue (WAT) metabolism. Dietary components, including diets rich in fiber and polyphenols, contribute to intestinal environment homeostasis. Grape seed proanthocyanidins extract (GSPE) may improve intestinal permeability and microbial diversity and increase short-chain fatty acids production. Furthermore, GSPE has been involved in LPS reduction, down-regulating the TLR-4 pathway, decreasing the WAT metainflammatory profile, and preventing adipocyte hypertrophy. Studies have pointed out strategies to promote health and control obesity by modulating the gut microbiota environment. Therefore, this review aims to summarize the potential effects of GSPE on the gut microbiota-white adipose tissue axis against obesity., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clinical manifestation strongly associated with cardiovascular disease, the main cause of death worldwide. In view of this scenario, many therapeutic proposals have appeared in order to optimize the treatment of individuals with MetS, including the practice of exercise training (ET) and the consumption of okra (O). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of O consumption and/or ET in animals with MetS. In all, 32 male Zucker rats (fa/fa) at 10 weeks old were randomly distributed into four groups of 8 animals each: MetS, MetS+O, MetS+ET and MetS+ET+O, and 8 lean Zucker rats (fa/ +) comprised the control group. Okra was administered by orogastric gavage 2x/day (morning and night, 100 mg/kg), 5 days/week, for 6 weeks. The ET was performed on a treadmill 1x/day (afternoon), 5 days/week, 60 min/day, in an intensity of 70% of maximal capacity, for the same days of O treatment. It was found that, O consumption alone was able to promote improved insulin sensitivity (MetS 93.93 ± 8.54 mg/dL vs. MetS+O 69.95 ± 18.7 mg/dL, p ≤ 0.05, d = 1.65, CI = 50.32 -89.58, triglyceride reduction (MetS 492.9 ± 97.8 mg/dL vs. MetS+O 334.9 ± 98.0 mg/dL, p ≤ 0.05, d = 1.61, CI = 193.2-398.7). In addition, it promoted a reduction in systolic blood pressure (MetS 149.0 ± 9.3 mmHg vs. MetS+O 132.0 ± 11.4 mmHg, p ≤ 0.05, d = 1.63, CI = 120-140), prevented an increase in cardiac collagen (MetS 12.60 ± 2.08% vs. MetS+O 7.52 ± 0.77%, p ≤ 0.05, d = 3.24, CI = 6.56-8.49). When associated with ET, the results were similar. Thus, we conclude that O consumption combined or not with aerobic ET can have a protective effect on the cardiac tissue of rats with MetS., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Obesogenic diets (ODs) consumption is associated with anxiety-like behaviour and negative changes in hippocampal BDNF. At the same time, interrupting OD intake, OD withdrawal (WTD), can bring health benefits, but previous studies reported the development of anxiety-like behaviours. The present work aimed to assess the relationship between anxiety-like behaviour with hippocampal BDNF in a WTD rodent model. Male Wistar rats (60d old) were fed a high-sugar/high-fat (HSHF) diet for 30d (n = 32), and half of them were transitioned to a control diet for 48 h (n = 16) afterwards. The control group (n = 16) was fed a control diet across the whole experiment. Besides increasing anxiety-like behaviours and lowering sociability, the WTD led to an increase in BDNF in the dentate gyrus and the CA1 of the hippocampus. It also decreased locomotor activity in both OF and EPM, however, they did not significantly interfere with the other behavioural parameters analysed. Western blotting analysis revealed that the increase in BDNF likely occurred in the mature forms (14 kD monomer and 28 kD dimer). The mediation models analyses suggested that the effect of WTD on anxiety-like behaviour was driven by hippocampal BDNF, this mediation of effect was region-dependent. Our results also suggested that mature BDNF forms (14 kD and 28 kD) were responsible. The present work brought light to a possible new role for mature BDNF, although it is generally associated with beneficial features, it can also be part of the genesis of anxiety-like behaviours and sociability aspects on WTD models., Competing Interests: Declarations of interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible neurodegenerative disease, characterized by the accumulation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Several pathways enable bidirectional communication between the central nervous system (CNS), the intestine and its microbiota, constituting the microbiota-gut-brain axis., Objective: Review the pathophysiology of AD, relate it to the microbiota-gut-brain axis and discuss the possibility of using probiotics in the treatment and/or prevention of this disease., Methods: Search of articles from the PubMed database published in the last 5 years (2017 to 2022) structure the narrative review., Results: The composition of the gut microbiota influences the CNS, resulting in changes in host behavior and may be related to the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Some metabolites produced by the intestinal microbiota, such as trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), may be involved in the pathogenesis of AD, while other compounds produced by the microbiota during the fermentation of food in the intestine, such as D-glutamate and fatty acids short chain, are beneficial in cognitive function. The consumption of live microorganisms beneficial to health, known as probiotics, has been tested in laboratory animals and humans to evaluate the effect on AD., Conclusion: Although there are few clinical trials evaluating the effect of probiotic consumption in humans with AD, the results to date indicate a beneficial contribution of the use of probiotics in this disease.

