Search results for "Coco"
showing 10 items of 402 documents
Chemical characterization of a variety of cold-pressed gourmet oils available on the Brazilian market
2018
Different specialty extra virgin oils, produced by cold-pressing fruits/nuts (olive, pequi, palm, avocado, coconut, macadamia and Brazil nut) and seeds (grapeseed and canola), and retailed in the Brazilian region of Minas Gerais, were chemically characterized. Specifically, for each type of oil, the fatty acid composition was elucidated by GC-FID, the contents of selected polyphenols and squalene were determined respectively by UHPLC-MS and UHPLC-PDA, whereas minerals were explored by means of ICP-MS. Olive oil was confirmed to have the highest MUFA content due to a valuable level of oleic acid, while oils from grapeseed, Brazil nut and canola were marked by nutritionally important PUFA lev…
An in vitro investigation on the cytotoxic and nuclear receptor transcriptional activity of the mycotoxins fumonisin B1 and beauvericin.
2016
Fumonisin B1 (FB1) and beauvericin (BEA) are secondary metabolites of filamentous fungi, which under appropriate temperature and humidity conditions may develop on various foods and feeds. To date few studies have been performed to evaluate the toxicological and endocrine disrupting effects of FB1 and BEA. The present study makes use of various in vitro bioassays including; oestrogen, androgen, progestagen and glucocorticoid reporter gene assays (RGAs) for the study of nuclear receptor transcriptional activity, the thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay to monitor cytotoxicity and high content analysis (HCA) for the detection of pre-lethal toxicity in the RGA and Caco-2 human colon …
Pterostilbene Decreases the Antioxidant Defenses of Aggressive Cancer Cells In Vivo: A Physiological Glucocorticoids- and Nrf2-Dependent Mechanism
2016
Abstract Aims: Polyphenolic phytochemicals have anticancer properties. However, in mechanistic studies, lack of correlation with the bioavailable concentrations is a critical issue. Some reports had suggested that these molecules downregulate the stress response, which may affect growth and the antioxidant protection of malignant cells. Initially, we studied this potential underlying mechanism using different human melanomas (with genetic backgrounds correlating with most melanomas), growing in nude mice as xenografts, and pterostilbene (Pter, a natural dimethoxylated analog of resveratrol). Results: Intravenous administration of Pter decreased human melanoma growth in vivo. However, Pter, …
Glycometabolic Alterations in Secondary Adrenal Insufficiency: Does Replacement Therapy Play a Role?
2018
Secondary adrenal insufficiency (SAI) is a potentially life-threatening endocrine disorder due to an impairment of corticotropin (ACTH) secretion from any process affecting the hypothalamus or pituitary gland. ACTH deficit can be isolated or associated with other pituitary failures (hypopituitarism). An increased mortality due to cardiovascular, metabolic, and infectious diseases has been described in both primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency. However, few studies have provided compelling evidences on the underlying mechanism in SAI, because of the heterogeneity of the condition. Recently, some studies suggested that inappropriate glucocorticoid (GCs) replacement therapy, as for dose…
Trend of Drug Abuse in 2011– 2014 in Italy
2017
Doping, although was born as a medication and not with the purpose of enhancing performance, is a widespread practice in all sports, between amateur and gym-goers. The Italian sports federations were in second place worldwide for positive doping-test, after Russia. This review focuses on the analysis of data collected by Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) in the 2012–2014 period, showing that the most commonly used substances were anabolic androgenic agents, glucocorticoids, diuretics and stimulants. Prevention in doping could be a key to limit the damage caused by this harmful practice both, for the physical health and the athlete’s moral integrity and anti-doping campai…
Clinical Decision-Making when Treating Diabetic Macular Edema Patients with Dexamethasone Intravitreal Implants.
2017
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease frequently associated with comorbidities that include diabetic macular edema (DME). The current medical approach to treating DME involves intravitreal injections with either anti-vascular endothelial growth factors or steroids. However, the burden associated with intravitreal injections and DM-derived complications is high, underlining the need to find optimal treatment regimens. In this article we describe the considerations we apply when treating DME patients with dexamethasone intravitreal implants (Ozurdex®), particularly those that influence the clinical decision-making process during the follow-up period. These considerations are based bot…
Switching to intravitreal fluocinolone acetonide implant for refractory diabetic macular edema: 12- and 24-month results
2021
Purpose: To report visual and anatomical outcomes of chronic/refractory diabetic macular edema (DME) treated with intravitreal fluocinolone acetonide implant. Setting: Retrospective, one arm, multicentric study. Method: Between 2013 and 2018, 27 consecutive eyes of 25 patients with chronic/refractory DME were treated with a fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant. Best registered visual acuity (BRVA), central retinal thickness (CRT), and Goldmann tonometry intraocular pressure (IOP) were assessed at 12 and 24 months. The need for IOP lowering treatment as well as top-up therapy during the follow-up were also assessed. Results: The duration of DME prior to treatment in our study was 54 ±…
Tumor-derived immuno-modulators induce overlapping pro-tolerogenic gene expression signatures in human dendritic cells.
2016
Immature dendritic cells (iDCs) and tolerogenic DCs are essential for the induction and maintenance of peripheral tolerance. Tumors produce immuno-modulatory factors which imprint a pro-tolerogenic, maturation-resistant state in DCs. Here we asked for common markers of differentially tolerized human monocyte-derived DC populations. For this, PBMC-derived monocytes were differentiated to DCs in the presence of established immuno-modulators as released by tumors (IL-6, IL-10, TGF-β, glucocorticoid [GC], prostaglandin E2 [PGE2]). Most unstimulated pro-tolerogenic DC populations commonly over-expressed some tolerance-associated markers (ILT-4, IL-10, HO-1) as compared with iDCs. These markers m…
Mineral essential elements for nutrition in different chocolate products
2016
In this work, the essential mineral nutritional elements in cocoa beans, in chocolates at different cocoa percentage (60,70,80 and 90%) and in milk chocolate are evaluated. Dark chocolates are confirmed as an excellent source of magnesium (252.2 mg/100 g) and iron (10.9 mg/100 g): in chocolate containing 90% cocoa, their content corresponds to, respectively, 67.0% and 80.3 of Nutrient Reference Values (NRV) in the European Union. The chocolate containing 90% cocoa is also a good source of zinc (3.5 mg/100 g), which is important for the immune system, and selenium (0.1 mg/100 g). Three main components suitable to explain the mineral concentrations are analyzed by factor analysis. The compone…
Xanthohumol ameliorates Diet-Induced Liver Dysfunction via Farnesoid X Receptor-Dependent and Independent Signaling
2020
The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) plays a critical role in the regulation of lipid and bile acid (BA) homeostasis. Hepatic FXR loss results in lipid and BA accumulation, and progression from hepatic steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of xanthohumol (XN), a hop-derived compound mitigating metabolic syndrome, on liver damage induced by diet and FXR deficiency in mice. Wild-type (WT) and liver-specific FXR-null mice (FXRLiver−/−) were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) containing XN or the vehicle formation followed by histological characterization, lipid, BA and gene profiling. HFD supplemented with XN resulted in amelioration of hepatic steatosis a…