0000000000129011
AUTHOR
Youssef El Kharrassi
showing 6 related works from this author
Argan oil prevents down-regulation induced by endotoxin on liver fatty acid oxidation and gluconeogenesis and on peroxisome proliferator-activated re…
2015
In patients with sepsis, liver metabolism and its capacity to provide other organs with energetic substrates are impaired. This and many other pathophysiological changes seen in human patients are reproduced in mice injected with purified endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS). In the present study, down-regulation of genes involved in hepatic fatty acid oxidation (FAOx) and gluconeogenesis in mice exposed to LPS was challenged by nutritional intervention with Argan oil. Mice given a standard chow supplemented or not with either 6% (w/w) Argan oil (AO) or 6% (w/w) olive oil (OO) prior to exposure to LPS were explored for liver gene expressions assessed by mRNA transcript levels and/or enzyme a…
An expeditious synthesis of spinasterol and schottenol, two phytosterols present in argan oil and in cactus pear seed oil, and evaluation of their bi…
2015
International audience; Spinasterol and schottenol, two phytosterols present in argan oil and in cactus pear seed oil, were synthesized from commercially available stigmasterol by a four steps reactions. In addition, the effects of these phytosterols on cell growth and mitochondrial activity were evaluated on 158N murine oligodendrocytes, C6 rat glioma cells, and SK-N-BE human neuronal cells with the crystal violet test and the MTT test, respectively. The effects of spinasterol and schottenol were compared with 7-ketocholesterol (71CC) and ferulic acid, which is also present in argan and cactus pear seed oil. Whatever the cells considered, dose dependent cytotoxic effects of 71CC were obser…
Nopal Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) as a Source of Bioactive Compounds for Nutrition, Health and Disease
2014
Opuntia ficus-indica, commonly referred to as prickly pear or nopal cactus, is a dicotyledonous angiosperm plant. It belongs to the Cactaceae family and is characterized by its remarkable adaptation to arid and semi-arid climates in tropical and subtropical regions of the globe. In the last decade, compelling evidence for the nutritional and health benefit potential of this cactus has been provided by academic scientists and private companies. Notably, its rich composition in polyphenols, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids and amino acids has been highlighted through the use of a large panel of extraction methods. The identified natural cactus compounds and derivatives were shown to be e…
Fruit and juice characteristics of 30 accessions of two cactus pear species (Opuntia ficus indica and Opuntia megacantha) from different regions of M…
2016
Abstract The fruit and fruit juice of 30 accessions of cactus pear (23 accessions of Opuntia ficus indica and 7 accessions of Opuntia megacantha ) grown in different regions of Morocco were analyzed. The morphological characteristics of the fruit and the pH, titratable acidity, contents of soluble solids, total carotenoids, reducing sugars, and vitamin C in the fruit juice were analyzed. Fruit length, fresh fruit weight, fresh skin weight, fresh skin to fruit ratio, dry skin weight, and water content in the skin varied significantly within and between the two species. There were significant differences among accessions in most of the fruit juice characteristics. The ranges of measured value…
Biological activities of Schottenol and Spinasterol, two natural phytosterols present in argan oil and in cactus pear seed oil, on murine miroglial B…
2014
International audience; The objective of this study was to evaluate the biological activities of the major phytosterols present in argan oil (AO) and in cactus seed oil (CSO) in BV2 microglial cells. Accordingly, we first determined the sterol composition of AO and CSO, showing the presence of Schottenol and Spinasterol as major sterols in AO. While in CSO, in addition to these two sterols, we found mainly another sterol, the Sitosterol. The chemical synthesis of Schottenol and Spinasterol was performed. Our results showed that these two phytosterols, as well as sterol extracts from AO or CSO, are not toxic to microglial BV2 cells. However, treatments by these phytosterols impact the mitoch…
Highlighting the divertsity of cactus populations (Opuntia spp.) in Morocco and modulation of lipid metabolism by natural extracts and phytosterols f…
2015
The objective of this PhD thesis is to characterize the Moroccan germplasm of the cactus Opuntia collected from different regions in Morocco, by studying the phenologic behavior, the genetic features and physicochemical composition, along with the molecules of high therapeutic potential which may have beneficial effects on the central nervous system cells from cactus extracts (fruit, flower, seed, oil, cladodes and spine) and compared to Argan oil. This work has been conducted in fours different laboratories sharing complementary analyses skills at agronomic, biochemistry, molecular levels. Our results are presented in three parts : (i) cactus agronomic characteristics, (ii) purification an…