Background: Previous studies have experimentally validated and reported that chemical constituents of marine sponges are a source of natural anti-inflammatory substances with the biotechnological potential to develop novel drugs., Aims: Therefore, the aim of this study was to perform a systematic review to provide an overview of the anti-inflammatory substances isolated from marine sponges with therapeutic potential., Methods: This systematic review was performed on the Embase, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science electronic databases. In total, 613 were found, but 340 duplicate studies were excluded, only 100 manuscripts were eligible, and 83 were included., Results: The results were based on in vivo and in vitro assays, and the anti-inflammatory effects of 251 bioactive compounds extracted from marine sponges were investigated. Their anti-inflammatory activities include inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), nitrite or nitric oxide (NO), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), phospholipase A2 (PLA2), nuclear transcription factor-kappa B (NF-κB), leukotriene B4 (LTB4), cyclooxygenase- 1 (COX-1), and superoxide radicals., Conclusion: In conclusion, data suggest (approximately 98% of articles) that substances obtained from marine sponges may be promising for the development of novel anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of different pathological conditions., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

High-fat diet (HFD) intake can cause overweight and obesity and has become a global public health concern in recent years. Nutritional adversity at vulnerable windows of development can affect developing cells and their functions, including germ cells. Evidence shows that parental HFD intake prior to conception and/or during gestation and lactation could program the reproductive health of male offspring, ultimately resulting in impairment of the first as well as subsequent generations. In male offspring, adipose tissue and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis imbalance can impair the production of gonadotropins, leading to dysfunction of testosterone production and pubertal onset. The gonads can be directly impaired through oxidative stress, causing poor testosterone production and spermatogenesis; low sperm count, viability, and motility; and abnormal sperm morphology, which results in low sperm quality. Parental HFD intake could also be a risk factor for prostate hyperplasia and cancer in advanced age. It can impact the reproductive pattern of male offspring resulting in impairments in the subsequent generations. The investigation of semen quality must be extended to epidemiological and clinical studies of the male offspring of overweight and/or obese parents in order to improve the quality of human semen. This review addresses the effects of parental HFD intake on the reproductive parameters of male offspring and discusses the possible underlying mechanisms.

This systematic review (SR) was aimed at answering two questions: (1) how sex and ovarian hormones alter behavior associated with cocaine use; (2) which possible neurobiological mechanisms explain behavioral differences. Three different researchers conducted a search in PUBMED for all kinds of articles published between the years of 1991 to 2021 on the theme "reproductive cycle and cocaine", "estrous cycle and cocaine", "menstrual cycle and cocaine", "fluctuation of ovarian hormones and cocaine", "estrogen and cocaine" and "progesterone and cocaine". Sixty original studies were identified and subdivided into experimental rodent studies and clinical trials. Experimental studies were characterized by author/year, species/strain, sex/number, age/weight, dose/route/time of administration, hormonal assessment, or administration. Clinical trials were characterized by author/year, sex/number, age, exclusion criterion, dose/route of administration/time of cocaine, and hormonal assessment. Results gathered showed that rodent females develop increased consumption, seeking behavior, craving, relapse, locomotion, increases in stress and anxiety, among other behavioral alterations during peaks of estrogen. These observations are related to the direct effects played by ovarian hormones (in particularly estradiol), in dopamine, but also in serotonin neurons, and in brain regions such as the tegmental area, the nucleus accumbens, the hypothalamus, the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. Increased sensitization to cocaine presented by high estradiol females was linked to the activation of a CBR1-mediated mechanism and GABA-A-dependent suppression of inhibitory synaptic activity of the prelimbic prefrontal cortex. Estradiol facilitation of cocaine-increased locomotion and self-administration was shown to require the release of glutamate and the activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors subtype 5. Clinical studies also tend to point to a stimulatory effect of estradiol on cocaine sensitization and a neuroprotective effect of progesterone. In conclusion, the results of the present review indicate a need for further preclinical and clinical trials and neurobiological studies to better understand the relationship between sex and ovarian hormones on cocaine sensitization., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This work is a literature review, presenting the current state of the use of cannabinoids on neurodegenerative diseases. The emphasis is on Parkinson's (PD) and Alzheimer's (AD) diseases, the two most prevalent neurological diseases. The review goes from Cannabis sativa and its hundreds of bioactive compounds to Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and mainly cannabidiol (CBD) and their interactions with the endocannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2). CBD molecular targets were also focused on to explain its neuroprotective action mechanism on neurodegenerative diseases. Although THC is the main psychoactive component of C. sativa, and it may induce transient psychosis-like symptoms, growing evidence suggests that CBD may have protective effects against the psychotomimetic effects of THC and therapeutic properties. Furthermore, a great number of recent works on the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory CBD effects and its molecular targets are also reviewed. We analyzed CBD actions in preclinical and in clinical trials, conducted with PD and AD patients. Although the data on preclinical assays are more convincing, the same is not true with the clinical data. Despite the consensus among researchers on the potential of CBD as a neuroprotective agent, larger and well-designed randomized clinical trials will be necessary to gather conclusive results concerning the use of CBD as a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of diseases such as PD and AD., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 by The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objective: The present experimental study aimed to evaluate the effect of consuming an obesogenic diet (OD) on serum and hippocampal inflammation and proteins related to energy metabolism, alongside, we evaluated how the same parameters responded to an OD withdrawal., Subjects: Thirty male 60-days-old Wistar rats were used., Methods: The control group (n = 10) was fed the control diet across the whole experiment. The remaining animals were fed a high-sugar/high-fat (HSHF) diet for 30 days (n = 20) and half of them were placed on the control diet for 48 h (n = 10) afterwards., Results: OD intake decreased hippocampal AMPK phosphorylation, although, it did not increase serum inflammation and only increased hippocampal pNFκBp65 levels without any increase in the cytokines assessed. Moreover, OD withdrawal led to higher inflammatory markers in the serum and hippocampus and higher hippocampal AMPK phosphorylation. The mediation models applied suggested that the effect of OD withdrawal on hippocampal inflammation was driven by serum inflammation, which activated the hippocampal IL10/AMPK anti-inflammatory pathway as a response., Conclusion: Our analyses suggest that OD withdrawal increases serum inflammation with hippocampal consequent inflammatory alterations. Despite the general assumption that improving diet improves health, this may not be immediate., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

The aim of this study was to investigate histopathological and inflammatory response in liver and kidney of rats after crack exposure. For this purpose, a total of 32 male Wistar rats were distributed into four groups: (G1) and (G2): received 18 mg/kg of body weight (b.w) of crack cocaine, but Group G2 remained 72 h without exposure after the experimental period (5 days). Experimental group 3 (G3): received 36 mg/kg of body weight (b.w) of crack cocaine. Control Group (CTRL): received only the vehicle (DMSO) administered by intraperitoneal (i.p) route for 5 days. The results showed that crack cocaine induced histopathological changes in liver and kidney. Immunohistochemistry data revealed that G2 group showed a higher immunoexpression of Ki-67 in hepatic and renal tissues. Regarding inflammation, the results showed that all groups exposed to crack cocaine decreased the expression of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 in liver and kidney. In summary, our results showed that the subacute doses of crack cocaine used in this study had cytotoxic, and immunosuppressive effects in liver and kidney of rats, especially at 36 mg/kg dose. Since cellular death and inflammation participates in the multi-step process of chemical carcinogenesis, these data offer new insights into potential ways to understand the pathobiological mechanisms induced by crack cocaine in several tissues and organs.

Parental nutrition can impact the health of future generations, programming the offspring for the development of diseases. The developing germ cells of the offspring could be damaged by the maternal or the paternal environment. The germ cells in development and their function could be affected by nutritional adversity and therefore, harm the health of subsequent generations. The paternal or maternal intake of high-fat diets has been shown to affect the reproductive health of male offspring, leading to imbalance in hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, testicular oxidative stress, low testosterone production, and changes in sperm count, viability, motility, and morphology. There is a need for studies that address the combined effects of diets with a high-fat and high-sugar (H) content by both progenitors on male reproduction. In this context, our study evaluated epigenetic parameters and the inflammatory response that could be associated to oxidative stress in testis and epididymis of adult offspring. 90 days-old male rats were divided according to the combination of the parental diet: CD (control paternal and maternal diet), HP (H paternal diet and control maternal diet), HM (H maternal diet and control paternal diet) and HPM (H paternal and maternal diet).We evaluated serum levels of testosterone and FSH; testicular gene expression of steroidogenic enzymes Star and Hsd17b3 and epigenetic markers Dnmt1 , Dnmt3a , Dnmt3b , and Mecp2 ; testicular and epididymal levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-1β; testicular and epididymal activity of SOD, CAT, and GST; the oxidative markers MDA and CP; the daily sperm production, sperm transit time, and sperm morphology. Testicular epigenetic parameter, inflammatory response, oxidative balance, and daily sperm production of the offspring were affected by the maternal diet; paternal diet influenced serum testosterone levels, and lower daily sperm production was exacerbated by the interaction effect of both parental intake of high-fat high-sugar diet in the testis. There was isolated maternal and paternal effect in the antioxidant enzyme activity in the cauda epididymis, and an interaction effect of both parents in protein oxidative marker. Maternal effect could also be observed in cytokine production of cauda epididymis, and no morphological effects were observed in the sperm. The potential programming effects of isolated or combined intake of a high-fat high-sugar diet by the progenitors could be observed at a molecular level in the reproductive health of male offspring in early adulthood., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Sertorio, César, de Souza, Mennitti, Santamarina, De Souza Mesquita, Jucá, Casagrande, Estadella, Aguiar and Pisani.)

The complications of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) include kidney disease, and most dialysis patients are diagnosed with MetS. The benefit of exercise training (ET) for MetS treatment is already well defined in the literature, but the antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic benefits of okra (O) have been discovered only recently. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of O and/or ET supplementation on renal function and histology; serum urea and creatinine value; inflammation (IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α) and oxidative stress in renal tissue. For this, 32 Zucker rats (fa/fa) were randomly separated into four groups of 8 animals each: Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), MetS + Okra (MetS + O), MetS + Exercise Training (MetS + ET), and MetS + Exercise Training and Okra (MetS + ET + O), and 8 Zucker lean (fa/+) rats comprised the Control group (CTL). Okra was administered by orogastric gavage 2x/day (morning and night, 100 mg/kg) and ET performed on the treadmill, at moderate intensity, 1h/day, 5x/week for 6 weeks. Although the renal function was not altered, the animals with MetS showed greater fibrotic deposition accompanied by a worse stage of renal injury, in addition to increased kidney weight. Although all interventions were beneficial in reducing fibrosis, only ET combined with O was able to improve the degree of renal tissue impairment. ET improved the anti-inflammatory status and reduced nitrite levels, but the combination of ET and O was more beneficial as regards catalase activity. Okra consumption alone did not promote changes in inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress in the kidney. In conclusion, ET combined or not with O seems to be beneficial in preventing the progression of renal disease when renal function is not yet altered., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The hypothalamus is a major integrating centre that controls energy homeostasis and plays a major role in hepatic glycogen (HGlyc) turnover. Not only do hypothalamic and hepatic Akt levels influence glucose homeostasis and glycogen synthesis, but exposure to high-sugar/high-fat diets (HSHF) can also lead to hypothalamic inflammation and HGlyc accumulation. HSHF withdrawal overall restores energy and glucose homeostasis, but the actual relationship between hypothalamic inflammation and HGlyc after short-term HSHF withdrawal has not yet been fully elucidated. Here we investigated the short-term effects of HSHF withdrawal preceded by a 30-day HSHF intake on the liver-hypothalamus crosstalk and glucose homeostasis. Sixty-day old male Wistar rats were fed for 30 days a control chow (n = 10) (Ct), or an HSHF diet (n = 20). On the 30th day of dietary intervention, a random HSHF subset (n = 10) had their diets switched to control chow for 48 h (Hw) whilst the remaining HSHF rats remained in the HSHF diet (n = 10) (Hd). All rats were anaesthetized and euthanized at the end of the protocol. We quantified HGlyc, Akt phosphorylation, inflammation and glucose homeostasis biomarkers. We also assessed the effect of propensity to obesity on those biomarkers, as detailed previously. Hd rats showed impaired glucose homeostasis, higher HGlyc and hypothalamic inflammation, and lower pAkt/Akt. Increased HGlyc was significantly associated with HSHF intake on pAkt/Akt lowered levels. We also found that HGlyc breakdown may have prevented a further pAkt/Akt drop after HSHF withdrawal. Propensity to obesity showed no apparent effect on hypothalamic inflammation or glucose homeostasis. Our findings suggest a comprehensive role of HGlyc as a structural and functional modulator of energy metabolism, and such roles may come into play relatively rapidly., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Sustainable extraction processes based on alternative solvents to recover bioactive compounds of different raw materials have been highlighted as excellent alternatives to supply the needs of society towards a bioeconomy strategy. Little is known about the safety and biological effect of compounds extracted by these processes. In this work, carotenoids from Bactris gasipaes wastes obtained by an IL-based process were investigated in terms of safety, anti-inflammatory and, antioxidant activity in a high-fat-diet animal model on the kidney. Wistar rats were supplemented or not by carotenoids extracted with IL or VOS. The animals supplemented with carotenoids had lower weight than control and high-fat diets. In the animals supplemented with carotenoids, the group IL improved anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity compared with carotenoids obtained by VOS. Also, the group HFD-VOS showed moderate-severe injuries on the kidney. Then, ILs could represent a novel tool for natural pigments safely applied to food industry., Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Aline B. Santamarinaa, Leonardo M. de Souza Mesquita reports financial support was provided by Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo. Luciana Pellegrini Pisani reports financial support was provided by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico., (© 2022 The Authors.)

This study aimed to systematically review the relationship of obesity-depression in the female sex. We carried out a systematic search (PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase) to quantify the articles (controlled trials and randomized controlled trials) regarding obesity and depression on a female population or a mixed sample. Successively, we established whether the sex specificities were studied by the authors and if they reported on collecting data regarding factors that may contribute to the evolution of obesity and depression and that could be responsible for the greater susceptibility of females to those conditions. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we found a total of 20 articles with a female sample and 54 articles with a mixed sample. More than half of all articles (51.35%, n = 38) evaluated the relationship between depression and obesity, but only 20 (27.03%) evaluated this relationship among females; still, 80% of those (n = 16) presented supporting results. However, few articles considered confounding factors related to female hormones (12.16%, n = 9) and none of the articles focused on factors responsible for the binomial obesity-depression in the female sex. The resulting articles also supported that depression (and related impairments) influencing obesity (and related impairments) is a two-way road. This systematic review supports the concurrency of obesity-depression in females but also shows how sex specificities are ultimately under-investigated. Female sex specificity is not being actively considered when studying the binomial obesity-depression, even within a female sample. Future studies should focus on trying to understand how the female sex and normal hormonal variations influence these conditions., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Worldwide, the excessive consumption of fat and/or sugar has increased considerably. Palatable high-fat diets (HFDs) lead to metabolic disturbances and obesity, and impact emotional and cognitive processes. Previous studies in rodent models suggested that HFDs often cause multiple behavioral alterations, such as learning and memory deficits, and anxiety-like behaviors. Different sexes imply different behavioral and cognitive abilities; yet, most of these studies dealt with male or ovariectomized rats. We evaluated HFD effects in female rats submitted to different behavioral tasks, considering the effects of endogenous hormonal variations throughout estrous cycle. Female Wistar rats in each phase of the estrous cycle using commercial chow (CC) or HFD for 32 days. During treatment, behavioral assessments using sucrose preference (SP), elevated plus-maze (EPM), open field (OF) and novel-object recognition (NOR). At the end of the behavioral tests, animals were euthanized, and performed an immunohistochemical analysis of the brains by brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). The main results demonstrated that (1) HFD-fed rats had higher body mass gain and food intake, without altering caloric intake, (2) rats in diestrus had lower sucrose intake, (3) females in metestrus and diestrus showed deficits in the novel-object recognition memory. Furthermore, TH-immunoreactivity decreased in the dorsal striatum and BDNF in the hippocampus in HFD-fed females. These results suggest that HFD alters neurochemical and metabolic aspects that may induce phase-dependent behavioral changes in female rats., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been proposed as more efficient and sustainable solvents to replace volatile organic solvents (VOSs). However, the drawbacks associated with their use are still limiting the regular application of bioactive compounds obtained from the processes they mediate as food ingredients. It is true that the number of ILs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for food applications is still low and mainly focused on the ones from the quaternary ammonium family. However, this trend is changing, judging from the evidence that industries are surpassing overgeneralization about ILs (on price and toxicity) and starting to consider the potential and performance of ILs as solvents. Despite the examples of industries applying ILs in their processes, the use of bioactive compounds obtained from IL-based processes as ingredients in food formulations is still a big challenge. The positive influence of carotenoids on diseases associated or originating from the inflammatory scenario including, among others, obesity, is not new. Moreover, it is also well known that the poorest population worldwide does not have the recommended intake of carotenoids, especially those pro-vitaminic A. In an attempt to help answer this issue, dietary supplements containing adequate doses of natural carotenoids are expected to be the solution, or at least, part of the solution for a healthier life, but also, to reduce hunger. Thus, complete studies evaluating the toxicological potential and the real viability of adding these bioactive compounds in food formulations proving (or not!) their safety to consumers and handlers are highly demanded. This work proposes to investigate the potential of carotenoids extracted from Bactris gasipaes feedstocks mediated by an ethanolic solution of an imidazolium-based IL. Thus, male Wistar rats were randomized in six different groups, supplemented or not by carotenoids extracted by IL or VOS, and fed by control- and/or high-fat-diets (HFD). The adipose tissue-liver axis was studied as a model to investigate the influence of the carotenoids on the levels of inflammation and oxidative stress markers. The main results showed that animals supplemented with carotenoids extracted with IL displayed improvements in serum parameters, besides lower metabolic efficiency, and antioxidant response on the liver, even when fed with HFD. However, animals supplemented with carotenoids extracted by VOS showed higher levels of pro-inflammatory markers and huge oxidative stress on the liver.

Obesogenic diets (ODs) can affect AMPK activation in several sites as the colon, liver, and hypothalamus. OD intake can impair the hypothalamic AMPK regulation of energy homeostasis. Despite consuming ODs, not all subjects have the propensity to develop or progress to obesity. The obesity propensity is more associated with energy intake than expenditure dysregulations and may have a link with AMPK activity. While the effects of ODs are studied widely, few evaluate the short-term effects of terminating OD intake. Withdrawing from OD (WTD) is thought to improve or reverse the damages caused by the intake. Therefore, here we applied an OD intake and WTD protocol aiming to evaluate AMPK protein content and phosphorylation in the colon, liver, and hypothalamus and their relationship with obesity propensity. To this end, male Wistar rats (60 days) received control or high-sugar/high-fat (HSHF) OD for 30 days. Half of the animals were OD-withdrawn and fed the control diet for 48 h. After intake, we found a reduction in AMPK phosphorylation in the hypothalamus and colon, and after WTD, we found an increase in its hepatic and hypothalamic phosphorylation. The decrease in colon pAMPK/AMPK could be linked with hypothalamic pAMPK/AMPK after HSHF intake, while the increase in hepatic pAMPK/AMPK could have prevented the increase in hypothalamic pAMPK/AMPK. In the obesity-prone rats, we found higher levels of hypothalamic and colon pAMPK/AMPK despite the higher body mass gain. Our results highlight the relevance in multi-organ investigations and animal phenotype evaluation when studying the energy metabolism regulations., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Oral cancer is a very common tumor worldwide with high incidence and mortality. The treatment of oral cancer involves surgery, radio- and chemotherapy; however, high failure rates and toxicity are noticed. Thus, the search of new drugs aiming a more effective treatment is welcomed. Natural products present chemopreventive and anti-cancer effects. Resveratrol is a naturally occurring antioxidant that contains several health benefits, including anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities. This review discusses the different action mechanisms of resveratrol related in the in vitro and in vivo studies using models of oral cancer., (© 2021. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Crack-cocaine is a cocaine by-product widely consumed by general population in developing countries. The drug is low cost and is associated with more intense effects when compared to other illicit drugs. Genotoxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammatory response are considered crucial events in carcinogenesis, since they actively participate in the multistep process. The purpose of this paper was to provide a mini review regarding the relationship between carcinogenesis and genotoxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammation induced by crack-cocaine. The present study was conducted on search of the scientific literature from the published studies available in PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar for all kind of articles (all publications to November 2020) using the following key words: crack-cocaine, DNA damage, genotoxicity, cellular death, cytotoxicity, mutation, oxidative stress, inflammation, and mutagenicity. The results showed that published papers available were almost all in vivo test system being conducted in humans or rodents. Crack-cocaine was able to induce genotoxicity and oxidative stress in mammalian cells. However, the role of inflammatory response after exposure to crack-cocaine was not conclusive so far. In summary, this study is consistent with the notion that crack-cocaine is a chemical carcinogen as a result of genotoxicity and oxidative stress induced in mammalian and non-mammalian cells.

Purpose: Whole plant foods can be fermentable by SCFA-producing bacteria and positively influence host adipose tissue development and obesity related-metabolic disorders, conferring a prebiotic role. Considering the juçara berry composition, rich in fiber and polyphenols, we hypothesized the probable prebiotic role of juçara in individuals with obesity., Methods: It was a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial with 35 volunteers with obesity I and II of both sexes aged from 31 to 59 years, divided into juçara group (5 g lyophilized juçara) or placebo group (5 g of maltodextrin) for 6 weeks. Before and after supplementation, food intake and blood and stool samples were collected to evaluate serum LPS, SCFA, and microbial bacteria., Results: Significant increase in fecal acetate (g = 0.809; p = 0.038) and in relative abundance of A. muciniphila, Bifidobacterium spp. and C. coccoides were observed in response to juçara supplementation (Δ% = 239.6%, 182.6%, and 214%, respectively), with a significant mediator role of Bifidobacterium spp. in high amounts of fecal acetate (z = 2.925; p = 0.003). To certify the prebiotic role of juçara, the averages were adjusted for total fiber intake; and there was no effect of the fiber intake on the SCFA nor on the intestinal bacteria., Conclusion: Juçara berry may haveprebiotic function, with emphasis on the bifidogenic effect, leading to increased excretion of acetate.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), identified in Wuhan, China, on December 2019, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, on March, 2020. Since then, efforts have been gathered to describe its clinical course and to determine preventive measures and treatment strategies. Adults older than 65 years of age are more susceptible to serious clinical symptoms and present higher mortality rates. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a major receptor for some coronavirus infection, including SARS-COV-2, but is also a crucial determinant in anti-inflammation processes during the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) functioning - converting angiotensin II to angiotensin 1-7. The decline in ACE2 expression that occurs with aging has been associated to the higher morbidity and mortality rates in older adults. These observations highlight the importance of investigating the association between COVID-19 and age-related neurodegenerative disorders, i.e., Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. A possible option to reduce the risk of COVID-19 is vitamin D supplementation, due to its anti-inflammatory and immune-system-modulating effects. It has also been suggested that vitamin D supplementation plays a role in slowing progression of Parkinson and Alzheimer. The present study is a literature review of articles published on the theme COVID-19, Parkinson and Alzheimer's diseases, and the role played by vitamin D. PUBMED, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases were consulted. Results confirm neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory effects of COVID-19, aggravated in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's patients, and the important role of vitamin D as a possible therapeutic strategy. Nevertheless, randomized controlled trials and large population studies are still warranted., (© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

There is accumulating evidence of dietary impact on several metabolic parameters. Unhealthy diets are estimated to be responsible for about 20% of the deaths worldwide. The recommendation is to improve the dietary pattern, aiming to prevent further harm. In this context, we reviewed the benefits and barriers of withdrawing from continuous obesogenic diet intake in the short- and long-term, which were found in rodent models. Although dietary modifications demand a re-establishment of the equilibrium, withdrawing was seen as a homeostatic insult and thus elicited several responses to protect the organism. In the short-term, withdrawal presented stressful and reward destimulating responses. The intake of obesogenic diets presented rewarding and stress destimulating responses. Whereas withdrawing in the long term ameliorated several biological functions and histopathologic features, it was not effective at reestablishing food intake and normalizing feeding behaviors or reward pathways. Altogether, terminating obesogenic diet intake does not immediately extinguish all negative consequences, and it even elicits brain behavioral and metabolic modifications. These modifications can hinder the maintenance of habits' change and prevent reaching the long-term benefits of diet improvement.

The negative aspects of unhealthy eating on obesity and hepatic health are well described. The axis between the adipose tissue and the liver participates in most of the damage caused to this tissue regarding obesogenic diets (OD). At the same time that the effects of consuming simple carbohydrates and saturated fatty acids are known, the effects of the cessation of its intake are scarce. Withdrawing from OD is thought to improve health; despite some studies had shown improvement in hepatic conditions in the long-term, short-term studies were not found. Therefore, we aimed to determine how OD intake and withdrawal would influence visceral and hepatic fat accumulation and inflammation. To this end, male 60-days-old Wistar rats received standard chow (n = 16) or a high-sugar/high-fat diet (HSHF) for 30 days (n = 32), a cohort of the HSHF-fed animals was then kept 48 h on standard chow (n = 16). In opposition to the generally reported, the results indicate that hepatic inflammation preceded hepatic steatosis. Additionally, inflammatory markers on the liver positively correlated visceral adipokines and visceral fat accumulation mediated them in a deposit-dependent manner. At the same time, a 48-h withdrawal was capable of reverting most of the risen inflammatory mediators, although MyD88 and TNFα persisted and serum non-HDL cholesterol was higher than control levels.

Crack cocaine is the crystal form of cocaine and can be smoked, and rapidly absorbed, and, in part for this reason, is potently addictive. It is hypothesized that crack cocaine is able to induce important changes in different tissues and organs, and thus dramatically alter behavior. Nevertheless, which alterations in the central nervous system are related to its frequent use is still a matter of discussion. The present study is a literature review of articles published between the years 2008 and 2018 on the theme 'crack cocaine and brain' available in PUBMED, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Google scholar databases. The results show that the use of crack cocaine induces important behavioral, neuroanatomical, and biochemical alterations. The main behavioral sequelae include cognitive and emotional changes, such as increased anxiety and depressive symptoms, attention and memory deficits, and hyperactivity. Among the neurobiological alterations are reductions in the activity of the prefrontal, anterior cingulate cortex, and nucleus accumbens. Molecular changes include decreases in neurotrophic factors and increases in oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines, which may be responsible for the morphological alterations observed. It is also hypothesized that these neurobiological changes might explain the emotional and cognitive dysfunctions experienced by crack cocaine addicts.

Grapes are fruits that grow in clusters and can be crimson, black, dark blue, yellow, green, orange, and pink. Cadmium is a non-essential metal toxic to living organisms and the environment. Recently, health professionals, food scientists, and consumers have paid much attention to grapes for their health-promoting effects. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reviews describing the ability of grapes to mitigate the toxic effects induced by cadmium exposure in different tissues and/or organs. Herein, the aim of this review is to present the effects of grapes following cadmium exposure on the number of papers published in the scientific literature. The results showed that grapes are able to mitigate the harmful activities induced by exposure to cadmium in several tissues and organs. The main actions are closely related to tissue regeneration as a result of the reestablishment of morphology and antioxidant activity. However, further studies are welcomed in order to elucidate new biological pathways regarding the outcomes promoted by grapes in this context, specially related to inflammation, tissue regeneration and cellular death., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

This study investigated the effect of the intake of high (HGI) or low glycemic index (LGI) high-carbohydrate meals on athletes' sleep. Nine basketball adult male athletes were assessed during a championship and received high-carbohydrate meals (dinner and evening snack) with HGI or LGI. Quantitative and qualitative sleep variables were assessed: sleep latency (LAT), sleep efficiency (EFIC), Wake After Sleep Onset (WASO), sleep time through actigraphy and sleep diary. Dietary intake, satiety, sleepiness, glycemic response, salivary cortisol and melatonin were also assessed. On both days most athletes had LAT and WASO higher than recommendation, and nocturnal sleep time below the recommendations. There was no difference between sleep and hormonal parameters according to GI dietary manipulations; however, correlations were observed between sleep and diet. Daily energy intake had negative correlation with efficiency and nocturnal total sleep time, and a positive correlation with WASO, regardless of the GI nocturnal meals. No differences were observed in salivary cortisol and melatonin according to GI. The results suggest that food intake throughout the day seems to exert more influence on sleep parameters of basketball players than GI manipulation of evening meals on the pre-night game, but further studies are necessary to better understand this complex relationship.

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemoprotective potential of grape skin extract following rat tongue carcinogenesis induced by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO)., Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rats were distributed into four groups (n=5, per group): Control Group: free access to commercial diet and drinking water for 12 weeks; 4NQO Group: received 4NQO diluted in drinking water daily, for 12 weeks; Grape Skin Extract Group: free access to water and received grape skin extract incorporated with diet for 12 weeks; 4NQO + Grape Skin Extract Group: received 4NQO in drinking water daily and grape extract incorporated with diet for 12 weeks., Results: Animals treated with grape skin extract revealed a significant reduction in epithelial dysplasia. Also, 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and ki-67 immunoexpression was reduced in animals treated with grape skin extract. Western blot analysis showed a significant decrease of p-NFκB p50 and MyD88 protein expression in the groups treated with grape skin extract. Copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, manganese superoxide dismutase, and catalase gene expression did not present any statistically significant differences (p>0.05)., Conclusion: Grape skin extract displayed chemopreventive activity in oral carcinogenesis assays as depicted by its antioxidant, anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory properties., (Copyright© 2019, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

There is a growing concern about the impacts of hypovitaminosis D on the health of pregnant woman, fetal development, childhood, and adult life. Variations in maternal nutrition during gestation and/or lactation play a critical role in the physiological and metabolic development of the fetus and neonate, which can induce phenotypic changes and trigger important consequences throughout life, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and hypertension. Vitamin D plays a role in regulating cell proliferation and differentiation and in modulating the innate and adaptive immune response. Also, vitamin D correlates with changes in cytokines, anti and proinflammatory, as well as prevents inflammation induced by changes in myometrial cells mediated by the nuclear factor kappa B pathway. Further investigation is required regarding these relationship., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has recently been given more attention for the part it plays in obesity. BAT can generate great amounts of heat through thermogenesis by the activation of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1), which can be regulated by many environmental factors such as diet. Moreover, the build-up of BAT relates to maternal nutritional changes during pregnancy and lactation. However, at present, there is a limited number of studies looking at maternal nutrition and BAT development, and it seems that the research trend in this field has been considerably declining since the 1980s. There is much to discover yet about the role of different fatty acids on the development of BAT and the activation of UCP-1 during the fetal and the postnatal periods of life. A better understanding of the impact of nutritional intervention on the epigenetic regulation of BAT could lead to new preventive care for metabolic diseases such as obesity. It is important to know in which circumstances lipids could programme BAT during pregnancy and lactation. The modification of maternal dietary fatty acids, amount and composition, during pregnancy and lactation might be a promising strategy for the prevention of obesity in the offspring and future generations.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemopreventive potential of purple carrot extract following rat tongue carcinogenesis induced by 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO). For this purpose, histopathological analysis, proliferative status, antioxidant activity and inflammatory status were investigated in this setting. A total of 20 male rats were distributed into four groups as follows (n = 5 per group): Group 1-free access to water and commercial diet for 12 weeks; Group 2-received 4NQO at 50 ppm dose in drinking water daily and commercial diet for 12 weeks; Group 3-free access to water and received diet supplemented with purple carrot extract (0.1 g/kg) for 12 weeks; and Group 4-received 4NQO at 50 ppm dose in drinking water daily and diet supplemented with purple carrot extract (0.1 g/kg) for 12 weeks. Histopathological analysis revealed that animals treated with purple carrot extract reduced the oral lesions such as dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma. Animals with oral pre-neoplastic lesions and treated with purple carrot extract decreased ki-67 and 8-OHdG immunoexpression. Moreover, pNFκBp50 and MyD88 protein expressions were decreased after purple carrot treatment associated or not with 4NQO exposure. SOD-Mn mRNA levels increased with treatment with purple carrot extract as well. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that purple carrot extract was able to protect oral lesions induced by 4NQO in Wistar rats as a result of antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory potential and antiproliferative and antimutagenic actions.

Oral cancer accounts for 10% of head and neck tumors. Despite the recent advancements in surgical techniques, as well as in chemo- and radiotherapy therapeutic protocols, survival rates for oral cancer patients have not improved significantly in the last decades. Recently, toll like receptors (TLRs) have been described as promoters of cell proliferation, invasiveness, and angiogenesis in a variety of cancers. The aim of this review is to identify how TLRs participate in oral carcinogenesis in order to evaluate their biological relevance. Data revealed that some TLRs participate in oral carcinogenesis since TLR5 and TLR9 promote tumor growh, whereas TLR3 is closely involved to anti-cancer properties. They represent a promising alternative for oral cancer therapy. However, TLR2, TLR4 and TLR7 need further investigation, since current data are not sufficient to conclude about their role. Certainly, such data will contribute to new scientific knowledge, which will be incorporated to the preventive actions and therapeutic protocols for oral cancer patients suffering from this devasting disease., (Copyright© 2017, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Obesity is characterized by low-grade inflammation and a number of metabolic disorders. Distal gut microbes' content (microbiota) is not yet fully understood but evidence shows that it is influenced by internal and external factors that modulate its composition and function. The evidence that gut microbiota composition can differ between healthy and obese individuals, as well as for those who maintain specific dietary habits, has led to the study of this environmental factor as a key link between the pathophysiology of obesity and gut microbiota. Data obtained about the role of anthocyanins (ACNs) in microbiota may lead to different strategies to manipulate bacterial populations and promote health. Anthocyanins have been identified as modulators of gut microbiota that contribute to obesity control and these bioactive compounds should be considered to have a prebiotic action. This review addresses the relevance of knowledge about the influence of anthocyanins-rich food consumption on microbiota, and their health-promoting potential in the pathophysiology of obesity. © 2017 BioFactors, 43(4):507-516, 2017., (© 2017 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.)

Genotoxicity is the ability of an agent to produce damage on the DNA molecule. Considering the strong evidence for a relationship between genetic damage and carcinogenesis, to elucidate the putative mechanisms of genotoxicity induced by fluoride are important to measure the degree of risk involved to human populations. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive review on genotoxicity induced by fluoride on the basis of its mechanisms of action. In the last 10 years, all published data showed some evidence related to genotoxicity, which is due to mitochondrial disruption, oxidative stress, and cell cycle disturbances. However, this is an area that still requires a lot of investigation since the published data are not sufficient for clarifying the genotoxicity induced by fluoride. Certainly, the new information will be added to those already established for regulatory purposes as a safe way to promote oral healthcare and prevent oral carcinogenesis.